Executive Function in At-Risk Children: Importance of Father-Figure Support and Mother Parenting

Overview

Journal J Appl Dev Psychol

Date 2016 May 14

PMID 27175046

Citations 9

Authors

Alyssa S Meuwissen

Michelle M Englund

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Given the dearth of research about father-figures' influence on children's cognitive development, we investigated the impact of father support, together with maternal parenting, on children's executive function (EF) in the lab (42 and 54 mo.) and at school (K - 3 grade) in a longitudinal, prospective, at-risk sample (N = 182) using path analysis. Both mother parenting and father-figure support significantly predicted child EF. In the final model, concurrent father-figure support was associated with child EF in both early and middle childhood, and mother parenting in early childhood predicted middle childhood EF. Attachment status moderated the path from mother parenting to early childhood lab EF; mother parenting significantly predicted early childhood EF only for securely attached participants. Findings suggest that both mothers and fathers are important for the development of EF in at-risk children, and point to the importance of including fathers in research and interventions.

Citing Articles

Development of Playfulness in Children with Low Executive Functions: The Role of Parental Playfulness and Parental Playtime with Their Child.

Duss I, Ruedisueli C, Wustmann Seiler C, Lannen P Behav Sci (Basel). 2024; 14(7).

PMID: 39062365 PMC: 11273681. DOI: 10.3390/bs14070542.

The Interplay between Socioeconomic Status, Parenting and Temperament Predicts Inhibitory Control at Two Years of Age.

Conejero A, Rueda M Children (Basel). 2023; 10(6).

PMID: 37371316 PMC: 10297106. DOI: 10.3390/children10061085.

Recruiting Fathers for Parenting Research: An Evaluation of Eight Recruitment Methods and an Exploration of Fathers' Motivations for Participation.

Yaremych H, Persky S Parent Sci Pract. 2023; 23(1):1-32.

PMID: 37346458 PMC: 10281717. DOI: 10.1080/15295192.2022.2036940.

Associations of parent-adolescent closeness with P3 amplitude, frontal theta, and binge drinking among offspring with high risk for alcohol use disorder.

Pandey G, Kuo S, Horne-Osipenko K, Pandey A, Kamarajan C, de Viteri S Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2023; 47(1):155-167.

PMID: 36680783 PMC: 10910630. DOI: 10.1111/acer.14973.

Application of a Bayesian Network Learning Model to Predict Longitudinal Trajectories of Executive Function Difficulties in Elementary School Students.

Goh E, Jeon H J Intell. 2022; 10(4).

PMID: 36278596 PMC: 9589973. DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence10040074.

References

Lewis-Morrarty E, Dozier M, Bernard K, Terracciano S, Moore S . Cognitive flexibility and theory of mind outcomes among foster children: preschool follow-up results of a randomized clinical trial. J Adolesc Health. 2012; 51(2 Suppl):S17-22. PMC: 3407592. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.05.005. View

Heckman J . Skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children. Science. 2006; 312(5782):1900-2. DOI: 10.1126/science.1128898. View

Erickson M, Sroufe L, Egeland B . The relationship between quality of attachment and behavior problems in preschool in a high-risk sample. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 1985; 50(1-2):147-66. View

Roskam I, Stievenart M, Meunier J, Noel M . The development of children's inhibition: does parenting matter?. J Exp Child Psychol. 2014; 122:166-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.01.003. View

Moffitt T, Arseneault L, Belsky D, Dickson N, Hancox R, Harrington H . A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108(7):2693-8. PMC: 3041102. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1010076108. View

Sethi A, Mischel W, Aber J, Shoda Y, Rodriguez M . The role of strategic attention deployment in development of self-regulation: predicting preschoolers' delay of gratification from mother-toddler interactions. Dev Psychol. 2000; 36(6):767-77. View

Miyake A, Friedman N, Emerson M, Witzki A, Howerter A, Wager T . The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex "Frontal Lobe" tasks: a latent variable analysis. Cogn Psychol. 2000; 41(1):49-100. DOI: 10.1006/cogp.1999.0734. View

Meuwissen A, Carlson S . Fathers matter: The role of father parenting in preschoolers' executive function development. J Exp Child Psychol. 2015; 140:1-15. PMC: 4558369. DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2015.06.010. View

Kochanska G, Aksan N, Knaack A, Rhines H . Maternal parenting and children's conscience: early security as moderator. Child Dev. 2004; 75(4):1229-42. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00735.x. View

10.

Diamond A, Lee K . Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Science. 2011; 333(6045):959-64. PMC: 3159917. DOI: 10.1126/science.1204529. View

11.

Carlson S . Social origins of executive function development. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2009; 2009(123):87-98. DOI: 10.1002/cd.237. View

12.

Clark C, Sheffield T, Chevalier N, Nelson J, Wiebe S, Espy K . Charting early trajectories of executive control with the shape school. Dev Psychol. 2012; 49(8):1481-93. PMC: 10860163. DOI: 10.1037/a0030578. View

13.

Hammond S, Muller U, Carpendale J, Bibok M, Liebermann-Finestone D . The effects of parental scaffolding on preschoolers' executive function. Dev Psychol. 2011; 48(1):271-81. DOI: 10.1037/a0025519. View

14.

Bernier A, Carlson S, Whipple N . From external regulation to self-regulation: early parenting precursors of young children's executive functioning. Child Dev. 2010; 81(1):326-39. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01397.x. View

15.

Cowan P . Beyond meta-analysis: a plea for a family systems view of attachment. Child Dev. 1997; 68(4):601-3. View

16.

Sulik M, Huerta S, Zerr A, Eisenberg N, Spinrad T, Valiente C . The Factor Structure of Effortful Control and Measurement Invariance Across Ethnicity and Sex in a High-Risk Sample. J Psychopathol Behav Assess. 2010; 32(1):8-22. PMC: 2893346. DOI: 10.1007/s10862-009-9164-y. View

17.

De Bellis M . The psychobiology of neglect. Child Maltreat. 2005; 10(2):150-72. DOI: 10.1177/1077559505275116. View

18.

Raikes H, Thompson R . Attachment security and parenting quality predict children's problem-solving, attributions, and loneliness with peers. Attach Hum Dev. 2008; 10(3):319-44. DOI: 10.1080/14616730802113620. View

19.

Vaughn B, Egeland B, Sroufe L, Waters E . Individual differences in infant-mother attachment at twelve and eighteen months: stability and change in families under stress. Child Dev. 1979; 50(4):971-5. View

20.

Englund M, Kuo S, Puig J, Collins W . Early Roots of Adult Competence: The Significance of Close Relationships from Infancy to Early Adulthood. Int J Behav Dev. 2013; 35(6):490-496. PMC: 3557453. DOI: 10.1177/0165025411422994. View