The term ‘effortful control’ refers to the ability to self-regulate one’s own behavioural, cognitive, or emotional responses as appropriate for the situation. The construct includes both the ability to direct attention to one particular source of interest and to be able to inhibit unhelpful responses and instead produce appropriate responses. Disruptions to healthy effortful control development in childhood have previously been found to have long-term consequences on life outcomes such as psychopathology and academic attainment.

Previous research has identified parenting behaviours, such as scaffolding and the promotion of child autonomy, opposed to over-control, as being associated with the development of child effortful control (Fay-Stammbach, Hawes, & Meredith, 2014). The development of child inhibitory control, for example, may be associated with greater maternal sensitivity and less harsh paternal discipline behaviours (Lucassen et al., 2015). Child executive attention, on the other hand, has been associated with maternal behaviours aimed at facilitating learning (Mezzacappa, Buckner, & Earls, 2011). However, despite the clear importance of parenting behaviours for the development of child executive attention and inhibitory control, research has infrequently investigated predictors of such parenting styles.

Understanding the nature of child effects on parents, and whether some parents are more vulnerable to the influence of these child effects, will help to inform further research on the role of parenting in child development as well as interventions aimed at improving child outcomes.