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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

From external regulation to self-regulation: early parenting precursors of young children's executive functioning

Annie Bernier1, Stephanie M Carlson, Natasha Whipple

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada. annie.bernier@umontreal.ca

Child Development
|March 25, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Positive parent-infant interactions, particularly autonomy support, predict better child executive functioning (EF). Early experiences shape crucial self-regulatory capacities and cognitive skills like working memory and impulse control.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Child Development

Background:

  • Early experiences significantly influence infant brain development and the emergence of self-regulatory capacities.
  • Parent-child interactions are proposed to play a critical role in shaping cognitive and socio-emotional skills.
  • Executive functioning (EF) is foundational for adaptive behavior and academic success.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prospective associations between the quality of parent-infant interactions and children's subsequent executive functioning (EF).
  • To examine the specific contributions of maternal sensitivity, mind-mindedness, and autonomy support to child EF.
  • To determine if parenting dimensions predict EF independently of cognitive ability and maternal education.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study design with 80 mother-infant dyads.
  • Maternal sensitivity, mind-mindedness, and autonomy support assessed at 12–15 months postpartum.
  • Child executive functioning (working memory, impulse control, set shifting) assessed at 18 and 26 months.

Main Results:

  • All three assessed dimensions of parent-infant interaction quality were significantly related to child executive functioning.
  • Maternal autonomy support emerged as the most robust predictor of child EF at both assessment points.
  • The predictive link between autonomy support and EF remained significant even after controlling for general cognitive ability and maternal education.

Conclusions:

  • Parent-child relationship quality, especially autonomy support, is crucial for the development of executive functioning in early childhood.
  • These findings underscore the importance of supportive parenting in fostering children's self-regulatory capacities and cognitive development.
  • Interventions promoting positive parent-child interactions may enhance executive functions critical for lifelong success.

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