The Role of Parental Sensitivity and Infant Temperament in Infant Cognitive Development in China

• In Event: 3-203 - Development of Self-Regulation in Infancy and Toddlerhood

Integrative Statement

Executive function (EF) is a higher order cognitive process that includes goal-directed actions (Zelazo et al., 1997). It emerges in the first year of life and is influenced by intrinsic and environmental factors. Infant attention is one of the intrinsic factors shown to be related to EF (Cuevas & Bell, 2014). A possible environmental factor is sensitivity, which refers to the parents’ ability to observe and interpret children’s signals and respond to those signals promptly and appropriately (Ainsworth et al., 1974). Previous research suggested associations between maternal and paternal sensitivity and cognitive development (Malmberg et al., 2015). However, most studies on predictors of EF focus on intrinsic and environmental factors separately and there are few studies on fathers and non-western samples such as China. Moreover, according to the differential susceptibility model, children with a difficult temperament will be more affected by environmental influences such as parenting (Pluess & Belsky, 2010). The current study investigates intrinsic (attention) and extrinsic (maternal and paternal sensitivity) factors in the prediction of 14-month-old EF in China and tests whether difficult temperament moderates the association with parenting.
The sample consisted of 63 first-born Chinese infants and their mothers and fathers. Infant attention was assessed with the sustained attention task and difficult temperament (distress to limitations) was measured with the revised Infant Behavior Questionnaire at 4 months. Infant EF abilities were examined at 14 months by three tasks which were designed to test inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility. Parental sensitivity during free play was coded at 4 and 14 months of age using the 9-point Ainsworth Sensitivity scale (Ainsworth, Bell, & Stayton, 1974). We are currently coding 14 month EF tasks (53 have been finished).
Preliminary results suggested that fathers showed lower sensitivity at 14 months than mothers (p < .05). In addition, higher paternal sensitivity at 14 months was significantly correlated to better working memory (p < .05). A two stage hierarchical multiple regression with working memory as the dependent variable was significant (p < .01). Paternal sensitivity (14 months; p < .05), difficult temperament (4 months) (p < .05) and interactions between maternal sensitivity (14 months) and difficult temperament (p < .01) contributed significantly to this model. There was no effect of attention at 4 months. The positive association between maternal sensitivity and working memory was stronger for children with a difficult temperament. None of the expected relations between sensitivity at 4 months and child EF abilities have been found for the current data.

No direct associations with intrinsic factors and child EF abilities were found but results supported the differential susceptibility model in that children with difficult temperament were more affected by maternal sensitivity in terms of their working memory compared to other children. Father sensitivity was directly related to cognitive development. Results included in the abstract are first preliminary results. More explorations such as the role of 14 months temperament will be done and reported based on the full dataset at 2 time points (4 and 14 months) in the symposium.

Authors

• Wei Li, Leiden University
  Presenting Author

• Rosanneke Emmen, Leiden University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mi-lan Woudstra, Leiden University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marjolein Branger, Leiden University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lamei Wang, Shenzhen University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lenneke Alink, Leiden University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Judi Mesman, University of Leiden
  Non-Presenting Author