Parental Mental Health and Parenting Behaviors Following Very Preterm Birth: Associations in Mothers and Fathers and Implications for Child Cognitive Outcome.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the longitudinal associations between parental mental health symptoms within 4 weeks of birth, parenting behaviors at 1 year, and child general cognitive ability at 4.5-5 years in a sample of children born very preterm (VP). This study also examined whether these associations differed based on level of family social risk. METHODS: Participants were 143 children born <30 weeks' gestation and their parents. Within 4 weeks of birth, mothers' and fathers' depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Anxiety Subscale. Parents' sensitive and structuring parenting behaviors were assessed at 1 year using the Emotional Availability Scales. Child general cognitive ability was assessed at 4.5-5 years using the Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence-Fourth Edition. RESULTS: Higher maternal depressive symptoms were associated with lower levels of sensitive and structuring parenting behavior, while higher maternal anxiety symptoms were associated with higher levels of structuring parenting behavior. There was weak evidence for positive associations between mothers' sensitive parenting behavior and fathers' structuring parenting behavior and child general cognitive ability. There was also weak evidence for stronger associations between mothers' mental health symptoms, parenting behaviors, and child general cognitive ability, in families of higher compared with lower social risk. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive and anxiety symptoms experienced by mothers in the initial weeks following VP birth can have long-term effects on their parenting behaviors. Enquiring about parents' mental health during their child's hospitalization in the neonatal intensive care unit is crucial.

Biomass fuel use for cooking in Nepalese families and child cognitive abilities, results from a community-based study.

BACKGROUND: Biomass fuel use for cooking is widespread in low to middle income countries. Studies on the association between biomass fuel use and cognitive abilities in children are limited. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between biomass fuel use for cooking and cognitive abilities in Nepalese children at 4 years of age. METHODS: In a cohort design we have information on biomass fuel use in the households of 533 children in infancy and cognitive abilities when they were 4 years old from a community-based sample. Cognitive abilities were measured by the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, 4th edition (WPPSI-IV) and the NEPSY-II. We examined the associations between biomass fuel use and scores on the WPPSI-IV Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) (primary outcome), and WPPSI index and NEPSY-II subtest scores in multiple linear regression models. The associations were also examined in predefined subgroups. RESULTS: Ninety-nine (18.6%) of the families used biomass fuel for cooking. Children in these families had lower mean FSIQ than children in families with no biomass use (83.3 (95%CI 81.7, 85.0) vs. 85.3 (95%CI 84.5, 86.0)), with a mean difference of -2.2 (95%CI -3.9, -0.5) adjusting for demographics and socio-economic status. The association between biomass fuel use and cognitive abilities was strongest in subgroups of children from households with more than three rooms, with separate kitchen and bedroom, and with higher wealth-score. These interactions were significant for number of rooms in the home (p = 0.04), if the household had separate bedroom and kitchen (p = 0.05), and for the wealth-score (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Biomass fuel use for cooking in Nepalese families was associated with lower overall cognitive abilities at 4 years. Uncertainties include exposure misclassification and unmeasured confounding. The associations between biomass fuel use and neurodevelopment in children needs further investigation with more precise measurements of the exposure.

Effects of maternal folic acid supplementation during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy on neurocognitive development in the child: an 11-year follow-up from a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Maternal folic acid (FA) supplementation before and in early pregnancy prevents neural tube defects (NTD), but it is uncertain whether continuing FA after the first trimester has benefits on offspring health. We aimed to evaluate the effect of FA supplementation throughout pregnancy on cognitive performance and brain function in the child. METHODS: Follow-up investigation of 11-year-old children, residing in Northern Ireland, whose mothers had participated in a randomised trial of Folic Acid Supplementation in the Second and Third Trimesters (FASSTT) in pregnancy and received 400 µg/day FA or placebo from the 14th gestational week. Cognitive performance (Full Scale Intelligence Quotient, Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Reasoning, and Processing Speed) was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Neuronal function was assessed using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain imaging. RESULTS: Of 119 mother-child pairs in the FASSTT trial, 68 children were assessed for neurocognitive performance at 11-year follow-up (Dec 2017 to Nov 2018). Children of mothers randomised to FA compared with placebo scored significantly higher in two Processing Speed tests, i.e. symbol search (mean difference 2.9 points, 95% CI 0.3 to 5.5, p = 0.03) and cancellation (11.3 points, 2.5 to 20.1, p = 0.04), whereas the positive effect on Verbal Comprehension was significant in girls only (6.5 points, 1.2 to 11.8, p = 0.03). MEG assessment of neuronal responses to a language task showed increased power at the Beta (13-30 Hz, p = 0.01) and High Gamma (49-70 Hz, p = 0.04) bands in children from FA-supplemented mothers, suggesting more efficient semantic processing of language. CONCLUSIONS: Continued FA supplementation in pregnancy beyond the early period currently recommended to prevent NTD can benefit neurocognitive development of the child. MEG provides a non-invasive tool in paediatric research to objectively assess functional brain activity in response to nutrition and other interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN ISRCTN19917787 . Registered on 15 May 2013.

