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Developmental Psychology Jun 2024Self-regulation (SR; emotion-related, and behavioral), executive function, and theory of mind (ToM) all play an important role in child socioemotional functioning (SEF)....
Israel-Arab Muslim children's socioemotional functioning at kindergarten and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Relations with cognitive and socioemotional abilities, gender, and socioeconomic status.
Self-regulation (SR; emotion-related, and behavioral), executive function, and theory of mind (ToM) all play an important role in child socioemotional functioning (SEF). However, much remains unknown about the interplay among these abilities when facing various challenging situations. Additionally, the role of these abilities in child SEF has not yet been studied among minority children from an Eastern culture. Thus, we conducted one study with two models to examine the combined contribution of these core abilities, concurrently, to children's SEF during the transition to kindergarten, and longitudinally (about 3 years later) to children's SEF during COVID-19. Overall, 202 kindergarten children (aged 4.9-6.5 years) participated, of which 136 of them in the longitudinal follow-up (aged 8.83-10.6 years). We used behavioral tasks and teacher and maternal reports. Mothers also reported their own distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the transition to kindergarten, we found that emotion-related SR was positively related to children's SEF. We also found that emotion-related SR moderated the relation between inhibition and ToM. In the follow-up study, we found that emotion-related SR in kindergarten significantly predicted children's SEF during the COVID-19 crisis, directly and indirectly, through children's SEF in kindergarten and their maternal COVID-related distress. Moreover, emotion-related SR moderated the longitudinal association between children's ToM at kindergarten age and their SEF during the COVID-19 crisis. Our findings highlight the central role that emotion-related SR plays in children's ability to face different challenges. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
PubMed: 38934902
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001778 -
Development and Psychopathology Jun 2024This study examines associations between early childhood attachment security and adolescent personality functioning in a high-risk sample within a developmental...
This study examines associations between early childhood attachment security and adolescent personality functioning in a high-risk sample within a developmental psychopathology framework. Data from 2,268 children (1165 male; 1103 female) and caregivers participating in Future of Families and Child Well-Being Study (FFCWS) were used to examine (1) effects of genetic polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) genes and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on attachment security and emotional and behavioral dysregulation in early childhood and (2) longitudinal associations and transactional relationships among attachment security, dysregulation, negative parenting attitudes and behaviors, social competence, and adolescent personality functioning. Results revealed that ACEs predicted attachment security over and above sex or the genetic risk, and gene × environment interactions did not increment prediction. Results of cascade models showed that greater early childhood attachment security predicted higher adolescent level of personality functioning via pathways through intermediary variables. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
PubMed: 38934483
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579424001044 -
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Jun 2024Elizabeth Spelke's is a scholarly presentation of core knowledge theory and a masterful compendium of empirical evidence that supports it. Unfortunately, Spelke's...
Elizabeth Spelke's is a scholarly presentation of core knowledge theory and a masterful compendium of empirical evidence that supports it. Unfortunately, Spelke's principal theoretical assumption is that core knowledge is simply the innate product of cognitive evolution. As such, her theory fails to explicate the developmental mechanisms underlying the emergence of the cognitive systems on which that knowledge depends.
Topics: Humans; Infant; Child Development; Cognition; Knowledge
PubMed: 38934458
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X23003102 -
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Jun 2024Spelke posits that the concept of "social agent," who performs object-directed actions to fulfill social goals, is the first noncore concept that infants acquire as they...
Spelke posits that the concept of "social agent," who performs object-directed actions to fulfill social goals, is the first noncore concept that infants acquire as they begin to learn their native language. We question this proposal on empirical grounds and theoretical grounds, and propose instead that the representation of object-mediated interactions may be supported by a dedicated prelinguistic mechanism.
Topics: Humans; Concept Formation; Infant; Language Development; Language; Child Development; Social Behavior
PubMed: 38934455
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X23003011 -
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Jun 2024Decades of research have pushed us closer to understanding what babies know. However, a powerful approach - representational similarity analysis (RSA) - is underused in...
Decades of research have pushed us closer to understanding what babies know. However, a powerful approach - representational similarity analysis (RSA) - is underused in developmental research. I discuss the strengths of this approach and what it can tell us about infant conceptual knowledge. As a case study, I focus on numerosity as a domain where RSA can make unique progress.
Topics: Humans; Infant; Concept Formation; Child Development; Knowledge
PubMed: 38934444
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X23003187 -
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Jun 2024Spelke's sweeping proposal requires greater precision in specifying the place of language in early cognition. We now know by 3 months of age, infants have already begun...
Spelke's sweeping proposal requires greater precision in specifying the place of language in early cognition. We now know by 3 months of age, infants have already begun to forge a link between language and core cognition. This precocious link, which unfolds dynamically over development, may indeed offer an entry point for acquiring higher-order, abstract conceptual and representational capacities.
Topics: Humans; Cognition; Infant; Language Development; Child Development; Language; Concept Formation
PubMed: 38934443
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X23003096 -
Journal of Child Psychology and... Jun 2024Previous research has linked prenatal maternal infections to later childhood developmental outcomes and socioemotional difficulties. However, existing studies have...
BACKGROUND
Previous research has linked prenatal maternal infections to later childhood developmental outcomes and socioemotional difficulties. However, existing studies have relied on retrospectively self-reported survey data, or data on hospital-recorded infections only, resulting in gaps in data collection.
