Developmental Psychology最新文献

Positive youth development (PYD) has gained considerable traction among developmental scientists, but past studies were generally conducted among youth samples from Minority World countries. This study investigated the factorial validity of the newly developed 7Cs model of PYD (competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, contribution, and creativity). Specifically, we compared four measurement models (one-factor, seven-factor, higher order, and bifactor) among emerging adults living in five Southeast Asian countries. The study also aimed to establish evidence of measurement invariance across gender, age, education, and country of origin. Criterion-related validity was also sought using COVID-19 socially responsive behaviors and anxiety. Controlling for the influence of gender, age, and education, sample-level comparisons were also performed on the 7Cs. Data came from 1,888 emerging adults (M_age = 24.10; SD_age = 6.89) from Indonesia (n = 253), Malaysia (n = 289), the Philippines (n = 496), Singapore (n = 306), and Thailand (n = 544) during the pandemic. The results supported the superiority of the seven-factor model, which exhibited strict invariance across gender, age, and education and partial scalar invariance across country of origin. The 7Cs exhibited mixed associations with the pandemic-related measures. Significant differences were found in the 7Cs across the five countries. The study provides additional evidence on the theoretical validity of the 7Cs model among youth from understudied settings, while also highlighting avenues for refining current PYD measures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental ethnotheories delineate culturally shared beliefs about the nature of children and normative parenting in a particular cultural niche. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, we assessed parental ethnotheories in a non-White, educated, industrialized, rich, and developed cultural context of Türkiye and developed a parental beliefs scale (PBS) with a culturally informed emic approach in two studies. Study 1 relied on semistructured interviews with 125 Turkish parents (79 mothers, 46 fathers) to better understand parents' beliefs on the child's nature and proper parenting with particular attention to the key demographic characteristics reflecting intracultural diversity. This qualitative inquiry informed the generation of items for a PBS about the nature of children and parenting. In Study 2, we investigated the factor structure, measurement invariance, and the predictive power of the PBS on parenting behaviors with a nationally representative sample of 1,397 parents (796 mothers, 601 fathers) of children aged 3-17 years. Factor analysis revealed three factors representing constraining beliefs, autonomy-enabling beliefs, and beliefs in the malleability of the child. Structural and measurement invariance analyses partially supported the equivalence of the three-factor structure across parent and child gender and child age groups. Regression analyses indicated that constraining beliefs strongly and positively predicted psychological control and punitive behaviors. Autonomy-enabling beliefs predicted positive parenting, while malleability beliefs primarily predicted sociocultural control. Parent education and socioeconomic status moderated the effects of parental beliefs on parenting behaviors. The results were discussed based on parents' gender and socioeconomic status within a developing country, exemplifying a culturally informed assessment approach for the majority world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Using data from three interrelated studies of Korean adolescents in South Korea (N = 524; M_age = 14.98), China (N = 267; M_age = 15.24), and the United States (N = 408; M_age = 14.76), this study tested the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of multiple measures of family process, including those originally developed for subgroups of Asian Americans and commonly used Western measures. The results showed excellent psychometric properties of the scales in each group and supported metric and scalar invariances, at least partial for some, of the examined measures, providing cross-culturally comparable instruments for diverse Korean communities across the United States and majority countries. The findings also showed nuanced cultural variations despite similar conceptualizations of the constructs across groups. The study compared the means of the family process measures and examined the associations among these measures and with youth adjustments. The results from these urban samples in three different sociopolitical and economic contexts may reflect a complex interplay of culture and minority status in shaping the family process and its impact on youth development, illustrating how the modern Korean family process is flexible and responsive to local contexts. The findings of this study present useful instruments and warrant additional research on the antecedents, mechanisms, and implications of the family process to maximize youth potential in respective contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Researchers have been interested in exploring the distinguishing features of Chinese parenting and its role in child development, yet