Maternal Scaffolding Research Articles

Maternal influence on the development of nut-cracking skills in the chimpanzees of the Taï forest, Côte d'Ivoire (Pan troglodytes verus).

Chimpanzees' (Pan troglodytes) nut-cracking behavior represents one of the most complex forms of tool-use known among nonhuman animals. Given the close phylogenetic relationship between these apes and humans, investigating how such complex behavior develops in immatures can reveal the evolutionary roots of the cognitive processes that enabled the evolution of outstanding technological skills in our lineage. In this study, we investigated whether maternal behavior directly enhanced nut-cracking skills in immature individuals. We analyzed the behavior of 11 immatures and their mothers (N = 8) during nut-cracking activity, spanning over three consecutive nut-cracking seasons in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. We used generalized linear mixed models to (a) obtain values of maternal scaffolding (defined as provision of learning opportunities) and active nut-sharing behavior of each mother according to the age of their offspring, and their average nut-cracking efficiency; (b) to test whether these variables enhanced immatures' nut-cracking skills; and (c) to test whether immatures' features (age, sex, and begging behavior) influenced maternal behavior as observed in our videos. Although the predicted values of maternal scaffolding and active nut-sharing did not obviously affect immatures' skills, they were positively influenced by the average maternal efficiency and by sharing hammers with their mothers. In addition, our observations showed that mothers were more likely to share nuts with their sons than with their daughters, and the more their offspring begged. Concurrently, male immatures were also found to beg more often than females. Our results add evidence on the ontogenetic pathway leading to the full acquisition of nut-cracking in wild chimpanzees and on the effect that maternal behavior can have in promoting the acquisition of this complex tool-use behavior. Moreover, our study strengthens the importance of naturalistic observations to understand complex skill acquisition. Finally, we suggest future avenues for investigating the maternal influence on learning.

Maternal scaffolding and toddlers' active joint engagement during play: Moderating effects of toddlers' temperamental activity

AbstractThis study examined the associations between maternal scaffolding and toddlers' active joint engagement during play and whether toddlers' temperamental activity moderates those associations. Korean mother‐toddler dyads (N = 106) participated in semistructured free play. Maternal scaffolding, toddlers' joint engagement, and physical activity level were videotaped for 15 min, and the toddlers' temperamental activity was reported by their mothers. In a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, we found positive effects of maternal scaffolding on toddlers' joint engagement during play. Maternal scaffolding was more positively associated with joint engagement among temperamentally low active toddlers than among temperamentally high active toddlers. We did not find main effects of maternal scaffolding on toddlers' physical activity level during play but found significant moderating effects of toddlers' temperamental activity on the associations. Maternal scaffolding was negatively associated with the physical activity level of temperamentally high active toddlers. The implications of this study for future research and practice are discussed.Highlights This study examined the association between maternal scaffolding and toddlers' active joint engagement during play and whether toddlers' temperamental activity moderates those associations. Korean mother‐toddler dyads (N = 106) participated in semi‐structured free play. Maternal scaffolding and toddlers' joint engagement and physical activity level were videotaped for 15 min, and the toddlers' temperamental activity was reported by their mothers. Maternal scaffolding was more positively associated with joint engagement among temperamentally low active toddlers than among temperamentally high active toddlers. Also, maternal scaffolding was negatively associated with the physical activity level of temperamentally high active toddlers. The main results of the current study provide implications for informing intervention and prevention programs aimed at helping mothers understand and recognize the important role of scaffolding in toddlers' active joint engagement in play.

Early executive functioning in a global context: Developmental continuity and family protective factors.