One-Carbon Metabolism in Nepalese Infant-Mother Pairs and Child Cognition at 5 Years Old.

BACKGROUND: One-carbon metabolism (OCM) refers to the transfer of methyl groups central to DNA methylation and histone modification. Insufficient access to methyl donors and B-vitamin cofactors affects epigenetic maintenance and stability, and when occurring in early life may impact future health and neurodevelopment. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the relative associations between one-carbon metabolites in Nepalese mother-infant pairs and child cognition measured at 5 y of age. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study from Bhaktapur, Nepal, in a population at high risk of subclinical B-vitamin deficiencies and cumulative infection burden. Venous blood samples from 500 mother-infant pairs were collected when the infants were 2 to 12 mo old, and metabolite concentrations measured by microbiological assays and GC-tandem MS. We re-enrolled 321 of these children at 5 y and assessed cognition by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd edition, and subtests from the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, 2nd edition (NEPSY-II). The associations of the independent metabolites or unobserved metabolic phenotypes (identified by latent class analysis) with the cognitive outcomes were estimated by seemingly unrelated regression. We explored direct and indirect relations between the OCM pathway and the cognitive outcomes using path analysis. RESULTS: Infant cystathionine concentration was inversely associated with 4 cognitive outcomes (standardized ßs ranging from -0.22 to -0.11, P values from <0.001 to 0.034). Infants with a metabolic phenotype indicating impaired OCM and low vitamin B-12 status had poorer cognitive outcomes compared with infants with normal OCM activity and adequate vitamin B-12 status (standardized ßs ranging from -0.80 to -0.40, P < 0.001 and 0.05). In the path analysis, we found several OCM biomarkers were associated with affect recognition through infant plasma cystathionine. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated plasma cystathionine during infancy reflects a metabolic phenotype of impaired OCM and low vitamin B-12 status and is associated with poorer cognitive function when the children are 5 y old.

Maternal glucose tolerance in pregnancy and child cognitive and behavioural problems in early and mid-childhood.

BACKGROUND: Maternal abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy may adversely affect offspring cognition and behaviour, but few prospective studies investigated this association at multiple points throughout childhood. OBJECTIVES: We hypothesised that maternal abnormal glucose tolerance is associated with child cognitive and behavioural outcomes in early and mid-childhood. METHODS: We examined the associations of maternal abnormal glucose tolerance at 26-28 weeks of pregnancy with offspring cognitive and behavioural scores in 1421 children in the Project Viva pre-birth cohort. In early (mean 3.3 years) and mid-childhood (mean 7.9 years), we measured child cognition using validated instruments, the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning, and the Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Abilities (WRAVMA); we assessed parent- and teacher-rated behavioural outcomes with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Behavioural Rating Inventory of Executive Function. We used linear regression models adjusted for potential confounders (maternal race/ethnicity, pre-pregnancy BMI, intelligence, age, parity, smoking status, education, and household income at enrolment, in addition to child's sex and age at assessment). RESULTS: Of 1421 mothers, 69 (4.9%) had gestational diabetes mellitus, 43 (3.0%) impaired glucose tolerance, 122 (8.6%) isolated hyperglycaemia, and 1187 (83.5%) normal glucose tolerance. Offspring born to women with gestational diabetes mellitus had lower total WRAVMA scores (-3.09 points; 95% CI -6.12, -0.05) in early childhood compared with offspring of women with normal glucose tolerance. None of the abnormal glucose tolerance categories during pregnancy were associated with any of the cognitive outcomes (verbal, non-verbal, and visual motor scores) or behavioural measures in mid-childhood. CONCLUSIONS: Children born to mothers who had gestational diabetes mellitus had slightly lower scores on one cognitive test in early childhood. We found no evidence to support that maternal abnormal glucose tolerance was associated with cognitive or behavioural development in mid-childhood.

