Cognitive Development of Toddlers: Does Parental Stimulation Matter?

Infant cognitive home environment as a moderator for the association of prenatal lead on child language

Exposure to lead during early life, including in pregnancy, is toxic to neurodevelopment. Though public health initiatives have resulted in an overall reduction in lead exposure levels, lead remains a significant environmental hazard, requiring innovative efforts to mitigate the burden of early life lead. This study explored whether positive postnatal social experiences in the forms of positive caregiving and a rich cognitive home environment moderate the associations of prenatal lead on child neurodevelopmental outcomes including language skills, effortful control, and executive function skills. We leverage an analytic sample (N = 107) drawn from a prospective cohort of mother-infant dyads. Prenatal lead was measured from maternal urine, positive caregiving from observational methods, and cognitive home environment from a validated questionnaire. Results reveal a negative association of prenatal lead on child language when the cognitive home environment in infancy was poor (β=-0.32, p = 0.04) but not when the cognitive home environment in infancy was rich (β=0.20, p = 0.16). This buffering effect was not observed for the child outcomes of effortful control or executive function skills. Our results encourage future research into the provision of a rich cognitive home environment as a means of mitigating the detrimental effects of prenatal lead exposure on early child language skills.

Annual Research Review: Associations of socioeconomic status with cognitive function, language ability, and academic achievement in youth: a systematic review of mechanisms and protective factors

Low socioeconomic status (SES) is negatively associated with children's cognitive and academic performance, leading to long-term educational and economic disparities. In particular, SES is a powerful predictor of executive function (EF), language ability, and academic achievement. Despite extensive research documenting SES-related differences in these domains, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these associations and factors that may mitigate these relationships is limited. This systematic review aimed to identify the mediators and moderators in the association of SES with EF, language ability, and academic achievement. Our synthesis revealed stress, support, stimulation, and broader contextual factors at the school- and neighborhood level to be important mediators and protective factors in these associations. In particular, cognitive stimulation mediated the association of SES with EF, language ability, and academic achievement. Educational expectations, classroom and school environment, and teacher-student relationships also played a key role in the association of SES with academic achievement. In addition, factors such as preschool attendance, home learning activities, and parental support buffered the association between low SES and lower cognitive and language outcomes. We discuss these findings in the context of interventions that may help to reduce SES-related cognitive and educational disparities.

The Use of the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status and Developmental Milestones in Screening Children for Developmental Delay in India

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

The Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) and Developmental Milestones (PEDS:DM) are cost-effective, self-report tools that can be conveniently utilized in low- and middle-income countries to screen for developmental delays in children. This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of PEDS and PEDS:DM in distinguishing children with typical development (TD) from those with developmental disabilities (DD). It also examined the relationship between parents' general concerns and specific developmental concerns about their children.

METHOD

The study included 407 children with TD and 59 children with DD, recruited from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds in Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, and the National Capital Region of India. Parents of children aged 4 to 8 years completed the PEDS and PEDS:DM online.

RESULTS

The PEDS demonstrated high sensitivity (91%) but low specificity (47%), whereas the PEDS:DM showed poor sensitivity (17%) and specificity (6%). Parents of TD children who expressed general developmental concerns were likely to report specific concerns related to behavior, self-help skills, health, and cognitive development. Parents of DD children with general concerns reported specific issues with fine motor skills, behavior, school performance, cognitive development, and health.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that while PEDS and PEDS:DM can support early detection of developmental delays, their interpretation should be approached with caution. The study provides preliminary insights into the applicability of these screening tools for children aged 4-8 years in India.

Maternal Literacy Skills and Children's Kindergarten Outcomes in Rural Communities with Low Incomes: The Moderating Role of Hours in Child Care

Based on theoretical premises of ecological systems theory and the compensatory hypothesis, a subset of data from the Family Life Project (N = 773), a population-based study of rural families with low incomes, were used to test for associations between maternal literacy in infancy and children's academic outcomes and teacher-reported problem behaviors in kindergarten. A second aim tested whether increased time in child care averaged from 6-36 months moderated such relations. Results indicated that maternal literacy was significantly positively related to academic outcomes (ES = .17-.23) and significantly negatively related to children's problem behaviors (ES = -.15) in kindergarten. Child care hours were not significantly related to any outcome. Significant interactions were found between maternal literacy and hours in child care on both children's academic skills and problem behaviors. Specifically, for mothers with lower literacy levels, significant dose-response relationships were detected between increased time in child care and children's higher academic scores and reduced problem behaviors (ES = .07-.09). Implications for maternal literacy and child care access among rural families are discussed.