This study extends the methodological and theoretical understanding of executive functions (EFs) in preschoolers from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). First, the authors describe a rigorous process of adapting and evaluating six EF tasks to produce a culturally and developmentally appropriate measure of emerging EFs in a large sample of at-risk children in rural Pakistan. Next, the authors identify critical developmental and family factors that relate to preschoolers' EFs over the first 4years of life. Direct assessment of children's general cognitive skills at age two showed developmental continuity with EFs at age four, and these early cognitive skills mediated the effect of an antecedent parenting intervention on EFs as well as associations of targeted individual and family factors with EFs. Furthermore, directly assessed maternal cognitive capacities and observed maternal scaffolding uniquely predicted EFs in preschoolers. This study is also the first to demonstrate a significant overlap between direct assessments of IQ and EFs in young children from LMIC. Children's general intelligence mediated the associations of EFs with antecedent physical growth and cognitive skills as well as concurrent family factors (maternal verbal intelligence, maternal scaffolding, and home stimulation). After controlling for shared variance between preschoolers' general intelligence and EFs, three factors emerged as unique predictors of EFs: exposure to an early parenting intervention, physical growth status at age two, and number of older siblings. The findings have important implications for the design of interventions that aim to improve EFs in young children in LMIC. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/316329544/5abde94cd7.

Parenting matters: Moderation of biological and community risk for obesity

Contributions of parental limit setting, negativity, scaffolding, warmth, and responsiveness to Body Mass Index (BMI) were examined. Parenting behaviors were observed in parent-child interactions, and child BMI was assessed at 5 years of age. Mothers provided demographic information and obtained child saliva samples used to derive cortisol concentration indicators (N = 250). Geospatial crime indices were computed based on publically available information for a subsample residing within the boundaries of a Pacific Northwest city (N = 114). Maternal warmth and limit setting moderated the association between child HPA-axis regulation and BMI. BMI was higher for children at lower cortisol concentrations with greater maternal warmth and lower for youngsters with mid-range cortisol values under high maternal limit setting. Maternal scaffolding moderated the effects of crime exposure, so that lower scaffolding translated into higher child BMI with greater neighborhood crime exposure. These parenting behaviors could be leveraged in obesity prevention/intervention efforts.

Maternal Scaffolding of Preschoolers’ Writing Using Tablet and Paper-Pencil Tasks: Relations With Emergent Literacy Skills

ABSTRACTMothers play a key role in scaffolding children’s writing using traditional tools, such as paper and pencil. However, little is known about how mothers scaffold young children’s writing using touch-screen tablets (e.g., iPads) and the associations between maternal scaffolding and emergent literacy. Mother-child dyads (N = 47; M child age = 3.43 years) were video recorded as they wrote words using an iPad and a paper and pencil. Maternal print and grapho-phonemic mediation behaviors were measured. Children were assessed on letter name and letter-sound knowledge, letter writing and name writing, and print concepts. No significant differences were found in the level of maternal mediation provided in the tablet or paper-pencil condition. Maternal print mediation was positively associated with letter name and letter-sound knowledge and emergent writing in the tablet and paper-pencil conditions. Grapho-phonemic mediation was significantly related to children’s understanding of letter-sound correspondence and print concepts in the paper-pencil condition, but not the tablet condition. Supporting parents in using grapho-phonemic mediation during tablet use to foster early literacy learning should be considered in future research.

Maternal scaffolding strategies and early development of self-regulation in Chinese preschoolers

ABSTRACTThis study examined the relationship between aspects of maternal scaffolding and Chinese preschoolers’ self-regulation. Thirty-three children aged 3–5 (12 boys and 21 girls) and their mothers from one kindergarten in Nanning, China, participated in 2 dyadic problem-solving tasks. The children’s self-regulation was assessed using the tapping task either before or after a dyadic problem-solving session on the same day. All mother–child joint problem-solving sessions were videotaped and transcribed. Maternal scaffolding was coded in terms of cognitive assistance (elaborative/directive), emotional feedback (positive/negative), and transfer of responsibility (adult’s/child’s responsibility) in interaction turns. The results of a hierarchical regression analysis indicated that maternal elaborative cognitive assistance and positive feedback positively predicted children’s self-regulation, while neither the adult’s nor the child’s bearing of responsibility in interaction turns significantly predicted children’s self-regulation. Reasons for these results and implications for further studies and practitioners are discussed.

