• Human Ecology Research
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.177-186
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among mothers' reflective function, preschoolers' empathy, executive function, caring behaviors. Subjects for this study were 498 preschoolers and their mothers. Mothers' reflective function was assessed by the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire(PRFQ). Preschoolers' empathy was assessed by the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy(QCAE). Preschoolers' executive function was assessed by the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functions-Preschool Version(BRIEF-P), and caring behaviors were assessed by the caring behaviors scale(Kim, 2015). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis(CFA), and structural equation model(SEM) with the SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0 program. The major results of this study were as follows. First, mothers' reflective function showed direct effects on preschoolers' empathy, executive function, and caring behaviors. Second, the preschoolers' empathy and executive function showed direct effects on preschoolers' caring behaviors. Third, preschoolers' empathy mediated the effects of mothers' reflective function on preschoolers' caring behaviors. The findings of this study will contribute to designing intervention programs to improve preschoolers' empathy, executive function, and caring behaviors.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.47-67
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• 2020

Objective: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the direct effect of maternal parenting behavior and indirect effects through preschoolers'executive function on three types of social behavior, prosocial, aggressive and withdrawn behavior. Methods: A total of 299 mothers and their preschool-aged children were the subjects of this study. Mothers completed the questionnaire that included measures of their parenting behavior, preschoolers' executive function, and social behavior. Results: First, mothers' positive parenting behavior had a direct effect on preschoolers' prosocial behavior, and mothers' negative parenting behavior had direct effects on preschoolers' aggressive and withdrawn behavior. Second, mothers' positive parenting behavior had indirect effects on preschoolers' prosocial, aggressive and withdrawn behavior through preschoolers' executive function. In contrast, indirect paths from maternal negative parenting behavior to social behavior through preschoolers' execution function were not significant. Conclusion/Implications: These findings underscore the importance of executive function during early childhood and suggest the need for effective parenting programs to promote executive function.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.131-148
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• 2020

This study examined the dual mediating effects of preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking in the relationship between maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers' higher-order thinking. Participants included 293 preschoolers and their mothers in Daegu city and Gyeongsang province. The mothers completed questionnaires regarding their reflective functioning, preschoolers' executive function, and creative thinking. Teachers completed questionnaires regarding preschoolers' critical thinking and caring thinking. Preschoolers' counterfactual thinking was measured by interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis with SPSS 25.0. Path analysis and bootstrapping were used with AMOS 25.0 program. Also, specific indirect effect were analyzed using AMOS user-defined estimand function. The primary results of this study are as follows. Maternal reflective functioning had an indirect effect on preschoolers' critical thinking and caring thinking through preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking; however, maternal reflective functioning had no indirect effect on preschoolers' creative thinking through preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking. This study revealed that maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking need to be considered simultaneously to explain the level of preschoolers' higher-order thinking. The results highlight the dual mediating effects of preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking in the relationship between maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers' higher-order thinking.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2023

Household chaos, represented by high levels of disorganization and instability in the home, has been linked with suboptimal outcomes for preschoolers. The aim of this study was to examine the roles that sleep problems and executive function play in the association between household chaos and preschoolers' aggression and prosocial behavior. The sample for the study consisted of 420 preschoolers and their mothers. The mothers provided reports on the level of chaos in the home and their preschoolers' sleep problems, executive function, and social behavior, including aggression and prosocial behavior. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. When preschoolers' sleep problems and executive function were included in the model as mediators, the results indicated that household chaos did not have direct effects on preschoolers' aggression and prosocial behavior. Such effects were instead serially mediated by preschoolers' sleep problems and executive function, respectively. The higher the degree of household chaos, the more preschoolers displayed sleep problems and deficits in executive function, resulting in more aggression and less prosocial behavior. The findings from this study emphasize the significance of reducing household chaos in order to reduce preschoolers' aggression and promote prosocial behavior. They also underscore the need to identify additional variables that mediate the impact of household chaos on preschoolers' social outcomes.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.289-300
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• 2013

