Home Parenting Environment and Executive Function Development in 5- to 6-Year-Old Children: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study Using Multivariate Latent Growth Modeling

Executive function is important for children’s self-regulation and school readiness, and the home parenting environment is a key proximal context for its development. However, less is known about whether the overall home parenting environment is associated with children’s initial executive function and subsequent change. This study examined these associations among 265 children aged 5–6 years in Yancheng, China, using three-wave data collected at six-month intervals. At each wave, mothers rated children’s executive function using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) and reported on the home parenting environment. Baseline language ability was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). Multivariate latent growth modeling was conducted, controlling for child sex and baseline language ability. Executive function increased significantly over one year, with individual differences in initial level and growth rate. The home parenting environment showed no significant mean-level change, although its initial level differed across families. Higher initial levels of the home parenting environment were associated with higher initial executive function, β = 0.446, p < 0.001, and faster executive function growth, β = 0.409, p = 0.004. These findings highlight the potential role of a supportive home parenting environment in children’s executive function development.