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Mothers’ Predictions of their Son’s Executive Functioning Skills : Relations to Child Behavior Problems Johnston, Charlotte

Abstract

This study examined mothers’ ability to accurately predict their sons’ performance on executive functioning tasks in relation to the child’s behavior problems. One-hundred thirteen mothers and their 4 to 7 year old sons participated. From behind a one-way mirror, mothers watched their sons perform tasks assessing inhibition and planning skills. Before each task, mothers predicted how their sons would perform. Both the absolute discrepancy between mothers’ predictions and their child’s performance (summing both mothers’ over- and under-estimations), and the mothers’ under-estimations of their child’s performance accounted for significant variance in reports of child behavior problems. These predictions were significant even with the child’s age and level of task performance controlled. The results suggest that a mother’s lack of ability to accurately predict her child’s executive functioning skills may contribute to the development of child problems, perhaps through increased difficulties in parenting in a manner that is responsive to the child’s abilities.

Item Metadata

Title
Mothers’ Predictions of their Son’s Executive Functioning Skills : Relations to Child Behavior Problems
Creator
Johnston, Charlotte
Date Issued
2011
Description
This study examined mothers’ ability to accurately predict their sons’ performance on executive functioning tasks in relation to the child’s behavior problems. One-hundred thirteen mothers and their 4 to 7 year old sons participated. From behind a one-way mirror, mothers watched their sons perform tasks assessing inhibition and planning skills. Before each task, mothers predicted how their sons would perform. Both the absolute discrepancy between mothers’ predictions and their child’s performance (summing both mothers’ over- and under-estimations), and the mothers’ under-estimations of their child’s performance accounted for significant variance in reports of child behavior problems. These predictions were significant even with the child’s age and level of task performance controlled. The results suggest that a mother’s lack of ability to accurately predict her child’s executive functioning skills may contribute to the development of child problems, perhaps through increased difficulties in parenting in a manner that is responsive to the child’s abilities.
Subject
accuracy of parental knowledge; executive functioning; child behavior problems
Genre
Article; Postprint
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2016-02-12
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
DOI
10.14288/1.0224117
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/56991
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Psychology, Department of
Citation
Johnston, C. (2011). Mothers’ predictions of their son’s executive functioning skills: Relations to child behavior problems. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 42, 482-494.
Publisher DOI
10.1007/s10578-011-0221-x
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2011
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada