Using an epidemiological sample (N = 1,117) and a prospective longitudinal design, this study tested the direct and indirect effects of preverbal and verbal communication (15 months to 3 years) on executive function (EF) at age 4 years. Results indicated that whereas gestures (15 months), as well as language (2 and 3 years), were correlated with later EF (φs ≥ .44), the effect was entirely mediated through later language. In contrast, language had significant direct and indirect effects on later EF. Exploratory analyses indicated that the pattern of results was comparable for low- and not-low-income families. The results were consistent with theoretical accounts of language as a precursor of EF ability, and highlighted gesture as an early indicator of EF.
VL - 85 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Emotional reactivity and regulation in infancy interact to predict executive functioning in early childhood. JF - Developmental Psychology Y1 - 2013 A1 - Ursache, Alexandra A1 - Clancy Blair A1 - Stifter, Cynthia A1 - Voegtline, Kristin AB -The relation of observed emotional reactivity and regulation in infancy to executive function in early childhood was examined in a prospective longitudinal sample of 1,292 children from predominantly low-income and rural communities. Children participated in a fear eliciting task at ages 7, 15, and 24 months and completed an executive function battery at age 48 months. Results indicated that the relation of child negative emotional reactivity at 15 months of age to executive functioning at 48 months of age was dependent on observed emotion regulation. High levels of executive function ability were observed among children who exhibited high levels of emotional reactivity and high levels of the regulation of this reactivity. In contrast, low levels of executive function ability were observed among children who exhibited high levels of reactivity but low levels of regulation. Among children exhibiting low levels of emotional reactivity, emotion regulation was unrelated to executive functioning. Moreover, emotionally reactive infants exhibiting high levels of emotion regulation were more likely to have primary caregivers who exhibited high levels of positive parenting behavior in a parent–child interaction task. Results provide support for a neurobiologically informed developmental model in which the regulation of emotional arousal is one mechanism whereby supportive environments are associated with higher levels of self-regulation ability for highly reactive infants. Findings are discussed with implications for differential susceptibility and biological sensitivity theories of child by context interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
VL - 49 UR - http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/a0027728 IS - 1 JO - Developmental Psychology ER - TY - JOUR T1 - V. Cumulative Risk and its Relation to Parenting and Child Outcomes at 36 Months JF - Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development Y1 - 2013 A1 - Vernon-Feagans, L. VL - 78 UR - http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/mono.v78.5http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/mono.12051 IS - 5 JO - Monographs Society Res Child ER -