Most recent papers:

• Prevention: Necessary But Insufficient? A 2‐Year Follow‐Up of an Effective First‐Grade Mathematics Intervention.
  Drew H. Bailey, Lynn S. Fuchs, Jennifer K. Gilbert, David C. Geary, Douglas Fuchs.
  Child Development. October 25, 2018
  --- - |2 We present first‐grade, second‐grade, and third‐grade impacts for a first‐grade intervention targeting the conceptual and procedural bases that support arithmetic. At‐risk students (average age at pretest = 6.5) were randomly assigned to three conditions: a control group (n = 224) and two variants of the intervention (same conceptual instruction but different forms of practice: speeded [n = 211] vs. nonspeeded [n = 204]). Impacts on all first‐grade content outcomes were significant and positive, but no follow‐up impacts were significant. Many intervention children achieved average mathematics achievement at the end of third grade, and prior math and reading assessment performance predicted which students will require sustained intervention. Finally, projecting impacts 2 years later based on nonexperimental estimates of effects of first‐grade math skills overestimates long‐term intervention effects. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 25, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13175   open full text
• Autism‐Related Variation in Reciprocal Social Behavior: A Longitudinal Study.
  Rachael E. Wagner, Yi Zhang, Teddi Gray, Anna Abbacchi, Deporres Cormier, Alexandre Todorov, John N. Constantino.
  Child Development. October 22, 2018
  --- - |2 Deficits in reciprocal social behavior are a characterizing feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autism‐related variation in reciprocal social behavior (AVR) in the general population is continuously distributed and highly heritable—a function of additive genetic influences that overlap substantially with those which engender clinical autistic syndromes. This is the first long‐term prospective study of the stability of AVR from childhood through early adulthood, conducted via serial ratings using the Social Responsiveness Scale, in a cohort‐sequential study involving children with ASD, other psychiatric conditions, and their siblings (N = 602, ages = 2.5–29). AVR exhibits marked stability throughout childhood in individuals with and without ASD. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 22, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13170   open full text
• A Longitudinal and Multidimensional Examination of the Associations Between Temperament and Self‐Restraint During Toddlerhood.
  Ashley K. Smith Watts, Naomi P. Friedman, Robin P. Corley, John K. Hewitt, Laura K. Hink, JoAnn L. Robinson, Soo H. Rhee.
  Child Development. October 22, 2018
  --- - |2 Developing self‐restraint, or the inhibition of behavior in response to a prohibition, is an important process during toddlerhood. The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of individual differences in the development of self‐restraint during toddlerhood by examining stable elements and growth of temperament (i.e., attentional control, behavioral inhibition, negative emotionality), general intelligence, and self‐restraint. Participants were 412 same‐sex twin pairs (approximately 90% European American) from predominately middle‐class households in Colorado. Data were collected at 14, 20, 24, and 36 months. Results indicated that higher behavioral inhibition, attentional control, and intelligence were independently associated with better self‐restraint, whereas higher negative emotionality was an independent predictor of lower self‐restraint. The associations between temperament and self‐restraint generally appeared to be stable from 14 to 36 months. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 22, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13173   open full text
• The Earlier the Better? Pausing for Thought ….
  Barbara Maughan, Edward D. Barker.
  Child Development. October 20, 2018
  --- - |2 Is earlier intervention always superior? Using two complementary forms of meta‐analysis, Gardner and colleagues find no support for the “earlier is better” hypothesis in outcomes of parenting programs for child behavior problems across the 2–11 year age range. This commentary explores possible methodological and substantive reasons for the pattern of their findings. We need additional careful analyses of this kind, assessing age variations in intervention effects across broader age ranges, and in other developmental domains, for strong tests of the “earlier is better” hypothesis. At this stage, however, Gardner et al.'s findings give us some pause for thought. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 20, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13168   open full text
• Diverse Experience of Immigrant Children: How Do Separation and Reunification Shape Their Development?
  Yao Lu, Qian He, Jeanne Brooks‐Gunn.
  Child Development. October 19, 2018
  --- - |2 Although many immigrant children to the United States arrive with their parents, a notable proportion are first separated and later reunited with their parents. How do the experiences of separation and reunification shape the well‐being of immigrant children? Data were from a national survey of legal adult immigrants and their families, the New Immigrant Survey from 2003 to 2004 (for academic achievement, age 6–12, N = 876; for psychosocial well‐being, age 6–17, N = 1,084). Results indicated that immigrant children who were once separated from their parents exhibited poorer literacy and higher risk of emotional and behavioral problems than those who migrated with parents. A protracted period of separation and previous undocumented status of parents amplified the disadvantages experienced by these children. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 19, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13171   open full text
• Children's Conceptions of Ownership for Self and Other: Categorical Ownership Versus Strength of Claim.
  Telli Davoodi, Laura J. Nelson, Peter R. Blake.
  Child Development. October 15, 2018
  --- - |2 Children are capable of viewing object ownership as categorical and exclusive, but ownership claims can also vary by degree. This study investigated how children use these different conceptions of ownership in a giving and a taking task. In two studies, 4‐ to 7‐year olds (N = 105) could give and take craft objects that they or another child had found (weaker claim) and made (stronger claim). In Study 1, no additional ownership information was given, and in Study 2 categorical ownership was stated (“these belong to you”). The results showed that children used categorical ownership for their own objects but used ownership strength for the other child's objects, taking more of the found items. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 15, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13163   open full text
• Paracosms: The Imaginary Worlds of Middle Childhood.
  Marjorie Taylor, Candice M. Mottweiler, Naomi R. Aguiar, Emilee R. Naylor, Jacob G. Levernier.
  Child Development. October 15, 2018
  --- - |2 The invention of imaginary worlds (“paracosms”) is a creative activity of middle childhood that has previously been investigated primarily with retrospective adult reports and biographical accounts. In descriptions collected from 8‐ to 12‐year‐old children, the prevalence was 16.9% in Study 1 (n = 77) and 17.4% in Study 2 (n = 92). Children with and without paracosms did not differ in verbal comprehension, divergent thinking (Studies 1 and 2) or working memory (Study 2). However, children with paracosms had more difficulty with inhibitory control (Study 2) and had higher creativity scores on a story‐telling task (Studies 1 and 2). Paracosms provided a vehicle for stories associated with imaginary companions and/or for developing complex narratives alone or with friends. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 15, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13162   open full text
• Linguistic and Cultural Variation in Early Color Word Learning.
  Samuel H. Forbes, Kim Plunkett.
  Child Development. October 13, 2018
  --- - |2 When and how do infants learn color words? It is generally supposed that color words are learned late and with a great deal of difficulty. By examining infant language surveys in British English and 11 other languages, this study shows that color word learning occurs earlier than has been previously suggested and that the order of acquisition of color words is similar in related languages. This study also demonstrates that frequency and syllabic complexity can be used to predict variability in infant color word learning across languages. In light of recent evidence indicating that color categories have universal biological foundations, these findings suggest that infants’ experience and linguistic exposure drive their shift to culturally and linguistically mediated adult‐like understandings of color words. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13164   open full text
• Developmental Precursors of Relational Aggression From Late Childhood Through Adolescence.
  Alazne Aizpitarte, Olivia E. Atherton, Lucy R. Zheng, Itziar Alonso‐Arbiol, Richard W. Robins.
  Child Development. October 13, 2018
  --- - |2 Relational aggression—a psychological form of aggression—has numerous negative consequences for physical and emotional health. However, little is known about the risk factors that lead youth to engage in relational aggression. Using multimethod data from a longitudinal research of 674 Mexican‐origin youth, this study examined the influence of parents, siblings, and peers on the development of relational aggression. Increases in relational aggression from age 10 to 16 were associated with: (a) low levels of parental monitoring and (b) increased association with deviant peers and siblings. These results held across gender and nativity status. The findings suggest that multiple socialization agents contribute to the development of relational aggression. We discuss the practical implications for reducing relational aggression during adolescence. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13166   open full text
• Countering Youth's Negative Stereotypes of Teens Fosters Constructive Behavior.
  Yang Qu, Eva M. Pomerantz, Guohong Wu.
  Child Development. October 11, 2018
  --- - |2 Adolescence can be a time of unconstructive behavior for many youth. This research examined if an intervention countering youth's stereotypes of teens as irresponsible fosters their constructive behavior. In two experimental intervention studies (Ns = 124 and 319) with seventh graders, stereotypes of teens as irresponsible were described as inaccurate portrayals; youth then provided their own observations of teens acting responsibly. Youth in this counterstereotyping intervention (vs. the control) held higher intentions for academic engagement and performed better on an academic task (i.e., a word‐search puzzle). Over the 3 days following the intervention, their academic engagement was higher. Youth's risk taking was also reduced. Redirecting youth to see teens as responsible has the potential to provide a foundation for flourishing. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 11, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13156   open full text
• Early Literacy Predictors and Second‐Grade Outcomes in Children Who Are Hard of Hearing.
  J. Bruce Tomblin, Jake Oleson, Sophie E. Ambrose, Elizabeth A. Walker, Mary P. Moeller.
  Child Development. October 09, 2018
  --- - |2 This study contrasted the early literacy outcomes of children who are hard of hearing (CHH) with children with normal hearing (CNH). At age 5, prereading skills of oral language, phonological processing, and print knowledge were examined in CHH (N = 180) and CNH (N = 80). The CHH had poorer oral language and phonological processing abilities than the CNH but comparable knowledge of print. At age 8, measures of word reading, and reading comprehension yielded no differences between CHH (N = 108) and CNH (N = 62) except for reading comprehension for the moderately severe CHH. Reading achievement in CHH was found to exceed predictions based on prereading performance. This resilience was associated with gains in oral language during the early school years. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 09, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13158   open full text
• Beliefs About Moral Obligation Structure Children's Social Category‐Based Expectations.
  Lisa Chalik, Yarrow Dunham.
  Child Development. October 09, 2018
  --- - |2 Young children view social category members as morally obligated toward one another, and expect these obligations to shape people's social behavior. The present work investigates how children specify which behaviors are constrained by social categories in this way. In two studies (N = 128), 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children predicted that morally positive behaviors would be directed toward in‐group members, and that morally negative behaviors would be directed toward out‐group members, but did not hold equally strong expectations about behaviors described as positive or negative for reasons irrelevant to morality. Thus, notions of morality are embedded within children's representations of social categories, such that when learning about novel moral norms, children immediately expect those obligations to uniquely hold within social groups. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 09, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13165   open full text
• A Family Focused Intervention Influences Hippocampal‐Prefrontal Connectivity Through Gains in Self‐Regulation.
  Jamie L. Hanson, Alysha D. Gillmore, Tianyi Yu, Christopher J. Holmes, Emily S. Hallowell, Allen W. Barton, Steven R.H. Beach, Adrianna Galván, James MacKillop, Michael Windle, Edith Chen, Gregory E. Miller, Lawrence H. Sweet, Gene H. Brody.
  Child Development. October 08, 2018
  --- - |2 The stressors associated with poverty increase the risks for externalizing psychopathology; however, specific patterns of neurobiology and higher self‐regulation may buffer against these effects. This study leveraged a randomized control trial, aimed at increasing self‐regulation at ~11 years of age. As adults, these same individuals completed functional MRI scanning (Mage = 24.88 years; intervention n = 44; control n = 49). Functional connectivity between the hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex was examined in relation to the intervention, gains in self‐regulation, and present‐day externalizing symptoms. Increased connectivity between these brain areas was noted in the intervention group compared to controls. Furthermore, individual gains in self‐regulation, instilled by the intervention, statistically explained this brain difference. These results begin to connect neurobiological and psychosocial markers of risk and resiliency. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 08, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13154   open full text
• From Early Relationships to Preacademic Knowledge: A Sociocognitive Developmental Cascade to School Readiness.
  Annie Bernier, Miriam H. Beauchamp, Catherine Cimon‐Paquet.
  Child Development. October 08, 2018
  --- - |2 This study aimed to test a four‐wave sequential mediation model linking mother–child attachment to children's school readiness through child executive functioning (EF) and prosociality in toddlerhood and the preschool years. Mother–child attachment security was assessed when children (N = 255) were aged 15 months and 2 years, child EF at age 2, prosocial behavior at age 4, and finally cognitive school readiness in kindergarten (age 6). The results revealed three indirect pathways linking attachment to school readiness: one through EF only, one through prosocial behavior only, and a last pathway involving both EF and prosocial behavior serially. These findings suggest that secure attachment may equip children with both cognitive and social skills that are instrumental to their preparedness for school. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 08, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13160   open full text
• The Impact of Caregiving Disruptions of Previously Institutionalized Children on Multiple Outcomes in Late Childhood.
  Alisa N. Almas, Leanna J. Papp, Margaret R. Woodbury, Charles A. Nelson, Charles H. Zeanah, Nathan A. Fox.
  Child Development. October 08, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined disruptions in caregiving, as well as the association of these disruptions, with cognitive, behavioral, and social outcomes at age 12 in a sample of 136 Romanian children who were abandoned to institutions as infants and who experienced a range of subsequent types of care. Children were found to experience significantly more caregiving disruptions (CGD) earlier in life than later in childhood. More frequent CGD predicted increases in externalizing and internalizing behavior problems at age 12. Results are discussed in terms of the association between CGD and the long‐term development of children who have experienced institutional rearing. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 08, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13169   open full text
• Discrimination and Ethnic‐Racial Socialization Among Youth Adopted From South Korea Into White American Families.
  Samantha M. Schires, NiCole T. Buchanan, Richard M. Lee, Matt McGue, William G. Iacono, S. Alexandra Burt.
  Child Development. October 08, 2018
  --- - |2 The current study examined how discrimination relates to adjustment outcomes in a sample of internationally, transracially adopted Korean Americans from the Minnesota Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (N = 456 adoptees; Mage at T1 = 14.9, Mage at T2 = 18.3, Mage at T3 = 22.3). The moderating roles of ethnic socialization and preparation for bias by parents (i.e., ethnic‐racial socialization) were also examined. Results indicated that discrimination predicted higher levels of depressive and externalizing symptoms in youth who reported less preparation for bias. In those experiencing more preparation for bias, associations were not significantly different from zero. Ethnic socialization did not moderate these associations. Such findings provide important information for adoptive parents regarding how to prepare their children to cope with discrimination. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 08, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13167   open full text
• Differential Effects of Salient Visual Events on Memory‐Guided Attention in Adults and Children.
  Kate Nussenbaum, Gaia Scerif, Anna C. Nobre.
  Child Development. October 08, 2018
  --- - |2 Both salient visual events and scene‐based memories can influence attention, but it is unclear how they interact in children and adults. In Experiment 1, children (N = 27; ages 7–12) were faster to discriminate targets when they appeared at the same versus different location as they had previously learned or as a salient visual event. In contrast, adults (N = 30; ages 18–31) responded faster only when cued by visual events. While Experiment 2 confirmed that adults (N = 27) can use memories to orient attention, Experiment 3 showed that, even in the absence of visual events, the effects of memories on attention were larger in children (N = 27) versus adults (N = 28). These findings suggest that memories may be a robust source of influence on children's attention. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 08, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13149   open full text
• Maternal Depressive Symptoms During the Pre‐ and Postnatal Periods and Infant Attention to Emotional Faces.
  Eeva‐Leena Kataja, Linnea Karlsson, Jukka M. Leppänen, Juho Pelto, Tuomo Häikiö, Saara Nolvi, Henri Pesonen, Christine E. Parsons, Jukka Hyönä, Hasse Karlsson.
  Child Development. October 08, 2018
  --- - |2 We examined how infants’ attentional disengagement from happy, fearful, neutral, and phase‐scrambled faces at 8 months, as assessed by eye tracking, is associated with trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms from early pregnancy to 6 months postpartum (decreasing n = 48, increasing n = 34, and consistently low symptom levels n = 280). The sample (mother–infant dyads belonging to a larger FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study) was collected between 5/2013–6/2016. The overall disengagement probability from faces to distractors was not related to maternal depressive symptoms, but fear bias was heightened in infants whose mothers reported decreasing or increasing depressive symptoms. Exacerbated attention to fearful faces in infants of mothers with depressive symptoms may be independent of the timing of the symptoms in the pre‐ and postnatal stages. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 08, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13152   open full text
• Early Crying, Sleeping, and Feeding Problems and Trajectories of Attention Problems From Childhood to Adulthood.
  Ayten Bilgin, Nicole Baumann, Julia Jaekel, Linda D. Breeman, Peter Bartmann, Josef G. Bäuml, Mihai Avram, Christian Sorg, Dieter Wolke.
  Child Development. October 06, 2018
  --- - |2 This study investigated if crying, sleeping or feeding problems that co‐occur (multiple regulatory problems [RPs]) or are persistent predict attention problems and diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood and adulthood. Participants were 342 individuals who were assessed at 5, 20, and 56 months for crying, sleeping, and feeding (RPs) and at 6, 8, and 28 years for ADHD diagnoses, attention problems, and attention span. Infants/toddlers with multiple/persistent RPs had an increased risk of receiving an ADHD diagnosis both in childhood and adulthood compared to those who never had RPs. Multiple/persistent RPs were further associated with a high‐decreasing attention problems trajectory from childhood to adulthood. Interventions to alleviate early RPs may prevent the development of attention problems. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 06, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13155   open full text
• Reduced Autobiographical Memory Specificity Among Maltreated Preschoolers: The Indirect Effect of Neglect Through Maternal Reminiscing.
  Monica Lawson, Kristin Valentino, Ruth Speidel, Christina G. McDonnell, E. Mark Cummings.
  Child Development. October 06, 2018
  --- - |2 Maternal reminiscing and preschoolers’ (M = 5.00 years, SD = 1.11) autobiographical memory specificity (AMS) were examined among abusive (n = 24), neglecting (n = 78), emotionally maltreating (n = 32), and demographically similar nonmaltreating families (n = 74). Neglect was negatively associated with child AMS and the quantity of maternal elaborations. In a moderated mediation model, neglect was negatively associated with the quantity of maternal elaborations, which was positively associated with AMS when mothers reminisced in a coherent and sensitive manner (i.e., affective quality). In the context of high maternal affective quality, maternal elaborative quantity accounted for reduced AMS among neglected preschoolers. The findings extend observations of reduced AMS to neglected preschoolers and inform theoretical models of autobiographical memory development. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 06, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13153   open full text
• Orthographic‐Phonological Mapping and the Emergence of Visual Expertise for Print: A Developmental Event‐Related Potential Study.
  Vera Varga, Dénes Tóth, Valéria Csépe.
  Child Development. October 06, 2018
  --- - |2 The N1 effect is an electrophysiological marker of visual specialization for print. The phonological mapping hypothesis (Maurer & McCandliss, 2007) posits that the left‐lateralized effect reflects grapheme‐phoneme integration. In this event‐related potential study, first (age = 7.06 years, N = 32) and third‐grade readers (age = 9.29 years, N = 28) were presented with pairs of pseudowords and Armenian character strings in a novel implicit same‐different paradigm. To test the phonological mapping hypothesis, stimuli were presented in visual‐only and audiovisual conditions. The results demonstrated that tuning for print already emerges in first grade. Moreover, the parallel presentation of auditory stimuli enhanced the N1 effect suggesting a role of orthographic‐phonological mapping in the development of specialization for print. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 06, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13159   open full text
• Interwealth Contact and Young Children's Concern for Equity.
  Laura Elenbaas.
  Child Development. October 01, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined young children's contact with individuals of high‐wealth and low‐wealth backgrounds and their behavior toward peers of these backgrounds in a resource distribution task. The sample included 72 ethnically diverse higher income children (Mage = 6.68 years, SD = 0.98 years). Contact with individuals of low‐wealth backgrounds (interwealth contact) affected children's behavior indirectly, through social‐cognitive reasoning processes. The more interwealth contact children reported, the more likely they were to reason about access to resources rather than their own wealth preferences in this context. This reasoning, in turn, was associated with more resources allocated to a low‐wealth peer relative to a high‐wealth peer. Thus, interwealth contact early in development was associated with more equitable peer interactions. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 01, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13157   open full text
• Associations Between Perceived Material Deprivation, Parents’ Discipline Practices, and Children's Behavior Problems: An International Perspective.
  Anika Schenck‐Fontaine, Jennifer E. Lansford, Ann T. Skinner, Kirby Deater‐Deckard, Laura Di Giunta, Kenneth A. Dodge, Paul Oburu, Concetta Pastorelli, Emma Sorbring, Laurence Steinberg, Patrick S. Malone, Sombat Tapanya, Liliana M. Uribe Tirado, Liane P. Alampay, Suha M. Al‐Hassan, Dario Bacchini, Marc H. Bornstein, Lei Chang.
  Child Development. October 01, 2018
  --- - |2 This study investigated the association between perceived material deprivation, children's behavior problems, and parents’ disciplinary practices. The sample included 1,418 8‐ to 12‐year‐old children and their parents in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Multilevel mixed‐ and fixed‐effects regression models found that, even when income remained stable, perceived material deprivation was associated with children's externalizing behavior problems and parents’ psychological aggression. Parents’ disciplinary practices mediated a small share of the association between perceived material deprivation and children's behavior problems. There were no differences in these associations between mothers and fathers or between high‐ and low‐ and middle‐income countries. These results suggest that material deprivation likely influences children's outcomes at any income level. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 01, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13151   open full text
• Children and Adults Selectively Attribute Shared Cultural Knowledge to Speakers of the Same Language.
  Gaye Soley, Pınar Aldan.
  Child Development. October 01, 2018
  --- - |2 Children's and adults’ attributions of shared knowledge of and shared preference for songs were investigated across two prominent social categories: language and gender. Both attributions indicate similarity among individuals but shared cultural knowledge can be more informative about common social history than shared preference, as it is mainly transferred through social interactions within cultures, while preferences can have various sources. Both 5‐ to 6‐year‐old children (N = 60) and adults (N = 160) generalized knowledge of songs across individuals who speak the same‐language rather than same‐gender individuals. In contrast, preference for songs was not systematically generalized across either category. Thus, individuals selectively infer shared cultural knowledge among same‐language speakers, suggesting an early emerging link between shared knowledge and cultural boundaries. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  October 01, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13161   open full text
• What Quantile Regression Does and Doesn't Do: A Commentary on Petscher and Logan (2014).
  Sebastian E. Wenz.
  Child Development. September 29, 2018
  --- - |2 Petscher and Logan's () description of quantile regression (QR) might mislead readers to believe it would estimate the relation between an outcome, y, and one or more predictors, x, at different quantiles of the unconditional distribution of y. However, QR models the conditional quantile function of y given x just as linear regression models the conditional mean function. This article's contribution is twofold: First, it discusses potential consequences of methodological misconceptions and formulations of Petscher and Logan's (2014) presentation by contrasting features of QR and linear regression. Second, it reinforces the importance of correct understanding of QR in empirical research by illustrating similarities and differences in various QR estimators and linear regression using simulated data. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 29, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13141   open full text
• Trajectories of Academic Performance Across Compulsory Schooling and Thriving in Young Adulthood.
  Martin J. Tomasik, Christopher M. Napolitano, Urs Moser.
  Child Development. September 22, 2018
  --- - |2 Thriving is a developmental process that is shaped by previous and current interactions within developmental contexts. We hypothesized that academic performance in the school context will positively predict thriving in young adulthood. Data of N = 2,043 students from Zurich were assessed with standardized tests in Grades 1, 3, 6, and 9. Results showed that a stronger increase in academic performance significantly predicted thriving at age 20, even after statistically controlling for various covariates. Further analyses showed that school bonding might represent a mediating link between the academic performance and thriving. We argue that although schools can be considered the most widespread and intensive “youth development program” of sorts, their role for thriving has been largely neglected in developmental science. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 22, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13150   open full text
• Dynamic Transition Patterns in Acculturation Among Hispanic Adolescents.
  Tae Kyoung Lee, Alan Meca, Jennifer B. Unger, Byron L. Zamboanga, Lourdes Baezconde‐Garbanati, Melinda Gonzales‐Backen, Elma I. Lorenzo‐Blanco, Miguel Á. Cano, Sabrina E. Des Rosiers, Daniel W. Soto, Juan A. Villamar, Monica Pattarroyo, Karina M. Lizzi, José Szapocznik, Seth J. Schwartz.
  Child Development. September 21, 2018
  --- - |2 Acculturation consists of multiple domains (i.e., cultural practices, identifications, and values). However, less is known about how acculturation processes influence each other across multiple domains of acculturation. This study was designed to investigate transition patterns of acculturative processes within and across domains in a sample of 302 recent‐immigrant Hispanic adolescents, Mage (SD) = 14.51 years (0.88) at baseline; male = 53%). Adolescents were assessed six times over a 3‐year period. Latent profile analyses identified two profiles (high [or increasing] vs. low) for each domain at each timepoint. We found largely stable transition patterns in each domain over six timepoints. Importantly, sequential associations among profiles in acculturation domains were also detected. Implication for acculturation theory and research are discussed. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 21, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13148   open full text
• Parent–Infant Room Sharing During the First Months of Life: Longitudinal Links With Behavior During Middle Childhood.
  Roseriet Beijers, Jude Cassidy, Hellen Lustermans, Carolina Weerth.
  Child Development. September 20, 2018
  --- - |2 Current recommendations encourage parent–infant room sharing for the first 6 months of life. This longitudinal study (N = 193) is the first to examine long‐term relations of early room sharing with three domains of child behavior: sleep, behavior problems, and prosocial behavior. Information on room sharing was collected daily for infants’ first 6 months. At ages 6, 7, and 8 years, outcomes were assessed with maternal and teacher questionnaires and behavioral observations. Early room sharing was not related to sleep problems or behavior problems. Additionally, more weeks of room sharing were positively related to higher maternal ratings of child sleep quality and more prosocial behavior. In conclusion, early room sharing appears to be related to positive, but not negative, behavior outcomes in middle childhood. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 20, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13146   open full text
• Asking Children to “Be Helpers” Can Backfire After Setbacks.
  Emily Foster‐Hanson, Andrei Cimpian, Rachel A. Leshin, Marjorie Rhodes.
  Child Development. September 19, 2018
  --- - |2 Describing behaviors as reflecting categories (e.g., asking children to “be helpers”) has been found to increase pro‐social behavior. The present studies (N = 139, ages 4–5) tested whether such effects backfire if children experience setbacks while performing category‐relevant actions. In Study 1, children were asked either to “be helpers” or “to help,” and then pretended to complete a series of successful scenarios (e.g., pouring milk) and unsuccessful scenarios (e.g., spilling milk while trying to pour). After the unsuccessful trials, children asked to “be helpers” had more negative attitudes. In Study 2, asking children to “be helpers” impeded children's helping behavior after they experienced difficulties while trying to help. Implications for how category labels shape beliefs and behavior are discussed. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 19, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13147   open full text
• Keys to the Gate? Equal Sign Knowledge at Second Grade Predicts Fourth‐Grade Algebra Competence.
  Percival G. Matthews, Lynn S. Fuchs.
  Child Development. September 17, 2018
  --- - |2 Algebraic competence is a major determinant of college access and career prospects, and equal sign knowledge is taken to be foundational to algebra knowledge. However, few studies have documented a causal effect of early equal sign knowledge on later algebra skill. This study assessed whether second‐grade students’ equal sign knowledge prospectively predicts their fourth‐grade algebra knowledge, when controlling for demographic and individual difference factors. Children (N = 177; Mage = 7.61) were assessed on a battery of tests in Grade 2 and on algebraic knowledge in Grade 4. Second‐grade equal sign knowledge was a powerful predictor of these algebraic skills. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of foregrounding equal sign knowledge to promote effective pedagogy and educational equity. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 17, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13144   open full text
• The Earlier the Better? Individual Participant Data and Traditional Meta‐analysis of Age Effects of Parenting Interventions.
  Frances Gardner, Patty Leijten, G.J. Melendez‐Torres, Sabine Landau, Victoria Harris, Joanna Mann, Jennifer Beecham, Judy Hutchings, Stephen Scott.
  Child Development. September 14, 2018
  --- - |2 Strong arguments have been made for early intervention for child problems, stating that early is more effective than later, as the brain is more malleable, and costs are lower. However, there is scant evidence from trials to support this hypothesis, which we therefore tested in two well‐powered, state‐of‐the‐art meta‐analyses with complementary strengths: (a) Individual participant data (IPD) meta‐analysis of European trials of Incredible Years parenting intervention (k = 13, n = 1696; age = 2–11); (b) Larger, trial‐level robust variance estimation meta‐analysis of a wider range of parenting programs (k = 156, n = 13,378, Mage = 2–10) for reducing disruptive behavior. Both analyses found no evidence that intervention earlier in childhood was more effective; programs targeted at a narrower age range were no more effective than general ones. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 14, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13138   open full text
• Children's Experiences of Bullying Victimization and the Influence on Their Subjective Well‐Being: A Multinational Comparison.
  Shazly Savahl, Carme Montserrat, Ferran Casas, Sabirah Adams, Habib Tiliouine, Elizabeth Benninger, Kyle Jackson.
  Child Development. September 12, 2018
  --- - |2 The study used data from the second wave of the Children's Worlds Survey to explore the relation between children's experiences of bullying victimization (physical and psychological) and their subjective well‐being (SWB) across three age groups (8, 10, and 12) and 15 global geographical regions. The sample consists of 47,029 children randomly selected from 15 countries. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. The results show appropriate fit structure for the overall model, and that the combined influence of physical and psychological bullying made a significant contribution to SWB across age groups and geographical regions. The findings are interpreted using Cummins's (1995) Homeostasis Theory of SWB. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 12, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13135   open full text
• The Efficacy of Preschool Developmental Indicators as a Screen for Early Primary School‐Based Literacy Interventions.
  Philip J. Schluter, Richard Audas, Jesse Kokaua, Brigid McNeill, Barry Taylor, Barry Milne, Gail Gillon.
  Child Development. September 11, 2018
  --- - |2 Literacy success lays the foundation for children's later educational, health, and well‐being outcomes. Thus, early identification of literacy need is vital. Using data from New Zealand's national preschool health screening program for fiscal years 2010/2011–2014/2015, demographic and health variables from 255,090 children aged 4 years were related to whether they received a literacy intervention in early primary school. Overall, 20,652 (8.1%) children received an intervention. Time‐to‐event analysis revealed that all considered variables were significantly related to literacy intervention (all p < .01), but the full model lacked reasonable predictive power for population screening purposes (Harrell's c‐statistic = .624; 95% CI [.618, .629]). Including more direct literacy measures in the national screening program is likely needed for improvement. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 11, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13145   open full text
• Issue Information.
  
  Child Development. September 07, 2018
  --- - - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1435-1439, September/October 2018.
  

  September 07, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12966   open full text
• Gendered Packaging of a STEM Toy Influences Children's Play, Mechanical Learning, and Mothers’ Play Guidance.
  Emily F. Coyle, Lynn S. Liben.
  Child Development. September 06, 2018
  --- - |2 To study effects of the gender‐packaging of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) toys, mother–child dyads (31 daughters; 30 sons; M = 5.2 years) were randomly assigned to play with a mechanical toy packaged for girls (GoldieBlox) or boys (BobbyBlox). When familiarizing themselves with the toy to prepare for play, mothers given BobbyBlox built more with toy pieces than did mothers given GoldieBlox. During dyadic play, mothers with sons built more; mothers with daughters read the toy's narrative instructions more. Children's independent play likewise varied with game packaging. Girls learned the mechanical belt‐drive principle better from playing with BobbyBlox; boys learned the principle better from playing with GoldieBlox. Implications for gender‐schema theories, STEM interventions, and toy marketing are discussed. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 06, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13139   open full text
• “I'm Kind of a Feminist”: Using Master Narratives to Analyze Gender Identity in Middle Childhood.
  Leoandra Onnie Rogers.
  Child Development. September 05, 2018
  --- - |2 A robust literature documents the significance of gender in children's development, but gaps remain in understanding how developing gender identities link to gender inequalities. This article uses master narratives to analyze the ways that children's gender narratives reinforce or disrupt gender inequality. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 233 Black, White, mixed‐ and other‐race minority children (7–12 years old; Mage = 9.92; 61% girls) in racially diverse schools in the Pacific Northwest. Four narrative types were identified: two “master narratives” that reinforced gender inequality and two “alternative narratives” that disrupted it. Analyses revealed that 5th/6th‐graders (vs. 2nd–4th graders) and girls (vs. boys) were more likely to tell alternative narratives. The contributions of master narratives for understanding gender identity, development, and inequality are discussed. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 05, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13142   open full text
• Rational Higher‐Order Belief Revision in Young Children.
  Katherine Kimura, Alison Gopnik.
  Child Development. September 03, 2018
  --- - |2 Belief revision can occur at multiple levels of abstraction, including lower‐level and higher‐order beliefs. It remains unclear, however, how conflicting evidence interacts with prior beliefs to encourage higher‐order belief revision. This study explores how 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds (N = 96) respond to evidence that directly conflicts with their causal higher‐order beliefs. When shown a single event that directly violated a strongly supported prior belief, preschoolers largely maintained their initial higher‐order belief. However, when the prior belief was more weakly supported and the counterevidence was stronger, children changed their minds. These findings indicate that young children can revise their higher‐order beliefs and, furthermore, do so depending on the strength of both the evidence and their prior beliefs. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 03, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13143   open full text
• Multilevel Analysis of Child and Adolescent Subjective Well‐Being Across 14 Countries: Child‐ and Country‐Level Predictors.
  Lisa A. Newland, Jarod T. Giger, Michael J. Lawler, Soonhee Roh, Barbara L. Brockevelt, Amy Schweinle.
  Child Development. September 01, 2018
  --- - |2 This study tests an ecological, relationship‐based model of children's subjective well‐being with 9‐ to 14‐year‐old children (n = 25,906) from 14 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Children completed the Children's Worlds survey, a self‐report measure of contextual and well‐being indicators. Multilevel modeling was used to predict children's well‐being (life satisfaction and self‐image) at two levels, child (age, gender, home context, family relationships, peer relationships, school context, teacher relationships, and neighborhood quality), and country (gross domestic product and income inequality). Findings indicated that intercepts varied significantly across countries. The majority of variance in children's well‐being was attributed to child‐level rather than country‐level factors. Country‐level factors did not strongly predict well‐being but marginally improved model fit. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  September 01, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13134   open full text
• Attachment Disorganization in Infancy: A Developmental Precursor to Maladaptive Social Information Processing at Age 8.
  Lindsay Zajac, Megan K. Bookhout, Julie A. Hubbard, Elizabeth A. Carlson, Mary Dozier.
  Child Development. August 31, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined infant attachment as a predictor of social information processing (SIP) in middle childhood (n = 82) while controlling for parental sensitivity in middle childhood. Attachment quality was assessed using the Strange Situation. Although attachment insecurity did not predict SIP, attachment disorganization positively predicted the early SIP steps of hostile attributional bias and aggressive goals. Children with disorganized attachments interpreted ambiguous provocations more negatively (as indicating more hostility, rejection, and disrespect and as resulting in more anger) and endorsed significantly more revenge and dominance goals than children with organized attachments. In contrast, parental sensitivity negatively predicted the later SIP step of positive expectations for aggressive responses. Results further our understanding of the adverse outcomes associated with attachment disorganization. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 31, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13140   open full text
• Cumulative and Differential Effects of Early Child Care and Middle Childhood Out‐of‐School Time on Adolescent Functioning.
  Deborah L. Vandell, Kenneth T.H. Lee, Anamarie A. Whitaker, Kim M. Pierce.
  Child Development. August 28, 2018
  --- - |2 Effects associated with early child care and out‐of‐school time (OST) during middle childhood were examined in a large sample of U.S. adolescents (N = 958). Both higher quality early child care AND more epochs of organized activities (afterschool programs and extracurricular activities) during middle childhood were linked to higher academic achievement at age 15. Differential associations were found in the behavioral domain. Higher quality early child care was associated with fewer externalizing problems, whereas more hours of early child care was linked to greater impulsivity. More epochs of organized activities was associated with greater social confidence. Relations between early child care and adolescent outcomes were not mediated or moderated by OST arrangements in middle childhood, consistent with independent, additive relations of these nonfamilial settings. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 28, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13136   open full text
• The Effect of Mother–Child Reading Time on Children's Reading Skills: Evidence From Natural Within‐Family Variation.
  Joseph Price, Ariel Kalil.
  Child Development. August 28, 2018
  --- - |2 Children's exposure to book reading is thought to be an influential input into positive cognitive development. Yet there is little empirical research identifying whether it is reading time per se, or other factors associated with families who read, such as parental education or children's reading skill, that improves children's achievement. Using data on 4,239 children ages 0–13 of the female respondents of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study applies two different methodologies to identify the causal impact of mother–child reading time on children's achievement scores by controlling for several confounding child and family characteristics. The results show that a 1 SD increase in mother–child reading time increases children's reading achievement by 0.80 SDs. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 28, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13137   open full text
• Hope, Material Resources, and Subjective Well‐Being of 8‐ to 12‐Year‐Old Children in Israel.
  Avital Kaye‐Tzadok, Asher Ben‐Arieh, Hanita Kosher.
  Child Development. August 20, 2018
  --- - |2 Few studies have examined the links among hope, material resources, and subjective well‐being (SWB) of children from their own perspectives. The article examines lack of material resources as a risk factor, hope as a human strength, and a possible moderator regarding children's SWB. The study employed a nationally representative sample of 2,977 Jewish and Arab Israeli children (ages 8–12). As predicted, there was a significant positive relation between hope and SWB, and a negative relation between lack of material resources and SWB. Hope was found to moderate the relation between lack of material resources and SWB. Furthermore, for 10‐ and 12‐year olds, differences were found regarding the strength of the relations of the variables, suggesting a possible developmental trend. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 20, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13130   open full text
• Changes in Self‐Reported Well‐Being: A Follow‐Up Study of Children Aged 12–14 in Algeria.
  Habib Tiliouine, Gwyther Rees, Sahil Mokaddem.
  Child Development. August 20, 2018
  --- - |2 This article reports on a 2‐year follow‐up study (443 Algerian children). Using a variety of satisfaction measures, along with detailed questions relating to family, school, local area, material deprivation, and daily activities, we aim to explore changes in the self‐reported well‐being of children from age 12 to 14. Satisfaction with health and friends remained stable, meanwhile satisfaction with school decreased more for boys than for girls, but satisfaction with family, time use, and material possessions decreased for girls. This pattern was further confirmed by children's reports on the selected activities, experiences, and facilities provided to them. Regression analyses indicated that satisfaction with material possessions predicted satisfaction with life and positive affect, meanwhile satisfaction with family life and friends predicted eudaimonia. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 20, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13132   open full text
• Meta‐analysis and Individual Participant Data Synthesis in Child Development: Introduction to the Special Section.
  Glenn I. Roisman, Marinus H. IJzendoorn.
  Child Development. August 14, 2018
  --- - |2 This paper serves as an Introduction by the co‐editors to a Special Section of Child Development entitled “Meta‐analysis and Individual Participant Data Synthesis in Child Development.” First, the co‐editors emphasize that the work contained in the Special Section was selected to highlight the value of meta‐analysis not only for synthesizing study‐level published and unpublished data but also as regards its ability to support programmatic, replicable, and cumulative developmental science. Second, the co‐editors identify some of the cross‐cutting themes of the papers featured in the Special Section, including the value of meta‐analysis for summarizing and interrogating the full range of developmental science and in potentially transforming conventional wisdom in given domains along with the importance of recent innovations for improving standard meta‐analytic practice–particularly in the context of developmental questions. Emphasized especially are contributions to the Special Section that extend classic meta‐analysis to individual participant data synthesis. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 14, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13127   open full text
• Subjective Well‐Being Decreasing With Age: New Research on Children Over 8.
  Ferran Casas, Mònica González‐Carrasco.
  Child Development. August 14, 2018
  --- - |2 An increasing number of scientific publications have provided data from different countries suggesting subjective well‐being (SWB) continuously decreases during adolescence. A review of these publications reveals authors have used dissimilar scales in diverse countries. Using data from the international Children's Worlds project (N = 48,040), involving 15 countries, a comparative analysis was performed to determine how mean scores evolve with different SWB scales from the age of 8 onwards. The results support the hypothesis that the tendency of SWB to decrease with age starts at around 10 years of age in most countries, while also confirming that different psychometric scales display different levels of sensitivity to diverse sociocultural contexts and more than one should be used in any research on children and adolescents’ SWB. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 14, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13133   open full text
• Language Does Matter: But There is More to Language Than Vocabulary and Directed Speech.
  Douglas E. Sperry, Linda L. Sperry, Peggy J. Miller.
  Child Development. August 13, 2018
  --- - |2 In response to Golinkoff, Hoff, Rowe, Tamis‐LeMonda, and Hirsh‐Pasek's (2018) commentary, we clarify our goals, outline points of agreement and disagreement between our respective positions, and address the inadvertently harmful consequences of the word gap claim. We maintain that our study constitutes a serious empirical challenge to the word gap. Our findings do not support Hart and Risley's claim under their definition of the verbal environment; when more expansive definitions were applied, the word gap disappeared. The word gap argument focuses attention on supposed deficiencies of low‐income and minority families, risks defining their children out of the educational game at the very outset of their schooling, and compromises efforts to restructure curricula that recognize the verbal strengths of all learners. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13125   open full text
• Early Childhood Parenting Predicts Late Childhood Brain Functional Connectivity During Emotion Perception and Reward Processing.
  Daniel C. Kopala‐Sibley, Marilyn Cyr, Megan C. Finsaas, Jonathan Orawe, Anna Huang, Nim Tottenham, Daniel N. Klein.
  Child Development. August 13, 2018
  --- - |2 Seventy‐nine 3‐year olds and their mothers participated in a laboratory‐based task to assess maternal hostility. Mothers also reported their behavioral regulation of their child. Seven years later, functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired while viewing emotional faces and completing a reward processing task. Maternal hostility predicted more negative amygdala connectivity during exposure to sad relative to neutral faces with frontal and parietal regions as well as more negative left ventral striatal connectivity during monetary gain relative to loss feedback with the right posterior orbital frontal cortex and right inferior frontal gyrus. In contrast, maternal regulation predicted enhanced cingulo‐frontal connectivity during monetary gain relative to loss feedback. Results suggest parenting is associated with alterations in emotion and reward processing circuitry 7–8 years later. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13126   open full text
• Language Matters: Denying the Existence of the 30‐Million‐Word Gap Has Serious Consequences.
  Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Erika Hoff, Meredith L. Rowe, Catherine S. Tamis‐LeMonda, Kathy Hirsh‐Pasek.
  Child Development. August 13, 2018
  --- - |2 Sperry, Sperry, and Miller (2018) aim to debunk what is called the 30‐million‐word gap by claiming that children from lower income households hear more speech than Hart and Risley () reported. We address why the 30‐million‐word gap should not be abandoned, and the importance of retaining focus on the vital ingredient to language learning—quality speech directed to children rather than overheard speech, the focus of Sperry et al.'s argument. Three issues are addressed: Whether there is a language gap; the characteristics of speech that promote language development; and the importance of language in school achievement. There are serious risks to claims that low‐income children, on average, hear sufficient, high‐quality language relative to peers from higher income homes. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13128   open full text
• Introduction to the Special Section on Children's Subjective Well‐Being.
  Ferran Casas.
  Child Development. August 13, 2018
  --- - |2 A notable increase in scientific publications on children's subjective well‐being has been observed since the beginning of the 21st century. Different factors have contributed to this phenomenon, one of the most relevant being the concurrence of macrolevel (at the population level) and microlevel (at the individual level) perspectives in research on child well‐being. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13129   open full text
• Longitudinal Continuity in Understanding and Production of Giving‐Related Behavior From Infancy to Childhood.
  Joshua Juvrud, Marta Bakker, Katharina Kaduk, Josje M. DeValk, Gustaf Gredebäck, Benjamin Kenward.
  Child Development. August 13, 2018
  --- - |2 Infants have an early understanding of giving (the transfer of an item by one agent to another), but little is known about individual differences in these abilities or their developmental outcomes. Here, 9‐month‐olds (N = 59) showing clearer neural processing (Event‐related potential, ERP) of a give‐me gesture also evidenced a stronger reaction (pupil dilation) to an inappropriate response to a give‐me gesture, and at 2 years were more likely to give in response to a give‐me gesture. None of the differences in understanding and production of giving‐related behaviors were associated with other sociocognitive variables investigated: language, gaze‐following, and nongiving helping. The early developmental continuity in understanding and production of giving behavior is consistent with the great importance of giving for humans throughout the life span. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  August 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13131   open full text
• Families Created by Egg Donation: Parent–Child Relationship Quality in Infancy.
  Susan Imrie, Vasanti Jadva, Simon Fishel, Susan Golombok.
  Child Development. July 17, 2018
  --- - |2 Increasing numbers of children are being born through egg donation and thus do not share a genetic relationship with their mother. Parent–infant relationship quality was examined in 85 egg donation families and a comparison group of 65 in vitro fertilization families (infant M = 11 months). Standardized interview and observational measures were used to assess mother–infant and father–infant relationship quality at the representational and behavioral levels. Few differences were found between family types in parents’ representations of the parent–infant relationship. Differences were found between family types in the observational assessment of mother–infant relationship quality, indicating less optimal interactions in egg donation families. Findings suggest that egg donation families function well in infancy overall, but there may be subtle yet meaningful differences in mother–infant interaction quality. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  July 17, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13124   open full text
• Three‐ to Four‐Year‐Old Children Rapidly Adapt Their Predictions and Use Them to Learn Novel Word Meanings.
  Naomi Havron, Alex Carvalho, Anne‐Caroline Fiévet, Anne Christophe.
  Child Development. July 13, 2018
  --- - |2 Adults create and update predictions about what speakers will say next. This study asks whether prediction can drive language acquisition, by testing whether 3‐ to 4‐year‐old children (n = 45) adapt to recent information when learning novel words. The study used a syntactic context which can precede both nouns and verbs to manipulate children's predictions about what syntactic category will follow. Children for whom the syntactic context predicted verbs were more likely to infer that a novel word appearing in this context referred to an action, than children for whom it predicted nouns. This suggests that children make rapid changes to their predictions, and use this information to learn novel information, supporting the role of prediction in language acquisition. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  July 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13113   open full text
• Early Cognitive Precursors of Children's Mathematics Learning Disability and Persistent Low Achievement: A 5‐Year Longitudinal Study.
  Xiao Zhang, Pekka Räsänen, Tuire Koponen, Kaisa Aunola, Marja‐Kristiina Lerkkanen, Jari‐Erik Nurmi.
  Child Development. July 12, 2018
  --- - |2 Mathematical difficulties have been distinguished as mathematics learning disability (MLD) and persistent low achievement (LA). Based on 1,880 Finnish children who were followed from kindergarten (age 6) to fourth grade, this study examined the early risk factors for MLD and LA. Distinct groups of MLD (6.0% of the sample) and LA (25.7%) children were identified on the basis of their mathematics performance between first and fourth grades with latent class growth modeling. Impairment in the same set of cognitive skills, including language, spatial, and counting skills, was found to underlie MLD and LA. The finding highlights the importance of monitoring mathematical development across the early grades and identifying early cognitive precursors of MLD and LA for screening and intervention efforts. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  July 12, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13123   open full text
• An Entity Theory of Intelligence Predicts Higher Cortisol Levels When High School Grades Are Declining.
  Hae Yeon Lee, Jeremy P. Jamieson, Adriana S. Miu, Robert A. Josephs, David S. Yeager.
  Child Development. July 11, 2018
  --- - |2 Grades often decline during the high school transition, creating stress. The present research integrates the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat with the implicit theories model to understand who shows maladaptive stress responses. A diary study measured declines in grades in the first few months of high school: salivary cortisol (N = 360 students, N = 3,045 observations) and daily stress appraisals (N = 499 students, N = 3,854 observations). Students who reported an entity theory of intelligence (i.e., the belief that intelligence is fixed) showed higher cortisol when grades were declining. Moreover, daily academic stressors showed a different lingering effect on the next day's cortisol for those with different implicit theories. Findings support a process model through which beliefs affect biological stress responses during difficult adolescent transitions. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  July 11, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13116   open full text
• Biological Sensitivity to the Effects of Maternal Postpartum Depressive Symptoms on Children's Behavior Problems.
  Jennifer A. Somers, Linda J. Luecken, Tracy L. Spinrad, Keith A. Crnic.
  Child Development. July 10, 2018
  --- - |2 Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) may confer infant susceptibility to the postpartum environment. Among infants with higher RSA, there may be a positive relation between depressive symptoms across the first 6 months postpartum (PPD) and later behavior problems, and toddlers’ dysregulation during mother–child interactions may partially explain the effects. Among a sample of low‐income Mexican‐American families, infant RSA (N = 322; 46% male) was assessed at 6 weeks of age; mothers (Mage = 27.8, SD = 6.5) reported PPD symptoms every 3 weeks from 6 to 24 weeks and infant behavior problems at 36 months. Dysregulation was observed at 24 months. PPD was positively associated with behavior problems only among infants with lower RSA; however, this relation was not mediated by dysregulation. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  July 10, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13114   open full text
• Bringing the Real World Into Developmental Science: A Commentary on Weber, Fernald, and Diop (2017).
  Gilda Morelli, Kim Bard, Nandita Chaudhary, Alma Gottlieb, Heidi Keller, Marjorie Murray, Naomi Quinn, Mariano Rosabal‐Coto, Gabriel Scheidecker, Akira Takada, Marga Vicedo.
  Child Development. July 10, 2018
  --- - |2 This article examines the parent intervention program evaluated by Weber et al. (2017) and argues that there are scientific and ethical problems with such intervention efforts in applied developmental science. Scientifically, these programs rely on data from a small and narrow sample of the world's population; assume the existence of fixed developmental pathways; and pit scientific knowledge against indigenous knowledge. The authors question the critical role of talk as solely providing the rich cognitive stimulation important to school success, and the critical role of primary caregivers as teachers of children's verbal competency. Ethically, these programs do not sufficiently explore how an intervention in one aspect of child care will affect the community's culturally organized patterns of child care. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  July 10, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13115   open full text
• Young Children's Theory of Mind Predicts More Sharing With Friends Over Time.
  Jennifer Vonk, Stephanie E. Jett, Theodore S. Tomeny, Sterett H. Mercer, Julie Cwikla.
  Child Development. June 30, 2018
  --- - |2 Children (predominantly white and middle class) between 3 and 6 years (M = 55.12 months, N = 145 at Time 1, N = 102 at Time 2) participated in the prosocial choice test at two time points approximately 10 months apart. Children could share with strangers, close friends, nonfriends, and in a control, no recipient condition. Children shared more rewards with friends over time. Age interacted with recipient type such that older children had a higher probability of prosocial allocations toward friends and strangers compared to younger children. Theory of mind (ToM) predicted more prosocial allocations to friends over time, and the youngest children with higher ToM scores showed the largest increase in sharing with friends over time. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 30, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13112   open full text
• Emotional Over‐ and Undereating in Children: A Longitudinal Analysis of Child and Contextual Predictors.
  Oda Bjørklund, Lars Wichstrøm, Clare H. Llewellyn, Silje Steinsbekk.
  Child Development. June 30, 2018
  --- - |2 Eating more or eating less in response to negative emotions, called emotional over‐ and undereating, is common in children, but research on the etiology of these behaviors is in its infancy. Drawing on a large, representative community sample of Norwegian children followed up on a biennial basis from 6 to 10 years of age (analysis sample: n = 802), child and contextual predictors (i.e., child temperament, depression symptoms, serious life events, family functioning, parental sensitivity and structuring) of change in emotional over‐ and undereating were examined. Results revealed that low (temperamental) soothability and less parental structuring at age 6 predicted increased emotional overeating at age 10 and that lower family functioning at age 6 predicted more emotional undereating during the same period. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 30, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13110   open full text
• Tracking the Within‐Trial, Cross‐Trial, and Developmental Dynamics of Cognitive Control: Evidence From the Simon Task.
  Christopher D. Erb, Stuart Marcovitch.
  Child Development. June 30, 2018
  --- - |2 Six‐ to 8‐year‐olds, 10‐ to 12‐year‐olds, and adults (N = 108) performed the Simon task by reaching to targets on a digital display. The spatial and temporal characteristics of their movements were used to assess how two key processes underlying cognitive control—a threshold adjustment process and a controlled selection process—unfold over the course of a response (within‐trial dynamics), are modulated by recent experience (cross‐trial dynamics), and contribute to age‐related gains in control (developmental dynamics). The results indicate that the controlled selection process undergoes a more protracted development than the threshold adjustment process. The results also shed light on a prominent debate concerning the cross‐trial dynamics of control by supporting the feature integration account over the conflict adaptation account. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 30, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13111   open full text
• Children's Selective Trust in Promises.
  Margherita Isella, Patricia Kanngiesser, Michael Tomasello.
  Child Development. June 30, 2018
  --- - |2 There has been extensive research into the development of selective trust in testimony, but little is known about the development of selective trust in promises. The present research investigates children's (N = 264) selective trust in others' promises to help. In Study 1, 6‐year‐olds selectively trusted speakers who had previously kept a promise. In Study 2, 5‐year‐olds displayed selective trust for speakers who had previously kept a prosocial promise (promise to help). In Study 3, 5‐year‐olds trusted a speaker, who kept a prosocial promise, over a helper. These data suggest that from the age of 5 children show selective trust in others’ promises using prosociality, promise keeping, or both to inform their judgments. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 30, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13105   open full text
• Can't Ignore—Distraction by Task‐Irrelevant Sounds in Early and Middle Childhood.
  Nicole Wetzel, Florian Scharf, Andreas Widmann.
  Child Development. June 26, 2018
  --- - |2 Attention control abilities are relevant for learning success. Little is known about the development of audio‐visual attention in early childhood. Four groups of children between the ages of 4 and 10 years and adults performed an audio‐visual distraction paradigm (N = 106). Multilevel analyses revealed increased reaction times in a visual categorization task when task‐irrelevant novel sounds were presented, demonstrating involuntary distraction of attention. This distraction effect decreased with age and significantly differed between age groups. In addition, the two youngest age groups responded with a delay in trials following a distractor trial, indicating delayed reallocation of attention to the task at hand. Results indicate a significant maturation of audio‐visual attention control within a few years during early childhood that continues throughout middle childhood. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 26, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13109   open full text
• Echoes of Early Life: Recent Insights From Mathematical Modeling.
  Willem E. Frankenhuis, Daniel Nettle, John M. McNamara.
  Child Development. June 26, 2018
  --- - |2 In the last decades, developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) has emerged as a central framework for studying early‐life effects, that is, the impact of fetal and early postnatal experience on adult functioning. Apace with empirical progress, theoreticians have built mathematical models that provide novel insights for DOHaD. This article focuses on three of these insights, which show the power of environmental noise (i.e., imperfect indicators of current and future conditions) in shaping development. Such noise can produce: (a) detrimental outcomes even in ontogenetically stable environments, (b) individual differences in sensitive periods, and (c) early‐life effects tailored to predicted future somatic states. We argue that these insights extend DOHaD and offer new research directions. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1504-1518, September/October 2018.
  

