Can parents' involvement in children's education offset the effects of early insensitivity on academic functioning?

Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,312) were analyzed to examine whether the adverse effects of early insensitive parenting on children's academic functioning can be offset by parents' later involvement in children's education. Observations of mothers' early insensitivity (i.e., 6-54 months) interacted with teachers' reports of parents' later involvement (i.e., 1st-5th grade) in predicting children's academic functioning as reflected in observed classroom engagement and performance on standardized achievement tests at the end of elementary school (i.e., 5th grade): Although mothers' insensitivity foreshadowed dampened academic functioning among children when parents' involvement was relatively low, it did not do so when parents' involvement was average or higher.