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Executive Function in Low Birth Weight Preschoolers: The Moderating Effect of Parenting

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Abstract

Previous meta-analyses have identified moderate deficits in executive function (EF) in children born low birth weight (birth weight < 2500 g; LBW). The current study tests the joint contribution of LBW and parenting quality on trajectories of executive function in 1121 preschoolers (50 % boys). We estimated latent growth curve models to represent linear change in EF from 3 to 5 years of age, and tested the impact of LBW, parenting, and their interaction, on the estimated trajectory parameters. Although LBW was related to lower EF ability at all three time points (Cohen’s d = 0.43–0.55), LBW children who experienced high levels of sensitive parenting in toddlerhood exhibited faster rates of improvement in EF, and were virtually indistinguishable from their normal birth weight peers by age 5. On the other hand, LBW children who experienced below average levels of sensitive parenting showed lasting deficits in EF ability. These findings suggest that sensitive parenting may buffer LBW children from lasting deficits in EF. Implications of these findings for future interventions are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The Family Life Project (FLP) Phase I Key Investigators include: Lynne Vernon-Feagans, The University of North Carolina; Martha Cox, The University of North Carolina; Clancy Blair, The Pennsylvania State University; Peg Burchinal, The University of North Carolina; Linda Burton, Duke University; Keith Crnic, The Arizona State University; Ann Crouter, The Pennsylvania State University; Patricia Garrett-Peters, The University of North Carolina; Mark Greenberg, The Pennsylvania State University; Stephanie Lanza, The Pennsylvania State University; Roger Mills-Koonce, The University of North Carolina; Emily Werner, The Pennsylvania State University and Michael Willoughby, The University of North Carolina.

The Family Life Project has been supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01HD39667) with co-funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 3270, 235 E. Cameron Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Marie Camerota & Martha Cox

  2. RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    Michael T. Willoughby

  3. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Mark T. Greenberg

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  1. Marie Camerota
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Camerota, M., Willoughby, M.T., Cox, M. et al. Executive Function in Low Birth Weight Preschoolers: The Moderating Effect of Parenting. J Abnorm Child Psychol 43, 1551–1562 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-0032-9

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