Cortisol stress reactivity moderates the effects of parental corporal punishment on Chinese preschoolers’ executive function

Background: To date whether the effects of parental corporal punishment (CP) on executive function (EF) distinct components are different is less clear. Moreover, theory and empirical work suggest that physiological regulation system may help to explain the individual differences in the developmental outcomes associated with parental CP.Objective: This study examined the effects of parental CP on Chinese preschoolers’ EF and whether the cortisol stress reactivity would moderate such effects.Participants and Setting: One hundred and fifty-two preschool-aged children and their parents from Beijing China participated in the present study.Methods: Parental CP was reported by fathers and mothers respectively in the first year of the study (2015, spring), and children’s EF was assessed and salivary cortisol was collected in the second year (2016, spring).Results: Both paternal and maternal CP were negatively correlated with children’s EF one year later, and the relation between maternal, but not paternal CP and children’s EF was moderated by cortisol stress reactivity. Specifically, compared to children with high cortisol stress reactivity levels, children with low cortisol stress reactivity levels who experienced maternal CP in the past year showed poorer global EF and working memory.Conclusions: Findings highlight the critical importance of examining the interactive effects of individual physiological level and environmental-level risks on young children’s self-regulation outcomes.     

Self-Regulation and Economic Stress in Children of Hispanic Immigrants and Their Peers: Better Regulation at a Cost?

Research Findings: Although there is a well-established relationship between economic stress and children’s self-regulation, few studies have examined this relationship in children of Hispanic immigrants (COHIs), a rapidly growing population. In a sample of preschool children (N = 165), we examined whether economic stress predicted teacher evaluations of children’s self-regulation, whether economic stress predicted children’s physiological reactivity (via cortisol levels), and whether economic stress had a similar effect on self-regulation and children’s cortisol for COHI versus nonimmigrant children. Greater economic stress was associated with poorer child self-regulation and heightened physiological reactivity across a challenging classroom task for the sample as a whole. However, when we examined children by group, greater economic stress was associated with poorer teacher-reported self-regulation for nonimmigrant children only. In contrast, greater economic stress was related to greater cortisol reactivity across a challenge task for COHIs but not for nonimmigrants. Practice or Policy: Results demonstrate the importance of considering physiological indices of self-regulation (heightened stress physiology), in addition to traditional external indices (teacher report), when assessing self-regulation or risk more generally among preschool samples that are diverse in terms of ethnicity, economic risk, and parents’ nativity.     

Schooling effects on preschoolers’ self-regulation, early literacy, and language growth

The present study examined the influence of schooling during children's first and second years of preschool for children who experienced different amounts of preschool (i.e., one or two years), but who were essentially the same chronological age. Children (n = 76) were tested in the fall and spring of the school year using measures of self-regulation, decoding, letter knowledge, and vocabulary. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), preschool was not associated with children's development of self-regulation in either year. For decoding and letter knowledge, children finishing their second year of preschool had higher scores, although both groups of children grew similarly during the school year. Thus, our results suggest that the first and second years of preschool are both systematically associated with decoding and letter knowledge gains, and the effects are cumulative (two years predicted greater gains overall than did one year of preschool). Finally, children's chronological age, and not whether they experienced one versus two years of preschool, predicted children's vocabulary and self-regulation outcomes. Implications for preschool curricula and instruction are discussed, including the increasing emphasis on literacy learning prior to kindergarten entry and the need to address self-regulation development along with academic learning.     

Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten

This study examined the role of self-regulation in emerging academic ability in one hundred and forty-one 3- to 5-year-old children from low-income homes. Measures of effortful control, false belief understanding, and the inhibitory control and attention-shifting aspects of executive function in preschool were related to measures of math and literacy ability in kindergarten. Results indicated that the various aspects of child self-regulation accounted for unique variance in the academic outcomes independent of general intelligence and that the inhibitory control aspect of executive function was a prominent correlate of both early math and reading ability. Findings suggest that curricula designed to improve self-regulation skills as well as enhance early academic abilities may be most effective in helping children succeed in school.     

