Previous research has established that in comparison to adult mothers teen mothers respond less sensitively to their infants. In adults, components of executive functions relate directly to maternal sensitivity. Since teenagers are known to have a less developed prefrontal cortex and greater difficulties in parenting, this study sought to determine whether the association between executive processes and mothering exists among teenagers. Two groups of mothers, teens (n = 30) and adults (n = 27), who were approximately 4-6 months postpartum, completed tasks assessing spatial working memory and attentional set shifting (cognitive flexibility) using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Mothers were videotaped interacting with their infants and were later coded for various maternal behaviors. As predicted, teenagers performed more poorly than adults on tasks of cognitive flexibility and were less sensitive in their infant interactions. Among both groups there was a negative association between executive function and mothering; however, depending on the age of the mother different executive function tasks were relevant.

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of maternal age on executive function and the moderating effects of women's maternal status and early-life experiences. Four groups of women were assessed as a function of their age (teens vs. adults) and maternal status (mothers vs. nonmothers). Participants completed executive function tests, including Spatial Working Memory (SWM), Intra-Extra-Dimensional-Set-Shift (IED), and Stockings of Cambridge (SOC). Women also completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire to assess their experiences of early adversity. Results showed that for the IED-task, there were main effects of age and maternal status and an interaction between the two; adults performed better than teens, mothers performed better than nonmothers, and teen nonmothers performed the least well of all groups. For the SWM-task, adults performed better than teens. Our results indicate that although age is an important factor for proper executive functioning, different tasks are affected differently and other factors such as maternity and adverse childhood experiences moderate this functioning.