Socioeconomic Risk and School Readiness: Longitudinal Mediation Through Children's Social Competence and Executive Function

Longitudinal association between children's mastery motivation and cognitive school readiness: Executive functioning and social-emotional competence as potential mediators

This study investigated the direct relationships between kindergarten children's object and social mastery motivation and future cognitive school readiness and the indirect relationships mediated through executive functioning and social-emotional competence in the school context. The participants were 103 Hong Kong kindergarten children (45.6% girls; mean age = 60.4 months) and their teachers. The teachers reported the children's demographic information and object and social mastery motivation at Time 1 (in the middle of the school year). They rated the children's executive functioning, social-emotional competence and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 (at the end of the school year). The results from the path analysis model revealed that the children's object mastery motivation at Time 1, but not their social mastery motivation, directly predicted their cognitive school readiness at Time 2. The indirect relationships between (a) object mastery motivation at Time 1 and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 mediated through executive functioning (indirect effect: β =.32, SE =.05, p <.001) and (b) social mastery motivation at Time 1 and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 mediated through social-emotional competence (indirect effect: β =.09, SE =.03, p <.01) were significant. The findings highlight the differential roles of object and social mastery motivation in predicting children's cognitive school readiness and propose children's executive functioning and social-emotional competence as processes mediating the relationships. The results also suggest the desirability of providing kindergarten children with extensive play opportunities and materials to support their mastery motivation and cognitive school readiness.

School readiness and social determinants of health: A collaboration with community teachers and parents

PURPOSE

To explore perceptions of community dwelling caregivers of preschool-aged children regarding the influence of social determinants of health (SDOH) on children's school readiness. Parents' perspectives regarding solutions to enhance school readiness in preschool-aged children are also explored.

METHODS

This study employed a qualitative, descriptive design and a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach. An academic institution collaborated with parents, teachers, and administrators at a community-based preschool learning center. Ten young-adult to middle-aged mothers and caregivers attended two separate focus groups and completed open-ended questionnaires. Inductive and deductive thematic analysis of text were employed.

FINDINGS

Three themes emerged 1) Families described the vast lack of appropriate community resources and inability to access those resources that are available to prepare their children for school 2). Family members need help processing information about social resources 3) Community, individual and systemic level solutions to enhance school readiness.

CONCLUSIONS

Academic-Community partnerships provide an opportunity to (1) identify solutions to remove systemic barriers that impede children's readiness for school, and (2) design interventions to support families through that process. Interventions to enhance school readiness should be family-focused and can be informed by understanding the influence of SDOH during the planning stages. SDOH create barriers and prevent parents from prioritizing their children's school, health-care, and developmental needs.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Interventions to enhance school readiness should be family-based and can be informed by understanding the influence of SDOH during the planning stages. Social advocacy is also needed to enhance the ability of parents to enhance their children's school readiness.

Working memory of school-aged children on the autism spectrum: Predictors for longitudinal growth

LAY ABSTRACT

Working memory is an important skill for school success, and it involves holding information in our memory while using it to solve complex problems at the same time. Autistic children often have difficulty with working memory. Because working memory development can be easily influenced by many factors from a young age, it is important to find factors that help with autistic children's development. This study tested the factors that are related to autistic children's working memory when they start kindergarten and the factors that can help with rapid improvement throughout their elementary school. We used a nationally representative data set that followed the same group of children from kindergarten to fifth grade. We found that autistic students from backgrounds with more resources and students with advanced learning approaches such as being organized, being excited to learn, and paying careful attention to their work, started school with strong working memory. Autistic students with advanced learning approaches continued to make rapid improvements during the first 3 years, and then their growth slowed down during the last 3 years. Autistic students who had a good relationship with their teachers made rapid improvements during the last 3 years of their elementary school. In addition, autistic children who struggled with working memory upon school entry were more likely to receive special education services at school. These findings suggest that we need effective ways to teach young autistic children important learning-related behaviors from a very young age through the school system, and teachers must prioritize building positive relationships with their students.

Transition to Kindergarten for Children on the Autism Spectrum: Perspectives of Korean-American Parents

This study explores Korean-American parents' perceptions on successful transition to kindergarten (TTK) for their child on the autism spectrum. It further examines challenges experienced during this process, and possible predictors for their challenges. Findings from an online survey (N = 212) indicate that participants consider their child's behavioral readiness and cooperation with teachers as the most important school readiness skills for successful TTK. They further consider building positive relationships with teachers and providing support at home as the most important support parents could provide during this process. Moreover, the child being a vocal communicator, higher income and parent's educational level were found to buffer against their reported challenges, while first-generation immigrant status and restrictive school placement were found to predict more challenges.