Executive function and early reading skills

The purpose of this study was to examine how executive function skills in verbal and nonverbal auditory tasks are related to early reading skills in beginning readers. Kindergarteners (N = 41, aged 5 years) completed verbal (phonemes) and nonverbal (environmental sounds) Continuous Performance tasks yielding measures of executive function (misses, false alarms, and shift) as well as reaction time and D-Prime (sensitivity). Year-end measures of early reading skill included tests of phoneme awareness, letter knowledge, as well as reading (words and nonwords). The children made more errors on the verbal than the nonverbal tasks, suggesting that executive function abilities may differ by task. Adding to the literature on the role of inhibitory skills in reading, verbal inhibitory executive function skills were tied more closely to early reading than other verbal or nonverbal skills when age, short-term memory, and vocabulary were controlled.     

Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress as a Mediator of Early Adversity on Risk and Adaptive Outcomes

Children chronically exposed to stress early in life are at increased risk for maladaptive outcomes, though the physiological mechanisms driving these effects are unknown. Cortisol reactivity was tested as a mediator of the relation between prenatal substance exposure and/or early adversity on adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. Data were drawn from a prospective longitudinal study of prenatal substance exposure (N = 860). Cortisol reactivity was assessed at age 11. Among African Americans, prenatal substance exposure exerted an indirect effect through early adversity and cortisol reactivity to predict externalizing behavior, delinquency, and a positive student–teacher relationship at age 11. Decreased cortisol reactivity was related to maladaptive outcomes, and increased cortisol reactivity predicted better executive functioning and a more positive student–teacher relationship.     

Reactivity and regulation in cortisol and behavioral responses to stress

This study examined relations between reactivity (i.e., peak response) and regulation (i.e., response dampening) in 6-month-old infants' cortisol and behavioral responses to inoculation (N = 62). Data showed that reactivity and regulation were unrelated for both cortisol and behavior. The independence of reactivity and regulation suggests that measures of both are needed to characterize infant cortisol or behavioral response to stress more completely. For both reactivity and regulation, cortisol and behavior were unrelated, suggesting that measures of both are needed to assess infant stress more adequately. There was considerable variation in the timing of the peak cortisol response, suggesting that obtaining only a single poststressor cortisol sample does not provide a sensitive measure of cortisol reactivity.     

Examining stress reactivity in neonates: relations between cortisol and behavior

The association between cortisol and behavioral reactivity to a medical heel stick and a neurobehavioral exam was examined in 100 healthy African American neonates, who have been underrepresented in this area of research. Using continuous measures, behavioral distress was associated with cortisol reactivity to both stressors. High levels of behavioral distress, however, were associated with cortisol reactivity only in response to the neurobehavioral exam. In contrast, low levels of behavioral distress were associated with cortisol reactivity only in response to the heel stick. The results highlight potentially important parameters for exploring the relation between biological and behavioral reactivity to stress such as the operationalization of behavioral distress and the context in which a stress response is elicited.     

Supporting emotion regulation in individuals with ASD,ADHD and bipolar disorder through trauma-informed instruction and self-regulation strategies

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, students have endured drastic changes in educational routines. Such disruptions can be especially challenging for students who struggle with executive functioning, self-regulation and emotion regulation, such as students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder. Using a framework of trauma-informed instruction, the authors supported classroom teachers in implementing sensory spaces for students with ASD, ADHD and bipolar disorder. The project included professional development and funding for teachers to develop, procure and offer sensory tools and strategies to assist students in recognising and managing emotions. The authors collected data on the effectiveness of the sensory supports, combining teacher surveys and student behaviour data. Results indicated increased teacher knowledge on trauma-informed instruction and use of sensory supports to promote executive functioning and self-regulation and decreased target behaviours in students based on structured observation and anecdotal teacher feedback.     

Executive function training for kindergarteners after the Great East Japan Earthquake: intervention effects

Japan’s Social Thinking and Academic Readiness Training (START) program Academic Readiness (AR) lesson aims to improve self-regulation, executive function, and behavior problems in kindergarten children, but the effects of the START program AR lessons in unfavorable circumstances are unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of the START program AR lesson in affected areas after the Great East Japan Earthquake. A cluster randomized trial was conducted with 111 5-year-old children in two kindergartens in Miyagi Prefecture to evaluate the effectiveness of the six-week AR lesson. One kindergarten was randomly chosen to implement the AR lesson, and the other maintained standard education. In the intervention group, trained classroom teachers provided the children with a 20-min AR lesson once a week. Executive function, behavioral self-regulation, and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors were measured before and after the six-week intervention. The intervention group showed improved inhibitory control and enhanced behavioral self-regulation compared with the standard practice group. In addition, teachers’ evaluations showed that children’s internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors improved significantly. The results indicate that the START program AR lesson was effective in enabling teachers to help students improve executive function, self-regulation, and problematic behaviors. Therefore, educators and policy-makers should consider implementing the START program AR lesson in kindergartens after a disaster.

