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Maternal age and cognitive and behavioural outcomes in middle childhood
1Christchurch Health and Development Study, Christchurch School of Medicine, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand.
Insights
Older mothers have children with better cognitive abilities and fewer behavioral issues. This study found that factors like socioeconomic status and home environment significantly influence these outcomes, explaining most of the observed correlation.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Maternal age is a factor in child development.
- Previous studies suggest links between maternal age and child outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the relationship between maternal age and cognitive/behavioral outcomes in children.
- To investigate the influence of socioeconomic and environmental factors.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a New Zealand birth cohort followed until age 13.
- Statistical adjustment for maternal social background and childhood history.
Main Results:
- Increasing maternal age correlated with higher cognitive ability and achievement scores.
- Increasing maternal age correlated with fewer conduct problems.
- Correlations ranged from 0.11 to 0.21, with a median of 0.18.
Conclusions:
- Poorer outcomes in children of younger mothers are linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and less supportive home environments.
- These factors cumulatively explain most of the observed association between maternal age and child outcomes.
Abstract:
The relationships between maternal age and childhood cognitive and behavioural outcomes were analysed in a birth cohort of New Zealand children studied until the age of 13 years. Increasing maternal age was associated with increasing scores on tests of cognitive ability and achievement and with decreasing reports of conduct problems. The correlations between maternal age and childhood cognitive/behavioural outcomes ranged from 0.11 to 0.21 with a median value of 0.18. These associations were adjusted statistically for the effects of maternal social background at the time of birth and for childhood history subsequent to birth. This analysis suggested that the poorer outcomes for children born to younger mothers reflected the cumulative effects of two sets of factors which placed these children at a disadvantage. Firstly, the offspring of younger mothers tended to be born into relatively poorly educated, socially disadvantaged families and secondly, these children were exposed to less nurturant and more changeable home environments. The net effects of differences in social background at birth and childrearing environments subsequent to birth were sufficient to explain most of the apparent correlation between maternal age and childhood cognitive/behavioural outcomes.