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Maternal Executive Functioning and Scaffolding in Families of Children with and without Parent-Reported ADHD

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Abstract

Parental scaffolding robustly predicts child developmental outcomes, including improved self-regulation and peer relationships and fewer externalizing behaviors. However, few studies have examined parental characteristics associated with a parent’s ability to scaffold. Executive functioning (EF) may be an important individual difference factor associated with maternal scaffolding that has yet to be examined empirically. Scaffolding may be particularly important for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) symptoms due to their core difficulties with inattention, disorganization, EF, and self-regulation, their need for greater parental structure, and higher-than-average rates of parental EF deficits. Yet, little research has examined child ADHD in relation to parental scaffolding. This cross-sectional study examined: (1) the association between maternal EF (as measured by the Hotel Test, Barkley’s Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale, and Digit Span) and observed scaffolding, (2) the association between parent-reported child ADHD/DBD symptoms and scaffolding, and (3) the interaction between child ADHD/DBD symptoms and maternal EF in predicting scaffolding. In a sample of 84 mothers and their 5–10 year-old biological children (62% male) with and without parent-reported ADHD, we found that maternal EF, as measured by Digit Span and the Hotel Test, predicted observed maternal scaffolding. However, child ADHD/DBD symptoms did not significantly predict maternal scaffolding controlling for child age, maternal education, and maternal EF, nor did the interaction of maternal EF and parent-reported child ADHD/DBD symptoms. Working memory and task shifting may be key components of parental EF that could be targeted in interventions to improve parental scaffolding.

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Notes

  1. Results described below were similar when analyses were conducted with both Digit Span and BDEFS prior to imputation.

  2. Analyses were run with and without the 13 children taking medication on the day of the PCI, and results did not differ.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1F31HD083028-01A1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, 2109K Biology-Psychology Building, 4094 Campus Drive, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Heather Mazursky-Horowitz, Sharon R. Thomas, Kelsey E. Woods & Andrea Chronis-Tuscano

  2. Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, BP 208, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Jeffrey S. Chrabaszcz

  3. Psychological and Brain Sciences, Tobin Hall, University of Massachusetts, 135 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Kirby Deater-Deckard

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  1. Heather Mazursky-Horowitz
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  2. Sharon R. Thomas
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Correspondence to Heather Mazursky-Horowitz.

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Mazursky-Horowitz, H., Thomas, S.R., Woods, K.E. et al. Maternal Executive Functioning and Scaffolding in Families of Children with and without Parent-Reported ADHD. J Abnorm Child Psychol 46, 463–475 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-017-0289-2

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