Effects of foster care intervention and caregiving quality on the bidirectional development of executive functions and social skills following institutional rearing

Institutional rearing negatively impacts the development of children's social skills and executive functions (EF). However, little is known about whether childhood social skills mediate the effects of the foster care intervention (FCG) and foster caregiving quality following early institutional rearing on EF and social skills in adolescence. We examined (a) whether children's social skills at 8 years mediate the impact of the FCG on the development of EF at ages 12 and 16 years, and (b) whether social skills and EF at ages 8 and 12 mediate the relation between caregiving quality in foster care at 42 months and subsequent social skills and EF at age 16. Participants included abandoned children from Romanian institutions, who were randomly assigned to a FCG (n = 68) or care as usual (n = 68), and a never-institutionalized group (n = 135). At ages 8, 12, and 16, social skills were assessed via caregiver and teacher reports and EF were assessed via the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Caregiving quality of foster caregivers was observed at 42 months. FCG predicted better social skills at 8 years, which in turn predicted better EF in adolescence. Higher caregiver quality in foster care at 42 months predicted better social skills at 8 and 12 years, and better EF at 12 years, which in turn predicted 16-year EF and social skills. These findings suggest that interventions targeting caregiving quality within foster care home environments may have long-lasting positive effects on children's social skills and EF.

Exploring proximal mechanisms behind intergenerational association between maternal childhood abuse and Chinese preschool children's executive function

BACKGROUND

Maternal personal history of childhood abuse has been found to predict child social-emotional problems; however, little is known about the intergenerational associations between maternal childhood abuse and child cognitive outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims at examining the intergenerational associations of maternal childhood emotional abuse and physical abuse with child executive functions among Chinese families with preschoolers, and exploring how these associations are mediated by maternal perspective-taking skills and mother-child conflict.

METHODS

Participants were 309 preschoolers (152 boys) aged 2-6 years and their mothers. Mothers reported on their childhood abuse histories, perspective taking, and mother-child conflict at baseline (T1). Five months later (T2), child executive functions including working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility were assessed using five computerized tasks.

RESULTS

After controlling for child gender and age, associations with child executive functions were found for maternal childhood emotional abuse, but not physical abuse. Specifically, severer childhood emotional abuse directly predicted lower levels of child cognitive flexibility. Furthermore, chained mediation paths were found from maternal childhood emotional abuse to lower levels of child working memory and inhibitory control through worse maternal perspective taking skills and then more mother-child conflicts.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide evidence for less optimal executive functions among preschoolers with emotionally abused mothers. Developing strategies to resolve the long-lasting impacts of maternal childhood emotional abuse may be important for reducing the risks of being unable to fully achieve the cognitive potentials of the next generation.

Socioeconomic status, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and executive function in adolescence: A longitudinal study with multiple informants

This study examines whether behavior problems reported by the self and others are associated prospectively with executive function in adolescence and whether these behaviors mediate the association between family and neighborhood socioeconomic status and executive function. Participants (N = 4,164) from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) reported their behaviors at ages 10-11; mothers, fathers, and teachers also rated participants' behaviors. Four years later, participants completed an executive function battery that measured attention, working memory, and error monitoring. As rated by the self, mother, father, and teacher, hyperactivity and emotional symptoms had the most consistent associations with worse performance on the executive function tasks. The associations were generally similar across the four reporters. Hyperactivity mediated the association between family SES in childhood and adolescent executive function. None of the behaviors mediated the association between neighborhood SES and executive function. The present research suggests that behavior problems prospectively predict executive function in adolescence and may be one mechanism of the relation between family SES and executive function.

A Hierarchical Integrated Model of Self-Regulation

We present a hierarchical integrated model of self-regulation in which executive function is the cognitive component of the model, together with emotional, behavioral, physiological, and genetic components. These five components in the model are reciprocally and recursively related. The model is supported by empirical evidence, primarily from a single longitudinal study with good measurement at each level of the model. We also find that the model is consistent with current thinking on related topics such as cybernetic theory, the theory of allostasis and allostatic load, and the theory of skill development in harsh and unpredictable environments, referred to as “hidden talents.” Next, we present literature that the integrative processes are susceptible to environmental adversity, poverty-related risk in particular, while positive social interactions with caregivers (e.g., maternal sensitivity) would promote self-regulatory processes or mitigate the adverse effect of early risk on the processes. A hierarchical integrative model of self-regulation advances our understanding of self-regulatory processes. Future research may consider broader social contexts of the integrative self-regulation system, such as neighborhood/community contexts and structural racism. This can be an integral step to provide children with equitable opportunities to thrive, even among children living in socioeconomically and psychosocially disadvantaged environments.