Thinking or feeling? An exploratory study of maternal scaffolding, child mental state talk, and emotion understanding in language-impaired and typically developing school-aged children.

Mother-child mental state talk (MST) supports children's developing social-emotional understanding. In typically developing (TD) children, family conversations about emotion, cognition, and causes have been linked to children's emotion understanding. Specific language impairment (SLI) may compromise developing emotion understanding and adjustment. We investigated emotion understanding in children with SLI and TD, in relation to mother-child conversation. Specifically, is cognitive, emotion, or causal MST more important for child emotion understanding and how might maternal scaffolding support this? Nine 5- to 9-year-old children with SLI and nine age-matched typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers. We assessed children's language, emotion understanding and reported behavioural adjustment. Mother-child conversations were coded for MST, including emotion, cognition, and causal talk, and for scaffolding of causal talk. Children with SLI scored lower than TD children on emotion understanding and adjustment. Mothers in each group provided similar amounts of cognitive, emotion, and causal talk, but SLI children used proportionally less cognitive and causal talk than TD children did, and more such child talk predicted better child emotion understanding. Child emotion talk did not differ between groups and did not predict emotion understanding. Both groups participated in maternal-scaffolded causal talk, but causal talk about emotion was more frequent in TD children, and such talk predicted higher emotion understanding. Cognitive and causal language scaffolded by mothers provides tools for articulating increasingly complex ideas about emotion, predicting children's emotion understanding. Our study provides a robust method for studying scaffolding processes for understanding causes of emotion.

Maternal Executive Functioning and Scaffolding in Families of Children with and without Parent-Reported ADHD.

Parental scaffolding robustly predicts child developmental outcomes, including improved self-regulation and peer relationships and fewer externalizing behaviors. However, few studies have examined parental characteristics associated with a parent's ability to scaffold. Executive functioning (EF) may be an important individual difference factor associated with maternal scaffolding that has yet to be examined empirically. Scaffolding may be particularly important for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) symptoms due to their core difficulties with inattention, disorganization, EF, and self-regulation, their need for greater parental structure, and higher-than-average rates of parental EF deficits. Yet, little research has examined child ADHD in relation to parental scaffolding. This cross-sectional study examined: (1) the association between maternal EF (as measured by the Hotel Test, Barkley's Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale, and Digit Span) and observed scaffolding, (2) the association between parent-reported child ADHD/DBD symptoms and scaffolding, and (3) the interaction between child ADHD/DBD symptoms and maternal EF in predicting scaffolding. In a sample of 84 mothers and their 5-10 year-old biological children (62% male) with and without parent-reported ADHD, we found that maternal EF, as measured by Digit Span and the Hotel Test, predicted observed maternal scaffolding. However, child ADHD/DBD symptoms did not significantly predict maternal scaffolding controlling for child age, maternal education, and maternal EF, nor did the interaction of maternal EF and parent-reported child ADHD/DBD symptoms. Working memory and task shifting may be key components of parental EF that could be targeted in interventions to improve parental scaffolding.

Maternal scaffolding in a disadvantaged global context: The influence of working memory and cognitive capacities.

The current study focuses on maternal cognitive capacities as determinants of parenting in a highly disadvantaged global context, where children's experiences at home are often the 1st and only opportunity for learning and intellectual growth. In a large sample of 1,291 biological mothers of preschool-aged children in rural Pakistan, we examined the unique association of maternal working memory skills (independent of related cognitive capacities) with cognitively stimulating parenting behaviors. Path analysis revealed that directly assessed working memory, short-term memory, and verbal intelligence independently predicted greater levels of observed maternal scaffolding behaviors. Mothers from poorer families demonstrated lower levels of working memory, short-term memory, and verbal intelligence. However, mothers' participation in an early childhood parenting intervention that ended 2 years prior to this study contributed to greater levels of working memory skills and verbal intelligence. Further, all 3 domains of maternal cognitive capacity mediated the effect of family economic resources on maternal scaffolding, and verbal intelligence also mediated the effect of early parenting intervention exposure on maternal scaffolding. The study demonstrates the unique relevance of maternal working memory for scaffolding behaviors that required continuously monitoring the child's engagement, providing assistance, and minimizing external distractions. These results highlight the importance of directly targeting maternal cognitive capacities in poor women with little or no formal education, using a 2-generation intervention approach that includes activities known to promote parental executive functioning and literacy. (PsycINFO Database Record

