Longitudinal data from the Family Life Project
Using the Family Life Project dataset, this study aims to investigate the association between parenting and working memory longitudinally, and to examine whether attention is a pathway through which parenting impacts working memory in young children. Specifically, this study tests the following research hypotheses: (a) children whose parents who were more sensitive, warmth and autonomy supportive at 6 and 15 months will perform better in verbal working memory tasks at 36 months; (b) better attentional focusing and attentional shifting at 24 months were associated with better working memory at 36 months; and (c) attention is a pathway through which parenting predicts working memory. Results showed that parenting at 15 months directly predicted verbal working memory at 36 months; and attentional shifting at 24 months was the mediator for the relationship between parenting at 6 months and verbal working memory at 36 months. The findings suggested the importance of warm, sensitive and cognitive stimulating parenting early in life. This study also pointed to the close relationship between attention and verbal working memory in young children, and that attention mediated the association between parenting and verbal working memory in early childhood.