Associations between parenting behavior and executive function among preschool-aged children born very preterm

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to determine whether three domains of observed parenting behavior were associated with executive function in preschool-aged children born very preterm (<30 completed weeks’ gestation). Executive function of 41 preschool-aged (3.5–4.5 years) children was assessed using a standardized protocol (gift delay) and by parent-report (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool, BRIEF-P). Observational protocols were used to determine parental sensitivity, harsh intrusiveness, and dyadic mutuality in a semi-structured play task. Parental sensitivity and mutuality were rated as higher, and harsh intrusiveness was rated as lower for children high in executive function on the gift delay task. Similarly, correlations between the three parenting scales and the BRIEF-P global executive composite t-score were in the expected direction though not always statistically significant. Findings suggest that very preterm children who experienced sensitive parenting and were rated as having greater mutuality in their interactions with their caregivers scored higher on executive function tasks. These findings add to the growing literature on the key role that sensitive parenting and mutually responsive, harmonious interactions between caregivers and children may play in the development of executive function in very preterm children.