Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Offspring Internalizing Problems: A Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence.

The present study investigated the relations between maternal depressive symptoms and internalizing problems in offspring during late childhood and early adolescence, examining sex differences using symptom network analysis. A total of 885 Chinese youths in late childhood (n = 497, 38.6% girls; age = 9.58 years, SD = 0.24) and early adolescence (n = 388, 48.5% girls; age = 11.30 years, SD = 0.24) and their mothers (Mage = 37.34 years, SD = 5.42) were recruited. Cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) analysis was used to explore bridge symptoms (i.e., symptoms connecting two or more mental disorders) and identify transmission pathways between maternal depressive symptoms and offspring's internalizing problems at these two developmental stages. The CLPN results revealed that in late childhood, the bridge connections in the network model were boys feeling worried to mothers feeling distractible, and girls feeling worried to mothers feeling powerless. In early adolescence, the bridge connections were boys experiencing depressed mood to mothers feeling powerless, and mothers feeling bad to girls experiencing depressed mood. These findings highlight the network-level relations between maternal depressive symptoms and offspring internalizing problems. They provide insights into the developmental differences and similarities in symptoms during these periods and suggest ways to break the vicious cycle of psychopathology between mothers and their children.

Multiple Discrimination and Substance Use Intention in Late Childhood: Findings From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to investigate longitudinal, bidirectional associations between discrimination due to multiple reasons (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, weight; termed multiple discrimination) and substance use (SU) intention in late childhood. These associations were compared across youth with no, single, and multiple (i.e., intersecting) marginalized identities based on race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and overweight status. METHODS: Data were drawn from a national sample of youth in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (N = 8,530; 9-12 years old). Youth reported both their experiences of multiple discrimination (the number of forms of discrimination youth experienced) and SU intention at one-year and two-year follow-ups. Theoretically relevant covariates were included. RESULTS: Compared to non-marginalized youth (n = 2,689) and youth with single marginalized identities (n = 3,399), youth with intersecting marginalized identities (n = 2,442) reported the highest SU intention and multiple discrimination across waves. Only for this last group, multiple discrimination predicted stronger SU intention subsequently (ß = 0.07, 95% confidence interval [0.02, 0.11]), whereas stronger SU intention predicted lower levels of multiple discrimination over time (ß = -0.06, 95% confidence interval [-0.09, -0.02]). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar patterns with some nuances among subgroups of youth with varying intersecting marginalized identities. DISCUSSION: Multiple discrimination predicted stronger SU intention over time in late childhood, particularly among youth with intersecting marginalized identities. Policies and practices should consider addressing multiple discrimination to reduce SU disparities among diverse youth.

Behavioral and neural responses to social rejection: Individual differences in developmental trajectories across childhood and adolescence.

Dealing with social rejection is challenging, especially during childhood when behavioral and neural responses to social rejection are still developing. In the current longitudinal study, we used a Bayesian multilevel growth curve model to describe individual differences in the development of behavioral and neural responses to social rejection in a large sample (n > 500). We found a peak in aggression following negative feedback (compared to neutral feedback) during late childhood, as well as individual differences during this developmental phase, possibly suggesting a sensitive window for dealing with social rejection across late childhood. Moreover, we found evidence for individual differences in the linear development of neural responses to social rejection in our three brain regions of interest: The anterior insula, the medial prefrontal cortex, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In addition to providing insights in the individual trajectories of dealing with social rejection during childhood, this study also makes a meaningful methodological contribution: Our statistical analysis strategy (and can be found in this study's online supplementary materials at https://jeroendmulder.github.io/social-emotion-regulation/) can be used as an example on how to take into account the many complexities of developmental neuroimaging datasets, while still enabling researchers to answer interesting questions about individual-level relationships.

Peer sexual harassment among 10-year-olds: Roles, genders, classroom occurrence, and associations with emotional problems.

