Parental effects on children's neurobehavioral function

Abstract

This study investigated parent–child association of neurobehavioral functions including cognitive and motor abilities. Seventy-one families, consisting of parents and one or two children were included in the study. We examined neurobehavioral performance with the Korean version of The Swedish Performance Evaluation System (SPES-K), on four items; simple reaction time, symbol-digit, digit span (forward), and finger tapping (dominant and nondominant hands). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) models were used to investigate the familial aggregation. For simple reaction time and symbol digit that reflect both cognitive and motor functions, mother's test results were significantly associated with children's ( p = 0.032, 0.007, respectively). For digit span which reflects short term memory, father's test results were significantly associated with children's ( p = 0.005). Finger tapping did not show parental effects. We concluded that there were significant and specific parental effects on children's neurobehavioral function.