Associations among Household and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantages, Resting-state Frontoamygdala Connectivity, and Internalizing Symptoms in Youth

Exposure to socioeconomic disadvantages (SED) can have negative impacts on mental health, yet SED are a multifaceted construct and the precise processes by which SED confer deleterious effects are less clear. Using a large and diverse sample of preadolescents (ages 9-10 years at baseline, n = 4038, 49% female) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, we examined associations among SED at both household (i.e., income-needs and material hardship) and neighborhood (i.e., area deprivation and neighborhood unsafety) levels, frontoamygdala resting-state functional connectivity, and internalizing symptoms at baseline and 1-year follow-up. SED were positively associated with internalizing symptoms at baseline and indirectly predicted symptoms 1 year later through elevated symptoms at baseline. At the household level, youth in households characterized by higher disadvantage (i.e., lower income-to-needs ratio) exhibited more strongly negative frontoamygdala coupling, particularly between the bilateral amygdala and medial OFC (mOFC) regions within the frontoparietal network. Although more strongly positive amygdala-mOFC coupling was associated with higher levels of internalizing symptoms at baseline and 1-year follow-up, it did not mediate the association between income-to-needs ratio and internalizing symptoms. However, at the neighborhood level, amygdala-mOFC functional coupling moderated the effect of neighborhood deprivation on internalizing symptoms. Specifically, higher neighborhood deprivation was associated with higher internalizing symptoms for youth with more strongly positive connectivity, but not for youth with more strongly negative connectivity, suggesting a potential buffering effect. Findings highlight the importance of capturing multilevel socioecological contexts in which youth develop to identify youth who are most likely to benefit from early interventions.

Factors Related to School Readiness in Children: A Cross-Sectional Analytic Study of Elementary School Children in Manado

Objectives School readiness is an overall condition of someone which makes him/her ready to give response or answer in a certain way to various situations. This study aims to determine the factors related to school readiness. Methods This is an analytic observational study with cross-sectional design, conducted at 4 elementary schools in Malalayang district, Manado, Indonesia between August – November 2018 (n=150). The significant value used is p <0.01. Data wasanalyzed using SPSS for Windows version 23. Results Of 150 subjects there were 109 children who were ready for school and 41 children who were not ready for school. Of the five factors studied, it was found that stunted affected school readiness (OR 21.6; 95% CI: 6.68-70.32, p<0.000), maternal education status affected school readiness (OR 4.1; 95% CI: 1.75-9.63, p<0.001), socio-economic status affects school readiness (OR 5.1; 95% CI: 2.35-11.11, p<0.000), and preschool affect school readiness (OR 6.8; 95% CI: 3.1-14.9, p<0.0001). In multivariate analysis, there were three factors that had an association with school readiness, namely height, preschool participation and socioeconomic status (OR 34.4; 95% CI: 7.19-166.6, p<0.001, OR 6.5; 95% CI: 2.28-18.55 p<0.0001, OR 4.8l; 95% CI: 1.59-14.92 respectively). Conclusion There were associations between height, maternal education status, socio-economic status and participation in preschool with school readiness. There was no association observed between the employment status of mothers and school readiness. Height of the children was strongly associated with school readiness.

Latent Profiles of Teacher-Reported Self-Regulation and Assessed Executive Function in Low-Income Community Preschools: Relations With Motor, Social, and School Readiness Outcomes

This study contributes to understandings of early childhood self-regulation and executive function, and their components, through taking a person-centered approach to investigating how these skills cluster together in children aged 4-5years. A sample of children (N=206) from preschools in low socioeconomic communities were assessed through teacher report of self-regulation and three executive function tasks at the commencement of the preschool year. Outcome variables included teacher report of social skills and behavioral problems, and children's school readiness and visual motor integration skills were directly assessed. When the scores from this low-income sample were compared to available norms, over 70% of children scored below the 50th percentile in executive function measures, approximately 20% were below average in self-regulation skills, 48% were delayed in school readiness scores, 36% had above average levels of internalizing problems, and 25% were above average in externalizing problems. A series of four latent profile models each used different measurement approaches and combinations of self-regulation and executive function components. In three of the four models (two which combined self-regulation and executive function measures and one with teacher report of self-regulation only), a high skill and low skill profile were found with 31 to 42% of children in the low profile depending on the model. Children were very similarly classified across all three models. When three executive function scores were modeled alone, a more complex three-profile solution emerged (low, moderate, and high) with 52% in the low profile. Children identified in the low profiles across all models were at greater risk of poorer school readiness, visual motor integration and social skills, and increased behavioral problems. Taken together, the findings suggest that self-regulation and executive function skills tend to cluster together at this age and in this low-income sample. Composite scores of teacher report of self-regulation are somewhat sufficient in identifying children who also have poorer executive function skills and are at risk of poorer motor, social, and school readiness outcomes. These children are an important target group for additional supports prior to school entry.

