Poster #140 - Mothers' autonomy-supportive versus directive strategies during a dyadic challenge task and children's cognitive ability

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Children’s cognitive abilities such as intelligence support reading, math, and overall academic performance (Joussemet et al., 2005). Parents promote children’s cognitive development with autonomy support (AS), or the active encouragement of children’s independent exploration, problem-solving, and decision-making (Joussemet et al., 2008; Landry et al., 2000). Around child age three, a shift from direct instruction towards AS appears to benefit cognitive development (Landry et al., 2000). Still, little is known about why these strategies shift in effectiveness around this age. Although research typically measures sum totals of AS and directive parenting behaviors, Landry et al.’s work suggests that examining the balance between the two may be more informative. In this study, we investigated how parents’ AS relative to directive use (RAS) relates to child cognitive ability at this critical developmental stage.
Mothers (N = 105) and their three-year-old children visited the laboratory. In a dyadic task, mothers guided children towards completion of a difficult puzzle using only their words (Lunkenheimer et al., 2017). Research assistants coded second-by-second AS and directive behaviors with an established coding system. AS codes captured maternal attempts to scaffold children’s independent pursuit of the task (e.g., making the task more game-like; providing choices for next steps). Directive codes were assigned when mothers used specific direct instructions. To quantify the balance between mothers’ AS and directives, we calculated an RAS score for each mother. Positive RAS scores reflected more AS than directives; negative RAS scores reflected more directives than AS. Child cognitive ability was measured with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence block design task, in which children replicated a series of 3D block designs of increasing difficulty (Wechsler, 2002).
Preliminary analyses revealed that, on average, mothers spent 57 more seconds engaging in directive than AS guiding behaviors across the task (i.e., RAS M = -56.85). Maternal RAS was a stronger correlate of maternal education (r = .31, p < .001) than was total AS (r = .25, p < .01) or total directives (r = -.25, p < .01). Maternal education and child sex were important covariates and thus retained in final models. A linear regression predicting child cognitive ability from RAS, maternal education, and child sex fit our data well, F(3, 98) = 6.97, p < .001. The RAS model accounted for 17.6% of the variance in cognitive ability and was the only model in which mothers’ behaviors significantly contributed after controlling for child sex and maternal education, t(98) = 2.11, p = .04.
Findings suggest that children of mothers who engage in more AS relative to directive behaviors (higher RAS) demonstrate more advanced cognitive ability. It is possible that high RAS interactions benefit children’s cognitive development by setting a tone of maternal encouragement of child autonomy as opposed to by providing concrete skills for independence. Still, the cross-sectional nature of this study limit conclusions of directionality and further research is needed. Findings promote novel measurement of an established correlate of optimal child development and provide insight into the supportive qualities of AS.

Authors

• Catherine Hamby, The Pennsylvania State University
  Presenting Author

• Frances Lobo, The Pennsylvania State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jeremy Olbum, The Pennsylvania State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Erika Lunkenheimer, Pennsylvania State University
  Non-Presenting Author