Maternal scaffolding and home stimulation: Key mediators of early intervention effects on children's cognitive development.

This study contributes to the understanding of how early parenting interventions implemented in low- and middle-income countries during the first 2 years of children's lives are sustained longitudinally to promote cognitive skills in preschoolers. We employed path analytic procedures to examine 2 family processes-the quality of home stimulation and maternal scaffolding behaviors-as underlying mechanisms through which a responsive stimulation intervention uniquely predicted children's verbal intelligence, performance intelligence, and executive functioning. The sample included 1,302 highly disadvantaged children and their mothers living in rural Pakistan, who from birth participated in a 2-year, community-based, cluster-randomized, controlled trial designed to promote sensitive and responsive caregiving. Family processes were assessed at 2 developmental time points using parent reports, ratings of home environments, and observed parent-child interactions. Cognitive skills at age 4 were assessed using standardized tests. Controlling for socioeconomic risk (e.g., wealth, maternal education, food insecurity) and individual factors (e.g., gender, growth status), the quality of current home stimulation as well as both earlier and concurrent measures of maternal scaffolding independently mediated the intervention effects on cognitive skills at age 4. In addition, the intervention had a significant direct effect on executive functioning and performance intelligence over and above significant family processes and other covariates. We highlight implications for future program design and evaluation studies. (PsycINFO Database Record

Developmental Risk and Goodness of Fit in the Mother-Child Relationship: Links to Parenting Stress and Children's Behaviour Problems.

Despite the compelling nature of goodness of fit, empirical support has lagged for this construct. The present study examined an interactional approach to measuring goodness of fit and prospectively explored associations with mother-child relationship quality, child behavior problems, and parenting stress across the preschool period. In addition, as goodness of fit might be particularly important for children at developmental risk, the presence of early developmental delay was considered as a moderator of goodness of fit processes. Children with (n = 110) and without (n = 137) developmental delays and their mothers were coded while interacting in the lab at child age 36 months and during naturalistic home observations at child ages 36 and 48 months. Mothers also completed questionnaires at child age 60 months. Results highlight the effects of child developmental risk as a moderator of mother-child goodness of fit processes across the preschool period. There was also evidence that the goodness of fit between maternal scaffolding and child activity level at 36 months influenced both mother and child functioning at 60 months. Findings call for more precise models and expanded developmental perspectives to fully capture the transactional and dynamic nature of goodness of fit.

Maternal Emotion Socialization and the Development of Inhibitory Control in an Emotional Condition

Although several studies have implicated parental socialization in children's development of multiple executive functions, little is known about how parenting may predict inhibitory control when emotion is involved. In this study, 42 children completed two tasks with their mothers at 3.5 years. Maternal emotion language was coded during a storybook task, and maternal scaffolding was coded during a puzzle task. At 3.5 and 4 years, children's inhibitory control was assessed with Day–Night and Happy–Sad card games, Stroop‐like tasks that differ in that the latter contains emotion content. Accuracy and latency on Happy–Sad were predicted by maternal emotion language but not scaffolding. In contrast, latency on Day–Night was predicted by scaffolding but not emotion language. This shows context‐specificity in the links between parenting and cognitive control, such that emotion socialization predicted children's performance in an emotional context only, while more general scaffolding behaviours predicted inhibitory control in the non‐emotional condition. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Supplemental Material for Maternal Scaffolding and Home Stimulation: Key Mediators of Early Intervention Effects on Children’s Cognitive Development

