Abstract:

Introduction:
An increasing number of studies are focusing their efforts on developing ecologically valid and computer-based tools for the neuropsychological evaluation, both in clinical and general populations. In this regard, emergent studies are demonstrating the advantages of computer-based tools for cognitive evaluation, especially in the case of certain domains such as impulsivity. The employment of serious games for the evaluation of impulsivity has shown to reduce boring and foster the engagement in the task by participants, increasing the reliability and validity of the evaluation. Due to the characteristics of this type of tools, they usually improve the motivation and adherence to evaluation in comparison to traditional paper and pencil instruments. This fact is especially relevant in specific populations such as children and adolescents, in which there is a neurocognitive maturation and specific cognitive abilities are in development, such as executive functioning, in which impulsivity and inhibitory mechanisms are core functions.

Objective:
Taking all this into account, the main purpose of this study was to examine the association between impulsivity evaluated through the serious game Attention Slackline®, oriented to the evaluation of attentional processes in children and adolescents, and neurocognitive functioning evaluated by the standardized and computerized evaluation tool Cognifit.

Method:
111 children and adolescents (66 boys and 45 girls) aged from 6 to 18 years (M=12.66, SD=3.65) participated in the study. The cognitive evaluation included the administration of the general cognitive assessment of the Cognifit tool, and the serious game Attention Slackline®, which included a General Index of Impulsiveness. To analyze the relationship between the studied variables, Pearson correlations were conducted.

Results:
In general, it was found positive and significant correlations between the Attention Slackline’s General Index of Impulsivity and Cognifit scores in the Attention (r=.197, p=0.38), Memory (r=.243, p=0.010), Coordination (r=.228, p=0.016), Reasoning (r=.234, p=0.013), and Perception (r=.256, p=0.007) domains.

Conclusions:
The present research points out that Attention Slackline is an accurate and reliable computer-based neuropsychological tool for the evaluation of impulsiveness in children and adolescents. This fact highlights the validity of serious game for cognitive evaluation in this population and demonstrate the relationship between impulsiveness and general cognitive functioning in children and adolescents. These results have significant educational implications, as serious games such as Attention Slackline® could be a useful tool to be employed in academic settings for the evaluation of impulsiveness.

Keywords:

Attention Slackline, computer-based tool, serious game, neuropsychological assessment, children, adolescents.