  June 26, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13108   open full text
• Mexican‐Origin Youth's Cultural Orientations and Values: Do Older Sisters and Brothers Matter?
  Sue A. Rodríguez De Jesús, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Adriana J. Umaña‐Taylor, Susan M. McHale, Katharine H. Zeiders.
  Child Development. June 25, 2018
  --- - |2 Family is an important context for cultural development, but little is known about the contributions of siblings. This study investigated whether older siblings’ cultural orientations and familism values predicted changes in younger siblings’ cultural orientations and familism values across 2 years and tested sibling characteristics and younger siblings’ modeling as moderators. Participants were 246 Mexican‐origin younger (Mage = 17.72; SD = 0.57) and older siblings (Mage = 20.65; SD = 1.57) and their parents. Findings revealed that older siblings’ Anglo orientations and familism values interacted with younger siblings’ modeling: When younger siblings reported high modeling, older siblings’ Anglo orientations and values predicted increases in younger siblings’ Anglo orientations and values. Discussion highlights the importance of siblings in cultural socialization. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 25, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13106   open full text
• Victimization Disparities Between Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Youth From Ages 9 to 15.
  Alexa Martin‐Storey, Jessica Fish.
  Child Development. June 25, 2018
  --- - |2 Mental health disparities between heterosexual and sexual minority youth are partly explained by the higher rates of victimization experienced by sexual minority youth. The onset and progression of these victimization disparities, however, are poorly understood. Using multirater longitudinal data, trajectories of victimization starting at age 9 were compared among youth who did and did not report same‐sex attraction at age 15 (N = 310). Self and teacher, but not primary caregivers, reported victimization was significantly higher among sexual minority youth starting at age 9, but did not vary across time. The findings underscore the importance of understanding homophobic experiences of sexual minority youth during late childhood and early adolescence in order to inform prevention programs. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 25, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13107   open full text
• Hot and Cool Self‐Regulation, Academic Competence, and Maladjustment: Mediating and Differential Relations.
  Agathe Backer‐Grøndahl, Ane Nærde, Thormod Idsoe.
  Child Development. June 23, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined differential and mediating relations between hot and cool self‐regulation (Mage = 48.2 months; N = 1,155, 48% girls), first‐grade (Mage = 77.5 months) maladjustment (externalizing [EXT] and internalizing [INT] behavior), and first‐ and second‐grade (Mage = 89.5 months) academic competence (AC). Using teacher reported EXT, INT, and AC, partial support for the differential perspective was found in that only hot self‐regulation was significantly related to EXT, whereas both hot and cool self‐regulation was significantly related to AC. Moreover, hot self‐regulation indirectly predicted second‐grade AC through first‐grade EXT, lending some support for the mediating perspective also. The findings contribute to an understanding of how self‐regulation is related to academic and behavioral school adjustment. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 23, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13104   open full text
• Children's Vulnerability to Interparental Conflict: The Protective Role of Sibling Relationship Quality.
  Patrick T. Davies, Lucia Q. Parry, Sonnette M. Bascoe, Meredith J. Martin, E. Mark Cummings.
  Child Development. June 19, 2018
  --- - |2 This study tested whether the strength of the mediational pathway involving interparental conflict, adolescent emotional insecurity, and their psychological problems depended on the quality of their sibling relationships. Using a multimethod approach, 236 adolescents (Mage = 12.6 years) and their parents participated in three annual measurement occasions. Tests of moderated mediation revealed that indirect paths among interparental conflict, insecurity, and psychological problems were significant for teens with low, but not high, quality bonds with siblings. High‐quality (i.e., strong) sibling relationships conferred protection by neutralizing interparental conflict as a precursor of increases in adolescent insecurity. Results did not vary as a function of the valence of sibling relationship properties, adolescent sex, or gender and age compositions of the dyad. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 19, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13078   open full text
• Family Turbulence and Child Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: Moderation of Effects by Race.
  Sean R. Womack, Lindsay Taraban, Daniel S. Shaw, Melvin N. Wilson, Thomas J. Dishion.
  Child Development. June 19, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined the impact of residential instability and family structure transitions on the development of internalizing and externalizing problems from age 2 through 10.5. Child's race was examined as a moderator. Caregiver reports of internalizing and externalizing behaviors were obtained on 665 children at ages 5 and 10.5. Early‐childhood residential and family structure transitions predicted elevated internalizing and externalizing problems at ages 5 and 10.5, but only for Caucasian children. These findings suggest that residential and family structure instability during early childhood independently contribute to children's later emotional and behavioral development, but vary as a function of the child's race. Community organizations (e.g., Women, Infant, and Children) can connect turbulent families with resources to attenuate effects of residential and family structure instability. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 19, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13103   open full text
• Does Parent–Child Discussion of Peer Provocations Reduce Young Children's Hostile Attributional Bias?
  Anouk Dijk, Astrid M.G. Poorthuis, Sander Thomaes, Bram O. Castro.
  Child Development. June 19, 2018
  --- - |2 Two studies investigated whether parent–child discussion of peer provocations reduces young children's hostile attributional bias. Study 1 (N = 109, age 4–7)—an observational study—showed that parent–child discussion of nonhostile attributions (when reading a picture book) predicted reductions in children's hostile attributional bias from pre‐ to postdiscussion. Study 2 (N = 160, age 4–6)—an experimental study—showed that stimulating parents to discuss either nonhostile attributions or normative beliefs (vs. a control condition) reduced children's hostile attributional bias in response to hypothetical vignettes, but not in response to a staged peer provocation. These findings suggest that by framing social situations, parents may help their children perceive less hostility in their social worlds. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1908-1920, September/October 2018.
  

  June 19, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13087   open full text
• Reasoning About the Scope of Religious Norms: Evidence From Hindu and Muslim Children in India.
  Mahesh Srinivasan, Elizabeth Kaplan, Audun Dahl.
  Child Development. June 13, 2018
  --- - |2 Conflicts arise when members of one religion apply their norms to members of another religion. Two studies explored how one hundred 9‐ to 15‐year‐old Hindu and Muslim children from India reason about the scope of religious norms. Both Hindus and Muslims from a diverse Hindu–Muslim school (Study 1) and Hindus from a homogeneous Hindu school (Study 2) more often judged it wrong for Hindus to violate Hindu norms, compared to Muslim norms, and said the opposite for Muslims. In contrast, children judged it wrong for both Hindus and Muslims to harm others. Thus, even in a setting marred by religious conflict, children can restrict the scope of a religion's norms to members of that religion, providing a basis for peaceful coexistence. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 13, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13102   open full text
• Kindergarten Children's Executive Functions Predict Their Second‐Grade Academic Achievement and Behavior.
  Paul L. Morgan, George Farkas, Marianne M. Hillemeier, Wik Hung Pun, Steve Maczuga.
  Child Development. June 09, 2018
  --- - |2 Whether and to what extent kindergarten children's executive functions (EF) constitute promising targets of early intervention is currently unclear. This study examined whether kindergarten children's EF predicted their second‐grade academic achievement and behavior. This was done using (a) a longitudinal and nationally representative sample (N = 8,920, Mage = 97.6 months), (b) multiple measures of EF, academic achievement, and behavior, and (c) extensive statistical control including for domain‐specific and domain‐general lagged dependent variables. All three measures of EF—working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control—positively and significantly predicted reading, mathematics, and science achievement. In addition, inhibitory control negatively predicted both externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. Children's EF constitute promising targets of experimentally evaluated interventions for increasing academic and behavioral functioning. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 09, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13095   open full text
• Helping, Sharing, and Comforting in Young Children: Links to Individual Differences in Attachment.
  Jonathan S. Beier, Jacquelyn T. Gross, Bonnie E. Brett, Jessica A. Stern, David R. Martin, Jude Cassidy.
  Child Development. June 06, 2018
  --- - |2 Although attachment theory has long posited a link between early experiences of care and children's prosocial behavior, investigations of this association have not embraced the multifaceted nature of prosociality. This study is the first to assess associations between child attachment and independent observations of helping, sharing, and comforting. Attachment quality in 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children (N = 137) was linked to all three prosocial behaviors. Additionally, bifactor analyses revealed distinct associations between attachment and children's general prosocial dispositions and their specific abilities to meet the unique challenges of helping and, marginally, comforting. These findings underscore the importance of considering multiple explanations for links between attachment and prosocial behavior and provide novel insights into sources of variation in children's prosociality. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 06, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13100   open full text
• Secure Base Representations in Children With Asthma: Links With Symptoms, Family Asthma Management, and Cytokine Regulation.
  Katherine B. Ehrlich, Gregory E. Miller, Madeleine Shalowitz, Rachel Story, Cynthia Levine, Deanna Williams, Van Le, Edith Chen.
  Child Development. June 06, 2018
  --- - |2 Children's perceptions of caregivers as a secure base have been linked with socioemotional outcomes, but little is known about connections to physical health. We examined whether secure base representations are associated with children's symptoms, family management strategies, and inflammatory processes in children with asthma. Participants included 308 children (ages 8–17) and one parent. Children completed a blood draw to measure asthma‐related immune functions and reported on perceptions of their mothers as a secure base and their asthma symptoms. Dyads completed interviews about asthma management. Analyses revealed that children's secure base perceptions were associated with better family asthma management and lower Type 2 T‐helper cell cytokine production. These findings suggest that secure base representations may be protective for children with asthma. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 06, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13098   open full text
• Children's Developing Descriptions and Judgments of Pretending.
  David M. Sobel, Susan M. Letourneau.
  Child Development. June 04, 2018
  --- - |2 Two studies investigated 4‐ to 7‐year‐olds’ knowledge about pretending. In Study 1, children (N = 66) defined pretending and described examples of own and others’ pretending. In Study 2, children (N = 52) defined pretending and then completed a battery of measures that examined their understanding that pretending involved mental states. In Study 1, older children articulated more defining features of pretending than younger children. When describing how they or others pretended, children focused on action or appearance, regardless of whether they had included more defining features in their definitions of pretending. In Study 2, the more defining features children articulated, the better their performance on the battery. We discuss the implications of these data for the role of pretending in children's developing theory of mind. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  June 04, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13099   open full text
• Explaining the Unpredictable: The Development of Causal Theories of Mind in Deaf and Hearing Children.
  Candida C. Peterson, Henry M. Wellman.
  Child Development. May 31, 2018
  --- - |2 Two studies of 100 children aged 3–12 years examined theory of mind (ToM) understanding via explanations and predictions in hearing preschoolers and ToM‐delayed deaf children. Study 1's 75 children (31 deaf; 44 hearing) displayed an “explanation advantage,” devising valid epistemic ToM explanations despite failing simpler forced‐choice false‐belief (FB) prediction tests. This novel discovery for deaf children extended to unexpectedly frequent cognitive (“think” or “know”) explanations. Study 2 (with 25 additional deaf children; Mage = 9) showed that microgenetic FB explanation practice resulted in significant gains on FB prediction posttests that were absent in a non‐ToM control group. Implications for (a) explanation's interconnection with conceptual development, (b) designing ToM interventions, and (c) teaching deaf and hearing children are discussed. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 31, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13092   open full text
• Prospective Relationships Between Ethnic Discrimination and Substance Use by Mexican‐American Adolescents.
  Monica J. Martin, Kelly B. Bacher, Rand D. Conger, Richard W. Robins.
  Child Development. May 31, 2018
  --- - |2 Guided by the integrative model (García Coll et al., 1996), this study examines prospective associations between perceived ethnic discrimination by peers, parental support, and substance use from 7th to 11th grades (Mage = 12.3–16.3 years) in a community sample of 674 Mexican‐American adolescents. Results from a cross‐lagged panel model indicate that discrimination predicts relative increases in adolescent substance use. Results also revealed a transactional relation between substance use and supportive parenting over time. Supportive parenting was associated with reductions in substance use, but adolescent substance use also predicted lower levels of later parental support. The findings suggest reducing discrimination by peers and supportive parenting as potential targets for intervention in the prevention of substance use. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 31, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13096   open full text
• Correspondence of Pubertal Neuroendocrine and Tanner Stage Changes in Boys and Associations With Substance Use.
  Kristine Marceau, Levent Kirisci, Ralph E. Tarter.
  Child Development. May 31, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined correspondence between timing (onset) and tempo (rate) of sexual maturation prospectively (average ages 11–16 years) measured by gonadal hormones and secondary sex characteristics (Tanner stage) using dual‐process models, and associations of these measures with substance use (SU) involvement in boys at age 16 years (N = 534, 77.5% White/22.5% Non‐White). All measures of timing were highly associated. Early Tanner stage timing often predicted slower increases in gonadal steroids, but not the reverse; patterns varied by ethnicity. Hormone and Tanner stage measures were similar earlier in development but diverged later in development. In White boys only, early timing of the pubertal rise in testosterone was associated with increased SU involvement, suggesting a physiological rather than psychosocial mechanism of association. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 31, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13101   open full text
• Improving Causal Inferences in Meta‐analyses of Longitudinal Studies: Spanking as an Illustration.
  Robert E. Larzelere, Marjorie Lindner Gunnoe, Christopher J. Ferguson.
  Child Development. May 25, 2018
  --- - |2 To evaluate and improve the validity of causal inferences from meta‐analyses of longitudinal studies, two adjustments for Time‐1 outcome scores and a temporally backwards test are demonstrated. Causal inferences would be supported by robust results across both adjustment methods, distinct from results run backwards. A systematic strategy for evaluating potential confounds is also introduced. The methods are illustrated by assessing the impact of spanking on subsequent externalizing problems (child age: 18 months to 11 years). Significant results indicated a small risk or a small benefit of spanking, depending on the adjustment method. These meta‐analytic methods are applicable for research on alternatives to spanking and other developmental science topics. The underlying principles can also improve causal inferences in individual studies. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 25, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13097   open full text
• Developmental Trajectories of Chinese Adolescents’ Relational Aggression: Associations With Changes in Social‐Psychological Adjustment.
  Liang Chen, Wenxin Zhang, Linqin Ji, Kirby Deater‐Deckard.
  Child Development. May 25, 2018
  --- - |2 This study investigated the development of relational aggression (RA) in a sample of Chinese youth (N = 2,274, 52% boys) from fourth (Mage = 10.27 years) to ninth grade. Using latent class growth analysis, four trajectories were identified for both peer‐ and teacher‐rated RA: a no aggression trajectory, a low‐increasing trajectory, a moderate‐decreasing trajectory, and a chronically high trajectory. Chronically high RA showed a chronicity effect on adolescent peer acceptance, rejection, and rule‐breaking behaviors. Adolescents showed worse adjustment as RA increased, but they did not necessarily evidence significant improvement in adjustment even if their RA decreased. Findings reveal the maladaptive nature of RA and highlight the importance of considering cultural context in understanding RA. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 25, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13090   open full text
• Intergroup Contact Attitudes Across Peer Networks in School: Selection, Influence, and Implications for Cross‐Group Friendships.
  Deborah Rivas‐Drake, Muniba Saleem, David R. Schaefer, Michael Medina, Robert Jagers.
  Child Development. May 22, 2018
  --- - |2 This study offers new insights into the power of peer networks for shaping intergroup relations in a diverse school. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of sixth–eighth graders (N = 524; MageT1 = 11.87; 48% girls; 9% Asian American/Pacific Islander, 28% African American, 13% Latino, 1% Native American, 31% White, 5% Other, and 11% Multiracial) in the Midwestern United States. Students with more positive intergroup contact attitudes (ICA) were most likely to be friends with similarly minded students. Students with more positive ICA were less likely to select friends of the same race/ethnicity than those with less positive ICA. Finally, students’ ICA became more similar to their friends’ ICA over time. Results implicate school‐level norms and contagion in students’ ICA. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 22, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13061   open full text
• The Role of Competitive and Cooperative Norms in the Development of Deviant Evaluations.
  Luke McGuire, Michael T. Rizzo, Melanie Killen, Adam Rutland.
  Child Development. May 21, 2018
  --- - |2 The present study examined how peer group norms influence children's evaluations of deviant ingroup members. Following the manipulation of competitive or cooperative norms, participants (children, Mage = 8.69; adolescents, Mage = 13.81; adults, Mage = 20.89; n = 263) evaluated deviant ingroup members from their own and the group's perspective. Children rated cooperative deviancy positively and believed their group would do the same. Adolescents and adults believed that their group would negatively evaluate cooperative deviancy when their group supported a competitive allocation strategy. Reasoning varied based on norm and participants’ agreement with deviancy. Understanding an ingroup may not be favorable toward a cooperative deviant in a competitive context is a developmental challenge requiring the coordination of social and moral norms. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 21, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13094   open full text
• The Intersection of Race and Gender Among Black American Adolescents.
  Eleanor K. Seaton, Karolyn Tyson.
  Child Development. May 19, 2018
  --- - |2 This study employed an exploratory sequential mixed‐methods design to examine the intersection of race and gender among Black American adolescents, aged 11–19. The quantitative component (n = 344) used survey data to examine gender differences in peer‐perpetrated and adult‐perpetrated racial discrimination experiences, and no gender differences were evident. Qualitative data (n = 42) probed how males and females interpret discrimination experiences given the intersection of race and gender. Although the majority of participants believed that Black males and females have similar experiences, some believed that Black males face more racial discrimination. However, analyses revealed social disadvantages for Black females given that they report inappropriate comments and unwelcome hair touching and limited opportunities for interracial dating compared with Black males. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 19, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13093   open full text
• Developmental Transactions Between Self‐Regulation and Academic Achievement Among Low‐Income African American and Latino Children.
  Britain Mills, Nazly Dyer, Daniel Pacheco, Dawn Brinkley, Margaret T. Owen, Margaret O. Caughy.
  Child Development. May 19, 2018
  --- - |2 This study examined the development of emerging self‐regulation (SR) skills across the preschool years and relations to academic achievement in kindergarten and first grade. SR skills of 403 low‐income African American and Latino children were measured at 2&1/2, 3&1/2, and 5 years (kindergarten). Reading and math skills were measured at 5 and 6 years (first grade) using the Woodcock–Johnson. Transactional relations between SR skills and achievement outcomes were estimated with latent difference score models. Increases in set shifting predicted prospective increases in reading, but not math scores. Increases in simple response inhibition predicted prospective increases in math, but not reading scores. Application of these findings to early intervention programming and needed supports for school readiness and achievement are discussed. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 19, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13091   open full text
• Routine Language: Speech Directed to Infants During Home Activities.
  Catherine S. Tamis‐LeMonda, Stephanie Custode, Yana Kuchirko, Kelly Escobar, Tiffany Lo.
  Child Development. May 16, 2018
  --- - |2 Everyday activities are replete with contextual cues for infants to exploit in the service of learning words. Nelson's (1985) script theory guided the hypothesis that infants participate in a set of predictable activities over the course of a day that provide them with opportunities to hear unique language functions and forms. Mothers and their firstborn 13‐month‐old infants (N = 40) were video‐recorded during everyday activities at home. Transcriptions and coding of mothers’ speech to infants—time‐locked to activities of feeding, grooming, booksharing, object play, and transition—revealed that the amount, diversity, pragmatic functions, and semantic content of maternal language systematically differed by activity. The activities of everyday life shape language inputs to infants in ways that highlight word meaning. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 16, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13089   open full text
• Infant Motor Development in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Synthesis and Meta‐analysis.
  Kelsey L. West.
  Child Development. May 16, 2018
  --- - |2 Studies of infant motor development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have increased in recent years. This article synthesized this literature through meta‐analysis to assess (a) whether infant motor ability differs in ASD relative to neurotypical controls; and (b) whether motor ability and communication are related in infants with ASD. Study 1 aggregated data from 1,953 infants with ASD (ages 3.0–42.0 months), and Study 2 included 890 infants with ASD (age 6.0–42.9 months). Study 1 revealed that infant motor ability differed significantly in ASD compared with neurotypical infants—this difference was robust to variation in measurement and design. Furthermore, this group difference amplified as age increased. Study 2 indicated that within ASD, infant motor ability and communication are related. - Child Development, EarlyView.
  

  May 16, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13086   open full text
• Enduring Association Between Parenting and Cortisol: A Meta‐analysis.
  Daniel A. Hackman, Jacqueline R. O'Brien, Maureen Zalewski.
  Child Development. May 05, 2018
  --- - |2 Warm caregiving is associated with concurrent hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis function, although the persistence of this association over time is less established. Using longitudinal and intervention studies, this meta‐analysis examined the enduring association of parental warmth (measured when children were ages < 1 through 15 years) with basal cortisol, reactivity and recovery (measured when children were ages < 1 through 25 years; k = 38; N = 6,608). These studies demonstrate no overall associations between parenting and children's HPA axis; instead there are small associations that vary based on moderators such as socioeconomic status, developmental stage, study design and stressor type, though many moderators are confounded. This first wave of studies indicates that the enduring association between parenting and cortisol is small and only understood in the context of other factors, and directly informs four sets of methodological and theoretical recommendations to strengthen this literature. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1485-1503, September/October 2018.
  

  May 05, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13077   open full text
• Associations of Number Line Estimation With Mathematical Competence: A Meta‐analysis.
  Michael Schneider, Simon Merz, Johannes Stricker, Bert De Smedt, Joke Torbeyns, Lieven Verschaffel, Koen Luwel.
  Child Development. April 10, 2018
  --- - |2 The number line estimation task is widely used to investigate mathematical learning and development. The present meta‐analysis statistically synthesized the extensive evidence on the correlation between number line estimation and broader mathematical competence. Averaged over 263 effect sizes with 10,576 participants with sample mean ages from 4 to 14 years, this correlation was r = .443. The correlation increased with age, mainly because it was higher for fractions than for whole numbers. The correlation remained stable across a wide range of task variants and mathematical competence measures (i.e., counting, arithmetic, school achievement). These findings demonstrate that the task is a robust tool for diagnosing and predicting broader mathematical competence and should be further investigated in developmental and experimental training studies. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1467-1484, September/October 2018.
  

  April 10, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13068   open full text
• Development of Multifaceted Risk Taking and the Relations to Sex Steroid Hormones: A Longitudinal Study.
  Jiska S. Peper, Barbara R. Braams, Neeltje E. Blankenstein, Marieke G.N. Bos, Eveline A. Crone.
  Child Development. April 01, 2018
  --- - |2 Risk taking is a multidimensional construct. It is currently unclear which aspects of risk‐taking change most during adolescence and if/how sex hormones contribute to risk‐taking tendencies. This study applied a longitudinal design with three time‐points, separated by 2 years, in participants aged 8–29 years (670 observations). The Balloon Analogue Risk Task, a delay discounting task, and various self‐report questionnaires were administered, to measure aspects of risk taking. Longitudinal analyses demonstrated mostly nonlinear age‐related patterns in risk‐taking behavior and approach‐related personality characteristics (peaking in late adolescence). Increased testosterone and estradiol were found to increase risk‐taking behavior and impulsive personality, but decrease avoidance‐like personality. This study demonstrates that risk taking is most pronounced in mid‐to‐late adolescence and suggests that sex hormones accelerate this maturational process. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1887-1907, September/October 2018.
  

  April 01, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13063   open full text
• A Path Analysis of Nutrition, Stimulation, and Child Development Among Young Children in Bihar, India.
  Leila M. Larson, Reynaldo Martorell, Patricia J. Bauer.
  Child Development. March 12, 2018
  --- - |2 Nutrition plays an important role in the development of a child, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries where malnutrition is often widespread. The relation between diet, hemoglobin, nutritional status, motor development, stimulation and mental development was examined in a cross‐sectional sample of 1,079 children 12–18 months of age living in rural Bihar, India. Path analysis revealed associations between (a) length‐for‐age z‐scores and motor development, standardized β (β) = .285, p < .001, and (b) motor and all mental development outcomes (language: β = .422; personal‐social: β = .490; memory: β = .139; and executive function: β = .072, all p < .001). Additionally, stimulation was significantly associated with language scores and hemoglobin concentration with memory. These findings inform interventions aimed at improving child development in Northern India. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1871-1886, September/October 2018.
  

  March 12, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13057   open full text
• The Myth of Universal Sensitive Responsiveness: Comment on Mesman et al. (2017).
  Heidi Keller, Kim Bard, Gilda Morelli, Nandita Chaudhary, Marga Vicedo, Mariano Rosabal‐Coto, Gabriel Scheidecker, Marjorie Murray, Alma Gottlieb.
  Child Development. January 23, 2018
  --- - |2 This article considers claims of Mesman et al. (2017) that sensitive responsiveness as defined by Ainsworth, while not uniformly expressed across cultural contexts, is universal. Evidence presented demonstrates that none of the components of sensitive responsiveness (i.e., which partner takes the lead, whose point of view is primary, and the turn‐taking structure of interactions) or warmth are universal. Mesman and colleagues’ proposal that sensitive responsiveness is “providing for infant needs” is critiqued. Constructs concerning caregiver quality must be embedded within a nexus of cultural logic, including caregiving practices, based on ecologically valid childrearing values and beliefs. Sensitive responsiveness, as defined by Mesman and attachment theorists, is not universal. Attachment theory and cultural or cross‐cultural psychology are not built on common ground. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1921-1928, September/October 2018.
  

  January 23, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13031   open full text
• Sense and Sensitivity: A Response to the Commentary by Keller et al. (2018).
  Judi Mesman.
  Child Development. January 23, 2018
  --- - |2 This reply to the commentary by Keller et al. (2018) on the article “Universality Without Uniformity: A Culturally Inclusive Approach to Sensitive Responsiveness in Infant Caregiving” (Mesman et al., ) highlights key points of agreement emphasizing the sense of investing in synergies across research traditions. These include the importance of distinguishing between different parenting constructs, the need for more studies to test the presented theoretical assumptions, and the value of examining multiple caregiver sensitivity in relation to infants’ developing membership of a community. The only point of disagreement reflects the rigidity versus flexibility of the sensitivity construct. This reply argues that it is exactly the versatility of the sensitivity construct that makes it a valuable building block for bridges between fields. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1929-1931, September/October 2018.
  

  January 23, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13030   open full text
• How Children Invented Humanity.
  David F. Bjorklund.
  Child Development. January 16, 2018
  --- - |2 I use the commentaries of Legare, Clegg, and Wen and of Frankenhuis and Tiokhin as jumping‐off points to discuss an issue hinted at both in my essay and their commentaries: How a developmental perspective can help us achieve a better understanding of evolution. I examine briefly how neoteny may have contributed to human morphology; how developmental plasticity in great apes, and presumably our common ancestor with them, may have led the way to advances in social cognition; and how the “invention” of childhood contributed to unique human cognitive abilities. I conclude by acknowledging that not all developmentalists have adopted an evolutionary perspective, but that we are approaching a time when an evolutionary perspective will be implicit in the thinking of all psychologists. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1462-1466, September/October 2018.
  

  January 16, 2018   doi: 10.1111/cdev.13020   open full text
• The Development of Regional Dialect Locality Judgments and Language Attitudes Across the Life Span.
  Elizabeth A. McCullough, Cynthia G. Clopper, Laura Wagner.
  Child Development. October 20, 2017
  The development of language attitudes and perception of talker regional background was investigated across the life span (N = 240, age range = 4–75 years). Participants rated 12 talkers on dimensions of geographic locality, status, and solidarity. Children could classify some dialects by locality by age 6–7 years and showed adult‐like patterns by age 8 years. Children showed adult‐like status ratings for some dialects by age 4–5 years but were not fully adult‐like until age 12 years. Solidarity ratings were more variable and did not exhibit a clear developmental trajectory, although some adult‐like patterns were in place by age 6–7 years. Locality ratings were a significant but modest predictor of attitude ratings, suggesting that geographic knowledge is one contributor to language attitudes throughout development.

  October 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12984   open full text
• Infant Visual Attention and Stimulus Repetition Effects on Object Recognition.
  Greg D. Reynolds, John E. Richards.
  Child Development. October 20, 2017
  This study examined behavioral, heart rate (HR), and event‐related potential (ERP) correlates of attention and recognition memory for 4.5‐, 6‐, and 7.5‐month‐old infants (N = 45) during stimulus encoding. Attention was utilized as an independent variable using HR measures. The Nc ERP component associated with attention and the late slow wave (LSW) associated with recognition memory were analyzed. The 7.5‐month‐olds demonstrated a significant reduction in Nc amplitude with stimulus repetition. This reduction in Nc was not found for younger infants. Additionally, infants only demonstrated differential LSW amplitude based on stimulus type on attentive trials as defined by HR changes. These findings indicate that from 4.5 to 7.5 months, infants’ attentional engagement is influenced by an increasingly broader range of stimulus characteristics.

  October 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12982   open full text
• Expecting the Unexpected? Expectations for Future Success Among Adolescent First‐Time Offenders.
  Alissa Mahler, Adam Fine, Paul J. Frick, Laurence Steinberg, Elizabeth Cauffman.
  Child Development. October 12, 2017
  Adolescent first‐time offenders demonstrate greater risk of continued offending, justice system contact, and high school dropout. The current study evaluates if optimistic expectations protect youth by reducing offending and improving school grades for 3 years following a first arrest (N = 1,165, Mage = 15.29). This article also considers whether improved behavior raises expectations about the future and uses autoregressive latent trajectory modeling with structured residuals to examine the within‐person cross‐lagged associations between expectations and behavior. The results indicated that positive expectations reduce offending and improve grades, which are in turn associated with higher expectations. Although raising expectations may improve outcomes following an arrest, ensuring adolescents have the tools to meet their goals may be an effective way to raise expectations.

  October 12, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12977   open full text
• Discrimination and Ethnic–Racial Identity: Understanding Direction of Effects Using Within‐ and Between‐Person Analyses.
  Katharine H. Zeiders, Sara D. Bayless, Chelsea L. Derlan, Adriana J. Umaña‐Taylor, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Laudan B. Jahromi.
  Child Development. October 12, 2017
  Ethnic–racial identity (ERI) development and ethnic–racial discrimination are two salient experiences among adolescents in the United States. Despite growing awareness of the costs and benefits of these experiences individually, we know little about how they may influence one another. The current study examined competing hypotheses relating discrimination and components of ERI (i.e., exploration, resolution, affirmation) among a sample of Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers (N = 181; Mage at Wave 1 = 16.83, SD = 1.01) across six waves of data. Findings revealed that within‐person changes in discrimination predicted subsequent ERI resolution and affirmation; however, ERI did not predict subsequent discrimination. Between‐person effects of discrimination on affirmation were significant. Our findings underscore the importance of discrimination experiences in shaping Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers’ normative developmental competencies.

  October 12, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12978   open full text
• A Long‐Term Effect of Perceptual Individuation Training on Reducing Implicit Racial Bias in Preschool Children.
  Miao K. Qian, Paul C. Quinn, Gail D. Heyman, Olivier Pascalis, Genyue Fu, Kang Lee.
  Child Development. October 12, 2017
  This study tracked the long‐term effect of perceptual individuation training on reducing 5‐year‐old Chinese children's (N = 95, Mage = 5.64 years) implicit pro‐Asian/anti‐Black racial bias. Initial training to individuate other‐race Black faces, followed by supplementary training occurring 1 week later, resulted in a long‐term reduction of pro‐Asian/anti‐Black bias (70 days). In contrast, training Chinese children to recognize White or Asian faces had no effect on pro‐Asian/anti‐Black bias. Theoretically, the finding that individuation training can have a long‐term effect on reducing implicit racial bias in preschoolers suggests that a developmentally early causal linkage between perceptual and social processing of faces is not a transitory phenomenon. Practically, the data point to an effective intervention method for reducing implicit racism in young children.

  October 12, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12971   open full text
• Ethnic Harassment and Immigrant Youth's Engagement in Violent Behaviors: Understanding the Risk Factors.
  Sevgi Bayram Özdemir, Metin Özdemir, Hakån Stattin.
  Child Development. October 10, 2017
  The present study aimed to examine whether ethnic harassment was related to violent behaviors among immigrant youth over time and to identify the risk factors. The sample comprised immigrant adolescents living in Sweden (N = 365; Mage = 13.93, SD = 0.80). Results showed that the more youth were ethnically harassed, the more they engaged in violent acts over time. A separated identity significantly moderated the effect of ethnic harassment on youth's engagement in violent behaviors. Specifically, ethnic harassment positively predicted engagement in violent behaviors only at high levels of separated identity. Impulsivity and school ethnic composition did not act as moderators. The findings suggest that preventing violent behaviors among immigrant youth requires a focus on promoting positive interethnic relationships, and multicultural identity among immigrant youth.

  October 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12975   open full text
• An Expanded View of Joint Attention: Skill, Engagement, and Language in Typical Development and Autism.
  Lauren B. Adamson, Roger Bakeman, Katharine Suma, Diana L. Robins.
  Child Development. October 09, 2017
  This study provides an expanded view of joint attention and its relation to expressive language development. A total of 144 toddlers (40 typically developing, 58 with autism spectrum disorder [ASD], 46 with developmental delay [DD]) participated at 24 and 31 months. Toddlers who screened positive for ASD risk, especially those subsequently diagnosed with ASD, had poorer joint attention skills, joint engagement during parent–toddler interaction, and expressive language. Findings highlight the dynamic relation between joint attention and language development. In the ASD and DD groups, joint engagement predicted later expressive vocabulary, significantly more than predictions based on joint attention skills. Joint engagement was most severely impacted when toddlers did not talk initially and improved markedly if they subsequently began to speak.

  October 09, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12973   open full text
• Scaling Theory of Mind in a Small‐Scale Society: A Case Study From Vanuatu.
  Henry G. W. Dixson, Aimée F. Komugabe‐Dixson, Barnaby J. Dixson, Jason Low.
  Child Development. October 06, 2017
  Although theory of mind (ToM) is argued to emerge between 3 and 5 years of age, data from non‐Western, small‐scale societies suggest diversity. Deeper investigations into these settings are warranted. In the current study, over 400 Melanesian children from Vanuatu (range = 3–14 years), growing up in either urban or rural remote environments, completed culturally tailored ToM batteries. Results show a marked delay in false belief (FB) performance, particularly among participants from rural villages. By further investigating a diverse range of concepts beyond FB, we illustrate two unique cultural sequences for a suite of mental state concepts among urban and rural ni‐Vanuatu children. Implications for social and cultural influences on the development of ToM are discussed.

  October 06, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12919   open full text
• Childhood Amnesia in Children: A Prospective Study Across Eight Years.
  Carole Peterson, Darcy Hallett, Cassy Compton‐Gillingham.
  Child Development. October 03, 2017
  This was a prospective study of earliest memories across 8 years for 37 children who were of age 4–9 years initially. In three interviews (initial and after 2 and 8 years) children provided their three earliest memories; those from earlier interviews that were not spontaneously provided later were cued. There was little consistency in the earliest memory or overlap across interviews in spontaneous memories. The youngest group also forgot over half their initial memories although few were forgotten by older children. For consistency of content, 25%–32% of information by former 6‐ to 9‐year‐olds was the same after 8 years, but < 10% provided by the youngest children was the same and 22% was contradictory. Emotion and contextual coherence predicted memory retention.

  October 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12972   open full text
• Infants Distinguish Between Two Events Based on Their Relative Likelihood.
  Ezgi Kayhan, Gustaf Gredebäck, Marcus Lindskog.
  Child Development. October 03, 2017
  Likelihood estimations are crucial for dealing with the uncertainty of life. Here, infants' sensitivity to the difference in likelihood between two events was investigated. Infants aged 6, 12, and 18 months (N = 75) were shown animated movies of a machine simultaneously drawing likely and unlikely samples from a box filled with different colored balls. In different trials, the difference in likelihood between the two samples was manipulated. The infants' looking patterns varied as a function of the magnitude of the difference in likelihood and were modulated by the number of items in the samples. Looking patterns showed qualitative similarities across age groups. This study demonstrates that infants' looking responses are sensitive to the magnitude of the difference in likelihood between two events.

  October 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12970   open full text
• Multigenerational Effects on Children's Cognitive and Socioemotional Outcomes: A Within‐Child Investigation.
  Antti O. Tanskanen, Mirkka Danielsbacka.
  Child Development. September 28, 2017
  --- - |2 Associations between grandparental investment and child outcomes were investigated using three waves of a longitudinal British Millennium Cohort Study that included children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years (n = 24,614 person‐observations from 13,744 children). Grandparental investment was measured by parent–grandparent contact frequency and grandparental financial support. Child cognitive development was measured using the British Ability Scale and socioemotional outcomes using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Grandparental investment was associated with improved cognitive and socioemotional outcomes among children. However, these associations occurred because of between‐person effects and did not exist in within‐person analyses that compared the same children over time. The results are discussed in terms of their contribution to multigenerational relationships research. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1856-1870, September/October 2018.
  

  September 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12968   open full text
• Discrimination, Parent–Adolescent Conflict, and Peer Intimacy: Examining Risk and Resilience in Mexican‐Origin Youths' Adjustment Trajectories.
  Melissa Y. Delgado, Rajni L. Nair, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Adriana J. Umaña‐Taylor.
  Child Development. September 22, 2017
  Peer discrimination and parent–adolescent conflict in early adolescence were examined as predictors of depressive symptoms and risky behaviors from early to late adolescence using four waves of data over an 8‐year period from a sample of 246 Mexican‐origin adolescents (MTime 1 age = 12.55, SD = 0.58; 51% female). The buffering effect of friendship intimacy and moderating role of adolescent gender were tested. Higher levels of discrimination and conflict in early adolescence were associated with higher initial levels of depressive symptoms and risky behaviors in early adolescence and stability through late adolescence. For females who reported higher than average discrimination, friendship intimacy had a protective effect on their depressive symptoms.

  September 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12969   open full text
• A Methylome‐Wide Association Study of Trajectories of Oppositional Defiant Behaviors and Biological Overlap With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
  Edward D. Barker, Esther Walton, Charlotte A.M. Cecil, Richard Rowe, Sara R. Jaffee, Barbara Maughan, Thomas G. O'Connor, Argyris Stringaris, Alan J. Meehan, Wendy McArdle, Caroline L. Relton, Tom R. Gaunt.
  Child Development. September 20, 2017
  --- - |2 In 671 mother–child (49% male) pairs from an epidemiological birth cohort, we investigated (a) prospective associations between DNA methylation (at birth) and trajectories (ages 7–13) of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and the ODD subdimensions of irritable and headstrong; (b) common biological pathways, indexed by DNA methylation, between ODD trajectories and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); (c) genetic influence on DNA methylation; and (d) prenatal risk exposure associations. Methylome‐wide significant associations were identified for the ODD and headstrong, but not for irritable. Overlap analysis indicated biological correlates between ODD, headstrong, and ADHD. DNA methylation in ODD and headstrong was (to a degree) genetically influenced. DNA methylation associated with prenatal risk exposures of maternal anxiety (headstrong) and cigarette smoking (ODD and headstrong). - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1839-1855, September/October 2018.
  

  September 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12957   open full text
• Peer Effects on Aggressive Behavior in Norwegian Child Care Centers.
  Luisa A. Ribeiro, Henrik D. Zachrisson.
  Child Development. September 20, 2017
  This study examined whether exposure to changes in peer aggression predicted changes in child physical aggression (PA) in preschool children attending Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centers. Data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study were used, including 956 children. In fixed effects models, within‐child changes in exposure to peer aggression predicted changes in teacher‐rated child PA across ages 2, 3, and 4. Moreover, changes in exposure to a peer group with two or more externalizing children increased teacher‐rated child PA over time, but only for boys. No significant peer effects on parent‐rated child PA were found. Findings point to the importance of avoiding the congregation of several problematic children, particularly boys, in the same ECEC groups.

  September 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12953   open full text
• Optimism as a Candidate Health Asset: Exploring Its Links With Adolescent Quality of Life in Sweden.
  Katrin Häggström Westberg, Marie Wilhsson, Petra Svedberg, Jens M. Nygren, Antony Morgan, Maria Nyholm.
  Child Development. September 18, 2017
  This study aims to understand the role that optimism could play in the context of a health asset approach to promote adolescent health‐related quality of life (HRQOL). Adolescents (n = 948), between 11 and 16 years old from a medium‐sized rural town in Sweden, answered questionnaires measuring optimism, pessimism, and HRQOL. The findings indicate a significant decrease in optimism and a significant increase in pessimism between early and midadolescence. The study has allowed us to present associational evidence of the links between optimism and HRQOL. This infers the potential of an optimistic orientation about the future to function as a health asset during adolescence and by implication may provide additional intervention tool in the planning of health promotion strategies.

  September 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12958   open full text
• Intelligence and Neurophysiological Markers of Error Monitoring Relate to Children's Intellectual Humility.
  Judith H. Danovitch, Megan Fisher, Hans Schroder, David Z. Hambrick, Jason Moser.
  Child Development. September 18, 2017
  This study explored developmental and individual differences in intellectual humility (IH) among 127 children ages 6–8. IH was operationalized as children's assessment of their knowledge and willingness to delegate scientific questions to experts. Children completed measures of IH, theory of mind, motivational framework, and intelligence, and neurophysiological measures indexing early (error‐related negativity [ERN]) and later (error positivity [Pe]) error‐monitoring processes related to cognitive control. Children's knowledge self‐assessment correlated with question delegation, and older children showed greater IH than younger children. Greater IH was associated with higher intelligence but not with social cognition or motivational framework. ERN related to self‐assessment, whereas Pe related to question delegation. Thus, children show separable epistemic and social components of IH that may differentially contribute to metacognition and learning.

  September 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12960   open full text
• How Unequal Is the United States? Adolescents’ Images of Social Stratification.
  Constance A. Flanagan, Mariah Kornbluh.
  Child Development. September 18, 2017
  This study highlights the use of pictorial images to understand adolescents’ views on social stratification. A continuum of five visual images of social stratification were presented to a diverse sample of five hundred ninety‐eight 8th–12th graders (14–18 years old). Adolescents selected which image best represented the United States (today, in 20 years, how it ought to be). Images ranged from inequitable to egalitarian. Results supported reference group and possible selves theories. Adolescents in higher status families chose a more egalitarian image for how the United States is today and how it ought to be. African Americans considered the United States today more unequal. Differences in adolescents’ commitment to an egalitarian ideal depended on their reactions to inequality and their beliefs about government responsiveness, bolstering the measure's validity.

  September 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12954   open full text
• Self‐Concept Predicts Academic Achievement Across Levels of the Achievement Distribution: Domain Specificity for Math and Reading.
  Maria Ines Susperreguy, Pamela E. Davis‐Kean, Kathryn Duckworth, Meichu Chen.
  Child Development. September 18, 2017
  This study examines whether self‐concept of ability in math and reading predicts later math and reading attainment across different levels of achievement. Data from three large‐scale longitudinal data sets, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development–Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, and Panel Study of Income Dynamics–Child Development Supplement, were used to answer this question by employing quantile regression analyses. After controlling for demographic variables, child characteristics, and early ability, the findings indicate that self‐concept of ability in math and reading predicts later achievement in each respective domain across all quantile levels of achievement. These results were replicated across the three data sets representing different populations and provide robust evidence for the role of self‐concept of ability in understanding achievement from early childhood to adolescence across the spectrum of performance (low to high).

  September 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12924   open full text
• The Decline in Adult Activities Among U.S. Adolescents, 1976–2016.
  Jean M. Twenge, Heejung Park.
  Child Development. September 18, 2017
  The social and historical contexts may influence the speed of development. In seven large, nationally representative surveys of U.S. adolescents 1976–2016 (N = 8.44 million, ages 13–19), fewer adolescents in recent years engaged in adult activities such as having sex, dating, drinking alcohol, working for pay, going out without their parents, and driving, suggesting a slow life strategy. Adult activities were less common when median income, life expectancy, college enrollment, and age at first birth were higher and family size and pathogen prevalence were lower, consistent with life history theory. The trends are unlikely to be due to homework and extracurricular time, which stayed steady or declined, and may or may not be linked to increased Internet use.

  September 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12930   open full text
• Consequences of Individual Differences in Children's Formal Understanding of Mathematical Equivalence.
  Nicole M. McNeil, Caroline Byrd Hornburg, Brianna L. Devlin, Cristina Carrazza, Mary O. McKeever.
  Child Development. September 13, 2017
  Experts claim that individual differences in children's formal understanding of mathematical equivalence have consequences for mathematics achievement; however, evidence is lacking. A prospective, longitudinal study was conducted with a diverse sample of 112 children from a midsized city in the Midwestern United States (Mage [second grade] = 8:1). As hypothesized, understanding of mathematical equivalence in second grade predicted mathematics achievement in third grade, even after controlling for second‐grade mathematics achievement, IQ, gender, and socioeconomic status. Most children exhibited poor understanding of mathematical equivalence, but results provide clues about which children are on the path to constructing an understanding and which may need extra support to overcome their misconceptions. Findings suggest that mathematical equivalence may deserve more attention from educators.

  September 13, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12948   open full text
• Fine Motor Control Underlies the Association Between Response Inhibition and Drawing Skill in Early Development.
  Andrew Simpson, Reshaa Al Ruwaili, Richard Jolley, Hayley Leonard, Nicolas Geeraert, Kevin J. Riggs.
  Child Development. September 13, 2017
  Previous research shows that the development of response inhibition and drawing skill are linked. The current research investigated whether this association reflects a more fundamental link between response inhibition and motor control. In Experiment 1, 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds (n = 100) were tested on measures of inhibition, fine motor control, and drawing skill. Data revealed an association between inhibition and fine motor control, which was responsible for most of the association observed with drawing skill. Experiment 2 (n = 100) provided evidence that, unlike fine motor control, gross motor control and inhibition were not associated (after controlling for IQ). Alternative explanations for the link between inhibition and fine motor control are outlined, including a consideration of how these cognitive processes may interact during development.

  September 13, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12949   open full text
• Memory and Executive Functioning in 12‐Year‐Old Children With a History of Institutional Rearing.
  Johanna Bick, Charles H. Zeanah, Nathan A. Fox, Charles A. Nelson.
  Child Development. September 12, 2017
  We examined visual recognition memory and executive functioning (spatial working memory [SWM], spatial planning, rule learning, and attention shifting) in 12‐year‐olds (n = 150) who participated in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized controlled trial of foster care for institutionally reared children. Similar to prior reports at 8 years of age, institutionally reared children showed significant deficits in visual recognition memory and SWM. Deficits in attention shifting and rule learning were also apparent at this time point. These data suggest that early experiences continue to shape the development of memory, learning, and executive functioning processes in preadolescence, which may explain broader cognitive and learning difficulties commonly associated with severe early life neglect.

  September 12, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12952   open full text
• The Longitudinal Effects of Early Language Intervention on Children's Problem Behaviors.
  Philip R. Curtis, Ann P. Kaiser, Ryne Estabrook, Megan Y. Roberts.
  Child Development. September 05, 2017
  Researchers examined whether a parent‐implemented language intervention improved problem behaviors 1 year after intervention. Ninety‐seven children with language delays (mean age at 12‐month follow‐up = 48.22 months) were randomized to receive Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) language intervention or business as usual treatment. Twelve months after the intervention ended, children in the EMT intervention condition displayed lower rates of parent‐reported externalizing, internalizing, and total problem behaviors. A mediation analysis revealed that the relation between EMT and problem behaviors was partially mediated by child rate of communication for both internalizing and total problem behaviors. A developmental framework is proposed to explain the impact of EMT on problem behaviors, and future lines of research are discussed.