Supplemental Material for Maternal Scaffolding and Home Stimulation: Key Mediators of Early Intervention Effects on Children’s Cognitive Development

The Role of Previous Mother-Child Scaffolding in Head Start Children’s Structuring of Problem-Solving Tasks With a Peer

This study further extends scaffolding research to mother-child dyads (N = 51) in poverty, examining relationships between maternal scaffolding and 4-year-old Head Start children’s own later scaffolding behaviors. At Time 1, experimental group children received maternal scaffolding during problem-solving tasks, whereas control group children carried out the tasks without assistance. At Time 2, all children provided scaffolding to a novice adult who acted as a peer unfamiliar with the task. Verbal and nonverbal scaffolding strategies were coded, and children’s verbal skills and social competence were measured. The simple presence or absence of earlier scaffolding did not differentiate child tutors. However, tutoring strategies used by experimental group children during the child-novice problem-solving task were similar to those used earlier by their mothers. After controlling for children’s verbal skills and social competence, mothers’ use of active nonverbal strategies (but not active verbal strategies) was predictive of similar behaviors in their children.

Helping Children Help: The Relation between Maternal Scaffolding and Children's Early Help

AbstractTheory and empirical research suggest that parental scaffolding of children's participation in chores may contribute to the development of early helping. Sixty mother–child dyads with toddlers between 18 and 24 months of age were assessed on two measures of scaffolding (during a cleanup chore; reading an emotionally laden book together). Children's helping was assessed in five tasks with an experimenter, and children were also assessed for social approach to an unfamiliar adult as a measure of sociability, and for internal state language as a measure of social understanding. Both mothers' scaffolding of everyday helping and children's sociability uniquely predicted individual differences in children's helping. Thus, individual differences in children's helping appear early, and are associated with both temperament and with parents' efforts to support and encourage young children's helpfulness.

The transactional relationship between parenting and emotion regulation in children with or without developmental delays.

Researchers have identified numerous internal and external factors that contribute to individual differences in emotion regulation (ER) abilities. To extend these findings, we examined the longitudinal effects of a significant external predictor (parenting) on children's ER abilities in the context of an internal predictor (intellectual functioning). We used cross-lagged panel modeling to investigate the transactional relationship between parenting and ER in children with or without developmental delays (DD) across three time points in early and middle childhood (age 3, 5, and 8). Participants were 225 families in the Collaborative Family Study, a longitudinal study of young children with or without DD. Child ER ability and maternal scaffolding skills were coded from mother-child interactions at ages 3, 5, and 8. Compared to children with typical development (TD), children with DD were significantly more dysregulated at all time points, and their mothers exhibited fewer scaffolding behaviors in early childhood. In addition, cross-lagged panel models revealed a significant bidirectional relationship between maternal scaffolding and ER from ages 3 to 5 in the DD group but not the TD group. These findings suggest that scaffolding may be a crucial parenting skill to target in the early treatment of children with ER difficulties.

Associations between maternal scaffolding and executive functioning in 3 and 4 year olds born very low birth weight and normal birth weight

BackgroundDeficits in executive function, including measures of working memory, inhibition and cognitive flexibility, have been documented in preschoolers born very low birth weight (VLBW) compared with preschoolers born normal birth weight (NBW). Maternal verbal scaffolding has been associated with positive outcomes for both at-risk and typically developing preschoolers. AimsThe purpose of this study was to examine associations between maternal verbal scaffolding, Verbal IQ (VIQ) and executive function measures in preschoolers born VLBW. SubjectsA total of 64 VLBW and 40 NBW preschoolers ranging in age from 3 ½ to 4years participated in the study. Outcome measuresVIQ was measured with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence — Third Edition. Executive function tests included the Bear Dragon, Gift Delay Peek, Reverse Categorization and Dimensional Change Card Sort-Separated Dimensions. Study designMaternal verbal scaffolding was coded during a videotaped play session. Associations between maternal verbal scaffolding and preschoolers' measures of VIQ and executive function were compared. Covariates included test age, maternal education, and gender. ResultsPreschoolers born VLBW performed significantly worse on VIQ and all executive function measures compared to those born NBW. Maternal verbal scaffolding was associated with VIQ for VLBW preschoolers and Gift Delay Peek for the NBW group. Girls born VLBW outperformed boys born VLBW on VIQ and Bear Dragon. ConclusionIntegrating scaffolding skills training as part of parent-focused intervention may be both feasible and valuable for early verbal reasoning and EF development.

