Multiple lines of inquiry, including experimental animal models, have recently converged to suggest that executive functioning (EF) may be one mechanism by which parenting behavior is transmitted across generations. In the current investigation, we empirically test this notion by examining relations between maternal EF and parenting behaviors during mother-infant interactions, and by examining the role of maternal EF in the intergenerational transmission of parenting behavior. Mother-infant dyads (N=150) in a longitudinal study participated. Mothers were administered measures of EF (working memory and inhibition), reported on the parenting they received from their parents (i.e., the infants’ maternal grandparents), and were observed interacting with their 8-month-old infants. SEM findings indicated that the negative parenting mothers received from their own parents was significantly related to poorer maternal EF, and that poorer maternal EF was significantly related to subsequent engagement in more negative parenting practices with their own infant. A significant indirect effect, through maternal EF, was observed between maternal report of her experiences of negative parenting received while growing up and her own use of negative parenting practices. Our findings make two contributions. First, we add to existing work that has primarily considered relations between parent EF and parenting behavior while interacting with older children by showing that maternal EF affects children, via maternal parenting behavior, beginning very early in life. Second, we provide key evidence of the role of EF in the intergenerational transmission of parenting. Additional implications of these findings, as well as important future directions, are discussed.

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Infants' abilities to orient and regulate are directly linked to self‐regulatory capacity in childhood, which is subsequently associated with indicators of health and well‐being. However, relatively little is known regarding factors affecting early orienting and regulation. The current study evaluated the effects of infant negative affect and household chaos when children were 4 months old and parenting at 6 months of age on subsequent regulatory capacity at 8 months of age in a sample of 179 mother‐infant dyads. The potential moderating role of infant sex was examined in consideration of the viability–vulnerability tradeoff theory, which posits that females may be more susceptible to the impact of stressful environments in early development. Analyses indicated that early household chaos was related to subsequently lower orienting/regulatory abilities at 8 months of age. Additionally, there were significant sex‐by‐negative affectivity and sex‐by‐household chaos interactions, such that boys' regulatory capacity was negatively impacted by early negative affectivity and girls' was adversely affected by household chaos. Findings indicate some support for the viability–vulnerability tradeoff theory. Highlights The current study evaluated whether early negative affect and contextual factors impacted infant orienting/regulation at 8 months of age, and whether they influenced boys and girls differently. Results indicate that chaotic household environments negatively impact infants' ability to orient/regulate, and that male and female infants are differently affected by early negative affectivity and household chaos. This study suggests that parents should aim to decrease levels of home chaos to promote optimal regulatory development, and finds some support for the viability‐vulnerability tradeoff theory.