Internalizing behaviors, or behaviors related to behavioral inhibition and the tendency to withdraw from novelty or uncertainty, are stable over time. There is substantial evidence indicating the association between greater resting right lateralized frontal EEG alpha asymmetry and negative affect as well as internalizing behaviors (Coan & Allen, 2003; Henderson, Fox, & Rubin, 2001; Fox, 1991). Further, right frontal asymmetry has been shown to be a stable marker of the presence of psychosocial risk (e.g. child maltreatment; see Peltola, Bakermans-Kranenburg, Alink, Huffmeijer, Biro, & van IJzendoorn, 2014 for meta-analyses). However, little is known about the influences of the home and family environment on the link between EEG asymmetry and behavior. The current study examines the associations between resting frontal EEG asymmetry, temperament, and internalizing behaviors in the context of household chaos, as well as additional models. Participants included 247 6-year-old children recruited as part of a larger study on emotion regulation. Results suggest that while household chaos is marginally associated with concurrent internalizing behaviors, the association does not differ depending on patterns of hemispheric asymmetry. Methodological considerations and future directions are discussed. By understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying risk for internalizing problems as well as potential moderators of this link we can better inform the development and timing of effective prevention strategies.

Proximal risk factors including household chaos, parenting and maternal distress can have a broad impact on multiple domains of child development and functioning. Using multiple methodologies including a meta-analysis and structural equation modeling with an empirical, cross-sectional design from a larger longitudinal research study; in this dissertation, I examine the impact of household chaos on child executive functioning, socioemotional and physiological stress outcomes, the role that parenting plays in this association, and how maternal distress predicts chaos in the home. In study 1, I conduct a meta-analysis examining the direct association between household chaos and child executive functioning, as well as multiple potential moderators (e.g. child age, sex and race/ethnicity). It incorporates 26 studies, with 27 independent effect sizes with a total sample of 8,944 children. Overall, I found a significant effect of r = .22 between household chaos and child executive function. Among the moderators assessed, only measurement approach of executive functions (informant-completed questionnaire versus direct assessment) was significant, with informant-completed questionnaires yielding an effect of r = .27 compared to direct assessment, r = .16. I conducted a series of separate moderation analyses for questionnaire and direct assessment effects. No significant moderators emerged from the questionnaire analyses, despite heterogeneous effect sizes. Direct assessment analyses revealed that both household chaos dimensions (disorganization and instability) were significantly related to child executive functions, however instability was a stronger correlate (r = .21) than disorganization (r = .09). Composition of the sample was also a significant moderator with effects increased with the proportion of minorities, and with parents with lower levels of education. Building on this work, in studies 2 and 3, I used cross-sectional empirical data from a sample of 137 mothers and their school-aged (5-year old) children. During home visits, mothers completed questionnaires assessing their mood, stressful experiences, the home environment and their child’s socioemotional functioning. Mothers also completed a video tour of the home. Mother-child interactions were videotaped and later coded for parenting. Both mothers and children independently completed behavioural assessments of executive function. Also, hair samples were collected from mothers and children from which the stress hormone, cortisol, was extracted as a biomarker of chronic stress. In order to empirically test the findings from the meta-analysis, in my second study, I used structural equation modeling to examine the indirect effect of household chaos on child executive functioning via parenting. I found that household chaos was directly and indirectly (via maternal cognitive sensitivity and emotional availability) associated with a latent variable of child executive functioning. Furthermore, instability, but not disorganization, significantly predicted child executive functioning directly and indirectly via parenting. Finally, sex-based analyses indicated that the effect of chaos on child executive functioning was significant through indirect effects only for boys. In the third study, in order to elucidate potential contributing factors to household chaos, I used a structural equation model to examine the indirect effects of a linear regression-weighted composite variable of maternal distress (depression, negative affect and physiological stress) on child hair cortisol levels and externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems via household chaos. I found that maternal distress had both direct and indirect effects (via household chaos) on child hair cortisol levels; however, only indirect effects were significant for externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems. Also, the indirect effect was only significant for household disorganization, but not instability, for child hair cortisol and externalizing and internalizing behaviour problems. Taken together, the findings from my dissertation demonstrate that: 1) household chaos has a direct, negative effect on child executive functioning and an indirect effect via parenting; and 2) maternal distress plays an important role in predicting the levels of chaos within the home which has implications for child chronic stress levels and behavioural problems. Collectively, these findings highlight the need to take a multi-method approach to measuring executive functioning in children and further, to develop and evaluate interventions that aim to support mothers, improve parenting and promote order and stability within the home in order to foster healthy developmental trajectories for children. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Children exposed to household chaos may experience adverse outcomes across multiple domains. Parenting can also be negatively affected by household chaos which may impact the quality of parent-child interactions. Further, the physical and psychological health of the mother may regulate the levels of chaos in the home which has implications for child outcomes as well. This dissertation seeks to examine the influence of household chaos on child executive functioning, stress levels and socioemotional functioning, and the roles that parenting and maternal distress play. I address three primary objectives: 1) using meta-analytic techniques, I examine the magnitude of effect of household chaos on child executive functioning based on existing literature as well as potential factors that may modulate the strength of the linkage between household chaos and child executive functioning; and using cross-sectional data, I examine 2) how household chaos impacts parenting and subsequently, how parenting impacts child executive functioning; and 3) how maternal distress influences the level of chaos in the home and how this chaos impacts child stress levels and socioemotional functioning. Collectively, the results from this dissertation indicate that household chaos has a broad negative impact on child outcomes, and both parenting and maternal distress play important roles in understanding this impact. Further, it demonstrates the need for intervention research aimed at supporting the physical and psychological health of mothers, improving parenting and creating order and stability in homes for children.

abstract: This study drew upon a bioecological framework to empirically investigate the relations between environmental chaos and preschoolers' language across time, including the potentially mediating roles of children's effortful control and parenting. Child sex also was examined as a moderator of these relations. For this study, the following data were collected at 30, 42, and 54 months of age. Household chaos and (at 30 months) socioeconomic status (SES) were reported by mothers. Children's effortful control (EC) was rated by mothers and nonparental caregivers, and was observed during a number of laboratory tasks. Maternal vocalizations were assessed during free play sessions with their children (at 30 and 42 months), and supportive and unsupportive parenting behaviors and affect were observed during free play and teaching tasks at each age. Mothers also reported on their own reactions to children's negative emotions. Finally, (at 54 months) children's expressive and receptive language was measured with a standard assessment. Structural equation modeling and path analyses indicated that SES at 30 months and greater levels of household chaos at 42 months predicted not only poorer language skills, but also deficits in children's EC and less supportive parenting in low-income mothers at 54 months, even when controlling for stability in these constructs. Children's effortful control at 42 months, but not parenting, positively predicted later language, suggesting that EC may play a mediating role in the relations between household chaos, as well as SES, and preschoolers' language abilities. Child sex did not moderate the pattern of relations. Post-hoc analyses also indicated that the negative relation between chaos and language was significant only for children who had low EC at 42 months. This study represents a much-needed addition to the currently limited longitudinal research examining environmental chaos and children's developmental outcomes. Importantly, findings from this study elucidate an important process underlying the links between chaos and children's language development, which can inform interventions and policies designed to support families and children living in chaotic home environments. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Family and Human Development 2012