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Early executive and school functioning: Protective roles of home environment by income. JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 78:101369. [PMID: 35058671 PMCID: PMC8765731 DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
This study used data from the Family Life Project (N=1,227), a longitudinal study of child development. We tested a three-way interaction in which positive parenting and learning materials in the home from age 6-36 months and family income predicted children's executive functioning (EF) at 58 months. We also tested whether this interaction predicted early school functioning, specifically behavioral and academic skills in the 1st grade. The interactive effects of positive parenting and learning materials differed by family income. For children in families of lower income, more learning materials and positive parenting predicted better EF, and in turn, better early school functioning. For children in families of higher income, only positive parenting significantly predicted EF, which in turn, predicted better early school functioning. Findings suggest that more targeted policy and program support for enrichment and positive parenting may bolster efforts to combat poverty.
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Schworer EK, Fidler DJ, Kaur M, Needham AW, Prince MA, Daunhauer LA. Infant precursors of executive function in Down syndrome. JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH : JIDR 2022; 66:108-120. [PMID: 33650746 DOI: 10.1111/jir.12824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although early features of infant cognition are predictive of executive function (EF) in typically developing (TD) children, there is little information regarding the developmental origins of EF in neurogenetic conditions, such as Down syndrome (DS). METHODS The current study compared the performance of infants with and without DS on three dimensions that are hypothesised EF precursors: visual engagement, attention shifting and action planning. Additionally, the relationship between these EF precursors at Time 1 and EF performance at Time 2 (6 months later) was examined in the DS group. Participants were 36 infants with DS, M chronological age = 12.65 months, SD = 2.11; M developmental age = 8.84 months, SD = 2.22, and 36 TD infants, M chronological age = 8.62, SD = 3.06; M developmental age = 8.64 months, SD = 3.40. RESULTS Infants with DS visually engaged with objects for longer durations and demonstrated challenges with action planning compared with TD infants at Time 1. Attention shifting at Time 1 significantly predicted EF performance at Time 2 in the DS group. CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence that an early atypical presentation of EF precursors is detectable during infancy in DS and is predictive of subsequent EF performance. These findings contribute to the identification of areas of early cognitive risk in DS and can inform future interventions in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- E K Schworer
- Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - D J Fidler
- Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - M Kaur
- Department of Physical Therapy, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA, USA
| | - A W Needham
- Department of Psychology & Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - M A Prince
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - L A Daunhauer
- Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Iwinski S, Donovan SM, Fiese B, Bost K. The Impact of Household Chaos and Dietary Intake on Executive Function in Young Children. Nutrients 2021; 13:nu13124442. [PMID: 34959994 PMCID: PMC8707498 DOI: 10.3390/nu13124442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Children's executive functions (EFs) emerge over time and can be shaped by household environments and dietary intake. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how these factors influence EFs in children aged 18-24 months. This study tested a model exploring the relations between parent-reported dietary intake, household chaos, and child EF. The sample consisted of 294 families participating in the STRONG Kids2 birth cohort study of nutrition and child health. Caregivers completed the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS), and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®-Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) to assess model variables. Regression analyses revealed a significant and independent association between assorted snacks and processed foods and two EF subscales. There were also significant associations between household chaos and each EF subscale. There was no significant moderation effect. These findings suggest that family households characterized by dysregulation are associated with children's EF difficulties during early childhood and that the role of unhealthy dietary intake in child EF should be explored further. Future longitudinal studies that include multi-method approaches are needed to document the mechanisms through which household chaos impacts child EF over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Iwinski
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; (B.F.); (K.B.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-708-606-3235
| | - Sharon M. Donovan
- Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Barbara Fiese
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; (B.F.); (K.B.)
| | - Kelly Bost
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; (B.F.); (K.B.)
- Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;
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54
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The role of infant attention and parental sensitivity in infant cognitive development in the Netherlands and China. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 215:105324. [PMID: 34896764 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Infant attention and parental sensitivity are important predictors of later child executive function (EF). However, most studies have investigated infant and parent factors in relation to child EF separately and included only mothers from Western samples. The current study examined whether both infant attention at 4 months and parental sensitivity at 4 and 14 months were related to infant EF (i.e., inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) at 14 months among 124 Dutch and 63 Chinese first-time mothers and fathers and their infants. Findings revealed that parental sensitivity at 4 months was not correlated with infant EF abilities at 14 months. However, infant attention at 4 months was significantly related to 14-month working memory, but not to inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Maternal sensitivity at 14 months was significantly related to 14-month inhibition, but not to working memory and cognitive flexibility). No country differences were found in the relation among 4-month infant attention, parental sensitivity, and EF outcomes. Results show that both infant and parent factors are associated with early EF development and that these correlates of early EF skills may be similar in Western and non-Western samples.
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55
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El-Deen GMS, Yousef AM, Mohamed AE, Ibrahim AS. Socio-demographic and clinical correlates of parenting style among parents having ADHD children: a cross-section study. MIDDLE EAST CURRENT PSYCHIATRY 2021. [DOI: 10.1186/s43045-021-00151-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
ADHD affects 7.8% of the school-aged population, making it one of the most common childhood brain illnesses. It is characterized by abnormally high levels of inattention, activity, and impulsivity at a young age. Being a parent of a child with ADHD is a real challenge, as the parents tend to be more disapproving, critical, and provide more impulse control directions; such parenting style can have an impact on the illnesses course, accentuate its signs and symptoms, and lead to secondary development of co-morbid psychiatric and behavioral problems. This makes the parent-child effect a matter of clinical importance that needs to be carefully assessed and managed. We aimed to estimate the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of parenting attitudes among parents having ADHD children. This cross-sectional study included 48 ADHD children from both sexes, aged from 6 to 12 years old, and their parents. In our study, we applied the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale 5th edition, the Conner’s Parent Rating Scale-revised, the parenting style as perceived by children questionnaire, and the Fahmy and El-Sherbini questionnaire for the measurement of socioeconomic status.
Results
Mothers of ADHD children had significantly lower scores of over-protections parenting style than the fathers; the current study showed a significant increase in total parenting scores and warmth/support in mild ADHD cases than in moderate and severe ones, and there is a significant increase in the mother’s positive parenting style toward ADHD children with lower levels of social problems, mild cases, and older age. There is a significant increase of positive parenting style toward ADHD children exerted by post graduated, professionally working, and high social class fathers and by working mothers among rural residents and high social class mothers. There is a positive correlation between IQ and a mother’s warmth/support.
Conclusion
ADHD children with mild symptoms, higher social functioning of the child, high socioeconomic level of the family, better education, and professional occupations of parents were associated with positive parenting style.