COVID-19 school closures and educational achievement gaps in Canada: Lessons from Ontario summer learning research

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic closed most Canadian public schools for six consecutive months between March and September. This paper explores possible impacts of that closure on student achievement. Longstanding research suggests that lengthy periods of time out of school generally create losses of literacy and numeracy skills and widen student achievement gaps. New American studies have attributed sizeable learning losses to the COVID-19 closures. In lieu of comparable Canadian data, this paper extrapolates from summer learning research to estimate likely shortfalls in literacy and numeracy skills. We draw on data from 14 cohorts of Ontario primary-grade students collected between 2010 and 2015 in which 3,723 attended summer programs and 12,290 served as controls. Across three plausible scenarios, we use meta analyses and OLS and quintile regression models to predict learning losses of 3.5 and 6.5 months among typically-performing and lower-performing students respectively, and achievement gaps that grow up to 1.5 years among same grade peers. After qualifying these predictions, we recommend that provincial ministries offer targeted supplementary programs during the summer and synchronous instruction in the event of future school closures.

Income disparity in school readiness and the mediating role of perinatal maternal mental health: a longitudinal birth cohort study

AIMS

There is compelling evidence for gradient effects of household income on school readiness. Potential mechanisms are described, yet the growth curve trajectory of maternal mental health in a child's early life has not been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to examine the relationships between household incomes, maternal mental health trajectories from antenatal to the postnatal period, and school readiness.

METHODS

Prospective data from 505 mother-child dyads in a birth cohort in Singapore were used, including household income, repeated measures of maternal mental health from pregnancy to 2-years postpartum, and a range of child behavioural, socio-emotional and cognitive outcomes from 2 to 6 years of age. Antenatal mental health and its trajectory were tested as mediators in the latent growth curve models.

RESULTS

Household income was a robust predictor of antenatal maternal mental health and all child outcomes. Between children from the bottom and top household income quartiles, four dimensions of school readiness skills differed by a range of 0.52 (95% Cl: 0.23, 0.67) to 1.21 s.d. (95% CI: 1.02, 1.40). Thirty-eight percent of pregnant mothers in this cohort were found to have perinatal depressive and anxiety symptoms in the subclinical and clinical ranges. Poorer school readiness skills were found in children of these mothers when compared to those of mothers with little or no symptoms. After adjustment of unmeasured confounding on the indirect effect, antenatal maternal mental health provided a robust mediating path between household income and multiple school readiness outcomes (χ2 126.05, df 63, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.031, CFI = 0.980, SRMR = 0.034).

CONCLUSIONS

Pregnant mothers with mental health symptoms, particularly those from economically-challenged households, are potential targets for intervention to level the playing field of their children.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met Genotype and Early-Life Family Adversity Interactively Affect Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Symptoms Across Childhood

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders of childhood. The dopaminergic system has been shown to have substantial effects on its etiology, with both functional Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met genotype and early-life environmental adversity involved in the risk of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms. In this prospective longitudinal study, we examined for the first time the impact of proximal and distal early-life family adversity and COMT Val158Met polymorphism gene - both the direct and the interactive effects, on children's ADHD symptoms across childhood. Data came from the Family Life Project, a prospective longitudinal study of 1,292 children and families in high poverty from birth to 11 years. In infancy, data regarding socioeconomic (SES)-risk-factors, observed-caregiving behaviors, and DNA genotyping were collected. In early and middle childhood teachers rated the occurrence and severity of the child's ADHD symptoms. Multilevel growth curve models revealed independent effects of COMT, early-life SES-risk and negative caregiving on ADHD symptoms in early and middle childhood. Significant gene-environment interactions were found, indicating that overall, carriers of at least one COMT158Met allele were more sensitive to early-life adversity, showing higher inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms severity in childhood when exposed to high SES-risk factors in infancy, compared to Val-Val carriers. Findings provide new insights into the complex etiology of ADHD and underline the need for further investigation of the neuronal mechanisms underlying gene-environment interactions. Findings might have implications for prevention and intervention strategies with a focus on early-life family relationships in genetically at-risk children.

