Environmental predictors of children’s executive functioning development

ABSTRACT

Executive functioning (EF) abilities develop through childhood, but this development can be impacted by various psychosocial environmental influences. Using longitudinal data from the Health Outcome and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study, a prospective pregnancy and birth cohort study, we examined if psychosocial environmental factors were significant predictors of EF development. Study participants comprised 271 children and their primary caregivers (98.5% mothers) followed from birth to age 12. We identified four distinct EF developmental trajectory groups comprising a consistently impaired group (13.3%), a descending impairment group (27.7%), an ascending impairment group (9.95%), and a consistently not impaired group (49.1%). Higher levels of maternal ADHD and relational frustration appear to be risk factors for increased EF difficulty over time, while higher family income may serve as a protective factor delaying predisposed EF impairment. Important intervention targets might include teaching positive and effective parenting strategies to mothers whose children are at risk for EF dysfunction.

KEYWORDS:

• Executive functioning
• child development
• risk factor
• protective factor

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2023.2247603.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to our participants for the time they have given to our study. All who have contributed significantly to this work have been acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

Dr. Braun’s institution was financially compensated for his services as an expert witness for plaintiffs in litigation related to PFAS-contaminated drinking water; these funds were not paid to JMB directly. Dr. Braun received an honorarium for serving on an advisory board to Quest Diagnostics. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Environmental Protection Agency P01ES011261, R01ES014575, R01ES020349, R01ES027224, R01ES025214.