METHODS
This study used a large linked administrative health dataset, bringing together data from birth records, hospital records, prescriptions and routine child health reviews for 55,856 children born in Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Scotland, 2011-2015, and their mothers. Logistic regression models examined associations between prenatal infections, measured as both hospital-diagnosed prenatal infections and receipt of infection-related prescription(s) during pregnancy, and childhood developmental concern(s) identified by health visitors during 6-8 week or 27-30 month health reviews. Secondary analyses examined whether results varied by (a) specific developmental outcome types (gross-motor-skills, hearing-communication, vision-social-awareness, personal-social, emotional-behavioural-attention and speech-language-communication) and (b) the trimester(s) in which infections occurred.
RESULTS
After confounder/covariate adjustment, hospital-diagnosed infections were associated with increased odds of having at least one developmental concern (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.19-1.42). This was broadly consistent across all developmental outcome types and appeared to be specifically linked to infections occurring in pregnancy trimesters 2 (OR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.07-1.67) and 3 (OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.21-1.47), that is the trimesters in which foetal brain myelination occurs. Infection-related prescriptions were not associated with any clear increase in odds of having at least one developmental concern after confounder/covariate adjustment (OR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.98-1.08), but were associated with slightly increased odds of concerns specifically related to personal-social (OR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.03-1.22) and emotional-behavioural-attention (OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.08-1.22) development.
CONCLUSIONS
Prenatal infections, particularly those which are hospital-diagnosed (and likely more severe), are associated with early childhood developmental outcomes. Prevention of prenatal infections, and monitoring of support needs of affected children, may improve childhood development, but causality remains to be established.
PubMed: 38934255
DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.14028 -
Children (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Early key visual skills, such as tracking objects, sustaining gaze, and shifting attention, rapidly develop within the first 6 months of infant life. These abilities... (Review)
Review
Early key visual skills, such as tracking objects, sustaining gaze, and shifting attention, rapidly develop within the first 6 months of infant life. These abilities play a significant role in the development of cognitive functions but are frequently compromised in infants at risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders. This systematic review evaluates the potential of early vision function in the prediction of cognition at or above 12 months. Five databases were searched for relevant articles, and their quality was assessed with the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies tool. Eight studies were suitable, including 521 preterm-born infants at varying risk of developing Cerebral Palsy (CP). Each study showed a significant correlation between vision and cognitive outcome. Predictive analysis including sensitivity and specificity was possible for three studies. Methodological quality was variable. Sensitivity ranged between 57 and 100% in the vision function assessments items, while specificity ranged from 59 to 100%. In conclusion, early vision showed strong correlation with cognition ≥ 12 months. While no single vision assessment was found to be superior, evaluation of specific functions, namely fixation and following, both at term age and between 3 and 6 months, demonstrated strong predictive validity.
PubMed: 38929326
DOI: 10.3390/children11060747 -
Children (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency Second Edition (BOT-2) is the most common motor assessment in Korea. The BOT-2-Short Form (SF) is preferred over the...
The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency Second Edition (BOT-2) is the most common motor assessment in Korea. The BOT-2-Short Form (SF) is preferred over the complete form (CF) in settings with limited time. The present study aimed to assess the validity of the BOT-2 SF in Korean school-age children. First, we verified that the BOT-2 SF reflects developmental changes in motor skills. Second, we compared the BOT-2 SF scores to those of the BOT-2 CF. A total of 283 Korean school-age children performed the BOT-2. The differences in the BOT-2 SF point according to age group (7 years, 8-9 years, and 10-12 years) were analyzed. A correlation analysis of the standard scores between the BOT-2 SF and CF was conducted. The sensitivity and specificity of the BOT-2 SF were calculated in reference to its CF. Overall, the BOT-2 SF point scores increased with age. The correlation between the total scores of the BOT-2 SF and CF was strong. The BOT-2 SF had a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 92%. This study has demonstrated the validity of the BOT-2 SF in Korean school-age children. The BOT2 SF can be useful in screening Korean school-age children with motor skills problems.
PubMed: 38929303
DOI: 10.3390/children11060724 -
Children (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Despite the high prevalence of developmental dyslexia in the U.S. population, research remains limited and possibly biased due to the overrepresentation of males in most...
Despite the high prevalence of developmental dyslexia in the U.S. population, research remains limited and possibly biased due to the overrepresentation of males in most dyslexic samples. Studying biological sex differences in the context of developmental dyslexia can help provide a more complete understanding of the neurological markers that underly this disorder. The current study aimed to explore sex differences in white matter diffusivity in typical and dyslexic samples in third and fourth graders. Participants were asked to complete behavioral/cognitive assessments at baseline followed by MRI scanning and diffusion-weighted imaging sequences. A series of ANOVAs were conducted for comparing group membership (developmental dyslexia or typically developing), gender status (F/M), and white matter diffusivity in the tracts of interest. The Results indicated significant differences in fractional anisotropy in the left hemisphere components of the inferior and superior (parietal and temporal) longitudinal fasciculi. While males with dyslexia had lower fractional anisotropy in these tracts compared to control males, no such differences were found in females. The results of the current study may suggest that females may use a more bilateral/alternative reading network.
PubMed: 38929300
DOI: 10.3390/children11060721