This is the first study examining peer sexual harassment among 10-year-olds (N = 985), studying how being a victim, perpetrator, or witness relates to emotional problems, and how these associations are moderated by gender and class occurrence of sexual harassment. Results showed that 45% of the participants reported victimization, 17% perpetration, and 60% witnessing sexual harassment, with vast overlaps between roles. Victimization and witnessing were related to more emotional problems. Victimized girls reported more emotional problems than boys, but girls who perpetrated reported fewer emotional problems than boys. Associations between peer sexual harassment and emotional problems varied across classrooms. Our findings highlight the occurrence of peer sexual harassment in younger ages, emphasizing an ecological perspective when addressing it in school.

The developmental characteristics of proactive and reactive aggression in late childhood: The effect of parental control.

Previous research has confirmed that parental control is related to children's aggressive behavior. However, few studies have focused on proactive and reactive aggression to distinguish the different effects of parental psychological and behavioral control. Moreover, additional longitudinal evidence is needed to understand these links. In the current paper, a three-wave longitudinal study was conducted to examine the developmental characteristics of proactive and reactive aggression and the role of parental control in China. A total of 484 4th- and 7th-grade students participated at wave 1 (51.65% in 4th-grade, Mage = 11.66 ± 1.52 years), 465 students (52.04% in 4th-grade) at wave 2, and 447 children (51.90% in 4th-grade) at wave 3. The results showed that: (1) Proactive aggression in late childhood remained stable overall, while reactive aggression displayed a clear upward trend. (2) In proactive aggression, boys and girls had a consistent developmental trend. The initial level of boys was higher than that of girls. In reactive aggression, the growth rate was inversely associated with their initial level and the initial level of boys in 7th-grade was significantly higher than that of girls. (3) Both parental psychological and behavioral control positively predicted students' reactive aggression in 4th- and 7th-grade, whereas only parental behavioral control positively predicted proactive aggression in 7th-grade students, with no gender differences.

Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Late Childhood Frontal EEG Asymmetry, Executive Function, and Adolescent Cognitive Reappraisal.

Cognitive reappraisal is adaptive for decreasing symptoms of depression; however, a gap in the research is understanding the childhood processes that contribute to cognitive reappraisal in adolescence. This study examined executive function and frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry during late childhood as predictors of adolescent cognitive reappraisal and depressive symptoms. Data were from 123 participants in late childhood (age 10) and adolescence (age 14.5). A moderated mediation model was fit to the data to examine frontal EEG asymmetry as a moderator in the relation between late childhood inhibitory control and adolescent cognitive reappraisal as well as adolescent cognitive reappraisal and adolescent depressive symptoms. Results indicated lower inhibitory control was associated with lower cognitive reappraisal when children had right frontal EEG asymmetry. Lower cognitive reappraisal in turn was associated with higher depressive symptoms for children with right frontal EEG asymmetry. Working memory and cognitive flexibility were also examined but were not significant indicators. Results suggest the potential for targeting inhibitory control and cognitive reappraisal to diminish depressive symptoms particularly among adolescents with right frontal EEG asymmetry.

Associations between Motives for Physical Exercise, Body Composition and Cardiorespiratory Fitness: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Adolescents' need for some minimum amount of daily physical exercise has been widely studied so as to assist better health outcomes and to reduce future obesity rates. However, the motivations of adolescents to exercise are less well-known. This manuscript aims to analyze the motives that explain the practice of physical exercise in adolescents and the possible associations with elements of body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness. For this purpose, the Self-Report of Motives for the Practice of Physical Exercise questionnaire (AMPEF) was administered to 917 students between 13-16 years of age (50.1% girls, 49.9% boys, M age = 14.82) from Seville, Spain. Subscales Ill-Health Avoidance and Positive Health, Revitalization and Enjoyment, Strength and Endurance, and Challenge represent the participants' main reasons for practicing physical exercise. Associations between BMI and FAT % with the subscales Weight Management and Appearance (direct association) and Revitalization and Enjoyment (inverse association) were found. A direct association between cardiorespiratory fitness and Revitalization and Enjoyment, Competition, Strength, and Endurance and Challenge subscales was found for both genders. Conclusions emphasize the practice of physical exercise in adolescents due to intrinsic motives based on improving their state of health, increasing their levels of strength and endurance (boys), and achieving short-term objectives (girls).

