title: The effects of parental scaffolding on preschoolers' executive function.
abstract: The present study explores the effects of parental scaffolding of children's problem solving on the development of executive function (EF). Eighty-two children were assessed at 2, 3, and 4 years of age on a variety of EF tasks and, at ages 2 and 3, on a problem-solving puzzle with which parents offered structured assistance (i.e., scaffolding). Unlike previous studies of parental scaffolding, children's EF was examined at each time point. Scaffolding at age 3 was found to have a direct effect on EF at age 4. Furthermore, scaffolding at age 2 had an indirect on EF at age 4 through the child's verbal ability at age 3.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 1S6. shammond@sfu.ca
authors.forename: Stuart I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Jeremy I M
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Carpendale
authors.forename: Maximilian B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bibok
authors.forename: Dana P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Liebermann-Finestone
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002652:Child Behavior; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011340:Problem Solving; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013028:Space Perception; D014705:Verbal Behavior