Effects of prenatal bacterial infection on cognitive performance in early childhood.

BACKGROUND: Previous epidemiologic studies have reported adverse neurodevelopmental sequelae following prenatal infectious exposure, yet long-term effects estimated from these observational studies are often subject to biases due to confounding and loss to follow-up. OBJECTIVES: We demonstrate the joint use of inverse probability (IP) treatment and censoring weights when evaluating neurotoxic effects of prenatal bacterial infection. METHODS: We applied IP weighting for both treatment and censoring to estimate the effects of maternal bacterial infection during pregnancy on mean intelligence quotient (IQ) scores measured at age 7 using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Participants were members of a population-based pregnancy cohort recruited in the Boston and Providence sites of the Collaborative Perinatal Project between 1959 and 1966 (n = 11 984). We calculated average treatment effects (ATE) and average treatment effects on the treated (ATT) using IP weights estimated via generalized boosted models. RESULTS: ATE- and ATT-weighted mean IQ scores were lowest among offspring exposed to multi-systemic bacterial infection during pregnancy and highest for those unexposed. The effects of prenatal bacterial infection were greater among male offspring, particularly on performance IQ scores. Offspring who were exposed to multi-systemic bacterial infection in the third trimester displayed the largest reduction in mean full-scale, verbal, and performance IQ scores at age 7 compared to those unexposed or exposed in earlier trimesters. CONCLUSIONS: We find that prenatal bacterial infection is associated with cognitive impairments at age 7. Associations are strongest for more severe infections, that occur in the third trimester, and among males. Public health intervention targeting bacterial infection in pregnant women may help enhance the cognitive development of offspring.

Nutrients or nursing? Understanding how breast milk feeding affects child cognition.

PURPOSE: To explore the associations between type of milk feeding (the "nutrients") and mode of breast milk feeding (the "nursing") with child cognition. METHODS: Healthy children from the GUSTO (Growing Up in Singapore Toward healthy Outcomes) cohort participated in repeated neurodevelopmental assessments between 6 and 54 months. For "nutrients", we compared children exclusively bottle-fed according to type of milk received: formula only (n = 296) vs some/all breast milk (n = 73). For "nursing", we included only children who were fully fed breast milk, comparing those fed directly at the breast (n = 59) vs those fed partially/completely by bottle (n = 63). RESULTS: Compared to infants fed formula only, those who were bottle-fed breast milk demonstrated significantly better cognitive performance on both the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Third Edition) at 2 years [adjusted mean difference (95% CI) 1.36 (0.32, 2.40)], and on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (Second Edition) at 4.5 years [7.59 (1.20, 13.99)]. Children bottle-fed breast milk also demonstrated better gross motor skills at 2 years than those fed formula [1.60 (0.09, 3.10)]. Among infants fully fed breast milk, those fed directly at the breast scored higher on several memory tasks compared to children bottle-fed breast milk, including the deferred imitation task at 6 months [0.67 (0.02, 1.32)] and relational binding tasks at 6 [0.41 (0.07, 0.74)], 41 [0.67 (0.04, 1.29)] and 54 [0.12 (0.01, 0.22)] months. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that nutrients in breast milk may improve general child cognition, while nursing infants directly at the breast may influence memory.

Television viewing and child cognition in a longitudinal birth cohort in Singapore: the role of maternal factors.

