Family context and executive functioning in preschool-age children

<p>Executive functioning is predictive of school readiness, successful life endeavors, and other positive outcomes. The literature frequently explores how child executive functions are associated with characteristics of mother-child interactions as well as adverse environmental conditions such as poverty and chronic stress. Fewer studies, however, have taken a more nuanced approach to understanding how features of the immediate environment, such as family context, help or hinder the development of executive functions in young children. To address this gap, the current study explored how aspects of family context are associated with executive performance in a sample of preschool-age children. Specifically, the study examined how executive functioning in early childhood relates to: (a) parental modeling of executive behavior as indexed by measures of inhibitory control and executive problem solving, (b) specific parenting practices such as scaffolding and cognitive stimulation, and (c) aspects of family climate, including household chaos, parenting style, parent-child attachment, and interparental conflict. Participants were recruited from the local community and nationwide through online recruitment. The study was conducted in a virtual environment through Zoom videoconferencing, with some tasks being administered via participants’ remote control of the experimenter’s computer. Parents completed online questionnaires about family demographics, their own executive abilities, specific parenting behaviors, and the home environment. Behavioral measures were administered to assess child and parent executive performance. Lastly, an observational rating system was utilized to assess parental scaffolding during a virtual puzzle task. Data were analyzed using a standard multiple regression approach using all family context variables as predictors while accounting for child age. A multiple regression model was created for each child executive functioning outcome measure (cognitive flexibility, working memory, inhibitory control). Results indicated that home chaos negatively predicted child inhibitory control, and cognitive stimulation in the home environment predicted child cognitive flexibility while accounting for child age and all other family context variables in each model. Findings from the current study help refine knowledge about environmental factors that shape the development of executive functions and may inform future interventions targeting family context factors to support executive functioning development in young children.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2024

Author dc:creator

• Aho, Kristin

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jamie M. Lawler, Ph.D.
• Angela D. Staples, Ph.D.
• Eamonn Arble, Ph.D.

• Clinical Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1286

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-2612