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56
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Mills-Koonce WR, Willoughby MT, Short SJ, Propper CB. The Brain and Early Experience Study: Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study (Preprint). JMIR Res Protoc 2021; 11:e34854. [PMID: 35767351 PMCID: PMC9280455 DOI: 10.2196/34854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sarah J Short
- School of Education, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Cathi B Propper
- Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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57
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Kolijn L, van den Bulk BG, van IJzendoorn MH, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, Huffmeijer R. Does maternal inhibitory control mediate effects of a parenting intervention on maternal sensitive discipline? Evidence from a randomized-controlled trial. Infant Ment Health J 2021; 42:749-766. [PMID: 34747022 PMCID: PMC9298199 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The quality of parenting greatly impacts child development, highlighting the importance of support programs that effectively improve parenting. Studies on successful intervention programs define their efficacy by gains in parenting and/or child development. However, much remains unknown about the internal processes that explain how parenting interventions bring about their effects. The aims of the current randomized‐controlled study were to test whether the Video‐feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP‐SD) improved maternal inhibitory control (1) and whether inhibitory control mediated any effects of VIPP‐SD on maternal sensitive discipline (2). In total, 66 mothers of whom a random 33% received the VIPP‐SD and the others a “dummy” intervention participated in pre‐ and post‐intervention assessments. Sensitive discipline was observed during a semi‐structured limit‐setting situation and inhibitory control was measured using a stop‐signal task. Contrary to expectations, inhibitory control improved over time in the control group and sensitive discipline did not show the expected increase in the intervention group. Results did not support mediation. We suggest that the intervention may have induced cognitive restructuring of parenting schemas, delaying improvements in post‐intervention inhibitory control and sensitive discipline. Factors that may be involved in parents’ susceptibility to interventions require attention in future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Kolijn
- Department of Clinical Child and Family Studies, and Amsterdam Public Health, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Marian J Bakermans-Kranenburg
- Department of Clinical Child and Family Studies, and Amsterdam Public Health, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Rens Huffmeijer
- Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
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58
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Hendry A, Holmboe K. Development and validation of the Early Executive Functions Questionnaire: A carer-administered measure of Executive Functions suitable for 9- to 30-month-olds. INFANCY 2021; 26:932-961. [PMID: 34418253 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Executive functions (EFs) enable us to control our attention and behavior in order to set and work toward goals. Strong EF skills are linked to better academic performance, and greater health, wealth, and happiness in later life. Research into EF development has been hampered by a lack of scalable measures suitable for infancy through to toddlerhood. The 31-item Early Executive Functions Questionnaire (EEFQ) complements temperament measures by targeting cognitive and regulatory capabilities. Exploratory Factor Analysis (n = 486 8- to 30-month-olds) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (n = 317 9- to 30-month-olds) indicate Inhibitory Control, Flexibility, and Working Memory items load onto a common "Cognitive Executive Function (CEF)" factor, while Regulation items do not. The CEF factor shows strong factorial measurement invariance for sex, and partial strong factorial measurement invariance for age. CEF and Regulation scores show limited floor and ceiling effects, good internal consistency, short-term stability, and convergent validity with carer-report measures of attentional control. The EEFQ is sensitive to developmental change. Results indicate that the widely overlooked period between late infancy and early toddlerhood may be a sensitive period for EF development. The low-resource demands of the EEFQ afford the possibility to study emergent EFs at scale; opening up new opportunities in basic developmental and intervention research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Hendry
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Karla Holmboe
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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59
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Influence of Maternal Autonomy Support on Social Withdrawal in Young Children: The Moderated Mediation Effect of Executive Function and Behavioral Inhibition. ADONGHAKOEJI 2021. [DOI: 10.5723/kjcs.2021.42.5.615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between maternal autonomy support and social withdrawal, executive function, and behavioral inhibition in young children. Specifically, it examined how behavioral inhibition moderates the mediating effect of executive function on the relationship between maternal autonomy support and social withdrawal in young children.Methods: Participants were 273 3-to 4-year-old children and their mothers. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, Cronbach’s α, and Pearson correlation analysis with SPSS 20.0. Meanwhile, the PROCESS Macro 3.5 software was used for analyzing the moderating effect, mediating effect, and moderated mediation effect.Results: Our findings indicated that, first, maternal autonomy support and executive function, social withdrawal, and behavioral inhibition in young children were significantly correlated. Second, executive function had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between maternal autonomy support and social withdrawal in young children. Third, the behavioral inhibition had a moderating effect on the relationship between maternal autonomy support and executive function. Last, the findings verified that the mediating effect of executive function on the relationship between maternal autonomy support and social withdrawal was moderated by behavioral inhibition.Conclusion: These results indicate that improving executive function and reducing social withdrawal through maternal autonomy support can promote positive development in young children, even when behavioral inhibition is high. Thus, they can be used to highlight the importance of parenting behaviors in shaping young children’s temperament. Furthermore, the results could provide a framework for parental education programs and early intervention programs for reducing social withdrawal in children.
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60
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Wu Y, Schutte AR. Attentional Shifting Mediates the Relationship between Parenting and Working Memory. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2021.1976781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yinbo Wu
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
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61
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Fan L, Zhan M, Qing W, Gao T, Wang M. The Short-Term Impact of Animation on the Executive Function of Children Aged 4 to 7. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:8616. [PMID: 34444363 PMCID: PMC8392582 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18168616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Research has shown that animation plays an important role in the development of children's executive function (EF), and the development of EF components, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, is asynchronous. Thus, this study explores the developmental trajectories and animation features (fantasy and pacing) that influence each EF component, by examining 218 children aged 4-7. Pretest information, mainly the childhood EF inventory, was provided by parents: child's age, age of first exposure to animation, animation viewing time on weekdays and weekends, family income, and parents' education. The children in each age group were randomly divided into four groups to watch animations comprised of different animation features. After watching, their EF were measured by a day-night task, backward digit-span task, and flexible item-selection task. The results showed that the children's inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility levels all improved with age. Highly fantastical animations weakened children's performance on each subsequent EF task. Pacing had no effect on any of the components of children's EF. An interactive effect on inhibitory control was only found with fantasy in younger children; specifically, high-fantastical animations had a more pronounced short-lived weakening effect on inhibitory control in younger children (4-6 years) compared with low-fantastical animations. Future research should explore the long-term impact of content rather than the form of animation on younger children's EF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liheng Fan
- Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; (W.Q.); (T.G.); (M.W.)
| | - Meichen Zhan
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Pingdingshan University, Pingdingshan 467000, China;
| | - Wenjing Qing
- Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; (W.Q.); (T.G.); (M.W.)
| | - Tan Gao
- Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; (W.Q.); (T.G.); (M.W.)
| | - Mengying Wang
- Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China; (W.Q.); (T.G.); (M.W.)
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62
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Power J, van IJzendoorn M, Lewis AJ, Chen W, Galbally M. Maternal perinatal depression and child executive function: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 2021; 291:218-234. [PMID: 34049191 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal depression during the perinatal period predicts adverse developmental outcomes for children, via poorly understood mechanisms. One plausible pathway may involve child executive function, a suite of cognitive capacities associated with social, emotional and educational outcomes. Systematic review and meta-analysis are applied to evaluate evidence of association between maternal perinatal depression and child executive function. METHODS Medline, Embase, PubMed, PsycInfo, and SCOPUS were searched for relevant articles to August 2020, with hand-search of relevant bibliographies. Original research published in English measuring maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the first year postpartum, and child executive function outcomes at any age was included. 27 studies met criteria for review. 16 studies reporting raw data of the association between depressive symptoms and executive function were used for meta-analysis. RESULTS Our systematic review identified inadequate assessment of maternal depression, and unreliable measures of executive function in many studies. Assessment of confounders was also inconsistent. Our meta-analysis identified a small, statistically significant relationship between perinatal depression and child executive function (effect size r = 0.07; 95% CI 0.03-0.10); equivalent to Cohen's d = 0.14. LIMITATIONS Variable quality of available studies leads to cautious interpretation of results. CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis is consistent with the hypothesis that maternal perinatal depression does have an impact on executive function in offspring. Future studies must use robust measurement of depression and executive function, and account for the chronicity of maternal depression, and developmental context to produce meaningful results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine Power
- University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Australia; Mercy Hospital for Women, Melbourne, Victoria; Austin Health, Melbourne, Victoria.