  September 05, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12942   open full text
• Relations of Inhibition and Emotion‐Related Parenting to Young Children's Prosocial and Vicariously Induced Distress Behavior.
  Nancy Eisenberg, Tracy L. Spinrad, Zoe E. Taylor, Jeffrey Liew.
  Child Development. August 31, 2017
  Children's prosocial behavior and personal distress are likely affected by children's temperament as well as parenting quality. In this study, we examined bidirectional relations from age 30 to 42 months between children's (N = 218) prosocial or self‐focused (presumably distressed) reactions to a relative stranger's distress and both supportive emotion‐related maternal reactions to children's emotions and children's shyness/inhibition. When controlling for 30‐month prosocial behavior and personal distress behavior, maternal supportive (emotion‐focused and problem‐focused) reactions were positively related to prosocial behavior and marginally negatively related to children's personal distress behaviors and shyness/inhibition at 42 months. Thirty‐month personal distress behavior predicted greater shyness/inhibition at 42 months, and 30‐month shyness/inhibition was negatively related to prosocial behavior at 30 months.

  August 31, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12934   open full text
• Do Varieties of Spanish Influence U.S. Spanish–English Bilingual Children's Friendship Judgments?
  Maria M. Arredondo, Susan A. Gelman.
  Child Development. August 30, 2017
  Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States (U.S. Census, 2014), yet this term comprises individuals from multiple ethnicities who speak distinct varieties of Spanish. We investigated whether Spanish–English bilingual children (N = 140, ages 4–17) use Spanish varieties in their social judgments. The findings revealed that children distinguished varieties of Spanish but did not use Spanish dialects to make third‐person friendship judgments until 10–12 years; this effect became stronger in adolescence. In contrast, young children (4–6 years) made friendship judgments based on a speaker's language (English, Spanish). Thus, using language varieties as a social category and as a basis for making social inferences is a complex result of multiple influences for Spanish‐speaking children growing up bilingual in the United States.

  August 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12932   open full text
• The Role of Campus Support, Undocumented Identity, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals on Civic Engagement for Latinx Undocumented Undergraduates.
  Dalal Katsiaficas, Vanessa Volpe, Syeda S. Raza, Yuliana Garcia.
  Child Development. August 30, 2017
  This study examined civic engagement in a sample of 790 undocumented Latinx undergraduates (aged 18–30). The relations between social supports (campus safe spaces and peer support) and civic engagement and whether a strong sense of undocumented identity mediated this relation were examined. Competing statistical models examined the role of participants' status (whether or not they received temporary protection from deportation with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA]) in this mediational process. Results revealed that having a strong identification with being undocumented mediated the role of social supports on civic engagement in the overall sample, and that this process was specifically important for those with DACA status. The intersection of policies such as DACA and the lived experiences of Latinx undocumented college students are discussed.

  August 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12933   open full text
• Group Membership Influences More Social Identification Than Social Learning or Overimitation in Children.
  Thibaud Gruber, Amélie Deschenaux, Aurélien Frick, Fabrice Clément.
  Child Development. August 28, 2017
  Group membership is a strong driver of everyday life in humans, influencing similarity judgments, trust choices, and learning processes. However, its ontogenetic development remains to be understood. This study investigated how group membership, age, sex, and identification with a team influenced 39‐ to 60‐month‐old children (N = 94) in a series of similarity, trust, and learning tasks. Group membership had the most influence on similarity and trust tasks, strongly biasing choices toward in‐groups. In contrast, prior experience and identification with the team were the most important factors in the learning tasks. Finally, overimitation occurred most when the children's team, but not the opposite, displayed meaningless actions. Future work must investigate how these cognitive abilities combine during development to facilitate cultural processes.

  August 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12931   open full text
• Smart Conformists: Children and Adolescents Associate Conformity With Intelligence Across Cultures.
  Nicole J. Wen, Jennifer M. Clegg, Cristine H. Legare.
  Child Development. August 24, 2017
  The current study used a novel methodology based on multivocal ethnography to assess the relations between conformity and evaluations of intelligence and good behavior among Western (U.S.) and non‐Western (Ni‐Vanuatu) children (6‐ to 11‐year‐olds) and adolescents (13‐ to 17‐year‐olds; N = 256). Previous research has shown that U.S. adults were less likely to endorse high‐conformity children as intelligent than Ni‐Vanuatu adults. The current data demonstrate that in contrast to prior studies documenting cultural differences between adults' evaluations of conformity, children and adolescents in the United States and Vanuatu have a conformity bias when evaluating peers' intelligence and behavior. Conformity bias for good behavior increases with age. The results have implications for understanding the interplay of conformity bias and trait psychology across cultures and development.

  August 24, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12935   open full text
• Causal Learning Across Culture and Socioeconomic Status.
  Adrienne O. Wente, Katherine Kimura, Caren M. Walker, Nirajana Banerjee, María Fernández Flecha, Bridget MacDonald, Christopher Lucas, Alison Gopnik.
  Child Development. August 23, 2017
  Extensive research has explored the ability of young children to learn about the causal structure of the world from patterns of evidence. These studies, however, have been conducted with middle‐class samples from North America and Europe. In the present study, low‐income Peruvian 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds and adults, low‐income U.S. 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds in Head Start programs, and middle‐class children from the United States participated in a causal learning task (N = 435). Consistent with previous studies, children learned both specific causal relations and more abstract causal principles across culture and socioeconomic status (SES). The Peruvian children and adults generally performed like middle‐class U.S. children and adults, but the low‐SES U.S. children showed some differences.

  August 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12943   open full text
• Motion Perception and Form Discrimination in Extremely Preterm School‐Aged Children.
  Mariagrazia Benassi, Roberto Bolzani, Lea Forsman, Ulrika Ådén, Lena Jacobson, Sara Giovagnoli, Kerstin Hellgren.
  Child Development. August 22, 2017
  This population‐based study evaluated motion and form perception in 71 children born extreme premature (EPT; < 27 gestational weeks), aged 6.5 years, as compared to a matched group of 79 control children born at term. Motion and form perception were evaluated by motion coherence and form coherence tests. The EPT group showed a poorer performance on both tasks as compared to the control group. However, after controlling for IQ and visual acuity, the EPT group showed only a significant deficit in motion perception. No association was found between motion perception accuracy and gestational age, previous retinopathy of prematurity, or previous intraventricular hemorrhage in the EPT group. The results highlight the long‐term motion perception deficits in children born EPT.

  August 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12945   open full text
• “Wealth Makes Many Friends”: Children Expect More Giving From Resource‐Rich Than Resource‐Poor Individuals.
  Richard E. Ahl, Yarrow Dunham.
  Child Development. August 21, 2017
  Young children show social preferences for resource‐rich individuals, although few studies have explored the causes underlying such preferences. We evaluate the viability of one candidate cause: Children believe that resource wealth relates to behavior, such that they expect the resource rich to be more likely to materially benefit others (including themselves) than the resource poor. In Studies 1 and 2 (ages 4–10), American children from predominantly middle‐income families (n = 94) and Indian children from lower income families (n = 30) predicted that the resource rich would be likelier to share with others than the resource poor. In Study 3, American children (n = 66) made similar predictions in an incentivized decision‐making task. The possibility that children's expectations regarding giving contribute to prowealth preferences is discussed.

  August 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12922   open full text
• Self‐Construals and Social Adjustment in Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Early Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Executive Functioning.
  Diana Miconi, Ughetta Moscardino, Gianmarco Altoè, Silvia Salcuni.
  Child Development. August 21, 2017
  This study examined whether executive functions (EFs) moderate the association between independent and interdependent self‐construals and social adjustment in 488 Moroccan, Romanian, and Italian preadolescents (ages 11–13) in Italy. Participants were assessed using self‐report questionnaires and standardized EF tasks. Better working memory was related to increased social competence across all groups. High levels of inhibitory control were found to enhance the positive relation between interdependence and prosocial behavior for native Italian youth, and between interdependence and social competence for Moroccan preadolescents. High levels of cognitive flexibility boosted the interdependence–social competence link for the immigrant groups, whereas among native Italian preadolescents, the interdependence–social competence link was significant at low levels of flexibility. Implications for developmental theory and practice are discussed.

  August 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12918   open full text
• Close Friendship Strength and Broader Peer Group Desirability as Differential Predictors of Adult Mental Health.
  Rachel K. Narr, Joseph P. Allen, Joseph S. Tan, Emily L. Loeb.
  Child Development. August 21, 2017
  Middle adolescents’ close friendship strength and the degree to which their broader peer group expressed a preference to affiliate with them were examined as predictors of relative change in depressive symptoms, self‐worth, and social anxiety symptoms from ages 15 to 25 using multimethod, longitudinal data from 169 adolescents. Close friendship strength in midadolescence predicted relative increases in self‐worth and decreases in anxiety and depressive symptoms by early adulthood. Affiliation preference by the broader peer group, in contrast, predicted higher social anxiety by early adulthood. Results are interpreted as suggesting that adolescents who prioritize forming close friendships are better situated to manage key social developmental tasks going forward than adolescents who prioritize attaining preference with many others in their peer milieu.

  August 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12905   open full text
• Mothers' Physiological and Affective Responding to Infant Distress: Unique Antecedents of Avoidant and Resistant Attachments.
  Ashley M. Groh, Cathi Propper, Roger Mills‐Koonce, Ginger A. Moore, Susan Calkins, Martha Cox.
  Child Development. August 21, 2017
  In a sample of 127 mother–infant dyads, this study examined the predictive significance of mothers' physiological and observed emotional responding within distressing and nondistressing caregiving contexts at 6 months for infant attachment assessed with Fraley and Spieker's (2003) dimensional approach and the categorical approach at 12 months. Findings revealed that a lesser degree of maternal respiratory sinus arrhythmia withdrawal and higher levels of maternal neutral (vs. positive) affect within distressing (vs. nondistressing) caregiving contexts were distinctive antecedents of avoidance versus resistance assessed dimensionally (but not categorically), independent of maternal sensitivity. Discussion focuses on the usefulness of examining mothers' physiological and affective responding, considering the caregiving context, and employing the dimensional approach to attachment in identifying unique antecedents of patterns of attachment insecurity.

  August 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12912   open full text
• Little Evidence That Socioeconomic Status Modifies Heritability of Literacy and Numeracy in Australia.
  Katrina L. Grasby, William L. Coventry, Brian Byrne, Richard K. Olson.
  Child Development. August 18, 2017
  Socioeconomic status (SES) has been found to moderate the influence of genes and the environment on cognitive ability, such that genetic influence is greater when SES is higher, and the shared environment is greater when SES is lower, but not in all Western countries. The effects of both family and school SES on the heritability of literacy and numeracy in Australian twins aged 8, 10, 12, and 14 years with 1,307, 1,235, 1,076, and 930 pairs at each age, respectively, were tested. Shared environmental influences on Grade 3 literacy were greater with low family SES, and no other moderating effects of SES were significant. These findings are contrasted with results from the United States and the United Kingdom.

  August 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12920   open full text
• Longitudinal Trajectories of Family Functioning Among Recent Immigrant Adolescents and Parents: Links With Adolescent and Parent Cultural Stress, Emotional Well‐Being, and Behavioral Health.
  Elma I. Lorenzo‐Blanco, Alan Meca, Brandy Piña‐Watson, Byron L. Zamboanga, José Szapocznik, Miguel Ángel. Cano, David Cordova, Jennifer B. Unger, Andrea Romero, Sabrina E. Des Rosiers, Daniel W. Soto, Juan A. Villamar, Monica Pattarroyo, Karina M. Lizzi, Seth J. Schwartz.
  Child Development. August 18, 2017
  This study examined longitudinal effects of adolescent and parent cultural stress on adolescent and parent emotional well‐being and health behaviors via trajectories of adolescent and parent family functioning. Recent immigrant Latino adolescents (Mage = 14.51) and parents (Mage = 41.09; N = 302) completed measures of these constructs. Latent growth modeling indicated that adolescent and parent family functioning remained stable over time. Early levels of family functioning predicted adolescent and parent outcomes. Baseline adolescent cultural stress predicted lower positive adolescent and parent family functioning. Latent class growth analyses produced a two‐class solution for family functioning. Adolescents and parents in the low family functioning class reported low family functioning over time. Adolescents and parents in the high family functioning class experienced increases in family functioning.

  August 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12914   open full text
• Childhood Maltreatment and Early Developmental Vulnerabilities at Age 5 Years.
  Melissa J. Green, Stacy Tzoumakis, Brooke McIntyre, Maina Kariuki, Kristin R. Laurens, Kimberlie Dean, Marilyn Chilvers, Felicity Harris, Merran Butler, Sally A. Brinkman, Vaughan J. Carr.
  Child Development. August 14, 2017
  --- - |2 This study examined associations between maltreatment and early developmental vulnerabilities in a population sample of 68,459 children (Mage = 5.62 years, SD = .37) drawn from the Australian state of New South Wales, using linked administrative data for the children and their parents (collected 2001–2009). Associations were estimated between (a) any maltreatment, (b) the number of maltreatment types, and (c) the timing of first reported maltreatment and vulnerability and risk status on multiple developmental domains (i.e., physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and communication). Pervasive associations were revealed between maltreatment and all developmental domains; children exposed to two or more maltreatment types, and with first maltreatment reported after 3 years of age, showed greater likelihood of vulnerability on multiple domains, relative to nonmaltreated children. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1599-1612, September/October 2018.
  

  August 14, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12928   open full text
• Parental Cultural Socialization and Adolescent Private Regard: Exploring Mediating Pathways Through Daily Experiences.
  Yijie Wang, Heining Cham, Meera Aladin, Tiffany Yip.
  Child Development. August 11, 2017
  Using longitudinal experience sampling data from 214 ethnic/racial minority adolescents (Wave 1 Mage = 15.24), the present study investigated how the longitudinal effect of parental cultural socialization on adolescent private regard was mediated through various daily pathways and novel constructs. Both the mean levels and variability of adolescents' ethnic feelings (i.e., private regard) and social interactions (i.e., intragroup contact) in daily situations, as well as the situational association between intragroup contact and private regard, emerged as mediators. Greater cultural socialization promoted greater and more stable ethnic feelings and interactions, as well as their situational association, all of which promoted private regard over time. This study provides a framework to explore how development occurs in daily lives.

  August 11, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12911   open full text
• For Better or for Worse? Positive and Negative Parental Influences on Young Children's Executive Function.
  Claire Hughes, Rory T. Devine.
  Child Development. August 11, 2017
  Despite rapidly growing research on parental influences on children's executive function (EF), the uniqueness and specificity of parental predictors and links between adult EF and parenting remain unexamined. This 13‐month longitudinal study of 117 parent–child dyads (60 boys; Mage at Time 1 = 3.94 years, SD = 0.53) included detailed observational coding of parent–child interactions and assessed adult and child EF and child verbal ability (VA). Supporting a differentiated view of parental influence, negative parent–child interactions and parental scaffolding showed unique and specific associations with child EF, whereas the home learning environment and parental language measures showed global associations with children's EF and VA.

  August 11, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12915   open full text
• Feeding Imprinting: The Extreme Test Case of Premature Infants Born With Very Low Birth Weight.
  Moriya Suberi, Iris Morag, Tzipora Strauss, Ronny Geva.
  Child Development. August 11, 2017
  --- - |2 Feeding imprinting, considered a survival‐enabling process, is not well understood. Infants born very preterm, who first feed passively, are an effective model for studying feeding imprinting. Retrospective analysis of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) records of 255 infants (Mgestational age = 29.98 ± 1.64) enabled exploring the notion that direct breastfeeding (DBF) during NICU stay leads to consumption of more mother's milk and earlier NICU discharge. Results showed that DBF before the first bottle feeding is related to shorter transition into oral feeding, a younger age of full oral feeding accomplishment and earlier discharge. Furthermore, the number of DBF meals before first bottle feeding predicts more maternal milk consumption and improved NICU outcomes. Improved performance in response to initial exposure to DBF at the age of budding feeding abilities supports a feeding imprinting hypothesis. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1553-1566, September/October 2018.
  

  August 11, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12923   open full text
• He Says, She Says: Mothers and Children Remembering the Same Events.
  Qi Wang, Qingfang Song.
  Child Development. August 10, 2017
  This study examined the consistency of memories for the same events in mothers and children, and how that varied as a function of culture and organizational components of memories. European American (EA) and Chinese immigrant (CI) mothers and their 6‐year‐old children (N = 127) independently recalled two emotionally salient events. In both cultures, mothers and children agreed more on factual event details and observable behaviors and less on subjective experiences and idiosyncratic interpretations. EA mothers and children told more diverse stories than did CI mothers and children. The findings shed important light on autobiographical memory as a multidimensional construct shaped by cultural beliefs and practices, and have critical implications for the evaluation of memory accuracy in research and real‐life settings.

  August 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12927   open full text
• Specific Preschool Executive Functions Predict Unique Aspects of Mathematics Development: A 3‐Year Longitudinal Study.
  Stefanie Simanowski, Kristin Krajewski.
  Child Development. August 10, 2017
  This study assessed the extent to which executive functions (EF), according to their factor structure in 5‐year‐olds (N = 244), influenced early quantity–number competencies, arithmetic fluency, and mathematics school achievement throughout first and second grades. A confirmatory factor analysis resulted in updating as a first, and inhibition and shifting as a combined second factor. In the structural equation model, updating significantly affected knowledge of the number word sequence, suggesting a facilitatory effect on basic encoding processes in numerical materials that can be learnt purely by rote. Shifting and inhibition significantly influenced quantity to number word linkages, indicating that these processes promote developing a profound understanding of numbers. These results show the supportive role of specific EF for specific aspects of a numerical foundation.

  August 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12909   open full text
• Children's Counterfactual Reasoning About Causally Overdetermined Events.
  Angela Nyhout, Lena Henke, Patricia A. Ganea.
  Child Development. August 07, 2017
  In two experiments, one hundred and sixty‐two 6‐ to 8‐year‐olds were asked to reason counterfactually about events with different causal structures. All events involved overdetermined outcomes in which two different causal events led to the same outcome. In Experiment 1, children heard stories with either an ambiguous causal relation between events or causally unrelated events. Children in the causally unrelated version performed better than chance and better than those in the ambiguous condition. In Experiment 2, children heard stories in which antecedent events were causally connected or causally disconnected. Eight‐year‐olds performed above chance in both conditions, whereas 6‐year‐olds performed above chance only in the connected condition. This work provides the first evidence that children can reason counterfactually in causally overdetermined contexts by age 8.

  August 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12913   open full text
• The Influence of Adult and Peer Role Models on Children’ and Adolescents’ Sharing Decisions.
  Azzurra Ruggeri, Shenghua Luan, Monika Keller, Michaela Gummerum.
  Child Development. August 04, 2017
  --- - |2 This study explores how the age (adult vs. peer) and the suggestion (to be fair vs. unfair) of models affect the sharing decisions of 9‐ and 12‐year‐olds (N = 365) from Italy and Singapore. Results demonstrate a developmental shift in the influence of models on children's and adolescents’ sharing decisions in both cultures: Children's decisions were more affected by an adult model's suggestion than by that of a peer model, whereas the opposite was true for adolescents. Regardless of the models’ influence, participants considered equal sharing to be the fair choice and reported being happier when their sharing decisions were generous. Our results highlight the crucial importance of social and developmental factors for the promotion of fairness judgments and emotions. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1589-1598, September/October 2018.
  

  August 04, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12916   open full text
• The Roles of Parental Support and Family Stress in Adolescent Sleep.
  Kim M. Tsai, Ronald E. Dahl, Michael R. Irwin, Julienne E. Bower, Heather McCreath, Teresa E. Seeman, David M. Almeida, Andrew J. Fuligni.
  Child Development. August 04, 2017
  --- - |2 The current study examines the association between parental support and adolescent sleep under varying levels of family stress. Participants included 316 adolescents (Mage = 16.40 years, 43% male) and their parents (Mage = 45.67 years, 91% mothers) from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Both adolescents and parents completed questionnaires and adolescents wore wrist actigraphs and completed self‐reports on their sleep for 7 consecutive days. Results indicated that under contexts of family stress, more parental support was linked to longer sleep duration, less sleep variability, and less time spent awake during the night. Findings suggest that under contexts of family stress, cohesive family relationships may provide a sense of stability and security that is necessary for healthful sleep. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1577-1588, September/October 2018.
  

  August 04, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12917   open full text
• Judging a Book by Its Cover: Children's Facial Trustworthiness as Judged by Strangers Predicts Their Real‐World Trustworthiness and Peer Relationships.
  Qinggong Li, Gail D. Heyman, Jing Mei, Kang Lee.
  Child Development. August 03, 2017
  This longitudinal research examined whether children's facial trustworthiness as judged by strangers can predict their real‐world trustworthiness and peer acceptance. Adults (Study 1) and children (Study 2) judged the facial trustworthiness of 8‐ to 12‐year‐old children (N = 100) solely based on their photographs. The children's classmates were asked to report their real‐world trustworthiness and peer acceptance. Children's facial trustworthiness reliably predicted these outcomes both initially when the photographs were taken, as well as 1 year later, and this effect was mediated by the initial ratings of real‐world trustworthiness and peer acceptance. These results provide evidence for a long‐lasting linkage between children's facial and real‐world trustworthiness.

  August 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12907   open full text
• What Develops in Infants’ Spatial Categorization? Korean Infants’ Categorization of Containment and Tight‐Fit Relations.
  Marianella Casasola, Yeojin A. Ahn.
  Child Development. August 03, 2017
  Korean‐learning infants’ categorization of two spatial categories, one consistent and one inconsistent with the Korean semantic category of “kkita,” was examined. Infants of 10 months (n = 32) and 18 months (n = 49) were tested on their categorization of containment or tight fit spatial relations. At 10 months, infants only formed a category of containment, but at 18 months, their categorization of tight fit was significantly stronger than containment. The results suggest that Korean infants benefit from their language environment in forming a category of tight fit when the exemplars are perceptually diverse. In particular, infants’ language environment may bolster their ability to generalize across diverse exemplars to form abstract categorical representations of spatial relations.

  August 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12903   open full text
• Does Temperament Underlie Infant Novel Food Responses?: Continuity of Approach–Withdrawal From 6 to 18 Months.
  Kameron J. Moding, Cynthia A. Stifter.
  Child Development. August 02, 2017
  This study investigated whether temperamental approach–withdrawal underlies infants' responses to novel foods. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of mother–infant dyads (n = 136). Approach–withdrawal responses to novel foods and novel toys were coded when infants were 6 and 12 months of age. When infants were 18 months of age, approach–withdrawal behaviors, positive affect, and negative affect were used in a latent profile analysis to identify groups of toddlers who exhibited similar responses to novelty. As predicted, novel food and novel toy responses were concurrently associated at 12 months and followed a similar developmental pattern across the 1st year. Furthermore, novel food acceptance at 12 months of age, but not 6 months, predicted greater toddler approach.

  August 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12902   open full text
• Temperamental Anger and Effortful Control, Teacher–Child Conflict, and Externalizing Behavior Across the Elementary School Years.
  Lisa J. Crockett, Alexander Michael Wasserman, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Lesa Hoffman, Irina Kalutskaya.
  Child Development. August 02, 2017
  This study examined teacher–child conflict as a possible mediator of the effects of temperamental anger and effortful control on subsequent externalizing behavior. Reciprocal influences between teacher–child conflict and externalizing behavior were also examined. Participants were 1,152 children (49% female; 81.6% non‐Hispanic White) from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Multivariate growth curve modeling revealed that greater effortful control at age 54 months indirectly predicted lower levels of, and subsequent changes in, externalizing behavior from kindergarten to Grade 6 through reduced teacher–child conflict. An alternative model, in which greater effortful control predicted lower teacher–child conflict through lower externalizing behavior, received less support. Within persons, greater‐than‐expected teacher–child conflict predicted greater‐than‐expected teacher‐reported externalizing behavior concurrently and over time.

  August 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12910   open full text
• Parenting and Cortisol in Infancy Interactively Predict Conduct Problems and Callous–Unemotional Behaviors in Childhood.
  Nicholas J. Wagner, W. Roger Mills‐Koonce, Michael T. Willoughby, Martha J. Cox,.
  Child Development. July 24, 2017
  This study examines observed maternal sensitivity, harsh‐intrusion, and mental‐state talk in infancy as predictors of conduct problems (CP) and callous–unemotional (CU) behaviors in middle childhood, as well as the extent to which infants’ resting cortisol and cortisol reactivity moderate these associations. Using data from the Family Life Project (n = 1,292), results indicate that maternal sensitivity at 6 months predicts fewer CP at first grade, but only for infants who demonstrate high levels of cortisol reactivity. Maternal harsh intrusion predicts fewer empathic–prosocial behaviors, a component of CU behaviors, but only for infants who demonstrate high resting cortisol. Findings are discussed in the context of diathesis–stress and differential susceptibility models.

  July 24, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12900   open full text
• Is Overimitation a Uniquely Human Phenomenon? Insights From Human Children as Compared to Bonobos.
  Zanna Clay, Claudio Tennie.
  Child Development. July 24, 2017
  --- - |2 Imitation is a key mechanism of human culture and underlies many of the intricacies of human social life, including rituals and social norms. Compared to other animals, humans appear to be special in their readiness to copy novel actions as well as those that are visibly causally irrelevant. This study directly compared the imitative behavior of human children to that of bonobos, our understudied great ape relatives. During an action‐copying task involving visibly causally irrelevant actions, only 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children (N = 77) readily copied, whereas no bonobo from a large sample did (N = 46). These results highlight the distinctive nature of the human cultural capacity and contribute important insights into the development and evolution of human cultural behaviors. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1535-1544, September/October 2018.
  

  July 24, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12857   open full text
• Risk and Adversity, Parenting Quality, and Children's Social‐Emotional Adjustment in Families Experiencing Homelessness.
  Madelyn H. Labella, Angela J. Narayan, Christopher M. McCormick, Christopher D. Desjardins, Ann S. Masten.
  Child Development. July 19, 2017
  A multimethod, multi‐informant design was used to examine links among sociodemographic risk, family adversity, parenting quality, and child adjustment in families experiencing homelessness. Participants were 245 homeless parents (Mage = 31.0, 63.6% African American) and their 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children (48.6% male). Path analyses revealed unique associations by risk domain: Higher sociodemographic risk predicted more externalizing behavior and poorer teacher–child relationships, whereas higher family adversity predicted more internalizing behavior. Parenting quality was positively associated with peer acceptance and buffered effects of family adversity on internalizing symptoms, consistent with a protective effect. Parenting quality was associated with lower externalizing behavior only when sociodemographic risk was below the sample mean. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

  July 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12894   open full text
• Religious Development in African American Adolescents: Growth Patterns That Offer Protection.
  Daniel B. Lee, Enrique W. Neblett.
  Child Development. July 14, 2017
  Although religiosity promotes resilient outcomes in African American (AA) adolescents, there is a lack of research that examines the protective role of religious development in the context of stressful life events (SLEs). In 1,595 AA adolescents, a cohort‐sequential design was used from ages 12 to 18 to examine subtypes of religiosity, as well as distinct developmental patterns within subtypes. The protective role of religious development was also examined in the context of SLEs. The study findings indicated two subtypes of religiosity—extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity—as well as low and high developmental patterns in the identified subtypes. Furthermore, the protective influence of extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity gradually diminished from age 12 to 18 in the context of SLEs.

  July 14, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12896   open full text
• Family Context Moderates the Association of Maternal Postpartum Depression and Stability of Infant Temperament.
  Stephanie H. Parade, Laura M. Armstrong, Susan Dickstein, Ronald Seifer.
  Child Development. July 14, 2017
  Maternal postpartum depression, maternal sensitivity, and family functioning were examined as predictors of the stability of observed infant temperament over the first 30 months of life (N = 147 families). Eight observations at 8, 15, and 30 months postpartum were used to assess infant temperament. Structured clinical interviews were used to assess maternal depression, and observational assessments were used to assess family functioning and maternal sensitivity. Family context moderated the effect of maternal depression on change in infant temperament. Maternal depression was associated with change in infant temperament when maternal sensitivity was low but not when maternal sensitivity was high. Family functioning similarly moderated these links. Results underscore the centrality of the family context in shaping child behavior over time.

  July 14, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12895   open full text
• Household Socioeconomic Status and Parental Investments: Direct and Indirect Relations With School Readiness in Ghana.
  Sharon Wolf, Dana Charles McCoy.
  Child Development. July 14, 2017
  This study examines how parent socioeconomic status (SES) directly and indirectly predicts children's school readiness through pathways of parental investment. Data come from direct assessments with preschool children and surveys with their primary caregivers in Ghana at the start of the 2015–2016 school year (N = 2,137; Mage = 5.2 years). Results revealed SES‐related gaps in all parental investment characteristics and child school readiness skills. Preschool involvement served as the primary mediating mechanism in the path from SES to most school readiness skills, though it did not predict executive function. The number of books in the household was marginally positively predictive of early literacy, whereas at‐home stimulation was negatively related to motor, literacy, and numeracy skills.

  July 14, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12899   open full text
• Statistical Learning and Spelling: Older Prephonological Spellers Produce More Wordlike Spellings Than Younger Prephonological Spellers.
  Rebecca Treiman, Brett Kessler, Kelly Boland, Hayley Clocksin, Zhengdao Chen.
  Child Development. July 07, 2017
  The authors analyzed the spellings of 179 U.S. children (age = 3 years, 2 months–5 years, 6 months) who were prephonological spellers, in that they wrote using letters that did not reflect the phonemes in the target items. Supporting the idea that children use their statistical learning skills to learn about the outer form of writing before they begin to spell phonologically, older prephonological spellers showed more knowledge about English letter patterns than did younger prephonological spellers. The written productions of older prephonological spellers were rated by adults as more similar to English words than were the productions of younger prephonological spellers. The older children s spellings were also more wordlike on several objective measures, including length, variability of letters within words, and digram frequency.

  July 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12893   open full text
• Modeling the Early Language Trajectory of Language Development When the Measures Change and Its Relation to Poor Reading Comprehension.
  Yaacov Petscher, Laura M. Justice, Tiffany Hogan.
  Child Development. July 05, 2017
  This study examined change in early language comprehension from 15 to 54 months for fifth‐grade typical readers (n = 35), poor decoders (n = 11), or poor comprehenders (n = 16) from a nationally representative study of early child‐care experiences. Changing measures of language comprehension were captured across early childhood for the 62 children. Multiple‐group quasi‐simplex and latent growth models were used on rank‐transformed outcomes to examine children's relative rank change. Results showed that future poor comprehenders significantly declined in language comprehension over time relative to others who gradually improved. Efforts to improve language skills as a means to improve reading comprehension hinge upon the perspective that language weaknesses are a causal contributor to reading difficulties.

  July 05, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12880   open full text
• Revisiting Young Children's Understanding of the Psychological Causes of Behavior.
  Patricia H. Miller, Patricia A. Aloise‐Young.
  Child Development. June 29, 2017
  --- - |2 In 1989, Miller and Aloise challenged the prevailing belief that preschoolers tend to explain others' behavior in terms of external events or a person's physical attributes and have little understanding of psychological causes. That review documented preschoolers' understanding of, and even preference for, psychological causes as part of an emerging renaissance in developmental social‐cognitive research. The present, updated review (97 articles, participant ages 3 months to 6 years) suggests the emergence of a transformative new perspective in which social‐cognition is balanced between social and cognitive aspects rather than tilted toward cognition. Recent research on infants' awareness of mental states, young children's understanding of social categories and their judgments of the trustworthiness of informants, and cultural context reveals various ways in which preschoolers' social‐causal reasoning is social. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1441-1461, September/October 2018.
  

  June 29, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12891   open full text
• The Role of Mothers' Child‐Based Worth in Their Affective Responses to Children's Performance.
  Florrie Fei‐Yin Ng, Eva M. Pomerantz, Shui‐fong Lam, Ciping Deng.
  Child Development. June 22, 2017
  This research examined whether American and Chinese mothers' tendencies to base their worth on children's performance contributes to their affective responses to children's performance. Study 1 used daily interviews to assess mothers' warmth (vs. hostility) and children's school performance (N = 197; Mage = 12.81 years). In Study 2, such affect was observed in the laboratory following children's manipulated performance on cognitive problems (N = 128; Mage = 10.21 years). The more mothers based their worth on children's performance, the more their warmth (vs. hostility) decreased when children failed in Study 1. This pattern was evident only among Chinese mothers in Study 2. In both studies, child‐based worth did not contribute to mothers' affective responses to children's success.

  June 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12881   open full text
• Definitional Elasticity in the Measurement of Intergenerational Continuity in Substance Use.
  Thomas A. Loughran, Pilar Larroulet, Terence P. Thornberry.
  Child Development. June 22, 2017
  --- - |2 Increasingly, three generation studies have investigated intergenerational (IG) continuity and discontinuity in substance use and related problem behaviors. However, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the conceptual definition of continuity or to different types of discontinuity (resilience and escalation) or to measurement sensitivity, which affects not only the magnitudes of observed continuity but also factors that correlate with this linkage. This study uses longitudinal data on 427 parent–child dyads from the Rochester IG Study to study continuity and discontinuity in substance use over ages 14–18. Results suggest that the degree of IG continuity, resilience, and escalation in adolescent substance use, as well as correlates of each, depend heavily on how heterogeneity in the behavior is taken into account. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1625-1641, September/October 2018.
  

  June 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12849   open full text
• Young Infants’ Word Comprehension Given An Unfamiliar Talker or Altered Pronunciations.
  Elika Bergelson, Daniel Swingley.
  Child Development. June 22, 2017
  --- - |2 To understand spoken words, listeners must appropriately interpret co‐occurring talker characteristics and speech sound content. This ability was tested in 6‐ to 14‐months‐olds by measuring their looking to named food and body part images. In the new talker condition (n = 90), pictures were named by an unfamiliar voice; in the mispronunciation condition (n = 98), infants’ mothers “mispronounced” the words (e.g., nazz for nose). Six‐ to 7‐month‐olds fixated target images above chance across conditions, understanding novel talkers, and mothers’ phonologically deviant speech equally. Eleven‐ to 14‐months‐olds also understood new talkers, but performed poorly with mispronounced speech, indicating sensitivity to phonological deviation. Between these ages, performance was mixed. These findings highlight the changing roles of acoustic and phonetic variability in early word comprehension, as infants learn which variations alter meaning. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1567-1576, September/October 2018.
  

  June 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12888   open full text
• Coping With Racism: Moderators of the Discrimination–Adjustment Link Among Mexican‐Origin Adolescents.
  Irene J. K. Park, Lijuan Wang, David R. Williams, Margarita Alegría.
  Child Development. June 21, 2017
  What strategies help ethnic minority adolescents to cope with racism? The present study addressed this question by testing the role of ethnic identity, social support, and anger expression and suppression as moderators of the discrimination–adjustment link among 269 Mexican‐origin adolescents (Mage = 14.1 years), 12–17 years old from the Midwestern U.S. Results from multilevel moderation analyses indicated that ethnic identity, social support, and anger suppression, respectively, significantly attenuated the relations between discrimination and adjustment problems, whereas outward anger expression exacerbated these relations. Moderation effects differed according to the level of analysis. By identifying effective coping strategies in the discrimination–adjustment link at specific levels of analysis, the present findings can guide future intervention efforts for Latino youth.

  June 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12856   open full text
• Introspection Plays an Early Role in Children's Explicit Theory of Mind Development.
  Christopher R. Gonzales, William V. Fabricius, Anne S. Kupfer.
  Child Development. June 21, 2017
  --- - |2 This study assessed children's (N = 236) ability to introspect the mental states of seeing and knowing relative to their ability to attribute each state to others. Children could introspect seeing 10 months before they could introspect knowing. Two‐ and 3‐year‐olds correctly reported their own seeing states, whereas 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds correctly reported their own knowing states. For each mental state, there was a 7‐month difference before children could correctly attribute that state to another. These findings indicate that knowing is more difficult to introspect than seeing and that the ability to introspect each mental state emerges prior to the ability to correctly attribute them to others. Theoretical implications for self–other differences in theory‐of‐mind development are considered. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1545-1552, September/October 2018.
  

  June 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12876   open full text
• When and How Do Students Benefit From Ethnic Diversity in Middle School?
  Jaana Juvonen, Kara Kogachi, Sandra Graham.
  Child Development. June 20, 2017
  The effects of school‐based ethnic diversity on student well‐being and race‐related views were examined during the first year in middle school. To capture the dynamic nature of ethnic exposure, diversity was assessed both at the school‐level (n = 26) and based on academic course enrollments of African American, Asian, Latino, and White students (n = 4,302; M = 11.33 years). Across all four pan‐ethnic groups, school‐level ethnic diversity was associated with lower sense of vulnerability (i.e., feeling safer, less victimized, and less lonely) as well as perceptions of teachers’ fair and equal treatment of ethnic groups and lower out‐group distance. Underscoring the role of individual experiences, exposure to diversity in academic classes moderated the association between school‐level diversity and the two aforementioned race‐related views.

  June 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12834   open full text
• Promoting Inclusion Via Cross‐Group Friendship: The Mediating Role of Change in Trust and Sympathy.
  Jeanine Grütter, Luciano Gasser, Antonio Zuffianò, Bertolt Meyer.
  Child Development. June 19, 2017
  To understand the conditions fostering positive outcomes of inclusive schooling, this two‐wave study examined the role of individual change in trust and sympathy for adolescents' cross‐group friendships and inclusive attitudes toward students with low academic achievement. Cross‐group friendships, intergroup trust, intergroup sympathy, and inclusive attitudes were obtained from surveys completed by 1,122 Swiss adolescents (Mage T1 = 11.54 years, Mage T2 = 12.58 years) from 61 school classes. Results from a parallel latent change score model revealed that the number of cross‐group friendships positively related to individual change in trust and sympathy; this growing trust and sympathy in turn predicted adolescents' inclusive attitudes. These findings are discussed regarding theories of intergroup contact and inclusive schooling.

  June 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12883   open full text
• Empirical Tests of a Brain‐Based Model of Executive Function Development.
  Sammy Perone, Daniel J. Plebanek, Megan G. Lorenz, John P. Spencer, Larissa K. Samuelson.
  Child Development. June 19, 2017
  Executive function (EF) plays a foundational role in development. A brain‐based model of EF development is probed for the experiences that strengthen EF in the dimensional change card sort task in which children sort cards by one rule and then are asked to switch to another. Three‐year‐olds perseverate on the first rule, failing the task, whereas 4‐year‐olds pass. Three predictions of the model are tested to help 3‐year‐olds (N = 54) pass. Experiment 1 shows that experience with shapes and the label “shape” helps children. Experiment 2 shows that experience with colors—without a label—helps children. Experiment 3 shows that experience with colors induces dimensional attention. The implications of this work for early intervention are discussed.

  June 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12885   open full text
• A Longitudinal Analysis of Well‐Being of Ghanaian Children in Transnational Families.
  Victor Cebotari, Valentina Mazzucato, Ernest Appiah.
  Child Development. June 19, 2017
  --- - |2 This study is the first to employ panel data to examine well‐being outcomes—self‐rated health, happiness, life satisfaction, and school enjoyment—of children in transnational families in an African context. It analyzes data collected in 2013, 2014, and 2015 from secondary schoolchildren and youth (ages 12–21) in Ghana (N = 741). Results indicate that children with fathers, mothers, or both parents away and those cared for by a parent, a family, or a nonfamily member are equally or more likely to have higher levels of well‐being as children in nonmigrant families. Yet, there are certain risk factors—being a female, living in a family affected by divorce or by a change in caregiver while parents migrate—that may decrease child well‐being. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1768-1785, September/October 2018.
  

  June 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12879   open full text
• For Better or Worse? System‐Justifying Beliefs in Sixth‐Grade Predict Trajectories of Self‐Esteem and Behavior Across Early Adolescence.
  Erin B. Godfrey, Carlos E. Santos, Esther Burson.
  Child Development. June 19, 2017
  Scholars call for more attention to how marginalization influences the development of low‐income and racial/ethnic minority youth and emphasize the importance of youth's subjective perceptions of contexts. This study examines how beliefs about the fairness of the American system (system justification) in sixth grade influence trajectories of self‐esteem and behavior among 257 early adolescents (average age 11.4) from a diverse, low‐income, middle school in an urban southwestern city. System justification was associated with higher self‐esteem, less delinquent behavior, and better classroom behavior in sixth grade but worse trajectories of these outcomes from sixth to eighth grade. These findings provide novel evidence that system‐justifying beliefs undermine the well‐being of marginalized youth and that early adolescence is a critical developmental period for this process.

  June 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12854   open full text
• Low‐Income Ethnically Diverse Children's Engagement as a Predictor of School Readiness Above Preschool Classroom Quality.
  Terri J. Sabol, Natalie L. Bohlmann, Jason T. Downer.
  Child Development. June 19, 2017
  This study examined whether children's observed individual engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks related to their school readiness after controlling for observed preschool classroom quality and children's baseline skills. The sample included 211 predominately low‐income, racially/ethnically diverse 4‐year‐old children in 49 preschool classrooms in one medium‐sized U.S. city. Results indicated that children's positive engagement with (a) teachers related to improved literacy skills; (b) peers related to improved language and self‐regulatory skills; and (c) tasks related to closer relationships with teachers. Children's negative engagement was associated with lower language, literacy, and self‐regulatory skills, and more conflict and closeness with teachers. Effect sizes were small to medium in magnitude, and some expected relations between positive engagement and school readiness were not found.

  June 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12832   open full text
• Getting to No: Pragmatic and Semantic Factors in Two‐ and Three‐Year‐Olds' Understanding of Negation.
  Tracy Reuter, Roman Feiman, Jesse Snedeker.
  Child Development. June 15, 2017
  Although infants say “no” early, older children have difficulty understanding its truth‐functional meaning. Two experiments investigate whether this difficulty stems from the infelicity of negative sentences out of the blue. In Experiment 1, given supportive discourse, 3‐year‐olds (N = 16) understood both affirmative and negative sentences. However, with sentence types randomized, 2‐year‐olds (N = 28) still failed. In Experiment 2, affirmative and negative sentences were blocked. Two‐year‐olds (N = 28) now succeeded, but only when affirmatives were presented first. Thus, although discourse felicity seems the primary bottleneck for 3‐year‐olds' understanding of negation, 2‐year‐olds struggle with its semantic processing. Contrary to accounts where negatives are understood via affirmatives, both sentence types were processed equally quickly, suggesting previously reported asymmetries are due to pragmatic accommodation, not semantic processing.

  June 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12858   open full text
• Heterogeneity in Perceptions of Parenting Among Arab Refugee Adolescents in Jordan.
  Judith G. Smetana, Ikhlas Ahmad.
  Child Development. June 15, 2017
  --- - |2 Heterogeneity in parenting was examined in 883 Arab refugee adolescents in Jordan (Mage = 15.01 years, SD = 1.60). Latent profile analyses of five parenting dimensions rated separately for mothers and fathers yielded authoritative, authoritarian, indifferent, punitive, and for mothers, permissive profiles, with most mothers (60%) and fathers (66%) classified as authoritative. Parenting was more often authoritative for women than men and punitive (for fathers) or permissive (for mothers) of boys than girls. Authoritative fathers and authoritarian mothers were better educated than punitive parents, whose offspring reported more norm breaking and internalizing symptoms and lower academic achievement than other youth. Adjustment was better when adolescents had at least one authoritative parent than when parents were either consistent or discrepant but nonauthoritative. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1786-1802, September/October 2018.
  

  June 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12844   open full text
• Pedagogical Questions in Parent–Child Conversations.
  Yue Yu, Elizabeth Bonawitz, Patrick Shafto.
  Child Development. June 15, 2017
  Questioning is a core component of formal pedagogy. Parents commonly question children, but do they use questions to teach? This article defines “pedagogical questions” as questions for which the questioner already knows the answer and intended to help the questionee learn. Transcripts of parent–child conversations were collected from the CHILDES database to examine the frequency and distribution of pedagogical questions. Analysis of 2,166 questions from 166 mother–child dyads and 64 father–child dyads (child's age between 2 and 6 years) showed that pedagogical questions are commonplace during day‐to‐day parent–child conversations and vary based on child's age, family environment, and historical era. The results serve as a first step toward understanding the role of parent–child questions in facilitating children's learning.

  June 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12850   open full text
• Resilience in Context: A Brief and Culturally Grounded Measure for Syrian Refugee and Jordanian Host‐Community Adolescents.
  Catherine Panter‐Brick, Kristin Hadfield, Rana Dajani, Mark Eggerman, Alastair Ager, Michael Ungar.
  Child Development. June 15, 2017
  --- - |2 Validated measures are needed for assessing resilience in conflict settings. An Arabic version of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM) was developed and tested in Jordan. Following qualitative work, surveys were implemented with male/female, refugee/nonrefugee samples (N = 603, 11–18 years). Confirmatory factor analyses tested three‐factor structures for 28‐ and 12‐item CYRMs and measurement equivalence across groups. CYRM‐12 showed measurement reliability and face, content, construct (comparative fit index = .92–.98), and convergent validity. Gender‐differentiated item loadings reflected resource access and social responsibilities. Resilience scores were inversely associated with mental health symptoms, and for Syrian refugees were unrelated to lifetime trauma exposure. In assessing individual, family, and community‐level dimensions of resilience, the CYRM is a useful measure for research and practice with refugee and host‐community youth. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1803-1820, September/October 2018.
  

  June 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12868   open full text
• Racial Categorization Predicts Implicit Racial Bias in Preschool Children.
  Peipei Setoh, Kristy J. J. Lee, Lijun Zhang, Miao K. Qian, Paul C. Quinn, Gail D. Heyman, Kang Lee.
  Child Development. June 12, 2017
  This research investigated the relation between racial categorization and implicit racial bias in majority and minority children. Chinese and Indian 3‐ to 7‐year‐olds from Singapore (N = 158) categorized Chinese and Indian faces by race and had their implicit and explicit racial biases measured. Majority Chinese children, but not minority Indian children, showed implicit bias favoring own race. Regardless of ethnicity, children's racial categorization performance correlated positively with implicit racial bias. Also, Chinese children, but not Indian children, displayed explicit bias favoring own race. Furthermore, children's explicit bias was unrelated to racial categorization performance and implicit bias. The findings support a perceptual–social linkage in the emergence of implicit racial bias and have implications for designing programs to promote interracial harmony.

  June 12, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12851   open full text
• Unpicking the Developmental Relationship Between Oral Language Skills and Reading Comprehension: It's Simple, But Complex.
  Arne Lervåg, Charles Hulme, Monica Melby‐Lervåg.
  Child Development. June 12, 2017
  --- - |2 Listening comprehension and word decoding are the two major determinants of the development of reading comprehension. The relative importance of different language skills for the development of listening and reading comprehension remains unclear. In this 5‐year longitudinal study, starting at age 7.5 years (n = 198), it was found that the shared variance between vocabulary, grammar, verbal working memory, and inference skills was a powerful longitudinal predictor of variations in both listening and reading comprehension. In line with the simple view of reading, listening comprehension, and word decoding, together with their interaction and curvilinear effects, explains almost all (96%) variation in early reading comprehension skills. Additionally, listening comprehension was a predictor of both the early and later growth of reading comprehension skills. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1821-1838, September/October 2018.
  

  June 12, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12861   open full text
• The Effectiveness of a Large‐Scale Language and Preliteracy Intervention: The SPELL Randomized Controlled Trial in Denmark.
  Dorthe Bleses, Anders Højen, Laura M. Justice, Philip S. Dale, Line Dybdal, Shayne B. Piasta, Justin Markussen‐Brown, Marit Clausen, E. F. Haghish.
  Child Development. June 09, 2017
  The present article reports results of a real‐world effectiveness trial conducted in Denmark with six thousand four hundred eighty‐three 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds designed to improve children's language and preliteracy skills. Children in 144 child cares were assigned to a control condition or one of three planned variations of a 20‐week storybook‐based intervention: a base intervention and two enhanced versions featuring extended professional development for educators or a home‐based program for parents. Pre‐ to posttest comparisons revealed a significant impact of all three interventions for preliteracy skills (= .21–.27) but not language skills (d = .04–.16), with little differentiation among the three variations. Fidelity, indexed by number of lessons delivered, was a significant predictor of most outcomes. Implications for real‐world research and practice are considered.

  June 09, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12859   open full text
• Children's Early Awareness of Comprehension as Evident in Their Spontaneous Corrections of Speech Errors.
  Henry M. Wellman, Ju‐Hyun Song, Hope Peskin‐Shepherd.
  Child Development. June 09, 2017
  A crucial human cognitive goal is to understand and to be understood. But understanding often takes active management. Two studies investigated early developmental processes of understanding management by focusing on young children's comprehension monitoring. We ask: When and how do young children actively monitor their comprehension of social‐communicative interchanges and so seek to clarify and correct their own potential miscomprehension? Study 1 examined the parent–child conversations of 13 children studied longitudinally in everyday situations from the time the children were approximately 2 years through 3 years. Study 2 used a seminaturalistic situation in the laboratory to address these questions with more precision and control with 36 children aged 2–3 years.

  June 09, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12862   open full text
• More Effective Consolidation of Episodic Long‐Term Memory in Children Than Adults—Unrelated to Sleep.
  Jing‐Yi Wang, Frederik D. Weber, Katharina Zinke, Marion Inostroza, Jan Born.
  Child Development. June 08, 2017
  --- - |2 Abilities to encode and remember events in their spatiotemporal context (episodic memory) rely on brain regions that mature late during childhood and are supported by sleep. We compared the temporal dynamics of episodic memory formation and the role of sleep in this process between 62 children (8–12 years) and 57 adults (18–37 years). Subjects recalled “what–where–when” memories after a short 1‐hr retention interval or after a long 10.5‐hr interval containing either nocturnal sleep or daytime wakefulness. Although children showed diminished recall of episodes after 1 hr, possibly resulting from inferior encoding, unlike adults, they showed no further decrease in recall after 10.5 hr. In both age groups, episodic memory benefitted from sleep. However, children's more effective offline retention was unrelated to sleep. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1720-1734, September/October 2018.
  

  June 08, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12839   open full text
• Young Children's Moral Judgments, Justifications, and Emotion Attributions in Peer Relationship Contexts.
  Judith G. Smetana, Courtney L. Ball.
  Child Development. June 06, 2017
  Children (n = 160, 4‐ to 9‐year‐olds; Mage = 6.23 years, SD = 1.46) judged, justified, attributed emotions, and rated intent for hypothetical physical harm, psychological harm, and resource distribution transgressions against close friends, acquaintances, disliked peers, or bullies. Transgressions against bullies were judged more acceptable than against friends and disliked peers and less deserving of punishment than against acquaintances and disliked peers. Transgressions against friends were judged least intended and resulting in more negative emotions for transgressors; actors transgressing against disliked peers, as compared to bullies or acquaintances, were happy victimizers. Across relationships, children viewed moral transgressions as wrong independent of rules and authority, based primarily on welfare and fairness justifications. Peer context colors but does not fundamentally change moral evaluations.

