Background and purpose. The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA) is a newly developed assessment tool based on the principles of the Kitchen Task Assessment (KTA) and may be a valuable tool for assessing executive function (EF). There is a lack of age-appropriate assessments for EF in occupational therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of the PKTA as a new assessment and determine if it is a valid measure of EF in preschool children.
Subjects. The total sample consisted of 11 willing preschool-aged children and their parents, with a female to male ratio of 8:3 and a mean age of 4.5 years.
Methods. A non-experimental exploratory design was utilized to examine the relationship between the PKTA and other neuropsychological assessments. A series Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the relationship between the PKTA and two other neuropsychological tests: BRIEF-P and a modified Digit Span Backward.
Results. A low, non significant correlation between PKTA total score and BRIEF-P GEC score (r = .12). A moderate to good correlation between the PKTA time and BRIEF-P GEC score (r = .68). Little to fair correlations between PKTA total score and the BRIEF-P clinical scales with a range of .17 to .41. A correlation could not be found between PKTA and Digit Span Backward. A moderate, negative correlation found between age in months and PKTA total scores (r = .74). Through qualitative observations, the PKTA was found to be ecologically valid.
Discussion and conclusion. Results revealed weak support that the PKTA is a valid measure in assessing EF in preschoolers. The PKTA is developmentally sensitive to age with support that it is an ecologically valid assessment. The PKTA may be a beneficial tool in order to gain a complete understanding of a child’s needs.
","abstract_html":"<p><strong>Background and purpose.</strong> The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA) is a newly developed assessment tool based on the principles of the Kitchen Task Assessment (KTA) and may be a valuable tool for assessing executive function (EF). There is a lack of age-appropriate assessments for EF in occupational therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of the PKTA as a new assessment and determine if it is a valid measure of EF in preschool children.</p> <p><strong>Subjects.</strong> The total sample consisted of 11 willing preschool-aged children and their parents, with a female to male ratio of 8:3 and a mean age of 4.5 years.</p> <p><strong>Methods.</strong> A non-experimental exploratory design was utilized to examine the relationship between the PKTA and other neuropsychological assessments. A series Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the relationship between the PKTA and two other neuropsychological tests: BRIEF-P and a modified Digit Span Backward.</p> <p><strong>Results.</strong> A low, non significant correlation between PKTA total score and BRIEF-P GEC score (r = .12). A moderate to good correlation between the PKTA time and BRIEF-P GEC score (r = .68). Little to fair correlations between PKTA total score and the BRIEF-P clinical scales with a range of .17 to .41. A correlation could not be found between PKTA and Digit Span Backward. A moderate, negative correlation found between age in months and PKTA total scores (r = .74). Through qualitative observations, the PKTA was found to be ecologically valid.</p> <p><strong>Discussion and conclusion.</strong> Results revealed weak support that the PKTA is a valid measure in assessing EF in preschoolers. The PKTA is developmentally sensitive to age with support that it is an ecologically valid assessment. The PKTA may be a beneficial tool in order to gain a complete understanding of a child’s needs.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Yuson, Annette M.","Engelhardt, Mallory Hope","Dizon, Fanny Canlas"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Occupational Therapy","degree_level":"Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"Occupational Therapy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Julia Wilbarger, PhD, OTR/L"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:28Z","subjects":["Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment","Executive Functioning","Pre-school","Occupational Therapy"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/10","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Julia Wilbarger, PhD, OTR/L"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Yuson, Annette M.","Engelhardt, Mallory Hope","Dizon, Fanny Canlas"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-09-04T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Occupational Therapy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Occupational Therapy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment","Executive Functioning","Pre-school","Occupational Therapy"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/10"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Background and purpose. The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA) is a newly developed assessment tool based on the principles of the Kitchen Task Assessment (KTA) and may be a valuable tool for assessing executive function (EF). There is a lack of age-appropriate assessments for EF in occupational therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of the PKTA as a new assessment and determine if it is a valid measure of EF in preschool children.
Subjects. The total sample consisted of 11 willing preschool-aged children and their parents, with a female to male ratio of 8:3 and a mean age of 4.5 years.
Methods. A non-experimental exploratory design was utilized to examine the relationship between the PKTA and other neuropsychological assessments. A series Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the relationship between the PKTA and two other neuropsychological tests: BRIEF-P and a modified Digit Span Backward.
Results. A low, non significant correlation between PKTA total score and BRIEF-P GEC score (r = .12). A moderate to good correlation between the PKTA time and BRIEF-P GEC score (r = .68). Little to fair correlations between PKTA total score and the BRIEF-P clinical scales with a range of .17 to .41. A correlation could not be found between PKTA and Digit Span Backward. A moderate, negative correlation found between age in months and PKTA total scores (r = .74). Through qualitative observations, the PKTA was found to be ecologically valid.
Discussion and conclusion. Results revealed weak support that the PKTA is a valid measure in assessing EF in preschoolers. The PKTA is developmentally sensitive to age with support that it is an ecologically valid assessment. The PKTA may be a beneficial tool in order to gain a complete understanding of a child’s needs.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA): A Pilot Study Exploring Executive Functioning in Children Ages 3 to 6 Years"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Julia Wilbarger, PhD, OTR/L"],"dc:creator":["Yuson, Annette M.","Engelhardt, Mallory Hope","Dizon, Fanny Canlas"],"dc:date.available":["2014-09-04T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Background and purpose. The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA) is a newly developed assessment tool based on the principles of the Kitchen Task Assessment (KTA) and may be a valuable tool for assessing executive function (EF). There is a lack of age-appropriate assessments for EF in occupational therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of the PKTA as a new assessment and determine if it is a valid measure of EF in preschool children.
Subjects. The total sample consisted of 11 willing preschool-aged children and their parents, with a female to male ratio of 8:3 and a mean age of 4.5 years.
Methods. A non-experimental exploratory design was utilized to examine the relationship between the PKTA and other neuropsychological assessments. A series Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the relationship between the PKTA and two other neuropsychological tests: BRIEF-P and a modified Digit Span Backward.
Results. A low, non significant correlation between PKTA total score and BRIEF-P GEC score (r = .12). A moderate to good correlation between the PKTA time and BRIEF-P GEC score (r = .68). Little to fair correlations between PKTA total score and the BRIEF-P clinical scales with a range of .17 to .41. A correlation could not be found between PKTA and Digit Span Backward. A moderate, negative correlation found between age in months and PKTA total scores (r = .74). Through qualitative observations, the PKTA was found to be ecologically valid.
Discussion and conclusion. Results revealed weak support that the PKTA is a valid measure in assessing EF in preschoolers. The PKTA is developmentally sensitive to age with support that it is an ecologically valid assessment. The PKTA may be a beneficial tool in order to gain a complete understanding of a child’s needs.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/10"],"dc:subject":["Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment","Executive Functioning","Pre-school","Occupational Therapy"],"dc:title":["The Preschool Kitchen Task Assessment (PKTA): A Pilot Study Exploring Executive Functioning in Children Ages 3 to 6 Years"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Occupational Therapy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Occupational Therapy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:28Z"}