| | - Marinus van IJzendoorn
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Andrew J Lewis
- Murdoch University, Discipline of Psychology, Perth, Australia
| | - Wai Chen
- University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Australia; Murdoch University, Discipline of Psychology, Perth, Australia; Mental Health Service, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Australia; CAMHS, Pilbara Mental Health, Australia; Postgraduate School of Education, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | - Megan Galbally
- University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Australia; Mercy Hospital for Women, Melbourne, Victoria; Murdoch University, Discipline of Psychology, Perth, Australia
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63
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Gago Galvagno LG, Miller SE, De Grandis C, Elgier AM. Emerging coherence and relations to communication among executive function tasks in toddlers: Evidence from a Latin American sample. INFANCY 2021; 26:962-979. [PMID: 34237203 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Recent work within early executive function (EF) seems to suggest that toddlers show distinct patterns of development, involving poorly correlated performance across EF tasks and significant improvements over relatively short periods of time. The present study sought to extend these findings by investigating evidence for these patterns in toddlers and the existence of more traditional patterns of EF (e.g., correlations between tasks, links to language) when using the same tasks in a novel Latin American sample. Eighty toddlers (18-24 months) and sixty young preschoolers (30-36) months completed a battery of EF tasks, early social communication, and receptive and expressive language measures. Results indicated that toddlers showed similar distinct patterns of development (i.e., few relations between tasks and links to responding to joint attention), but by early preschool a more cohesive EF and links to language were present. Further, work demonstrated significant age (older children outperformed younger children), gender (girls outperformed boys), and socioeconomic differences (satisfied basic needs outperformed unsatisfied basic needs, but only on the snack delay). This work provides evidence for patterns of emerging EF development within this novel cultural sample (and evidence for group differences) that may be supported by communicative and representational development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas G Gago Galvagno
- Facultad de Psicología y Relaciones Humanas, Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Laboratorio de Cognición y Políticas Públicas, Facultad de Psicología, Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Stephanie E Miller
- Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, USA
| | - Carolina De Grandis
- Facultad de Psicología y Relaciones Humanas, Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Laboratorio de Cognición y Políticas Públicas, Facultad de Psicología, Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Angel M Elgier
- Facultad de Psicología y Relaciones Humanas, Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Laboratorio de Cognición y Políticas Públicas, Facultad de Psicología, Instituto de Investigaciones, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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64
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Altenburger LE, Schoppe-Sullivan SJ. Contributions of Parenting Quality and Coparenting Relationship Quality to the Development of Child Executive Functioning. EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH QUARTERLY 2021; 57:133-143. [PMID: 36313214 PMCID: PMC9615140 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Executive functioning (EF) skills contribute positively to mental and physical health across the lifespan. High-quality parenting is associated with better child EF. However, research has largely focused on the contributions of mothers' parenting and failed to apply a family systems perspective to more comprehensively consider the consequences of parenting quality and coparenting relationship quality for the development of children's EF. This study examined the independent and joint contributions of mothers' observed parenting, fathers' observed parenting, and supportive coparenting during infancy to children's attention in toddlerhood (26 months) and aspects of EF (i.e., inhibitory control and impulsivity) at 7.5 years of age. Data came from a study of 166 families who participated in a larger longitudinal study. Assessments were conducted at 9-months postpartum (n = 158), 26-months postpartum (n = 114), and when children were 7.5 years of age (n = 100). Results indicated statistically significant associations between fathers' parenting quality at 9-months postpartum and greater child inhibitory control at 7.5 years of age. Mothers' parenting quality at 9-months postpartum was associated with better child attention in toddlerhood. Supportive coparenting was not directly associated with toddler or child EF. However, supportive coparenting moderated the association between fathers' parenting quality and child impulsivity, such that the adjusted effect of fathers' parenting on child impulsivity was negative when supportive coparenting was high. Findings highlight the importance of considering the development of child EF within a family systems framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Altenburger
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University - Shenango, 147 Shenango Avenue, Sharon, PA 16146
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65
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Aldrich NJ, Chen J, Alfieri L. Evaluating associations between parental mind-mindedness and children’s developmental capacities through meta-analysis. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2021.100946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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66
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Ruggiero CF, McHale SM, Paul IM, Savage JS. Learned Experience and Resource Dilution: Conceptualizing Sibling Influences on Parents' Feeding Practices. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18115739. [PMID: 34071852 PMCID: PMC8199493 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18115739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Studies from diverse cultures report mixed results in the relationship between birth order and risk for obesity. Explanations may thus lie in the postnatal period when growth is shaped by the family environment, including parental feeding practices, which may be affected by siblings. Consistent with a family systems perspective, we describe two processes that may explain birth order effects on parental feeding practices and child outcomes: learned experience and resource dilution. Parents learn from experience when earlier-born children influence their parents’ knowledge, expectations, and behavior toward later-born siblings through their behaviors and characteristics—which can have both positive and negative implications. Resource dilution is a process whereby the birth of each child limits the time, attention and other resources parents have to devote to any one of their children. The goal of this review is to provide a theoretical basis for examining potential sibling influences on parental responsive feeding toward developing recommendations for future research and practice aimed at preventing obesity throughout family systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara F. Ruggiero
- The Center for Childhood Obesity Research, Penn State University, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USA;
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Susan M. McHale
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Penn State University, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USA;
| | - Ian M. Paul
- Pediatrics and Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA;
| | - Jennifer S. Savage
- The Center for Childhood Obesity Research, Penn State University, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USA;
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Penn State University, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USA
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Robinson EL, StGeorge J, Freeman EE. A Systematic Review of Father-Child Play Interactions and the Impacts on Child Development. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 8:389. [PMID: 34068176 PMCID: PMC8153002 DOI: 10.3390/children8050389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Father-child play engagement has been linked to a variety of child developmental outcomes. However, the most prevalent types of play and child developmental outcomes utilised in research remains unclear. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on father-child play interactions and the association with child developmental outcomes for children aged 0-10 years. Database searches generated 1622 abstracts that matched the specified search criteria. Abstract screening and full-text review resulted in 39 included publications. The systematic review revealed that while some paternal play behaviours resulted in different impacts across play types, others reported similar impacts. The findings of this review have implications for potential interventions and parenting resources.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer StGeorge
- School of Health Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia;
| | - Emily Elsa Freeman
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia;
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Fernandes C, Santos AF, Fernandes M, Santos AJ, Bost K, Verissimo M. Caregivers' Perceived Emotional and Feeding Responsiveness toward Preschool Children: Associations and Paths of Influence. Nutrients 2021; 13:1334. [PMID: 33920602 PMCID: PMC8073367 DOI: 10.3390/nu13041334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Revised: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Although there is a large body of research connecting emotion to eating behaviors, little is known about the role of caregivers' responses to children's emotions in the context of child feeding. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation between caregivers' emotional responsiveness and feeding responsiveness. The mothers of 137 children between 2 and 6 years of age reported on their responses to children's negative emotions using the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale and on their feeding practices using the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire. The results showed that mothers' supportive emotion responses (e.g., problem-focused, emotion-focused, and expressive encouragement reactions) tend to be positively associated with responsive feeding practices (e.g., encouraging, modelling, and teaching healthy food-related behaviors). Instead, mothers' unsupportive responses (e.g., distress, punitive and minimization reactions) tend to be positively associated with nonresponsive feeding practices (e.g., food as reward or to regulate emotions, and pressure to eat) and negatively associated with responsive feeding practices. Our results suggest that emotional and feeding responsiveness may be intertwined and that differences in parent's emotional responsiveness may translate into differences in their feeding styles, setting the stage for parents' use of positive vs. negative feeding practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Fernandes
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal; (C.F.); (A.F.S.); (M.F.); (A.J.S.)
| | - Ana F. Santos
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal; (C.F.); (A.F.S.); (M.F.); (A.J.S.)
| | - Marilia Fernandes
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal; (C.F.); (A.F.S.); (M.F.); (A.J.S.)
| | - António J. Santos
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal; (C.F.); (A.F.S.); (M.F.); (A.J.S.)
| | - Kelly Bost
- Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL 61801, USA;
| | - Manuela Verissimo
- William James Center for Research, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal; (C.F.); (A.F.S.); (M.F.); (A.J.S.)
