Parenting and self-regulation in preschoolers: a meta-analysis

From financial hardship to child difficulties: main and moderating effects of perceived social support

BACKGROUND

There is an unequivocal relationship between socio-economic status and child well-being. The Family Stress Model of economic hardship proposes that this relationship is mediated by financial hardship, parenting stress and parenting behaviours. In this study, the Family Stress Model is tested and analysis is extended to examine main and moderating effects of social support.

METHODS

A survey incorporating well-validated measures of financial hardship, parenting stress, parenting behaviours and child difficulties was sent to 1296 parents who had utilized universal family support services in Alberta, Canada. A total of 923 parents (71%) responded. Hierarchical linear regression was employed to investigate the mediating roles of financial hardship, parenting stress and parenting behaviours, and to investigate main and moderating influences of parental social support.

RESULTS

The study findings generally support the Family Stress Model. The relationship between socio-economic status and child difficulties was mediated by financial hardship and parenting stress. Higher levels of parental social support were associated with lower levels of parenting stress, ineffective parenting and child difficulties. Parental social support was important irrespective of parenting stress levels.

CONCLUSIONS

The study findings add to the now critical mass of data showing that parent-child health and well-being is inextricably linked with parental social support. While there is a burgeoning literature on parent training, far less research attention has been given to the development and evaluation of strategies to strengthen parents' social relationships. This is an important direction for future research.

If-Then Planning Helps School-Aged Children to Ignore Attractive Distractions

Can children improve shielding an ongoing task from distractions by if-then planning (i.e., by forming implementation intentions)? In an experimental study, the situational and personal limits of action control by distraction-inhibiting implementation intentions (“If a distraction comes up, then I will ignore it!”) were tested by comparing them to simple goal intentions (“I will ignore distractions!”). Goal intentions were sufficient to successfully ignore distractions of low attractiveness. In the presence of moderately and highly attractive distractions, as well as a distraction presented out of the children’s sight, however, only implementation intentions improved children’s task shielding, as indicated by faster response times in an ongoing categorization task and shorter periods of looking at highly attractive distractions presented out of their field of vision. These findings held true regardless of the children’s temperament and language competency. Implications for research on planning and developmental research on self-control are discussed.

Social origins of executive function development

The chapters in this issue revisit the social origins of the development of executive function (EF) through both empirical examination of the contexts in which EF development occurs (in vivo), as well as its social antecedents and consequences. Importantly, they also point to new directions in studying the social foundations of neurodevelopment, novel methods that take the social context into account, and cultural influences on EF development.

Predictors of Longitudinal Growth in Inhibitory Control in Early Childhood

In the current study, we examined latent growth in 731 young children's inhibitory control from ages 2 to 4, and whether demographic characteristics or parenting behaviors were related to initial levels and growth in inhibitory control. As part of an ongoing longitudinal evaluation of the Family Check-Up (FCU), children's inhibitory control was assessed yearly at ages 2, 3, and 4. Inhibitory control was initially low and increased linearly to age 4. High levels of harsh parenting and male gender were associated with low initial status in inhibitory control. High levels of supportive parenting were associated with faster growth. Extreme family poverty and African American ethnicity were also associated with slower growth. The results highlight parenting as a target for early interventions in contexts of high socioeconomic risk.