Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology最新文献

Although children's relationships with their parents and teachers contribute to their school adjustment and achievement, few studies have examined interactions between these relationships, particularly for father-child relationships. Using the Growing Up in Ireland birth cohort (N = 7507, 50.3% male), we examined child-adult relationship quality – rated by parents at age 3 and by teachers at age 5 – as predictors of teacher-rated behavioural adjustment and academic achievement at age 9 (indexed by self-reported academic self-concepts and performance on formal reading assessments). Controlling for prior levels of problem behaviours, verbal ability, and family SES, our results indicated that children's relationships with parents and teachers showed small and comparable independent effects on school adjustment and achievement. For mothers and teachers, moderation analyses showed a cumulative risk pattern for conflictual relationships and a compensatory pattern for close relationships. Children are likely to benefit from improving closeness and reducing conflict in adult-child relationships as well as interventions that involve mothers, fathers, and teachers.

Patterning is often considered important for cognitive development because it offers opportunities for detecting rules and structure. However, it is not clear what distinguishes experts and novices in this domain. In this study, 95 adults (M_age = 19.5 years) and 90 children (M_age = 5.4 years) completed a repeating pattern abstraction task and explained their response after each item. We hypothesized that two strategies present in their speech and gesture—Unit Identification and Mapping—were reliable indicators of expertise. Multiple metrics supported this hypothesis: Adults used these strategies more than children; expert children used some of these strategies more than novice children; frequency of using these strategies predicted task accuracy; and success rates were high when these strategies were aligned in speech and gesture. Findings have important implications for characterizing expertise in patterning and for the precise operationalization of attention to structure.

This preregistered randomized controlled study investigated the effects of Video-Feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) on parents' secure base script knowledge (SBSK). Furthermore, we examined whether effects of VIPP-SD on sensitive caregiving and sensitive discipline behavior and parents' attitudes toward these behaviors were moderated by SBSK at baseline. Families (n = 445) with pre- and school-aged children (n = 890) were randomized to receive VIPP-SD or telephone calls. Results showed no effects of VIPP-SD on SBSK. Furthermore, there was no moderation of effects on sensitive caregiving or sensitive discipline behavior by SBSK. VIPP-SD promoted positive attitudes toward sensitive caregiving and sensitive discipline behavior. The latter effect was moderated by SBSK: parents with lower SBSK showed the strongest improvements in positive attitudes toward sensitive discipline behavior. This effect was driven by a subgroup of younger children. These findings highlight the potential importance of tailoring interventions to meet the specific needs of parents with varying levels of SBSK.

We examined child-, family-, and school-level risk and resilience factors associated with school dropout using longitudinal data of fifth-grade students in rural Côte d'Ivoire (N = 1195, M_age = 10.75, SD_age = 1.42). Children who dropped out of school were older, involved in more child labour, had poorer literacy skills, owned fewer books, and attended schools with poorer learning environments. Cumulative risk (CR) indices revealed that child-level CR was most strongly associated with dropout (b = 0.86, OR = 0.42) compared to family- and school-level CR; further, children with low child-level CR were more likely to drop out when family-level CR was high (b = −0.23, OR = 1.25). Better school infrastructure and teachers were protective for children who were at high risk of dropout yet remained enrolled. Although child- and family-level factors contribute to risk of dropout, school-level factors may mitigate risks and promote academic resilience among students in West Africa.

The associations of parental expectations and involvement with children's academic skills have largely been investigated in high-income countries. Using a sample of children from grades 1 to 6 in Côte d'Ivoire (N = 1413), we asked: Are parental expectations and involvement related to children's academic skills? Are these relations mediated by children's executive functions (EFs), socioemotional (SE) skills, and growth mindset? Parental expectations, involvement, EFs, and SE skills positively predicted academic skills. SE skills mediate the association between parent variables and child academic skills; specifically, they are predicted positively by parental involvement and negatively by parental expectations. Parental involvement is lower among parents who expected their child to pursue tertiary education, compared to parents who expected their child to complete secondary education. The study highlights associations between parenting practices and child academic achievement, shedding light on mediating pathways, and informing the development of culturally appropriate supports for families.

