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Thesis
ASSESSMENT OF ATTENTION IN MOTHERS USING THE ATTENTION NETWORK TEST - REVISED
University of West Florida
Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida
2017
Abstract
Previous research has evaluated the cognitive effects of reproduction and motherhood, yet only a handful of studies have specifically evaluated maternal attention. Additionally, no study has been conducted to investigate the lasting effects of motherhood on attention. The Attention Network Test - Revised was selected to investigate mothers' lasting attentional network functioning during the years following childbirth. The current study used alerting, orienting, and executive control reaction times to compare mothers' and non-mothers' attentional performance. Potential protective factors were also investigated to determine what variables (e.g., age, sleep, stress, alertness) may predict attention scores. Results indicated that mothers and non-mothers have similar attentional capabilities; however, slower disengaging reaction times were related to motherhood and self-reported alertness. Questionnaire data suggest that together, age, sleep, stress, and alertness were not able to predict attention scores, but that several linear relationships do exist and demand further investigation. Additional research replicating this study's design with a larger sample size is recommended to explore the relationship between motherhood and attention in depth.
Details
- Title
- ASSESSMENT OF ATTENTION IN MOTHERS USING THE ATTENTION NETWORK TEST - REVISED
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Copyright
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
- Identifiers
- 99380090854906600
- Academic Unit
- Psychology
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Arts (MA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida