Affective Quality of the Mother-Child Relationship: Longitudinal Consequences for Children's School-Relevant Cognitive Functioning

This article reports longitudinal data on the link between the affective quality of the mother-child relationship and school-relevant cognitive performance. Sixty-seven mothers and their children participated in the first (preschool) phase of the study; 47 were included in a follow-up when the children were 12 years of age. The affective quality of the mother-child relationship when the child was 4 years of age was significantly correlated with mental ability at age 4, school readiness at ages 5-6, IQ at age 6, and school achievement at age 12. These associations remained significant when the contributions of maternal IQ, socioeconomic status (SES), and children's mental ability at age 4 were taken into account. Our findings suggest that affective relationships may influence cognitive growth in three ways: (a) by affecting parent's tendency to engage and support children in solving problems; (b) by affecting children's social competence and, consequently, the flow of information between children and adults; and (c) by affecting children's exploratory tendencies, hence their willingness to approach and persist in tasks.