Abstract
Parenting has been robustly associated with offspring psychosocial development, and these effects are likely reflected in brain development. This hypothesis is being tested with increasingly rigorous methods and the use of magnetic resonance imaging, a powerful tool for characterizing human brain structure and function. The objective of this narrative review was to examine methodological issues in this field that impact the conclusions that can be drawn and to identify future directions in this field. Studies included were those that examined associations between parenting and offspring brain structure or function. Results show four thematic features in this literature that impact the hypotheses that can be tested, and the conclusions drawn. The first theme is a limited body of studies including repeated sampling of offspring brain structure and function, and therefore an over-reliance on cross-sectional or retrospective associations. The second involves a focus on extremes in early life caregiving, limiting generalizability. The third involves the nature of parenting assessment, predominantly parent- or child-report instead of observational measures which may be more ecologically valid measures of parenting. A closely related fourth consideration is the examination of detrimental versus positive parenting behaviors. While studies with one or more of these thematic limitations provide valuable information, future study design should consider addressing these limitations to determine how parenting shapes offspring brain development.
Highlights
The brain develops rapidly during infancy, childhood, and adolescence (Belsky and de Haan, 2011; Grayson and Fair, 2017; Tamnes et al, 2018; Vijayakumar et al, 2018), while substantial physical, emotional, and social maturation occurs through dynamic interactions with the environment (Baumrind, 1991; Bradley and Vandell, 2007; McLeod et al, 2007a,b; Waite et al, 2014; Rose et al, 2017)
While it is well established that parenting influences offspring psychosocial development, the study of how this is reflected in the brain is still a relatively new endeavor with important challenges and discoveries to be made
We reviewed the current literature examining parenting and offspring brain structure or function as well as studies examining offspring brain development over time with a focus on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Summary
The brain develops rapidly during infancy, childhood, and adolescence (Belsky and de Haan, 2011; Grayson and Fair, 2017; Tamnes et al, 2018; Vijayakumar et al, 2018), while substantial physical, emotional, and social maturation occurs through dynamic interactions with the environment (Baumrind, 1991; Bradley and Vandell, 2007; McLeod et al, 2007a,b; Waite et al, 2014; Rose et al, 2017). Parents likely play an important role in this process, depending. Parenting and Child Brain Development in part on their behavioral interactions with their child. Adverse parenting influences children’s psychological development in general (Bradley and Vandell, 2007), and their risk for psychopathology in particular (e.g., Collins et al, 2000; McLeod et al, 2007a,b). While it is well established that parenting influences offspring psychosocial development, the study of how this is reflected in the brain is still a relatively new endeavor with important challenges and discoveries to be made. Thoughtful study design will be crucial to our ability to understand how, when, and in what ways parental behavior is important for offspring brain development
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