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69
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Murphy YE, Zhang X, Gatzke-Kopp L. The developmental cascade of early parenting, emergence of executive functioning, and emotional symptoms across childhood. Infant Ment Health J 2021; 42:331-345. [PMID: 33812347 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Many studies focus on proximal associations between parental sensitivity and emotional well-being in early childhood, with less data examining how parenting in infancy predicts children's emotional trajectories across childhood, in particular negative emotional symptoms of anxiety and depression. Thus, this study utilized data from The Family Life Project (N = 1015), a prospective study of child development in rural poverty, and assessed whether sensitive parenting in the first 4 years of life predicted child internalizing emotional symptoms (i.e., anxiety and depression) from kindergarten to fifth grade and whether early child executive functioning mediated this relationship. Path models indicated that observation of sensitive parenting predicted a decrease in teachers' report of child negative emotional symptoms over time and predicted fewer negative emotional symptoms in fifth grade. Moreover, though executive functioning performance did not mediate change in symptoms over time, executive functioning did mediate the relationship between sensitive parenting and fifth-grade symptoms, suggesting that executive functioning is one mechanism by which early sensitive parenting buffers long-term emotional development. Findings highlight the importance of early parenting and executive functioning in development of anxiety and depression symptoms and suggests potential targets for transdiagnostic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yolanda E Murphy
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Xutong Zhang
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Lisa Gatzke-Kopp
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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70
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Adeniyi YC, Asinobi A, Idowu OO, Adelaja AA, Lagunju IA. Early-onset developmental impairments among infants attending the routine immunization clinic at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Int Health 2021; 14:97-102. [PMID: 33822058 PMCID: PMC8769952 DOI: 10.1093/inthealth/ihab016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental disorders are frequently overlooked in the developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Early identification of developmental delays (DDs) is critical to optimal outcomes. This study set out to determine the proportion of children who are at risk of DDs among infants attending immunization clinics at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Infants 6 weeks to 12 months of age (median age 6 months) who presented for routine immunization were screened for DDs using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. A total of 587 infants [312 (53.2%) males] were enrolled. A total of 198 (33.7%) children showed signs of DDs. For the domains of communication skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, problem solving/cognition skills and personal/social skills, the prevalences of DDs were 7.5%, 15.0%, 10.7%, 14.1% and 14.8%, respectively, and 14.3% had global DDs. Factors that significantly predicted DDs included prematurity (odds ratio [OR] 2.64 [95% confidence interval {CI} 1.45 to 2.05]) and a history of perinatal asphyxia (OR 1.74 [95% CI 1.77 to 2.49]). There is a need to incorporate routine developmental screening into the Nigerian healthcare system for timely recognition of DDs and prompt interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y C Adeniyi
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.,Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - A Asinobi
- Department of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.,Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - O O Idowu
- Department of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - A A Adelaja
- Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - I A Lagunju
- Department of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.,Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
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71
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Ruggiero CF, Hohman EE, Birch LL, Paul IM, Savage JS. INSIGHT responsive parenting intervention effects on child appetite and maternal feeding practices through age 3 years. Appetite 2021; 159:105060. [PMID: 33276013 PMCID: PMC7812701 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2020.105060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Expert guidance encourages interventions promoting structure-based practices to establish predictable eating environments in order to foster children's self-regulatory skills. However, few studies have examined whether and how child characteristics may moderate effects of interventions on maternal feeding practices. This analysis aimed to examine the effect of the INSIGHT Responsive Parenting (RP) intervention delivered largely during infancy, on child appetitive traits at 2.5 years and maternal feeding practices at 3 years. Primiparous mother-newborn dyads were randomized to a RP intervention designed for obesity prevention or a safety control intervention. Mothers completed the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire at 2.5 years and the Structure and Control in Parent Feeding Questionnaire at 3 years. T-tests assessed study group differences on child appetitive traits at 2.5 years and maternal feeding practices at age 3. ANCOVA models assessed the effect of study group on parent feeding practices and tested appetitive traits as a moderator. Two hundred thirty-two mother-child dyads completed the trial. Mothers were predominantly white, non-Hispanic, college educated, and married. RP group mothers used more consistent meal routines, and less pressure, food to soothe, and food as reward compared to controls. Child satiety responsiveness moderated the RP intervention effect on maternal use of limiting exposure to unhealthy foods such that the RP intervention was most effective for children at higher levels of satiety responsiveness. Food responsiveness moderated RP intervention effects on maternal use of pressure, such that at lower levels of food responsiveness, control group mothers used more pressure than RP mothers. The INSIGHT RP intervention demonstrated sustained effects on maternal feeding practices through age 3 years, with some intervention effects showing moderation by child appetitive traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara F Ruggiero
- Center for Childhood Obesity Research, 129 Noll Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA; Nutritional Sciences, 110 C Chandlee Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Emily E Hohman
- Center for Childhood Obesity Research, 129 Noll Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Leann L Birch
- Foods and Nutrition, 280 Dawson Hall, 305 Sanford Dr., University of Georgia Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
| | - Ian M Paul
- Pediatrics and Public Health Sciences, 500 University Drive, Penn State College of Medicine Hershey, PA, 17033, USA.
| | - Jennifer S Savage
- Center for Childhood Obesity Research, 129 Noll Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA; Nutritional Sciences, 110 C Chandlee Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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72
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Chronic early trauma impairs emotion recognition and executive functions in youth; specifying biobehavioral precursors of risk and resilience. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 34:1339-1352. [PMID: 33779536 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to chronic early trauma carries lasting effects on children's well-being and adaptation. Guided by models on resilience, we assessed the interplay of biological, emotional, cognitive, and relational factors in shaping two regulatory outcomes in trauma-exposed youth: emotion recognition (ER) and executive functions (EF). A unique war-exposed cohort was followed from early childhood to early adolescence. At preadolescence (11-13 years), ER and EF were assessed and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), biomarker of parasympathetic regulation, was quantified. Mother-child dyadic reciprocity, child's avoidance symptoms, and cortisol (CT) were measured in early childhood. Trauma-exposed youth displayed impaired ER and EF abilities. Conditional process analysis described two differential indirect paths leading from early trauma to regulatory outcomes. ER was mediated by avoidance symptoms in early childhood and modulated by cortisol, such that this path was evident only for preadolescents with high, but not low, CT. In comparison, EF was mediated by the degree of dyadic reciprocity experienced in early childhood and modulated by RSA, observed only among youth with lower RSA. Findings pinpoint trauma-related disruptions to key regulatory support systems in preadolescence as mediated by early-childhood relational, clinical, and physiological factors and highlight the need to specify biobehavioral precursors of resilience toward targeted early interventions.
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73
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Kamza A, Putko A. Attachment security, verbal ability, and inhibitory control in middle childhood. BMC Psychol 2021; 9:24. [PMID: 33541429 PMCID: PMC7860199 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-021-00524-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The relationship between parent-child attachment and executive function (EF) in middle childhood remains relatively poorly studied. Very little is known about the role that the child's verbal ability might play in these relationships. Therefore, in the present study, we explored the concurrent links between perceived attachment security with parents and hot and cool inhibitory control (IC)-a core component of EF-as well as the potential mediating role of verbal ability in those links. METHODS The participants were 160 children aged 8 to 12 (51% girls). They completed the Attachment Security Scale, the computerised version of the go/no-go task, the delay discounting task, and the vocabulary subtest from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Pearson's correlations were conducted to test relationships between the study variables. A hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was performed to examine whether attachment security uniquely contributed to the outcomes after accounting for covariates. The indirect effects were tested using a non-parametric resampling bootstrap approach. RESULTS The results showed that, after accounting for the child's age and sex, there was a direct relationship between attachment security with the father and cool, but not hot, IC. However, there were no significant links between attachment security with the mother and both aspects of IC. We also found that children's verbal ability played a mediating role in the associations between both child-father and child-mother attachment security and hot, but not cool, IC above and beyond the child's age. CONCLUSIONS The current study extends previous work on executive functions in middle childhood. The results highlight the role of attachment in explaining individual differences in IC in middle childhood as well as the different mechanisms through which attachment with parents might explain cool vs. hot IC. The findings have potential implications for therapeutic interventions using the family context as a target to improve IC in middle childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Kamza
- Institute of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Chodakowska 19/31, 03-815, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Adam Putko
- Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poznań, Poland
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74
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Caregiving adversity during infancy and preschool cognitive function: adaptations to context? J Dev Orig Health Dis 2021; 12:890-901. [PMID: 33436135 DOI: 10.1017/s2040174420001348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
From a conditional adaptation vantage point, early life caregiving adversity likely enhances aspects of cognition needed to manage interpersonal threats. Yet, research examining early life care and offspring cognition predominantly relies upon experiments including affectively neutral stimuli, with findings generally interpreted as "early-life caregiving adversity is, de facto, 'bad' for cognitive performance." Here, in a Southeast Asian sample, we examined observed maternal sensitivity in infancy and cognitive performance 3 years later as preschoolers took part in three tasks, each involving both a socioemotional (SE) and non-socioemotional (NSE) version: relational memory (n = 236), cognitive flexibility (n = 203), and inhibitory control (n = 255). Results indicate the relation between early life caregiving adversity and memory performance significantly differs (Wald test = 7.67, (1), P = 0.006) depending on the SE versus NSE context, with maternal sensitivity in infancy highly predictive of worse memory for SE stimuli, and amongst girls, also predictive of better memory when NSE stimuli are used. Results concerning inhibitory control, as well as cognitive flexibility in girls, also tentatively suggest the importance of considering the SE nature of stimuli when assessing relations between the caregiving environment and cognitive performance. As not all approaches to missing data yielded similar results, implications for statistical approaches are elaborated. We conclude by considering how an adaptation-to-context framework approach may aid in designing pedagogical strategies and well-being interventions that harness pre-existing cognitive strengths.