Dyadic synchrony and repair processes are related to preschool children's risk exposure and self-control

We examined associations between preschool children's cumulative risk exposure, dyadic interaction patterns, and self-control abilities in 238 mother-child dyads. Positive interactive synchrony, relationship ruptures, and latency to repair were micro-coded during a 3-5 minute joint challenge task. Children's self-control was assessed via two laboratory tasks and by parent report. Structural equation modeling and mediation analyses were utilized to examine the direct and indirect effects of cumulative risk on children's observed and parent-reported self-control abilities. Parent-child interactive processes of dyadic synchrony and latency to repair ruptures in synchrony were examined as mediators. Dyadic synchrony and latency to repair ruptures were found to mediate associations between cumulative risk exposure and children's behavioral and parent-reported self-control. Children exposed to more cumulative risk engaged in less dyadic synchrony and experienced longer latencies to repair ruptures with their caregiver, which in turn was associated with lower child self-control. Though cross-sectional, findings suggest dyadic synchrony and repair processes may represent viable mechanistic pathways linking cumulative risk exposure and deficits in child self-control. However, independent replications using longitudinal and experimental intervention designs are needed to determine causal pathways and inform new approaches for targeting the effects of early risk exposure through a focus on two-generational interventions.

Enhancing Executive Functions Through Social Interactions: Causal Evidence Using a Cross-Species Model

It has long been theorized that humans develop higher mental functions, such as executive functions (EFs), within the context of interpersonal interactions and social relationships. Various components of social interactions, such as interpersonal communication, perspective taking, and conforming/adhering to social rules, may create important (and perhaps even necessary) opportunities for the acquisition and continued practice of EF skills. Furthermore, positive and stable relationships facilitate the development and maintenance of EFs across the lifespan. However, experimental studies investigating the extent to which social experiences contribute causally to the development of EFs are lacking. Here, we present experimental evidence that social experiences and the acquisition of social skills influence the development of EFs. Specifically, using a rat model, we demonstrate that following exposure to early-life adversity, a socialization intervention causally improves working memory in peri-adolescence. Our findings combined with the broader literature promote the importance of cultivating social skills in support of EF development and maintenance across the lifespan. Additionally, cross-species research will provide insight into causal mechanisms by which social experiences influence cognitive development and contribute to the development of biologically sensitive interventions.

Corticosterone administration targeting a hypo-reactive HPA axis rescues a socially-avoidant phenotype in scarcity-adversity reared rats

It is well-established that children from low-income, under-resourced families are at increased risk of altered social development. However, the biological mechanisms by which poverty-related adversities can “get under the skin” to influence social behavior are poorly understood and cannot be easily ascertained using human research alone. This study utilized a rodent model of “scarcity-adversity,” which encompasses material resource deprivation (scarcity) and reduced caregiving quality (adversity), to explore how early-life scarcity-adversity causally influences social behavior via disruption of developing stress physiology. Results showed that early-life scarcity-adversity exposure increased social avoidance when offspring were tested in a social approach test in peri-adolescence. Furthermore, early-life scarcity-adversity led to blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity as measured via adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (CORT) reactivity following the social approach test. Western blot analysis of brain tissue revealed that glucocorticoid receptor levels in the dorsal (but not ventral) hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex were significantly elevated in scarcity-adversity reared rats following the social approach test. Finally, pharmacological repletion of CORT in scarcity-adversity reared peri-adolescents rescued social behavior. Our findings provide causal support that early-life scarcity-adversity exposure negatively impacts social development via a hypocorticosteronism-dependent mechanism, which can be targeted via CORT administration to rescue social behavior.

Effects of socioeconomic status and executive function on school readiness across levels of household chaos

Isolating child attributes and familial characteristics that support school readiness in children on the upper half of the socioeconomic spectrum can complement existing research on lower-socioeconomic status (SES) children and facilitate a more complete understanding of how children's performance varies across the full SES spectrum. This study examined if relations between SES, two components of executive function (EF; set-shifting and inhibitory control), and school readiness vary as a function of household chaos in 564 four-year-old children, primarily from middle-to upper-middle class families in the Northeast Region of the United States. Structural equation modeling of direct and indirect effects revealed three major findings: 1) higher levels of EF were related to better school readiness regardless of level of household chaos; 2) SES had an indirect effect on school readiness through set-shifting; and 3) household chaos was negatively associated with school readiness.