BACKGROUND: Although infant media exposure has received attention for its implications on child development, upstream risk factors contributing to media exposure have rarely been explored. The study aim was to examine the relationship between maternal risk factors, infant television (TV) viewing, and later child cognition. METHODS: We used a prospective population-based birth cohort study, Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO), with 1247 pregnant mothers recruited in their first trimester. We first explored the relationship of infant TV exposure at 12 months and the composite IQ score at 4.5 years, as measured by the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition (KBIT-2). Multivariable linear regressions were adjusted for maternal education, maternal mental health, child variables, birth parameters, and other relevant confounders. We then examined the associations of maternal risk factors with the amount of daily TV viewing of 12-month-old infants. Path analysis followed, to test a conceptual model designed a priori to test our hypotheses. RESULTS: The average amount of TV viewing at 12 months was 2.0 h/day (SD 1.9). TV viewing in hours per day was a significant exposure variable for composite IQ (ß = - 1.55; 95% CI: - 2.81 to - 0.28) and verbal IQ (ß = - 1.77; 95% CI: - 3.22 to - 0.32) at 4.5 years. Our path analysis demonstrated that lower maternal education and worse maternal mood (standardized ß = - 0.27 and 0.14, respectively, p < 0.01 for both variables) were both risk factors for more media exposure. This path analysis also showed that maternal mood and infant TV strongly mediated the relationship between maternal education and child cognition, with an exceptional model fit (CFI > 0.99, AIC 15249.82, RMSEA < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Infant TV exposure has a negative association with later cognition. Lower maternal education and suboptimal maternal mental health are risk factors for greater television viewing. Paediatricians have a role in considering and addressing early risks that may encourage television viewing.

Measuring working memory capacity in children using adaptive tasks: Example validation of an adaptive complex span.

Working memory tasks designed for children usually present trials in order of ascending difficulty, with testing discontinued when the child fails a particular level. Unfortunately, this procedure comes with a number of issues, such as decreased engagement from high-ability children, vulnerability of the scores to temporary mind-wandering, and large between-subjects variations in number of trials, testing time, and proactive interference. To circumvent these problems, the goal of the present study was to demonstrate the feasibility of assessing working memory using an adaptive testing procedure. The principle of adaptive testing is to dynamically adjust the level of difficulty as the task progresses to match the participant's ability. We used this method to develop an adaptive complex span task (the ACCES) comprising verbal and visuo-spatial subtests. The task presents a fixed number of trials to all participants, allows for partial credit scoring, and can be used with children regardless of ability level. The ACCES demonstrated satisfying psychometric properties in a sample of 268 children aged 8-13 years, confirming the feasibility of using adaptive tasks to measure working memory capacity in children. A free-to-use implementation of the ACCES is provided.

Can the welfare state replace parents? Children's cognition in the United States and Great Britain.

We compare family and parental effects on child verbal facility, verbal achievement and mathematics achievement in the United States and Great Britain. We study 3,438 5-13 year-old children from the 1994 NLSY Child-Mother Data Set and 1429 same-aged children from the National Child Development Study, also known as the British Child. Multivariate analyses suggest that the processes through which families invest in child cognition are similar across societies, with factors including low birth weight, child health, maternal cognition, family size and children's home environments being consequential. We conclude that parental investments are equally important across the two societies. The more developed welfare state in Great Britain does not notably compensate for parental investments in that society, although it may play a greater role when parental resources are absent or stretched thin.

Longitudinal associations between paternal mental health and child behavior and cognition in middle childhood.

Introduction: Paternal mental health has been associated with adverse consequences on offspring psychosocial development, and family environmental factors may partly explain those associations. To clarify this, we need comprehensive prospective studies, particularly in middle-childhood when the child enters school and is expected to make use of behavioral and cognitive skills as part of their interactions and learning. Method: Using data from a sub-sample of the prospective 3D birth cohort study comprised of mother-father-child triads, and a follow-up of the parents and the children at 6-8 years of age (n = 61; 36 boys, 25 girls), we examined whether paternal anxious and depressive symptoms measured during the pregnancy period (i.e., prenatally) or concurrently when the child was assessed at 6-8 years old were associated with children's cognition/behavior. Results: In contrast to our hypotheses, we found that greater prenatal paternal depressive symptoms predicted fewer child behavioral difficulties; and that greater concurrent childhood paternal depression or anxiety symptoms were associated with higher child full-scale IQ, controlling for the equivalent maternal mental health assessment and parental education. Father parenting perception did not mediate these associations, nor were they moderated by maternal mental health at the concurrent assessment, or paternal ratings of marital relationship quality. Discussion: These findings suggest that higher symptoms of paternal mental health symptoms are associated with fewer child behavioral difficulties and higher cognitive performance in middle childhood. Potential clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.

The Effect of Parenting and the Parent-Child Relationship on a Child's Cognitive Development: A Literature Review.

