Structural of Working Memory among Kuwaiti Children from 4 to 12 Years: Evidence from Equation Modeling

Abstract

The original Working Memory (WM) model of Baddeley and Hitch (1974) has been established based on adults and brain injured patients, which does not guarantee the same organizational structure of WM during childhood. One aim of the current study was to examine the changes in WM during childhood. A second aim was to examine whether WM structure changes across age development from four to12 years old. A battery of WM tests - assessing the three basic WM components- was administered to a total sample of 891 Kuwaiti children (50.5% females and 49.5% males) aged 4 to 12 years. The data were analyzed by means of the CFA using Chi-squared values and four additional fit indices (i.e., Root Mean Square Error of Approximation RMSEA, Incremental Fit Index (IFI), Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI), and the Comparative Fit Index (CFI). Results presented evidence that the organizational structure of the three-factor WM construct exists across the four age bands, and the WM structures is fixed and invariant- in factor loadings, intercepts, and covariance- across age development from four to 12 years. These findings support the Baddeley and Hitch’s tripartite model of WM during childhood.