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75
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Development of Preschool Children's Executive Functions throughout a Play-Based Learning Approach That Embeds Science Concepts. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18020588. [PMID: 33445700 PMCID: PMC7828157 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18020588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 01/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This study focuses on the development of executive functions in preschool children during a series of science activities. A longitudinal play-based learning intervention was designed and implemented following the design of an educational experiment. Data were collected through visual ethnography in hot situations with adult supervision. Results show how entwined the concepts of inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility are within young children’s development. The development of cognitive flexibility or attention shifting readily occurred when there were fictive characters (such as the king and his royal family), but changing perspective toward a nonfictive environment (i.e., taking other children’s perspectives) was a more difficult and time-consuming process. This process began in an individual perspective and expanded to acknowledging others’ perspectives, then moved toward creating common perspectives or alternative narratives. Results show that science activities can be a bridge for preschool children to transfer their use of executive functions, from fairytales and games toward everyday tasks.
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76
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Metaferia BK, Futo J, Takacs ZK. Parents' Views on Play and the Goal of Early Childhood Education in Relation to Children's Home Activity and Executive Functions: A Cross-Cultural Investigation. Front Psychol 2021; 12:646074. [PMID: 33981273 PMCID: PMC8108989 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated the cross-cultural variations in parents' views on the role of play in child development and the primary purpose of preschool education from Ethiopia and Hungary. It also examined the cross-cultural variations in preschoolers' executive functions (EF), the frequency of their engagement in home activities, and the role of these activities in the development of EF skills. Participants included 266 preschoolers (Ethiopia: 139 of which 44.6% boys; M age = 63.83 months; SD = 7.68 months; Hungary: 127 of which 48% boys; M age = 62.06 months; SD = 9.37 months) with their parents (Ethiopia: 45.32% male; Mage = 36.66 years; SD = 7.14 years; Hungary: 13.18% male; M age = 37.71 years; SD = 5.97 years). The independent samples t-test showed that Ethiopian parents view fostering academic skills for preschooler significantly more important than their Hungarian counterparts do. We also found that while Ethiopian parents hold the belief that academic and cognitive development is the major purpose of preschool education, Hungarian prioritize social-emotional development and entertainment. Additionally, preschoolers in Ethiopia were reported to engage in academic and arts and crafts activities after preschool significantly more frequently than their Hungarian counterparts. On the contrary, preschoolers in Hungary were found to engage in fine-motor activities, solitary play, sports and other physical activities significantly more frequently than their Ethiopian counterparts. No significant differences were found in EF skills between preschoolers from Ethiopia and Hungary. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that, after accounting for age and SES, preschoolers' frequency of pretend play and their parents' play support beliefs were found to be small to medium-sized predictors of inhibitory control skills in both samples. However, children's frequency of having breakfast at home was another significant predictor in the Ethiopian sample only. The frequency of participation in arts and crafts and other fine-motor activities were found to be important predictors of preschoolers' visual-spatial working memory skills in the Ethiopian and the Hungarian samples, respectively. We also found that, after controlling for SES, parental play support was an important factor associated with preschoolers' shifting skills only in the Hungarian sample. Based on the findings, we made important conclusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biruk K. Metaferia
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Neuropsychology and Child Development Research Group, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- *Correspondence: Biruk K. Metaferia
| | - Judit Futo
- Neuropsychology and Child Development Research Group, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsofia K. Takacs
- Institute of Education, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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77
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Causal Effect of Parents’ Play Participation Level and Play Participation Attitude on Preschooler’s Executive Function. ADONGHAKOEJI 2020. [DOI: 10.5723/kjcs.2020.41.6.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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78
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Vogel SC, Perry RE, Brandes-Aitken A, Braren S, Blair C. Deprivation and threat as developmental mediators in the relation between early life socioeconomic status and executive functioning outcomes in early childhood. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2020; 47:100907. [PMID: 33383555 PMCID: PMC7777490 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2020] [Revised: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
There has been a shift in the study of childhood adversity towards a focus on dimensions of adversity as opposed to a focus on cumulative risk or specific adversities. The Dimensional Model of Adversity and Psychopathology (DMAP) proposes deprivation and threat as core dimensions of childhood adversity. Previous work using DMAP has found links between deprivation and cognitive development and threat and emotional development in adolescence, but few studies have applied this framework to a poverty context, in which children are at heightened risk for adversity experiences, and none have examined outcomes in early childhood. We use data from the Family Life Project (n = 1292) to examine deprivation and threat at child age 24 months as developmental mediators in the association between socioeconomic status (SES) measured at 15 months and executive functions (EF) measured at 48 months. In a multiple mediation model, lower SES was related to higher deprivation and threat. Deprivation was negatively associated with EF, and threat was not associated with EF. Deprivation fully mediated association between SES and EF. These results expand previous work using the DMAP and point to new directions in understanding children’s cognitive adaptations to adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Vogel
- New York University, Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene St, New York, NY, 10003, United States.
| | - Rosemarie E Perry
- New York University, Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene St, New York, NY, 10003, United States
| | - Annie Brandes-Aitken
- New York University, Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene St, New York, NY, 10003, United States
| | - Stephen Braren
- New York University, Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene St, New York, NY, 10003, United States
| | - Clancy Blair
- New York University, Department of Applied Psychology, 246 Greene St, New York, NY, 10003, United States; New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Department of Population Health
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79
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DePasquale CE, Tyrell FA, Kalstabakken AW, Labella MH, Thibodeau EL, Masten AS, Barnes AJ. Lifetime stressors, hair cortisol, and executive function: Age-related associations in childhood. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 63:1043-1052. [PMID: 33350468 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Extant research is mixed regarding the relations among lifetime exposure to stressors, adrenocortical activity, and executive function (EF), particularly in children. Aggregate measures of adrenocortical activity like hair cortisol concentration (HCC), timing of stress exposure, and age at assessment may clarify these associations. This cross-sectional study examined the association among parent-reported exposure to stressors, hair cortisol concentration (HCC), and children's EF via a tablet task in a community sample (n = 318, 52.5% female) of children across a wide age range (4-13 years, M = 9.4, SD = 2.3). Path analyses revealed that parent-reported child lifetime exposure to stressors, but not past-year stressful life events, negatively predicted HCC. There was also a marginally significant moderation by age such that HCC was associated negatively with EF for younger children (age < 9.7 years) but not older children. HCC did not significantly mediate the association between lifetime exposure to stressors and EF. Findings are consistent with the proposition that chronically high cortisol production has a neurotoxic effect on brain regions supporting EF. However, lifetime exposure to stressors predicted relatively lower cumulative cortisol production, consistent with a stress inoculation effect in this normative-risk sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie E DePasquale
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Fanita A Tyrell
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland - College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Amanda W Kalstabakken
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Madelyn H Labella
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Eric L Thibodeau
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ann S Masten
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Andrew J Barnes
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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80
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Suttora C, Salerni N, Selvagno E, Porro M, Gangi S, Squarza C, Gardon L, Picciolini O. Mind-mindedness and parenting stress in mothers of preterm and full-term infants: The moderating role of perceived social support. Infant Ment Health J 2020; 42:35-46. [PMID: 32965688 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The goal of this study was to examine the effects of preterm birth and maternal childbirth-related posttraumatic stress and parenting stress on maternal mind-mindedness (MM). The study also investigated the effects of perceived social support on parenting stress and MM. Sixty-five preterm (N = 32) and full-term (N = 33) mother-infant dyads were observed at 6 months. Measures of maternal MM were obtained from observations of mother-infant interaction. Mothers also provided ratings of their posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, parenting stress, and perceived social support via an online survey. Experiencing a preterm birth did not affect mothers' use of mental state descriptors during mother-infant interaction. Neither childbirth-related posttraumatic stress nor parenting stress directly affected maternal ability to comment on the child's mental states appropriately. However, at medium and high levels of perceived social support, a negative association between parenting stress and MM was observed. Maternal perception of being emotionally supported by significant others promoted MM in mothers showing low or mild levels of parenting stress, but not in mothers experiencing high stress in parenting their infants. Results suggest that a proclivity to MM might be affected by the interaction between parenting stress and social support, rather than by childbirth-related variables, such as prematurity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Suttora
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Salerni
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Elena Selvagno
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Matteo Porro
- Servizio di Follow-up del neonato a rischio evolutivo, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy.,UO Medicina Fisica e Riabilitativa Pediatrica, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy
| | - Silvana Gangi
- Servizio di Follow-up del neonato a rischio evolutivo, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy.,UO di Neonatologia e Terapia Intensiva neonatale, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy
| | - Chiara Squarza