Executive function measurement in urban schools: Exploring links between performance-based metrics and teacher ratings.

When compared to research centered on the executive function development of white, middle-class children, relatively little is known about their non-white, low socioeconomic status peers. In an effort to harmonize how executive functions are measured within under-represented contexts, the present study addresses gaps in the evaluation of everyday executive functioning to better understand whether behavior rating scales completed by teachers (BASC2EF - BASC executive function scale, 2nd edition; BASC3EF - BASC executive function scale, 3rd edition) capture distinctions between performance-based measures. This study includes two large samples of older, ethnic minority children from high-poverty backgrounds (Sample 1. N = 243; Mage  = 9.28 years, SDage  = 0.80; nfemale  = 125; nAfricanAmerican  = 216, nLatinAmerican  = 15, nAsianAmerican  = 6; Sample 2. N = 229; Mage  = 10.02 years, SDage  = 1.01; nfemale  = 120; nAfricanAmerican  = 132, nLatinAmerican  = 92, nWhite  = 3, nPacificIslander  = 1). Based on structural equation models testing the links between computerized performance-based measures and the teacher rating scales, the results indicate that BASC2EF in its original form might be a good fit for some populations but there is not a strong factor structure for the current high-poverty samples. In addition, post-hoc analyses suggest that only including BASC2EF items also in BASC3EF or using BASC3EF is best practice for high-poverty populations. BASC3EF seems better able to capture different components of performance-driven tasks, whereas BASC2EF captures overall executive functioning better than individual tasks. These findings encourage continued questioning surrounding metrics used to assess everyday executive functions in older children from diverse backgrounds. HIGHLIGHTS: This study explores whether teacher ratings of children's everyday executive functioning (using standardized behavior rating scales) capture distinctions between performance-based measures. Results indicate that BASC2EF teacher rating scale (Karr & Garcia-Barrera, 2017) is not a good representation of everyday executive function behaviors by children from schools in high-poverty communities. The findings suggest that restricting BASC2EF analyses to only items included in BASC3EF (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2015) or using BASC3EF for high-poverty populations. BASC3EF seems better able to capture the different components of performance-driven tasks, whereas BASC2EF captures overall executive functioning better than individual tasks.

Individual differences in brain structure and self-reported empathy in children.

Empathy refers to the understanding and sharing of others' emotions and comprises cognitive and affective components. Empathy is important for social functioning, and alterations in empathy have been demonstrated in many developmental or psychiatric disorders. While several studies have examined associations between empathy and brain structure in adults, few have investigated this relationship in children. Investigating associations between empathy and brain structure during childhood will help us to develop a deeper understanding of the neural correlates of empathy across the lifespan. A total of 125 children (66 females, mean age 10 years) underwent magnetic resonance imaging brain scans. Grey matter volume and cortical thickness from structural images were examined using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12) within Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM12) software. Children completed questionnaire measures of empathy (cognitive empathy, affective empathy: affective sharing, empathic concern, and empathic distress). In hypothesised region of interest analyses, individual differences in affective and cognitive empathy were related to grey matter volume in the insula and the precuneus. Although these relationships were of similar strength to those found in previous research, they did not survive correction for the total number of models computed. While no significant findings were detected between grey matter volume and empathy in exploratory whole-brain analysis, associations were found between cortical thickness and empathic concern in the right precentral gyrus. This study provides preliminary evidence that individual differences in self-reported empathy in children may be related to aspects of brain structure. Findings highlight the need for more research investigating the neurobiological correlates of empathy in children.

Associations between Physical Activity and Academic Competence: A Cross-Sectional Study among Slovenian Primary School Students.

