Children’s narrative story stem responses: Contributions of executive functioning and language proficiency to relationship representations

Abstract

Story stem narrative tasks provide insight into young children's inner experiences. Little research has investigated how developmental capacities impact narrative content and process. This study evaluates the influence of executive functioning (EF) and language ability on children's narratives. Data were gathered from 210 low‐income children. EF and language ability were assessed at age 4 and EF was assessed at age 6 via direct examination, cognitive‐motor tasks, and examiner ratings. Children's responses to eight story stems were gathered at age 6; three latent narrative variables were constructed (Prosocial, Aggressive/Conflict, and Avoidance/Danger), and Narrative Coherence was rated. Results of longitudinal path analyses in structural equation modeling demonstrated age 4 EF significantly predicted all narrative outcomes. Language ability independently predicted Prosocial and Narrative Coherence, and had an influence on Aggression/Conflict when modeled with EF. Age 6 EF mediated the relationship between age 4 EF and narrative outcomes. Findings provide insight into developmental abilities that influence on children's narrative responses to challenging interpersonal scenarios. Future research should study parent–child relations, EF, and language abilities simultaneously.

Child attachment and ADHD: a systematic review

“…In addition, the associations between attachment and ADHD symptoms could be observed in children with hyperactivity presentation but not with attentional difficulties alone [38,47]. Behavioral and cognitive difficulties frequently observed in ADHD could also more easily lead to classifying these children as insecure or disorganized [17,60,74]. For instance, pharmacological treatment in ADHD children is associated with a decrease in the percentage of attachment representations considered as disorganized [75].…”

“…The mechanisms by which early relationships between the child and his or her caregiver could influence the development of attentional and self-regulatory capacities remain uncertain. On a cognitive perspective, early impairments in executive functions or social cognition, especially social perception and emotional regulation, observed in ADHD could impact the development of attachment security [44,74,76]. Another hypothesis might be that early deficits in emotional regulation linked to attachment quality, such as observed in disorganized children [15], would disrupt the development of other neurocognitive functions necessary for behavioral Table 3 Number of selected studies that showed an association between ADHD and attachment, and those suggesting that contribution of attachment is not specific to ADHD In parentheses, studies not controlling for comorbidities or maternal mental health.…”

Children’s Narratives of Family Life in Ghana: A Cultural Lens via Story Stems

“…The latter two have the potential to offer insight on how to interpret children's story stem narratives, though we cannot assume that this would necessarily be so given that these various sources each offer unique perspectives. We hope that our study demonstrates the value and implications of exploring story stem narrative content in terms of complementing quantitative coding frameworks studying universal psychological constructs such as attachment; moreover in terms of guiding and incorporating children's perspectives into future interventions and prevention programmes designed for children and caregivers in diverse sociocultural settings (Robinson et al 2000;Robinson 2007;Dealy et al 2019).…”

“…Through presenting relatable scenarios to children, they are invited to participate in a creative storytelling process that is understood to tap indirectly into their cognitive scripts, memories, representations of self in relation to others, unconscious emotions, and/or behavioural tendencies based on lived experiences and cultural perceptions (Clarke et al 2017;Milojevich and Quas 2017;Yuval-Adler and Oppenheim 2015). The typical and everyday-like nature of the situations between children, and their caregivers allows this technique potentially to be employed within different socioeconomic contexts, as well as in diverse ethnic and cultural settings (Robinson et al 2000;Dealy et al 2019). Furthermore, indirect methods such as story stems may be particularly suitable for use in hierarchical societies in which adult-child power disparities typically encourage conventional or conformist responses to adult questioning (Adzahlie-Mensah 2014).…”

Young children with suicidal thoughts and behaviors more likely to resolve conflicts with violence, homicide, or suicide: A study of internal working models using narratives.

“…For each of four story stems, an interviewer introduced a conflict/problem involving a family member using play figures and setting, and the child was encouraged to finish the story. Stories consisted of spilled juice (child sitting around a table with family, reaches across the table, knocks over a cup, spills juice on the floor; Bretherton & Oppenheim, 2003), bedtime (parent says it is bedtime, to turn off the TV, child says no and wants to stay up; Zahn-Waxler et al, 1994), sad mom (mom shows child a picture of deceased uncle and starts crying; Dealy et al, 2019), and band-aid (child cuts finger with knife while cooking, yells "ouch!," parents come running in; Hutchison et al, 2010). These stories were selected for their potentially unique relevance to mood disorders from previously published literature (see S1A in the online supplemental materials for additional details).…”