The Secret of A Genius

The Mood Of The Mother During Pregnancy Affects The Child's Success in School

The attitude of people to events occurring in their lives is largely determined by the personality characteristic called locus of control . If a person believes that he completely controls the course of events and everything in his life depends on his own actions, then psychologists speak of an internal locus of control. If, on the contrary, a person believes that there is no point in making any efforts, and all events in life depend on external factors, circumstances, and luck, then his locus of control is called external.

Researchers from the University of Bristol found that the locus of control of a woman during pregnancy can affect her future child's abilities in math and science.

In the course of the work, the specialists analyzed data obtained in the framework of the long-term project "Children of the 90s" ( Children of the 90s study ). They identified the locus of control of more than 1600 pregnant women, and then evaluated the different abilities of their children at the age of 8, 11, and 13 years. Young participants, in particular, passed special tests that allowed to evaluate their inclinations to mathematics and other sciences, reasoning and problem solving skills.
When the researchers compared the data, they saw the relationship between the locus of control of mothers and the abilities of their children. Thus, children whose mothers possessed an internal locus of control were better versed in mathematics and natural sciences than their peers whose mothers had an external locus of control.

It also turned out that women with an internal locus of control, accustomed to "decisive actions", often tried to influence the development of their child. They fed children with products that improve brain performance, read them more often and showed interest in their homework and academic success.

It is widely known that the locus of control of the child are closely linked to his academic achievements, but until now we did not know whether the role of locus of control plays a mother during pregnancy,

says lead author Professor Jean Golding ( Jean Golding ).

According to her, these findings are important for all women, because their thinking and behavior can positively affect the development and success of their children.

"Parents can change their outlook. Earlier, it was shown that parents who" acquire "an internal locus of control, that is, learn to find a connection between their actions and what happens to their children, improve their parenting skills, and this has a positive effect on personal , the social and educational life of their children, ”adds study co-author Stephen Nowicki from Emory University.

He also notes that children whose parents have an internal locus of control feed better, sleep, and control their emotions. They have fewer problems with communication and study and a lower risk of developing obesity.

A scientific article on the results of this work was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
By the way, earlier the authors of the project "Vesti.Nauka" told that a talent for mathematics can be inborn , and solving problems before bed helps to develop it . But impaired ability to mathematics and language can polluted air .