Physical activity has beneficial effects on overall academic performance in children. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding how the individual characteristics of physical activity interact with other confounding variables of academic competence. Leisure-time physical activity with potential confounders-such as developmental, behavioral, family, and school factors, predicting overall, mathematical, and reading academic competence-was studied in a random sample of 1520 Slovenian primary school students in grades 4-6 (51.9% female; mean age = 10.4 years; SD = 0.93). A structured self-reported questionnaire was used to gather data on the children's leisure-time physical activity and social-demographic variables, while academic competence was measured by teachers using the SSRS Academic Competence Evaluation Scale. The findings showed that children engage in physical activity most days a week, with moderate-intensity and unorganized activities. It was predicted that engaging in physical activity would lead to an increase in academic performance by 4.2% in males (p = 0.002) and 3.2% in females (p = 0.024), but after fully adjusting the model for controlling confounding variables, the prediction increased to 81.1% in females and 84.1% in males (p < 0.001). The frequency and intensity of physical activity, the absence of digital games, and attending sports clubs seem to have the most beneficial effects in terms of academic competence in school children, among other relevant confounders mediating in this complex relationship.

Parental responsiveness and children's trait epistemic curiosity.

Curiosity, the desire to learn new information, has a powerful effect on children's learning. Parental interactions facilitate curiosity-driven behaviors in young children, such as self-exploration and question-asking, at a certain time. Furthermore, parenting quality predicts better academic outcomes. However, it is still unknown whether persistent parenting quality is related to children's trait epistemic curiosity (EC). The current study examined whether parenting practices, responsiveness, and demandingness are cross-sectionally related to the trait EC of children in different age groups (preschoolers, younger and older school-aged children). We adopted a shortened Japanese version of the parenting style questionnaire and modified the trait EC questionnaire in young children. A sample of 244 caregivers (87.37% mothers) of children (ages 3-12) was recruited through educational institutions in Japan and reported on their parenting practices and trait EC. All data analyses were performed using SPSS version 26. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to determine the explanatory variables for children's trait EC. Self-reported parental responsiveness significantly explained EC scores. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show a cross-sectional relationship between parental responsiveness and children's trait EC. Future research should clarify whether parental responsiveness in early childhood predicts children's EC later in life.

Gray Matter Volume in the Developing Frontal Lobe and Its Relationship With Executive Function in Late Childhood and Adolescence: A Community-Based Study.

Background: During late childhood and adolescence, the frontal lobe undergoes critical developmental changes, affecting a wide range of executive functions significantly. Conversely, abnormality in the maturation of the frontal lobe during this period may result in a limited ability to effectively use various executive functions. However, at present, it is still unclear how the structural development of the frontal lobe is associated with different aspects of executive functions during this developmental period. To fill the gap in evidence, we aimed to elucidate gray matter volume (GMV) in the frontal lobe and its relationship with multiple aspects of executive functions in late childhood and adolescence. Methods: We recruited our participants aged between 6 and 17 years to assess GMV in the frontal lobe and its relationship with different domains of executive functions in late childhood and adolescence. We used the voxel-based morphometry-DARTEL procedure to measure GMVs in multiple frontal sub-regions and Stroop test and Advanced Test of Attention (ATA) to measure executive functions. We then conducted partial correlation analyses and performed multiple comparisons with different age and sex groups. Results: Overall, 123 participants took part in our study. We found that many regional GMVs in the frontal lobe were negatively correlated with ATA scores in participants in late childhood and positively correlated with ATA scores in participants in adolescence. Only a few correlations of the GMVs with Stroop test scores were significant in both age groups. Although most of our results did not survive false discovery rate (FDR) correction (i.e., FDR <0.2), considering their novelty, we discussed our results based on uncorrected p-values. Our findings indicate that the frontal sub-regions that were involved in attentional networks may significantly improve during late childhood and become stabilized later in adolescence. Moreover, our findings with the Stroop test may also present the possibility of the later maturation of higher-order executive functioning skills. Conclusion: Although our findings were based on uncorrected p-values, the novelty of our findings may provide better insights into elucidating the maturation of the frontal lobe and its relationship with the development of attention networks in late childhood and adolescence.

Associations between cognitive and affective empathy and internalizing symptoms in late childhood.