Two constructs implicated in the etiology of offending (i.e., criminal behaviors that break a rule or law) are self-regulation and sensation seeking. The present study aimed to test if there was a developmental shift in the association between self-regulation and sensation seeking and offending from adolescence to early adulthood. Data were collected longitudinally from a justice-involved sample of male youth to determine the age-varying associations between self-regulation, sensation seeking, and offending. Results showed that higher impulse control was related to lower offending, and the magnitude of this association strengthened from adolescence to adulthood. Higher future orientation was related to lower offending, and this association was stronger during adolescence than adulthood. Higher sensation seeking was related to higher offending, and this association was stronger during adolescence than adulthood. These results suggest that the adolescent peak in offending may be due to its relatively weak association with impulse control that co-occurs with a stronger association with sensation seeking compared to adulthood. The developmental shift in the association between impulse control and offending may also distinguish between those who desist from offending as adults and those who persist.

This study aimed to identify possible subgroups of adolescent mobile phone dependence and explore whether each subgroup remains stable over time and the effects of three important interpersonal supports. A total of 1214 adolescents completed three surveys across one year. The study found that there were three growth subgroups of mobile phone dependence: the “low-risk” group, the “medium-risk” group, and the “high-risk” group. The “low risk” and “high risk” groups showed a decreasing trend, while the “medium risk” group showed an increasing trend. The transformation occurred between subgroups. Friend support decreased the likelihood of transitioning to “high-risk” groups and other support increased the likelihood of transitioning to “low-risk” groups. This study contributes to understanding the developmental differences in adolescent mobile phone dependence. It emphasizes the importance of considering interpersonal support in reducing mobile phone dependence. This study could stand as a base for further studies in mobile phone dependence.

This study examined the changing trend of Internet use types during late childhood and its influencing factors (i.e., trait curiosity, friendship quality, and material parenting). Parallel latent growth model was employed for analysis using a three-year longitudinal dataset of 218 primary students. The findings revealed increased information acquisition, social, and entertainment Internet use throughout late childhood. Trait curiosity was positively related to initial levels of information acquisition and social Internet use but negatively related to their growth rates. Friendship quality was negatively associated with an initial level of social Internet use. Material parenting reward was positively related to an initial level of entertainment Internet use and the growth rate of social Internet use. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the changing trends of specific Internet use in late childhood and shed light on the factors that contribute to its changes.

We investigated to what extent adolescents' classroom peer ecologies play an indirect role in explaining the associations between teacher-student relatedness (TSR) in the fall and classroom engagement in the spring. The classroom peer ecology variables were friendship cohesion, prosocial behavior and norms, and peer support. Participants were 869 fifth and sixth grade students (52% girls, 48% boys; 42% White, 30% Black, 6% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 14% Multiracial, 2% Other) in 44 classrooms. We used multilevel structural equation models to assess the within and between classroom indirect effects of peers on the associations between TSR and classroom engagement. At the classroom-level, TSR was associated with greater adaptive help seeking with peers via prosocial popularity norms. At the individual-level, TSR and behavioral engagement were indirectly associated, via prosocial behavior. Additionally, TSR was indirectly associated with all three engagement outcomes through peer support. Findings suggest that multiple aspects of adolescents' peer relationships provide unique assets for their classroom engagement.

This study aimed to identify mothers' advice and youth acceptance/rejection of mothers' advice from 100 mother-youth conversations (youth M_age = 11.05 years; 53% boys) about youths' real-life academic challenges (e.g., difficulties with schoolwork) at T1. Out of all advice given, mothers offered the greatest proportion of cognitive reappraisal advice (i.e., think in threat-reducing ways), followed by strategizing and help-seeking advice. On average, youth responded ambiuously to mothers' advice. We also examined the independent and interactive associations of mothers' advice and youth responses at T1 in predicting youths' academic coping and school engagement seven months later. Mothers' cognitive reappraisal advice predicted more adaptive coping at T2; strategizing and help-seeking advice aligned with less adaptive coping. Associations were moderated by youths' responses to the respective advised solution. No associations emerged for maladaptive coping or school engagement. Findings provide insight into mothers' advice-giving within actual mother-youth conversations, with implications for youth adaptive coping.