Various studies have been done on subjects such as parenting, parent-child relationships, parenting style, effortful parenting, the concept of parenting, the cognitive development of children, and the cognition of parents. This research is mainly based on parenting practice, child development, and maturation. Children's cognitive development starts in the first year of life and then progresses gradually. Children require positive parenting in painful and different situations. Parenting gives a child the confidence to face crucial, challenging problems. Sensitive parenting and caregiving are required for the child's maturity and cognitive development. Media has been observed to be essential in improving parenting practices. Children exhibit internalizing and externalizing symptoms as a result of harsh, aggressive, and intrusive parenting. According to the data, it is seen that the risk of depression increases in adolescence. The main reason for the rise in depression in children is the non-cooperation and support of mothers and fathers. The risk of depression decreases in children whose mothers and fathers are cooperative and supportive. While family and social stress increase the chances of depression in children, a negative parenting style means children face family and social anxiety. Due to the high level of hostile parenting and low level of positive parenting, they experience stress, peer pressure, and social and family relationship problems. Another excellent term for effortful control parenting is required for children's cognitive development. Parenting is necessary for the regulation of emotions and behavior. There are many problems seen in infancy, early childhood, and late childhood. There are four types of parenting styles seen: authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting/controlling parenting, permissive parenting/indulgent parenting, and uninvolved parenting/neglecting to parent. Good parenting requires one to know the concept of good parenting, the idea of parenting, the importance of parenting and children's needs, the components of parenting, and the consequences of parenting.

A Family Socialization Model of Transdiagnostic Risk for Psychopathology in Preschool Children.

This longitudinal study examined the presence of general (P) and specific internalizing (INT) and externalizing (EXT) psychopathology factors in a community sample of preschool children. We assessed child and contextual correlates of P, INT, and EXT, and tested a model connecting socioeconomic risk to these factors through family socialization processes and child cognitive abilities. Participants were 501 children recruited at birth and followed up at 18 months and 3 years. Child and family functioning were measured using parental reports, observation, and standardized assessments. Both mothers and their partners reported on children's mental health, permitting the estimation of a trifactor model of psychopathology that captured caregivers' shared and unique perspectives with respect to P, INT, and EXT. Results revealed several transdiagnostic correlates of the common-perspective P factor, including family income, maternal education, maternal depression, and maternal responsiveness, as well as marginal associations with sibling negativity and children's language and theory of mind abilities. Several shared and unique correlates of INT and EXT were also observed. Structural equation modelling revealed that the effects of family income and maternal education on P operated indirectly through maternal responsiveness, while the effects of maternal education on INT and EXT operated through maternal reflective capacity, albeit in opposite directions. Together, these results suggest that the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage on general psychopathology are organized in a temporal cascade from distal to proximal risk.

Do infants and preschoolers quantify probabilities based on proportions?

Most statistical problems encountered throughout life require the ability to quantify probabilities based on proportions. Recent findings on the early ontogeny of this ability have been mixed: For example, when presented with jars containing preferred and less preferred items, 12-month-olds, but not 3- and 4-years-olds, seem to rely on the proportions of objects in the jars to predict the content of samples randomly drawn out of them. Given these contrasting findings, it remains unclear what the probabilistic reasoning abilities of young children are and how they develop. In our study, we addressed this question and tested, with identical methods across age groups and similar methods to previous studies, whether 12-month-olds and 3- and 4-years-olds rely on proportions of objects to estimate probabilities of random sampling events. Results revealed that neither infants nor preschoolers do. While preschoolers' performance is in line with previous findings, infants' performance is difficult to interpret given their failure in a control condition in which the outcomes happened with certainty rather than a graded probability. More systematic studies are needed to explain why infants succeeded in a previous study but failed in our study.

A longitudinal study of antenatal and perinatal risk factors in early childhood cognition: Evidence from Growing Up in New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: Poor maternal health, disadvantageous exposures during pregnancy and unfavourable perinatal events are associated with adverse trajectories in offspring cognitive development. AIM: To examine longitudinal associations between antenatal maternal, perinatal and maternal health characteristics and children's early cognitive development across executive control, motor ability and receptive language domains. STUDY DESIGN, SUBJECTS AND OUTCOME MEASURES: Analyses comprised interview and observational data from 4587 children and their mothers enrolled in the longitudinal Growing Up in New Zealand cohort study. Children's executive control (Luria hand clap task), motor skills (mothers' report) and receptive language ability (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test) were assessed at age 4.5 years. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted, controlling for sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: Smoking pre- and during pregnancy, no folate intake during first trimester and low birth weight were risk factors for poorer executive control. Perceived stress during pregnancy, no folate intake during first trimester and low birth weight were all risk factors for poorer motor ability. Smoking pre-pregnancy, antenatal anxiety and no folate intake during first trimester were risk factors for poorer receptive language ability. CONCLUSION: Adverse ante- and perinatal environments are associated with poorer executive control, motor and receptive language abilities in early childhood. Improving maternal education and support especially for more disadvantaged mothers during pregnancy may reduce the potential deleterious impact of adverse ante- and perinatal conditions on children's early cognition.