BACKGROUND: Empathy is a multidimensional construct, which includes cognitive and affective components. Studies in adults have demonstrated that both cognitive and affective empathy are associated with anxious and depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to examine these associations in childhood. METHODS: Participants were 127 9- and 10-year-old children, recruited from the community. Self-report measures of cognitive and affective empathy, and internalizing symptoms were administered, as well as a task-based measure of cognitive empathy. RESULTS: Canonical correlation analysis demonstrated that components of affective empathy, specifically affective sharing and empathic distress, were associated with internalizing (particularly social anxiety) symptoms (Rc = 0.63, non-parametric p < .001). Cognitive empathy was not associated with internalizing symptoms. LIMITATIONS: Most of our findings were based around self-report measures of empathy, which may not accurately reflect empathy ability. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggests that children who share each other's emotions strongly are more likely to experience anxiety, particularly of a social nature.

On the Rocky Road to Independence: Big Five Personality Traits and Locus of Control in Polish Primary School Students during Transition into Early Adolescence.

This article reports the results of a survey of 455 Polish primary school sixth-graders experiencing changes in the education system. The goal of the study was to identify the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, measured with the picture-based personality survey for children (PBPS-C) and locus of control, determined using the locus of control questionnaire (LOCQ). The results lead to the conclusion that primary school students do not have an established locus of control of either success or failure. There are also no significant differences between boys and girls in the way they interpret the causes of situations and events that happen to them. Boys, compared to girls, scored significantly higher on traits related to seeking and enjoying the company of others. On the other hand, girls exhibited significantly higher levels of traits responsible for increased anxiety than boys. The personality traits that correlated the strongest with locus of control were Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness. A regression model showed that locus of control of success was significantly affected by two traits: Extraversion and Conscientiousness. Locus of control of failure was significantly predicted by Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness (positively), and Neuroticism (negatively). Regression model with gender as a moderator of relationships between personality traits and locus of control turned out to be insignificant.

Ego-Resiliency and Perceived Social Support in Late Childhood: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach.

This study explored the change trajectory of schoolchildren's ego-resiliency and perceived social support and investigated the effect of perceived social support on ego-resiliency across four time points. A sample of 437 children aged 8-13 years (M = 10.99, SD = 0.70, 51.5% boys) completed assessments at four time points. The results indicated that ego-resiliency showed an increasing linear trend and perceived social support showed a declining linear trend. Perceived social support had a positive effect on ego-resiliency over time. In addition, the initial status of perceived social support negatively predicted the growth trend of ego-resiliency, and the initial status of ego-resiliency negatively predicted the declining trend of perceived social support. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Individual Moral Disengagement and Bullying Among Swedish Fifth Graders: The Role of Collective Moral Disengagement and Pro-Bullying Behavior Within Classrooms.

School bullying is a complex social and relational phenomenon with severe consequences for those involved. Most children view bullying as wrong and recognize its harmful consequences; nevertheless, it continues to be a persistent problem within schools. Previous research has shown that children's engagement in bullying perpetration can be influenced by multiple factors (e.g., different forms of cognitive distortions) and at different ecological levels (e.g., child, peer-group, school, and society). However, the complexity of school bullying warrants further investigation of the interplay between factors, at different levels. Grounded in social cognitive theory, which focuses on both cognitive factors and social processes, this study examined whether children's bullying perpetration was associated with moral disengagement at the child level and with collective moral disengagement and prevalence of pro-bullying behavior at the classroom level. Cross-level interactions were also tested to examine the effects of classroom-level variables on the association between children's tendency to morally disengage and bullying perpetration. The study's analyses were based on cross-sectional self-report questionnaire data from 1,577 Swedish fifth-grade children from 105 classrooms (53.5% girls; Mage = 11.3, SD = 0.3). Multilevel modeling techniques were used to analyze the data. The results showed that bullying perpetration was positively associated with moral disengagement at the child level and with collective moral disengagement and pro-bullying behavior at the classroom level. Furthermore, the effect of individual moral disengagement on bullying was stronger for children in classrooms with higher levels of pro-bullying behaviors. These findings further support the argument that both moral processes and behaviors within classrooms, such as collective moral disengagement and pro-bullying behavior, need to be addressed in schools' preventive work against bullying.

Civic Competencies During Adolescence: Longitudinal Associations with Sympathy in Childhood.

