Comparative analysis of executive functions as a function of the level of schooling in young residents in the city of Medellin

Studies on executive functioning and the processes involved have been conducted mostly with participants with brain injury or with children, however, few studies have aimed to reveal the effects of schooling on the different levels of executive functioning, so the objective of this research was to analyze the relationship between the level of schooling and executive functions in a group of young adults aged 23 to 30 years. A non-experimental design with descriptive, cross-sectional and comparative scope was carried out. The Battery of Frontal and Executive Functions (BANFE) was applied. Non-probabilistic convenience sampling was used, with a 95% margin of error. In all cases, significant differences were found between the primary school- and university-level groups, thus demonstrating that there is an important impact of the level of schooling on the functions of control, regulation, working memory, verbal memory, visual memory, understanding of the figurative sense, verbal fluency, processing speed and meta-memory. The findings of the study have theoretical and clinical implications in the field of neuropsychology, since they allow us to know the executive functioning in subjects without pre-existing alterations, indicated by a specific variable which is the level of schooling.