Exploring associations between parent and child executive function across childhood: Mechanisms, moderators, and main effects

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Executive function (EF) comprises three cognitive processes – cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory – that assist with goal-directed behaviors. EF develops in childhood and has widespread associations with positive developmental outcomes across the lifespan (Diamond, 2013). Research suggests that EF is transmitted intergenerationally (Deater-Deckard, 2014). However, there are important limitations of the current literature on relations between parent and child EF, including a relative lack of research on fathers’ EF, specific parenting behaviors connecting parent and child EF, and the mechanisms through which EF matters for children. To address these gaps, the proposed panel includes three papers that delve deeper into relations between parent and child EF across early and middle childhood. Study one assesses relations between maternal and paternal cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control in infancy and domains of child EF in the preschool years. Study two tests the strength of associations between maternal and child EF across ages 3 through 9 years and assesses the moderating role of child gender. Finally, study three assesses cross-sectional associations between different types of parental learning activities at home and children’s working memory skills in the transition to school-age. An expert in the field of intergenerational transmission of EF will discuss the implications of the three studies for future research and our understanding of the development of EF. As a group, these papers advance our understanding of how mothers and fathers’ EF relate to child EF across early and middle childhood and the processes or mechanisms through which they operate.

Sub Unit

• Cognitive Processes

Chairs

• Julia Sarah Feldman, University of Pittsburgh

• Natasha J Cabrera, University of Maryland - College Park

Discussant

• David J Bridgett, Northern Illinois University

Individual Presentations

• Longitudinal associations between maternal, paternal, and child executive function in early childhood in low-income families - Presenting Author: Julia Sarah Feldman, University of Pittsburgh; Oksana Zapletina, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Natasha J Cabrera, University of Maryland - College Park

• Developmental patterns of executive function similarity between mother and child - Presenting Author: Yelim Hong, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Christina Bertrand, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Kirby Deater-Deckard, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Cynthia L. Smith, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Martha Ann Bell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• How does the home environment shape working memory development? An exploration of home learning practices - Presenting Author: Sabine Doebel, George Mason University; Jordan Hassani, George Mason University