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Socioeconomic disadvantage and parental mood/affective problems links negative parenting and executive dysfunction in

Rachel E Lean1, Emily D Gerstein2, Tara A Smyser1

  • 1Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA.

Development and Psychopathology
|November 2, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Poverty impacts children's executive function (EF). For very preterm (VPT) children, parental social-communication problems, not socioeconomic factors, affected parenting. Parental mood and social-communication issues explained negative parenting's link to poorer EF.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Poverty is linked to poorer executive function (EF) in full-term (FT) children, potentially mediated by parenting.
  • The influence of socioeconomic and psychosocial adversity on parenting and EF in very preterm (VPT) children is less understood.
  • Understanding these pathways is crucial for developing targeted interventions for vulnerable populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine how socioeconomic and parental psychosocial adversity impact parenting behaviors in parents of VPT children.
  • To determine if these factors independently or jointly influence EF in VPT children at age five.
  • To investigate the mediating roles of parenting behaviors and parental mental health in the poverty-EF relationship.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 154 five-year-old children (88 VPT, 66 FT) and their parents.
  • Assessment of socioeconomic adversity (demographics, income, neighborhood deprivation).
  • Parental psychosocial factors (depression, anxiety, inattention, parenting stress, social-communication interaction (SCI) problems).
  • Parent-child interactions coded for sensitivity, intrusiveness, stimulation, and regard.
  • Executive function tasks administered to children.
  • Statistical analyses adjusted for parent and child IQ.

Main Results:

  • Parental SCI problems were associated with parenting behaviors in parents of VPT children.
  • Socioeconomic adversity significantly impacted parenting in parents of FT children.
  • Negative parenting behaviors, but not positive ones, were linked to child EF.
  • This association was explained by parental depression/anxiety symptoms and socioeconomic adversity.
  • Findings held after controlling for parent and child IQ.

Conclusions:

  • Parental psychosocial factors, specifically social-communication interaction problems, play a significant role in parenting VPT children.
  • Negative parenting mediates the relationship between parental mental health/adversity and child EF in VPT populations.
  • Interventions targeting parental mood, affective symptoms, and SCI problems may improve executive function in VPT children.

Keywords:
executive functionparentingpovertyprematurity

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