The role of cumulative family risks in the relationship between executive functioning and school readiness

Abstract

This study investigated the roles of cumulative family risks and executive functioning (EF) in explaining preschool children’s school readiness. The cumulative family risks comprised family socioeconomic status (SES), home literacy environment (HLE), and familial risk of dyslexia (FRD). The participants were 955 first-year kindergarten children (M_age = 3.53 years, SD=0.41, 46.60 % girls) and their parents (M_age = 35.56 years, SD=6.31, 82.7 % mothers) from Hong Kong, China. The parents completed a survey package measuring their children’s school readiness, EF skills, and the three above-mentioned cumulative family risks. Hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for children’s age and gender, was performed to test the unique contributions of EF and the profiles of cumulative family risks to school readiness. The results showed that in addition to the significant role of EF, HLE risk was significantly associated with school readiness. The association between EF and school readiness was significantly weaker in children with three or more family risks than in their peers. The findings highlight the necessity of developing family education and school–family–community collaboration programs to enhance the school readiness of children, especially those with multiple family risks.