  June 06, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12846   open full text
• Waiting for the Second Treat: Developing Culture‐Specific Modes of Self‐Regulation.
  Bettina Lamm, Heidi Keller, Johanna Teiser, Helene Gudi, Relindis D. Yovsi, Claudia Freitag, Sonja Poloczek, Ina Fassbender, Janina Suhrke, Manuel Teubert, Isabel Vöhringer, Monika Knopf, Gudrun Schwarzer, Arnold Lohaus.
  Child Development. June 06, 2017
  The development of self‐regulation has been studied primarily in Western middle‐class contexts and has, therefore, neglected what is known about culturally varying self‐concepts and socialization strategies. The research reported here compared the self‐regulatory competencies of German middle‐class (N = 125) and rural Cameroonian Nso preschoolers (N = 76) using the Marshmallow test (Mischel, 2014). Study 1 revealed that 4‐year‐old Nso children showed better delay‐of‐gratification performance than their German peers. Study 2 revealed that culture‐specific maternal socialization goals and interaction behaviors were related to delay‐of‐gratification performance. Nso mothers’ focus on hierarchical relational socialization goals and responsive control seems to support children's delay‐of‐gratification performance more than German middle‐class mothers’ emphasis on psychological autonomous socialization goals and sensitive, child‐centered parenting.

  June 06, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12847   open full text
• When You're Happy and I Know It: Four‐Year‐Olds’ Emotional Perspective Taking During Online Language Comprehension.
  Melanie Khu, Craig Chambers, Susan A. Graham.
  Child Development. June 05, 2017
  Using a novel emotional perspective‐taking task, this study investigated 4‐year‐olds’ (n = 97) use of a speaker's emotional prosody to make inferences about the speaker's emotional state and, correspondingly, their communicative intent. Eye gaze measures indicated preschoolers used emotional perspective inferences to guide their real‐time interpretation of ambiguous statements. However, these sensitivities were less apparent in overt responses, suggesting preschoolers’ ability to integrate emotional perspective cues is at an emergent state. Perspective taking during online language processing was positively correlated with receptive vocabulary and an offline measure of emotional perspective taking, but not with cognitive perspective taking, conflict or delay inhibitory control, or working memory. Together, the results underscore how children's emerging communicative competence involves different kinds of perspective inferences with distinct cognitive underpinnings.

  June 05, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12855   open full text
• Longitudinal Associations Among Reading‐Related Skills and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study.
  Florina Erbeli, Sara A. Hart, Jeanette Taylor.
  Child Development. June 01, 2017
  This study investigated the etiology of longitudinal relations among kindergarten prereading skills, first‐grade word level reading skills, and seventh‐grade reading comprehension in 265 monozygotic and 459 dizygotic twin pairs (Mage = 6.29 years in kindergarten) from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. Using a quadvariate Cholesky decomposition, results showed genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental overlap among prereading skills, word level reading skills, and reading comprehension. In addition, genetic and shared environmental overlap was indicated among word level reading skills and reading comprehension, outside the influence of prereading skills. After accounting for overlapping, there remained moderate genetic and nonshared environmental influence specific to reading comprehension. Implications for reading education are discussed.

  June 01, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12853   open full text
• The Role of Speaker Knowledge in Children's Pragmatic Inferences.
  Anna Papafragou, Carlyn Friedberg, Matthew L. Cohen.
  Child Development. June 01, 2017
  --- - |2 During communication, conversational partners should offer as much information as is required and relevant. For instance, the statement “Some Xs Y” is infelicitous if one knows that all Xs Y. Do children understand the link between speaker knowledge and utterance strength? In Experiment 1, 5‐year‐olds (N = 32) but not 4‐year‐olds (N = 32) reliably connected statements of different logical strength (e.g., “The girl colored all/some of the star”) to observers who were fully or partially informed. Four‐year‐olds’ performance improved when observer knowledge could be assessed more easily (Experiment 2a, N = 25) but remained the same in a nonlinguistic version of Experiment 1 that preserved the epistemic requirements of the original study (Experiment 2b, N = 26). These findings have implications for the development of early communicative abilities. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1642-1656, September/October 2018.
  

  June 01, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12841   open full text
• Attachment Security and Developmental Patterns of Growth in Executive Functioning During Early Elementary School.
  Célia Matte‐Gagné, Annie Bernier, Marie‐Soleil Sirois, Gabrielle Lalonde, Sarah Hertz.
  Child Development. May 29, 2017
  Despite the extensive research demonstrating the importance of child executive functioning (EF) for school adjustment, little longitudinal work has formally examined developmental change in EF during the early school years. Based on a sample of 106 mother–child dyads, the current longitudinal study investigated patterns of growth in child performance on three executive tasks between kindergarten (Mage = 6 years) and Grade 3 (Mage = 9 years), and the predictive role of earlier mother–child attachment security in these patterns. The results suggest that early elementary school is a period of significant developmental improvement in child EF, although child performance on different EF tasks follows distinct trajectories across time. The study also provides evidence for a sustained relation between children's early attachment security and their ongoing acquisition of executive skills.

  May 29, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12807   open full text
• Bilingual Infants Demonstrate Advantages in Learning Words in a Third Language.
  Leher Singh.
  Child Development. May 29, 2017
  Prior research suggests that bilingualism may endow infants with greater phonological flexibility. This study investigated whether this flexibility facilitates word learning in additional languages (n = 96). Experiment 1 compared 18‐ to 20‐month‐old monolingual (English) and bilingual (English/Mandarin) infants on their ability to learn words distinguished by click consonants from a Southern African language, Ndebele. English–Mandarin bilingual infants were sensitive to Ndebele click contrasts, but monolingual English infants were not. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we investigated whether enhanced bilingual sensitivity extended to analogous nonlinguistic labels: hand claps and finger snaps. Although discriminated by infants, neither group distinguished words labeled by hand claps and finger snaps. Results suggest that bilingual infants' sustained openness to non native contrast may facilitate the uptake of words in distant languages.

  May 29, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12852   open full text
• Developmental Cascade and Transactional Associations Among Biological and Behavioral Indicators of Temperament and Maternal Behavior.
  Nicole B. Perry, Jessica M. Dollar, Susan D. Calkins, Martha Ann Bell.
  Child Development. May 26, 2017
  --- - |2 An empirical model of temperament that assessed transactional and cascade associations between respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), negative affectivity, and the caregiving environment (i.e., maternal intrusiveness) across three time points during infancy (N = 388) was examined. Negative affectivity at 5 months was associated positively with maternal intrusiveness at 10 months, which in turn predicted increased negative affectivity at 24 months. RSA at 5 months was associated positively with negative affectivity at 10 months, which subsequently predicted greater RSA at 24 months. Finally, greater RSA at 5 months predicted greater negative affectivity at 10 months, which in turn predicted greater maternal intrusiveness at 24 months. Results are discussed from a biopsychosocial perspective of development. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1735-1751, September/October 2018.
  

  May 26, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12842   open full text
• “American = English Speaker” Before “American = White”: The Development of Children's Reasoning About Nationality.
  Jasmine M. DeJesus, Hyesung G. Hwang, Jocelyn B. Dautel, Katherine D. Kinzler.
  Child Development. May 24, 2017
  --- - |2 Adults implicitly judge people from certain social backgrounds as more “American” than others. This study tests the development of children's reasoning about nationality and social categories. Children across cultures (White and Korean American children in the United States, Korean children in South Korea) judged the nationality of individuals varying in race and language. Across cultures, 5‐ to 6‐year‐old children (N = 100) categorized English speakers as “American” and Korean speakers as “Korean” regardless of race, suggesting that young children prioritize language over race when thinking about nationality. Nine‐ and 10‐year‐olds (N = 181) attended to language and race and their nationality judgments varied across cultures. These results suggest that associations between nationality and social category membership emerge early in life and are shaped by cultural context. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1752-1767, September/October 2018.
  

  May 24, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12845   open full text
• Positive Affectivity and Fear Trajectories in Infancy: Contributions of Mother–Child Interaction Factors.
  Maria A. Gartstein, Gregory R. Hancock, Sydney L. Iverson.
  Child Development. May 24, 2017
  --- - |2 Fear and positive emotionality were considered in a growth modeling context. Mothers, primarily Caucasian (91.9%) and of middle socioeconomic status, participated in play interactions with infants at 4 months (N = 148). Infant fear and positive affectivity were evaluated at 6, 8, 10, and 12 months of age. A linear trajectory was superior in explaining growth for parent report and observation‐based indicators of positive affectivity and parent report of fearfulness; a piecewise model explained the nonlinear growth of observation‐based fear. Responsiveness in mother–infant interactions emerged as a significant predictor of the fear trajectory, with higher sensitivity predicting lower levels of observed fear. Reciprocity, tempo, emotional tone, and intensity of mother–infant interactions also made significant contributions to temperament development; however, analyses addressing these were exploratory. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1519-1534, September/October 2018.
  

  May 24, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12843   open full text
• Order Matters: Children's Evaluation of Underinformative Teachers Depends on Context.
  Hyowon Gweon, Mika Asaba.
  Child Development. May 22, 2017
  The ability to evaluate “sins of omission”—true but pragmatically misleading, underinformative pedagogy—is critical for learning. This study reveals a developmental change in children's evaluation of underinformative teachers and investigates the nature of their limitations. Participants rated a fully informative teacher and an underinformative teacher in two different orders. Six‐ and 7‐year‐olds (N = 28) successfully distinguished the teachers regardless of the order (Experiment 1), whereas 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds (N = 82) succeeded only when the fully informative teacher came first (Experiments 2 and 3). After seeing both teachers, 4‐year‐olds (N = 32) successfully preferred the fully informative teacher (Experiment 4). These results are discussed in light of developmental work in pragmatic implicature, suggesting that young children might struggle with spontaneously generating relevant alternatives for evaluating underinformative pedagogy.

  May 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12825   open full text
• Using a Group‐Centered Approach to Observe Interactions in Early Childhood Education.
  Saskia D. M. Schaik, Paul P. M. Leseman, Mariëtte Haan.
  Child Development. May 19, 2017
  This study examined the value of using a group‐centered approach to evaluate process quality of early childhood education and care (ECEC). Is observed support of group processes a different aspect of classroom quality, and does it predict children's collaborative play in ECEC in the Netherlands? In two play situations, 37 teachers and 120 two‐ to four‐year‐old children were observed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Toddler and two new measures. In a two‐level structural equation model, teachers’ support of group processes was positively related to the CLASS domains and to children's collaborative play, over and above the effect of children's cognitive ability and social competence. These findings suggest that ECEC quality evaluation could be enriched by adding group‐centered indicators of classroom quality.

  May 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12814   open full text
• Mutual Gaze During Early Mother–Infant Interactions Promotes Attention Control Development.
  Alicja Niedźwiecka, Sonia Ramotowska, Przemysław Tomalski.
  Child Development. May 16, 2017
  Efficient attention control is fundamental for infant cognitive development, but its early precursors are not well understood. This study investigated whether dyadic visual attention during parent–infant interactions at 5 months of age predicts the ability to control attention at 11 months of age (N = 55). Total duration of mutual gaze (MG) was assessed during free play at 5 months, while infant attention control was measured in a gap‐and‐overlap task at 5 and 11 months. MG predicted attention disengagement at 11 months. Infants who spent more time in MG at 5 months showed better attention control at 11 months. These results provide important insights into developmental pathways linking visual behavior in dyadic interactions with infants’ subsequent attention skills.

  May 16, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12830   open full text
• Unpacking the Ontogeny of Gesture Understanding: How Movement Becomes Meaningful Across Development.
  Elizabeth M. Wakefield, Miriam A. Novack, Susan Goldin‐Meadow.
  Child Development. May 15, 2017
  Gestures, hand movements that accompany speech, affect children's learning, memory, and thinking (e.g., Goldin‐Meadow, 2003). However, it remains unknown how children distinguish gestures from other kinds of actions. In this study, 4‐ to 9‐year‐olds (n = 339) and adults (n = 50) described one of three scenes: (a) an actor moving objects, (b) an actor moving her hands in the presence of objects (but not touching them), or (c) an actor moving her hands in the absence of objects. Participants across all ages were equally able to identify actions on objects as goal directed, but the ability to identify empty‐handed movements as representational actions (i.e., as gestures) increased with age and was influenced by the presence of objects, especially in older children.

  May 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12817   open full text
• Three‐Year‐Olds’ Reactions to a Partner's Failure to Perform Her Role in a Joint Commitment.
  Ulrike Kachel, Margarita Svetlova, Michael Tomasello.
  Child Development. May 15, 2017
  --- - |2 When children make a joint commitment to collaborate, obligations are created. Pairs of 3‐year‐old children (N = 144) made a joint commitment to play a game. In three different conditions the game was interrupted in the middle either because: (a) the partner child intentionally defected, (b) the partner child was ignorant about how to play, or (c) the apparatus broke. The subject child reacted differently in the three cases, protesting normatively against defection (with emotional arousal and later tattling), teaching when the partner seemed to be ignorant, or simply blaming the apparatus when it broke. These results suggest that 3‐year‐old children are competent in making appropriate normative evaluations of intentions and obligations of collaborative partners. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1691-1703, September/October 2018.
  

  May 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12816   open full text
• The Development and Correlates of Gender Role Orientations in African‐American Youth.
  Olivenne D. Skinner, Susan M. McHale.
  Child Development. May 05, 2017
  --- - |2 This study charted the development of gendered personality qualities, activity interests, and attitudes across adolescence (approximately ages 9–18) among 319 African‐American youth from 166 families. The relations between daily time spent with father, mother, and male and female peers—the gendered contexts of youth's daily activities—and (changes in) these gender role orientations were also assessed. Boys and girls differed in their gender role orientations in stereotypical ways: interest in masculine and feminine activities, and attitude traditionality generally declined, but instrumentality increased across adolescence and expressivity first increased and later decreased. Some gender differences and variations in change were conditioned by time spent with same‐ and other‐sex gender parents and peers. The most consistent pattern was time with male peers predicting boys' stereotypical characteristics. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1704-1719, September/October 2018.
  

  May 05, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12828   open full text
• The Sensitive Period for Tactile Remapping Does Not Include Early Infancy.
  Elena Azañón, Karla Camacho, Marta Morales, Matthew R. Longo.
  Child Development. April 28, 2017
  Visual input during development seems crucial in tactile spatial perception, given that late, but not congenitally, blind people are impaired when skin‐based and tactile external representations are in conflict (when crossing the limbs). To test whether there is a sensitive period during which visual input is necessary, 14 children (age = 7.95) and a teenager (LM; age = 17.38) deprived of early vision by cataracts, and whose sight was restored during the first 5 months and at age 7, respectively, were tested. Tactile localization with arms crossed and uncrossed was measured. Children showed a crossing effect indistinguishable from a control group (Ns = 28, age = 8.24), whereas LM showed no crossing effect (Ns controls = 14, age = 20.78). This demonstrates a sensitive period which, critically, does not include early infancy.

  April 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12813   open full text
• Caregiver Talk and Medical Risk as Predictors of Language Outcomes in Full Term and Preterm Toddlers.
  Katherine A. Adams, Virginia A. Marchman, Elizabeth C. Loi, Melanie D. Ashland, Anne Fernald, Heidi M. Feldman.
  Child Development. April 28, 2017
  --- - |2 This study examined associations between caregiver talk and language skills in full term (FT) and preterm (PT) children (n = 97). All‐day recordings of caregiver–child interactions revealed striking similarities in amount of caregiver talk heard by FT and PT children. Children who heard more caregiver talk at 16 months demonstrated better knowledge‐ and processing‐based language skills at 18 months. The unique contributions of caregiver talk were tempered by medical risk in PT children, especially for processing speed. However, there was no evidence that birth status or medical risk moderated the effects of caregiver talk. These findings highlight the role of caregiver talk in shaping language outcomes in FT and PT children and offer insights into links between neurodevelopmental risk and caregiver–child engagement. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1674-1690, September/October 2018.
  

  April 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12818   open full text
• Different Tales: The Role of Gender in the Oral Narrative–Reading Link Among African American Children.
  Nicole Gardner‐Neblett, John Sideris.
  Child Development. April 28, 2017
  Evidence suggests that oral narrative skills are a linguistic strength for African American children, yet few studies have examined how these skills are associated with reading for African American boys and girls. The current study uses longitudinal data of a sample of 72 African American 4‐year‐olds to examine how preschool oral narrative skills predict reading from first through sixth grades and explores differences by gender. Findings indicate that although girls demonstrated stronger narrative skills, their narrative skills did not moderate change in reading. For boys, narrative skills moderated change in reading over time such that as preschool narrative skills increased, their reading scores showed greater change over time. Educational implications and directions for future research are discussed.

  April 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12803   open full text
• Gender Development in Transgender Preschool Children.
  Anne A. Fast, Kristina R. Olson.
  Child Development. April 25, 2017
  An increasing number of transgender children—those who express a gender identity that is “opposite” their natal sex—are socially transitioning, or presenting as their gender identity in everyday life. This study asks whether these children differ from gender‐typical peers on basic gender development tasks. Three‐ to 5‐year‐old socially transitioned transgender children (n = 36) did not differ from controls matched on age and expressed gender (n = 36), or siblings of transgender and gender nonconforming children (n = 24) on gender preference, behavior, and belief measures. However, transgender children were less likely than both control groups to believe that their gender at birth matches their current gender, whereas both transgender children and siblings were less likely than controls to believe that other people's gender is stable.

  April 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12758   open full text
• Emotional Feeding and Emotional Eating: Reciprocal Processes and the Influence of Negative Affectivity.
  Silje Steinsbekk, Edward D. Barker, Clare Llewellyn, Alison Fildes, Lars Wichstrøm.
  Child Development. April 25, 2017
  Emotional eating, that is, eating more in response to negative mood, is often seen in children. But the origins of emotional eating remain unclear. In a representative community sample of Norwegian 4‐year‐olds followed up at ages 6, 8, and 10 years (analysis sample: n = 801), one potential developmental pathway was examined: a reciprocal relation between parental emotional feeding and child emotional eating. The results revealed that higher levels of emotional feeding predicted higher levels of emotional eating and vice versa, adjusting for body mass index and initial levels of feeding and eating. Higher levels of temperamental negative affectivity (at age 4) increased the risk for future emotional eating and feeding.

  April 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12756   open full text
• The Home Environment Shapes Emotional Eating.
  Moritz Herle, Alison Fildes, Frühling Rijsdijk, Silje Steinsbekk, Clare Llewellyn.
  Child Development. April 25, 2017
  Emotional overeating (EOE) is the tendency to eat more in response to negative emotions; its etiology in early life is unknown. We established the relative genetic and environmental influences on EOE in toddlerhood and early childhood. Data were from Gemini, a population‐based cohort of 2,402 British twins born in 2007. EOE was measured using the “emotional overeating” scale of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) at 16 months and 5 years. A longitudinal quantitative genetic model established that genetic influences on EOE were minimal; on the other hand, shared environmental influences explained most of the variance. EOE was moderately stable from 16 months to 5 years and continuing environmental factors shared by twin pairs at both ages explained the longitudinal association.

  April 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12799   open full text
• Feel American, Watch American, Eat American? Remote Acculturation, TV, and Nutrition Among Adolescent–Mother Dyads in Jamaica.
  Gail M. Ferguson, Henna Muzaffar, Maria I. Iturbide, Hui Chu, Julie Meeks Gardner.
  Child Development. April 25, 2017
  Globalization prompts remote acculturation toward U.S. culture in Jamaica; this study used a bioecological systems approach to examine its proximal impact on nutrition through U.S. cable TV consumption, and maternal influences in the home. Overall, 330 randomly selected adolescent–mother dyads from schools in Kingston, Jamaica (Madolescent_age = 13.8 years, SDadolescent_age = 1.8) completed questionnaires reporting American identity and behavioral preferences, daily time spent watching U.S.‐produced TV programs, and frequency of eating unhealthy foods. Actor–partner interdependence models revealed that girls’ American identity/behavior directly predicted their unhealthy eating, whereas girls’ mothers and boys’ American identity/behavior indirectly predicted unhealthy eating as mediated by their U.S. TV hours. Additionally, mothers’ American identity/behavior predicted daughters’ unhealthy eating as mediated by mothers’ U.S. TV hours. Remote acculturation theory may facilitate more targeted research and prevention/intervention.

  April 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12808   open full text
• Training Basic Visual Attention Leads to Changes in Responsiveness to Social‐Communicative Cues in 9‐Month‐Olds.
  Linda Forssman, Sam V. Wass.
  Child Development. April 24, 2017
  This study investigated transfer effects of gaze‐interactive attention training to more complex social and cognitive skills in infancy. Seventy 9‐month‐olds were assigned to a training group (n = 35) or an active control group (n = 35). Before, after, and at 6‐week follow‐up both groups completed an assessment battery assessing transfer to nontrained aspects of attention control, including table top tasks assessing social attention in seminaturalistic contexts. Transfer effects were found on nontrained screen‐based tasks but importantly also on a structured observation task assessing the infants’ likelihood to respond to an adult's social‐communication cues. The results causally link basic attention skills and more complex social‐communicative skills and provide a principle for studying causal mechanisms of early development.

  April 24, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12812   open full text
• From Autonomy to Divinity: The Cultural Socialization of Moral Reasoning in an Evangelical Christian Community.
  Allison DiBianca Fasoli.
  Child Development. April 17, 2017
  --- - |2 This study examined moral reasoning in parent–child conversations within a U.S. evangelical Christian community. The goal was to identify social‐communicative processes that may promote the development of Divinity in children's moral reasoning. Sixteen parent–child dyads (6–9 years old) discussed hypothetical moral vignettes about failures to help peers in need. Analyses revealed that Divinity typically co‐occurred with Autonomy in these conversations and that such co‐occurrences typically happened through three distinct social‐communicative processes, labeled “align,” “scaffold,” and “counter.” Findings are used to explain the shifting priority of Autonomy and Divinity over the life course among members of evangelical Christian faiths that previous research has documented. More broadly, findings highlight socialization processes through which children can rationalize their developing moral outlooks in culturally distinct ways. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1657-1673, September/October 2018.
  

  April 17, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12811   open full text
• Changes in the Relation Between Competence Beliefs and Achievement in Math Across Elementary School Years.
  Anne F. Weidinger, Ricarda Steinmayr, Birgit Spinath.
  Child Development. April 17, 2017
  Math competence beliefs and achievement are important outcomes of school‐based learning. Previous studies yielded inconsistent results on whether skill development, self‐enhancement, or reciprocal effects account for the interplay among them. A development‐related change in the direction of their relation in the early school years might explain the inconsistency. To test this, 542 German elementary school students (M = 7.95 years, SD = 0.58) were repeatedly investigated over 24 months from Grade 2 to Grade 4. Math competence beliefs declined and had a growing influence on subsequent math grades. This suggests changes in the dominant direction of the relation from a skill development to a reciprocal effects model during elementary school. Findings are discussed with regard to their theoretical and practical implications.

  April 17, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12806   open full text
• The Role of Family Characteristics for Students’ Academic Outcomes: A Person‐Centered Approach.
  Isabelle Häfner, Barbara Flunger, Anna‐Lena Dicke, Hanna Gaspard, Brigitte M. Brisson, Benjamin Nagengast, Ulrich Trautwein.
  Child Development. April 17, 2017
  Using data from 1,571 ninth‐grade students (Mage = 14.62) from 82 academic track schools in Germany and their predominantly Caucasian middle‐class parents, configurations of different family characteristics reported by parents were investigated. Latent profile analyses considering academic involvement, family interest, parents’ self‐concept, child's need for support, and parents’ time and energy identified average, indifferent, motivated and engaged, motivated and disengaged, and involved families. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations with students’ motivational (self‐concept, effort, and interest) and achievement outcomes (achievement test and grades) in math were analyzed. Students from families classified as motivated and disengaged showed higher initial levels motivation and achievement. Over 5 months, these students also showed an increase in self‐concept and higher achievement than students from other family types.

  April 17, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12809   open full text
• Understanding the Transfer Deficit: Contextual Mismatch, Proactive Interference, and Working Memory Affect Toddlers’ Video‐Based Transfer.
  Koeun Choi, Heather L. Kirkorian, Tiffany A. Pempek.
  Child Development. April 17, 2017
  Researchers tested the impact of contextual mismatch, proactive interference, and working memory (WM) on toddlers’ transfer across contexts. Forty‐two toddlers (27–34 months) completed four object‐retrieval trials, requiring memory updating on Trials 2–4. Participants watched hiding events on a tablet computer. Search performance was tested using another tablet (match) or a felt board (mismatch). WM was assessed. On earlier search trials, WM predicted transfer in both conditions, and toddlers in the match condition outperformed those in the mismatch condition; however, the benefit of contextual match and WM decreased over trials. Contextual match apparently increased proactive interference on later trials. Findings are interpreted within existing accounts of the transfer deficit, and a combined account is proposed.

  April 17, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12810   open full text
• Willing to Think Hard? The Subjective Value of Cognitive Effort in Children.
  Nicolas Chevalier.
  Child Development. April 11, 2017
  Cognitive effort is costly and this cost likely influences the activities in which children engage. Yet, little is known about how school‐age children perceive cognitive effort. The subjective value of cognitive effort, that is, how valuable or costly effort is perceived, was investigated in seventy‐three 7‐ to 12‐year‐olds using an effort discounting paradigm. In two studies, it varied with task difficulty but not age, was predicted by actual effort engagement but not actual success and related to trait interest in effortful activities and proactive control engagement. Children are sensitive to cognitive effort and use it to guide behaviors, suggesting that poor performance may often reflect reluctance to engage cognitive effort rather than low ability.

  April 11, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12805   open full text
• Infants Rely More on Gaze Cues From Own‐Race Than Other‐Race Adults for Learning Under Uncertainty.
  Naiqi G. Xiao, Rachel Wu, Paul C. Quinn, Shaoying Liu, Kristen S. Tummeltshammer, Natasha Z. Kirkham, Liezhong Ge, Olivier Pascalis, Kang Lee.
  Child Development. April 10, 2017
  Differential experience leads infants to have perceptual processing advantages for own‐ over other‐race faces, but whether this experience has downstream consequences is unknown. Three experiments examined whether 7‐month‐olds (range = 5.9–8.5 months; N = 96) use gaze from own‐ versus other‐race adults to anticipate events. When gaze predicted an event's occurrence with 100% reliability, 7‐month‐olds followed both adults equally; with 25% (chance) reliability, neither was followed. However, with 50% (uncertain) reliability, infants followed own‐ over other‐race gaze. Differential face race experience may thus affect how infants use social cues from own‐ versus other‐race adults for learning. Such findings suggest that infants integrate online statistical reliability information with prior knowledge of own versus other race to guide social interaction and learning.

  April 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12798   open full text
• Prenatal Risk and Infant Regulation: Indirect Pathways via Fetal Growth and Maternal Prenatal Stress and Anger.
  Pamela Schuetze, Rina D. Eiden, Craig R. Colder, Marilyn A. Huestis, Kenneth E. Leonard.
  Child Development. April 06, 2017
  Pathways from maternal tobacco, marijuana, stress, and anger in pregnancy to infant reactivity and regulation (RR) at 9 months of infant age were examined in a low‐income, diverse sample beginning in the first trimester of pregnancy, with fetal growth and postnatal stress/anger as potential mediators, and infant sex as a moderator. Participants were 247 dyads (173 substance‐exposed infants). There were no direct effects of prenatal risk on RR and no moderation by sex. However, there were significant indirect effects on RR via poor fetal growth and higher postnatal anger. The study adds to the sparse literature on joint effects of tobacco and marijuana, and highlights the role of fetal growth and maternal anger as important pathways from prenatal risk to infant RR.

  April 06, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12801   open full text
• Early Maternal Employment and Children's Vocabulary and Inductive Reasoning Ability: A Dynamic Approach.
  Michael Kühhirt, Markus Klein.
  Child Development. April 06, 2017
  This study investigates the relationship between early maternal employment history and children's vocabulary and inductive reasoning ability at age 5, drawing on longitudinal information on 2,200 children from the Growing Up in Scotland data. Prior research rarely addresses dynamics in maternal employment and the methodological ramifications of time‐variant confounding. The present study proposes various measures to capture duration, timing, and stability of early maternal employment and uses inverse probability of treatment weighting to control for time‐variant confounders that may partially mediate the effect of maternal employment on cognitive scores. The findings suggest only modest differences in the above ability measures between children who have been exposed to very different patterns of eary maternal employment, but with similar observed covariate history.

  April 06, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12796   open full text
• The Early Construction of Spatial Attention: Culture, Space, and Gesture in Parent–Child Interactions.
  Koleen McCrink, Christina Caldera, Samuel Shaki.
  Child Development. April 05, 2017
  American and Israeli toddler–caregiver dyads (mean age of toddler = 26 months) were presented with naturalistic tasks in which they must watch a short video (N = 97) or concoct a visual story together (N = 66). English‐speaking American caregivers were more likely to use left to right spatial structuring than right to left, especially for well‐ordered letters and numbers. Hebrew‐speaking Israeli parents were more likely than Americans to use right to left spatial structuring, especially for letters. When constructing a pictorial narrative for their children, Americans were more likely to place pictures from left to right than Israelis. These spatial structure biases exhibited by caregivers are a potential route for the development of spatial biases in early childhood, before children have developed automatic reading and writing habits.

  April 05, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12781   open full text
• Accent, Language, and Race: 4–6‐Year‐Old Children's Inferences Differ by Speaker Cue.
  Drew Weatherhead, Ori Friedman, Katherine S. White.
  Child Development. April 05, 2017
  --- - |2 Three experiments examined 4‐ to 6‐year‐olds' use of potential cues to geographic background. In Experiment 1 (N = 72), 4‐ to 5‐year‐olds used a speaker's foreign accent to infer that they currently live far away, but 6‐year‐olds did not. In Experiment 2 (N = 72), children at all ages used accent to infer where a speaker was born. In both experiments, race played some role in children's geographic inferences. Finally, in Experiment 3 (N = 48), 6‐year‐olds used language to infer both where a speaker was born and where they currently live. These findings reveal critical differences across development in the ways that speaker characteristics are used as inferential cues to a speaker's geographic location and history. - Child Development, Volume 89, Issue 5, Page 1613-1624, September/October 2018.
  

  April 05, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12797   open full text
• Cortisol in Neonatal Mother's Milk Predicts Later Infant Social and Cognitive Functioning in Rhesus Monkeys.
  Amanda M. Dettmer, Ashley M. Murphy, Denisse Guitarra, Emily Slonecker, Stephen J. Suomi, Kendra L. Rosenberg, Melinda A. Novak, Jerrold S. Meyer, Katie Hinde.
  Child Development. March 29, 2017
  Milk provides not only the building blocks for somatic development but also the hormonal signals that contribute to the biopsychological organization of the infant. Among mammals, glucocorticoids (GCs) in mother's milk have been associated with infant temperament. This study extended prior work to investigate rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) mother–infant dyads (N = 34) from birth through 8 months postpartum. Regression analysis revealed that cortisol concentrations in milk during the neonatal period predicted impulsivity on a cognitive task, but not global social behaviors, months later. During this time period, sex‐differentiated social behavior emerged. For female infants, milk cortisol concentrations predicted total frequency of play. Collectively, these findings support and extend the “lactational programming” hypothesis on the impact of maternal‐origin hormones ingested via milk.

  March 29, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12783   open full text
• Family Instability and Young Children's School Adjustment: Callousness and Negative Internal Representations as Mediators.
  Jesse L. Coe, Patrick T. Davies, Melissa L. Sturge‐Apple.
  Child Development. March 28, 2017
  This study examined the mediating roles of children's callousness and negative internal representations of family relationships in associations between family instability and children's adjustment to school in early childhood. Participants in this multimethod (i.e., survey, observations), multiinformant (i.e., parent, teacher, observer), longitudinal study included 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.60 years) and their families. Findings from the lagged, autoregressive tests of the mediational paths indicated that both children's callousness and negative internal representations of family relationships mediated longitudinal associations between family instability and children's school adjustment problems over a 2‐year period (i.e., the transition from preschool to first grade). Findings are discussed in relation to the attenuation hypothesis (E. J. Susman, 2006) and emotional security theory (EST; P. T. Davies, M. A. Winter, & D. Cicchetti, 2006).

  March 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12793   open full text
• Predicting Adolescents’ Bullying Participation from Developmental Trajectories of Social Status and Behavior.
  J. Loes Pouwels, Christina Salmivalli, Silja Saarento, Yvonne H. M. Berg, Tessa A. M. Lansu, Antonius H. N. Cillessen.
  Child Development. March 28, 2017
  The aim of this study was to determine how trajectory clusters of social status (social preference and perceived popularity) and behavior (direct aggression and prosocial behavior) from age 9 to age 14 predicted adolescents’ bullying participant roles at age 16 and 17 (n = 266). Clusters were identified with multivariate growth mixture modeling (GMM). The findings showed that participants’ developmental trajectories of social status and social behavior across childhood and early adolescence predicted their bullying participant role involvement in adolescence. Practical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

  March 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12794   open full text
• High School Dropout in Proximal Context: The Triggering Role of Stressful Life Events.
  Véronique Dupéré, Eric Dion, Tama Leventhal, Isabelle Archambault, Robert Crosnoe, Michel Janosz.
  Child Development. March 28, 2017
  Adolescents who drop out of high school experience enduring negative consequences across many domains. Yet, the circumstances triggering their departure are poorly understood. This study examined the precipitating role of recent psychosocial stressors by comparing three groups of Canadian high school students (52% boys; Mage = 16.3 years; N = 545): recent dropouts, matched at‐risk students who remain in school, and average students. Results indicate that in comparison with the two other groups, dropouts were over three times more likely to have experienced recent acute stressors rated as severe by independent coders. These stressors occurred across a variety of domains. Considering the circumstances in which youth decide to drop out has implications for future research and for policy and practice.

  March 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12792   open full text
• Contrasting Social and Cognitive Accounts on Overimitation: The Role of Causal Transparency and Prior Experiences.
  Hanna Schleihauf, Sabine Graetz, Sabina Pauen, Stefanie Hoehl.
  Child Development. March 23, 2017
  Three experiments (N = 100) examine the influence of causal information on overimitation. In Experiment 1, a transparent reward location reveals that the reward is unaffected by nonfunctional actions. When 5‐year‐olds observe an inefficient and subsequently an efficient strategy to retrieve a reward, they show overimitation in both phases—even though the reward is visible. In Experiment 2, children observe first the efficient then the inefficient strategy. The latter is always demonstrated communicatively, whereas the efficient strategy is presented communicatively (2a) or noncommunicatively (2b). Regardless of whether the efficient strategy is emphasized through communication or not, most children do not switch from the efficient to the inefficient strategy. Depending on the situation, children base their behavior on social motivations or causal information.

  March 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12780   open full text
• Dysregulated Fear, Social Inhibition, and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia: A Replication and Extension.
  Kristin A. Buss, Elizabeth L. Davis, Nilam Ram, Michael Coccia.
  Child Development. March 21, 2017
  Behavioral inhibition indicates increased risk for development of social anxiety. Recent work has identified a pattern of dysregulated fear (DF), characterized by high fear in low‐threat situations, that provides a more precise marker of developmental risk through early childhood. This study tested a new longitudinal sample of children (n = 124) from ages 24 to 48 months. Replicating prior findings, at 24 months, we identified a pattern of fearful behavior across contexts marked by higher fear to putatively low‐threat situations. DF was associated with higher parental report of social inhibition at 24, 36, and 48 months. Extending prior findings, we observed differences in cardiac physiology during fear‐eliciting situations, suggesting that the neurobiological underpinnings of DF relate to difficulty with regulation.

  March 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12774   open full text
• Encouraging Maternal Guidance of Preschoolers’ Spatial Thinking During Block Play.
  Giulia A. Borriello, Lynn S. Liben.
  Child Development. March 13, 2017
  Spatial thinking, an important component of cognition, supports academic achievement and daily activities (e.g., learning science and math; using maps). Better spatial skills are correlated with more spatial play and more parental attention to spatial concepts. Tested here was whether informing mothers about spatial thinking and ways to encourage it would increase the spatial guidance they provide to their preschool children (N = 41; M = 5.23 years) during dyadic block play. Mothers given such instructions indeed produced more spatial language and spatial guidance than mothers asked to play as usual. In instructed dyads, children also used more spatial language; both mothers and children engaged in less pretend play. Findings offer support for designing interventions to encourage parents to foster their children's spatial skills.

  March 13, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12779   open full text
• Peer Problems and Hyperactivity–Impulsivity Among Norwegian and American Children: The Role of 5‐HTTLPR.
  Frode Stenseng, Zhi Li, Jay Belsky, Beate W. Hygen, Vera Skalicka, Ismail C. Guzey, Lars Wichstrøm.
  Child Development. March 10, 2017
  Peer problems are linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and the serotonin system is thought to be involved in ADHD‐related behavior. Hence, from a Gene × Environment perspective, the serotonin transporter 5‐HTTLPR may play a moderating role. In two large community samples, the moderating role of 5‐HTTLPR was examined related to more hyperactivity–impulsivity symptoms (HI symptoms) predicted by more peer problems. In Study 1, involving 642 Norwegian children, results indicated that for s‐allele carriers only, caregiver‐reported peer problems at age 4 predicted more parent‐reported HI symptoms at age 6. In Study 2, similar results emerged involving 482 American children. Discussion focuses on differential sensitivity to the adverse effects of poor peer relations.

  March 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12766   open full text
• Mother–Child Attachment From Infancy to the Preschool Years: Predicting Security and Stability.
  Elizabeth Meins, Jean‐François Bureau, Charles Fernyhough.
  Child Development. March 10, 2017
  Relations between maternal mind‐mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind‐related comments), children's age‐2 perspective‐taking abilities, and attachment security at 44 (n = 165) and 51 (n = 128) months were investigated. Nonattuned comments predicted insecure preschool attachment, via insecure 15‐month attachment security (44‐month attachment) and poorer age‐2 perspective‐taking abilities (51‐month attachment). With regard to attachment stability, higher perspective‐taking abilities distinguished the stable secure groups from (a) the stable insecure groups and (b) children who changed from secure to insecure (at trend level). These effects were independent of child gender, stressful life events, and socioeconomic status (SES). The contribution of these findings to our understanding of stability and change in attachment security from infancy to the preschool years is discussed.

  March 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12778   open full text
• Preschoolers’ Understanding of How Others Learn Through Action and Instruction.
  David M. Sobel, Susan M. Letourneau.
  Child Development. March 10, 2017
  It is widely believed that exploration is a mechanism for young children's learning. The present investigation examines preschoolers’ beliefs about how learning occurs. We asked 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds to articulate how characters in a set of stories learned about a new toy. Younger preschoolers were more likely to overemphasize the role of characters’ actions in learning than older children were (Experiment 1, N = 53). Overall performance improved when the stories explicitly stated that characters were originally ignorant and clarified the characters’ actions, but general developmental trends remained (Experiment 2, N = 48). These data suggest that explicit metacognitive understanding of the relation between actions and learning is developing during the preschool years, which might have implications for how children learn from exploration.

  March 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12773   open full text
• Gaze‐Contingent Display Changes as New Window on Analytical and Holistic Face Perception in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.
  Kris Evers, Goedele Van Belle, Jean Steyaert, Ilse Noens, Johan Wagemans.
  Child Development. March 10, 2017
  The strength of holistic face perception in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was evaluated by applying the gaze‐contingent mask and window technique to a face matching and discrimination task in 6‐ to 14‐year‐old children with (n = 36) and without ASD (n = 47), and by examining fixation patterns. Behavioral results suggested a slower and less efficient face processing in the ASD sample compared with the matched control group. Comparing the moving mask and window conditions revealed a reduced holistic face processing bias in the younger age group but not in the older sample. Preferential viewing patterns revealed both similarities and differences between both participant groups.

  March 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12776   open full text
• Naturalistic Language Recordings Reveal “Hypervocal” Infants at High Familial Risk for Autism.
  Meghan R. Swanson, Mark D. Shen, Jason J. Wolff, Brian Boyd, Mark Clements, James Rehg, Jed T. Elison, Sarah Paterson, Julia Parish‐Morris, J. Chad Chappell, Heather C. Hazlett, Robert W. Emerson, Kelly Botteron, Juhi Pandey, Robert T. Schultz, Stephen R. Dager, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Annette M. Estes, Joseph Piven,.
  Child Development. March 10, 2017
  Children's early language environments are related to later development. Little is known about this association in siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who often experience language delays or have ASD. Fifty‐nine 9‐month‐old infants at high or low familial risk for ASD contributed full‐day in‐home language recordings. High‐risk infants produced more vocalizations than low‐risk peers; conversational turns and adult words did not differ by group. Vocalization differences were driven by a subgroup of “hypervocal” infants. Despite more vocalizations overall, these infants engaged in less social babbling during a standardized clinic assessment, and they experienced fewer conversational turns relative to their rate of vocalizations. Two ways in which these individual and environmental differences may relate to subsequent development are discussed.

  March 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12777   open full text
• Inferring Beliefs and Desires From Emotional Reactions to Anticipated and Observed Events.
  Yang Wu, Laura E. Schulz.
  Child Development. March 08, 2017
  Researchers have long been interested in the relation between emotion understanding and theory of mind. This study investigates a cue to mental states that has rarely been investigated: the dynamics of valenced emotional expressions. When the valence of a character's facial expression was stable between an expected and observed outcome, children (N = 122; M = 5.0 years) recovered the character's desires but did not consistently recover her beliefs. When the valence changed, older but not younger children recovered both the characters’ beliefs and desires. In contrast, adults jointly recovered agents’ beliefs and desires in all conditions. These results suggest that the ability to infer mental states from the dynamics of emotional expressions develops gradually through early and middle childhood.

  March 08, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12759   open full text
• Children's Judgments and Reasoning About Same‐Sex Romantic Relationships.
  Sarah Spence, Charles C. Helwig, Nicole Cosentino.
  Child Development. March 06, 2017
  Children's (5‐, 7‐ to 8‐, and 10‐ to 11‐year‐olds), and adolescents’ (13‐ to 14‐year‐olds) judgments and reasoning about same‐sex romantic relationships were examined (N = 128). Participants’ beliefs about the acceptability and legal regulation of these relationships were assessed, along with their judgments and beliefs about excluding someone because of his or her sexual orientation and the origins of same‐sex attraction. Older participants evaluated same‐sex romantic relationships more positively and used more references to personal choice and justice/discrimination reasoning to support their judgments. Younger participants were less critical of a law prohibiting same‐sex relationships and were more likely to believe it was not acceptable to violate this law. Beliefs about origins of same‐sex attraction showed age‐specific patterns in their associations with evaluations.

  March 06, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12769   open full text
• Urban Middle School Students’ Stereotypes at the Intersection of Sexual Orientation, Ethnicity, and Gender.
  Negin Ghavami, Letitia Anne Peplau.
  Child Development. March 06, 2017
  Heterosexual urban middle school students’ (N = 1,757) stereotypes about gender typicality, intelligence, and aggression were assessed. Students (Mage = 12.36 years) rated Facebook‐like profiles of peers who varied by gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Several hypotheses about how the gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation of target peers intersect to shape stereotypes were tested. As predicted, a peer's sexual orientation determined stereotypes of gender typicality, with gay and lesbian students viewed as most atypical. As expected, ethnicity shaped stereotypes of intelligence, with Asian American students seen as most intelligent. Gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation independently and jointly affected stereotypes of aggression. These results demonstrate the value of an intersectional approach to the study of stereotypes. Implications for future research and practice are offered.

  March 06, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12763   open full text
• Ethnic Socialization in Neighborhood Contexts: Implications for Ethnic Attitude and Identity Development Among Mexican‐Origin Adolescents.
  Rebecca M. B. White, George P. Knight, Michaeline Jensen, Nancy A. Gonzales.
  Child Development. March 02, 2017
  Neighborhood Latino ethnic concentration, above and beyond or in combination with mothers' and fathers' ethnic socialization, may have beneficial implications for minority adolescents' ethnic attitude and identity development. These hypotheses, along with two competing hypotheses, were tested prospectively (from x¯age = 12.79–15.83 years) in a sample of 733 Mexican‐origin adolescents. Neighborhood ethnic concentration had beneficial implications for ethnic identity processes (i.e., ethnic exploration and perceived peer discrimination) but not for ethnic attitudes. For Mexico‐born adolescents, high maternal ethnic socialization compensated for living in neighborhoods low on ethnic concentration. Findings are discussed vis‐à‐vis the ways in which they address major gaps in the neighborhood effects literature and the ethnic and racial identity development literature.

  March 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12772   open full text
• Language Use Contributes to Expressive Language Growth: Evidence From Bilingual Children.
  Krystal M. Ribot, Erika Hoff, Andrea Burridge.
  Child Development. February 28, 2017
  The unique relation of language use (i.e., output) to language growth was investigated for forty‐seven 30‐month‐old Spanish–English bilingual children (27 girls, 20 boys) whose choices of which language to speak resulted in their levels of English output differing from their levels of English input. English expressive vocabularies and receptive language skills were assessed at 30, 36, and 42 months. Longitudinal multilevel modeling indicated an effect of output on expressive vocabulary growth only. The finding that output specifically benefits the development of expressive language skill has implications for understanding effects of language use on language skill in monolingual and bilingual development, and potentially, for understanding consequences of cultural differences in how much children are expected to talk in conversation with adults.

  February 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12770   open full text
• Fathers' Infant‐Directed Speech in a Small‐Scale Society.
  Tanya Broesch, Gregory A. Bryant.
  Child Development. February 27, 2017
  When speaking to infants, mothers often alter their speech compared to how they speak to adults, but findings for fathers are mixed. This study examined interactions (N = 30) between fathers and infants (Mage ± SD = 7.8 ± 4.3 months) in a small‐scale society in Vanuatu and two urban societies in North America. Fundamental frequency (F0) and speech rate were measured in infant‐directed and adult‐directed speech. When speaking to infants, fathers in both groups increased their F0 range, yet only Vanuatu fathers increased their average F0. Conversely, North American fathers slowed down their speech rate to infants, whereas Vanuatu fathers did not. Behavioral traits can vary across distant cultures while still potentially solving similar communicative problems.

  February 27, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12768   open full text
• The Interplay Among Children's Negative Family Representations, Visual Processing of Negative Emotions, and Externalizing Symptoms.
  Patrick T. Davies, Jesse L. Coe, Rochelle F. Hentges, Melissa L. Sturge‐Apple, Erika Kloet.
  Child Development. February 25, 2017
  This study examined the transactional interplay among children's negative family representations, visual processing of negative emotions, and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 243 preschool children (Mage = 4.60 years). Children participated in three annual measurement occasions. Cross‐lagged autoregressive models were conducted with multimethod, multi‐informant data to identify mediational pathways. Consistent with schema‐based top‐down models, negative family representations were associated with attention to negative faces in an eye‐tracking task and their externalizing symptoms. Children's negative representations of family relationships specifically predicted decreases in their attention to negative emotions, which, in turn, was associated with subsequent increases in their externalizing symptoms. Follow‐up analyses indicated that the mediational role of diminished attention to negative emotions was particularly pronounced for angry faces.

  February 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12767   open full text
• Early Home Activities and Oral Language Skills in Middle Childhood: A Quantile Analysis.
  James Law, Robert Rush, Tom King, Elizabeth Westrupp, Sheena Reilly.
  Child Development. February 23, 2017
  Oral language development is a key outcome of elementary school, and it is important to identify factors that predict it most effectively. Commonly researchers use ordinary least squares regression with conclusions restricted to average performance conditional on relevant covariates. Quantile regression offers a more sophisticated alternative. Using data of 17,687 children from the United Kingdom's Millennium Cohort Study, we compared ordinary least squares and quantile models with language development (verbal similarities) at 11 years as the outcome. Gender had more of an effect at the top of the distribution, whereas poverty, early language, and reading to the child had a greater effect at the bottom. The picture for TV watching was more mixed. The results are discussed in terms of the provision of universal and targeted interventions.

  February 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12727   open full text
• Associations Among Infant Iron Deficiency, Childhood Emotion and Attention Regulation, and Adolescent Problem Behaviors.
  Patricia East, Erin Delker, Betsy Lozoff, Jorge Delva, Marcela Castillo, Sheila Gahagan.
  Child Development. February 23, 2017
  This study examined whether iron deficiency (ID) in infancy contributes to problem behaviors in adolescence through its influence on poor regulatory abilities in childhood. Chilean infants (N = 1,116) were studied when there was no national program for iron fortification (1991–1996), resulting in high rates of ID (28%) and iron‐deficiency anemia (IDA, 17%). Infants (54% male) were studied at childhood (Mage = 10 years) and adolescence (Mage = 14 years). IDA in infancy was related to excessive alcohol use and risky sexual behavior in adolescence through its effect on poor emotion regulation in childhood. Attentional control deficits at age 10 were also related to both infant IDA and heightened risk taking in adolescence. Findings elucidate how poor childhood regulatory abilities associated with infant IDA compromise adjustment in adolescence.

  February 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12765   open full text
• The Development of Implicit Memory From Infancy to Childhood: On Average Performance Levels and Interindividual Differences.
  Isabel A. Vöhringer, Thorsten Kolling, Frauke Graf, Sonja Poloczek, Ina Fassbender, Claudia Freitag, Bettina Lamm, Janina Suhrke, Johanna Teiser, Manuel Teubert, Heidi Keller, Arnold Lohaus, Gudrun Schwarzer, Monika Knopf.
  Child Development. February 21, 2017
  The present multimethod longitudinal study aimed at investigating development and stability of implicit memory during infancy and early childhood. A total of 134 children were followed longitudinally from 3 months to 3 years of life assessing different age‐appropriate measures of implicit memory. Results from structural equation modeling give further evidence that implicit memory is stable from 9 months of life on, with earlier performance predicting later performance. Second, it was found that implicit memory is present from early on, and no age‐related improvements are found from 3 months on. Results are discussed with respect to the basic brain structures implicit memory builds on, as well as methodological issues.

  February 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12749   open full text
• Longitudinal Relations Among Parenting Styles, Prosocial Behaviors, and Academic Outcomes in U.S. Mexican Adolescents.
  Gustavo Carlo, Rebecca M. B. White, Cara Streit, George P. Knight, Katharine H. Zeiders.
  Child Development. February 18, 2017
  This article examined parenting styles and prosocial behaviors as longitudinal predictors of academic outcomes in U.S. Mexican youth. Adolescents (N = 462; Wave 1 Mage = 10.4 years; 48.1% girls), parents, and teachers completed parenting, prosocial behavior, and academic outcome measures at 5th, 10th, and 12th grades. Authoritative parents were more likely to have youth who exhibited high levels of prosocial behaviors than those who were moderately demanding and less involved. Fathers and mothers who were less involved and mothers who were moderately demanding were less likely than authoritative parents to have youth who exhibited high levels of prosocial behaviors. Prosocial behaviors were positively associated with academic outcomes. Discussion focuses on parenting, prosocial behaviors, and academic attitudes in understanding youth academic performance.

