1-017 - Can Daddy make a difference? Investigating paternal contributions to the development of child executive functioning

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Child executive functioning (EF), defined as a set of higher-order cognitive processes that underlie flexible goal-directed behavior, such as working memory, set-shifting, inhibitory control, and planning (Garon et al., 2008), is a core component of optimal cognitive and socio-emotional functioning (Carlson & Wang, 2007).

It is increasingly documented that maternal caregiving behavior is influential in the development of child EF (e.g., Bernier et al., 2012). However, the literature addressing paternal contributions to child EF is extremely scarce, despite compelling evidence that paternal factors bear critical importance for many other aspects of child functioning. As such, this symposium offers an investigation of paternal contributions to the development of children’s EF. Presentations include four studies from three different countries, robustly designed to assess paternal characteristics through observational measures and self-ratings, captured at different ages (from 1.5 to 8 years), and in different settings. Other strong features include multi-method and longitudinal designs, as well as diverse EF measurements.

The proposed series of presentation starts with an investigation of the relation between the quality of father-child interactions and child EF. Then, unique contributions of maternal and paternal behaviors to child EF are explored in two distinct studies. Finally, the last presentation focuses on paternal psychological adjustment as a protective factor in the prospective relations between maternal history of early adversity and subsequent child EF. Together, the results suggest that the critical importance of parental influences on child EF is not restricted to mothers.

Sub Unit

• Attention, Learning, Memory

Chair

• Andrée-Anne Bouvette-Turcot, University of Montreal

Individual Presentations

• Examining the Role of Father Parenting in Preschool Executive Function Development - Presenting Author: Alyssa S. Meuwissen, University of Minnesota; Stephanie M Carlson, University of Minnesota

• Positive fathering predicts subsequent levels of child executive functioning in early childhood - Presenting Author: Andre Plamondon, Laval University; Mark Wade, University of Toronto; Jennifer Jenkins, Univ of Toronto

• The development of children’s inhibition: Does parenting matter? - Isabelle Roskam, Catholic University of Louvain; Presenting Author: Marie Stievenart, Catholic University of Louvain; Jean-Christophe Meunier, Catholic University of Louvain; Marie-Pascale Noël, Catholic University of Louvain

• Links between maternal adversity and child executive functioning: The protective role of paternal psychological adjustment - Presenting Author: Andrée-Anne Bouvette-Turcot, University of Montreal; Annie Bernier, University of Montreal; Marie-Ève Bélanger, University of Montreal