- Servizio di Follow-up del neonato a rischio evolutivo, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy
| | - Laura Gardon
- Servizio di Follow-up del neonato a rischio evolutivo, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy
| | - Odoardo Picciolini
- Servizio di Follow-up del neonato a rischio evolutivo, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy.,UO Medicina Fisica e Riabilitativa Pediatrica, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano, Italy
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81
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Brenning K, Robichaud JM, Flamant N, Vansteenkiste M, Coorevits N, De Clercq B, Soenens B. The role of maternal emotion regulation in controlling parenting during toddlerhood: an observational study. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-020-09857-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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82
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Zimmermann L, Frank HE, Subiaul F, Barr R. Applying computational modeling to assess age-, sex-, and strategy-related differences in Spin the Pots, a working memory task for 2- to 4-year-olds. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 63:42-53. [PMID: 32729131 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Revised: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Working memory (WM) develops rapidly during early childhood. In the present study, visual WM (VSM) was measured using the well-established Spin the Pots task (Hughes & Ensor, 2005), a complex non-verbal eight-location object occlusion task. A self-ordered hiding procedure was adopted to allow for an examination of children's strategy use during a VWM task. Participants (N = 640) between the ages of 2 and 4 years were tested under semi-naturalistic conditions, in the home or in a museum. Computational modeling was used to estimate an expected value for the total trials to complete Spin the Pots via a random search and child performance was compared to expected values. Based on this approach, we determined that children who found six stickers retrieved them in significantly fewer trials than the expected value, excluding chance performance and implicating VWM. Results also showed age-related and sex-related changes in VWM. Between 2 and 4 years of age, 4-year-olds performed significantly better than younger children and girls out-performed the boys. Spontaneous use of a color matching hiding strategy was associated with a higher success rate on the task. Implications of these findings for early development of VWM are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Zimmermann
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Hannah E Frank
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Francys Subiaul
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.,Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.,Institute for Neuroscience and Mind-Brain Institute, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Rachel Barr
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
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83
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Metaferia BK, Futo J, Drew R, Takacs ZK. Parents' Beliefs About Play and the Purpose of Preschool Education, Preschoolers' Home Activity and Executive Functions. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1104. [PMID: 32670139 PMCID: PMC7326145 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend previous findings that depict a link between preschoolers' home experience and EFs. It also examined Hungarian parents' views about the purpose of preschool education and its relationship with their play beliefs. A total of 87 Hungarian preschoolers participated in neuropsychological testing of executive functioning (44 boys, 42 girls, one not reported; mean age = 62.37 months; SD = 8.33 months; age range = 47-80 months) and their parents (8male and 79 females; mean age = 37.73 years; SD = 5.64 years; age range = 22-63 years) filled in questionnaires. The finding from hierarchical regression analyses depicted that the frequency of pretend play the preschoolers engage in and parental play support beliefs were small to medium-sized predictors of children's inhibitory control, after accounting for age and SES. Children's frequency of participation in fine motor activities at home was a small but significant predictor of their visual-spatial working memory, after controlling for age and SES. Furthermore, results indicated that parents hold the belief that the development of social-emotional competence and children enjoying themselves instead of academic skills is the primary purpose of preschool education. To sum up, parental play support and preschoolers' activities at home are important predictors for children's EF skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biruk K. Metaferia
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Judit Futo
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Raechel Drew
- Centre for Infant Cognition, Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Zsofia K. Takacs
- Institute of Education, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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84
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Hughes C, Devine RT, Mesman J, Blair C. Understanding the terrible twos: A longitudinal investigation of the impact of early executive function and parent-child interactions. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12979. [PMID: 32353921 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Impairments in both executive function and parent-child interactions are associated with child externalizing behavior, but few studies have tested the uniqueness of these associations in the first years of life. Addressing these gaps, the current study involved an international sample (N = 438; 218 boys) who, at 14 and 24 months, completed an innovative battery of executive function tasks and were filmed at home in dyadic interaction with their mothers, enabling detailed observational ratings of maternal support. In addition, parents rated infant temperament at 4 months and externalizing behavior at 14 and 24 months. Cross-lagged longitudinal analysis showed a unidirectional developmental association between executive function at 14 months and externalizing behavior at 24 months. In addition, infant negative affect moderated the inverse association between maternal support at 14 months and externalizing behavior at 24 months. The benefits of maternal support were only evident for children with low levels of negative affect in infancy. We discuss this finding in relation to theoretical models that highlight child effects (e.g. models of vantage sensitivity).
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85
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Beatty C, Egan SM. The Role of Screen Time and Screen Activity in the Nonverbal Reasoning of 5-Year-Olds: Cross-Sectional Findings from a Large Birth Cohort Study. CYBERPSYCHOLOGY BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING 2020; 23:406-411. [PMID: 32357089 DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2019.0420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Family and home environment factors have been outlined in previous literature as important variables that affect early reasoning development. However, little research has focused on the association between screen use in the home environment and nonverbal reasoning ability. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to examine the role of both screen time and various screen activities (e.g., television, video, or educational games) in nonverbal reasoning ability in 9,001 5-year-old children using a large birth cohort study (Growing Up in Ireland). Interviews conducted with parents related to the children's screen use and various family factors, while reasoning ability was measured using a standardized task (Picture Similarities Task, British Ability Scales II). A hierarchical multiple regression examined the role of screen use in nonverbal reasoning, while also statistically controlling for family factors such as parental education and employment status. Screen use variables made a significant contribution to the regression model, even after family factors were accounted for, although the effect sizes were very small. Playing educational games, video games, or engaging in over three hours screen use per day were all significant predictors of nonverbal reasoning scores in the final adjusted model. The results of this study suggest that screen use may play a small role in the development of nonverbal reasoning in young children. The findings highlight the need for further studies in this area and may have implications for current debates in screen time research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloé Beatty
- Department of Psychology, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Suzanne M Egan
- Department of Psychology, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
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86
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Vrantsidis DM, Clark CAC, Chevalier N, Espy KA, Wiebe SA. Socioeconomic status and executive function in early childhood: Exploring proximal mechanisms. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12917. [PMID: 31680392 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2018] [Revised: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Although there is substantial evidence that socioeconomic status (SES) predicts children's executive function (EF), the mechanisms underlying this association are poorly understood. This study tested the utility of two theories proposed to link SES to children's EF: the family stress model and the family investment model. Data came from the Midwestern Infant Development Study (N = 151). To measure SES, parental education and income were assessed during pregnancy, and income was also assessed when children were 6 and 36 months old. Children's EF, operationalized as working memory/inhibitory control (WMIC) and self-control, was assessed at 36 months of age, along with potential mediators including maternal psychological distress, harsh parenting, and cognitive stimulation. Using structural equation modeling, we tested simultaneous pathways from SES to EF: (a) via maternal psychological distress to harsh parenting (family stress model) and (b) via cognitive stimulation (family investment model). Of the SES measures, lower education predicted poorer WMIC directly and indirectly via greater maternal psychological distress. Lower education also predicted poorer self-control via greater maternal psychological distress. This effect was partially suppressed by an indirect path from lower education to better self-control via greater psychological distress and increased harsh parenting. Cognitive stimulation did not act as a mediator. Income was not directly or indirectly associated with EF. These findings provide partial support for the family stress model and suggest that family functioning is an important proximal mechanism for children's EF development. This study also highlights the importance of considering SES as a multidimensional construct.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Caron A C Clark
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | | | | | - Sandra A Wiebe
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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87
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Abstract
Research on executive function in early childhood has flourished in recent years. Much of this work is premised on a view of development of executive function as the emergence of a set of domain-general component processes (e.g., working memory updating, inhibitory control, shifting). This view has shaped how we think about relations between executive function and other aspects of development, the role of the environment in executive-function development, and how best to improve executive function in children who struggle with it. However, there are conceptual and empirical reasons to doubt that executive function should be defined in this way. I argue that the development of executive function is better understood as the emergence of skills in using control in the service of specific goals. Such goals activate and are influenced by mental content such as knowledge, beliefs, norms, values, and preferences that are acquired with development and are important to consider in understanding children’s performance on measures of executive function. This account better explains empirical findings than the component-process view; leads to specific, testable hypotheses; and has implications for theory, measurement, and interventions.
