Efeito de um programa de intervenção computadorizado para treinamento de pais no desenvolvimento de funções executivas (PICFE) em crianças de 7 e 8 anos de idade

Abstract

The present research aimed to verify the effectiveness of the Computerized Intervention Program for training parents in the development of Executive Functions (PICFE) in children aged 7 and 8 years old. This is an empirical, quasi-experimental research and cross-sectional study with two groups: experimental (GE) and control (CG). The sample consisted of 40 children aged 7 and 8 years old, 20 children for the EG and 20 for the CG, located in different states in Brazil. In addition to the children, their parents participated in the research, as they were responsible for applying the intervention after receiving online training carried out by the researcher of the research project. PICFE consists of online games and activities inserted into the child's routine to assist in the development of planning skills, memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, as well as guidance for parents regarding the use of support strategies to be offered to their children. The intervention consists of four ecological activities, that is, inserted into the child's routine, and two computerized games that were applied only in the GE. Ecological activities took place four times a week and games three times. The average duration of intervention activities, both games and ecological activities, mediated by the children's parents was twenty minutes and took place over 8 weeks. After the training carried out for parents or guardians, the researcher was always available (via phone, WhatsApp or email) to assist or answer questions, in addition to weekly online meetings being scheduled with each person responsible for the intervention with the child to monitor the intervention. To verify the effectiveness of the training, before and after the end of the intervention program, instruments were applied to evaluate executive functions in both groups: IFERA, questionnaires for parents or guardians of the CG and EG groups and semi-structured interviews with the parents of the GE. The application of all these instruments was carried out remotely. The results of the present study point to the effectiveness of PICFE in the development of children's executive functions, mainly in inhibitory control, working memory and aversion to delay, assessed by IFERA. Through the interviews it was observed that in addition to parents noticing an improvement in executive functions such as motivation and organization, they also reported an improvement in their relationship with their children.