Overview
Executive function (EF) is foundational for children’s academic achievement, socio-emotional development, and long-term health. This PhD project offers a rare opportunity to generate insights into the contextual and cultural factors that influence EF development in childhood. The aim is to examine both the structure and predictors of early child executive functioning (EF) comparing two culturally distinct cohorts of children growing up in UK and India.
About this opportunity
Project Description:
Executive function (EF)—including inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility—is foundational for children’s academic achievement, socio-emotional development, and long-term health. A key question is: Which contextual factors might explain cross-cultural variation in EF development? Socio-economic conditions and parenting practices vary substantially across cultures and are consistently associated with children’s EF, yet few cross-cultural studies have been conducted. This multi-institutional Dual PhD project between the University of Liverpool and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India will leverage parallel existing data from our UK (Wirral Child Health and Development Study; WCHADS) and our sister cohort in Bangalore, India (Bangalore Child Health and Development Study; BCHADS). Children were assessed at age 2 and 5–6 years using comparable observational EF tasks, and parent-child interaction was assessed in the first year of life and again at age 5-6 years. Detailed measures of socioeconomic circumstances and family structure were collected across childhood. The student will process and collate the raw EF data and also generate multi-dimensional measures of SES from the two large datasets. The project will use advanced quantitative methods, including structural equation modelling (SEM), to examine the structure and predictors of early child executive functioning across these two culturally distinct cohorts. They will also generate new data by coding parent-child observational data in both cohorts.
Novelty
This is a unique opportunity to examine cross-cultural variation in the structure and predictors of early child executive functioning in UK and India. The project brings together expertise in longitudinal studies of child health and development, longitudinal data analysis, cross-cultural measurement and neuropsychological assessment in early childhood. The supervisory team has worked together for over ten years to conduct two longitudinal studies in UK and India and have published on many aspects of early child mental health, parenting and development.
Training
The project will provide training in measurement invariance testing, cross-cultural statistical methods and complex statistical modelling of longitudinal developmental data including Structural Equation Modelling, using software such as R and Stata. Skills such as coding of parent-child interactions will also be provided by the supervisory team. The time at NIMHANS will offer an exceptional opportunity for international research experience, exposure to diverse scientific environments, and development of independence—key attributes for a competitive research career.
Structure of studies and Dual PhD registration
Funded by the Pratiksha Trust this four-year Dual PhD Programme between the University of Liverpool and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India, will provide a PhD award from both institutions. Funding will cover stipend at the UKRI level, tuition fees (Home rate only), research support fees and travel costs.
The successful candidate must commit to spending up to two years at the University of Liverpool and up to two years at NIMHANS in Bengaluru (India). The expected pattern of study for this studentship is Year 1 in Liverpool, Year 2 and 3 based at NIMHANS, Bangalore, India, then year 4 back in Liverpool.
Further reading
The Wirral Child Health and Development – publications
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/population-health/research/groups/first-steps/publications/
The Bangalore Child Health and Development – publications
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/population-health/research/groups/bangalore/publications/
Mousavi SZ, Farhadi N, Gharibzadeh S. Socioeconomic Status and Childhood Executive Function: Differing Conceptualizations, Diverse Assessments, and Decontextualized Investigations. Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2024 Dec;58(4):1284-1299. doi: 10.1007/s12124-022-09680-w. Epub 2022 Mar 8. PMID: 35260946.
Willoughby, M., Williams, J., Lauff, E., & Hudson, K. (2026). Measuring Executive Function in Preschoolers: Is a Single Assessment Occasion Sufficient?. Psychological Assessment, 38(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001419
Roos, LJ et al. Cultural contributions to childhood executive function. J. Cogn. Cult., 8 (2017), p. 61
Howard SJ, Cook CJ, Everts L, et al. Challenging socioeconomic status: A cross-cultural comparison of early executive function. Dev Sci. 2020;23:e12854. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12854
Schirmbeck K, Rao N, Maehler C. Similarities and differences across countries in the development of executive functions in children: A systematic review. Inf Child Dev. 2020;29:e2164. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2164
Zhang, C., Schmitt, S., Korucu, I., Yang, F., Whiteman, S., & Purpura, D. (2019). Exploring cross-cultural variations in the development of executive function for preschoolers from low and high socioeconomic families. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 43(3), 212–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025418785469