Elsevier

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Volume 34, Issue 6, November–December 2013, Pages 257-267
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Parent–child interaction, task-oriented regulation, and cognitive development in toddlers facing developmental risks

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2013.08.002Get rights and content

Highlights

  • This study examined longitudinal relations among parental supportiveness, task-oriented regulation, and cognition.

  • Baseline levels of child task-oriented regulation were related to baseline levels of child cognition.

  • Growth rates of child task-oriented regulation were related to growth rates of child cognition.

Abstract

The importance of supportive parent–child interactions and the development of regulatory abilities with regard to growth in children's cognitive abilities has been established. This study investigated the longitudinal relations among parental supportiveness, child task-oriented regulation, and cognitive development for low-income children facing developmental risks. Interlocking growth models were fit to these variables based on measurements made when the children were 14, 24, and 36 months of age. Results showed that growth rates of child cognition were related to baseline (14 months) parental supportiveness and changes in child task-oriented regulation. We additionally found that baseline levels of cognition were related to the baseline levels of child task-oriented regulation. This study suggests that both parental supportiveness during infancy and the concurrent development of child task-oriented regulation are related to cognitive development among children facing developmental risks.

Section snippets

Parent–child interactions

The quality of parent–child interactions is one of the most powerful environmental influences on child development according to the Bioecological and Transactional models. This has prompted researchers to use the quality of parent–child interactions to predict outcomes for children with developmental delays (e.g., Croft et al., 2001), disabilities (e.g., Hauser-Cram, Warfield, Shonkoff, & Krauss, 2001), low-birth weight (e.g., Halpern et al., 2001, Landry et al., 2001), and developmental risks

Method

This investigation is embedded within the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP), a longitudinal study that was designed to examine the impact of Early Head Start (EHS) and to explore the differential effectiveness of various program models for low-income children and families with different characteristics. Families (N = 3001) from 17 sites were recruited into the EHSREP between July 1996 and September 1998 when their infants were less than 12 months old. Families were randomly

Preliminary analyses

The bivariate correlations among and descriptive statistics for the study variables were examined. The three indicators of parental supportiveness had moderate or strong correlations at each time point. For example, correlations among sensitivity, stimulation of cognitive development, and positive regard indicators ranged from .59 to .65 at 14 months, from .56 to .72 at 24 months, from .49 to .69 at 36 months. Indicators of child task-oriented regulation were moderately correlated at each time

Discussion

This study used latent growth modeling to examine relations among baseline levels and rates of change of parental supportiveness, children's task-oriented regulation, and cognition for low-income toddlers facing developmental risks.

Acknowledgments

The findings reported here are based on research conducted as part of the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Contract 105-95-1936 to Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, NJ, and Columbia University’s Center for Children and Families, Teachers College, in conjunction with the Early Head Start Research Consortium. The content of this publication does not

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