How does the mother's everyday stress affect her child's ability to think and adapt?

Does witnessing the mother's stress have a direct impact the child's development?
This question was adressed by a recent collaboration with Professor Veronika Engert (Jena University Hospital). The study investigated the effects of witnessing maternal stress on children's executive functions. Thereby, maternal stress, both acutely as well as in the past month, was a stronger predictor of children's cognitive flexibility than the offspring's own stress. In addition, extreme levels of maternal stress were associated with poorer cognitive performance in children. These findings highlight how parental stress can affect children's cognitive performance and shape their cognitive flexibility and resilience.

The whole article can be read here.