  February 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12761   open full text
• Associations of Early Developmental Milestones With Adult Intelligence.
  Trine Flensborg‐Madsen, Erik L. Mortensen.
  Child Development. February 15, 2017
  The study investigated whether age at attainment of 20 developmental milestones within the areas of language, walking, eating, dressing, social interaction, and toilet training was associated with adult intelligence. Mothers of 821 children of the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort recorded 20 developmental milestones at a 3‐year examination, and all children were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale when they were 20–34 years old. Later attainment of a number of milestones was associated with lower adult IQ with the strongest associations found for those related to language and social interaction. The adjusted full‐scale IQ means were 107.0, 101.8, and 100.6 for being able to form a sentence at less than 24 months, at 24 months, and later than 24 months.

  February 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12760   open full text
• Children's Use of Memory Editing Strategies to Reject Source Misinformation.
  Kara N. Moore, James M. Lampinen, David A. Gallo, Eryn J. Adams, Ana J. Bridges.
  Child Development. February 15, 2017
  This is the first reported study of children's use of two metacognitive strategies, recollection rejection and diagnostic monitoring, to reject misinformation. Recollection rejection involves the retrieval of details that disqualify an event, whereas diagnostic monitoring involves the failure to retrieve expected details. First (n = 56, age 7 years) and third graders (n = 52, age 9 years) witnessed a staged classroom interaction involving common and bizarre accidents, were presented with misinformation about the source of these events, and took a memory test. Both age groups used recollection rejection, but third graders were more effective. There was little evidence that diagnostic monitoring influenced responses for bizarre events, potentially because these events were not sufficiently bizarre in the context of the stereotype induction.

  February 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12716   open full text
• Neural Oscillation Reveals Deficits in Visuospatial Working Memory in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder.
  Chun‐Hao Wang, Yu‐Ting Tseng, Dang Liu, Chia‐Liang Tsai.
  Child Development. February 14, 2017
  The electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations associated with visuospatial working memory (VSWM) were examined in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD; 10–11 years; N = 29) and typically developing (TD) children (10–11 years; N = 29). Behaviorally, DCD showed poorer VSWM than TD, which coincided with the diminished ability of DCD in modulating neural oscillations. Furthermore, prestimulus oscillatory alpha activity was correlated with VSWM performance. The results suggest that children with DCD might have a reduced ability to encode and recognize new information, and in particular have difficulty in maintaining task‐relevant information, resulting in poorer VSWM. This study thus concludes that changes in oscillatory EEG activity reflect some of the problems leading to cognitive deficits in DCD.

  February 14, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12708   open full text
• Individual Differences in Prototypical Moral and Conventional Judgments and Children's Proactive and Reactive Aggression.
  Marc Jambon, Judith G. Smetana.
  Child Development. February 13, 2017
  This article examined links between 4‐ and 6‐year‐olds’ (n = 101; Mage = 5.12 years, SD = 0.67; 53% male) ability to distinguish moral and conventional transgressions along different criteria and teacher ratings of proactive and reactive aggression. Latent difference score modeling revealed that moral transgressions were judged more unacceptable and wrong independent of rules and authority than conventional violations, but significant variability in moral–conventional distinctions was also observed. Proactive aggression was associated with less—and reactive aggression was associated with greater—differentiation in moral and conventional concepts. Proactive aggression was not associated with deficits in moral knowledge when other common assessments of early moral understanding were employed, highlighting the importance of using theoretically informed measures of moral judgments and aggression.

  February 13, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12757   open full text
• An Examination of the Sibling Training Hypothesis for Disruptive Behavior in Early Childhood.
  Ella Daniel, André Plamondon, Jennifer M. Jenkins.
  Child Development. February 13, 2017
  Sibling training for disruptive behavior (one sibling teaching another disruptive behavior) is examined during early childhood. We used a conservative, recently developed, statistical model to identify sibling training. Sibling training was operationalized as the cross‐lagged association between earlier child behavior and later sibling behavior, and differentiated from other reasons that contribute to sibling similarity. A three‐wave longitudinal study tracked 916 children (Mage = 3.46, SD = 2.23) in 397 families using multi‐informant data. Evidence for sibling training was found. Earlier younger siblings’ disruptive behavior predicted later lower levels of older siblings’ disruptive behavior. Thus, the sibling training found in early childhood was producing greater dissimilarity, rather than similarity, on disruptive behavior.

  February 13, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12754   open full text
• The Development of Spatial Skills in Elementary School Students.
  Martha Carr, Natalia Alexeev, Lu Wang, Nicole Barned, Erin Horan, Adam Reed.
  Child Development. February 10, 2017
  Through five waves of data collection, this longitudinal study investigated the development of spatial skills in 304 elementary school children (Mage = 7.64 years) as they progressed from the second to fourth grade. The study focused on whether multiple latent classes with different developmental profiles best explain development. Spatial skills were measured by tests featuring two‐dimensional figures. Mathematics achievement was measured by the statewide end‐of‐year test and was included as a distal outcome variable. The role of covariates, including socioeconomic status, verbal working memory, and gender, was also explored. The results indicate a need to view two‐dimensional spatial skills development as multidimensional with two developmental profiles predicted by socioeconomic status, verbal working memory, and gender. The developmental profiles predicted differences in mathematics achievement.

  February 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12753   open full text
• Hand–Eye Coordination Predicts Joint Attention.
  Chen Yu, Linda B. Smith.
  Child Development. February 10, 2017
  The present article shows that infant and dyad differences in hand–eye coordination predict dyad differences in joint attention (JA). In the study reported here, 51 toddlers ranging in age from 11 to 24 months and their parents wore head‐mounted eye trackers as they played with objects together. We found that physically active toddlers aligned their looking behavior with their parent and achieved a substantial proportion of time spent jointly attending to the same object. However, JA did not arise through gaze following but rather through the coordination of gaze with manual actions on objects as both infants and parents attended to their partner's object manipulations. Moreover, dyad differences in JA were associated with dyad differences in hand following.

  February 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12730   open full text
• School Tracking and Youth Self‐Perceptions: Implications for Academic and Racial Identity.
  Kamilah Legette.
  Child Development. February 09, 2017
  School tracking creates vast differential learning and schooling opportunities that lead to different academic trajectories. Black adolescents are disproportionally placed in nonhonors tracks possibly compromising their racial and academic identity. Interviews with 20 socioeconomically diverse 12 to 13 year old Black seventh graders revealed that narratives about racial and academic identity vary by track placement. Although most adolescents held negative perceptions about students enrolled in nonhonors courses, students in nonhonors seemed to view the negative perceptions of their classmates as reflections of themselves as Black people and as students. In contrast, adolescents in honors courses viewed these negative perceptions as limited to students in nonhonors. They reported having a greater connection to academics and viewed themselves as positive representatives of Blackness.

  February 09, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12748   open full text
• Fitting the Message to the Listener: Children Selectively Mention General and Specific Facts.
  Carolyn Baer, Ori Friedman.
  Child Development. February 09, 2017
  In three experiments, two hundred and ninety‐seven 4‐ to 6‐year‐olds were asked to describe objects to a listener, and their answers were coded for the presence of general and specific facts. In Experiments 1 and 2, the listener's knowledge of the kinds of objects was manipulated. This affected references to specific facts at all ages, but only affected references to general facts in children aged 5 and older. In Experiment 3, children's goal in communicating was either pedagogical or not. Pedagogy influenced references to general information from age 4, but not references to specific information. These findings are informative about how children vary general and specific information in conversation, and suggest that listeners' knowledge and children's pedagogical goals influenced children's responses via different mechanisms.

  February 09, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12751   open full text
• Developmental Relations Among Motor and Cognitive Processes and Mathematics Skills.
  Helyn Kim, Chelsea A. K. Duran, Claire E. Cameron, David Grissmer.
  Child Development. February 09, 2017
  This study explored transactional associations among visuomotor integration, attention, fine motor coordination, and mathematics skills in a diverse sample of one hundred thirty‐five 5‐year‐olds (kindergarteners) and one hundred nineteen 6‐year‐olds (first graders) in the United States who were followed over the course of 2 school years. Associations were dynamic, with more reciprocal transactions occurring in kindergarten than in the later grades. Specifically, visuomotor integration and mathematics exhibited ongoing reciprocity in kindergarten and first grade, attention contributed to mathematics in kindergarten and first grade, mathematics contributed to attention across the kindergarten year only, and fine motor coordination contributed to mathematics indirectly, through visuomotor integration, across kindergarten and first grade. Implications of examining the hierarchical interrelations among processes underlying the development of children's mathematics skills are discussed.

  February 09, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12752   open full text
• Achievement Emotions and Academic Performance: Longitudinal Models of Reciprocal Effects.
  Reinhard Pekrun, Stephanie Lichtenfeld, Herbert W. Marsh, Kou Murayama, Thomas Goetz.
  Child Development. February 08, 2017
  A reciprocal effects model linking emotion and achievement over time is proposed. The model was tested using five annual waves of the Project for the Analysis of Learning and Achievement in Mathematics (PALMA) longitudinal study, which investigated adolescents’ development in mathematics (Grades 5–9; N = 3,425 German students; mean starting age = 11.7 years; representative sample). Structural equation modeling showed that positive emotions (enjoyment, pride) positively predicted subsequent achievement (math end‐of‐the‐year grades and test scores), and that achievement positively predicted these emotions, controlling for students’ gender, intelligence, and family socioeconomic status. Negative emotions (anger, anxiety, shame, boredom, hopelessness) negatively predicted achievement, and achievement negatively predicted these emotions. The findings were robust across waves, achievement indicators, and school tracks, highlighting the importance of emotions for students’ achievement and of achievement for the development of emotions.

  February 08, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12704   open full text
• Child and Parenting Outcomes After 1 Year of Educare.
  Noreen Yazejian, Donna M. Bryant, Sydney Hans, Diane Horm, Lisa St. Clair, Nancy File, Margaret Burchinal.
  Child Development. February 08, 2017
  Educare is a birth to age 5 early education program designed to reduce the achievement gap between children from low‐income families and their more economically advantaged peers through high‐quality center‐based programming and strong school–family partnerships. This study randomly assigned 239 children (< 19 months) from low‐income families to Educare or a business‐as‐usual control group. Assessments tracked children 1 year after randomization. Results revealed significant differences favoring treatment group children on auditory and expressive language skills, parent‐reported problem behaviors, and positive parent–child interactions. Effect sizes were in the modest to medium range. No effects were evident for observer‐rated child behaviors or parent‐rated social competence. The overall results add to the evidence that intervening early can set low‐income children on more positive developmental courses.

  February 08, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12688   open full text
• Loss of Institutional Trust Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Adolescents: A Consequence of Procedural Injustice and a Cause of Life‐Span Outcomes.
  David S. Yeager, Valerie Purdie‐Vaughns, Sophia Yang Hooper, Geoffrey L. Cohen.
  Child Development. February 08, 2017
  This research tested a social‐developmental process model of trust discernment. From sixth to eighth grade, White and African American students were surveyed twice yearly (ages 11–14; Study 1, N = 277). African American students were more aware of racial bias in school disciplinary decisions, and as this awareness grew it predicted a loss of trust in school, leading to a large trust gap in seventh grade. Loss of trust by spring of seventh grade predicted African Americans’ subsequent discipline infractions and 4‐year college enrollment. Causality was confirmed with a trust‐restoring “wise feedback” treatment delivered in spring of seventh grade that improved African Americans’ eighth‐grade discipline and college outcomes. Correlational findings were replicated with Latino and White students (ages 11–14; Study 2, N = 206).

  February 08, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12697   open full text
• Gender Differences in the Developmental Cascade From Harsh Parenting to Educational Attainment: An Evolutionary Perspective.
  Rochelle F. Hentges, Ming‐Te Wang.
  Child Development. February 08, 2017
  This study utilized life history theory to test a developmental cascade model linking harsh parenting to low educational attainment. Multigroup models were examined to test for potential gender differences. The sample consisted of 1,482 adolescents followed up for 9 years starting in seventh grade (Mage = 12.74). Results supported indirect links between harsh parenting and low educational attainment through the development of extreme peer orientations, early sexual behavior, and delinquency. Among male adolescents, harsh parenting was related to the development of an extreme peer orientation, which further led to increased delinquency, and subsequently lower educational attainment. Among female adolescents, harsh parenting predicted extreme peer orientations, which increased both delinquency and early sexual behavior. Early sexual behavior further predicted lower educational attainment in female adolescents.

  February 08, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12719   open full text
• Age of Bilingual Exposure Is Related to the Contribution of Phonological and Semantic Knowledge to Successful Reading Development.
  Kaja K. Jasińska, Laura‐Ann Petitto.
  Child Development. February 07, 2017
  Bilingual children's reading as a function of age of first bilingual language exposure (AoE) was examined. Bilingual (varied AoE) and monolingual children (N = 421) were compared in their English language and reading abilities (6–10 years) using phonological awareness, semantic knowledge, and reading tasks. Structural equation modeling was applied to determine how bilingual AoE predicts reading outcomes. Early exposed bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on phonological awareness and word reading. Phonology and semantic (vocabulary) knowledge differentially predicted reading depending on the bilingual experience and AoE. Understanding how bilingual experiences impact phonological awareness and semantic knowledge, and in turn, impact reading outcomes is relevant for our understanding of what language and reading skills are best to focus on, and when, to promote optimal reading success.

  February 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12745   open full text
• Does Parental Mind‐Mindedness Account for Cross‐Cultural Differences in Preschoolers’ Theory of Mind?
  Claire Hughes, Rory T. Devine, Zhenlin Wang.
  Child Development. February 03, 2017
  This study of 241 parent–child dyads from the United Kingdom (N = 120, Mage = 3.92, SD = 0.53) and Hong Kong (N = 121, Mage = 3.99, SD = 0.50) breaks new ground by adopting a cross‐cultural approach to investigate children's theory of mind and parental mind‐mindedness. Relative to the Hong Kong sample, U.K. children showed superior theory‐of‐mind performance and U.K. parents showed greater levels of mind‐mindedness. Within both cultures parental mind‐mindedness was correlated with theory of mind. Mind‐mindedness also accounted for cultural differences in preschoolers’ theory of mind. We argue that children's family environments might shed light on how culture shapes children's theory of mind.

  February 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12746   open full text
• Novel Word Learning in Bilingual and Monolingual Infants: Evidence for a Bilingual Advantage.
  Leher Singh, Charlene S. L. Fu, Zhi Wen Tay, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff.
  Child Development. February 03, 2017
  Previous studies revealing that monolingual and bilingual infants learn similar sounding words with comparable success are largely based on prior investigations involving single‐feature changes in the onset consonant of a word. There have been no investigations of bilingual infants' abilities to learn similar sounding words differentiated by vowels. In the current study, 18‐month‐old bilingual and monolingual infants (n = 90) were compared on their sensitivity to a vowel change when learning the meanings of words. Bilingual infants learned similar sounding words differing by a vowel contrast, whereas monolingual English‐ and Mandarin‐learning infants did not. Findings are discussed in terms of early constraints on novel word learning in bilingual and monolingual infants.

  February 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12747   open full text
• Reciprocal Relations Between Harsh Discipline and Children's Externalizing Behavior in China: A 5‐Year Longitudinal Study.
  Meifang Wang, Li Liu.
  Child Development. February 01, 2017
  This research examined the overtime reciprocal relations between maternal and paternal harsh discipline and children's externalizing behavior. Seven hundred two father–mother dyads of children (6–9 years of age at baseline) completed measures of parental harsh discipline and children's externalizing behavior at five time points, 1 year apart. Autoregressive latent trajectory models revealed that maternal and paternal corporal punishment predicted subsequent children's externalizing behavior (parent‐driven effects), whereas children's externalizing behavior predicted subsequent maternal and paternal psychological aggression (child‐driven effects). The parent‐driven effects became stronger, whereas the child‐driven effects were equally strong across time. Furthermore, the parent‐driven effects for corporal punishment were found for both boys and girls, whereas the child‐driven effects for psychological aggression were found only for boys.

  February 01, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12724   open full text
• Quantitative Linguistic Predictors of Infants’ Learning of Specific English Words.
  Daniel Swingley, Colman Humphrey.
  Child Development. February 01, 2017
  To evaluate which features of spoken language aid infant word learning, a corpus of infant‐directed speech (M. R. Brent & J. M. Siskind, 2001) was characterized on several linguistic dimensions and statistically related to the infants’ vocabulary outcomes word by word. Comprehension (at 12 and 15 months) and production (15 months) were predicted by frequency, frequency of occurrence in one‐word utterances, concreteness, utterance length, and typical duration. These features have been proposed to influence learning before, but here their relative contributions were measured. Mothers’ data predicted learning in their own children better than in other children; thus, vocabulary is measurably aligned within families. These analyses provide a quantitative basis for claims concerning the relevance of several properties of maternal English speech in facilitating early word learning.

  February 01, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12731   open full text
• Words to Sleep On: Naps Facilitate Verb Generalization in Habitually and Nonhabitually Napping Preschoolers.
  Michelle Sandoval, Julia A. Leclerc, Rebecca L. Gómez.
  Child Development. January 27, 2017
  A nap soon after encoding leads to better learning in infancy. However, whether napping plays the same role in preschoolers' learning is unclear. In Experiment 1 (N = 39), 3‐year‐old habitual and nonhabitual nappers learned novel verbs before a nap or a period of wakefulness and received a generalization test examining word extension to novel actors after 24 hr. Only habitual and nonhabitual nappers who napped after learning generalized 24 hr later. In Experiment 2 (N = 40), children learned the same verbs but were tested within 2–3 min of training. Here, habitual and nonhabitual nappers retained the mappings but did not generalize. The results suggest that naps consolidate weak learning that habitual and nonhabitual nappers would otherwise forget over periods of wakefulness.

  January 27, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12723   open full text
• Sleep Tight, Act Right: Negative Affect, Sleep and Behavior Problems During Early Childhood.
  Amanda Cremone, Desiree M. Jong, Lauri B. F. Kurdziel, Phillip Desrochers, Aline Sayer, Monique K. LeBourgeois, Rebecca M. C. Spencer, Jennifer M. McDermott.
  Child Development. January 27, 2017
  Temperamental negative affect and insufficient sleep have been independently associated with behavior problems during early childhood. However, it is unknown whether these factors interact to contribute to behavioral difficulties in young children. The current study examined the interactions between temperamental negative affect and both sleep onset time and sleep midpoint, assessed by actigraphy, in predicting externalizing and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 117 children (34–69 months of age). Children with high temperamental negative affect and either later sleep onset time or later sleep midpoint were more likely to exhibit externalizing and internalizing behaviors. These results emphasize the association between temperamental negative affect and behavioral difficulties, particularly for children with insufficient sleep.

  January 27, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12717   open full text
• Question, Explanation, Follow‐Up: A Mechanism for Learning From Others?
  Katelyn E. Kurkul, Kathleen H. Corriveau.
  Child Development. January 27, 2017
  This study explored differences in caregiver–child interactions following children's information‐seeking questions. Naturalistic speech from thirty‐seven 4‐year‐olds and their caregivers was used to explore children's information‐seeking questions, the caregiver's response, and children's subsequent follow‐up. Half of the families were low‐socioeconomic status (SES) and the other half were mid‐SES. Although children across socioeconomic groups asked a similar proportion of questions, mid‐SES caregivers offered significantly more explanatory responses to causal questions as well as more noncircular explanations than low‐SES caregivers. No differences were found in children's follow‐up to responses given to fact‐based questions; however, after hearing unsatisfactory responses to causal questions, mid‐SES children were significantly more likely to provide their own explanation. Such variability in caregiver–child interaction may have implications for subsequent learning.

  January 27, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12726   open full text
• The Role of Auditory and Visual Speech in Word Learning at 18 Months and in Adulthood.
  Mélanie Havy, Afra Foroud, Laurel Fais, Janet F. Werker.
  Child Development. January 26, 2017
  Visual information influences speech perception in both infants and adults. It is still unknown whether lexical representations are multisensory. To address this question, we exposed 18‐month‐old infants (n = 32) and adults (n = 32) to new word–object pairings: Participants either heard the acoustic form of the words or saw the talking face in silence. They were then tested on recognition in the same or the other modality. Both 18‐month‐old infants and adults learned the lexical mappings when the words were presented auditorily and recognized the mapping at test when the word was presented in either modality, but only adults learned new words in a visual‐only presentation. These results suggest developmental changes in the sensory format of lexical representations.

  January 26, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12715   open full text
• Probability Learning: Changes in Behavior Across Time and Development.
  Rista C. Plate, Jacqueline M. Fulvio, Kristin Shutts, C. Shawn Green, Seth D. Pollak.
  Child Development. January 25, 2017
  Individuals track probabilities, such as associations between events in their environments, but less is known about the degree to which experience—within a learning session and over development—influences people's use of incoming probabilistic information to guide behavior in real time. In two experiments, children (4–11 years) and adults searched for rewards hidden in locations with predetermined probabilities. In Experiment 1, children (n = 42) and adults (n = 32) changed strategies to maximize reward receipt over time. However, adults demonstrated greater strategy change efficiency. Making the predetermined probabilities more difficult to learn (Experiment 2) delayed effective strategy change for children (n = 39) and adults (n = 33). Taken together, these data characterize how children and adults alike react flexibly and change behavior according to incoming information.

  January 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12718   open full text
• Parenting and the Adjustment of Children Born to Gay Fathers Through Surrogacy.
  Susan Golombok, Lucy Blake, Jenna Slutsky, Elizabeth Raffanello, Gabriela D. Roman, Anke Ehrhardt.
  Child Development. January 23, 2017
  Findings are presented on a study of 40 gay father families created through surrogacy and a comparison group of 55 lesbian mother families created through donor insemination with a child aged 3–9 years. Standardized interview, observational and questionnaire measures of stigmatization, quality of parent–child relationships, and children's adjustment were administered to parents, children, and teachers. Children in both family types showed high levels of adjustment with lower levels of children's internalizing problems reported by gay fathers. Irrespective of family type, children whose parents perceived greater stigmatization and children who experienced higher levels of negative parenting showed higher levels of parent‐reported externalizing problems. The findings contribute to theoretical understanding of the role of family structure and family processes in child adjustment.

  January 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12728   open full text
• Chinese Malaysian Adolescents' Social‐Cognitive Reasoning Regarding Filial Piety Dilemmas.
  Charissa S. L. Cheah, Christy Y. Y. Leung, Sevgi Bayram Özdemir.
  Child Development. January 20, 2017
  This study examined the social‐cognitive reasoning of 52 Chinese Malaysian preadolescents (9–12 years old; M = 11.02, SD = 0.94) and 68 adolescents (13–18 years old; M = 14.76, SD = 1.39) in resolving filial dilemmas within the personal and moral domain. Preadolescents deferred to parental authority, whereas adolescents endorsed filial obligation reasoning to justify compliance in the personal domain. Both appealed to filial obligation, pragmatic, or welfare and safety reasoning to justify compliance but fairness or rights reasoning to justify their noncompliance, for the moral issue. Distinctions between authoritarian and reciprocal filial piety reasoning were revealed. Findings demonstrated complex decision‐making and cognitive reasoning processes among Chinese Malaysian adolescents as they negotiate their filial obligations and autonomy development.

  January 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12725   open full text
• Preschoolers Continually Adjust Their Epistemic Trust Based on an Informant's Ongoing Accuracy.
  Samuel Ronfard, Jonathan D. Lane.
  Child Development. January 20, 2017
  Children aged 4–7 years (N = 120) played four rounds of a find‐the‐sticker game. For each round, an informant looked into two cups and made a claim about which cup held a sticker. At the end of each round, children guessed the sticker's location, and then the sticker's actual location was revealed. For three of the rounds, the informant accurately reported the sticker's location. But critically, for one round—either Round 1, 2, or 3—she was inaccurate. Children continually adjusted their trust in the informant as they obtained more information about her accuracy. Relations between the informant's pattern of accuracy and children's trust were robust, neither mediated nor moderated by children inferences about her intent or traits.

  January 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12720   open full text
• What Is the Long‐Run Impact of Learning Mathematics During Preschool?
  Tyler W. Watts, Greg J. Duncan, Douglas H. Clements, Julie Sarama.
  Child Development. January 20, 2017
  The current study estimated the causal links between preschool mathematics learning and late elementary school mathematics achievement using variation in treatment assignment to an early mathematics intervention as an instrument for preschool mathematics change. Estimates indicate (n = 410) that a standard deviation of intervention‐produced change at age 4 is associated with a 0.24‐SD gain in achievement in late elementary school. This impact is approximately half the size of the association produced by correlational models relating later achievement to preschool math change, and is approximately 35% smaller than the effect reported by highly controlled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models (Claessens et al., 2009; Watts et al., 2014) using national data sets. Implications for developmental theory and practice are discussed.

  January 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12713   open full text
• Peer Groups as a Context for School Misconduct: The Moderating Role of Group Interactional Style.
  Wendy Ellis, Lynne Zarbatany, Xinyin Chen, Megan Kinal, Lisa Boyko.
  Child Development. January 20, 2017
  Peer group interactional style was examined as a moderator of the relation between peer group school misconduct and group members' school misconduct. Participants were 705 students (Mage = 11.59 years, SD = 1.37) in 148 peer groups. Children reported on their school misconduct in fall and spring. In the winter, group members were observed in a limited‐resource task and a group conversation task, and negative and positive group interactional styles were assessed. Multilevel modeling indicated that membership in groups that were higher on school misconduct predicted greater school misconduct only when the groups were high on negative or low on positive interactional style. Results suggest that negative laughter and a coercive interactional style may intensify group effects on children's misconduct.

  January 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12722   open full text
• Not All Distractions Are the Same: Investigating Why Preschoolers Make Distraction Errors When Switching.
  Emma Blakey, Daniel J. Carroll.
  Child Development. January 09, 2017
  When switching between tasks, preschoolers frequently make distraction errors—as distinct from perseverative errors. This study examines for the first time why preschoolers make these errors. One hundred and sixty‐four 2‐ and 3‐year‐olds completed one of four different conditions on a rule‐switching task requiring children to sort stimuli according to one rule and then switch to a new rule. Conditions varied according to the type of information that children needed to ignore. Children made significantly more distraction errors when the to‐be‐ignored information was related to the previous rule. When it was not related to a previous rule, even young preschoolers could disregard this information. This demonstrates that distraction errors are caused by children's initial goal representations that continue to affect performance.

  January 09, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12721   open full text
• Developmental Pathways to Preference and Popularity in Middle Childhood.
  Yvonne H. M. Berg, Marike H. F. Deutz, Sanny Smeekens, Antonius H. N. Cillessen.
  Child Development. January 04, 2017
  This study examined the associations between children's early life experiences with parents, ego resiliency and ego undercontrol, and peer group social status in a longitudinal, multimethod study from infancy to middle childhood. Participants were 129 children (52% boys) who were followed from 15 months of age to 9 years and their primary caregivers from the Nijmegen Longitudinal Study on Infant and Child Development. The measurements included observations of parent–child interaction, teacher ratings of ego resiliency and ego undercontrol, and peer‐reported social status. Quality of parental interactive behavior was associated with ego resiliency and ego undercontrol. Ego resiliency and ego undercontrol were uniquely related to preference and popularity. The findings provide insight into the developmental pathways leading to the two distinct types of social status.

  January 04, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12706   open full text
• Developmental Relations Among Behavioral Inhibition, Anxiety, and Attention Biases to Threat and Positive Information.
  Lauren K. White, Kathryn A. Degnan, Heather A. Henderson, Koraly Pérez‐Edgar, Olga L. Walker, Tomer Shechner, Ellen Leibenluft, Yair Bar‐Haim, Daniel S. Pine, Nathan A. Fox.
  Child Development. January 02, 2017
  This study examined relations between behavioral inhibition (BI) assessed in toddlerhood (n = 268) and attention biases (AB) to threat and positive faces and maternal‐reported anxiety assessed when children were 5‐ and 7‐year‐old. Results revealed that BI predicted anxiety at age 7 in children with AB toward threat, away from positive, or with no bias, at age 7; BI did not predict anxiety for children displaying AB away from threat or toward positive. Five‐year AB did not moderate the link between BI and 7‐year anxiety. No direct association between AB and BI or anxiety was detected; moreover, children did not show stable AB across development. These findings extend our understanding of the developmental links among BI, AB, and anxiety.

  January 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12696   open full text
• Communicating to Learn: Infants’ Pointing Gestures Result in Optimal Learning.
  Kelsey Lucca, Makeba Parramore Wilbourn.
  Child Development. December 29, 2016
  Infants’ pointing gestures are a critical predictor of early vocabulary size. However, it remains unknown precisely how pointing relates to word learning. The current study addressed this question in a sample of 108 infants, testing one mechanism by which infants’ pointing may influence their learning. In Study 1, 18‐month‐olds, but not 12‐month‐olds, more readily mapped labels to objects if they had first pointed toward those objects than if they had referenced those objects via other communicative behaviors, such as reaching or gaze alternations. In Study 2, when an experimenter labeled a not pointed‐to‐object, 18‐month‐olds’ pointing was no longer related to enhanced fast mapping. These findings suggest that infants’ pointing gestures reflect a readiness and, potentially, a desire to learn.

  December 29, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12707   open full text
• The Development of Selective Copying: Children's Learning From an Expert Versus Their Mother.
  Amanda J. Lucas, Emily R. R. Burdett, Vanessa Burgess, Lara A. Wood, Nicola McGuigan, Paul L. Harris, Andrew Whiten.
  Child Development. December 29, 2016
  This study tested the prediction that, with age, children should rely less on familiarity and more on expertise in their selective social learning. Experiment 1 (N = 50) found that 5‐ to 6‐year‐olds copied the technique their mother used to extract a prize from a novel puzzle box, in preference to both a stranger and an established expert. This bias occurred despite children acknowledging the expert model's superior capability. Experiment 2 (N = 50) demonstrated a shift in 7‐ to 8‐year‐olds toward copying the expert. Children aged 9–10 years did not copy according to a model bias. The findings of a follow‐up study (N = 30) confirmed that, instead, they prioritized their own—partially flawed—causal understanding of the puzzle box.

  December 29, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12711   open full text
• The Past Is Present: Representations of Parents, Friends, and Romantic Partners Predict Subsequent Romantic Representations.
  Wyndol Furman, Charlene Collibee.
  Child Development. December 28, 2016
  This study examined how representations of parent–child relationships, friendships, and past romantic relationships are related to subsequent romantic representations. Two‐hundred 10th graders (100 female; Mage = 15.87 years) from diverse neighborhoods in a Western U.S. city were administered questionnaires and were interviewed to assess avoidant and anxious representations of their relationships with parents, friends, and romantic partners. Participants then completed similar questionnaires and interviews about their romantic representations six more times over the next 7.5 years. Growth curve analyses revealed that representations of relationships with parents, friends, and romantic partners each uniquely predicted subsequent romantic representations across development. Consistent with attachment and behavioral systems theory, representations of romantic relationships are revised by representations and experiences in other relationships.

  December 28, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12712   open full text
• Developmental Trends in Flexibility and Automaticity of Social Cognition.
  Elizabeth O. Hayward, Bruce D. Homer, Manuel Sprung.
  Child Development. December 22, 2016
  Age‐related changes in flexibility and automaticity of reasoning about social situations were investigated. Children (N = 101; age range = 7;8–17;7) were presented with the flexibility and automaticity of social cognition (FASC), a new measure of social cognition in which cartoon vignettes of social situations are presented and participants explain what is happening and why. Scenarios vary on whether the scenario is socially ambiguous and whether or not language is used. Flexibility is determined by the number of unique, plausible explanations, and automaticity is indicated by speed of response. Overall, both flexibility and automaticity increased significantly with age. Language and social ambiguity influenced performance. Future work should investigate differences in FASC in older populations and clinical groups.

  December 22, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12705   open full text
• Immigrant Chinese Mothers’ Socialization of Achievement in Children: A Strategic Adaptation to the Host Society.
  Florrie Fei‐Yin Ng, Irene Nga‐Lam Sze, Catherine S. Tamis‐LeMonda, Diane N. Ruble.
  Child Development. December 19, 2016
  Academic socialization by low‐income immigrant mothers from Mainland China was investigated in two studies. Immigrant Chinese mothers of first graders (n = 52; Mage = 38.69) in the United States (Study 1) and kindergartners (n = 86; Mage = 36.81) in Hong Kong (Study 2) tell stories that emphasized achieving the best grade through effort more than did African American (n = 39; Mage = 31.44) and native Hong Kong (n = 76; Mage = 36.64) mothers, respectively. The emphasis on achievement was associated with mothers' heightened discussion on discrimination (Study 1) and beliefs that education promotes upward mobility (Study 2), as well as children's expectations that a story protagonist would receive maternal criticism for being nonpersistent in learning (Study 2).

  December 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12701   open full text
• The Development of Preschoolers’ Living Kinds Concept: A Longitudinal Study.
  Tessa Margett‐Jordan, Rachael G. Falcon, David C. Witherington.
  Child Development. December 19, 2016
  Given limitations in the integrative scope of past research, basic questions about the organization and development of preschoolers’ living kinds concept remain open to debate. This study was designed to address past limitations through use of a longitudinal design, extensive stimulus set, and alternate indices of understanding. Thirty‐five English‐speaking 3‐year‐olds from middle‐class families in Albuquerque, NM participated in four testing sessions over 1 year. Indices of understanding included statements that preschoolers generated about various living and nonliving objects, biological properties they attributed to the objects, and their characterization of objects as “alive” or not. Results reveal a multifaceted picture of developmental change in preschoolers’ living kinds concept involving both the construction and elaboration of a core biological understanding.

  December 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12709   open full text
• Evaluations of Conflicts Between Latino Values and Autonomy Desires Among Puerto Rican Adolescents.
  Myriam Villalobos Solís, Judith G. Smetana, Marina Tasopoulos‐Chan.
  Child Development. December 16, 2016
  Puerto Rican adolescents (N = 105; Mage = 15.97 years, SD = 1.40) evaluated hypothetical situations describing conflicts between Latino values (family obligations and respeto) and autonomy desires regarding personal, friendship, and dating activities. Adolescents judged that peers should prioritize Latino values over autonomy, which led to greater feelings of pride than happiness. However, they believed that teens would prioritize autonomy over Latino values, which led to greater feelings of happiness than pride. Adolescents reasoned about autonomy desires as personal issues, whereas reasoning about Latino values was multifaceted, including references to conventions and concerns for others. Furthermore, judgments and reasoning depended on the type of autonomy desire and Latino value and sometimes, by participants' age and sex.

  December 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12687   open full text
• Migration, Family Arrangement, and Children's Health in China.
  Youqin Huang, Qian Song, Ran Tao, Zai Liang.
  Child Development. December 16, 2016
  With unprecedented migration taking place in China, millions of children are profoundly affected. Using a sample of 916 children (aged 5–18) of migrants and the life course perspective, this article examines the impact of parental migration on children's health. Results show that migration has a complex impact on children's health. Although migrating to cities itself does not benefit children, poor housing conditions in cities have a negative impact on their health. The timing of parental migration is important, as preschoolers migrating with parents and teenagers left behind by parents have significantly worse health than others. Migration also has a gendered effect, as teenage boys benefit from migrating to cities but suffer from being left behind when compared to teenage girls.

  December 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12699   open full text
• A Developmental Neuroscience Study of Moral Decision Making Regarding Resource Allocation.
  Kimberly L. Meidenbauer, Jason M. Cowell, Melanie Killen, Jean Decety.
  Child Development. December 16, 2016
  Distinguishing between equity and equality is essential when making social and moral decisions, yet the related neurodevelopmental processes are unknown. Evaluations of contextually based third‐party distributions incorporating recipient need and resource importance were examined in children and adolescents (N = 82; 8–16 years). Spatiotemporal neurodynamic responses show distinct developmental profiles to viewing such distributions. Event‐related potentials (ERPs) differentially predicted real‐life behaviors based on age, where older children's (8–10 years) evaluations were related to a fairly rapid, automatic ERP component (early posterior negativity), whereas adolescent and preadolescent (11–16 years) evaluations, first‐person allocations, and prosocial behaviors were predicted by later, cognitively controlled ERP components (P3 and late positive potential). Together, these results reveal age‐related changes regarding the neural responses that correspond to distributive justice decisions.

  December 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12698   open full text
• Infant Attachment and Maternal Sensitivity in the Arab Minority in Israel.
  Ghadir Zreik, David Oppenheim, Abraham Sagi‐Schwartz.
  Child Development. December 14, 2016
  This study is the first to examine infant–mother attachment in the Arab culture. Eighty‐five Arab 1‐year‐old infants from Israel were observed in the strange situation, and maternal sensitivity was assessed from home observations. Supporting attachment theory's normativity hypothesis, no differences were found between the Arab‐Israeli attachment distribution and Jewish‐Israeli, Western, and non‐Western distributions when examined at the two‐way secure versus insecure level, although a few differences emerged when examined at the four‐way ABCD level. Supporting the sensitivity hypothesis, mothers of secure infants were more sensitive than those of insecure infants but only in the case of Christian (and not Muslim) mothers. The findings provide support to attachment theory's generalizability but raise questions regarding the assessment of maternal sensitivity cross‐culturally.

  December 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12692   open full text
• Individual Differences in Children's Corepresentation of Self and Other in Joint Action.
  Sophie J. Milward, Sotaro Kita, Ian A. Apperly.
  Child Development. December 14, 2016
  Previous research has shown that children aged 4–5 years, but not 2–3 years, show adult‐like interference from a partner when performing a joint task (Milward, Kita, & Apperly, 2014). This raises questions about the cognitive skills involved in the development of such “corepresentation (CR)” of a partner (Sebanz, Knoblich, & Prinz, 2003). Here, individual differences data from one hundred and thirteen 4‐ to 5‐year‐olds showed theory of mind (ToM) and inhibitory control (IC) as predictors of ability to avoid CR interference, suggesting that children with better ToM abilities are more likely to succeed in decoupling self and other representations in a joint task, while better IC is likely to help children avoid interference from a partner's response when selecting their own response on the task.

  December 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12693   open full text
• The Ghost in the Touchscreen: Social Scaffolds Promote Learning by Toddlers.
  Laura Zimmermann, Alecia Moser, Herietta Lee, Peter Gerhardstein, Rachel Barr.
  Child Development. December 09, 2016
  This study examined the effect of a “ghost” demonstration on toddlers’ imitation. In the ghost condition, virtual pieces moved to make a fish or boat puzzle. Fifty‐two 2.5‐ and 3‐year‐olds were tested on a touchscreen (no transfer) or with 3D pieces (transfer); children tested with 3D pieces scored above a no demonstration baseline, but children tested on the touchscreen did not. Practice on the touchscreen (n = 23) by 2.5‐ and 3‐year‐olds prior to the ghost demonstration did not improve performance. Finally, children who learned the puzzle task via a social demonstration and were tested on the touchscreen (n = 26) performed better than the ghost conditions. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that social demonstrations enhance learning from novel touchscreen tools during early childhood.

  December 09, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12683   open full text
• Warmth and Demand: The Relation Between Students' Perceptions of the Classroom Environment and Achievement Growth.
  Lia E. Sandilos, Sara E. Rimm‐Kaufman, Julia J. Cohen.
  Child Development. December 09, 2016
  Theory suggests that African American students benefit from warm and demanding teachers. This study examines the relation between students' perceptions of 634 teachers' warm demander characteristics and achievement growth in fourth and fifth grades (Mstudent age = 9–11.5 years). Analyses explored whether relations were moderated by the proportion of African American students in the classroom or the ethnic match or mismatch between African American students and their teachers. Results indicated that students' perceptions of teachers' demand (challenge and control) related to student achievement growth. Findings showed a stronger relation between challenge and academic growth in classrooms with more African American students, but no significant findings were identified for ethnic match or mismatch.

  December 09, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12685   open full text
• Toddlers Help a Peer.
  Robert Hepach, Nadine Kante, Michael Tomasello.
  Child Development. December 07, 2016
  Toddlers are remarkably prosocial toward adults, yet little is known about their helping behavior toward peers. In the present study with 18‐ and 30‐month‐old toddlers (n = 192, 48 dyads per age group), one child needed help reaching an object to continue a task that was engaging for both children. The object was within reach of the second child who helped significantly more often compared to a no‐need control condition. The helper also fulfilled the peer's need when the task was engaging only for the child needing help. These findings suggest that toddlers’ skills and motivations of helping do not depend on having a competent and helpful recipient, such as an adult, but rather they are much more flexible and general.

  December 07, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12686   open full text
• Early Math Trajectories: Low‐Income Children's Mathematics Knowledge From Ages 4 to 11.
  Bethany Rittle‐Johnson, Emily R. Fyfe, Kerry G. Hofer, Dale C. Farran.
  Child Development. December 06, 2016
  Early mathematics knowledge is a strong predictor of later academic achievement, but children from low‐income families enter school with weak mathematics knowledge. An early math trajectories model is proposed and evaluated within a longitudinal study of 517 low‐income American children from ages 4 to 11. This model includes a broad range of math topics, as well as potential pathways from preschool to middle grades mathematics achievement. In preschool, nonsymbolic quantity, counting, and patterning knowledge predicted fifth‐grade mathematics achievement. By the end of first grade, symbolic mapping, calculation, and patterning knowledge were the important predictors. Furthermore, the first‐grade predictors mediated the relation between preschool math knowledge and fifth‐grade mathematics achievement. Findings support the early math trajectories model among low‐income children.

  December 06, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12662   open full text
• Can the Arts Get Under the Skin? Arts and Cortisol for Economically Disadvantaged Children.
  Eleanor D. Brown, Mallory L. Garnett, Kate E. Anderson, Jean‐Philippe Laurenceau.
  Child Development. December 06, 2016
  This within‐subjects experimental study investigated the influence of the arts on cortisol for economically disadvantaged children. Participants were 310 children, ages 3–5 years, who attended a Head Start preschool and were randomly assigned to participate in different schedules of arts and homeroom classes on different days of the week. Cortisol was sampled at morning baseline and after arts and homeroom classes on two different days at start, middle, and end of the year. For music, dance, and visual arts, grouped and separately, results of piecewise hierarchical linear modeling with time‐varying predictors suggested cortisol was lower after an arts versus homeroom class at middle and end of the year but not start of the year. Implications concern the impact of arts on cortisol for children facing poverty risks.

  December 06, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12652   open full text
• Differential Third‐Grade Outcomes Associated With Attending Publicly Funded Preschool Programs for Low‐Income Latino Children.
  Arya Ansari, Michael Lόpez, Louis Manfra, Charles Bleiker, Laura H. B. Dinehart, Suzanne C. Hartman, Adam Winsler.
  Child Development. December 06, 2016
  This study examined the third‐grade outcomes of 11,902 low‐income Latino children who experienced public school pre‐K or child care via subsidies (center‐based care) at age 4 in Miami‐Dade County, Florida. Regression and propensity score analyses revealed that children who experienced public school pre‐K earned higher scores on standardized assessments of math and reading in third grade and had higher grade point averages than those who attended center‐based care 4 years earlier. The sustained associations between public school pre‐K (vs. center‐based care) and third‐grade outcomes were mediated by children's kindergarten entry preacademic and social–behavioral skills, and among English‐language learners, English proficiency. Implications for investing in early childhood programs to assist with the school readiness of young Latino children in poverty are discussed.

  December 06, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12663   open full text
• Infant Attention Is Dynamically Modulated With Changing Arousal Levels.
  Kaya Barbaro, Kaili Clackson, Sam V. Wass.
  Child Development. December 02, 2016
  Traditional accounts of developing attention and cognition emphasize static individual differences in information encoding; however, work from Aston‐Jones et al. suggests that looking behavior may be dynamically influenced by autonomic arousal. To test this model, a 20‐min testing battery constituting mixed photos and cartoon clips was shown to 53 typical 12‐month‐olds. Look duration was recorded to index attention, and continuous changes in arousal were tracked by measuring heart rate, electrodermal activity, and movement levels. Across three analyses, we found that continuous changes in arousal tracked simultaneous changes in attention measures, as predicted by the Aston‐Jones model. It was also found that changes in arousal tended to precede (occur before) subsequent changes in attention. Implications of these findings are discussed.

  December 02, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12689   open full text
• Family Correlates of False Belief Understanding in Early Childhood: A Meta‐Analysis.
  Rory T. Devine, Claire Hughes.
  Child Development. November 24, 2016
  This meta‐analysis seeks to integrate findings from 25 years of research on family correlates of young children's false belief understanding (FBU). Using data from 93 studies of 3‐ to 7‐year‐old children, we examined the correlations between FBU and four of the most widely studied family factors: parental socioeconomic status, number of siblings, parental mental‐state talk, and mind‐mindedness. FBU exhibited modest associations with each family variable and these associations held even when individual differences in verbal ability were taken into account. Moderator analyses revealed key child‐related factors (e.g., age, gender) as well as methodological factors that amplified or attenuated the relations between FBU and each family variable. Crucially, available longitudinal data highlight the importance of family factors in the development of FBU.

  November 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12682   open full text
• Multigenerational Head Start Participation: An Unexpected Marker of Progress.
  Elise Chor.
  Child Development. November 21, 2016
  One‐quarter of the Head Start population has a mother who participated in the program as a child. This study uses experimental Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) data on 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds (N = 2,849) to describe multigenerational Head Start families and their program experiences. In sharp contrast to full‐sample HSIS findings, Head Start has large, positive impacts on cognitive and socioemotional development through third grade among the children of former participant mothers, including improved mathematics skills and reductions in withdrawn and aggressive behavior. Evidence suggests that differences in program impacts between single‐ and multigenerational Head Start families are driven largely by differences in family resources and home learning environments.

  November 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12673   open full text
• Developmental Differences in Infants’ Fairness Expectations From 6 to 15 Months of Age.
  Talee Ziv, Jessica A. Sommerville.
  Child Development. November 21, 2016
  The present research investigated the developmental trajectory of infants’ fairness expectations from 6 to 15 months of age (N = 150). Findings revealed a developmental transition in infants’ fairness expectations between 6 and 12 months, as indicated by enhanced visual attention to unfair outcomes of resource distribution events (a 3:1 distribution) relative to fair outcomes (a 2:2 distribution). The onset of naturalistic sharing behavior predicted infants’ fairness expectations at transitional ages. Beyond this period of developmental transition, the presence of siblings and infants’ prompted giving behavior predicted individual differences in infants’ fairness concerns. These results provide evidence for the role of experience in the acquisition of fairness expectations and reveal early individual differences in such expectations.

  November 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12674   open full text
• Impact of North Carolina's Early Childhood Programs and Policies on Educational Outcomes in Elementary School.
  Kenneth A. Dodge, Yu Bai, Helen F. Ladd, Clara G. Muschkin.
  Child Development. November 17, 2016
  North Carolina's Smart Start and More at Four (MAF) early childhood programs were evaluated through the end of elementary school (age 11) by estimating the impact of state funding allocations to programs in each of 100 counties across 13 consecutive years on outcomes for all children in each county‐year group (n = 1,004,571; 49% female; 61% non‐Latinx White, 30% African American, 4% Latinx, 5% other). Student‐level regression models with county and year fixed effects indicated significant positive impacts of each program on reading and math test scores and reductions in special education and grade retention in each grade. Effect sizes grew or held steady across years. Positive effects held for both high‐ and low‐poverty families, suggesting spillover of effects to nonparticipating peers.

  November 17, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12645   open full text
• Maternal Support of Children's Early Numerical Concept Learning Predicts Preschool and First‐Grade Math Achievement.
  Beth M. Casey, Caitlin M. Lombardi, Dana Thomson, Hoa Nha Nguyen, Melissa Paz, Cote A. Theriault, Eric Dearing.
  Child Development. November 14, 2016
  The primary goal in this study was to examine maternal support of numerical concepts at 36 months as predictors of math achievement at 4½ and 6‐7 years. Observational measures of mother–child interactions (n = 140) were used to examine type of support for numerical concepts. Maternal support that involved labeling the quantities of sets of objects was predictive of later child math achievement. This association was significant for preschool (d = .45) and first‐grade math (d = .49), controlling for other forms of numerical support (identifying numerals, one‐to‐one counting) as well as potential confounding factors. The importance of maternal support of labeling set sizes at 36 months is discussed as a precursor to children's eventual understanding of the cardinal principle.

  November 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12676   open full text
• Longitudinal Changes in Social Brain Development: Processing Outcomes for Friend and Self.
  Barbara R. Braams, Eveline A. Crone.
  Child Development. November 11, 2016
  Adolescence is an important time for social development during which friendships become more intimate and complex. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study we tested how outcomes for friends are processed on the neural level across adolescence. Participants between 8 and 27 years of age were tested twice with a 2‐year difference between the first (N = 299) and second (N = 254) time points. Participants performed a task in which they could win and lose money for themselves and their best friend. Mixed linear models revealed a linear decrease in activity in social brain regions for friend > self over development. These results confirm changes in the social brain network across adolescent development, we further show that individual differences are related to these neural changes.

  November 11, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12665   open full text
• Nonverbal Executive Function is Mediated by Language: A Study of Deaf and Hearing Children.
  Nicola Botting, Anna Jones, Chloe Marshall, Tanya Denmark, Joanna Atkinson, Gary Morgan.
  Child Development. November 10, 2016
  Studies have suggested that language and executive function (EF) are strongly associated. Indeed, the two are difficult to separate, and it is particularly difficult to determine whether one skill is more dependent on the other. Deafness provides a unique opportunity to disentangle these skills because in this case, language difficulties have a sensory not cognitive basis. In this study, deaf (n = 108) and hearing (n = 125) children (age 8 years) were assessed on language and a wide range of nonverbal EF tasks. Deaf children performed significantly less well on EF tasks, even controlling for nonverbal intelligence and speed of processing. Language mediated EF skill, but the reverse pattern was not evident. Findings suggest that language is key to EF performance rather than vice versa.

  November 10, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12659   open full text
• What Paves the Way to Conventional Language? The Predictive Value of Babble, Pointing, and Socioeconomic Status.
  Michelle McGillion, Jane S. Herbert, Julian Pine, Marilyn Vihman, Rory dePaolis, Tamar Keren‐Portnoy, Danielle Matthews.
  Child Development. November 10, 2016
  A child's first words mark the emergence of a uniquely human ability. Theories of the developmental steps that pave the way for word production have proposed that either vocal or gestural precursors are key. These accounts were tested by assessing the developmental synchrony in the onset of babbling, pointing, and word production for 46 infants observed monthly between the ages of 9 and 18 months. Babbling and pointing did not develop in tight synchrony and babble onset alone predicted first words. Pointing and maternal education emerged as predictors of lexical knowledge only in relation to a measure taken at 18 months. This suggests a far more important role for early phonological development in the creation of the lexicon than previously thought.