research in this area has been hindered by the limited availability of appropriate measures. Based on a perspective focusing on care-based power-assertive parenting (CBPAP) that explicitly emphasizes two integrated aspects of Chinese parenting, care and power assertion, parent- and child-report measures of CBPAP were developed and examined in the present study in samples with a rural background in China. Mothers of kindergarten children (N = 1,214; M_age = 54 months, 515 boys) completed the parent-report measure of CBPAP, and students in fourth grade in elementary schools (N = 714; M_age = 10 years, 385 boys) completed the child-report measure for maternal CBPAP and paternal CBPAP. Data on children's adjustment were collected from multiple sources. The results indicated a satisfactory fit of a one-factor model and internal consistency in the measures. Measurement invariance tests indicated the equivalence of the factor structure of the measures across gender and grades. Moreover, the CBPAP measures were positively associated with children's social and academic competence and negatively associated with children's behavioral problems. The study provided evidence for the psychometric properties of the measures and their meaningful relations with children's social, behavioral, and school adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The aim of this study was to develop the Mathematics Vocabulary Test (MVT)-an instrument to identify young children with a limited mathematics vocabulary-in a multilingual majority country-South Africa. This study consists of two substudies with children aged 3-8.5 years (N = 988, n_girls = 429). In Study 1, a 26-item MVT was developed by multiprofessional expert panels and piloted in four languages, isiZulu (n = 229), Sesotho (n = 83), English (n = 89), and Afrikaans (n = 216). Study 1 provided evidence of content validity, and the MVT was further revised based on the results. In Study 2, additional samples were assessed with the revised version of the MVT in English (Stage 1, n = 270) and isiZulu (Stage 2, n = 101) to provide further evidence of reliability and validity for these two language versions of the test. Confirmatory factor analyses supported structural validity of a unidimensional structure, including 20 items in the English version and 16 items in the isiZulu version. The structure of the English MVT showed stability across time (T2 5 months after T1). Both versions showed good reliability in terms of internal consistency. Our findings also provided evidence of concurrent and known-group validity for both language versions, as well as predictive validity of the English version of the test. The English and isiZulu MVT can be used as a measure of mathematics vocabulary in educational practice and research with young children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 4.2 underscores the importance of stimulating early learning experiences for child development. However, measuring home learning environments at the population level remains challenging. This study developed and validated a comprehensive and contextually appropriate measure of the home learning environment for children aged 3-5 years in China, the Chinese Home Learning Environment Scale. The study comprised two phases. In Phase I, an initial item pool was developed through a literature review, and expert consensus was established using a modified e-Delphi method. Items were refined based on pilot testing with 33 caregiver-child dyads. The Phase I version included 28 caregiver-reported items assessing learning resources and learning activity frequency and 16 directly observed items measuring the quality of learning activities. In Phase II, data from 777 relatively highly educated caregivers from middle-income families (M_age = 48.84 months; 46.72% boys; 49.94% urban residents) were used to evaluate items. Analyses yielded a four-factor model: Availability of Learning Resources (five items), Frequency of Basic Concept Learning (three items), Frequency of Formal Learning Activities (six items), and Frequency of Informal Learning Activities (13 items). The scale demonstrated good construct and concurrent validity and internal consistency. Higher socioeconomic status and urban residence were associated with higher Chinese Home Learning Environment Scale scores. The findings indicate that the scale is an effective tool for assessing Chinese children's home learning environments and can offer valuable insights for policy and intervention design. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

