Family Transmission of Executive Functions: Mix of Traditional and Citizen Science Research Approach

Ilija Milovanović; Selka  Sadiković; Tatjana  Krstić; Aleksandra  Stojadinović

doi:10.19090/pp.v16i4.2509

Authors

Ilija Milovanović Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5560-8695
Selka Sadiković Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0874-2511
Tatjana Krstić Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Serbia
Aleksandra Stojadinović Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Serbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19090/pp.v16i4.2509

Keywords:

citizen science, executive functions, family transmission, inhibition, working memory

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the family transmission of executive functions deficits (working memory and inhibitory control) from parents to children, using a combination of traditional and citizen science research approaches. The final sample consisted of 110 families with two children (440 participants; 110 pairs of children, 110 fathers and 110 mothers). Children were preadolescent (6 to 10 years old; 24 pairs) or adolescent (11 to 15 years old; 86 pairs) siblings. The research results indicated that the inhibitory control of the mother is related to the inhibitory control of the younger child, and that the inhibitory control of the father is related to the inhibitory control of the older child in the family, regardless of developmental period. In the father-child relationship, it was revealed that there is a strong connection between parental and child working memory. On the other hand, there are significant interaction of mothers' working memory and age of children in the second-born child. Potential mechanisms of transmission were discussed, bearing in mind the specifics of mother's and father's involvement in raising children, as well as the potential direction of this research question towards the sphere of behavioral genetics and parenting styles.