Adolescent-specific adaptations to caregiving unpredictability: A longitudinal examination of cognitive flexibility

Increasing evidence for enhanced cognitive flexibility following early-life caregiving unpredictability indicates that developmental adaptations can occur during early sensitive periods of infant development. However, existing research does not clarify the timing of the developmental window during which unpredictability can shape cognitive outcomes. This study tested the developmental uniqueness of early life versus adolescence to ask whether adaptations can also occur related to unpredictability that occurs in adolescence. Using a longitudinal design that uncouples these developmental periods in a sample enriched for early caregiving unpredictability (N = 197, 105 female, M_age = 9.53 years at Visit 1), cognitive flexibility was assessed across two separate visits, along with two other dimensions of executive function (response inhibition and attentional control). As has been previously observed with early unpredictability, unpredictable caregiving in adolescence was associated with improvements in cognitive flexibility independently from early unpredictability. Findings suggest that adaptations are not limited to early life; they may also occur in adolescence, thereby extending the window of human developmental adaptability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).