Kim Matthew H, Shimomaeda Lisa, Giuliano Ryan J, Skowron Elizabeth A
Educational Policy Improvement Center, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2017 Dec;164:1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.07.002. Epub 2017 Jul 28.
Executive functioning (EF) is critical for school readiness and other important life skills. Previous investigations have often neglected the important influence of parental EF skills in shaping their own children's EF. This study attempted to replicate recent empirical work that has shown that maternal EF is positively related to child EF. An ecological theoretical framework was used to examine the maternal EF-child EF link in family environments characterized by significant risk and socioeconomic adversity. Data from 38 mother-child dyads revealed that larger maternal working memory capacity was associated with greater child accuracy and slower reaction times on a child-friendly Go/No-Go task of response inhibition but not on an Emotional Go/No-Go task. This finding suggests that in contexts of risk and adversity, slower reaction times, instead of reflecting weaker EF skills, might reflect an adaptive skill-that is, exercising appropriate caution and careful responding on a challenging task. Results provide additional evidence of an intergenerational link between maternal EF and child EF and yield new insights into the nature of EF in adverse environments.
执行功能（EF）对于入学准备和其他重要的生活技能至关重要。以往的调查往往忽视了父母的执行功能技能对其子女执行功能形成的重要影响。本研究试图重复最近的实证研究，该研究表明母亲的执行功能与孩子的执行功能呈正相关。采用生态理论框架来检验在具有重大风险和社会经济逆境特征的家庭环境中母亲的执行功能与孩子的执行功能之间的联系。来自38对母子二元组的数据显示，在一项对儿童友好的反应抑制“是/否”任务中，母亲更大的工作记忆容量与孩子更高的准确性和更慢的反应时间相关，但在情绪“是/否”任务中则不然。这一发现表明，在风险和逆境的背景下，反应时间较慢可能反映的是一种适应性技能，而不是较弱的执行功能技能，即对具有挑战性的任务保持适当的谨慎并做出仔细的反应。研究结果为母亲的执行功能与孩子的执行功能之间的代际联系提供了更多证据，并对不利环境中执行功能的本质产生了新的见解。