This study investigated the construction of shortened Five Cs measures of positive youth development (PYD) for middle adolescents in the Taiwanese context. Based on a three-cohort sequential design, a total of 855 adolescents (55.6% Han and 44.4% Indigenous; mean ages were 12.98, 13.92, and 14.83, respectively, for the seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade data) were included. Respective Positive Youth Development-Short Form (PYD-SF) and Positive Youth Development-Very Short Form (PYD-VSF) Five Cs measures were constructed specifically for Han and Indigenous Taiwanese adolescents. The Five Cs bifactor structure was evident and appeared to be generally similar across grades for the PYD-SF during middle adolescence, whereas a Four Cs (Confidence, Connection, Character, Caring) structure emerged for the PYD-VSF for both Han and Indigenous groups. The exclusion of Competence in the VSF structure particularly highlights the specific scholastic context in Taiwan. The general PYD factor was associated with greater chances of helping behaviors and community involvement and fewer depressive symptoms for both groups in PYD-SF and PYD-VSF, supporting the validity of these forms and the use of the general PYD factor as an indicator for positive development for youth in the Majority World. Despite the limitations discussed, we believe our results may serve as an exemplar for the optimization of the measurement of PYD in today's diverse youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Violence against children is a global public health issue that can lead to long-lasting negative consequences for child outcomes. The Irie Homes Toolbox (IHT) is an early childhood, violence prevention, parenting program designed for integration into early childhood educational services in Jamaica. We have previously shown that the program is effective in reducing child maltreatment when implemented by the research team. For wide-scale dissemination, the IHT needs to be delivered by preschool staff as part of their routine duties. We adapted the IHT using results from our previous evaluations, and we are conducting a mixed-method feasibility trial of the IHT fully integrated into preschool provision. Twenty-four basic schools in Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica, have been randomly assigned to intervention (n = 12) or wait-list control (n = 12) with 10 caregivers per school participating in the study (240 caregivers, 120/group). The intervention is delivered through 12 weekly, 1-hr sessions by a preschool teacher with groups of 10 caregivers of children aged 2-6 years. An ongoing process evaluation includes quantitative measures of caregiver attendance, teacher compliance, and fidelity of intervention implementation and qualitative measures of enablers and barriers to implementation and suggestions for improvement. In the impact evaluation, the primary outcome is the frequency of caregivers' use of violence against their child. Secondary outcomes are caregiver attitudes to violence, preferences for harsh punishment, involvement with their child, and child conduct problems. All outcomes are measured through caregiver report. The results of the study will be used to inform revisions of the IHT for implementation at scale. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

This special issue aimed to help address the bias against Majority World countries in published methodological research in the field of developmental psychology. The 21 articles included in this issue present a diverse range of methodological articles from over 20 Majority World countries. This introductory article presents an overview of these articles, as well as the rationale for this special issue, and insights from the submission, review, and publication process. We have also collected some feedback from contributing authors, which provides insights into the experiences of the review and publication process for a special issue aimed at platforming research from Majority World countries. Finally, we make recommendations for the field of developmental psychology and child development more generally on future directions to advance methodological research in Majority World countries. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Parenting behaviors are studied through various qualitative and quantitative methods, including observations, interviews, and questionnaires, to identify both culturally specific and universal patterns of parents' interactions with their offspring. However, these methods have rarely been combined to systematically investigate methodological convergence and divergence in capturing parenting dynamics. The present study employs a mixed method approach by including video observations, picture card interviews, and parenting ethnotheory questionnaires with a focus on a suburban Nso community in Cameroon, with 51 parents (M_age = 34 years; 43 mothers and eight fathers) of infants and toddlers (M_age = 8.2 months). Informed by Keller's Component Model of Parenting, videos and interviews were coded for target parenting behaviors, including primary care, body contact, body stimulation, face-to-face context, object stimulation, and vocalization. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted for the parenting ethnotheory questionnaire items, alongside correlational analysis, to examine links between the three methods. Findings indicated minimal methodological convergence and ample divergence, suggesting that each method taps into distinct aspects of parenting without a unified representation. Within-method analyses, nonetheless, showed substantial correlations, particularly within observation and picture card interview methodologies. These findings are broadly consistent with the Component Model of Parenting but highlight the need for methodological diversity to capture the rich variation of parenting practices employed among cultural communities that are underrepresented in mainstream developmental research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).