Harsh Parenting, Maternal Depression, and Executive Function in Early Childhood.
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2025-11
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Abstract
Background
Executive function (EF), a multimodal construct that captures one's control over cognition and behaviour, is associated with academic achievement and social-emotional competence. Prior research suggests that early childhood experiences and the family context shape EF development. Harsh parenting practices-defined through verbal and psychological aggression-and maternal depression are identified as factors that may inhibit early EF development. We examined the relation between these two parenting factors at child age 30 months and two fundamental EF skills, attention and inhibitory control (IC), measured at 42 months.Methods
We used a combination of parent self-report (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression, Childhood Behaviour Questionnaire) and independent observational data (Home Observational Measurement of the Environment) from a random, representative sample of 549 births in Durham County, North Carolina. Linear regression models estimated the effects of harsh parenting and maternal depression on later child EF outcomes, while accounting for child and family characteristics.Results
Harsh parenting behaviours at 30 months predicted lower child IC skills (b = -0.46, p = 0.041) and lower attention skills (b = -0.64, p = 0.007) at 42 months. Greater maternal depression symptoms at 30 months predicted lower IC skills (b = -0.14, p = 0.017) and lower attention skills (b = -0.21, p = 0.001) at 42 months.Conclusions
Results highlight the importance of parenting behaviours and parental mental health in shaping early EF. Although correlational in design, this work may inform future early childhood interventions aimed at altering parental behaviour and mental health to promote childhood EF.Type
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Davis, Julia O, W Benjamin Goodman, Yu Bai and Kenneth A Dodge (2025). Harsh Parenting, Maternal Depression, and Executive Function in Early Childhood. Child: care, health and development, 51(6). p. e70162. 10.1111/cch.70162 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/35395.
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Ben Goodman
Ben Goodman is a senior research scientist at the Center for Child and Family Policy. His research interests focus broadly on the implementation and evaluation of population-based interventions to reduce child maltreatment and improve parent and child health and well-being, including the evidence-based Family Connects postpartum nurse home visiting program. His research also examines how sources of stress and support shape the quality of parent-child relationships, parents’ own well- being, and child development.
Research Interests:
- Home Visiting
- Child Maltreatment
- Parenting
- Program Evaluation
- Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University - 2009
Yu Bai
Kenneth A. Dodge
Kenneth A. Dodge is the William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. He is also the founding and past director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, as well as the founder of Family Connects International.
Dodge is a leading scholar in the development and prevention of aggressive and violent behaviors. His work provides a model for understanding how some young children grow up to engage in aggression and violence and provides a framework for intervening early to prevent the costly consequences of violence for children and their communities.
Dodge joined the faculty of the Sanford School of Public Policy in September 1998. He is trained as a clinical and developmental psychologist, having earned his B.A. in psychology at Northwestern University in 1975 and his Ph.D. in psychology at Duke University in 1978. Prior to joining Duke, Dodge served on the faculty at Indiana University, the University of Colorado, and Vanderbilt University.
Dodge's research has resulted in the Family Connects Program, an evidence-based, population health approach to supporting families of newborn infants. Piloted in Durham, NC, and formerly known as Durham Connects, the program attempts to reach all families giving birth in a community to assess family needs, intervene where needed, and connect families to tailored community resources. Randomized trials indicate the program's success in improving family connections to the community, reducing maternal depression and anxiety, and preventing child abuse. The model is currently expanding to many communities across the U.S.
Dodge has published more than 500 scientific articles which have been cited more than 120,000 times.
Elected into the National Academy of Medicine in 2015, Dodge has received many honors and awards, including the following:
- President (Elected), Society for Research in Child Development
- Fellow, Society for Prevention Research
- Distinguished Scientist, Child Mind Institute
- Research Scientist Award from the National Institutes of Health
- Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution from the American Psychological Association
- J.P. Scott Award for Lifetime Contribution to Aggression Research from the International Society for Research on Aggression
- Science to Practice Award from the Society for Prevention Research
- Inaugural recipient of the “Public Service Matters” Award from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration
- Inaugural recipient of the Presidential Citation Award for Excellence in Research from the Society for Research on Adolescence
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