     

Salivary cortisol mediates effects of poverty and parenting on executive functions in early childhood

In a predominantly low-income population-based longitudinal sample of 1,292 children followed from birth, higher level of salivary cortisol assessed at ages 7, 15, and 24 months was uniquely associated with lower executive function ability and to a lesser extent IQ at age 3 years. Measures of positive and negative aspects of parenting and household risk were also uniquely related to both executive functions and IQ. The effect of positive parenting on executive functions was partially mediated through cortisol. Typical or resting level of cortisol was increased in African American relative to White participants. In combination with positive and negative parenting and household risk, cortisol mediated effects of income-to-need, maternal education, and African American ethnicity on child cognitive ability.     

A Structural Equation Modeling Approach for the Analysis of Cortisol Data Collected Using Pre–Post–Post Designs

Abstract

This study introduces a novel application of structural equation modeling (SEM) for the analysis of cortisol data that are collected using a pre–post–post design. By way of an extended example, an SEM model is developed that permits an examination of both the overall level of cortisol, as well as changes in cortisol (reactivity and regulation), as predictors of cognitive (executive) and behavioral functioning in 3- to 5-year-old children (N = 171) attending Head Start. The SEM model makes use of the parameterization of latent curve models. Throughout the extended example, the strengths of using an SEM approach for the analysis of cortisol data that are collected using pre–post–post designs is highlighted.     

The Role of Executive Functions for Dyadic Literacy Learning in Kindergarten

The current study used a dyadic and coconstructive approach to examine how to embed exercises that support executive functioning into early literacy instruction to empower its effects. Using a randomized controlled trial design with 100 children, we examined the effects of dyadic activities in which children scaffolded each other’s learning and behavior through structured questioning procedures. This group was contrasted with a control group whose dyads observed each other while working with the same literacy exercises and with a business-as-usual control group. Research Findings: Results showed that the experimental group showed greater progress in letter knowledge. Further analyses indicated that these results were mainly driven by children with higher levels of executive functions. Practice or Policy: These results suggest that young children are able to regulate each other’s learning behavior during preacademic exercises in dyadic contexts but may need more external control from a teacher when their executive function levels are low.     

Visual–motor symbol production facilitates letter recognition in young children

Previous research has suggested that handwriting letters may be an important exerciser to facilitate early letter understanding. Experimental studies to date, however, have not investigated whether this effect is general to any visual–motor experience or specific to handwriting letters. In the present work, we addressed this issue by testing letter knowledge using three measures in preschool children before and after a school-based intervention. Participants were divided into four training groups (letter-writing, digit-writing, letter-viewing, digit-viewing) that either wrote letters or digits or viewed letters or digits, twice a week for 6 weeks. We hypothesized that the visual–motor experience of handwriting letters or digits would improve letter knowledge more than viewing experience and that this effect would not be specific to training with letters. Our results demonstrated that the writing groups improved in letter recognition—one component of letter knowledge—significantly more than the viewing groups. The letter-writing group did not improve significantly more than the digit-writing group. These results suggest that visual–motor practice with any symbol could lead to increases in letter recognition. We interpret this novel finding as suggesting that any handwriting will increase letter recognition in part because it facilitates gains in visual–motor coordination.     

Does executive function mediate SES and home quality associations with academic readiness?

This study examined the extent to which executive function (EF) mediated associations of socioeconomic status (SES) and home-environment quality with academic readiness (math, letter and word identification, and knowledge of story-and-print concepts). Forty-nine 54–66-month old children and their mothers participated in a home observation and laboratory visit. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed the EF mediated associations between SES and math outcomes. These findings were observed after controlling for child verbal abilities. Implications for the role of verbal ability in EF, the developmental context in predicting EF, and the influence of EF on academic readiness are discussed.     