Validation of the StimQ2: A parent-report measure of cognitive stimulation in the home

Considerable evidence demonstrates the importance of the cognitive home environment in supporting children's language, cognition, and school readiness more broadly. This is particularly important for children from low-income backgrounds, as cognitive stimulation is a key area of resilience that mediates the impact of poverty on child development. Researchers and clinicians have therefore highlighted the need to quantify cognitive stimulation; however existing methodological approaches frequently utilize home visits and/or labor-intensive observations and coding. Here, we examined the reliability and validity of the StimQ2, a parent-report measure of the cognitive home environment that can be delivered efficiently and at low cost. StimQ2 improves upon earlier versions of the instrument by removing outdated items, assessing additional domains of cognitive stimulation and providing new scoring systems. Findings suggest that the StimQ2 is a reliable and valid measure of the cognitive home environment for children from infancy through the preschool period.

Translation and Cultural Adaptation of the StimQ for Use with Italian Children from Kindergartens

The StimQ questionnaire is used to assess the home environment of children. The questionnaire is comprised of four subscales, and it was completed by the main caregiver. The items were different considering the band ages of the children: infants (5-12 months), toddlers (12-36 months), and preschoolers (36-72 months). The aim of the study was to translate, transculturally adapt, and evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the StimQ. To achieve this goal, a sample of 142 children was recruited from different kindergartens. The mean age of the group was 30.63 (SD 19.56), and 112 of them were female. The main caregiver was the mother in 95% of the cases. The Cronbach's alfa was excellent, considering the total score (0.82 for infants, 0.85 for toddlers, and 0.86 for preschoolers). Intrarater reliability was performed by administering the questionnaire after 48 h and by two different researchers. Both analyses showed an excellent reliability for the total score and all the subscales. The intrarater reliability was 0.99 for the infant, 1 for the toddler and 0.99 for the preschooler age groups. The interrater reliability was 0.95 for the infant, 0.93 for the toddler, and 0.97 for the preschooler age groups. The StimQ is a reliable questionnaire that could be helpful for clinicians and researchers who work with children in Italy.

FAMILY ENVIRONMENT RESOURCES AND READING PERFORMANCE BY ADOLESCENTS

ABSTRACT This study aimed to verify the association between the resources of the family environment and teenage reading. A total of 106 adolescents of both sexes, aged between 11 and 16 years, without learning difficulties, participated in the study. For data collection, a narrative text, a multiple-choice questionnaire about the text and an adapted Family Environment Resources questionnaire were used. Descriptive and inferential analysis was performed using Spearman, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis correlation tests, with a significance level of 5%. Resources that promote proximal processes and parenting practices contributed to better reading performance. In contrast, the predictable activities category contributed negatively. Thus, the environment and resources influenced the adolescents’ reading performance. It is concluded that the elaboration of school measures and public policies is important to strengthen the family-school relationship, expand family resources and make the environment favorable to teaching.

RECURSOS DO AMBIENTE FAMILIAR E DESEMPENHO DE LEITURA EM ADOLESCENTES

RESUMO Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar a associação entre os recursos do ambiente familiar e a leitura de adolescentes. Participaram 106 adolescentes, de ambos os sexos, de 11 a 16 anos, sem queixas de dificuldades de aprendizagem. Para a coleta de dados utilizou-se um texto narrativo, o questionário de múltipla escolha sobre o texto e o de Recursos do Ambiente Familiar, adaptado. Foi realizada a análise descritiva e inferencial por meio dos testes correlação de Spearman, Mann-Whitney e Kruskal Wallis, com nível de significância de 5%. Os recursos que promovem os processos proximais e as práticas parentais contribuíram para um melhor desempenho de leitura. Em contrapartida, a categoria de atividades previsíveis contribuiu negativamente. Assim, o ambiente e os recursos influenciaram o desempenho leitor dos adolescentes. Conclui-se que é importante a elaboração de medidas escolares e de políticas públicas, para fortalecer a relação família-escola, ampliar os recursos familiares e tornar o ambiente favorável ao ensino.

Adaptive Behavior as an Alternative Outcome to Intelligence Quotient in Studies of Children at Risk: A Study of Preschool-Aged Children in Flint, MI, USA

Intelligence quotient (IQ) is commonly measured in child development studies, while adaptive behavior is less frequently considered. Given its associations with functional outcomes in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, adaptive behavior may be a useful outcome in general population samples, as well. This study aimed to compare social and environmental correlates of adaptive behavior vs. IQ in a sample of preschoolers exposed to the Flint water crisis (N = 184). Mother-child dyads were recruited from the community and administered a comprehensive battery to obtain information about child neurodevelopmental functioning, including direct assessment of IQ via the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and assessment of parent-reported adaptive functioning via the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Multiple social environmental factors were explored as potential correlates of child outcomes (i.e., IQ and adaptive behavior), and robust correlates were identified using a data-driven approach [i.e., least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression]. We then examined associations between the LASSO-selected predictors and IQ and adaptive behavior while controlling for child age, child sex, and maternal age. Children in this sample showed relative strength in adaptive behaviors, with scores in the adequate range, while average IQs fell in the low-average range. Adaptive behavior was significantly associated with maternal nurturance practices, while IQ was associated with the maternal education level. Implications for the use of adaptive behavior as an outcome measure in studies of children at an increased risk for neurodevelopmental problems are discussed.