Gender and Home Stimulation Moderate the Association between Siblings and Executive Functions in Pakistani Preschoolers

• In Event: Factors affecting child development and executive functioning in three low income counties

Abstract

Children’s executive functions (EFs) are important skills that help them regulate their attention, behavior, and emotions, and are linked to better school readiness, social skills, and academic achievement (Diamond et al., 2013). Considerable research has demonstrated that positive family experiences—such as parental behaviors—promote EF development in high income and low-income countries (Fay-Stammbach et al., 2014). However, comparatively less research has investigated how other family members, such as older siblings, contribute to EF development. In rural Pakistan, the number of older siblings positively predicted four-year-olds’ EFs after controlling for family resources, maternal education, home stimulation, and physical growth (Obradović et al., 2019). In the same sample, we further investigate this finding by examining whether the link between the number of older siblings and four-year-olds’ EFs is moderated by children’s gender and the quality of home stimulation. We hypothesized that this association would be positive for boys, but negative for girls, and that it would be significant in only low, but not high, home stimulation environments.

Method
The sample includes 1,302 four-year-olds (54% male) and their families who participated in the early responsive stimulation and enhanced nutrition interventions during the first two years of life (Yousafzai et al., 2014). The number of older siblings was reported by mothers at the target child’s birth. Executive functions were directly assessed with six developmentally- and culturally-appropriate EF tasks (α = .60). Home stimulation was measured using a combination of parent and observer reports of children’s access to varied contextual experiences (HOME; Caldwell & Bradley, 1984). Multiple regression models controlled for family wealth, maternal education, physical growth, food insecurity and both interventions.

Results
Extending previous direct effect findings (Model 1), we found a significant two-way interactive effect of child gender and the number of older siblings (Model 2), which was further qualified by a significant three-way interaction with the quality of home stimulation (Model 3). As shown in Figure 1, there was a positive association between the number of older siblings and child EFs for boys in both high and low home stimulation, and for girls in low home stimulation environments. In contrast, for girls in high home stimulation, there was a negative association between the number of older siblings and EFs.

Conclusion
These results suggest that playing with, engaging with, or observing siblings might serve as additional sources of cognitive stimulation for boys—who on average receive a higher share of scant resources and educational opportunities compared to girls in large families (Escueta, 2014). Similarly, siblings may provide opportunities for cognitive development among girls who lack opportunities for other sources of stimulation. In contrast, for girls who come from more resourced and stimulating households, a higher number of older siblings may not provide additional stimulation that fosters EF development, but could rather create family experiences that are taxing and hinder EF development—perhaps because younger girls may need to forgo family resources or access to educational opportunities, due to greater family size and gendered allocation of resources.

Authors

• Mansoor Aslam Rathore, Stanford University
  Presenting Author

• Emma Armstrong-Carter, Stanford University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Saima Siyal, Aga Khan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Aisha Yousafzai, Harvard TH School of Public Health
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jelena Obradovic, Stanford University
  Non-Presenting Author