  November 10, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12671   open full text
• Exploring the Co‐Development of Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension: A Twin Study.
  Callie W. Little, Sara A. Hart, Jamie M. Quinn, Elliot M. Tucker‐Drob, Jeanette Taylor, Christopher Schatschneider.
  Child Development. November 10, 2016
  This study explores the co‐development of two related but separate reading skills, reading fluency and reading comprehension, across Grades 1–4. A bivariate biometric dual change score model was applied to longitudinal data collected from 1,784 twin pairs between the ages of 6 and 10 years. Grade 1 skills were influenced by highly overlapping genetic and environmental factors. Growth in both skills was influenced by highly overlapping shared environmental factors. Cross‐lagged parameters indicated bidirectional effects, with stronger effects from fluency to comprehension change than from comprehension to fluency change.

  November 10, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12670   open full text
• Infants’ Social Experiences in Three African Sociocultural Contexts.
  Hiltrud W. R. Otto, Nicole Schuitmaker, Bettina Lamm, Monika Abels, Yan Serdtse, Relindis Yovsi, Mark Tomlinson.
  Child Development. November 10, 2016
  This study introduces a peri‐urban context of poverty to the study of child development in Africa in contrast to the more typical assessments in middle‐class and rural contexts. Spot observations were used to assess universal caregiving behaviors toward seventy‐six 3‐month‐old infants. Results show that middle‐class infants experienced distal parenting behaviors instantiated by mothers, whereas rural children experienced proximal parenting practices in interactions with others. Infants growing up in poverty had mothers and other caretakers involved at mostly low levels. They experienced low levels of body contact, body stimulation, and object stimulation, and high levels of face‐to‐face positions. The study indicates that caregiving in the context of poverty does not necessarily follow familiar pathways and needs to be contextualized accordingly.

  November 10, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12661   open full text
• Within‐Family Relations in Objective Sleep Duration, Quality, and Schedule.
  Chrystyna D. Kouros, Mona El‐Sheikh.
  Child Development. November 10, 2016
  The current study examined within‐family relations between mothers’, fathers’, and children's objectively assessed sleep. Participants were 163 children (Mage = 10.45 years; SD = 0.62) and their parents. For 7 nights, families wore actigraphs to assess sleep duration (minutes), quality (efficiency, long wake episode, total wake minutes), and schedule (wake time). A sleep log assessed bedtime. Multilevel models indicated that children's sleep minutes, sleep efficiency, wake minutes, and wake time were associated with fluctuations in their mothers’, but not fathers’, sleep that same night. The duration and quality of mothers’ sleep was associated with both fathers’ and children's sleep that night, whereas fathers’ sleep was positively associated with only mothers’ sleep. Findings highlight the importance of examining sleep within a family context.

  November 10, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12667   open full text
• Producing Spatial Words Is Not Enough: Understanding the Relation Between Language and Spatial Cognition.
  Hilary E. Miller, Haley A. Vlach, Vanessa R. Simmering.
  Child Development. November 08, 2016
  Prior research has investigated the relation between children's language and spatial cognition by assessing the quantity of children's spatial word production, with limited attention to the context in which children use such words. This study tested whether 4‐year‐olds children's (N = 41, primarily white middle class) adaptive use of task‐relevant language across contexts predicted their spatial skills. Children were presented with a spatial scene description task, four spatial tasks, and vocabulary assessments. Children's adaptive use of task‐relevant language was more predictive of their spatial skills than demographic and language factors (e.g., quantity of spatial words produced). These findings identify new links between language and spatial cognition and highlight the importance of understanding the quality, not just quantity, of children's language use.

  November 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12664   open full text
• Extending Previous cG×I Findings on 5‐HTTLPR's Moderation of Intervention Effects on Adolescent Substance Misuse Initiation.
  Gabriel L. Schlomer, H. Harrington Cleveland, Mark E. Feinberg, Pedro S. A. Wolf, Mark T. Greenberg, Richard L. Spoth, Cleve Redmond, Eric P. Tricou, David J. Vandenbergh.
  Child Development. November 08, 2016
  This study addresses replication in candidate gene × environment interaction (cG×E) research by investigating if the key findings from Brody, Beach, Philibert, Chen, and Murry (2009) can be detected using data (N = 1,809) from the PROSPER substance use preventive intervention delivery system. Parallel to Brody et al., this study tested the hypotheses that substance misuse initiation would increase faster from age 11 to age 14 and be higher at age 14 among: (a) 5‐HTTLPR short carrier adolescents versus long homozygotes, (b) control versus intervention adolescents, and (c) 5‐HTTLPR short carriers in the control condition versus all other participants. The hypotheses were generally supported and results were consistent with Brody et al.'s cG×I finding. Results are discussed in light of replication issues in cG×E research and implications for intervention.

  November 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12666   open full text
• Does Reading Cause Later Intelligence? Accounting for Stability in Models of Change.
  Drew H. Bailey, Andrew K. Littlefield.
  Child Development. November 08, 2016
  This study reanalyzes data presented by Ritchie, Bates, and Plomin (2015) who used a cross‐lagged monozygotic twin differences design to test whether reading ability caused changes in intelligence. The authors used data from a sample of 1,890 monozygotic twin pairs tested on reading ability and intelligence at five occasions between the ages of 7 and 16, regressing twin differences in intelligence on twin differences in prior intelligence and twin differences in prior reading ability. Results from a state–trait model suggest that reported effects of reading ability on later intelligence may be artifacts of previously uncontrolled factors, both environmental in origin and stable during this developmental period, influencing both constructs throughout development. Implications for cognitive developmental theory and methods are discussed.

  November 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12669   open full text
• Young Children's Use of Surface and Object Information in Drawings of Everyday Scenes.
  Moira R. Dillon, Elizabeth S. Spelke.
  Child Development. November 07, 2016
  Pictorial symbols such as photographs, drawings, and maps are ubiquitous in modern cultures. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how children relate these symbols to the scenes that they represent. The present work investigates 4‐year‐old children's (N = 144) sensitivity to extended surface layouts and objects when using drawings of a room to find locations in that room. Children used either extended surfaces or objects when interpreting drawings, but they did not combine these two types of information to disambiguate target locations. Moreover, children's evaluations of drawings depicting surfaces or objects did not align with their use of such information in those drawings. These findings suggest that pictures of all kinds serve as media in which children deploy symbolic spatial skills flexibly and automatically.

  November 07, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12658   open full text
• Puberty Predicts Approach But Not Avoidance on the Iowa Gambling Task in a Multinational Sample.
  Grace Icenogle, Laurence Steinberg, Thomas M. Olino, Elizabeth P. Shulman, Jason Chein, Liane P. Alampay, Suha M. Al‐Hassan, Hanan M. S. Takash, Dario Bacchini, Lei Chang, Nandita Chaudhary, Laura Di Giunta, Kenneth A. Dodge, Kostas A. Fanti, Jennifer E. Lansford, Patrick S. Malone, Paul Oburu, Concetta Pastorelli, Ann T. Skinner, Emma Sorbring, Sombat Tapanya, Liliana M. Uribe Tirado.
  Child Development. November 07, 2016
  According to the dual systems model of adolescent risk taking, sensation seeking and impulse control follow different developmental trajectories across adolescence and are governed by two different brain systems. The authors tested whether different underlying processes also drive age differences in reward approach and cost avoidance. Using a modified Iowa Gambling Task in a multinational, cross‐sectional sample of 3,234 adolescents (ages 9–17; M = 12.87, SD = 2.36), pubertal maturation, but not age, predicted reward approach, mediated through higher sensation seeking. In contrast, age, but not pubertal maturation, predicted increased cost avoidance, mediated through greater impulse control. These findings add to evidence that adolescent behavior is best understood as the product of two interacting, but independently developing, brain systems.

  November 07, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12655   open full text
• Out of Reach, Out of Mind? Infants’ Comprehension of References to Hidden Inaccessible Objects.
  Maria A. Osina, Megan M. Saylor, Patricia A. Ganea.
  Child Development. November 03, 2016
  This study investigated the nature of infants’ difficulty understanding references to hidden inaccessible objects. Twelve‐month‐old infants (N = 32) responded to the mention of objects by looking at, pointing at, or approaching them when the referents were visible or accessible, but not when they were hidden and inaccessible (Experiment I). Twelve‐month‐olds (N = 16) responded robustly when a container with the hidden referent was moved from a previously inaccessible position to an accessible position before the request, but failed to respond when the reverse occurred (Experiment II). This suggests that infants might be able to track the hidden object's dislocations and update its accessibility as it changes. Knowing the hidden object is currently inaccessible inhibits their responding. Older, 16‐month‐old (N = 17) infants’ performance was not affected by object accessibility.

  November 03, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12656   open full text
• Vagal Regulation in Breastfeeding Infants and Their Mothers.
  Kelsey M. Quigley, Ginger A. Moore, Cathi B. Propper, Barbara D. Goldman, Martha J. Cox.
  Child Development. November 01, 2016
  Consistent with the gustatory–vagal hypothesis, vagal stimulation during breastfeeding may contribute to infants' physiological regulatory development independent of caregiving effects. This study examined whether breastfeeding predicted 6‐month‐old infants' (N = 151) and their mothers' vagal regulation during the face‐to‐face still‐face (FFSF). Although breastfed and nonbreastfed infants showed expected vagal withdrawal during the Still‐Face episode, only breastfed infants showed continued withdrawal during the reunion episode, suggesting greater physiological mobilization to repair the interaction. Breastfeeding mothers showed higher vagal tone than nonbreastfeeding mothers at baseline, suggesting greater capacity for regulation, and throughout the FFSF, suggesting calmer states. Breastfeeding effects were independent of maternal sensitivity. Findings suggest that infants' and mothers' physiological regulation may be shaped by breastfeeding independently of associated social factors.

  November 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12641   open full text
• Children's Intrinsic Motivation to Provide Help Themselves After Accidentally Harming Others.
  Robert Hepach, Amrisha Vaish, Michael Tomasello.
  Child Development. November 01, 2016
  Little is known about the flexibility of children's prosocial motivation. Here, 2‐ and 3‐year‐old children's (n = 128) internal arousal, as measured via changes in pupil dilation, was increased after they accidentally harmed a victim but were unable to repair the harm. If they were able to repair (or if they themselves did not cause the harm and the help was provided by someone else) their arousal subsided. This suggests that children are especially motivated to help those whom they have harmed, perhaps out of a sense of guilt and a desire to reconcile with them. Young children care not only about the well‐being of others but also about the relationship they have with those who depend on their help.

  November 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12646   open full text
• Helping the One You Hurt: Toddlers’ Rudimentary Guilt, Shame, and Prosocial Behavior After Harming Another.
  Jesse D. K. Drummond, Stuart I. Hammond, Emma Satlof‐Bedrick, Whitney E. Waugh, Celia A. Brownell.
  Child Development. October 31, 2016
  This study explored the role of guilt and shame in early prosocial behavior by extending previous findings that guilt‐ and shame‐like responses can be distinguished in toddlers and, for the first time, examining their associations with helping. Toddlers (n = 32; Mage = 28.9 months) were led to believe they broke an adult's toy, after which they exhibited either a guilt‐like response that included frequently confessing their behavior and trying to repair the toy; or a shame‐like response that included frequently avoiding the adult and seldom confessing or attempting to repair the toy. In subsequent prosocial tasks, children showing a guilt‐like response helped an adult in emotional distress significantly faster and more frequently than did children showing a shame‐like response.

  October 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12653   open full text
• Income and Social Rank Influence UK Children's Behavioral Problems: A Longitudinal Analysis.
  Elisabeth A. Garratt, Tarani Chandola, Kingsley Purdam, Alex M. Wood.
  Child Development. October 31, 2016
  Children living in low‐income households face elevated risks of behavioral problems, but the impact of absolute and relative income to this risk remains unexplored. Using the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study data, longitudinal associations between Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores and absolute household income, distance from the regional median and mean income, and regional income rank were examined in 3‐ to 12‐year‐olds (n = 16,532). Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems, while higher income rank was associated with lower behavioral problems only at the highest absolute incomes. Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems among children in working households, indicating compounding effects of income and socioeconomic advantages. Both absolute and relative incomes therefore appear to influence behavioral problems.

  October 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12649   open full text
• Anticipatory Eye Movements While Watching Continuous Action Across Shots in Video Sequences: A Developmental Study.
  Heather L. Kirkorian, Daniel R. Anderson.
  Child Development. October 26, 2016
  Eye movements were recorded as 12‐month‐olds (n = 15), 4‐year‐olds (n = 17), and adults (n = 19) watched a 15‐min video with sequences of shots conveying continuous motion. The central question was whether, and at what age, viewers anticipate the reappearance of objects following cuts to new shots. Adults were more likely than younger viewers to make anticipatory eye movements. Four‐year‐olds responded to transitions more slowly and tended to fixate the center of the screen. Infants’ eye movement patterns reflected a tendency to react rather than anticipate. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that adults integrate content across shots and understand how space is represented in edited video. Results are interpreted with respect to a developing understanding of film editing due to experience and cognitive maturation.

  October 26, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12651   open full text
• The Norms of Popular Peers Moderate Friendship Dynamics of Adolescent Aggression.
  Lydia Laninga‐Wijnen, Zeena Harakeh, Christian Steglich, Jan K. Dijkstra, René Veenstra, Wilma Vollebergh.
  Child Development. October 25, 2016
  This study examined whether peer norms for aggression within the classroom impact friendship selection, maintenance, and socialization processes related to aggression across the 1st year of secondary school (N = 1,134 students from 51 classes, Mage = 12.66). As hypothesized, longitudinal social network analyses indicated that friendship selection and influence processes related to aggression depended on the popularity norm within the classroom (i.e., the class‐level association between popularity and aggression) rather than the descriptive norm (aggregated average of aggressive behavior). Hence, only in classes where the valence of aggression is high (because it is positively associated with popularity), adolescents tend to select their friends based on similarity in aggression and adopt the aggressive behavior of their friends.

  October 25, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12650   open full text
• Carving Metacognition at Its Joints: Protracted Development of Component Processes.
  Allison P. O'Leary, Vladimir M. Sloutsky.
  Child Development. October 19, 2016
  Two experiments investigated the development of metacognitive monitoring and control, and conditions under which children engage these processes. In Experiment 1, 5‐year‐olds (N = 30) and 7‐year‐olds (N = 30), unlike adults (N = 30), showed little evidence of either monitoring or control. In Experiment 2, 5‐year‐olds (N = 90) were given performance feedback (aimed at improving monitoring), instruction to follow a particular strategy (aimed at improving control), or both. Across conditions, feedback improved children's monitoring, and instruction improved both monitoring and control. Thus, children's poor metacognitive performance likely reflects a difficulty engaging the component processes spontaneously rather than a lack of metacognitive ability. These findings also suggest that the component processes are distinct, with both undergoing protracted development.

  October 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12644   open full text
• Gender Attitudes in Early Childhood: Behavioral Consequences and Cognitive Antecedents.
  May Ling D. Halim, Diane N. Ruble, Catherine S. Tamis‐LeMonda, Patrick E. Shrout, David M. Amodio.
  Child Development. October 19, 2016
  This study examined factors that predicted children's gender intergroup attitudes at age 5 and the implications of these attitudes for intergroup behavior. Ethnically diverse children from low‐income backgrounds (N = 246; Mexican‐, Chinese‐, Dominican‐, and African American) were assessed at ages 4 and 5. On average, children reported positive same‐gender and negative other‐gender attitudes. Positive same‐gender attitudes were associated with knowledge of gender stereotypes. In contrast, positive other‐gender attitudes were associated with flexibility in gender cognitions (stereotype flexibility, gender consistency). Other‐gender attitudes predicted gender‐biased behavior. These patterns were observed in all ethnic groups. These findings suggest that early learning about gender categories shape young children's gender attitudes and that these gender attitudes already have consequences for children's intergroup behavior at age 5.

  October 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12642   open full text
• The Impact of Early Social Interactions on Later Language Development in Spanish–English Bilingual Infants.
  Nairán Ramírez‐Esparza, Adrián García‐Sierra, Patricia K. Kuhl.
  Child Development. October 19, 2016
  This study tested the impact of child‐directed language input on language development in Spanish–English bilingual infants (N = 25, 11‐ and 14‐month‐olds from the Seattle metropolitan area), across languages and independently for each language, controlling for socioeconomic status. Language input was characterized by social interaction variables, defined in terms of speech style (“parentese” vs. standard speech) and social context (one‐on‐one vs. group). Correlations between parentese one‐on‐one and productive vocabulary at 24 months (n = 18) were found across languages and in each language independently. Differences are highlighted between previously published monolingual samples, which used the same methods as the current study of bilingual infants. The results also suggest cultural effects on language input and language development in bilingual and bicultural infants.

  October 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12648   open full text
• The Signature of Maternal Social Rank in Placenta Deoxyribonucleic Acid Methylation Profiles in Rhesus Monkeys.
  Renaud Massart, Matthew J. Suderman, Zsofia Nemoda, Sheila Sutti, Angela M. Ruggiero, Amanda M. Dettmer, Stephen J. Suomi, Moshe Szyf.
  Child Development. October 14, 2016
  The effects of social status on human health can be modeled in captive cohorts of nonhuman primates. This study shows that maternal social rank is associated with broad changes in DNA methylation in placentae of rhesus monkeys (N = 10). Differentially methylated genes between social ranks are enriched in signaling pathways playing major roles in placenta physiology. Moreover, the authors found significant overlaps with genes whose expression was previously associated with social rank in adult rhesus monkeys (Tung et al., 2012) and whose methylation was associated with perinatal stress in newborn humans and rhesus monkeys (Nieratschker et al., 2014). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that system‐wide epigenetic changes in multiple tissues are involved in long‐term adaptations to the social environment.

  October 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12640   open full text
• Who's the Boss? Concepts of Social Power Across Development.
  Selin Gülgöz, Susan A. Gelman.
  Child Development. October 14, 2016
  Power differences are observed in children's early relationships, yet little is known about how children conceptualize social power. Study 1 recruited adults (n = 35) to assess the validity of a series of vignettes to measure five dimensions of social power. Using these vignettes, Study 2 (149 three‐ to nine‐year‐olds, 42 adults) and Study 3 (86 three‐ to nine‐year‐olds, 22 adults) showed that children visiting a science museum at a middle class university town are sensitive to several dimensions of social power from a young age; however, an adult‐like breadth of power concepts does not develop until 7–9 years. Children understand social power whether the powerful character is malevolent or benevolent, though malevolent power is easier to detect for children and adults.

  October 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12643   open full text
• Responses to Interpersonal Stress: Normative Changes Across Childhood and the Impact of Peer Victimization.
  Wendy Troop‐Gordon, Niwako Sugimura, Karen D. Rudolph.
  Child Development. October 06, 2016
  This research examined the development of stress responses across second to sixth grades and whether exposure to peer victimization alters stress response trajectories. Youth (338 girls; 298 boys; Mage = 7.97 years, SD = .37) reported on stress responses; teachers and youth reported on peer victimization. Latent growth curve modeling revealed an increase in effortful engagement responses and a decrease in disengagement and involuntary engagement responses during this period. Peer victimization disrupted these normative trajectories, resulting in less effortful engagement and more effortful disengagement and involuntary stress responses in early adolescence. These findings suggest that early peer victimization sensitizes youth to stress by interfering with the development of effective coping and fostering maladaptive stress responses.

  October 06, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12617   open full text
• Diverse Effects, Complex Causes: Children Use Information About Machines' Functional Diversity to Infer Internal Complexity.
  Richard E. Ahl, Frank C. Keil.
  Child Development. September 26, 2016
  Four studies explored the abilities of 80 adults and 180 children (4–9 years), from predominantly middle‐class families in the Northeastern United States, to use information about machines' observable functional capacities to infer their internal, “hidden” mechanistic complexity. Children as young as 4 and 5 years old used machines' numbers of functions as indications of complexity and matched machines performing more functions with more complex “insides” (Study 1). However, only older children (6 and older) and adults used machines' functional diversity alone as an indication of complexity (Studies 2–4). The ability to use functional diversity as a complexity cue therefore emerges during the early school years, well before the use of diversity in most categorical induction tasks.

  September 26, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12613   open full text
• Changes in Beliefs About Category Homogeneity and Variability Across Childhood.
  Amanda C. Brandone.
  Child Development. September 20, 2016
  Effective category‐based induction requires understanding that categories include both fundamental similarities between members and important variation. This article explores 4‐ to 11‐year‐olds’ (n = 207) and adults’ (n = 49) intuitions about this balance between within‐category homogeneity and variability using a novel induction task in which participants predict the distribution of a property among members of a novel category. Across childhood, children learned to recognize variability within categories—showing increasing sensitivity to the role of property type and domain in constraining inferences. Children below the age of 6 showed evidence for a domain‐general assumption that categories are homogeneous—generalizing properties broadly to 100% of category members. These studies support important developmental changes in category representations that may influence category‐based induction.

  September 20, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12616   open full text
• English Language Proficiency and Early School Attainment Among Children Learning English as an Additional Language.
  Katie E. Whiteside, Debbie Gooch, Courtenay F. Norbury.
  Child Development. September 20, 2016
  Children learning English as an additional language (EAL) often experience lower academic attainment than monolingual peers. In this study, teachers provided ratings of English language proficiency and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning for 782 children with EAL and 6,485 monolingual children in reception year (ages 4–5). Academic attainment was assessed in reception and Year 2 (ages 6–7). Relative to monolingual peers with comparable English language proficiency, children with EAL displayed fewer social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in reception, were equally likely to meet curriculum targets in reception, and were more likely to meet targets in Year 2. Academic attainment and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in children with EAL are associated with English language proficiency at school entry.

  September 20, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12615   open full text
• Language Brokering and Depressive Symptoms in Mexican‐American Adolescents: Parent–Child Alienation and Resilience as Moderators.
  Su Yeong Kim, Yang Hou, Yolanda Gonzalez.
  Child Development. September 17, 2016
  This study aimed to untangle the mixed effects of language brokering by examining a contextual factor (i.e., parent–child alienation) and a personal attribute (i.e., resilience) that may relate to adolescents’ feelings during translating (i.e., sense of burden and efficacy) and that may moderate the association between such feelings and adolescent depressive symptoms. Participants included 557 adolescent language brokers (Mage = 12.96) in Mexican‐American families. Results showed that adolescents with a strong sense of alienation from parents or low resilience (a) experienced more burden or less efficacy in translating and (b) were more susceptible to the detrimental effects of feeling a sense of burden and the beneficial effects of experiencing a sense of efficacy, as measured by depressive symptoms.

  September 17, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12620   open full text
• Telling the Tale and Living Well: Adolescent Narrative Identity, Personality Traits, and Well‐Being Across Cultures.
  Elaine Reese, Ella Myftari, Helena M. McAnally, Yan Chen, Tia Neha, Qi Wang, Fiona Jack, Sarah‐Jane Robertson.
  Child Development. September 17, 2016
  This study explored links between narrative identity, personality traits, and well‐being for 263 adolescents (age 12–21) from three New Zealand cultures: Māori, Chinese, and European. Turning‐point narratives were assessed for autobiographical reasoning (causal coherence), local thematic coherence, emotional expressivity, and topic. Across cultures, older adolescents with higher causal coherence reported better well‐being. Younger adolescents with higher causal coherence instead reported poorer well‐being. Personal development topics were positively linked to well‐being for New Zealand European adolescents only, and thematic coherence was positively linked to well‐being for Māori adolescents only. Negative expressivity, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness were also linked to well‐being. Implications of these cultural similarities and differences are considered for theories of narrative identity, personality, and adolescent well‐being.

  September 17, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12618   open full text
• Genetic Moderation of Intervention Efficacy: Dopaminergic Genes, The Incredible Years, and Externalizing Behavior in Children.
  Rabia R. Chhangur, Joyce Weeland, Geertjan Overbeek, Walter Matthys, Bram Castro, Danielle Giessen, Jay Belsky.
  Child Development. September 15, 2016
  This study investigated whether children scoring higher on a polygenic plasticity index based on five dopaminergic genes (DRD4, DRD2, DAT1, MAOA, and COMT) benefited the most from the Incredible Years (IY) parent program. Data were used from a randomized controlled trial including 341 Dutch families with 4‐ to 8‐year‐old children (55.7% boys) showing moderate to high levels of problem behavior. IY proved to be most effective in decreasing parent‐reported (but not observed) externalizing behavior in boys (but not girls) carrying more rather than fewer dopaminergic plasticity alleles; this Gene × Intervention effect was most pronounced in the case of boys whose parents’ manifested the most positive change in parenting in response to the intervention. These results proved robust across a variety of sampling specifications (e.g., intention to treat, ethnicity).

  September 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12612   open full text
• Academic Functioning and Peer Influences: A Short‐Term Longitudinal Study of Network–Behavior Dynamics in Middle Adolescence.
  J. Ashwin Rambaran, Andrea Hopmeyer, David Schwartz, Christian Steglich, Daryaneh Badaly, René Veenstra.
  Child Development. August 31, 2016
  In this study, the associations between peer effects and academic functioning in middle adolescence (N = 342; 14–15 years old; 48% male) were investigated longitudinally. Similarity in achievement (grade point averages) and unexplained absences (truancy) was explained by both peer selection and peer influence, net of acceptance, and connectedness. Friendships were formed and maintained when adolescents had low levels of achievement or high levels of truancy. Friends influenced one another to increase rather than decrease in achievement and truancy. Moreover, friends’ popularity moderated peer influences in truancy in reciprocal friendships but not in unilateral friendships, whereas friends’ acceptance moderated peer influences in achievement in both unilateral and reciprocal friendships. The findings illustrate the dynamic interplay between peer effects and academic functioning.

  August 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12611   open full text
• Genetic and Environmental Links Between Natural Language Use and Cognitive Ability in Toddlers.
  Caitlin F. Canfield, Lisa R. Edelson, Kimberly J. Saudino.
  Child Development. August 30, 2016
  Although the phenotypic correlation between language and nonverbal cognitive ability is well‐documented, studies examining the etiology of the covariance between these abilities are scant, particularly in very young children. The goal of this study was to address this gap in the literature by examining the genetic and environmental links between language use, assessed through conversational language samples, and nonverbal cognition in a sample of 3‐year‐old twins (N = 281 pairs). Significant genetic and nonshared environmental influences were found for nonverbal cognitive ability and language measures, including mean length of utterance and number of different words, as well as significant genetic covariance between cognitive ability and both language measures.

  August 30, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12604   open full text
• Infant Attachment Moderates Paths From Early Negativity to Preadolescent Outcomes for Children and Parents.
  Lea J. Boldt, Grazyna Kochanska, Katherine Jonas.
  Child Development. August 29, 2016
  Although infant attachment has been long seen as key for development, its long‐term effects may be complex. Attachment may be a catalyst or moderator of future developmental sequelae rather than a source of main effects. In 102 mothers, fathers, and infants, attachment was assessed at 15 months; children's negativity (rejection of parental rules and modeling attempts) at 25, 38, 52, and 67 months; and developmental outcomes (the child's parent‐rated externalizing problems and the parent–child observed relationship quality) at ages 10 and 12. In both mother–child and father–child relationships, children's higher negativity was associated with more detrimental outcomes but only in dyads with formerly insecure infants. Infant insecurity appears to amplify detrimental cascades, whereas infant security appears to defuse such risks.

  August 29, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12607   open full text
• Following My Head and My Heart: Integrating Preschoolers' Empathy, Theory of Mind, and Moral Judgments.
  Courtney L. Ball, Judith G. Smetana, Melissa L. Sturge‐Apple.
  Child Development. August 25, 2016
  Associations among hypothetical, prototypic moral, and conventional judgments; theory of mind (ToM); empathy; and personal distress were examined in 108 socioeconomically diverse preschoolers (Mage = 42.94 months, SD = 1.42). Repeated measures analysis of covariance with empathy, false beliefs, and their interaction as covariates indicated that empathy was significantly associated with judgments of greater moral but not conventional transgression severity, particularly for psychological harm, and with deserved punishment for unfairness. False beliefs were associated with (combined) moral criterion judgments of rule and authority independence and inalterability. Empathy also was positively associated with criterion judgments but only for children low in ToM. Personal distress was unrelated to judgments. Results demonstrate the importance of both affective and cognitive processes in preschoolers' moral judgments.

  August 25, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12605   open full text
• Parents' Perceived Discrimination and Adolescent Adjustment in Chinese American Families: Mediating Family Processes.
  Yang Hou, Su Yeong Kim, Nancy Hazen, Aprile D. Benner.
  Child Development. August 22, 2016
  Parental discriminatory experiences can have significant implications for adolescent adjustment. This study examined family processes linking parental perceived discrimination to adolescent depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors by using the family stress model and incorporating family systems theory. Participants were 444 Chinese American adolescents (Mage.wave1 = 13.03) and their parents residing in Northern California. Testing of actor–partner interdependent models showed a significant indirect effect from earlier paternal (but not maternal) perceived discrimination to later adolescent adjustment through paternal depressive symptoms and maternal hostility toward adolescents. The results highlight the importance of including both parents and examining actor and partner effects to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how maternal and paternal perceived discrimination differentially and indirectly relate to adolescent adjustment.

  August 22, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12603   open full text
• Learning in Complex Environments: The Effects of Background Speech on Early Word Learning.
  Brianna T. M. McMillan, Jenny R. Saffran.
  Child Development. July 21, 2016
  Although most studies of language learning take place in quiet laboratory settings, everyday language learning occurs under noisy conditions. The current research investigated the effects of background speech on word learning. Both younger (22‐ to 24‐month‐olds; n = 40) and older (28‐ to 30‐month‐olds; n = 40) toddlers successfully learned novel label–object pairings when target speech was 10 dB louder than background speech but not when the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) was 5 dB. Toddlers (28‐ to 30‐month‐olds; n = 26) successfully learned novel words with a 5‐dB SNR when they initially heard the labels embedded in fluent speech without background noise, before they were mapped to objects. The results point to both challenges and protective factors that may impact language learning in complex auditory environments.

  July 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12559   open full text
• Explaining Constrains Causal Learning in Childhood.
  Caren M. Walker, Tania Lombrozo, Joseph J. Williams, Anna N. Rafferty, Alison Gopnik.
  Child Development. July 08, 2016
  Three experiments investigate how self‐generated explanation influences children's causal learning. Five‐year‐olds (N = 114) observed data consistent with two hypotheses and were prompted to explain or to report each observation. In Study 1, when making novel generalizations, explainers were more likely to favor the hypothesis that accounted for more observations. In Study 2, explainers favored a hypothesis that was consistent with prior knowledge. Study 3 pitted a hypothesis that accounted for more observations against a hypothesis consistent with prior knowledge. Explainers were more likely to base generalizations on prior knowledge. Findings suggest that attempts to explain drive children to evaluate hypotheses using features of “good” explanations, or those supporting generalizations with broad scope, as informed by children's prior knowledge and observations.

  July 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12590   open full text
• Gender Differences in Child Aggression: Relations With Gender‐Differentiated Parenting and Parents’ Gender‐Role Stereotypes.
  Joyce J. Endendijk, Marleen G. Groeneveld, Lotte D. Pol, Sheila R. Berkel, Elizabeth T. Hallers‐Haalboom, Marian J. Bakermans‐Kranenburg, Judi Mesman.
  Child Development. July 04, 2016
  This longitudinal study examines the association between child gender and child aggression via parents’ physical control, moderated by parents’ gender‐role stereotypes in a sample of 299 two‐parent families with a 3‐year‐old child in the Netherlands. Fathers with strong stereotypical gender‐role attitudes and mothers were observed to use more physical control strategies with boys than with girls, whereas fathers with strong counterstereotypical attitudes toward gender roles used more physical control with girls than with boys. Moreover, when fathers had strong attitudes toward gender roles (stereotypical or counterstereotypical), their differential treatment of boys and girls completely accounted for the gender differences in children's aggressive behavior a year later. Mothers’ gender‐differentiated parenting practices were unrelated to gender differences in child aggression.

  July 04, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12589   open full text
• Cognitive Development Trajectories of Very Preterm and Typically Developing Children.
  Kathryn S. Mangin, L. J. Horwood, Lianne J. Woodward.
  Child Development. July 01, 2016
  Cognitive impairment is common among children born very preterm (VPT), yet little is known about how this risk changes over time. To examine this issue, a regional cohort of 110 VPT (≤ 32 weeks gestation) and 113 full‐term (FT) born children was prospectively assessed at ages 4, 6, 9, and 12 years using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Revised and then Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th ed. At all ages, VPT children obtained lower scores than their FT born peers (p < .001). Growth curve modeling revealed stable cognitive trajectories across both groups. Neonatal white matter abnormalities and family socioeconomic adversity additively predicted cognitive risk. Despite some intraindividual variability, cognitive functioning of typically developing and high‐risk VPT children was stable and influenced by early neurological development and family rearing context.

  July 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12585   open full text
• Cultural Orientation Trajectories and Substance Use: Findings From a Longitudinal Study of Mexican‐Origin Youth.
  Rick A. Cruz, Kevin M. King, Ana M. Cauce, Rand D. Conger, Richard W. Robins.
  Child Development. July 01, 2016
  Cultural adaptation may influence Latino youth substance use (SU) development, yet few longitudinal studies have examined cultural change over time and adolescent SU outcomes. Using longitudinal data collected annually across ages 10–16 from 674 Mexican‐origin youth (50% female), the authors characterized cultural adaptation patterns for language use (English and Spanish use), values (American values and familism values), and identity (ethnic pride), and examined whether these cultural adaptation patterns were associated with differential SU risk. Youth with increasing bilingualism and high/stable family values had lower SU risk compared to youth who primarily spoke English and endorsed decreasing family values, respectively. Ethnic pride trajectories were not associated with SU. Findings highlight the importance of considering cultural change related to Latino youth SU.

  July 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12586   open full text
• Early Maternal Employment and Children's Academic and Behavioral Skills in Australia and the United Kingdom.
  Caitlin McPherran Lombardi, Rebekah Levine Coley.
  Child Development. July 01, 2016
  This study assessed the links between early maternal employment and children's later academic and behavioral skills in Australia and the United Kingdom. Using representative samples of children born in each country from 2000 to 2004 (Australia N = 5,093, U.K. N = 18,497), OLS regression models weighted with propensity scores assessed links between maternal employment in the 2 years after childbearing and children's skills in first grade. There were neutral associations between maternal employment and children's first‐grade skills in both countries. However, there was a slight indication that more time away from parenting was negatively linked to children's behavioral functioning in Australia and employment begun between 9 and 24 months was positively linked to cognitive skills for U.K. children of low‐wage mothers.

  July 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12588   open full text
• Mother–Child Interaction: Links Between Mother and Child Frontal Electroencephalograph Asymmetry and Negative Behavior.
  Naama Atzaba‐Poria, Kirby Deater‐Deckard, Martha Ann Bell.
  Child Development. June 29, 2016
  It is well accepted that parent–child interactions are bidirectional by nature, yet not much is known about the psychophysiological activity underlying these interactions. This study examined, during a parent–child interaction, how a child's negativity statistically predicted maternal frontal electroencephalograph (EEG) asymmetry and how a mother's negativity statistically predicted child frontal EEG asymmetry. Thirty‐four mother–child dyads participated in the study. Maternal and child behaviors and physiology were measured during a puzzle task. Results indicated that mothers whose children exhibited more challenging behaviors during the dyadic interaction displayed more right (relative to left) asymmetry, as did children whose mothers were high in negativity during the interaction. These findings suggest that mothers and children react to each other's signals not only behaviorally but also physiologically.

  June 29, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12583   open full text
• The Longitudinal Association Between Competitive Video Game Play and Aggression Among Adolescents and Young Adults.
  Paul J.C. Adachi, Teena Willoughby.
  Child Development. June 27, 2016
  The longitudinal association between competitive video game play and aggression among young adults and adolescents was examined. Young adults (N = 1,132; Mage = 19 years) were surveyed annually over 4 years about their video game play and aggression, and data from a 4‐year longitudinal study of adolescents (N = 1,492; Mage = 13 years) was reanalyzed. The results demonstrated a longitudinal association between competitive video game play and aggressive behavior among both age groups. In addition, competitive video game play predicted higher levels of aggressive affect over time, which, in turn, predicted higher levels of aggressive behavior over time, suggesting that aggressive affect was a mechanism of this link. These findings highlight the importance of investigating competitive elements of video game play that may predict aggression over time.

  June 27, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12556   open full text
• Scaling of Advanced Theory‐of‐Mind Tasks.
  Christopher Osterhaus, Susanne Koerber, Beate Sodian.
  Child Development. June 24, 2016
  Advanced theory‐of‐mind (AToM) development was investigated in three separate studies involving 82, 466, and 402 elementary school children (8‐, 9‐, and 10‐year‐olds). Rasch and factor analyses assessed whether common conceptual development underlies higher‐order false‐belief understanding, social understanding, emotion recognition, and perspective‐taking abilities. The results refuted a unidimensional scale and revealed three distinct AToM factors: social reasoning, reasoning about ambiguity, and recognizing transgressions of social norms. Developmental progressions emerged for the two reasoning factors but not for recognizing transgressions of social norms. Both social factors were significantly related to inhibition, whereas language development only predicted performance on social reasoning. These findings suggest that AToM comprises multiple abilities, which are subject to distinct cognitive influences. Importantly, only two AToM factors involve conceptual development.

  June 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12566   open full text
• Realizing Relevance: The Influence of Domain‐Specific Information on Generation of New Knowledge Through Integration in 4‐ to 8‐Year‐Old Children.
  Patricia J. Bauer, Marina Larkina.
  Child Development. June 24, 2016
  In accumulating knowledge, direct modes of learning are complemented by productive processes, including self‐generation based on integration of separate episodes. Effects of the number of potentially relevant episodes on integration were examined in 4‐ to 8‐year‐olds (N = 121; racially/ethnically heterogeneous sample, English speakers, from large metropolitan area). Information was presented along with unrelated or related episodes; the latter challenged children to identify the relevant subset of episodes for integration. In Experiment 1, 4‐ and 6‐year‐olds integrated in the unrelated context. Six‐year‐olds also succeeded in the related context in forced‐choice testing. In Experiment 2, 8‐year‐olds succeeded in open‐ended and forced‐choice testing. Results illustrate a developmental progression in productive extension of knowledge due in part to age‐related increases in identification of relevant information.

  June 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12584   open full text
• Sensory Processing in Rhesus Monkeys: Developmental Continuity, Prenatal Treatment, and Genetic Influences.
  Mary L. Schneider, Colleen F. Moore, Miriam Adkins, Christina S. Barr, Julie A. Larson, Leslie M. Resch, Andrew Roberts.
  Child Development. June 24, 2016
  Neonatal sensory processing (tactile and vestibular function) was tested in 78 rhesus macaques from two experiments. At ages 4–5 years, striatal dopamine D2 receptor binding was examined using positron emission tomography. At ages 5–7 years, adult sensory processing was assessed. Findings were: (a) prenatal stress exposure yielded less optimal neonatal sensory processing; (b) animals carrying the short rh5‐HTTLPR allele had less optimal neonatal sensory scores than monkeys homozygous for the long allele; (c) neonatal sensory processing was significantly related to striatal D2 receptor binding for carriers of the short allele, but not for animals homozygous for the long allele; and (d) there was moderate developmental continuity in sensory processing from the neonatal period to adulthood.

  June 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12572   open full text
• Young Children Detect and Avoid Logically Inconsistent Sources: The Importance of Communicative Context and Executive Function.
  Sabine Doebel, Shaina F. Rowell, Melissa A. Koenig.
  Child Development. June 18, 2016
  The reported research tested the hypothesis that young children detect logical inconsistency in communicative contexts that support the evaluation of speakers’ epistemic reliability. In two experiments (N = 194), 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds were presented with two speakers who expressed logically consistent or inconsistent claims. Three‐year‐olds failed to detect inconsistencies (Experiment 1), 4‐year‐olds detected inconsistencies when expressed by human speakers but not when read from books, and 5‐year‐olds detected inconsistencies in both contexts (Experiment 2). In both experiments, children demonstrated skepticism toward testimony from previously inconsistent sources. Executive function and working memory each predicted inconsistency detection. These findings indicate logical inconsistency understanding emerges in early childhood, is supported by social and domain general cognitive skills, and plays a role in adaptive learning from testimony.

  June 18, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12563   open full text
• Pretty as a Princess: Longitudinal Effects of Engagement With Disney Princesses on Gender Stereotypes, Body Esteem, and Prosocial Behavior in Children.
  Sarah M. Coyne, Jennifer Ruh Linder, Eric E. Rasmussen, David A. Nelson, Victoria Birkbeck.
  Child Development. June 18, 2016
  This study examined level of engagement with Disney Princess media/products as it relates to gender‐stereotypical behavior, body esteem (i.e. body image), and prosocial behavior during early childhood. Participants consisted of 198 children (Mage = 58 months), who were tested at two time points (approximately 1 year apart). Data consisted of parent and teacher reports, and child observations in a toy preference task. Longitudinal results revealed that Disney Princess engagement was associated with more female gender‐stereotypical behavior 1 year later, even after controlling for initial levels of gender‐stereotypical behavior. Parental mediation strengthened associations between princess engagement and adherence to female gender‐stereotypical behavior for both girls and boys, and for body esteem and prosocial behavior for boys only.

  June 18, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12569   open full text
• Controlling and Autonomy‐Supportive Parenting in the United States and China: Beyond Children's Reports.
  Cecilia S. Cheung, Eva M. Pomerantz, Meifang Wang, Yang Qu.
  Child Development. June 18, 2016
  Research comparing the predictive power of parents’ control and autonomy support in the United States and China has relied almost exclusively on children's reports. Such reports may lead to inaccurate conclusions if they do not reflect parents’ practices to the same extent in the two countries. A total of 394 American and Chinese children (Mage = 13.19 years) and their mothers reported on mothers’ controlling and autonomy‐supportive parenting in the academic arena; trained observers coded such parenting in the laboratory. Children's reports were associated modestly with mothers’ reports and weakly, if at all, with observers’ reports in both the United States and China. Parenting predicted children's academic and emotional functioning similarly in the two countries, irrespective of reporter.

  June 18, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12567   open full text
• Origins of Secure Base Script Knowledge and the Developmental Construction of Attachment Representations.
  Theodore E. A. Waters, Sarah K. Ruiz, Glenn I. Roisman.
  Child Development. June 15, 2016
  Increasing evidence suggests that attachment representations take at least two forms: a secure base script and an autobiographical narrative of childhood caregiving experiences. This study presents data from the first 26 years of the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (N = 169), examining the developmental origins of secure base script knowledge in a high‐risk sample and testing alternative models of the developmental sequencing of the construction of attachment representations. Results demonstrated that secure base script knowledge was predicted by observations of maternal sensitivity across childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, findings suggest that the construction of a secure base script supports the development of a coherent autobiographical representation of childhood attachment experiences with primary caregivers by early adulthood.

  June 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12571   open full text
• Semantic Structure in Vocabulary Knowledge Interacts With Lexical and Sentence Processing in Infancy.
  Arielle Borovsky, Erica M. Ellis, Julia L. Evans, Jeffrey L. Elman.
  Child Development. June 15, 2016
  Although the size of a child's vocabulary associates with language‐processing skills, little is understood regarding how this relation emerges. This investigation asks whether and how the structure of vocabulary knowledge affects language processing in English‐learning 24‐month‐old children (N = 32; 18 F, 14 M). Parental vocabulary report was used to calculate semantic density in several early‐acquired semantic categories. Performance on two language‐processing tasks (lexical recognition and sentence processing) was compared as a function of semantic density. In both tasks, real‐time comprehension was facilitated for higher density items, whereas lower density items experienced more interference. The findings indicate that language‐processing skills develop heterogeneously and are influenced by the semantic network surrounding a known word.

  June 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12554   open full text
• A Twin Factor Mixture Modeling Approach to Childhood Temperament: Differential Heritability.
  Brandon G. Scott, Kathryn Lemery‐Chalfant, Sierra Clifford, Jenn‐Yun Tein, Ryan Stoll, H.Hill Goldsmith.
  Child Development. June 13, 2016
  Twin factor mixture modeling was used to identify temperament profiles while simultaneously estimating a latent factor model for each profile with a sample of 787 twin pairs (Mage = 7.4 years, SD = .84; 49% female; 88.3% Caucasian), using mother‐ and father‐reported temperament. A four‐profile, one‐factor model fit the data well. Profiles included “regulated, typical reactive,” “well‐regulated, positive reactive,” “regulated, surgent,” and “dysregulated, negative reactive.” All profiles were heritable, with lower heritability and shared environment also contributing to membership in the “regulated, typical reactive” and “dysregulated, negative reactive” profiles.

  June 13, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12561   open full text
• Taking a Third‐Person Perspective Requires Inhibitory Control: Evidence From a Developmental Negative Priming Study.
  Ania Aïte, Alain Berthoz, Julie Vidal, Margot Roëll, Mohamed Zaoui, Olivier Houdé, Grégoire Borst.
  Child Development. June 09, 2016
  To determine whether the growing ability to take a third‐person perspective (3PP) is explained in part by the growing ability to inhibit a first‐person perspective (1PP), 10‐year‐old children (n = 49) and 22‐year‐old adults (n = 52) performed a negative priming adaptation of the own body transformation task. Both children and adults were less efficient in adopting a 1PP after they adopted a 3PP—with a smaller amplitude of the negative priming effect with older age—and adults’ and children's performances in the own body transformation task were predicted in part by their Stroop interference scores. These results suggest that the growing efficiency to adopt a 3PP is rooted in part in the growing efficiency to inhibit the 1PP.

  June 09, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12558   open full text
• Coping With Logical Fallacies: A Developmental Training Program for Learning to Reason.
  Michael Christoforides, George Spanoudis, Andreas Demetriou.
  Child Development. June 03, 2016
  This study trained children to master logical fallacies and examined how learning is related to processing efficiency and fluid intelligence (gf). A total of one hundred and eighty 8‐ and 11‐year‐old children living in Cyprus were allocated to a control, a limited (LI), and a full instruction (FI) group. The LI group learned the notion of logical contradiction and the logical structure of the schemes involved. The FI group learned, additionally, to recognize other deductive reasoning principles. Reasoning improved proportionally to training. Awareness improved equally in LI and FI. Changes in reasoning and awareness changes were related to attention control and gf. Awareness mediated the influence of training on reasoning but not vice versa, suggesting that awareness is necessary for conditional reasoning. Implications are discussed.

  June 03, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12557   open full text
• Into the Looking Glass: Literacy Acquisition and Mirror Invariance in Preschool and First‐Grade Children.
  Tânia Fernandes, Isabel Leite, Régine Kolinsky.
  Child Development. June 02, 2016
  At what point in reading development does literacy impact object recognition and orientation processing? Is it specific to mirror images? To answer these questions, forty‐six 5‐ to 7‐year‐old preschoolers and first graders performed two same–different tasks differing in the matching criterion‐orientation‐based versus shape‐based (orientation independent)‐on geometric shapes and letters. On orientation‐based judgments, first graders outperformed preschoolers who had the strongest difficulty with mirrored pairs. On shape‐based judgments, first graders were slower for mirrored than identical pairs, and even slower than preschoolers. This mirror cost emerged with letter knowledge. Only first graders presented worse shape‐based judgments for mirrored and rotated pairs of reversible (e.g., b‐d; b‐q) than nonreversible (e.g., e‐ә) letters, indicating readers’ difficulty in ignoring orientation contrasts relevant to letters.

  June 02, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12550   open full text
• An Age‐Related Mechanism of Emotion Regulation: Regulating Sadness Promotes Children's Learning by Broadening Information Processing.
  Elizabeth L. Davis.
  Child Development. June 01, 2016
  Emotion regulation predicts positive academic outcomes like learning, but little is known about why. Effective emotion regulation likely promotes learning by broadening the scope of what may be attended to after an emotional event. One hundred twenty‐six 6‐ to 13‐year‐olds' (54% boys) regulation of sadness was examined for changes in emotional experience, information processing, and memory for subsequent neutral information. Instructions to use specific strategies (distancing, positive reappraisal, rumination, or no strategy) predicted changes in sadness and happiness but did not predict information processing or memory. Effective regulation of sadness (regardless of instructions) predicted better memory through the indirect effect of broadened information processing but only for older children. Implications for emotion regulation processes in childhood are discussed.

  June 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12552   open full text
• Within‐ and Between‐Sector Quality Differences in Early Childhood Education and Care.
  Daphna Bassok, Maria Fitzpatrick, Erica Greenberg, Susanna Loeb.
  Child Development. June 01, 2016
  This study leverages nationally representative data (N ≈ 6,000) to examine the magnitude of quality differences between (a) formal and informal early childhood education and care providers; (b) Head Start, prekindergarten, and other center‐based care; and (c) programs serving toddlers and those serving preschoolers. It then documents differences in children's reading and math skills at age 5 between those who had enrolled in formal and informal settings. Cross‐sector differences are substantially reduced when accounting for a set of quality measures, though these measures do less to explain more modest differences in outcomes within the formal sector. Results inform current efforts aimed at improving the quality of early childhood settings by highlighting the large quality differences across sectors and their relationship with child development.

  June 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12551   open full text
• A Dual Identity Approach for Conceptualizing and Measuring Children's Gender Identity.
  Carol Lynn Martin, Naomi C. Z. Andrews, Dawn E. England, Kristina Zosuls, Diane N. Ruble.
  Child Development. June 01, 2016
  The goal was to test a new dual identity perspective on gender identity by asking children (n = 467) in three grades (Mage = 5.7, 7.6, 9.5) to consider the relation of the self to both boys and girls. This change shifted the conceptualization of gender identity from one to two dimensions, provided insights into the meaning and measurement of gender identity, and allowed for revisiting ideas about the roles of gender identity in adjustment. Using a graphical measure to allow assessment of identity in young children and cluster analyses to determine types of identity, it was found that individual and developmental differences in how similar children feel to both genders, and these variations matter for many important personal and social outcomes.

  June 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12568   open full text
• The Cortical Development of Specialized Face Processing in Infancy.
  Maggie W. Guy, Nicole Zieber, John E. Richards.
  Child Development. May 31, 2016
  The aim of this study was to examine specialized face processing in forty‐eight 4.5‐ to 7.5‐month‐old infants by recording event‐related potentials (ERPs) in response to faces and toys, and to determine the cortical sources of these signals using realistic, age‐appropriate head models. All ERP components (i.e., N290, P400, Nc) showed greater amplitude during periods of attention than inattention. Amplitude was greater to faces than toys during attention at the N290, and greater to toys at the P400. Cortical source analysis revealed activity in occipital–temporal brain areas as the source of the N290, particularly the middle fusiform gyrus. The Nc and P400 were the result of activation in midline frontal and parietal, anterior temporal, and posterior temporal and occipital brain areas.

