title: Are boys more sensitive to sensitivity? Parenting and executive function in preschoolers.
abstract: During early childhood, girls outperform boys on key dimensions of cognitive functions, including inhibitory control, sustained attention, and working memory. The role of parenting in these sex differences is unknown despite evidence that boys are more sensitive to the effects of the early environment. In this study, we measured parental sensitivity at 14 and 36 months of age, and children's cognitive and executive functions (sustained attention, inhibitory control, and forward/backward memory) at 52 months of age, in a longitudinal cohort (N=752). Boys scored significantly lower than girls on inhibitory control (more Go/NoGo "commission errors") and short-term memory (forward color recall task), but boys did not differ from girls on attention (Go/NoGo "omission errors") or working memory (backward color recall task). In stratified analyses, parental sensitivity at 36 months of age was negatively associated with number of errors of commission (p=.05) and omission (p=.02) in boys, whereas child's age was the only significant predictor of commission and omission errors in girls. A combined analysis of both sexes confirmed an interaction between sex and parenting for omission errors (p=.03). The results indicate that sex differences in cognitive functions are evident in preschoolers, although not across all dimensions we assessed. Boys appear to be more vulnerable to early parenting effects, but only in association with omission errors (attention) and not with the other cognitive function dimensions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Center for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands. Electronic address: v.r.seitz@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
authors.forename: Viara R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Mileva-Seitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Akhgar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghassabian
authors.affiliation: Center for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marian J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bakermans-Kranenburg
authors.affiliation: Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jessica D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: van den Brink
authors.affiliation: Center for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marielle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Linting
authors.affiliation: Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vincent W V
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
authors.affiliation: Center for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands; School of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marinus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: van IJzendoorn
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002675:Child, Preschool; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009426:Netherlands; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Attention; Boys; Cognitive function; Inhibitory control; Parental sensitivity; Sex differences