Early Caregiving and Child Executive Function: Examining Preschool-aged Children with Prior Maltreatment

This thesis comprising three individual studies, examined the relationship between maltreatment, emotion-related parenting behaviours and executive function in a sample of maltreated and non-maltreated preschool children. Children (N = 107; ages 4-5) and caregivers were recruited from three cohorts: foster care agencies (serious maltreatment); child protection early intervention programs (low to moderate maltreatment); and community preschools (no maltreatment). Executive function was assessed using performance-based measures (Happy–Sad Stroop Task, Tapping Test and Dimensional Change Card Sort) and a caregiver rating scale (Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function). Parenting was assessed with a self-report measure (Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale) and maltreatment types were coded based on files and reports. Study 1 demonstrated that the profile of BRIEF-P scores for maltreated children was more elevated (indicative of worse executive function) relative to the non-maltreated group. Caregiver ratings were weakly correlated with performance-based executive function measures and maltreatment risk had a partial moderating effect on this association. Study 2 provided evidence that maltreatment risk uniquely predicted executive function, independent of parental depression and child ethnicity. Specifically, supportive parental reactions (emotion focused, expressive encouragement) buffered harmful effects of maltreatment on executive function, while unsupportive reactions (punitive, minimising) amplified the risk. Study 3 provided preliminary support for the common adverse effects of maltreatment on both pre-schoolers’ emotion and cognitive regulation. Findings highlighted that early maltreatment negatively impacts the development of executive function in preschool-aged children. Potential avenues for improving cognitive outcomes in maltreated young children include early assessment of executive function, evidenced-based parenting programs and early education programs

Parenting influences on executive function in early childhood: A review

Meredith, PJ ORCiD: 0000-0002-2981-9189Developmental processes critical to the emergence of executive function (EF) play out across early childhood-a period of rapid change and neural plasticity. The emergence of self-regulatory capacities is highly embedded in the many contexts or ecologies nested within a child's broader environment, among which the parent-child relationship assumes primary importance. However, only recently have early childhood researchers begun to investigate the contributions of parenting variables to EF. In this article, we review this emerging evidence as it pertains to (a) the parenting behaviors associated with EF, (b) the risk and protective factors that moderate these associations, and (c) the mechanisms through which parenting apparently operates on emerging EF. We also discuss directions for research on transactional parent-child dynamics, experimental tests of causation, and differential susceptibility to environmental influences. © 2014 The Society for Research in Child Development

Child maltreatment and emotion socialization: associations with executive function in the preschool years

This study examined executive function (EF) among preschoolers exposed to maltreatment, and tested whether caregiver practices related to emotion socialization (e.g., reactions to children's emotions; discussion of emotion) moderate the relationship between maltreatment and EF in this period. Participants were (n = 107) children aged 4–5 years (M = 4.75; SD = 0.57; 39% female), with various levels of exposure to maltreatment. Using the Maltreatment Classification System, substantiated reports of maltreatment were coded to produce an index of the multiplicity of abuse subtypes to which children had been exposed. EF was indexed using a composite of scores on three performance-based tests (Happy–Sad Stroop Task; Tapping Test; Dimensional Change Card Sort). Caregivers reported on their use of emotion related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) with the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale. Exposure to maltreatment and ERSBs were both found to account for unique variance in EF, independent of developmental-ecological factors including children's receptive language and maternal depression. Significant interactions between maltreatment and ERSBs were also found to suggest that nonsupportive ERSBs (e.g., punitive reactions to negative child emotion) may amplify the risk for poor EF associated with maltreatment, whereas supportive ERPBs (e.g., expressive encouragement) protect against it

Child maltreatment and emotion socialization: Associations with executive function in the preschool years

This study examined executive function (EF) among preschoolers exposed to maltreatment, and tested whether caregiver practices related to emotion socialization (e.g., reactions to children's emotions; discussion of emotion) moderate the relationship between maltreatment and EF in this period. Participants were (n = 107) children aged 4–5 years (M = 4.75; SD = 0.57; 39% female), with various levels of exposure to maltreatment. Using the Maltreatment Classification System, substantiated reports of maltreatment were coded to produce an index of the multiplicity of abuse subtypes to which children had been exposed. EF was indexed using a composite of scores on three performance-based tests (Happy–Sad Stroop Task; Tapping Test; Dimensional Change Card Sort). Caregivers reported on their use of emotion related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) with the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale. Exposure to maltreatment and ERSBs were both found to account for unique variance in EF, independent of developmental-ecological factors including children's receptive language and maternal depression. Significant interactions between maltreatment and ERSBs were also found to suggest that nonsupportive ERSBs (e.g., punitive reactions to negative child emotion) may amplify the risk for poor EF associated with maltreatment, whereas supportive ERPBs (e.g., expressive encouragement) protect against it. © 2016 Elsevier Lt

Parenting influences on executive function in early childhood: A review

Developmental processes critical to the emergence of executive function (EF) play out across early childhood-a period of rapid change and neural plasticity. The emergence of self-regulatory capacities is highly embedded in the many contexts or ecologies nested within a child's broader environment, among which the parent-child relationship assumes primary importance. However, only recently have early childhood researchers begun to investigate the contributions of parenting variables to EF. In this article, we review this emerging evidence as it pertains to (a) the parenting behaviors associated with EF, (b) the risk and protective factors that moderate these associations, and (c) the mechanisms through which parenting apparently operates on emerging EF. We also discuss directions for research on transactional parent-child dynamics, experimental tests of causation, and differential susceptibility to environmental influences. © 2014 The Society for Research in Child Development