Children become more active participants in parent-child interaction by the time they reach primary school age, during the transition from dependence to greater autonomy. Parent-child interaction... Show moreChildren become more active participants in parent-child interaction by the time they reach primary school age, during the transition from dependence to greater autonomy. Parent-child interaction can shape children’s neurocognitive development, yet little is known about the nature of this relation in school-aged children. In this dissertation the associations between parent-child interaction and four- to eight-year-old children’s attentional control, executive functioning , social cognition and reasoning skills were investigated. Furthermore, it was investigated whether parents can be educated to improve interactions with their child through a compact psycho-educational program. It can be concluded that parental supportive presence, intrusiveness and questioning style adaptive to both the age and needs of school-aged children were associated with children’s neurocognitive functioning. Educating parents to adaptively modify their parent-child interactions can positively influence their supportive presence, intrusiveness and questioning style, which in turn may benefit their child’s neurocognitive functioning. These findings suggest that educating parents can benefit children’s neurocognitive development and the aspects of parenting strategies investigated in this dissertation could be useful objectives. A compact school-based group program for parents may already have a meaningful impact in promoting aspects of parent-child interaction that have been shown to be associated with children’s neurocognitive development. Show less
Spruijt, A.M.; Dekker, M.C.; Ziermans, T.B.; Swaab, H. 2019
Background Parent-child interaction is essential in the development of attentional control (AC) and executive functioning (EF). Educating parents in AC and EF development may help them to respond... Show moreBackground Parent-child interaction is essential in the development of attentional control (AC) and executive functioning (EF). Educating parents in AC and EF development may help them to respond more adaptively to their child's developmental needs. Aim This study aimed to investigate whether parents can be educated to improve interactions with their child through a compact psycho-educational programme that focuses on fostering the development of AC and EF. Sample Parents and their children in a low-risk sample of four- to eight-year-olds were randomly assigned to either the educational programme condition (N = 34) or the control condition (N = 36). Methods Parental supportive presence and intrusiveness were observed during home visits, and children's performance-based AC and EF were assessed before and after the four-session programme. Result Parents in the educational programme improved significantly in support (eta p2 = .19) and intrusiveness (eta p2 = .09) compared to controls. There was no short-term programme mediation effect on child AC and EF through parental support and intrusiveness. This study showed, however, that parents who improved after the educational programme had children who improved on AC and EF. Conclusion Parent-child interaction can be enhanced in a low-risk sample of four- to eight-year-olds using a compact educational group programme within the school community. Future studies should aim at examining variations in programme responsiveness and assessing associations between parent-child interaction and AC and EF over time. Show less
Spruijt, A.M.; Dekker, M.C.; Ziermans, T.B.; Swaab, H. 2019
Good parenting strategies can shape children’s neurocognitive development, yet little is known about the nature of this relation in school-aged children and whether this association shifts with age... Show moreGood parenting strategies can shape children’s neurocognitive development, yet little is known about the nature of this relation in school-aged children and whether this association shifts with age. We aimed to investigate the relation between parenting strategies observed during a home visit and children’s performance-based attentional control and executive functioning (N = 98, aged 4–8 years). Linear and curvilinear regression analyses showed that children of parents who were more supportive, were less intrusive, and asked more open-ended questions displayed better inhibitory control. In addition, children of parents who asked relatively more open-ended than closed-ended questions showed better performance on inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility tasks. Curvilinear relations indicated the presence of an optimal amount of closed-ended and elaborative questions by parents—that is, not too few and not too many—which is linked to increased performance on attentional and inhibitory control in children. Higher parental intrusiveness and more frequent elaborative questioning were associated with decreased inhibitory control in younger children, whereas no such negative associations were present in older children. These results suggest that susceptibility to certain parenting strategies may shift with age. Our findings underscore the importance of adaptive parenting strategies to both the age and needs of school-aged children, which may positively affect their self-regulation skills. Show less