  May 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12543   open full text
• Cumulative, Timing‐Specific, and Interactive Models of Residential Mobility and Children's Cognitive and Psychosocial Skills.
  Rebekah Levine Coley, Melissa Kull.
  Child Development. May 25, 2016
  Residential mobility has received notable attention in the literature, yet there remains limited consensus on how and when mobility is associated with detriments to children's development. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of 19,162 children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study followed from kindergarten through eighth grade, this study compared cumulative, timing‐specific, and interactive models of mobility. Results found that mobility during middle childhood and early adolescence was negatively associated with children's cognitive skills, with short‐term effects that dissipated over time. In contrast, associations with psychosocial functioning emerged in relation to early and middle childhood mobility. Effects of residential mobility were robust to more conservative modeling techniques and adjustments for school mobility.

  May 25, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12535   open full text
• The Social and Emotional Lives of Overweight, Obese, and Severely Obese Children.
  Amanda W. Harrist, Taren M. Swindle, Laura Hubbs‐Tait, Glade L. Topham, Lenka H. Shriver, Melanie C. Page.
  Child Development. May 25, 2016
  This study examines inter‐ and intrapersonal problems associated with being overweight among one thousand one hundred sixty‐four 6‐ to 7‐year‐olds (49% boys) in 29 rural schools. Socioemotional data include child self‐reports, peer sociometrics, and teacher reports. Results support the hypothesis that children with weight problems struggle socially and emotionally, and extend current understanding of child obesity by demonstrating that problems appear early, are evident in a community sample, can be identified using standard sociometric methods, and are worse among children with severe obesity. Sociometric status difference between levels of obesity were also found. Although obese children were neglected by peers, severely obese children were rejected.

  May 25, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12548   open full text
• Observed Racial Socialization and Maternal Positive Emotions in African American Mother–Adolescent Discussions About Racial Discrimination.
  Mia A. Smith‐Bynum, Riana E. Anderson, BreAnna L. Davis, Marisa G. Franco, Devin English.
  Child Development. May 23, 2016
  This study examined patterns of (a) observed racial socialization messages in dyadic discussions between 111 African American mothers and adolescents (Mage = 15.50) and (b) mothers’ positive emotions displayed during the discussion. Mothers displayed more advocacy on behalf of their adolescents in response to discrimination by a White teacher than to discrimination by a White salesperson. Mothers displayed consistent emotional support of adolescents’ problem solving across both dilemmas but lower warmth in response to the salesperson dilemma. Findings illustrate evidence of the transactional nature of racial socialization when presented with adolescents’ racial dilemmas. The role of adolescent gender in mothers’ observed racial socialization responses is also discussed. A framework for a process‐oriented approach to racial socialization is presented.

  May 23, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12562   open full text
• Identity Processes and Parent–Child and Sibling Relationships in Adolescence: A Five‐Wave Multi‐Informant Longitudinal Study.
  Elisabetta Crocetti, Susan Branje, Monica Rubini, Hans M. Koot, Wim Meeus.
  Child Development. May 20, 2016
  The purpose of this study was to examine reciprocal associations between identity processes (commitment, in‐depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) and dimensions (support, negative interaction, and power) of maternal, paternal, and sibling relationships. A total of 497 Dutch families including 14‐years‐old adolescents (56.9% males), their fathers, mothers, and siblings, for a total of 1,988 respondents, participated in a five‐wave longitudinal study. Cross‐lagged analyses indicated that commitment and in‐depth exploration predicted improvements in family relationships (unidirectional effects), whereas reconsideration of commitment was predicted by low levels of maternal support and worsened the quality of the paternal relationship (reciprocal effects). These results were not moderated by adolescents' gender and sibling characteristics. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

  May 20, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12547   open full text
• An Efficacy Trial of Carescapes: Home‐Based Child‐Care Practices and Children's Social Outcomes.
  Julie C. Rusby, Laura B. Jones, Ryann Crowley, Keith Smolkowski.
  Child Development. May 13, 2016
  This study reported findings from a longitudinal randomized controlled trial of Carescapes, a professional development program for home‐based child‐care providers in promoting children's social competence. Participants included 134 child‐care providers and 310 children, ages 3–5 years, in Oregon. The Carescapes intervention group made significant improvements in observed caregiver responsiveness and monitoring, and showed decreased caregiver‐reported child problem behavior and improved parent‐reported peer relationships compared to the control group. Increased caregiver‐reported cooperation skills were found for the intervention group at follow‐up. No differences in condition were found for kindergarten teacher‐reported social–behavioral, classroom, and academic skills. Moderation effects on children's behavior and peer relations were found for child age and exposure to the intervention child care.

  May 13, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12541   open full text
• Two‐Year‐Olds Distinguish Pretending and Joking.
  Elena Hoicka, Catriona Martin.
  Child Development. May 12, 2016
  Although children understand intentions to joke and pretend by 2 or 3 years, it is unclear whether they distinguish these intentional acts. Using a normativity paradigm, this study found (N = 72) 2‐year‐olds protest against jokes more than pretending, suggesting, for the first time, they distinguish these acts. Furthermore, toddlers protested more generally after pretend than literal or joke contexts but only if intentional cues were used. Additionally, children objected more to joking than pretending after pretend and literal contexts but not after joke contexts. Thus, toddlers distinguish the intentional nature of pretending and joking. Furthermore, a pretend intentional context establishes specific rules to be followed, whereas a joke intentional context allows an open space to perform various types of acts.

  May 12, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12526   open full text
• Parental Feeding and Child Eating: An Investigation of Reciprocal Effects.
  Silje Steinsbekk, Jay Belsky, Lars Wichstrøm.
  Child Development. May 07, 2016
  Parental feeding practices and children's eating behavior are consistently related to childhood obesity. However, it is not known whether parents’ feeding practices predict obesogenic eating behavior or vice versa. In a Norwegian cohort (n = 797), it was found that greater parental use of food as a reward (instrumental feeding) when children were 6 predicted increased emotional overeating and food responsiveness, whereas greater parental encouragement to eat forecasted increased enjoyment of food 2 years later. No evidence of child effects emerged. Although children's eating behavior is relatively stable and established at an early age, findings suggest that parental feeding practices can serve as targets of intervention to prevent the development of obesogenic eating behavior.

  May 07, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12546   open full text
• One‐Year‐Olds Think Creatively, Just Like Their Parents.
  Elena Hoicka, Rachael Mowat, Joanne Kirkwood, Tiffany Kerr, Megan Carberry, Simone Bijvoet‐van den Berg.
  Child Development. May 07, 2016
  Creativity is an essential human ability, allowing adaptation and survival. Twenty‐nine 1‐year‐olds and their parents were tested on divergent thinking (DT), a measure of creative potential counting how many ideas one can generate. Toddlers' and parents' DT was moderately to highly correlated. Toddlers showed a wide range of DT scores, which were reliable on retesting. This is the first study to show children think divergently as early as 1 year. This research also suggests 1‐year‐olds' DT is related to parents', opening up future research into whether this relationship is due to genetics and/or social learning at its emergence. Understanding DT at its emergence could allow for interventions while neurological development is most plastic, which could improve DT across the life span.

  May 07, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12531   open full text
• Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Attitudes in Chinese American Families: Interplay of Socioeconomic Status and Acculturation.
  Yishan Shen, Su Yeong Kim, Yijie Wang.
  Child Development. May 03, 2016
  This longitudinal study examined the influence of parents' educational attitudes on adolescents' educational attitudes and identified antecedents (i.e., parent education, family income, and parent acculturation), consequences (i.e., academic achievement and engagement), and a potential moderator (i.e., adolescent acculturation) of the transmission process. The sample was 444 Chinese American mothers, fathers, and adolescents (12–15 at W1). Using path analysis, this study found significant two‐way interactions among parent education, income, and acculturation in predicting parents' concurrent positive educational attitudes, which, in turn, predicted adolescents' attitudes at W2. The latter link was further moderated by W1 and W2 adolescent acculturation for mother–adolescent and father–adolescent dyads. Adolescents' positive educational attitudes at W2, in turn, were positively associated with their concurrent academic achievement and engagement.

  May 03, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12545   open full text
• How Toddlers Acquire and Transfer Tool Knowledge: Developmental Changes and the Role of Executive Functions.
  Sabina Pauen, Sabrina Bechtel‐Kuehne.
  Child Development. May 03, 2016
  This report investigates tool learning and its relations to executive functions (EFs) in toddlers. In Study 1 (N = 93), 18‐, 20‐, 22‐, and 24‐month‐old children learned equally well to choose a correct tool from observation, whereas performance based on feedback improved with age. Knowledge transfer showed significant progress after 22 months of age: Older children ignored irrelevant features more easily and adjusted their behavior more flexibly. Study 2 (N = 62) revealed that spontaneous transfer in 22‐ to 24‐month‐olds was related to set‐shifting skills and response inhibition. Flexible adaptation to feedback correlated with working‐memory capacity. These findings suggest that toddlerhood is a highly dynamic phase of tool learning and that EFs are related to transfer performance at this age.

  May 03, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12532   open full text
• Behavioral and Electrophysiological Differences in Executive Control Between Monolingual and Bilingual Children.
  Raluca Barac, Sylvain Moreno, Ellen Bialystok.
  Child Development. May 02, 2016
  This study examined executive control in sixty‐two 5‐year‐old children who were monolingual or bilingual using behavioral and event‐related potentials (ERPs) measures. All children performed equivalently on simple response inhibition (gift delay), but bilingual children outperformed monolinguals on interference suppression and complex response inhibition (go/no‐go task). On the go/no‐go task, ERPs showed larger P3 amplitudes and shorter N2 and P3 latencies for bilingual children than for monolinguals. These latency and amplitude data were associated with better behavioral performance and better discrimination between stimuli for bilingual children but not for monolingual children. These results clarify the conditions that lead to advantages for bilingual children in executive control and provide the first evidence linking those performance differences to electrophysiological brain differences in children.

  May 02, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12538   open full text
• Aggression, Sibling Antagonism, and Theory of Mind During the First Year of Siblinghood: A Developmental Cascade Model.
  Ju‐Hyun Song, Brenda L. Volling, Jonathan D. Lane, Henry M. Wellman.
  Child Development. April 20, 2016
  A developmental cascade model was tested to examine longitudinal associations among firstborn children's aggression, theory of mind (ToM), and antagonism toward their younger sibling during the 1st year of siblinghood. Aggression and ToM were assessed before the birth of a sibling and 4 and 12 months after the birth, and antagonism was examined at 4 and 12 months in a sample of 208 firstborn children (initial Mage = 30 months, 56% girls) from primarily European American, middle‐class families. Firstborns' aggression consistently predicted high sibling antagonism both directly and through poorer ToM. Results highlight the importance of examining longitudinal influences across behavioral, social‐cognitive, and relational factors that are closely intertwined even from the early years of life.

  April 20, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12530   open full text
• Adults’ Descriptions of a Situation Can Influence Children's Appraisal, Feelings, and Subsequent Psychological Functions.
  Li Qu, Zhao M. T. Lim.
  Child Development. April 19, 2016
  This study examined how an adult's descriptions of a situation could influence children's appraisal, feelings, and subsequent psychological functions. After baseline measures, 81 middle‐class Singaporean kindergarten children (Mage = 5.6 years, SD = 0.6) were exposed to an ambiguous accident and provided with positive, negative, or no descriptions of the accident. Children's appraisal of the experience, feelings of pleasantness, motivation to play a new game, confidence in playing the new game well, and performance on the new game were measured. The results revealed that the descriptions of the accident influenced children's appraisal, feelings of pleasantness, motivation to play a new game, confidence in playing the new game well, and performance on the new game.

  April 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12540   open full text
• Understanding of Goals, Beliefs, and Desires Predicts Morally Relevant Theory of Mind: A Longitudinal Investigation.
  Beate Sodian, Maria Licata, Susanne Kristen‐Antonow, Markus Paulus, Melanie Killen, Amanda Woodward.
  Child Development. April 19, 2016
  Developmental continuity between infants’ understanding of intentional agency (goals, beliefs, and desires) and young children's attributions of moral intentions were studied in a 4‐year longitudinal study (N = 77 children). First, goal encoding at the age of 7 months and implicit false belief understanding at 18 months were predictive of children's understanding of an accidental transgressor's moral intentions at the age of 5 years. Second, 24‐month‐olds’ understanding of subjective desires was predictive of children's ability to understand an accidental transgressor's false belief at 5 years. These correlations remained significant when controlling for gender and verbal IQ. These findings support the theory that an early understanding of intentional agency is foundational for moral cognition in childhood.

  April 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12533   open full text
• Cultural Diversity Climate and Psychological Adjustment at School—Equality and Inclusion Versus Cultural Pluralism.
  Maja K. Schachner, Peter Noack, Fons J. R. Van de Vijver, Katharina Eckstein.
  Child Development. April 19, 2016
  The present study is concerned with cultural diversity climate at school and how it relates to acculturation orientations and psychological school adjustment of early adolescent immigrants. Specifically, the distinct role of two types of diversity policy is investigated, namely (a) fostering equality and inclusion and (b) acknowledging cultural pluralism. Longitudinal multilevel analyses based on 386 early adolescent immigrant students (Mage = 10.49 years) in 44 ethnically heterogeneous classrooms in Germany revealed that the manifestations of both types of policies promote psychological school adjustment (i.e., better well‐being and fewer psychological and behavioral problems) at the individual level. However, they differ in their effects on acculturation orientations. At the classroom level, equality and inclusion promote assimilation. Implications for research and educational practice are discussed.

  April 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12536   open full text
• Extrinsic Rewards Diminish Costly Sharing in 3‐Year‐Olds.
  Julia Ulber, Katharina Hamann, Michael Tomasello.
  Child Development. April 16, 2016
  Two studies investigated the influence of external rewards and social praise in young children's fairness‐related behavior. The motivation of ninety‐six 3‐year‐olds' to equalize unfair resource allocations was measured in three scenarios (collaboration, windfall, and dictator game) following three different treatments (material reward, verbal praise, and neutral response). In all scenarios, children's willingness to engage in costly sharing was negatively influenced when they had received a reward for equal sharing during treatment than when they had received praise or no reward. The negative effect of material rewards was not due to subjects responding in kind to their partner's termination of rewards. These results provide new evidence for the intrinsic motivation of prosociality—in this case, costly sharing behavior—in preschool children.

  April 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12534   open full text
• Metacognitive Monitoring of Executive Control Engagement During Childhood.
  Nicolas Chevalier, Agnès Blaye.
  Child Development. April 16, 2016
  Emerging executive control supports greater autonomy and increasingly adaptive behavior during childhood. The present study addressed whether children's greater monitoring of how they engage control drives executive control development. Gaze position was recorded while twenty‐five 6‐year‐olds and twenty‐eight 10‐year‐olds performed a self‐paced task‐switching paradigm in which they could proactively prepare for the next task for as long as they wanted before completing it. Gaze trajectories and performance showed that younger children were less well prepared than older children when they triggered the target, even though they could have taken longer to fully prepare. With age, children better monitor how they engage control, highlighting the contribution of metacognitive processes to executive control development.

  April 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12537   open full text
• Gesture and Symbolic Representation in Italian and English‐Speaking Canadian 2‐Year‐Olds.
  Paula Marentette, Paola Pettenati, Arianna Bello, Virginia Volterra.
  Child Development. April 15, 2016
  Analyses of elicited pantomime, primarily of English‐speaking children, show that preschool‐aged children are more likely to symbolically represent an object with gestures depicting an object's form rather than its function. In contrast, anecdotal reports of spontaneous gesture production in younger children suggest that children use multiple representational techniques. This study examined the spontaneous gestures of sixty‐four 2‐year‐old Italian children and English‐speaking Canadian children, primarily from middle‐class Caucasian families. The Italian children produced twice as many gestures as Canadian children in a picture‐naming task but produced a similar range of representational techniques. Two‐year‐olds were equally likely to produce gestures depicting function as form. These data suggest young children's communicative skills are supported by a symbolic capacity that reflects contextual communicative demands.

  April 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12523   open full text
• Preschool Drawing and School Mathematics: The Nature of the Association.
  Margherita Malanchini, Maria G. Tosto, Victoria Garfield, Aysegul Dirik, Adrian Czerwik, Rosalind Arden, Sergey Malykh, Yulia Kovas.
  Child Development. April 15, 2016
  The study examined the etiology of individual differences in early drawing and of its longitudinal association with school mathematics. Participants (N = 14,760), members of the Twins Early Development Study, were assessed on their ability to draw a human figure, including number of features, symmetry, and proportionality. Human figure drawing was moderately stable across 6 months (average r = .40). Individual differences in drawing at age 4½ were influenced by genetic (.21), shared environmental (.30), and nonshared environmental (.49) factors. Drawing was related to later (age 12) mathematical ability (average r = .24). This association was explained by genetic and shared environmental factors that also influenced general intelligence. Some genetic factors, unrelated to intelligence, also contributed to individual differences in drawing.

  April 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12520   open full text
• Learning Mathematics in a Visuospatial Format: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Mental Abacus Instruction.
  David Barner, George Alvarez, Jessica Sullivan, Neon Brooks, Mahesh Srinivasan, Michael C. Frank.
  Child Development. April 08, 2016
  Mental abacus (MA) is a technique of performing fast, accurate arithmetic using a mental image of an abacus; experts exhibit astonishing calculation abilities. Over 3 years, 204 elementary school students (age range at outset: 5–7 years old) participated in a randomized, controlled trial to test whether MA expertise (a) can be acquired in standard classroom settings, (b) improves students' mathematical abilities (beyond standard math curricula), and (c) is related to changes in basic cognitive capacities like working memory. MA students outperformed controls on arithmetic tasks, suggesting that MA expertise can be achieved by children in standard classrooms. MA training did not alter basic cognitive abilities; instead, differences in spatial working memory at the beginning of the study mediated MA learning.

  April 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12515   open full text
• Effects of Culture and the Urban Environment on the Development of the Ebbinghaus Illusion.
  Andrew J. Bremner, Martin J. Doherty, Serge Caparos, Jan Fockert, Karina J. Linnell, Jules Davidoff.
  Child Development. April 05, 2016
  The development of visual context effects in the Ebbinghaus illusion in the United Kingdom and in remote and urban Namibians (UN) was investigated (N = 336). Remote traditional Himba children showed no illusion up until 9–10 years, whereas UK children showed a robust illusion from 7 to 8 years of age. Greater illusion in UK than in traditional Himba children was stable from 9 to 10 years to adulthood. A lesser illusion was seen in remote traditional Himba children than in UN children growing up in the nearest town to the traditional Himba villages across age groups. We conclude that cross‐cultural differences in perceptual biases to process visual context emerge in early childhood and are influenced by the urban environment.

  April 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12511   open full text
• Longitudinal Associations Between the Quality of Mother–Infant Interactions and Brain Development Across Infancy.
  Annie Bernier, Susan D. Calkins, Martha Ann Bell.
  Child Development. April 04, 2016
  The aim of this study was to investigate if normative variations in parenting relate to brain development among typically developing children. A sample of 352 mother–infant dyads came to the laboratory when infants were 5, 10, and 24 months of age (final N = 215). At each visit, child resting electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Mother–infant interactions were videotaped at the 5‐month visit. The results indicated that higher quality maternal behavior during mother–infant interactions predicted higher frontal resting EEG power at 10 and 24 months, as well as increases in power between 5 and 10 months, and between 10 and 24 months. These findings provide rare support for the hypothesis that normative variation in parenting quality may contribute to brain development among typically developing infants.

  April 04, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12518   open full text
• Measuring Maternal Sensitivity: Cultural Variations in the Measurement of Emotional Availability.
  Hoi Shan Cheung, John M. Elliott.
  Child Development. March 31, 2016
  The validity of the Emotional Availability (EA) sensitivity scale was examined in Singapore. Participants were mainly from middle‐class families of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and “Other” ethnic groups. Study 1 involved 30 mother–child dyads (children aged 4–6). Scores on EA sensitivity and the Maternal Behavior Q‐set were highly correlated, suggesting convergent validity. In Study 2 (164 mother–child dyads), criterion validity was tested by the associations between EA sensitivity and children's vocabulary and likability by peers. Unlike findings from similar studies conducted in the United States, EA sensitivity was negatively correlated with children's likability by female peers, suggesting that measures developed in Western contexts may not be fully applicable locally, or that the meaning of sensitivity may vary across cultures.

  March 31, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12519   open full text
• Can Community and School‐Based Supports Improve the Achievement of First‐Generation Immigrant Children Attending High‐Poverty Schools?
  Eric Dearing, Mary E. Walsh, Erin Sibley, Terry Lee‐St.John, Claire Foley, Anastacia E. Raczek.
  Child Development. March 29, 2016
  Using a quasi‐experimental design, the effects of a student support intervention were estimated for the math and reading achievement of first‐generation immigrant children (n = 667, M = 11.05 years of age) attending high‐poverty, urban elementary schools. The intervention was designed to help schools identify developmental strengths and barriers to learning and, in turn, connect children to community and school supports aligned with their strengths and needs. By exploiting within‐school changes in the implementation of the intervention, the present study revealed statistically and practically significant treatment effects indicating improvements in math and reading achievement at the end of elementary school. In addition, the intervention appears to considerably narrow achievement gaps between English language learners and immigrant children proficient in English.

  March 29, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12507   open full text
• Predicting the Onset of Alcohol Use and the Development of Alcohol Use Disorder Among Indigenous Adolescents.
  Brian E. Armenta, Kelley J. Sittner, Les B. Whitbeck.
  Child Development. March 29, 2016
  Empirical efforts to identify the predictors of drinking behavior among North American Indigenous adolescents are relatively limited. Using longitudinal data, this study considers perceived discrimination, positive drinker prototypes, and peer drinking behavior as risk factors for the onset of alcohol use and development of an alcohol use disorder among 674 Indigenous adolescents as they progressed from early to late adolescence (M age at baseline = 11.11, SD = 0.83). Results showed that positive drinker prototypes and associations with peers who drink increased the risk for the onset of drinking, while perceived discrimination and associations with peers who drink increased the risk for the development of an alcohol use disorder. The theoretical and practical implications of our results are discussed.

  March 29, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12506   open full text
• Cultural Variation in Triadic Infant–Caregiver Object Exploration.
  Emily E. Little, Leslie J. Carver, Cristine H. Legare.
  Child Development. March 28, 2016
  Two studies examined the extent to which the type of triadic interaction pervasive in Western populations (i.e., shared visual attention and ostensive pedagogical cues) was representative of infant–caregiver object exploration in a non‐Western indigenous community. Caregivers in the United States and Vanuatu interacted with infants and a novel object for 3 min. In Study 1 (N = 116, Mage = 29.05), Ni‐Van caregivers used more physical triadic engagement and U.S. caregivers used more visual triadic engagement. In Study 2 (N = 80, Mage = 29.91), U.S. caregivers were more likely than Ni‐Van caregivers to transmit an action and to use visual cues while interacting with their child. These studies demonstrate that the Western model of early social learning is not universal.

  March 28, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12513   open full text
• The Influence of Receiver Status on Donor Prosociality in 6‐ to 11‐Year‐Old Children.
  Nicola McGuigan, Ruth Fisher, Rory Glasgow.
  Child Development. March 25, 2016
  The aim of this study was to explore the interplay between donor prosociality and receiver status using a fixed‐choice resource distribution paradigm. Sixty children aged 6–11 years allocated resources to two high‐status adults and two lower status adults under three different payoff structures. The donor could choose between an egalitarian option and an option that either resulted in an allocation that favored either the donor (Prosocial) or the receiver (Envy), or one in which the donor sacrificed resources to maintain parity (Costly Sharing). The results showed that the interplay between receiver status, donor age, and the payoff structure was complex, with children displaying selective generosity in which the status of the receiver played a key role.

  March 25, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12517   open full text
• Social Sensitivity and Adjustment in Chinese and Canadian Children.
  Xinyin Chen, Junsheng Liu, Wendy Ellis, Lynne Zarbatany.
  Child Development. March 23, 2016
  This study examined relations of social sensitivity to socioemotional and school adjustment in Chinese and Canadian children. Participants were fourth‐ to eighth‐grade students (Mage = 12 years) in China (n = 723) and Canada (n = 568). Data were obtained from multiple sources. The analyses revealed that the pattern of relations between social sensitivity and indexes of adjustment differed in the two countries. Social sensitivity was negatively associated with social and school adjustment and positively associated with psychological distress in Canadian children. However, social sensitivity was positively associated with school competence and psychological well‐being in Chinese children. The results indicate that children's social sensitivity may have different functional meanings in Chinese and North American societies.

  March 23, 2016   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12514   open full text
• The Link Between Middle School Mathematics Course Placement and Achievement.
  Thurston Domina.
  Child Development. May 12, 2014
  The proportion of eighth graders in United States public schools enrolled in algebra or a more advanced mathematics course doubled between 1990 and 2011. This article uses Early Childhood Longitudinal Study's Kindergarten Cohort data to consider the selection process into advanced middle school mathematics courses and estimate the effects of advanced courses on students’ mathematics achievement (n = 6,425; mean age at eighth grade = 13.7). Eighth‐grade algebra and geometry course placements are academically selective, but considerable between‐school variation exists in students’ odds of taking these advanced courses. While analyses indicate that advanced middle school mathematics courses boost student achievement, these effects are most pronounced in content areas closely related to class content and may be contingent on student academic readiness.

  May 12, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12255   open full text
• The Impact of Neighborhood, Family, and Individual Risk Factors on Toddlers’ Disruptive Behavior.
  Amy E. Heberle, Yolanda M. Thomas, Robert L. Wagmiller, Margaret J. Briggs‐Gowan, Alice S. Carter.
  Child Development. April 29, 2014
  Disadvantaged neighborhoods confer risk for behavior problems in school‐aged children but their impact in toddlerhood is unknown. Relations between toddlers’ disruptive behavior and neighborhood disadvantage, family disadvantage, violence or conflict exposure, parent depressive symptoms, and parenting behavior were examined using multilevel, multigroup (girl–boy) models. Participants were 1,204 families (mean child age = 24.7 months). Unique associations between disruptive behavior and all risk factors were observed, but the effect of neighborhood disadvantage was negligible when all of the more proximal factors were accounted for. The results suggest both that children in disadvantaged neighborhoods are at greater risk of behavior problems than children in nondisadvantaged neighborhoods and that optimal prevention/intervention work with these children will attend to proximal risk factors.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12251   open full text
• Do Children Who Experience Regret Make Better Decisions? A Developmental Study of the Behavioral Consequences of Regret.
  Eimear O'Connor, Teresa McCormack, Aidan Feeney.
  Child Development. April 29, 2014
  Although regret is assumed to facilitate good decision making, there is little research directly addressing this assumption. Four experiments (N = 326) examined the relation between children's ability to experience regret and the quality of their subsequent decision making. In Experiment 1 regret and adaptive decision making showed the same developmental profile, with both first appearing at about 7 years. In Experiments 2a and 2b, children aged 6–7 who experienced regret decided adaptively more often than children who did not experience regret, and this held even when controlling for age and verbal ability. Experiment 3 ruled out a memory‐based interpretation of these findings. These findings suggest that the experience of regret facilitates children's ability to learn rapidly from bad outcomes.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12253   open full text
• Conversation and Object Manipulation Influence Children's Learning in a Museum.
  Erin A. Jant, Catherine A. Haden, David H. Uttal, Elizabeth Babcock.
  Child Development. April 29, 2014
  The effects of parent–child conversation and object manipulation on children's learning, transfer of knowledge, and memory were examined in two museum exhibits and conversations recorded at home. Seventy‐eight children (Mage = 4.9) and their parents were randomly assigned to receive conversation cards featuring elaborative questions about exhibit objects, the physical objects themselves, both, or neither, before their exhibit visits. Dyads who received the cards engaged in more elaborative talk and joint nonverbal activities with objects in the first exhibit than those who did not. Dyads who received objects engaged in the most parent–child joint talk. Results also illustrate transfer of information across exhibits and from museum to home. Implications for understanding mechanisms of informal learning and transfer are discussed.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12252   open full text
• Early Communicative Gestures Prospectively Predict Language Development and Executive Function in Early Childhood.
  Laura J. Kuhn, Michael T. Willoughby, Makeba Parramore Wilbourn, Lynne Vernon‐Feagans, Clancy B. Blair,.
  Child Development. April 29, 2014
  Using an epidemiological sample (N = 1,117) and a prospective longitudinal design, this study tested the direct and indirect effects of preverbal and verbal communication (15 months to 3 years) on executive function (EF) at age 4 years. Results indicated that whereas gestures (15 months), as well as language (2 and 3 years), were correlated with later EF (φs ≥ .44), the effect was entirely mediated through later language. In contrast, language had significant direct and indirect effects on later EF. Exploratory analyses indicated that the pattern of results was comparable for low‐ and not‐low‐income families. The results were consistent with theoretical accounts of language as a precursor of EF ability, and highlighted gesture as an early indicator of EF.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12249   open full text
• Mapping the Trajectory of Socioeconomic Disparity in Working Memory: Parental and Neighborhood Factors.
  Daniel A. Hackman, Laura M. Betancourt, Robert Gallop, Daniel Romer, Nancy L. Brodsky, Hallam Hurt, Martha J. Farah.
  Child Development. April 29, 2014
  Working memory (WM) is positively correlated with socioeconomic status (SES). It is not clear, however, if SES predicts the rate of WM development over time or whether SES effects are specific to family rather than neighborhood SES. A community sample of children (n = 316) enrolled between ages 10 and 13 completed four annual assessments of WM. Lower parental education, but not neighborhood disadvantage, was associated with worse WM performance. Neither measure of SES was associated with the rate of developmental change. Consequently, the SES disparity in WM is not a developmental lag that narrows or an accumulating effect that becomes more pronounced. Rather, the relation between family SES and WM originates earlier in childhood and is stable through adolescence.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12242   open full text
• Distinct Age‐Related Differences in Temporal Discounting and Risk Taking in Adolescents and Young Adults.
  Erik Water, Antonius H. N. Cillessen, Anouk Scheres.
  Child Development. April 18, 2014
  Age‐related differences in temporal discounting (TD) and risk taking, and their association, were examined in adolescents and young adults (n = 337) aged 12–27 years. Since monetary rewards are typically used in TD and risk‐taking tasks, the association between monetary reward valuation and age and decision making in these tasks was explored as well. TD declined linearly with age, with a particularly sharp decline from 15 to 16 years. In contrast, risk taking was not correlated with age and TD. Reward valuation was not associated with TD and risk taking, and age‐related differences in TD remained significant after controlling for reward valuation. Together, these findings suggest that risk taking and TD are two separate constructs with distinct age‐related differences in adolescence and young adulthood.

  April 18, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12245   open full text
• Growth of Social Competence During the Preschool Years: A 3‐Year Longitudinal Study.
  António J. Santos, Brian E. Vaughn, Inês Peceguina, João R. Daniel, Nana Shin.
  Child Development. April 18, 2014
  This study examined the stability and growth over a 3‐year period of individual differences in preschool children's social competence, which was assessed in three domains: social engagement/motivation, profiles of behavior and personality attributes characteristic of socially competent young children, and peer acceptance. A total of 255 children (126 girls and 129 boys) participated in this study. Growth curve analyses demonstrated both stability and change with regard to social competence over early childhood. Social competence measures and latent variables were invariant over this time period, individual differences in social competence were largely stable from year to year, and significant increases over time were observed for the domain most closely reflective of specific personal attributes skills.

  April 18, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12246   open full text
• Infants' Selective Attention to Reliable Visual Cues in the Presence of Salient Distractors.
  Kristen Swan Tummeltshammer, Denis Mareschal, Natasha Z. Kirkham.
  Child Development. March 20, 2014
  With many features competing for attention in their visual environment, infants must learn to deploy attention toward informative cues while ignoring distractions. Three eye tracking experiments were conducted to investigate whether 6‐ and 8‐month‐olds (total N = 102) would shift attention away from a distractor stimulus to learn a cue–reward relation. While 8‐month‐olds showed evidence of increasingly selective attention toward the predictive cues, even when the distractors were highly salient, 6‐month‐olds shifted attention toward the predictive cues only when the distractors were equally (not more) engaging. These experiments suggest that attention in infancy is highly dependent on the relative weightings of predictiveness and visual salience, which may differ across development and context.

  March 20, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12239   open full text
• Kinship and Nonrelative Foster Care: The Effect of Placement Type on Child Well‐Being.
  Sarah A. Font.
  Child Development. March 20, 2014
  This study uses a national sample of 1,215 children, ages 6–17, who spent some time in formal kinship or nonrelative foster care to identify the effect of placement type on academic achievement, behavior, and health. Several identification strategies are used to reduce selection bias, including ordinary least squares, change score models, propensity score weighting, and instrumental variables regression. The results consistently estimate a negative effect of kin placements on reading scores, but kin placements appear to have no effect on child health, and findings on children's math and cognitive skills test scores and behavioral problems are mixed. Estimated declines in both academic achievement and behavioral problems are concentrated among children who are lower functioning at baseline.

  March 20, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12241   open full text
• Taking Stock of Two Decades of Attachment Transmission Gap: Broadening the Assessment of Maternal Behavior.
  Annie Bernier, Célia Matte‐Gagné, Marie‐Ève Bélanger, Natasha Whipple.
  Child Development. March 11, 2014
  This report aimed to investigate the capacity of maternal behaviors tailored to children's attachment and exploration systems to jointly explain the well‐known mother–child transmission of attachment. Four home visits were conducted between ages 7 months and 2 years with 130 mother–child dyads to assess maternal attachment state of mind, sensitivity, autonomy support, and mother–child attachment security. Results showed that together, maternal sensitivity and autonomy support fully accounted for the relation between maternal and child attachment, that they each accounted for a unique portion of this relation, and that the magnitude of these mediated pathways was equivalent. These results suggest that the attachment transmission gap can be narrowed by the use of a theory‐driven multidimensional approach to maternal behavior.

  March 11, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12236   open full text
• Children's Judgments About Prosocial Decisions and Emotions: Gender of the Helper and Recipient Matters.
  Drika Weller, Kristin Hansen Lagattuta.
  Child Development. March 11, 2014
  Children ages 5–13 years (N = 82) responded to prosocial and prohibitive moral dilemmas featuring characters whose desires conflicted with another person's need for help or ownership rights. The gender of the characters matched for half the trials (in‐group version) and mismatched for the other half (out‐group version). Both boys and girls judged that people would more likely help and not harm the gender in‐group versus out‐group. Only girls exhibited gender bias in emotion attributions, expecting girls to feel happier helping girls and better ignoring the needs of boys. With increasing age, children exhibited greater awareness of the emotional benefits of prosocial sacrifice and made stronger distinctions by need level when evaluating prosocial decisions, obligations, and permissibility.

  March 11, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12238   open full text
• Relations Between False Belief Understanding and Executive Function in Early Childhood: A Meta‐Analysis.
  Rory T. Devine, Claire Hughes.
  Child Development. March 07, 2014
  The association between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) has been hotly debated for 20 years. Competing accounts focus on: task demands, conceptual overlap, or functional ties. Findings from this meta‐analytic review of 102 studies (representing 9,994 participants aged 3–6 years) indicate that the moderate association between EF and one key aspect of ToM, false belief understanding (FBU) is: (a) similar for children from different cultures, (b) largely consistent across distinct EF tasks, but varies across different types of false belief task, and (c) is asymmetric in that early individual differences in EF predict later variation in FBU but not vice versa. These findings support a hybrid emergence‐expression account and highlight new directions for research.

  March 07, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12237   open full text
• Beyond Stimulus Deprivation: Iron Deficiency and Cognitive Deficits in Postinstitutionalized Children.
  Jenalee R. Doom, Megan R. Gunnar, Michael K. Georgieff, Maria G. Kroupina, Kristin Frenn, Anita J. Fuglestad, Stephanie M. Carlson.
  Child Development. March 05, 2014
  Children adopted from institutions have been studied as models of the impact of stimulus deprivation on cognitive development (Nelson, Bos, Gunnar, & Sonuga‐Barke, 2011), but these children may also suffer from micronutrient deficiencies (Fuglestad et al., 2008). The contributions of iron deficiency (ID) and duration of deprivation on cognitive functioning in children adopted from institutions between 17 and 36 months of age were examined. ID was assessed in 55 children soon after adoption, and cognitive functioning was evaluated 11–14.6 months postadoption when the children averaged 37.4 months old (SD = 4.9). ID at adoption and longer duration of institutional care independently predicted lower IQ scores and executive function (EF) performance. IQ did not mediate the association between ID and EF.

  March 05, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12231   open full text
• Remembering Things Without Context: Development Matters.
  Jamie O. Edgin, Goffredina Spanò, Kevin Kawa, Lynn Nadel.
  Child Development. March 05, 2014
  Spatial context supports memory retrieval in adults. To understand the development of these effects, context effects on object recognition were tested in neurotypical children ages 3 years to adulthood (n 3–6 years = 34, n 10–16 years = 32, n college age = 22) and individuals with Down syndrome (DS) ages 10–29 years (n = 21). Participants engaged in an object recognition task; objects were presented in scenes and either remained in that same scene or were removed at test. In some groups (< 4.5 years and with DS) context effects were present even though object recognition was poor. After 4.5 years, children demonstrated memory flexibility, while later in adolescence context effects reemerged, showing nonlinearity in the development of these effects.

  March 05, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12232   open full text
• Do the Effects of Head Start Vary by Parental Preacademic Stimulation?
  Elizabeth B. Miller, George Farkas, Deborah Lowe Vandell, Greg J. Duncan.
  Child Development. March 05, 2014
  Data from the Head Start Impact Study (N = 3,185, age = 3–4 years) were used to determine whether 1 year of Head Start differentially benefited children from homes with high, middle, and low levels of parental preacademic stimulation on three academic outcome domains—early math, early literacy, and receptive vocabulary. Results from residualized growth models showed positive impacts of random assignment to Head Start on all three outcomes, and positive associations between parental preacademic stimulation and academic performance. Two moderated effects were also found. Head start boosted early math skills the most for children receiving low parental preacademic stimulation. Effects of Head Start on early literacy skills were largest for children receiving moderate levels of parental preacademic stimulation. Implications for Head Start are discussed.

  March 05, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12233   open full text
• Spatial Ability Mediates the Gender Difference in Middle School Students' Science Performance.
  Colleen M. Ganley, Marina Vasilyeva, Alana Dulaney.
  Child Development. February 22, 2014
  Prior research has demonstrated a male advantage in spatial skills and science achievement. The present research integrated these findings by testing the potential role of spatial skills in gender differences in the science performance of eighth‐grade students (13–15 years old). In (N = 113), the findings showed that mental rotation ability mediated gender differences in physical science and technology/engineering test scores. In (N = 73,245), science performance was examined in a state population of eighth‐grade students. As in , the results revealed larger gender differences on items that showed higher correlations with mental rotation. These findings underscore the importance of considering spatial training interventions aimed at reducing gender differences in the science performance of school‐aged children.

  February 22, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12230   open full text
• Perceived Discrimination Among African American Adolescents and Allostatic Load: A Longitudinal Analysis With Buffering Effects.
  Gene H. Brody, Man‐Kit Lei, David H. Chae, Tianyi Yu, Steven M. Kogan, Steven R. H. Beach.
  Child Development. February 05, 2014
  This study was designed to examine the prospective relations of perceived racial discrimination with allostatic load (AL), along with a possible buffer of the association. A sample of 331 African Americans in the rural South provided assessments of perceived discrimination from ages 16 to 18 years. When youth were 18 years, caregivers reported parental emotional support and youth assessed peer emotional support. AL and potential confounder variables were assessed when youth were 20. Latent growth mixture modeling identified two perceived discrimination classes: high and stable, and low and increasing. Adolescents in the high and stable class evinced heightened AL even with confounder variables controlled. The racial discrimination to AL link was not significant for young adults who received high emotional support.

  February 05, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12213   open full text
• Relations Among Chronic Peer Group Rejection, Maladaptive Behavioral Dispositions, and Early Adolescents' Peer Perceptions.
  Gary W. Ladd, Idean Ettekal, Becky Kochenderfer‐Ladd, Karen D. Rudolph, Rebecca K. Andrews.
  Child Development. January 07, 2014
  Adolescents' perceptions of peers' relational characteristics (e.g., support, trustworthiness) were examined for subtypes of youth who evidenced chronic maladaptive behavior, chronic peer group rejection, or combinations of these risk factors. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify subgroups of participants within a normative sample of youth (N = 477; 50% female) for whom data had been gathered from fifth grade (Mage = 10.61) through eighth grade (Mage = 13.93). Results revealed that both enduring individual vulnerability (i.e., chronic withdrawn or chronic aggressive behavioral dispositions) and interpersonal adversity (i.e., chronic peer group rejection) were linked with either differences or changes in adolescents' perceptions of their peers' supportiveness and trustworthiness across the early adolescent age period.

  January 07, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12214   open full text
• Word Reading Fluency: Role of Genome‐Wide Single‐Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Developmental Stability and Correlations With Print Exposure.
  Nicole Harlaar, Maciej Trzaskowski, Philip S. Dale, Robert Plomin.
  Child Development. January 06, 2014
  The genetic effects on individual differences in reading development were examined using genome‐wide complex trait analysis (GCTA) in a twin sample. In unrelated individuals (one twin per pair, n = 2,942), the GCTA‐based heritability of reading fluency was ~20%–29% at ages 7 and 12. GCTA bivariate results showed that the phenotypic stability of reading fluency from 7 to 12 years (r = 0.69) is largely driven by genetic stability (genetic r = 0.69). Genetic effects on print exposure at age 12 were moderate (~26%) and correlated with those influencing reading fluency at 12 (genetic r = 0.89), indicative of a gene–environment correlation. These findings were largely consistent with quantitative genetic twin analyses that used both twins in each pair (n = 1,066–1,409).

  January 06, 2014   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12207   open full text
• Mothers' Cognitive References to 2‐Year‐Olds Predict Theory of Mind at Ages 6 and 10.
  Rosie Ensor, Rory T. Devine, Alex Marks, Claire Hughes.
  Child Development. December 09, 2013
  Mothers' mental‐state references predict individual differences in preschoolers' false‐belief (FB) understanding; less is known about the origins of corresponding variation in school‐age children. To address this gap, 105 children completed observations with their mothers at child ages 2 and 6, three FB tasks and a verbal comprehension test at age 3, and five FB tasks at age 6. Seventy‐seven of these children completed five Strange Stories at age 10. Individual differences in mothers' cognitive references at child age 2 predicted variation in children's FB understanding at age 6 and Strange Stories scores at age 10 (controlling for number of mothers' turns and children's mental‐state references, verbal comprehension and FB understanding at age 3, and mothers' cognitive references at child age 6).

  December 09, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12186   open full text
• Young Children's Interpretation of Multidigit Number Names: From Emerging Competence to Mastery.
  Kelly S. Mix, Richard W. Prather, Linda B. Smith, Jerri DaSha Stockton.
  Child Development. December 06, 2013
  This study assessed whether a sample of two hundred seven 3‐ to 7‐year‐olds could interpret multidigit numerals using simple identification and comparison tasks. Contrary to the view that young children do not understand place value, even 3‐year‐olds demonstrated some competence on these tasks. Ceiling was reached by first grade. When training was provided, there were significant gains, suggesting that children can improve their partial understandings with input. Findings add to what is known about the processes of symbolic development and the incidental learning that occurs prior to schooling, as well as specifying more precisely what place value misconceptions remain as children enter the educational system.

  December 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12197   open full text
• Children's Reasoning About the Refusal to Help: The Role of Need, Costs, and Social Perspective Taking.
  Jellie Sierksma, Jochem Thijs, Maykel Verkuyten, Aafke Komter.
  Child Development. December 06, 2013
  Children (n = 133, aged 8–13) were interviewed about helping situations that systematically varied in recipient's need for help and the costs for the helper. In situations where helping a peer involved low costs, children perceived a moral obligation to help that was independent of peer norms, parental authority, and reciprocity considerations. When helping a peer involved high costs this overpowered the perceived obligation to help, but only in situations involving low need and when in line with reciprocity. When both need and costs were high, younger children expressed stronger moral indignation while older children were less negative and reasoned in terms of other solutions. Furthermore, stronger moral indignation was related to more advanced social perspective taking skills when need and costs were high.

  December 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12195   open full text
• Preschoolers Reduce Inequality While Favoring Individuals With More.
  Vivian Li, Brian Spitzer, Kristina R. Olson.
  Child Development. December 06, 2013
  Inequalities are everywhere, yet little is known about how children respond to people affected by inequalities. This article explores two responses—minimizing inequalities and favoring those who are advantaged by them. In Studies 1a (N = 37) and 1b (N = 38), 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds allocated a resource to a disadvantaged recipient, but judged advantaged recipients more positively. In Studies (N = 38) and (N = 74), a delay occurred between seeing the inequality and allocating resources, or stating a preference, during which time participants forgot who was initially more advantaged. Children then favored advantaged recipients on the preference and resource allocation measures, suggesting an implicit “affective tagging” mechanism drives the tendency to favor the advantaged. In contrast, reducing inequalities through resource allocation appears to require explicit reasoning.

  December 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12198   open full text
• From Interactions to Conversations: The Development of Joint Engagement During Early Childhood.
  Lauren B. Adamson, Roger Bakeman, Deborah F. Deckner, P. Brooke Nelson.
  Child Development. November 22, 2013
  This research traces the development of symbol‐infused joint engagement during mother–child interactions into the preschool years. Forty‐nine children, who had been previously observed as toddlers (L. B. Adamson, R. Bakeman, & D. F. Deckner, ), were systematically observed during interactions with their mothers at ages 3½, 4½, and 5½ during activities related to the past and future, internal states, and graphic systems. Although the amount of symbol‐infused joint engagement reached a ceiling by 3½, its focus continued to become more complex and its form more balanced. Individual differences in children's symbol‐infused joint engagement were stable across 4 years. These findings highlight both how joint engagement is transformed as conversational skills develop and how it remains rooted in earlier interactions and supported by caregiver's actions.

  November 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12189   open full text
• Individual Differences in Children's and Parents' Generic Language.
  Susan A. Gelman, Elizabeth A. Ware, Felicia Kleinberg, Erika M. Manczak, Sarah M. Stilwell.
  Child Development. November 22, 2013
  Generics (“Dogs bark”) convey important information about categories and facilitate children's learning. Two studies with parents and their 2‐ or 4‐year‐old children (N = 104 dyads) examined whether individual differences in generic language use are as follows: (a) stable over time, contexts, and domains, and (b) linked to conceptual factors. For both children and parents, individual differences in rate of generic production were stable across time, contexts, and domains, and parents' generic usage significantly correlated with that of their own children. Furthermore, parents' essentialist beliefs correlated with their own and their children's rates of generic frequency. These results indicate that generic language use exhibits substantial stability and may reflect individual differences in speakers' conceptual attitudes toward categories.

  November 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12187   open full text
• Children Use Gesture to Interpret Novel Verb Meanings.
  Katherine H. Mumford, Sotaro Kita.
  Child Development. November 22, 2013
  Children often find it difficult to map verbs to specific referents within complex scenes, often believing that additional features are part of the referents. This study investigated whether 3‐year‐olds could use iconic gestures to map novel verbs to specific referents. One hundred and twenty children were taught verbs that could be interpreted as change‐of‐state or manner verbs while presented with manner, end‐state, or no iconic gestures. Children were then presented with a choice that forced them to generalize either on the basis of manner or end state. Results showed that children who saw manner gestures showed a stronger manner bias compared to the other groups. Thus, the specific feature of an event encoded in gestures guides children's interpretations of novel words.

  November 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12188   open full text
• Evidence for General and Domain‐Specific Elements of Teacher–Child Interactions: Associations With Preschool Children's Development.
  Bridget Hamre, Bridget Hatfield, Robert Pianta, Faiza Jamil.
  Child Development. November 20, 2013
  This study evaluates a model for considering domain‐general and domain‐specific associations between teacher–child interactions and children's development, using a bifactor analytic strategy. Among a sample of 325 early childhood classrooms there was evidence for both general elements of teacher–child interaction (responsive teaching) and domain‐specific elements related to positive management and routines and cognitive facilitation. Among a diverse population of 4‐year‐old children (n = 1,407) responsive teaching was modestly associated with development across social and cognitive domains, whereas positive management and routines was modestly associated with increases in inhibitory control and cognitive facilitation was associated with gains in early language and literacy skills. The conceptual and methodological contributions and challenges of this approach are discussed.

  November 20, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12184   open full text
• Children's Social Self‐Concept and Internalizing Problems: The Influence of Peers and Teachers.
  Jantine L. Spilt, Pol A. C. Lier, Geertje Leflot, Patrick Onghena, Hilde Colpin.
  Child Development. November 08, 2013
  This study aimed to understand how relationships with peers and teachers contribute to the development of internalizing problems via children's social self‐concept. The sample included 570 children aged 7 years 5 months (SD = 4.6 months). Peer nominations of peer rejection, child‐reported social self‐concept, and teacher‐reported internalizing problems were assessed longitudinally in the fall and spring of Grades 2 and 3. Teacher reports of support to the child were assessed in Grade 2. Results showed that peer rejection impeded children's social self‐concept, which in turn affected the development of internalizing problems. Partial support was found for individual (but not classroom‐level) teacher support to buffer the adverse effects of peer problems on children's self‐concept, thereby mitigating its indirect effects on internalizing problems.

  November 08, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12181   open full text
• Adult Attachment States of Mind: Measurement Invariance Across Ethnicity and Associations With Maternal Sensitivity.
  John D. Haltigan, Esther M. Leerkes, Maria S. Wong, Keren Fortuna, Glenn I. Roisman, Andrew J. Supple, Marion O'Brien, Susan D. Calkins, André Plamondon.
  Child Development. November 08, 2013
  This study examined the developmental significance of mothers' adult attachment representations assessed prenatally with the Adult Attachment Interview in relation to observed maternal sensitivity at 6 months postpartum in an ethnically diverse sample (N = 131 African American; N = 128 European American). Multiple‐group confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for partial measurement invariance of a two‐factor dismissing and preoccupied latent structure of adult attachment across the two ethnic groups of women. African American women showed modest elevations on the preoccupied factor relative to European American women. Although the dismissing factor showed an empirically equivalent negative association with maternal sensitivity in both ethnic groups, this effect was reduced to marginal significance when controlling for maternal socioeconomic status.

  November 08, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12180   open full text
• Social Integration and the Mental Health of Black Adolescents.
  Theda Rose, Sean Joe, Joseph Shields, Cleopatra H. Caldwell.
  Child Development. November 06, 2013
  The influence of family, school, and religious social contexts on the mental health of Black adolescents has been understudied. This study used Durkheim's social integration theory to examine these associations in a nationally representative sample of 1,170 Black adolescents, ages 13–17. Mental health was represented by positive and negative psychosocial well‐being indicators. Results showed that adolescents' integration into family and school were related to better mental health. In addition, commitment to religious involvement positively influenced mental health. Although the direct effect of religious involvement was inversely related to mental health, mediation analyses revealed a positive influence through religious commitment. Findings suggest a greater emphasis on all three social contexts when designing strategies to improve the mental health of Black adolescents.