Civic competencies are essential prerequisites for adolescents' active citizenship; however, little is known about their developmental precursors. In order to address this research gap, this study examined the role of sympathy in late childhood, early, and mid adolescence for civic competencies in mid and late adolescence. Based on a representative sample of 1118 Swiss children (51% females, Mage T1 = 9.26, SDageT1 = 0.20, rangeageT1: 8.50-9.67-years), this study investigated associations of sympathy with four components of civic competence: attitudes about social justice, informal helping, perceived efficacy to take responsibility and perceived political efficacy. The findings revealed that sympathy in late childhood (i.e., age 9) reflected an early predictor of all four components of civic competence assessed 6 years later. Moreover, sympathy in early adolescence (i.e., age 12) positively predicted attitudes about social justice and informal helping in late adolescence (i.e., age 18). Lastly, changes in sympathy from mid to late adolescence (i.e., age 15 to 18) positively correlated with changes in all four components of civic competence. This study highlights that civic competencies reflect a multidimensional construct that starts to form in late childhood, with sympathy being a central individual predictor in the emergence of civic competencies during adolescence.

Charting the physiological time course of help-seeking during late childhood: Patterns of individual difference.

In this study, we explored whether variability in children's physiological reactivity-respiratory sinus arrhythmia and electrodermal activity-predict concurrent and subsequent levels of children's observed help-seeking (HS) from their mothers during a failure task. In addition, we tested whether children's perceptions of maternal positivity pre-task (CPMP) and children's fearful temperament moderate these effects. In a community sample of 101 mother-child dyads, children (8-12 years of age) underwent a repeated failure task while their respiratory sinus arrythmia and electrodermal activity were monitored; their HS behaviors were later coded. Multilevel path analyses indicated that high-fearful children increased their HS at the same time as and following increased physiological reactivity regardless of CPMP pre-task. Low-fearful children showed increases in HS at the same time as and following increased physiological reactivity only when they perceived their mothers' affect to be positive. This study demonstrates children's individual differences in the physiological underpinning of time-linked HS behaviors.

Parallel empathy and group attitudes in late childhood: The role of perceived peer group attitudes.

Although several studies have examined outgroup empathy, the link between trait empathy and outgroup attitudes has been underinvestigated. In the present study this link was investigated among two samples of ethnic Dutch preadolescents (N = 335, Mage = 10.83 years, SD = 0.94; 53% girls; N = 326; Mage = 10.53 years, SD = 1.03; 48% girls). It examined children's parallel empathy in relation to their ethnic attitudes, and the moderating role of perceived peer norms. Results (partly) support the hypotheses that empathy is associated with more outgroup positivity and less ingroup bias (ingroup minus outgroup attitude). The negative link between empathy and outgroup bias was stronger when peers were perceived to be more biased against the outgroup.

Subjective Well-Being in Early Adolescence: Observations from a Five-Year Longitudinal Study.

This article aims to redress the lack of longitudinal studies on adolescents' subjective well-being (SWB) and highlight the relevance of knowledge deriving from such research in designing public policies for improving their health and wellbeing in accordance with the stage of development they are in. To achieve this, the evolution of SWB during early adolescence (in adolescents aged between 10 and 14 in the first data collection) was explored over a five year period, considering boys and girls together and separately. This involved comparing different SWB scales and contrasting results when considering the year of data collection versus the cohort (year of birth) participants belonged to. The methodology comprised a generalized linear mixed model using the INLA (Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation) estimation within a Bayesian framework. Results support the existence of a decreasing-with-age trend, which has been previously intuited in cross-sectional studies and observed in only a few longitudinal studies and contrasts with the increasing-with-age tendency observed in late adolescence. This decrease is also found to be more pronounced for girls, with relevant differences found between instruments. The decreasing-with-age trend observed when the year of data collection is taken into account is also observed when considering the cohort, but the latter provides additional information. The results obtained suggest that there is a need to continue studying the evolution of SWB in early adolescence with samples from other cultures; this, in turn, will make it possible to establish the extent to which the observed decreasing-with-age trend among early adolescents is influenced by cultural factors.