Executive Functions in Mothers With and Without Self-Reported Neglectful Parenting: Multiple Modes of Assessment

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Maternal executive functions (EFs), or the cognitive skills required for the top-down, goal-oriented regulation of thoughts and behaviors, play a role in neglectful parenting (Azar et al., 2017; Gonzalez, 2015). Indeed, to nurture child development, parents must inhibit attentional pulls (inhibition), track and integrate novel information (working memory), and shift between strategies (set shifting) to attend to child needs. Still, most reports of EFs pertaining to child maltreatment risk focus on risk for physical abuse, not neglect. One possibility is that the tasks commonly used to measure EF may fail to represent ways in which EFs matter for parenting on a day-to-day basis. To build knowledge regarding EF measures relevant to neglectful parenting, we investigated differences in maternal self-reported EF problems and task-based EF performance between mothers with and without self-reported neglectful parenting (i.e., failure to meet basic child needs).
Mothers (N=226) of young children (Mage=52.3 months, SD=16.1) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Using the neglect subscale of the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus et al., 1998), mothers reported the frequency of their neglectful parenting practices in the past year (e.g., “Had to leave your child alone with an adult that you did not fully trust”). Two groups were created based on whether mothers reported no neglectful parenting (N=161) or some neglectful parenting (N=65). Self-reported EF problems and task-based EF skills were compared between groups. Inhibition, working memory, and set shifting subscales of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Adult (Roth et al., 2005) were used to measure mothers’ self-reported EF problems. Task-based assessments of inhibition, working memory, and set shifting were measured with the Stroop (1935), backward digit span (Woods et al., 2011), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Grant & Berg, 1948), respectively.
Group differences in maternal EFs were examined using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test to account for non-normal distributions of EF scores. Results revealed that, compared to the “no neglect” group, mothers in the “some neglect” group self-reported significantly higher problems with inhibition (r=.38, p<.001), working memory (r=.38, p<.001), and set shifting (r=.36, p<.001). Group differences in task-based measures of EFs, however, were inconsistent (Figure 1). Compared to the “no neglect” group, mothers in the “some neglect” group performed significantly worse on task-based inhibition (r=.16, p<.05), but did not differ on task-based working memory (r=.05, p=.46) nor set shifting (r=.04, p=.57).
Consistent with prior literature, results provide general support for the idea that maternal EF deficits are related to neglectful parenting. However, self-reported EF problems may be more relevant for understanding neglectful parenting than computerized task-based EF assessments. Further research is needed, as it is also possible that self-reports of EF problems are tapping into neglectful mothers’ lower self-efficacy. Results underscore the need for more ecologically-valid measures of parental EF (e.g., objective coding of parental responses to child stimuli) as existing tasks may bear little resemblance to how EFs support parenting in the real world.

Authors

• Catherine Diercks, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Presenting Author

• Erika S. Lunkenheimer, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
  Non-Presenting Author

• Douglas M Teti, The Pennsylvania State University
  Non-Presenting Author