The aims of this study are to investigate the differences of the preschoolers' executive function and verbal ability according to their age, and to identify whether the preschoolers' executive function is related to their verbal ability. The participants in this study are 151 children, ages 3-and 5-years old from five child-care centers located in a middle-income region of Seoul. Statistical methods used for the data analysis are the frequencies, means, standard deviations, an independent t-test, and Pearson correlation. The major findings are as follows. First, an age difference is found for children's executive function. The 5-year-olds are more likely to succeed on tasks of executive function than the 3-year-olds. Also, age difference is found for children's verbal ability. The 5-year-olds perform better on tests of verbal ability than the 3-year-olds. Last, the 3-year-olds' and 5-year-olds' executive function is related to their verbal ability. Inhibition and cognitive flexibility are significantly correlated with verbal ability. These results suggest that preschoolers' executive function and verbal ability develop during preschool age. These results also suggest that preschoolers' executive function is related to their verbal ability.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.13-26
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of parenting behaviors on preschoolers' executive function, focusing on methods of measuring executive function. The subjects of this study were 166 preschoolers who were 3 to 5 years of age, and their parents. Data were collected by various performance-based tests and their parents' reports and analyzed by descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression analysis using the SPSS 19.0 program. The major results were as follows: First, maternal autonomous and paternal affective parenting behaviors significantly affected preschoolers' performance-based executive function. Second, maternal affective parenting behaviors significantly affected preschoolers' parent-report executive function. The results suggest the importance of positive parenting practices in the development of preschoolers' executive function.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.67-79
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the mediating effects of executive function and emotion regulation of preschoolers on the relationships between mothers' affective parenting and preschoolers' peer competence. Methods: The participants were 3 to 5 year old preschoolers and their mothers (N = 241) living in Busan and Kyungnam province. Data analysis methods included descriptive statistics, Cronbach ${\alpha}$, Pearson's correlation analysis, and SEM. Data were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics 23.0 program and Amos 23.0 program. Results: The major findings of this study are as follows. First, mothers' affective parenting, preschoolers' executive function, emotion regulation, and peer competence correlated positively. Second, the relationship between mothers' affective parenting and preschoolers' peer competence was mediated by preschoolers' executive function and emotion regulation. Conclusion: These findings suggest the importance of mediating effects of preschoolers' executive function and emotion regulation on the relationship between mothers' affective parenting and preschoolers' peer competence.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.33-48
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• 2017

Objective: This study examined the relationships among sleep problems, executive function and social behavior during the preschool period. In addition, the mediating role of executive function between sleep problems and social behavior was investigated. Methods: A total of 304 preschool children participated in this study. The data were collected through maternal reports. Results: First, preschoolers' sleep problems were found to be significantly related to overt aggression and prosocial behavior. Second, preschoolers with sleep problems displayed lower levels of executive function. Third, preschoolers' executive function was significantly associated with social behavior. Lastly, preschoolers' executive function fully mediated the relationship between sleep problems and overt aggression, and between sleep problems and prosocial behavior. That is, preschoolers' sleep problems had effects on overt aggression and prosocial behavior, only through the effects on executive function. Conclusion: This study contributes to the sleep literature by examining the role of executive function and emphasizes the importance of forming a healthy sleep habit during the preschool period.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.19-33
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• 2016

Objective: This study aimed to examine the prospective links among perspective taking, attachment security, and executive function and the mediating role of executive function on the relationship between attachment security and perspective taking. Methods: The participants included 147 preschoolers living in Gyeonggi. The data-analysis methods included descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVAs, Pearson's correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and the Sobel test. Results: First, preschoolers' perspective taking was significantly related to attachment security, and executive function. Furthermore, there was a significant association between attachment security and executive function. As expected, the correlations were positive in all cases. Second, the effects of attachment security on intention and emotion perspective takings were fully mediated by executive function when holding children's age and vocabulary constant. However, executive function did not predict thought perspective taking, whereas attachment security did. Conclusion: Given that parent-child attachment security might play an important role in child cognitive and socio-cognitive development, parents' endeavors to enhance the quality of the attachment relationship could be a fruitful path for preschoolers' developing executive capacities and perspective taking.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.436-446
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• 2017

This study was performed to verify the validity and utility of the Korean Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version(BRIEF-P). The BRIEF-P is one of the most used instruments to measure Executive Function(EF) and a teacher-rating assessment method designed to measure the executive function of preschoolers(age 2-5). A total of 200 preschoolers(104 boys, 96 girls; recruited aged 3 to 5years) participated. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to evaluate the model structure. Correlation analysis was done to verify the concurrent validity. In the results, the model fit indexes were good with the five BRIEF-P subscales (that is, inhibit, shift, emotional control, working memory, plan/organize). The internal consistency of the BRIEF-P five subscales were supported. As a results, the Korean Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version(BRIEF-P) was confirmed to be a reliable and valid assessment tool to measure executive function in preschoolers.