The role of child socioeconomic status in cognitive training outcomes

Socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to influence children's executive function and cognitive function more generally, and may play a role in one's ability to benefit from a cognitive or academic intervention. However, SES remains largely unstudied in the context of computerized cognitive training. Here we draw from two datasets of 6-18 year-old children completing online cognitive training to examine the impact of SES on executive function. The first study utilizes hierarchical linear modeling to examine how school-level free/reduced-price lunch status relates to executive function following cognitive training. The second study focuses on individual-level free/reduced-price lunch status and adds an active control condition. Both studies find that free/reduced-price lunch status and age are associated with improvements in executive function following training. However, there were no interaction effects between SES and condition, suggesting that there is little difference in how children from different SES groups benefit from computerized cognitive training.