The Enduring Effects of Mother–Child Interactions on Episodic Memory in Adulthood
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12569 |
| Date | 01 August 2019 |
| Published date | 01 August 2019 |
N S L B. Z University of Michigan
The Enduring Effects of Mother–Child Interactions
on Episodic Memory in Adulthood
Objective: The objective of this study was
to examine the enduring effects of retrospective
reports of early-life mother–child interactions
on psychosocial and cognitive functioning later
in life.
Background: Mother–child interactions have
been linked to cognitive outcomes in child-
hood, however, little work has examined
whether early-life mother–child interactions
have far-reaching effects on episodic memory
in adulthood. Early-life mother–child interac-
tions may also inuence cognitive functioning
in adulthood indirectly through the development
of academic competence (education attain-
ment), social competence (marital satisfaction,
social support, contact frequency) or depressive
symptoms.
Methods: Using longitudinal data from the Wis-
consin Longitudinal Study sibling respondents
(T1: 1993–1994, T2: 2004–2007, T3: 2011;
baseline 29–79 years), we examined how ret-
rospective positive mother–child interactions
(PMCI) and negative mother–child interac-
tions (NMCI) were independently associated
with episodic memory. Structural equation
modeling was used to model direct and indirect
pathways from PMCI and NMCI to episodic
memory and latent change in episodic memory.
Results: More PMCI retrospectively reported
at T1 were associated with higher T2 memory
and less memory decline from T2 to T3 via
University of Michigan, Department of Psychology,Ann
Arbor, Michigan 48109 (nshari@umich.edu).
Key Words: cognitive aging, early social environment, edu-
cation, lifespan perspective.
higher education. In addition, more PMCI were
associated with higher T2 memory through
greater marital satisfaction. Independent of
these indirect effects, more PMCI and NMCI
were each associated with higher T2 memory,
but not memory change.
Conclusion: Mother–child interactions app-
eared to have an enduring effect on episodic
memory in adulthood. These ndings highlight
the importance of taking an integrative and lifes-
pan approach to assessing how early-life
experiences affect socioemotional and cognitive
development.
Individual differences in cognitive aging are
shaped not only by late-life experiences but
also by a conuence of interrelated events expe-
rienced during the life course. For example,
early-life adversity has been shown to predict
cognitive aging, independent of later life cir-
cumstances (e.g., Barnes et al., 2012; Marden,
Tchetgen, Kawchi, & Glymour,2017). Although
social relationships measured in late life have
consistently been shown to predict cognitive
aging outcomes, these social relationships build
off previous experiences and reect a lifetime
of social interactions (Antonucci, Ajrouch, &
Birditt, 2014). Thus, a life course perspective is
needed to inform a more complete understand-
ing of the potential inuence of social interac-
tions on cognitive aging.
Early-life social interactions between moth-
ers and children, in particular, have been linked
to socioemotional (Fraley,Roisman, & Haltigan,
2013) and cognitive development in childhood
(Jeon, Peterson, & DeCoster, 2013). Early-life
936 Journal of Marriage and Family 81 (August 2019): 936–952
DOI:10.1111/jomf.12569
Mother–Child Interactions and Episodic Memory 937
social interactions with mothers form the basis
for attachment and subsequently inuence how
children approach and explore their environment
(Bowlby, 1980). Indeed, children with more
secure attachments are better at problem-solving
and approach cognitive tasks in more productive
ways (Bretherton, 1985). In addition, children
with more positive relationships with their moth-
ers at age 3 have been found to exhibit higher
mental ability at age 4, greater school-relevant
skills at ages 5 and 6, and greater school achieve-
ment at age 12 (Estrada, Arsenio, Hess, &
Holloway, 1987) as well as faster rates of cog-
nitive growth over time in early childhood (Jeon
et al., 2013).
Despite substantial prior research linking
mother–child interactions to cognitive devel-
opment in childhood, little work has assessed
whether these early-life social interactions have
far-reaching effects that extend across the lifes-
pan. These early-life mother–child interactions
may not only inuence cognitive development
in childhood but also may affect cognitive func-
tioning later in adulthood. Therefore, the current
study aimed to examine whether retrospective
reports of positive mother–child interactions
(PMCI) and negative mother–child interactions
(NMCI) inuence cognitive functioning directly
and indirectly through the development of
academic competence, social competence, and
depressive symptoms later in adulthood.
I P T A
C
One pathway in which mother–child interac-
tions may inuence later cognition is through the
development of academic competence. Children
with poorer relationships with parents are less
likely to thrive in school. This may, in part, be
due to the disrupted development of regulatory
behaviors (Jeon et al., 2013) such that these chil-
dren have more difculty sitting still and paying
attention in classroom environments. Indeed,
prior research has shown that positive parenting
behaviors (support, scaffolding) are associated
with better regulatory behaviors (i.e., attention,
inhibitory control; Hughes & Devine, 2017)
and in turn, school success (Devine, Bignardi,
& Hughes, 2016). Furthermore, mother–child
interactions may also scaffold the acquisition of
basic school-relevant skills, such as letter and
number recognition, which prepare children for
the classroom environment (Hess, Holloway,
Dickson, & Price, 1984) and promote academic
achievement (Claessens & Engel, 2013).
Poorer educational outcomes in childhood
often perpetuate poorer educational outcomes
in adolescence and adulthood. Once a child
begins to fall behind, it can be difcult for the
child to catch up. For example, reading pro-
ciency in elementary school has been linked to
subsequent reading prociency in later grades
(Lesnick, Goerge, Smithgall, Hall, & Gwynne,
2010) as well as the motivation and potential
to attend college later on (Armbruster, Lehr,
& Osborn, 2001). Thus, early mother–child
interactions may have enduring effects on indi-
viduals’ highest level of educational attainment.
Consistent with this hypothesis, children with
higher reports of maternal sensitivity and quality
of caretaking are less likely to drop out of high
school (Jimerson, Egeland, Sroufe, & Carlson,
2000) and achieve better educational outcomes
in adulthood (Raby, Roisman, Fraley, & Simp-
son, 2015). Despite initial ndings linking
early mother–child interactions to educational
outcomes (i.e., Fraley et al., 2013; Jimerson
et al., 2000) and evidence for the enduring
effects of educational attainment on later life
cognition (Evans et al., 1993; Wilson et al.,
2009), little work has examined whether edu-
cational attainment mediates the relationship
between early-life mother–child interactions
and cognitive functioning later in adulthood.
I P T S
C
Mother–child interactions in early life may
also affect cognition through the development
of social competence. Social interactions with
mothers are theorized to be the basis for subse-
quent social relations with peers in childhood
and adolescence (Fraley et al., 2013; Gadaire,
Henrich, & Finn-Stevenson, 2017; Rah & Parke,
2008) as well as romantic partners in adulthood
(Raby et al., 2015). Mother–child interactions
shape how children approach social relation-
ships through the modeling of appropriate social
behaviors (Bandura & National Institute of
Mental Health, 1986). For example, interaction
style between mothers and children has been
associated with children’s social information
processing and peer acceptance (Rah & Parke,
2008), and retrospective reports of parental
quality have been associated with qualitative
and quantitative social resources available in
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