CSRP's Impact on low-income preschoolers' preacademic skills: self-regulation as a mediating mechanism

Based on theoretically driven models, the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) targeted low-income children's school readiness through the mediating mechanism of self-regulation. The CSRP is a multicomponent, cluster-randomized efficacy trial implemented in 35 Head Start-funded classrooms (N = 602 children). The analyses confirm that the CSRP improved low-income children's self-regulation skills (as indexed by attention/impulse control and executive function) from fall to spring of the Head Start year. Analyses also suggest significant benefits of CSRP for children's preacademic skills, as measured by vocabulary, letter-naming, and math skills. Partial support was found for improvement in children's self-regulation as a hypothesized mediator for children's gains in academic readiness. Implications for programs and policies that support young children's behavioral health and academic success are discussed.     

Contributions of active and dynamic self-regulation to learning

Most modern cognitive theories postulate that active executive control is the only internal source of self-regulation of learning processes. To account for incidental and other categories of unintentional learning, this study explored the hypothesis that two independent sources of internal control regulate academic learning: (a) active (or executive) and (b) dynamic (or nonexecutive). College undergraduates completed an inventory of active and dynamic learning processes. The findings supported the twosource hypothesis. Moreover, when the contribution of dynamic self-regulation was removed, the correlation between active self-regulation and learning was no longer significant. When active self-regulation was removed, the correlation between dynamic self-regulation and learning remained basically the same.Asghar Iran-Nejad received his Ph.D. in 1983 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at The University of Alabama. His research interests and publications include the multisource nature of learning, cognitive and affective causes of interest, and sources of self-regulation. Brad S. Chissom received his Ed.D. in 1969 from Florida State University. He is Professor and Program Chair in Educational Research at The University of Alabama. He has written in the areas of educational research methodology, measurement and statistical applications.     

Early Childhood Predictors of Post-Kindergarten Executive Function: Behavior, Parent-Report, and Psychophysiology

RESEARCH FINDINGS: This study examined whether children's executive functions before kindergarten would predict variance in executive functions after kindergarten. We obtained behavioral (working memory task performance), parental-reported (temperament-based inhibitory control), and psychophysiological (working memory-related changes in heart rate and brain electrical activity) measures of executive functions from a group of preschool-aged children. After children finished kindergarten, approximately 2 years later, parents were asked to complete an assessment of children's executive function skills. A regression analysis revealed that pre-kindergarten behavioral, parental-reported, and psychophysiological measures accounted for variance in post-kindergarten executive functions. Specifically, working memory task performance, temperament-based inhibitory control, and working memory-related changes in brain electrical activity accounted for unique variance in post-kindergarten executive functions. These data provide a unique contribution to the executive function literature: No other study has examined whether behavioral, psychophysiological, and parental-reported executive function measures can account for unique variance in future executive function. PRACTICE OR POLICY: These findings are discussed in relation to children's transition to school and executive function training programs.     

The contributions of parental management language to executive function in preschool children

This study investigated relations between preschoolers’ emergent executive function skills and their interactions with parents, with particular focus on the verbal utterances parents use to guide children's behavior (i.e., management language). Parent–child dyads (n = 127) were videotaped during a structured play task and the frequency of two types of management language, Direction (high control) and Suggestion (low control), was observed. Children's executive function was assessed using the Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders (HTKS) task. Latent growth modeling was used to investigate relations between management language and the development of children's executive function. Direction language (i.e., commands) was negatively associated with children's age three executive function but not significantly related to the rate of executive function development over time. Conversely, Suggestion language (i.e., questions and statements that offer children some degree of choice) was positively related to executive function at age three but negatively related to growth. The potential importance of management language as a parenting behavior that contributes to various aspects of children's self-regulation during preschool and kindergarten is discussed.     

Developmental Change in Infant Cortisol and Behavioral Response to Inoculation

Child Development, 1994, 65 , 1491–1502. Infant cortisol and behavioral responses to receiving 1 versus 2 inoculations on 1 pediatric office visit were observed at 2 and 6 months of age. Cortisol level (pre- plus postinoculation level) decreased with age, whereas cortisol response (post- minus preinoculation level) did not vary with age when the data were aggregated over infants showing a pre- to postinoculation cortisol increase and those showing a decrease. Nonetheless, for those infants who showed a cortisol increase, cortisol level and response decreased with age. Infants quieted faster at the older age. There was a moderate relation between quieting behavior and cortisol response, at least for infants who showed a pre- to postinoculation cortisol increase. These findings indicate a developmental trend for a decline over age in adrenocortical reactivity to inoculation for infants showing a cortisol release following the perturbation. Results were comparable whether infants received 1 or 2 inoculations.