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Panel information
Panel 4. Cognitive Processes

Abstract

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Parenting and executive functions (EFs) are critical for mathematics achievement. Parents enhance children’s mathematical thinking through cognitively-stimulating interactions (Daucourt et al., 2021), while EFs support math proficiency by allowing students to retain information and instructions, suppress incorrect responses, and shift between strategies when solving problems (Blair & Razza, 2007; Diamond, 2013). Although Fenesy and Lee (2018) previously noted that EFs mediate the association between parental praise in early childhood and mathematics achievement in adolescence, it is important to clarify whether these associations stand for other forms of supportive parenting experienced beyond early development. The goal of this study was to determine whether late childhood EFs mediate the association between maternal sensitivity and directiveness in late childhood and mathematics achievement in adolescence.
Seventy-seven mothers and their children participated in the study. Maternal sensitivity (i.e., interaction is child centered, mother is sensitive to the child’s moods, interests and abilities) and maternal directiveness (i.e., interaction is mother centered, mother directs the child’s behavior in a gentle or playful way, not in a forceful or angry manner) were coded in late childhood (age 9) during a mother-child interaction task. EFs were assessed in late childhood using a battery of EFs tasks, including backwards digits span (working memory; variable = span), Wisconsin Card Sort Task (shifting/cognitive flexibility, variable = conceptual level), and number Stroop (inhibitory control; variable = mixed condition reaction time). Mathematics achievement was assessed in adolescence (age 14) using the Applied Problems subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson IV (WJ-IV). Maternal education level was assessed at both timepoints using socio-demographic questionnaires.
Six mediation models were tested using PROCESS Macro v.4.2 (Hayes, 2022).
Three of the models included maternal sensitivity in late childhood as the predictor, one of the three EFs in late childhood as the mediator, and mathematics achievement in adolescence as the outcome. The remaining three models included maternal directiveness in late childhood as the predictor, one of the three EFs in late childhood as the mediator, and mathematics achievement in adolescence as the outcome variable. Maternal education level was entered as a covariate in all models. After controlling for maternal education, maternal sensitivity showed indirect effects on adolescents’ mathematics achievement through working memory and inhibitory control. Higher maternal sensitivity in late childhood was associated with higher working memory (beta= .26, p = .03), which in turn was associated with higher mathematics achievement in adolescence (beta= .27, p = .01). Similarly, higher maternal sensitivity in late childhood was associated with higher inhibitory control (lower reaction times in the Stroop; beta= -.25, p = .03), which in turn was associated with higher mathematics achievement in adolescence (beta= -.31, p = .01). In contrast, maternal directiveness did not yield any significant associations.
These results indicate that although both maternal behaviors are “supportive” of child development, child-centered interactions might have more beneficial, long-term effects on academic development than mother-centered interactions. Future research should further explore the effect of fathers’ parenting on math achievement, as well as test the mediating effects of mechanisms different from EFs.

Author information

Author	Role
Vanessa Paola Diaz Benitez, Virginia Tech	Presenting author
Caroline Byrd Hornburg, Virginia Tech	Non-presenting author
Vanessa Diaz, Virginia Tech	Non-presenting author
Cynthia L.Smith, Virginia Tech	Non-presenting author
Martha Ann Bell, Virginia Tech	Non-presenting author

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