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88
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Metaferia BK, Takacs ZK, Futo J. The Relationship Between Parental Play Beliefs, Preschoolers' Home Experience, and Executive Functions: An Exploratory Study in Ethiopia. Front Psychol 2020; 11:624. [PMID: 32373015 PMCID: PMC7185235 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although research has highlighted the importance of home experience and especially of play in early brain development, the value of this factor for executive function (EF) development has not received the attention it deserves. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the link between parental play beliefs and preschoolers' play frequency at home on the one hand and their EF skills on the other. Additionally, other types of home activities were also assessed. A total of 102 preschoolers (45 girls; mean age = 62.08 months; SD = 7.66 months; range, 50-74 months) with their parents (mean age = 35.21 years; SD = 6.96 years) representing low to middle socioeconomic status (SES) families in Ethiopia participated in the study. Results revealed that children's home activities (frequency of breakfast at home, spending mealtime together with family, participation in peer play, participation in pretend play, and participation in arts and crafts) and parental play support were significantly positively correlated with their performance on EF tasks. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for age and SES showed that parental play support and frequency of breakfast at home were medium-sized predictors (β = 0.36, p < 0.001 and β = 0.31, p = 0.001, respectively) explaining a significant level of variance in inhibitory control, while participation in arts and crafts at home was a significant predictor (β = 0.22, p = 0.03) of children's performance on a visual-spatial working memory (VSWM) task. In conclusion, parental play support and preschoolers' home activities are important factors linked with EF development in early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biruk K. Metaferia
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zsofia K. Takacs
- Institute of Education, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Judit Futo
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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89
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Boldt LJ, Goffin KC, Kochanska G. The significance of early parent-child attachment for emerging regulation: A longitudinal investigation of processes and mechanisms from toddler age to preadolescence. Dev Psychol 2020; 56:431-443. [PMID: 32077715 PMCID: PMC7041853 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Eisenberg, Cumberland, and Spinrad (1998; Eisenberg, Spinrad, & Cumberland, 1998) included parent-child attachment as a key dimension of the early emotion socialization environment. We examined processes linking children's early attachment with social regulation and adjustment in preadolescence in 102 community mothers, fathers, and children. Security of attachment, assessed at 2 years, using observers' Attachment Q-Set (Waters, 1987), was posited as a significant, although indirect, predictor of children's adaptive social regulation at 10 and 12 years. We proposed that security initiated paths to future social regulation by promoting children's capacities for emotion regulation in response to frustration at 3, 4.5, and 5.5 years: having to suppress a desired behavior, observed in delay tasks, to regulate anger, observed in parent-child control contexts, and a traitlike tendency to regulate anger when frustrated, rated by parents. We conceptualized adaptive social regulation at 10 and 12 years as encompassing regulation of negative emotional tone, observed in diverse parent-child interactions, parent-rated regulation of negativity in broad social interactions, and child-reported internalization of adults' values and standards of conduct. Multiple-mediation analyses documented two paths parallel for mother- and father-child relationships: From security to emotion regulation in delay tasks to internalization of adults' values, and from security to parent-rated traitlike regulation of anger to parent-rated regulation of negativity in broad social interactions. Two additional paths were present for mothers and children only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea J Boldt
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa
| | - Kathryn C Goffin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa
| | - Grazyna Kochanska
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa
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90
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Abstract
Executive function (EF) skills are neurocognitive skills that support the reflective, top-down coordination and control of other brain functions, and there is neural and behavioral evidence for a continuum from more "cool" EF skills activated in emotionally neutral contexts to more "hot" EF skills needed for the reversal of motivationally significant tendencies. Difficulties in EF are transdiagnostic indicators of atypical development. A neurodevelopmental model traces the pathway from adverse childhood experiences and stress to disruption of the development of neural systems supporting reflection and EF skills to an increased risk for general features of psychopathology. Research indicates that EF skills can be cultivated through scaffolded training and are a promising target for therapeutic and preventive intervention. Intervention efficacy can be enhanced by mitigating disruptive bottom-up influences such as stress, training both hot and cool EF skills, and adding a reflective, metacognitive component to promote far transfer of trained skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip David Zelazo
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0345, USA;
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91
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Granqvist P. Attachment, culture, and gene-culture co-evolution: expanding the evolutionary toolbox of attachment theory. Attach Hum Dev 2020; 23:90-113. [PMID: 31894723 DOI: 10.1080/14616734.2019.1709086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
I argue that attachment relationships, and particularly secure ones, are important contexts for social learning and cultural transmission. Bowlby originally treated the attachment-behavioral system as serving only one evolutionary function: protection, via physical proximity. Yet the time is ripe to consider learning, especially social learning, as an additional functional consequence of attachment. Updated accordingly, attachment theory has the potential to serve as a much-needed developmental anchor for models of cultural evolution and gene-culture co-evolution. To support my arguments, I review progress in evolutionary science since Bowlby's lifetime, highlighting the growing recognition of ecological flexibility and the cultural embeddedness of animal behavior. I also review research pointing to a facilitating role of secure attachment relationships for social learning from caregivers among humans. For illustrational purposes, I show how one important aspect of human culture - religion - is culturally transmitted within attachment relationships, and of how the generalization of attachment-related working models biases the cultural transmission of religion from parents to offspring. I end the paper with a call for empirical research to test the role of attachment in cultural transmission beyond religion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pehr Granqvist
- Department of Psychology, Stockholm University , Stockholm, Sweden
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92
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Harwood-Gross A, Lambez B, Feldman R, Rassovsky Y. Perception of Caregiving During Childhood is Related to Later Executive Functions and Antisocial Behavior in At-Risk Boys. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:37. [PMID: 32116852 PMCID: PMC7016333 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Executive functions are considered essential for effective navigation in the social world. Parental responsiveness is a critical ingredient for normative social development and, as such, may be connected with the development of executive functions. Disruption of this development may, in turn, lead to maladaptive and antisocial behaviors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nature of the connections among perceived patterns of caregiving experienced in childhood, executive functions, and antisocial behaviors in at-risk adolescents. Seventy-one adolescent boys were recruited from two high-schools for adolescents who were not deemed suitable for regular schooling due to behavioral and emotional issues. Executive functions were tested using a computer-administered neuropsychological battery (CANTAB), and maternal parenting experiences and antisocial behaviors were assessed using retrospective and current questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed to examine whether executive functions mediated the relationship between children's perceived patterns of maternal care and subsequent development of antisocial behaviors. Although maternal care had a significant direct effect on executive function (standardized coefficient = .49, p = .03) and antisocial behavior (standardized coefficient = .53, p = .05), SEM demonstrated no mediating relationships among these variables. Instead, maternal care predicted unique variance in both executive functions (standardized coefficient = .61, p = .02) and antisocial behavior (standardized coefficient = .51, p = .05). This study suggests a link between the experience of childhood caregiving and adolescent executive functions and delinquency and highlights the importance of early parenting interventions to aid executive function development. Such early interventions could potentially enhance long-term pro-social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bar Lambez
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Center for Developmental, Social, and Relationship Neuroscience, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Yuri Rassovsky
- Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.,Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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93
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Helm AF, McCormick SA, Deater-Deckard K, Smith CL, Calkins SD, Bell MA. Parenting and Children's Executive Function Stability Across the Transition to School. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2019; 29. [PMID: 32617081 DOI: 10.1002/icd.2171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
When children transition to school between the ages of 4 and 6 years, they must learn to control their attention and behavior to be successful. Concurrently, executive function (EF) is an important skill undergoing significant development in childhood. To understand changes occurring during this period, we examined the role of parenting in the development of children's EF from 4 to 6 years old. Participants were mother and child dyads (N = 151). Children completed cognitive tasks to assess overall EF at age 4 and age 6. At both time points, mothers and children completed interaction tasks which were videotaped and coded to assess various parenting dimensions. Results indicated that children with high EF at age 4 were more likely to have high EF at age 6. In addition, results suggested that higher levels of positive parenting across the transition to school promote stability of individual differences in EF.