Prenatal and postnatal maternal representations in nonrisk and at-risk parenting: exploring the influences on mother-infant feeding interactions.

The aim of this study was to investigate the mother-infant relationship in depressive, psychosocial, and cumulative-risk parenting by assessing prenatal and postnatal maternal representations and mother-infant interactions during feeding at 4 months of age. The sample consisted of 167 mother-infant pairs: 41 nonrisk women, 40 depressive-risk women, 40 psychosocial-risk women, and 46 cumulative-risk women. During pregnancy, the women were interviewed about psychosocial-risk variables. Maternal representations and depressive symptoms were evaluated during pregnancy and again when the infants were 3 and 4 months old, respectively. All mother-infant pairs were observed in 20-min video recordings during breast-feeding. Maternal Integrated/balanced representations were more frequent in the nonrisk group whereas the maternal Nonintegrated/ambivalent category was more represented in the cumulative-risk group during pregnancy and after the infant's birth. At 4 months, the cumulative-risk group of mothers and infants showed a lack of reciprocity, conflictual communicative exchanges, and higher food refusal behavior. Moreover, at 4 months, differences between the quality of mother-infant feeding interactions and the quality of prenatal and postnatal maternal representations emerged, showing less adequate maternal scaffolding in the Nonintegrated/ambivalent and Restricted/disengaged women. This study has rich implications for intervention to support the affective and communicative caregiving system and to prevent infant feeding problems and mother-infant relational disturbances in childhood.

Scaffolding, analysis and materials: Contributing factors in an unexpected finding of advanced infant/toddler pretend play?

As part of a longitudinal study, infant/toddler pretend play development and maternal play modelling were investigated in dyadic context. A total of 21 children were videotaped in monthly play sessions with their mothers, from age 8 to 17 months. Child and mother pretend play frequencies and levels were measured using Brown’s Pretend Play Observation Scale. Child IQ assessments at 5 years (Stanford–Binet IV) indicated average to high ability levels ( M = 122.62). Descriptive analyses showed that children’s levels of pretend development were markedly in advance of age-typical expectations. With a previous analysis showing no specific associations between play levels and IQ, intensive maternal scaffolding, data analysis approaches and use of abstract play materials are proposed as possible contributory factors to the children’s advanced pretend play development.

An examination of Anglo and Latino parenting practices: Relation to behavior problems in children with or without developmental delay

The transactional model of development has received empirical support in research on at-risk children. However, little is known about the role of ethnicity or child delay status (i.e., developmental delay [DD] or typical cognitive development [TD]) in the process of parents adapting to their child's behavior problems and special needs. We examined whether Latina (N=44) and Anglo (N=147) mothers of 3-year-old children with or without DD differed in their use of two parenting practices, maternal scaffolding and sensitivity. We also examined how the status and ethnic groups differed in child behavior problems at ages 3 and 5 and whether parenting predicted change in behavior problems over time in the ethnic and status groups. Analyses generally supported previous research on status group differences in behavior problems (DD higher) and parenting practices (TD higher). Parenting practices predicted a decrease in externalizing problems from child age 3 to 5 years among Latino families only. Child developmental status was not associated with change in behavior problems. Cultural perspectives on the transactional model of development and implications for intervention are discussed.