The relationship between family socioeconomic status, parental involvement, and executive function in preschool children: A random intercept cross-lagged analysis

Family socioeconomic status (SES) and parental involvement are considered distal and proximal factors influencing the development of preschool children’s executive function (EF), respectively. However, the mechanism of action between family background factors and children EF is not yet clear. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Child Development and Care Database in Taiwan, this study constructed a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) to investigate the interplay between family SES, parental involvement, and children’s EF at 36, 48, and 60 months of age. The findings indicated a significant predictive relationship between SES at 36 months of age and both parental involvement and children’s EF at 48 months of age. However, SES continued to predict parental involvement at 60 months of age, but its predictive effect on children’s EF was no longer significant. In addition, parental involvement was a consistent and significant predictor of children’s EF, whereas EF did not significantly predict parental involvement in return. Moreover, parental involvement at 48 months acting as a mediator between family SES at 36 months and children’s EF at 60 months. This study enhances our understanding of how family background factors influence the development of children’s EF. The study results suggest that early implementation of family education measures to increase parental involvement can help mitigate the negative effects of family SES on children’s executive function.