Maternal executive function, harsh parenting, and child conduct problems

Abstract

Background Maternal executive function and household regulation both are critical aspects of optimal childrearing, but their interplay is not understood. We tested the hypotheses that 1) the link between challenging child conduct problems and harsh parenting would be strongest for mothers with poorer executive function and weakest among those with better executive function, and 2) this mechanism would be further moderated by the degree of household chaos. Methods The socioeconomically diverse sample included 147 mothers of 3-to-7 year old children. Mothers completed questionnaires and a laboratory assessment of executive function. Results Consistent with hypotheses, harsh parenting was linked with child conduct problems only among mothers with poorer executive function. This effect was particularly strong in calm, predictable environments, but was not evident in chaotic environments. Conclusion Maternal executive function is critical to minimizing harsh parenting in the context of challenging child behavior, but this self-regulation process may not operate well in chaotic environments.

Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology Among Male Youth: The Joint and Interactive Contribution of Temperament and Executive Functioning

“…The D–KEFS has considerable research support for its general validity and internal consistency reliability, as well as test–retest reliability across two testing sessions [59]. Consistent with structural findings suggesting that various EF subdimensions load onto a single, common EF factor [60], as well as previous studies using a single, composite EF score (e.g., [61, 62], the 15 standard Achievement scores that emerge from the 8 D–KEFS tests were standardized (i.e., z-scored) and aggregated to form a single EF composite score used in the present study. In the current sample, the internal consistency reliability (i.e., Cronbach’s alpha) and AIC for the composite EF score was .82 and .23, respectively.…”

Emotion regulation in parenthood

“…One study found that poorer working memory capacity was associated with mothers’ increased negative reactivity toward their child during frustration-based cooperation tasks (Deater-Deckard, Sewell, Petrill, & Thompson, 2010). Notably, following up on this study, poor executive functions more generally were associated with harsh reactive parenting, as well as increased levels of child conduct problems (Deater-Deckard, Wang, Chen, & Bell, 2012). …”

Family Matters

“…Like the first study, the link between higher levels of child problem behaviors and harsher caregiving was present only among mothers with poorer EF (Deater-Deckard et al, 2012). In further analyses, we found that this EF modulating effect essentially disappeared in households that were highly chaotic—lacking in routines, noisy, and crowded.…”