Effects of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers on Child Cognitive, Behavioral, and Motor Development.

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) flame retardants are environmental chemicals that cross the placenta during pregnancy and have shown evidence of neurotoxicity. As the in utero period is a sensitive developmental window, such exposure may result in adverse childhood outcomes. Associations between in utero PBDE exposure and neurodevelopment are found in animal models and increasingly in human population studies. Here, we review the epidemiological evidence of the association between prenatal exposure to PBDEs and motor, cognitive, and behavioral development in infants and children. Published work suggests a negative association between PBDE concentrations and neurodevelopment despite varying PBDE congeners measured, bio-specimen matrix used, timing of the biological sampling, geographic location of study population, specific developmental tests used, age of children at time of testing, and statistical methodologies. This review includes 16 published studies that measured PBDE exposure in maternal blood during pregnancy or in cord blood at delivery and performed validated motor, cognitive, and/or behavioral testing at one or more time during childhood. We evaluate possible mediation through PBDE-induced perturbations in thyroid function and effect measure modification by child sex. While the majority of studies support an adverse association between PBDEs and neurodevelopment, additional research is required to understand the mechanism of action, possibly through the perturbations in thyroid function either in the pregnant woman or in the child, and the role of biologically relevant effect modifiers such as sex.

Prenatal Internal Locus of Control Is Positively Associated with Offspring IQ, Mediated through Parenting Behavior, Prenatal Lifestyle and Social Circumstances.

Locus of control (LOC) is a measure that identifies the likelihood as to whether an individual considers what happens to him is largely a matter of luck or fate (known as externally oriented) or whether it is something that the individual can influence (internality). Here we have used data collected as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to determine the associations between the mothers' LOC orientation before the birth of the child and her child's cognition measured at age 8. Using results from 6801 children we show that maternal internal LOC is associated with increased ability in offspring IQ, as measured using the WISC, with children of internally oriented mothers having an advantage of approximately 7 IQ points at age 8. As a sensitivity analysis we used the IQ test results of a sample of 986 preschool children tested using the WPSSI at age 4. A similar advantage was found among the offspring of the internally oriented mothers. We investigated mechanistic explanations for these results firstly by determining the extent to which three separate sets of factors known to be influenced by the LOC orientation might explain these findings. We showed that (a) perinatal life-style exposures, (b) parenting attitudes and strategies and (c) socio-economic circumstances, largely explain the mechanism through which the internality of the mother influences the cognition of the child. Similar effects were found using the smaller sample tested at age 4. The results indicate that efforts made to foster internality in adolescents and young adults prior to parenthood may result in improvements in the cognitive development of the next generation. Intervention studies are urgently needed.

School Children's Attributions of Intentions for Parental Behaviors: Development of a Measure.

The present study developed a new scale to measure children's attributions of intentions for parental behaviors. The scale has 180 items (18 intentions that children may use to explain why parents perform each of 10 parental behaviors), and was administered to 1973 Chinese students (age range = 9-16 years; M = 12.5, SD = 1.70; 1024 boys and 949 girls). Using half of the sample, 10 exploratory factor analyses were conducted (variance accounted for ranged from 64.24% to 73.32%, M = 69.9%), each on the 18 items associated with one of the 10 parental behaviors. Four factors with eigenvalues over one emerged. The items associated with two of the 10 stimulus behaviors were selected to form a short version. Using the other half of the sample, confirmatory factor analyses on the short version were conducted and provided further support for the four-factor structure. Concurrent validity was assessed by correlations with parental psychological and behavioral control, and gender, age, and grade of the respondents. Test-retest reliability was assessed among 159 of the respondents over a one-month separation.