Household chaos-characterized by disorganization and instability within the home-is inversely associated with child executive functioning and effortful control, although a quantitative synthesis of the findings is currently lacking. This meta-analysis incorporated 35 studies with 36 independent effect sizes including 16,480 children. Several moderators were assessed, the most fundamental involving method (i.e., informant-completed questionnaire vs. direct assessment) of assessing executive functions. The analyses revealed a significant overall effect of r = .16. Only measurement approach of executive functions significantly moderated this association: Informant-completed questionnaires yielded an effect of r = .23, as compared with direct assessment, r = .11; however, both effects were significant. Based on substantive and statistical considerations, questionnaire and direct assessment effects were then meta-analyzed separately. Although effect sizes proved heterogeneous in the context of questionnaires, analyses revealed no significant moderators. Within direct assessment effects, both household chaos dimensions were significantly related to child executive functions, but instability was a stronger correlate (r = .17) than disorganization (r = .06). Results highlight the need for fuller investigation of differences in construct measurement presented by questionnaire and direct assessment approaches to child executive functions. At present, it appears prudent to adopt a multimethod approach to assessment. Ultimately, a greater focus on quasi-experimental designs examining the mechanisms by which events destabilize child executive functions is essential to a rigorous understanding of the relation between environmental features and child cognitive function. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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研究家庭混乱对儿童执行功能的影响：一项荟萃分析。

尽管目前缺乏定量的综合研究结果，但由于家庭内部混乱和不稳定造成的家庭混乱与儿童执行功能和努力控制的能力成反比。这项荟萃分析纳入了35项研究，涉及36种独立的效应量，包括16,480名儿童。评估了几位主持人，其中最基本的涉及评估执行功能的方法（即知情人士填写的问卷调查与直接评估）。分析表明，r = .16的总体效果显着。只有执行功能的测量方法才能显着缓解这种关联：知情者完成的问卷调查的结果为r = .23，与直接评估相比，r = .11；但是，这两种效果都是显着的。基于实质和统计考虑，然后分别对问卷调查表和直接评估效果进行荟萃分析。尽管在调查问卷的背景下证明效应大小是异质的，但分析显示没有明显的主持人。在直接评估的影响下，家庭混乱的两个维度均与儿童执行功能显着相关，但不稳定比不组织化（r = .06）更强（r = .17）。结果强调有必要对调查表和对儿童执行功能的直接评估方法提出的结构测量差异进行更全面的调查。目前，采用多方法评估方法似乎是审慎的做法。最终，更加注重准实验设计，以检查事件破坏儿童执行功能稳定性的机制，对于严格理解环境特征与儿童认知功能之间的关系至关重要。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2021 APA，保留所有权利）。