The predictive relationship of executive functioning to social-emotional functioning for school-aged children in Kenya

This study aimed to investigate the predictive relationship between executive functioning and social-emotional functioning of Kenyan school-aged students. Participants included 259 Kenyan students 14-18 years old (118 male and 141 female) enrolled in two boarding schools in Kenya. Executive functioning was assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions, Second Edition - Teacher Form (BRIEF-2 TF). Social-emotional functioning was assessed using the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition - Teacher Rating Scale (BASC-3 TRS). Due to the fact that the BRIEF-2 TF and BASC-3 TRS do not contain Kenyan norms, raw scores were utilized to assess the relationship between executive functioning and social-emotional functioning in this study. A series of multiple regression analyses were used to assess the degree to which ratings on the between BRIEF-2 TF Composites predicted ratings on BASC-3 TRS composites as well as the ratings on the Executive Functioning and Emotional Self-Control Indices on the BASC-3 TRS. The results of these analyses showed that each overall multiple regression model was significant; however, there was variation between specific significant relationships between composites. A penalized ridge regression was used to assess the degree to which ratings on the subscales of the BRIEF-2 TF predicted ratings on the selected subtests from the BASC-3 TRS (i.e., Aggression, Hyperactivity, Anxiety, Depression, Attention Problems, and Withdrawal). The penalized regression showed that only the Anxiety, Attention Problems, and Withdrawal subscales on the BASC-3 TRS were predicted by subscales on the BRIEF-2 TF. The current study includes diversity considerations for multicultural assessment of school-aged Kenyan school-aged students as well as insight into the influence that cultural perceptions have on the relationship between executive functioning and psychosocial functioning in a sample of Kenyan school-aged students.