TY - JOUR
T1 - Socioeconomic status and executive function in early childhood
T2 - Exploring proximal mechanisms
AU - Vrantsidis, Daphne M.
AU - Clark, Caron A.C.
AU - Chevalier, Nicolas
AU - Espy, Kimberly Andrews
AU - Wiebe, Sandra A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship‐Master's to Daphne Vrantsidis, and NIDA grants R01DA014661 to Kimberly Andrews Espy, R01DA023653 to Kimberly Andrews Espy and Lauren Wakschlag, and R21DA024769 to Sandra Wiebe. We gratefully acknowledge the members of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory for assistance with data collection and coding, and the families who made this research possible.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2020/5/1
Y1 - 2020/5/1
N2 - Although there is substantial evidence that socioeconomic status (SES) predicts children's executive function (EF), the mechanisms underlying this association are poorly understood. This study tested the utility of two theories proposed to link SES to children's EF: the family stress model and the family investment model. Data came from the Midwestern Infant Development Study (N = 151). To measure SES, parental education and income were assessed during pregnancy, and income was also assessed when children were 6 and 36 months old. Children's EF, operationalized as working memory/inhibitory control (WMIC) and self-control, was assessed at 36 months of age, along with potential mediators including maternal psychological distress, harsh parenting, and cognitive stimulation. Using structural equation modeling, we tested simultaneous pathways from SES to EF: (a) via maternal psychological distress to harsh parenting (family stress model) and (b) via cognitive stimulation (family investment model). Of the SES measures, lower education predicted poorer WMIC directly and indirectly via greater maternal psychological distress. Lower education also predicted poorer self-control via greater maternal psychological distress. This effect was partially suppressed by an indirect path from lower education to better self-control via greater psychological distress and increased harsh parenting. Cognitive stimulation did not act as a mediator. Income was not directly or indirectly associated with EF. These findings provide partial support for the family stress model and suggest that family functioning is an important proximal mechanism for children's EF development. This study also highlights the importance of considering SES as a multidimensional construct.
AB - Although there is substantial evidence that socioeconomic status (SES) predicts children's executive function (EF), the mechanisms underlying this association are poorly understood. This study tested the utility of two theories proposed to link SES to children's EF: the family stress model and the family investment model. Data came from the Midwestern Infant Development Study (N = 151). To measure SES, parental education and income were assessed during pregnancy, and income was also assessed when children were 6 and 36 months old. Children's EF, operationalized as working memory/inhibitory control (WMIC) and self-control, was assessed at 36 months of age, along with potential mediators including maternal psychological distress, harsh parenting, and cognitive stimulation. Using structural equation modeling, we tested simultaneous pathways from SES to EF: (a) via maternal psychological distress to harsh parenting (family stress model) and (b) via cognitive stimulation (family investment model). Of the SES measures, lower education predicted poorer WMIC directly and indirectly via greater maternal psychological distress. Lower education also predicted poorer self-control via greater maternal psychological distress. This effect was partially suppressed by an indirect path from lower education to better self-control via greater psychological distress and increased harsh parenting. Cognitive stimulation did not act as a mediator. Income was not directly or indirectly associated with EF. These findings provide partial support for the family stress model and suggest that family functioning is an important proximal mechanism for children's EF development. This study also highlights the importance of considering SES as a multidimensional construct.
KW - executive function
KW - family investment
KW - family stress
KW - socioeconomic status
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U2 - 10.1111/desc.12917
DO - 10.1111/desc.12917
M3 - Article
C2 - 31680392
AN - SCOPUS:85075284834
SN - 1363-755X
VL - 23
JO - Developmental Science
JF - Developmental Science
IS - 3
M1 - e12917
ER -