Abstract
Executive functions (EF) during early childhood serve as foundational building blocks for later academic achievement, socio-emotional competence, and adaptive behavioral regulation. While socio-demographic and genetic factors influence EF maturation, the cognitive resources of primary caregivers—particularly maternal cognitive flexibility—play an essential yet understudied role in shaping early developmental trajectories. This longitudinal investigation examined the impact of maternal cognitive flexibility on the developmental progression of preschoolers' executive functions within an urban sample in Istanbul, Turkey. A cohort of 218 mother-child dyads (children aged 36 to 48 months at baseline, M = 41.8 months, SD = 3.6) participated across two time points spaced 14 months apart. Maternal cognitive flexibility was evaluated using both performance-based neuropsychological assessments (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) and behavioral rating inventories, alongside standardized observations of maternal scaffolding. Child executive functions were assessed via a comprehensive battery capturing working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive shifting. Structural equation modeling indicated that maternal cognitive flexibility at baseline significantly predicted gains in children's executive function skills at follow-up, beyond the effects of child age, baseline EF, maternal educational attainment, and household socioeconomic status. Furthermore, maternal autonomy-supportive scaffolding emerged as a significant partial mediator of this relationship. These findings emphasize that maternal cognitive adaptability fosters a developmentally responsive home environment that actively cultivates children's emerging self-regulatory capacities, underscoring the necessity of targeted parental support initiatives in rapidly evolving urban settings.