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94
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Doebel S, Michaelson LE, Munakata Y. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait: Delaying Gratification Likely Does Matter for Later Achievement (A Commentary on Watts, Duncan, & Quan, 2018). Psychol Sci 2019; 31:97-99. [PMID: 31850827 PMCID: PMC10152116 DOI: 10.1177/0956797619839045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yuko Munakata
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis
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95
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Khoury JE, Milligan K. Comparing Executive Functioning in Children and Adolescents With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and ADHD: A Meta-Analysis. J Atten Disord 2019; 23:1801-1815. [PMID: 26729621 DOI: 10.1177/1087054715622016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Objective: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are associated with a range of neurocognitive impairments. Executive functioning deficits are a hallmark feature of both disorders. Method: The present meta-analysis was undertaken to disentangle the behavioral phenotype of FASD and ADHD by quantitatively differentiating executive functioning differences between these two groups. The current meta-analysis reviews 15 studies comparing children and adolescents with FASD and ADHD to typically developing (TD) samples, on a variety of executive function measures. Results: Results indicate that when compared with TD samples, FASD and ADHD samples demonstrate significant executive function deficits (d = 0.82 and d = 0.55, respectively). In addition, FASD samples experience significantly greater deficits when compared with ADHD samples (d = 0.25). Results were moderated by IQ and socioeconomic status. Conclusion: These findings further our understanding of the cognitive differences between FASD and ADHD samples and have the potential to influence future basic research, assessment, and intervention.
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96
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Sadeghi S, Pouretemad HR, Khosrowabadi R, Fathabadi J, Nikbakht S. Effects of parent-child interaction training on children who are excessively exposed to digital devices: A pilot study. Int J Psychiatry Med 2019; 54:408-423. [PMID: 31033367 DOI: 10.1177/0091217419837070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
ObjectiveIn the last decade, the use of digital devices among children has increased. This study examines the effects of parent–child interaction training on the amount of time children use digital devices, conflict and closeness in parent–child relationships, executive functions, and the electroencephalogram absolute power in children who excessively use the digital devices.MethodThe sample group consisted of 12 children (24 to 47 months) who spent more than half of their waking hours using digital devices. Parents were trained to intensive interaction with the child for two months. Electroencephalogram absolute power, parent–child interaction, the amount of time children use digital devices, and children’s executive function skills were assessed.ResultsParent–child intensive interaction reduces the use of digital devices; decrease the conflicts and increase the closeness in parent–child relationships; decrease executive functioning problems; and increase the absolute power of alpha and alpha 2 (F3), beta 1 (F3), and beta and beta 2 (F3, Fp2).ConclusionThese findings provide evidence of the negative effects of the excessive use of digital devices in children, the importance of parent–child interaction, and its positive impacts on cognitive and brain functions in children. It might contribute to better understand the importance of parent–child interaction in the early years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saeid Sadeghi
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamid Reza Pouretemad
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.,Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Reza Khosrowabadi
- Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jalil Fathabadi
- Department of Educational and Developmental Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sedighe Nikbakht
- Department of Pediatric Neurology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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97
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Multisensory stimuli enhance 3-year-old children's executive function: A three-dimensional object version of the standard Dimensional Change Card Sort. J Exp Child Psychol 2019; 189:104694. [PMID: 31574323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A three-dimensional object version of the standard Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) was developed to examine the influence of multisensory stimuli on 3-year-old children's executive function. Whereas the developmental phenomenon marking 3-year-olds' difficulties with rule use in the standard DCCS can be attributed to several cognitive factors, we examined the possibility that better encoding of object features could facilitate children's rule-switching behavior. We examined whether 3-year-olds might be able to capitalize on cues available to multiple senses to create a more robust representation of object features that would enable them to overcome previous difficulties with rule switching in the standard DCCS. Participants were randomly assigned to the standard two-dimensional DCCS or the three-dimensional object version that was designed to match the rabbit and boat images used in the card version. The 3-year-olds who completed the object version outperformed those who completed the standard card version, succeeding in switching rules more accurately when provided with visual, auditory-verbal labeling, and tactile information of object features. Notably, more children achieved perfect accuracy and fewer children achieved floor-level performance in the object version than in the card version. We attribute 3-year-olds' success in the object version to greater cognitive control made possible by the enhanced encoding of the stimulus properties through multisensory input and enhanced cognitive processing of ecologically valid three-dimensional objects.
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98
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Traverso L, Viterbori P, Usai MC. Effectiveness of an Executive Function Training in Italian Preschool Educational Services and Far Transfer Effects to Pre-academic Skills. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2053. [PMID: 31551885 PMCID: PMC6748352 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study we examine the effectiveness and far transfer effects of a training that was found to be effective in promoting Executive Function (EF) in a sample of 5-year-old children (Traverso et al., 2015). By contrast with Traverso et al. (2015), the intervention was administered by regular teachers to verify its ecological validity. Far transfer was assessed by evaluating the training effects on pre-academic skills. 126 children attending the last year of Italian preschool educational services took part in the study (mainly 5-year-old children). Pre- and post-test assessments were conducted using a large EF and pre-academic skill task battery. The results indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group in an interference suppression composite score. Moreover, significant far transfer effects to pre-academic skills in literacy domain were found. In addition, we found that the improvement in the pre academic skills (in both literacy and math domains) was mediated by the improvement in the interference suppression score. The results suggest the possibility that this intervention, which may be easily implemented in the context of educational services, can promote EF during the preschool period before entry to primary school.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Traverso
- Department of Education Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
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99
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Black MM, Yimgang DP, Hurley KM, Harding KB, Fernandez-Rao S, Balakrishna N, Radhakrishna KV, Reinhart GA, Nair KM. Mechanisms linking height to early child development among infants and preschoolers in rural India. Dev Sci 2019; 22:e12806. [PMID: 30715779 PMCID: PMC7428854 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Revised: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Stunting has been negatively associated with children's development. We examined the range of height by testing hypotheses: (a) height is positively associated with children's development, with associations moderated by inflammation and (b) home environments characterized by nurturance and early learning opportunities is positively associated with children's development over time and attenuate associations with height. Data included 513 infants (mean age 8.6 months) and 316 preschoolers (mean age 36.6 months) in rural India from a randomized controlled trial of multiple micronutrient powders (MNPs). Measures included height (height-for-age z-scores based on WHO standards), inflammation (C-reactive protein concentration >5 mg/L), nurturance (HOME Inventory), child development (Mullens Scales of Early Learning), and inhibitory control (preschoolers). Linear mixed effects models accounting for repeated measures, clustering, and confounders were used to assess associations between height and child development over time (infants: enrollment, 6 and 12 months; preschoolers: enrollment and 8 months). Moderating effects of inflammation and nurturance were tested with interaction terms. Among infants and preschoolers, height and nurturance were positively associated with all domains of child development over time, with the exception of inhibitory control. Among preschoolers, in the presence of inflammation, height was not associated with child development. Among infants, but not preschoolers, a nurturant home environment attenuated significant associations between height with fine motor and receptive language development. The mechanisms associated with children's development over time are multifactorial and include direct and indirect associations among nutrition, health, and the home environment, as supported by the Nurturing Care Framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen M Black
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
- RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
| | - Doris P Yimgang
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Kristen M Hurley
- Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
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100
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Hill TY, Palacios N. Older sibling contribution to younger children's working memory and cognitive flexibility. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Yasmeen Hill
- Curry School of Education and Human Development University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia
| | - Natalia Palacios
- Curry School of Education and Human Development University of Virginia Charlottesville Virginia
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