  November 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12182   open full text
• Judgments and Reasoning About Parental Discipline Involving Induction and Psychological Control in China and Canada.
  Charles C. Helwig, Sharon To, Qian Wang, Chunqiong Liu, Shaogang Yang.
  Child Development. November 06, 2013
  This study examined judgments and reasoning about four parental discipline practices (induction or reasoning and three practices involving “psychological control”; Barber, 1996; two forms of shaming and love withdrawal) among children (7–14 years of age) from urban and rural China and Canada (N = 288) in response to a moral transgression. Children from all settings critically evaluated love withdrawal and preferred induction. Despite being perceived as more common in China than in Canada, with age, parental discipline based on shaming or love withdrawal was increasingly negatively evaluated and believed to have detrimental effects on children's feelings of self‐worth and psychological well‐being. Some cultural variations were found in evaluations of practices, perceptions of psychological harm, and attribution of parental goals.

  November 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12183   open full text
• Referential Labeling Can Facilitate Phonetic Learning in Infancy.
  H. Henny Yeung, Lawrence M. Chen, Janet F. Werker.
  Child Development. November 06, 2013
  All languages employ certain phonetic contrasts when distinguishing words. Infant speech perception is rapidly attuned to these contrasts before many words are learned, thus phonetic attunement is thought to proceed independently of lexical and referential knowledge. Here, evidence to the contrary is provided. Ninety‐eight 9‐month‐old English‐learning infants were trained to perceive a non‐native Cantonese tone contrast. Two object–tone audiovisual pairings were consistently presented, which highlighted the target contrast (Object A with Tone X; Object B with Tone Y). Tone discrimination was then assessed. Results showed improved tone discrimination if object–tone pairings were perceived as being referential word labels, although this effect was modulated by vocabulary size. Results suggest how lexical and referential knowledge could play a role in phonetic attunement.

  November 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12185   open full text
• Linguistic and Spatial Skills Predict Early Arithmetic Development via Counting Sequence Knowledge.
  Xiao Zhang, Tuire Koponen, Pekka Räsänen, Kaisa Aunola, Marja‐Kristiina Lerkkanen, Jari‐Erik Nurmi.
  Child Development. October 21, 2013
  Utilizing a longitudinal sample of Finnish children (ages 6–10), two studies examined how early linguistic (spoken vs. written) and spatial skills predict later development of arithmetic, and whether counting sequence knowledge mediates these associations. In Study 1 (N = 1,880), letter knowledge and spatial visualization, measured in kindergarten, predicted the level of arithmetic in first grade, and later growth through third grade. Study 2 (n = 378) further showed that these associations were mediated by counting sequence knowledge measured in first grade. These studies add to the literature by demonstrating the importance of written language for arithmetic development. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that linguistic and spatial skills can improve arithmetic development by enhancing children's number‐related knowledge.

  October 21, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12173   open full text
• Is Self‐Esteem a Cause or Consequence of Social Support? A 4‐Year Longitudinal Study.
  Sarah L. Marshall, Phillip D. Parker, Joseph Ciarrochi, Patrick C.L. Heaven.
  Child Development. October 18, 2013
  Considerable research has been devoted to examining the relations between self‐esteem and social support. However, the exact nature and direction of these relations are not well understood. Measures of self‐esteem, and social support quantity and quality were administered to 961 adolescents across five yearly time points (Mage = 13.41 years). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to test between a self‐esteem antecedent model (self‐esteem precedes changes in social support), self‐esteem consequence model (social support precedes change in self‐esteem), and a reciprocal influence model. Self‐esteem reliably predicted increasing levels of social support quality and network size across time. In contrast, the consequence model was not supported. The implications of this for helping adolescents to develop higher quality social support structures are discussed.

  October 18, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12176   open full text
• Children's Norm Enforcement in Their Interactions With Peers.
  Bahar Köymen, Elena Lieven, Denis A. Engemann, Hannes Rakoczy, Felix Warneken, Michael Tomasello.
  Child Development. October 18, 2013
  This study investigates how children negotiate social norms with peers. In Study 1, 48 pairs of 3‐ and 5‐year‐olds (N = 96) and in Study 2, 48 pairs of 5‐ and 7‐year‐olds (N = 96) were presented with sorting tasks with conflicting instructions (one child by color, the other by shape) or identical instructions. Three‐year‐olds differed from older children: They were less selective for the contexts in which they enforced norms, and they (as well as the older children to a lesser extent) used grammatical constructions objectifying the norms (“It works like this” rather than “You must do it like this”). These results suggested that children's understanding of social norms becomes more flexible during the preschool years.

  October 18, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12178   open full text
• Stress, Interviewer Support, and Children's Eyewitness Identification Accuracy.
  Elizabeth B. Rush, Jodi A. Quas, Ilona S. Yim, Mariya Nikolayev, Steven E. Clark, Rakel P. Larson.
  Child Development. October 16, 2013
  Few studies have investigated how stress affects eyewitness identification capabilities across development, and no studies have investigated whether retrieval context in conjunction with stress affects accuracy. In this study, one hundred fifty‐nine 7‐ to 8‐ and 12‐ to 14‐year‐olds completed a high‐ or low‐stress laboratory protocol during which they interacted with a confederate. Two weeks later, they attempted to identify the confederate in a photographic lineup. The lineup administrator behaved in either a supportive or a nonsupportive manner. Participants who experienced the high‐stress event and were questioned by a supportive interviewer were most accurate in rejecting target‐absent lineups. Results have implications for debates about effects of stress on eyewitness recall, how best to elicit accurate identifications in children, and developmental changes in episodic mnemonic processes.

  October 16, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12177   open full text
• When Does Tool Use Become Distinctively Human? Hammering in Young Children.
  Björn Alexander Kahrs, Wendy P. Jung, Jeffrey J. Lockman.
  Child Development. October 15, 2013
  This study examines the development of hammering within an ontogenetic and evolutionary framework using motion‐capture technology. Twenty‐four right‐handed toddlers (19–35 months) wore reflective markers while hammering a peg into a peg‐board. The study focuses on the motor characteristics that make tool use uniquely human: wrist involvement, lateralization, and handle use. Older children showed more distally controlled movements, characterized by relatively more reliance on the wrist, but only when hammering with their right hand. Greater age, use of the right hand, and more wrist involvement were associated with higher accuracy; handle use did not systematically change with age. Collectively, the results provide new insights about the emergence of hammering in young children and when hammering begins to manifest distinctively human characteristics.

  October 15, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12179   open full text
• How European American and Taiwanese Mothers Talk to Their Children About Learning.
  Jin Li, Heidi Fung, Roger Bakeman, Katharine Rae, Wanchun Wei.
  Child Development. October 09, 2013
  Little cross‐cultural research exists on parental socialization of children's learning beliefs. The current study compared 218 conversations between European American and Taiwanese mothers and children (6–10 years) about good and poor learning. The findings support well‐documented cultural differences in learning beliefs. European Americans mentioned mental activities and positive affect more, whereas Taiwanese mentioned learning virtues and negative affect more. Mothers, especially European American, reciprocated their children's talk about mental activities, learning virtues, and negative affect. Children, especially Taiwanese, reciprocated their mother's talk about positive affect. Mothers invoked more mental activities and positive affect when discussing good learning, but more learning virtues and negative affect when discussing poor learning. These findings reveal a source of cultural differences in beliefs and potential enculturation.

  October 09, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12172   open full text
• Preschoolers Selectively Infer History When Explaining Outcomes: Evidence From Explanations of Ownership, Liking, and Use.
  Shaylene E. Nancekivell, Ori Friedman.
  Child Development. October 03, 2013
  Two experiments provide evidence that preschoolers selectively infer history when explaining outcomes and infer past events that could have plausibly happened. In Experiment 1, thirty‐three 3‐year‐olds and thirty‐six 4‐year‐olds explained why a character owns or likes certain objects. In Experiment 2, thirty‐four 4‐year‐olds and thirty‐six 5‐year‐olds explained why a character either owns or is using the objects. Children aged 4 and 5 years, but not 3 years, inferred history when explaining ownership, but not when explaining liking or use. They also tailored their explanations to reflect likelihood, allowing them to infer plausible past events. These findings are informative about the development of children's ability to infer history in their explanations and also suggest that preschoolers appreciate that ownership depends on past investment.

  October 03, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12170   open full text
• Cultural Socialization and Ethnic Pride Among Mexican‐Origin Adolescents During the Transition to Middle School.
  Maciel M. Hernández, Rand D. Conger, Richard W. Robins, Kelly Beaumont Bacher, Keith F. Widaman.
  Child Development. September 30, 2013
  The relation between cultural socialization and ethnic pride during the transition to middle school was examined for 674 fifth‐grade students (50% boys; Mage = 10.4 years) of Mexican origin. The theoretical model guiding the study proposes that parent–child relationship quality is a resource in the transmission of cultural values from parent to child and that parental warmth promotes the child's positive response to cultural socialization. Results showed that mother and father cultural socialization predicted youth ethnic pride and that this relation was stronger when parents were high in warmth. The findings highlight the positive role parent cultural socialization may play in the development of adolescent ethnic pride. Furthermore, findings reveal the role of parent–child relationship quality in this process.

  September 30, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12167   open full text
• Age‐Related Changes in Spreading Activation During Infancy.
  Rachel Barr, Joanne Walker, Julien Gross, Harlene Hayne.
  Child Development. September 30, 2013
  The concept of spreading activation describes how retrieval of one memory cues retrieval of other memories that are associated with it. This study explored spreading activation in 6‐, 12‐, and 18‐month‐old infants. Infants (n = 144) learned two tasks within the same experimental session; one task, deferred imitation (DI), is typically remembered longer than the other task, visual recognition memory (VRM). At all ages, retrieval of the DI memory facilitated retrieval of the VRM memory, but the conditions under which this spreading activation occurred changed as a function of age. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the development of mnemonic networks during infancy and the value of studying infants for our understanding of memory more generally.

  September 30, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12163   open full text
• Toddlers Default to Canonical Surface‐to‐Meaning Mapping When Learning Verbs.
  Isabelle Dautriche, Alejandrina Cristia, Perrine Brusini, Sylvia Yuan, Cynthia Fisher, Anne Christophe.
  Child Development. September 30, 2013
  Previous work has shown that toddlers readily encode each noun in the sentence as a distinct argument of the verb. However, languages allow multiple mappings between form and meaning that do not fit this canonical format. Two experiments examined French 28‐month‐olds' interpretation of right‐dislocated sentences (nouni‐verb, nouni) where the presence of clear, language‐specific cues should block such a canonical mapping. Toddlers (N = 96) interpreted novel verbs embedded in these sentences as transitive, disregarding prosodic cues to dislocation (Experiment 1) but correctly interpreted right‐dislocated sentences containing well‐known verbs (Experiment 2). These results suggest that toddlers can integrate multiple cues in ideal conditions, but default to canonical surface‐to‐meaning mapping when extracting structural information about novel verbs in semantically impoverished conditions.

  September 30, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12164   open full text
• Skype Me! Socially Contingent Interactions Help Toddlers Learn Language.
  Sarah Roseberry, Kathy Hirsh‐Pasek, Roberta M. Golinkoff.
  Child Development. September 23, 2013
  Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This study focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24–30 months (N = 36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and noncontingent video training (yoked video). Results suggest that children only learned novel verbs in socially contingent interactions (live interactions and video chat). This study highlights the importance of social contingency in interactions for language learning and informs the literature on learning through screen media as the first study to examine word learning through video chat technology.

  September 23, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12166   open full text
• Psychosocial Benefits of Cross‐Ethnic Friendships in Urban Middle Schools.
  Sandra Graham, Anke Munniksma, Jaana Juvonen.
  Child Development. September 23, 2013
  To examine the unique functions of same‐ and cross‐ethnic friendships, Latino (n = 536) and African American (n = 396) sixth‐grade students (Mage = 11.5 years) were recruited from 66 classrooms in 10 middle schools that varied in ethnic diversity. Participants reported on the number of same‐ and cross‐ethnic friends, perceived vulnerability, friendship quality, and the private regard dimension of ethnic identity. Whereas same‐ethnic friendships were uniquely associated with stronger private regard, more ethnic diversity and cross‐ethnic friendships were uniquely associated with less perceived vulnerability. Multilevel structural equation modeling tested whether cross‐ethnic friendships mediated the diversity‐vulnerability relation. Although cross‐ethnic friendships did not significantly mediate this relation at the classroom level, these friendships predicted less vulnerability at the individual student level.

  September 23, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12159   open full text
• Deconstructing Building Blocks: Preschoolers' Spatial Assembly Performance Relates to Early Mathematical Skills.
  Brian N. Verdine, Roberta M. Golinkoff, Kathryn Hirsh‐Pasek, Nora S. Newcombe, Andrew T. Filipowicz, Alicia Chang.
  Child Development. September 23, 2013
  This study focuses on three main goals: First, 3‐year‐olds' spatial assembly skills are probed using interlocking block constructions (N = 102). A detailed scoring scheme provides insight into early spatial processing and offers information beyond a basic accuracy score. Second, the relation of spatial assembly to early mathematical skills was evaluated. Spatial skill independently predicted a significant amount of the variability in concurrent mathematical performance. Finally, the relation between spatial assembly skill and socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and parent‐reported spatial language was examined. While children's performance did not differ by gender, lower SES children were already lagging behind higher SES children in block assembly. Furthermore, lower SES parents reported using significantly fewer spatial words with their children.

  September 23, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12165   open full text
• Social Identity Complexity, Cross‐Ethnic Friendships, and Intergroup Attitudes in Urban Middle Schools.
  Casey A. Knifsend, Jaana Juvonen.
  Child Development. September 09, 2013
  This study investigated contextual antecedents (i.e., cross‐ethnic peers and friends) and correlates (i.e., intergroup attitudes) of social identity complexity in seventh grade. Social identity complexity refers to the perceived overlap among social groups with which youth identify. Identifying mostly with out‐of‐school sports, religious affiliations, and peer crowds, the ethnically diverse sample (N = 622; Mage in seventh grade = 12.56) showed moderately high complexity. Social identity complexity mediated the link between cross‐ethnic friendships and ethnic intergroup attitudes, but only when adolescents had a high proportion of cross‐ethnic peers at school. Results are discussed in terms of how school diversity can promote complex social identities and positive intergroup attitudes.

  September 09, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12157   open full text
• Local and Global Processing in Blind and Sighted Children in a Naming and Drawing Task.
  Ira Puspitawati, Ahmed Jebrane, Annie Vinter.
  Child Development. September 09, 2013
  This study investigated the spatial analysis of tactile hierarchical patterns in 110 early‐blind children aged 6–8 to 16–18 years, as compared to 90 blindfolded sighted children, in a naming and haptic drawing task. The results revealed that regardless of visual status, young children predominantly produced local responses in both tasks, whereas the production of integrated responses emerged later. Development of local and global processing seems to proceed similarly in the two populations, but local processing continued to occur at high levels over a larger age range in the blind. The possibility of visual mediation is pointed out, as totally blind children tended to process information locally more often than blind children with minimal light perception.

  September 09, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12158   open full text
• Family Context, Mexican‐Origin Adolescent Mothers' Parenting Knowledge, and Children's Subsequent Developmental Outcomes.
  Laudan B. Jahromi, Amy B. Guimond, Adriana J. Umaña‐Taylor, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Russell B. Toomey.
  Child Development. September 04, 2013
  This study examined parenting knowledge among Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers (N = 191; Mage = 16.26 years), family contextual factors associated with adolescents' parenting knowledge, and toddlers' (Mage = 2.01 years) subsequent developmental outcomes. Data came from home interviews and direct child assessments. Adolescents both underestimated and overestimated children's developmental timing, and showed differences in their knowledge of specific developmental domains. Instrumental support from mother figures was positively linked to adolescents' knowledge accuracy, whereas emotional support was negatively related to adolescents' knowledge confidence. Furthermore, whereas mother figures' autonomy granting was positively linked to knowledge confidence, psychological control was associated with less accurate adolescent parenting knowledge. Toddlers of adolescents with more accurate knowledge showed positive developmental functioning. Intervention implications are discussed.

  September 04, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12160   open full text
• Visual Short‐Term Memory for Complex Objects in 6‐ and 8‐Month‐Old Infants.
  Mee‐Kyoung Kwon, Steven J. Luck, Lisa M. Oakes.
  Child Development. September 04, 2013
  Infants' visual short‐term memory (VSTM) for simple objects undergoes dramatic development: Six‐month‐old infants can store in VSTM information about only a simple object presented in isolation, whereas 8‐month‐old infants can store information about simple objects presented in multiple‐item arrays. This study extended this work to examine the development of infants' VSTM for complex objects during this same period (N = 105). Using the simultaneous streams change detection paradigm, Experiment 1 confirmed the previous developmental trajectory between 6 and 8 months. Experiment 2 showed that doubling the exposure time did not enhance 6‐month‐old infants' change detection, demonstrating that the developmental change is not due to encoding speed. Thus, VSTM for simple and complex objects appears to follow the same developmental trajectory.

  September 04, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12161   open full text
• Longitudinal Links Between Fathers’ and Mothers’ Harsh Verbal Discipline and Adolescents’ Conduct Problems and Depressive Symptoms.
  Ming‐Te Wang, Sarah Kenny.
  Child Development. September 03, 2013
  This study used cross‐lagged modeling to examine reciprocal relations between maternal and paternal harsh verbal discipline and adolescents’ conduct problems and depressive symptoms. Data were from a sample of 976 two‐parent families and their children (51% males; 54% European American, 40% African American). Mothers’ and fathers’ harsh verbal discipline at age 13 predicted an increase in adolescent conduct problems and depressive symptoms between ages 13 and 14. A child effect was also present, with adolescent misconduct at age 13 predicting increases in mothers’ and fathers’ harsh verbal discipline between ages 13 and 14. Furthermore, maternal and paternal warmth did not moderate the longitudinal associations between mothers’ and fathers’ use of harsh verbal discipline and adolescent conduct problems and depressive symptoms.

  September 03, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12143   open full text
• Evaluating and Approaching a Strange Animal: Children's Trust in Informant Testimony.
  Janet J. Boseovski, Sabrina L. Thurman.
  Child Development. August 22, 2013
  This study examined 3‐ to 7‐year‐old children's reliance on informant testimony to learn about a novel animal. Sixty participants were given positive or negative information about an Australian marsupial from an informant described as a maternal figure or a zookeeper. Children were asked which informant was correct and were invited to touch the animal, which was a stuffed toy hidden in a crate. Overall, younger children endorsed the zookeeper's testimony about the animal, but touched the animal more readily when the maternal figure provided positive information. Older children endorsed the informant who provided positive information, but showed some sensitivity to zookeeper expertise. Age differences were obtained in the association between participant characteristics and informant selection and animal approach behavior.

  August 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12156   open full text
• Motivated by Meaning: Testing the Effect of Knowledge‐Infused Rewards on Preschoolers' Persistence.
  Aubry L. Alvarez, Amy E. Booth.
  Child Development. August 22, 2013
  Research and theory suggest that young children are highly attuned to causality. This study explores whether this drive can motivate task engagement. Fifty‐six 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds completed a motor task as many times as desired, viewing a picture of a novel item upon each completion. Forty‐two randomly assigned children then received either: (a) causally rich information regarding the item, (b) causally weak information regarding the item, or (c) a tangible reward. The remaining 14 children participated in a baseline condition featuring no rewards. Preschoolers completed more trials when rewarded with causally rich than causally weak information, or when given no reward. Children also trended toward lengthier persistence in the causally rich than the tangible reward condition. Implications for theory and educational practice are discussed.

  August 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12151   open full text
• Beliefs About Thought Probability: Evidence for Persistent Errors in Mindreading and Links to Executive Control.
  Kristin Hansen Lagattuta, Liat Sayfan, Christina Harvey.
  Child Development. August 22, 2013
  Four‐ to 10‐year‐olds' and adults' (N = 263) ability to inhibit privileged knowledge and simulate a naïve perspective were examined. Participants viewed pictures that were then occluded aside from a small ambiguous part. They offered suggestions for how a naïve person might interpret the hidden pictures, as well as rated the probability that a naïve person would think of several different pictures (with one picture being the actual item). Results indicated a significant increase between ages 4 and 7 years in attributing novel interpretations; however, all age groups overestimated the probability that a naïve person could guess the actual pictures. Individual differences in working memory and inhibitory control predicted participants' thought suggestions as well as aspects of their probability judgments.

  August 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12154   open full text
• Does Parental Involvement Matter for Student Achievement and Mental Health in High School?
  Ming‐Te Wang, Salam Sheikh‐Khalil.
  Child Development. August 22, 2013
  Parental involvement in education remains important for facilitating positive youth development. This study conceptualized parental involvement as a multidimensional construct—including school‐based involvement, home‐based involvement, and academic socialization—and examined the effects of different types of parental involvement in 10th grade on student achievement and depression in 11th grade (approximately ages 15–17 years). In addition, this study tested whether parental involvement influenced adolescent outcomes by increasing their academic engagement in school. A total of 1,056 adolescents participated in the study (51% males; 53% European American, 40% African American, and 7% other). Parental involvement was found to improve academic and emotional functioning among adolescents. In addition, parental involvement predicted adolescent academic success and mental health both directly and indirectly through behavioral and emotional engagement.

  August 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12153   open full text
• How and Why Does the 5‐HTTLPR Gene Moderate Associations Between Maternal Unresponsiveness and Children's Disruptive Problems?
  Patrick T. Davies, Dante Cicchetti.
  Child Development. August 22, 2013
  This study tested the 5‐HTTLPR gene as a moderator in the relation between maternal unresponsiveness and child externalizing symptoms in a disadvantaged, predominantly Black sample of two hundred and one 2‐year‐old children and their mothers. Using a multimethod, prospective design, structural equation model analyses indicated that maternal unresponsiveness significantly predicted increases in externalizing symptoms 2 years later only for children possessing the LL genotype. Moderation was expressed in a “for better” or “for worse” form hypothesized in differential susceptibility theory. In examining why the risk posed by maternal unresponsiveness differed across the 5‐HTTLPR polymorphism, mediated moderation analyses showed that children's angry reactivity to maternal negativity partly accounted for the greater susceptibility of homozygous L carriers to variations in maternal unresponsiveness.

  August 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12148   open full text
• Adoptive Gay Father Families: Parent–Child Relationships and Children's Psychological Adjustment.
  Susan Golombok, Laura Mellish, Sarah Jennings, Polly Casey, Fiona Tasker, Michael E. Lamb.
  Child Development. August 22, 2013
  Findings are presented on a U.K. study of 41 gay father families, 40 lesbian mother families, and 49 heterosexual parent families with an adopted child aged 3–9 years. Standardized interview and observational and questionnaire measures of parental well‐being, quality of parent–child relationships, child adjustment, and child sex‐typed behavior were administered to parents, children, and teachers. The findings indicated more positive parental well‐being and parenting in gay father families compared to heterosexual parent families. Child externalizing problems were greater among children in heterosexual families. Family process variables, particularly parenting stress, rather than family type were found to be predictive of child externalizing problems. The findings contribute to theoretical understanding of the role of parental gender and parental sexual orientation in child development.

  August 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12155   open full text
• The Eyes Know Time: A Novel Paradigm to Reveal the Development of Temporal Memory.
  Thanujeni Pathman, Simona Ghetti.
  Child Development. August 20, 2013
  Temporal memory in 7‐year‐olds, 10‐year‐olds, and young adults (N = 78) was examined introducing a novel eye‐movement paradigm. Participants learned object sequences and were tested under three conditions: temporal order, temporal context, and recognition. Age‐related improvements in accuracy were found across conditions; accuracy in the temporal conditions was correlated with conventional time knowledge. Eye movements tracked the veridicality of temporal order memory in adults and 10‐year‐olds seconds before providing memory judgments, suggesting that these movements reflect implicit access to temporal information. Seven‐year‐olds overall did not show this eye‐movement effect, but those who did were more accurate than those who did not. Results suggest that eye movements capture aspects of temporal memory development that precede overt decision processes—with implications for hippocampal development.

  August 20, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12152   open full text
• How Symbolic Experience Shapes Children's Symbolic Flexibility.
  Emily E. Thom, Catherine M. Sandhofer.
  Child Development. August 20, 2013
  The current experiments asked whether children with dual‐symbolic experience (e.g., unimodal bilingual and bimodal) develop a preference for words like monolingual children (Namy & Waxman, 1998). In Experiment 1, ninety‐five 18‐ and 24‐month‐olds, with monolingual, unimodal bilingual, or bimodal symbolic experience, were tested in their willingness to treat digitized sounds as referents. In Experiment 2, forty‐seven 24‐month‐olds, with the same types of symbolic experience, were tested in their willingness to treat novel words as referents. Monolingual children performed in ways indicative of a growing preference for words, whereas children with dual‐symbolic experience performed in ways indicative of consistency in symbolic flexibility over time. Results suggest that the developmental trajectory of children's symbolic flexibility might depend on their symbolic experience.

  August 20, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12147   open full text
• Orienting Attention Within Visual Short‐Term Memory: Development and Mechanisms.
  Andria Shimi, Anna C. Nobre, Duncan Astle, Gaia Scerif.
  Child Development. August 12, 2013
  How does developing attentional control operate within visual short‐term memory (VSTM)? Seven‐year‐olds, 11‐year‐olds, and adults (total n = 205) were asked to report whether probe items were part of preceding visual arrays. In Experiment 1, central or peripheral cues oriented attention to the location of to‐be‐probed items either prior to encoding or during maintenance. Cues improved memory regardless of their position, but younger children benefited less from cues presented during maintenance, and these benefits related to VSTM span over and above basic memory in uncued trials. In Experiment 2, cues of low validity eliminated benefits, suggesting that even the youngest children use cues voluntarily, rather than automatically. These findings elucidate the close coupling between developing visuospatial attentional control and VSTM.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12150   open full text
• Differences in the Nonverbal Requests of Great Apes and Human Infants.
  Marloes H. Goot, Michael Tomasello, Ulf Liszkowski.
  Child Development. July 31, 2013
  This study investigated how great apes and human infants use imperative pointing to request objects. In a series of three experiments (infants, N = 44; apes, N = 12), subjects were given the opportunity to either point to a desired object from a distance or else to approach closer and request it proximally. The apes always approached close to the object, signaling their request through instrumental actions. In contrast, the infants quite often stayed at a distance, directing the experimenters' attention to the desired object through index‐finger pointing, even when the object was in the open and they could obtain it by themselves. Findings distinguish 12‐month‐olds' imperative pointing from ontogenetic and phylogenetic earlier forms of ritualized reaching.

  July 31, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12141   open full text
• Associations Between Child Disabilities and Caregiver Discipline and Violence in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries.
  Charlene Hendricks, Jennifer E. Lansford, Kirby Deater‐Deckard, Marc H. Bornstein.
  Child Development. July 29, 2013
  Using nationally representative samples of 45,964 two‐ to nine‐year‐old children and their primary caregivers in 17 developing countries, this study examined the relations between children's cognitive, language, sensory, and motor disabilities and caregivers' use of discipline and violence. Primary caregivers reported on their child's disabilities and whether they or anyone in their household had used nonviolent discipline, psychological aggression, and physical violence toward the target child and believed that using corporal punishment is necessary. Logistic regression analyses supported the hypothesis that children with disabilities are treated more harshly than children without disabilities. The findings suggest that policies and interventions are needed to work toward the United Nations' goals of ensuring that children with disabilities are protected from abuse and violence.

  July 29, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12132   open full text
• The Reciprocal Links Between School Engagement, Youth Problem Behaviors, and School Dropout During Adolescence.
  Ming‐Te Wang, Jennifer A. Fredricks.
  Child Development. July 29, 2013
  Drawing on the self‐system model, this study conceptualized school engagement as a multidimensional construct, including behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement, and examined whether changes in the three types of school engagement related to changes in problem behaviors from 7th through 11th grades (approximately ages 12–17). In addition, a transactional model of reciprocal relations between school engagement and problem behaviors was tested to predict school dropout. Data were collected on 1,272 youth from an ethnically and economically diverse county (58% African American, 36% European American; 51% females). Results indicated that adolescents who had declines in behavioral and emotional engagement with school tended to have increased delinquency and substance use over time. There were bidirectional associations between behavioral and emotional engagement in school and youth problem behaviors over time. Finally, lower behavioral and emotional engagement and greater problem behaviors predicted greater likelihood of dropping out of school.

  July 29, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12138   open full text
• The Effect of Executive Function on Biological Reasoning in Young Children: An Individual Differences Study.
  Deborah Zaitchik, Yeshim Iqbal, Susan Carey.
  Child Development. July 25, 2013
  There is substantial variance in the age at which children construct and deploy their first explicit theory of biology. This study tests the hypothesis that this variance is due, at least in part, to individual differences in their executive function (EF) abilities. A group of 79 boys and girls aged 5–7 years (with a mean age of 6½ years) were presented with two test batteries: (a) a biology battery that probed their understanding of life, death, and body functions and (b) an EF battery that tested working memory, inhibition, and set‐shifting skills. Individuals' EF scores significantly predict their biology scores, even after controlling for age and verbal IQ.

  July 25, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12145   open full text
• The Audiovisual Temporal Binding Window Narrows in Early Childhood.
  David J. Lewkowicz, Ross Flom.
  Child Development. July 25, 2013
  Binding is key in multisensory perception. This study investigated the audio‐visual (A‐V) temporal binding window in 4‐, 5‐, and 6‐year‐old children (total N = 120). Children watched a person uttering a syllable whose auditory and visual components were either temporally synchronized or desynchronized by 366, 500, or 666 ms. They were asked whether the voice and face went together (Experiment 1) or whether the desynchronized videos differed from the synchronized one (Experiment 2). Four‐year‐olds detected the 666‐ms asynchrony, 5‐year‐olds detected the 666‐ and 500‐ms asynchrony, and 6‐year‐olds detected all asynchronies. These results show that the A‐V temporal binding window narrows slowly during early childhood and that it is still wider at 6 years of age than in older children and adults.

  July 25, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12142   open full text
• The Self‐Reference Effect on Memory in Early Childhood.
  Sheila J. Cunningham, Joanne L. Brebner, Francis Quinn, David J. Turk.
  Child Development. July 25, 2013
  The self‐reference effect in memory is the advantage for information encoded about self, relative to other people. The early development of this effect was explored here using a concrete encoding paradigm. Trials comprised presentation of a self‐ or other‐image paired with a concrete object. In Study 1, 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children (N = 53) were asked in each trial whether the child pictured would like the object. Recognition memory showed an advantage for self‐paired objects. Study 2 (N = 55) replicated this finding in source memory. In Study 3 (N = 56), participants simply indicated object location. Again, recognition and source memory showed an advantage for self‐paired items. These findings are discussed with reference to mechanisms that ensure information of potential self‐relevance is reliably encoded.

  July 25, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12144   open full text
• Stress‐Induced Elevation of Oxytocin in Maltreated Children: Evolution, Neurodevelopment, and Social Behavior.
  Leslie J. Seltzer, Toni Ziegler, Michael J. Connolly, Ashley R. Prososki, Seth D. Pollak.
  Child Development. July 19, 2013
  Child maltreatment often has a negative impact on the development of social behavior and health. The biobehavioral mechanisms through which these adverse outcomes emerge, however, are not clear. To better understand the ways in which early life adversity affects subsequent social behavior, changes in the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in children (n = 73) aged 8.1–11.5 years following a laboratory stressor were examined. Girls with histories of physical abuse have higher levels of urinary OT and lower levels of salivary cortisol following the stressor when compared to controls. Abused and control boys, however, do not differ in their hormonal responses. These data suggest that early adversity may disrupt the development of the stress regulation system in girls by middle childhood.

  July 19, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12136   open full text
• A Longitudinal Study of Lexical Development in Children Learning Vietnamese and English.
  Giang Pham, Kathryn Kohnert.
  Child Development. July 19, 2013
  This longitudinal study modeled lexical development among children who spoke Vietnamese as a first language (L1) and English as a second language (L2). Participants (n = 33, initial mean age of 7.3 years) completed a total of eight tasks (four in each language) that measured vocabulary knowledge and lexical processing at four yearly time points. Multivariate hierarchical linear modeling was used to calculate L1 and L2 trajectories within the same model for each task. Main findings included (a) positive growth in each language, (b) greater gains in English resulting in shifts toward L2 dominance, and (c) different patterns for receptive and expressive domains. Timing of shifts to L2 dominance underscored L1 skills that are resilient and vulnerable to increases in L2 proficiency.

  July 19, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12137   open full text
• American and Chinese Children's Evaluations of Personal Domain Events and Resistance to Parental Authority.
  Judith G. Smetana, Mun Wong, Courtney Ball, Jenny Yau.
  Child Development. July 18, 2013
  A total of 267 five‐, seven‐, and ten‐year‐olds (M = 7.62), 147 in Hong Kong and 120 in the United States, evaluated hypothetical personal (and moral) events described as either essential or peripheral to actors' identity. Except for young Chinese in the peripheral condition, straightforward personal events were overwhelmingly evaluated as acceptable based on personal justifications. Children primarily endorsed compliance, but attributed negative emotions to actors when mothers forbade personal choices, especially when described as essential to identity. Conventional justifications declined among Chinese children and pragmatic justifications for these judgments increased with age for all children, as did judgments that personal events were up to the child. Rules were seen as more legitimate and events were seen as more up to mothers to decide for moral than personal events.

  July 18, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12140   open full text
• One World, Two Languages: Cross‐Language Semantic Priming in Bilingual Toddlers.
  Leher Singh.
  Child Development. June 26, 2013
  The interconnectedness of bilingual memory remains a topic of great debate. Semantic priming provides a powerful methodological tool with which to investigate this issue in early bilingual toddlers. Semantic priming effects were investigated in 21 bilingual toddlers (2.5 years) within and across each of their languages. Results revealed the first evidence of cross‐language and within‐language semantic priming in bilingual toddlers. However, priming effects were only observed when the prime was presented in the dominant language and were comparable in magnitude within and across languages. Findings point to high interconnectivity across languages; however, there appear to be strong influences of language dominance on semantic facilitation. Findings serve to inform and refine developmental models of bilingual memory.

  June 26, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12133   open full text
• Infants' Perception of Emotion From Body Movements.
  Nicole Zieber, Ashley Kangas, Alyson Hock, Ramesh S. Bhatt.
  Child Development. June 26, 2013
  Adults recognize emotions conveyed by bodies with comparable accuracy to facial emotions. However, no prior study has explored infants' perception of body emotions. In Experiment 1, 6.5‐month‐olds (n = 32) preferred happy over neutral actions of actors with covered faces in upright but not inverted silent videos. In Experiment 2, infants (n = 32) matched happy and angry videos to corresponding vocalizations when the videos were upright but not when they were inverted. Experiment 3 (n = 16) demonstrated that infants' performance in Experiment 2 was not driven by information from the covered face and head. Thus, young infants are sensitive to emotions conveyed by bodies and match them to affective vocalizations, indicating sophisticated emotion processing capabilities early in life.

  June 26, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12134   open full text
• Associations Between First‐Time Expectant Women's Representations of Attachment and Their Physiological Reactivity to Infant Cry.
  Jennifer C. Ablow, Amy K. Marks, S. Shirley Feldman, Lynne C. Huffman.
  Child Development. June 20, 2013
  Associations among 53 primiparous women's Adult Attachment Interview classifications (secure–autonomous vs. insecure–dismissing) and physiological and self‐reported responses to infant crying were explored. Heart rate, skin conductance levels, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were recorded continuously. In response to the cry, secure–autonomous women demonstrated RSA declines, consistent with approach‐oriented responses. Insecure–dismissing women displayed RSA and electrodermal increases, consistent with behavioral inhibition. Furthermore, insecure–dismissing women rated the cries as more aversive than secure–autonomous women. Nine months postpartum, secure–autonomous women, who prenatally manifested an approach‐oriented response to the unfamiliar cry stimulus, were observed as more sensitive when responding to their own distressed infant, whereas women classified prenatally as insecure–dismissing were observed as less sensitive with their own infants.

  June 20, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12135   open full text
• Pathways to Prevention: Improving Nonresident African American Fathers' Parenting Skills and Behaviors to Reduce Sons' Aggression.
  Cleopatra Howard Caldwell, Cathy L. Antonakos, Shervin Assari, Daniel Kruger, E. Hill Loney, Rashid Njai.
  Child Development. June 07, 2013
  This study describes a test of the Fathers and Sons Program for increasing intentions to avoid violence and reducing aggressive behaviors in 8‐ to 12‐year‐old African American boys by enhancing the parenting skills satisfaction and parenting behaviors of their nonresident fathers. The study included 158 intervention and 129 comparison group families. Structural equation model results indicated that the intervention was effective for improving fathers' parenting skills satisfaction, which was positively associated with sons' satisfaction with paternal engagement. Sons' paternal engagement satisfaction was positively associated with their intentions to avoid violence. Although aggressive behaviors were lower for comparison group sons, the intervention effectively reduced sons' aggressive behaviors indirectly by enhancing fathers' parenting behaviors. Support for family‐centered youth violence prevention efforts is discussed.

  June 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12127   open full text
• The Roots of Stereotype Threat: When Automatic Associations Disrupt Girls' Math Performance.
  Silvia Galdi, Mara Cadinu, Carlo Tomasetto.
  Child Development. May 28, 2013
  Although stereotype awareness is a prerequisite for stereotype threat effects (Steele & Aronson, 1995), research showed girls' deficit under stereotype threat before the emergence of math–gender stereotype awareness, and in the absence of stereotype endorsement. In a study including 240 six‐year‐old children, this paradox was addressed by testing whether automatic associations trigger stereotype threat in young girls. Whereas no indicators were found that children endorsed the math–gender stereotype, girls, but not boys, showed automatic associations consistent with the stereotype. Moreover, results showed that girls' automatic associations varied as a function of a manipulation regarding the stereotype content. Importantly, girls' math performance decreased in a stereotype‐consistent, relative to a stereotype‐inconsistent, condition and automatic associations mediated the relation between stereotype threat and performance.

  May 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12128   open full text
• Effortful Control Moderates Bidirectional Effects Between Children's Externalizing Behavior and Their Mothers' Depressive Symptoms.
  Daniel E. Choe, Sheryl L. Olson, Arnold J. Sameroff.
  Child Development. May 13, 2013
  This study examined bidirectional associations between mothers' depressive symptoms and children's externalizing behavior and whether they were moderated by preschool‐age effortful control and gender. Mothers and teachers reported on 224 primarily White, middle‐class children at ages 3, 5, and 10. Effortful control was assessed via behavioral battery and mother ratings. Structural equation modeling indicated that maternal depressive symptoms at child age 3 predicted more externalizing behavior at age 10 among children with low effortful control and among boys. Externalizing behavior at age 3 predicted fewer depressive symptoms at the age 10 assessments among mothers of children with high effortful control. Boys with suboptimal self‐regulation exposed to high levels of maternal depressive symptoms were at greatest risk for school‐age behavioral problems.

  May 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12123   open full text
• Swiss Children's Moral and Psychological Judgments About Inclusion and Exclusion of Children With Disabilities.
  Luciano Gasser, Tina Malti, Alois Buholzer.
  Child Development. May 13, 2013
  Children's judgments about inclusion and exclusion of children with disabilities were investigated in a Swiss sample of 6‐, 9‐, and 12‐year‐old children from inclusive and noninclusive classrooms (N = 422). Overall, the majority of children judged it as morally wrong to exclude children with disabilities. Yet, participants were less likely to expect the inclusion of children with mental or physical disabilities in academic and athletic contexts compared to social contexts. Moreover, older children more consistently coordinated disability type with context of exclusion. There were also significant differences depending on the type of classroom. The findings extend existing research on exclusion by investigating exclusion based on disability across different age groups and educational settings.

  May 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12124   open full text
• The Legacy of Early Insecurity Histories in Shaping Adolescent Adaptation to Interparental Conflict.
  Patrick T. Davies, Melissa L. Sturge‐Apple, Sonnette M. Bascoe, E. Mark Cummings.
  Child Development. May 03, 2013
  This study tested whether the mediational pathway involving interparental conflict, adolescent emotional insecurity, and their psychological problems was altered by their earlier childhood histories of insecurity. Participants included 230 families, with the first of the five measurement occasions occurring when children were in first grade (Mage = 7 years). Results indicated that interparental conflict was associated with increases in adolescent emotional insecurity that, in turn, predicted subsequent increases in their psychological problems. Childhood insecurity predicted adolescent maladjustment 5 years later even after considering contemporaneous family experiences. Moderator findings revealed that adolescents with relatively higher levels of insecurity in childhood evidenced disproportionately greater and reduced levels of insecurity in the context of high and low levels of interparental conflict, respectively.

  May 03, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12119   open full text
• Effects of Head Start REDI on Children's Outcomes 1 Year Later in Different Kindergarten Contexts.
  Karen L. Bierman, Robert L. Nix, Brenda S. Heinrichs, Celene E. Domitrovich, Scott D. Gest, Janet A. Welsh, Sukhdeep Gill.
  Child Development. May 03, 2013
  One year after participating in the Research‐based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) intervention or “usual practice” Head Start, the learning and behavioral outcomes of 356 children (17% Hispanic, 25% African American; 54% girls; Mage = 4.59 years at initial assessment) were assessed. In addition, their 202 kindergarten classrooms were evaluated on quality of teacher–student interactions, emphasis on reading instruction, and school‐level student achievement. Hierarchical linear analyses revealed that the REDI intervention promoted kindergarten phonemic decoding skills, learning engagement, and competent social problem‐solving skills, and reduced aggressive–disruptive behavior. Intervention effects on social competence and inattention were moderated by kindergarten context, with effects strongest when children entered schools with low student achievement. Implications are discussed for developmental models of school readiness and early educational programs.

  May 03, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12117   open full text
• Reading Angles in Maps.
  Véronique Izard, Evan O'Donnell, Elizabeth S. Spelke.
  Child Development. May 03, 2013
  Preschool children can navigate by simple geometric maps of the environment, but the nature of the geometric relations they use in map reading remains unclear. Here, children were tested specifically on their sensitivity to angle. Forty‐eight children (age 47:15–53:30 months) were presented with fragments of geometric maps, in which angle sections appeared without any relevant length or distance information. Children were able to read these map fragments and compare two‐dimensional to three‐dimensional angles. However, this ability appeared both variable and fragile among the youngest children of the sample. These findings suggest that 4‐year‐old children begin to form an abstract concept of angle that applies both to two‐dimsional and three‐dimensional displays and that serves to interpret novel spatial symbols.

  May 03, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12114   open full text
• Learning From Their Own Actions: The Unique Effect of Producing Actions on Infants' Action Understanding.
  Sarah A. Gerson, Amanda L. Woodward.
  Child Development. May 03, 2013
  Prior research suggests that infants' action production affects their action understanding, but little is known about the aspects of motor experience that render these effects. In Study 1, the relative contributions of self‐produced (n = 30) and observational (n = 30) action experience on 3‐month‐old infants' action understanding was assessed using a visual habituation paradigm. In Study 2, generalization of training to a new context was examined (n = 30). Results revealed a unique effect of active over observational experience. Furthermore, findings suggest that benefits of trained actions do not generalize broadly, at least following brief training.

  May 03, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12115   open full text
• Mental Spatial Transformations in 14‐ and 16‐Month‐Old Infants: Effects of Action and Observational Experience.
  Andrea Frick, Su‐hua Wang.
  Child Development. May 03, 2013
  Infants' ability to mentally track the orientation of an object during a hidden rotation was investigated (N = 28 in each experiment). A toy on a turntable was fully covered and then rotated 90°. When revealed, the toy had turned with the turntable (probable event), remained at its starting orientation (improbable event in Experiment 1), or turned to the opposite side (improbable event in Experiment 2). Results demonstrated a developmental progression between 14 and 16 months of age in infants' sensitivity to spatial object relations and their ability to track the orientation of an object during hidden rotation. Experiment 3 showed that 14‐month‐olds' performance improved with hands‐on training, highlighting the role of action experience in cognitive development.

  May 03, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12116   open full text
• Adolescents' Increasing Stress Response to Social Evaluation: Pubertal Effects on Cortisol and Alpha‐Amylase During Public Speaking.
  Esther den Bos, Mark Rooij, Anne C. Miers, Caroline L. Bokhorst, P. Michiel Westenberg.
  Child Development. May 02, 2013
  Stress responses to social evaluation are thought to increase during adolescence, which may be due to pubertal maturation. However, empirical evidence is scarce. This study is the first to investigate the relation between pubertal development and biological responses to a social‐evaluative stressor longitudinally. Participants performed the Leiden Public Speaking Task twice, with a 2‐year interval (N = 217; age at Time 1: 8–17 years). The results support an increase in sensitivity to social evaluation during adolescence. The overall cortisol and alpha‐amylase responses increased—both between and within participants—and were more strongly related to self‐reported pubertal development than to age. The cortisol response shifted from speech delivery toward anticipation. The alpha‐amylase response increased in both phases.

  May 02, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12118   open full text
• Young Children Give Priority to Ownership When Judging Who Should Use an Object.
  Karen R. Neary, Ori Friedman.
  Child Development. May 02, 2013
  This study provides evidence that children give priority to ownership when judging who should use an object. Children (N = 269) and adults (N = 154) considered disputes over objects. In disputes between a character using an object and the owner of the object, children, as young as 3 years and as old as 7 years, sided with the owner, and did so more than adults. However, children aged 4 and older disregarded owners' rights in dilemmas where these were pitted against the need to prevent harm. These findings suggest that ownership is central in children's judgments about object use and constrain developmental accounts of how children acquire an appreciation of ownership.

  May 02, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12120   open full text
• Postural Influences on the Development of Infant Lateralized and Symmetric Hand‐Use.
  Iryna Babik, Julie M. Campbell, George F. Michel.
  Child Development. May 02, 2013
  Within‐individual variability is such an apparent characteristic of infant handedness that handedness is believed to consolidate only in childhood. Research showed that manifest handedness is influenced by emerging postural skills (sitting, crawling, and walking). In this investigation, it was proposed that symmetric hand‐use (tendency to acquire objects bimanually), rather than lateralized hand‐use (the use of one hand more than the other), may be influenced by postural changes. Trajectories of lateralized and symmetric hand‐use for object acquisition were examined in 275 infants tested monthly from 6 to 14 months. Multilevel modeling revealed that change in lateralized hand‐use is unrelated to developmental transitions in infant posture, whereas the trajectory of symmetric hand‐use changes significantly with the development of postural skills.

  May 02, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12121   open full text
• Peer Victimization and Social Alienation: Predicting Deviant Peer Affiliation in Middle School.
  Karen D. Rudolph, Jennifer E. Lansford, Anna M. Agoston, Niwako Sugimura, David Schwartz, Kenneth A. Dodge, Gregory S. Pettit, John E. Bates.
  Child Development. April 28, 2013
  Two prospective studies examined a theoretical model wherein exposure to victimization, resulting from early behavioral risk, heightens children's social alienation and subsequent deviant peer affiliation (DPA). Across Study 1 (298 girls, 287 boys; K–7th grade; 5–12 years) and Study 2 (338 girls, 298 boys; 2nd–6th grade; 8–12 years), children, parents, peers, and teachers reported on children's externalizing behavior and internalizing symptoms, peer victimization, social alienation, and DPA. Path analyses supported the proposed pathway: Peer victimization predicted social alienation, which then predicted DPA. Early externalizing behavior set this path in motion and made an independent contribution to DPA. This research identifies an important pathway through which externalizing behavior and consequent peer victimization launch children onto a risky social trajectory.

  April 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12112   open full text
• Disorganized Behavior in Adolescent–Parent Interaction: Relations to Attachment State of Mind, Partner Abuse, and Psychopathology.
  Ingrid Obsuth, Katherine Hennighausen, Laura E. Brumariu, Karlen Lyons‐Ruth.
  Child Development. April 28, 2013
  Disoriented, punitive, and caregiving/role‐confused attachment behaviors are associated with psychopathology in childhood, but have not been assessed in adolescence. A total of 120 low‐income late adolescents (aged 18–23 years) and parents were assessed in a conflict‐resolution paradigm. Their interactions were coded with the Goal‐Corrected Partnership in Adolescence Coding Scales. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the three disorganized constructs (punitive, caregiving, and disoriented interaction) were best represented as distinct factors and were separable from a fourth factor for collaboration. The four factors were then assessed in relation to measures of attachment disorganization, partner abuse, and psychopathology. Results indicate that forms of disorganized behavior first described in early childhood can also be reliably assessed in adolescence and are associated with maladaptive outcomes across multiple domains.

  April 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12113   open full text
• Majority Children's Evaluation of Acculturation Preferences of Immigrant and Emigrant Peers.
  Maykel Verkuyten, Jochem Thijs, Jellie Sierksma.
  Child Development. April 26, 2013
  Using an experimental design, native majority group children (8–13 years, N = 842) evaluated acculturation strategies (assimilation, integration, and separation) adopted by immigrant and emigrant peers. There were medium to large effects of the perceived acculturation strategies on children's peer evaluations. Overall, assimilation was valued most, followed by integration and separation. These effects were in part mediated by perceived national belonging. In addition, the effects were stronger for lower status compared to higher status immigrant groups, and for children with higher compared to lower national identification. For emigrants, separation was valued most, followed by integration and assimilation. This indicates that the intergroup processes rather than migration per se are important for children's acculturation perceptions and evaluations.

  April 26, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12111   open full text
• Ethnic Identity in Everyday Life: The Influence of Identity Development Status.
  Tiffany Yip.
  Child Development. April 12, 2013
  The current study explores the intersection of ethnic identity development and significance in a sample of 354 diverse adolescents (mean age 14). Adolescents completed surveys five times a day for 1 week. Cluster analyses revealed four identity clusters: diffused, foreclosed, moratorium, and achieved. Achieved adolescents reported the highest levels of identity salience across situations, followed by moratorium adolescents. Achieved and moratorium adolescents also reported a positive association between identity salience and private regard. For foreclosed and achieved adolescents reporting low levels of centrality, identity salience was associated with lower private regard. For foreclosed and achieved adolescents reporting high levels of centrality, identity salience was associated with higher private regard.

  April 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12107   open full text
• Cross‐Cultural Differences in Children's Beliefs About the Objectivity of Social Categories.
  Gil Diesendruck, Rebecca Goldfein‐Elbaz, Marjorie Rhodes, Susan Gelman, Noam Neumark.
  Child Development. April 12, 2013
  The present study compared 5‐ and 10‐year‐old North American and Israeli children's beliefs about the objectivity of different categories (n = 109). Children saw picture triads composed of two exemplars of the same category (e.g., two women) and an exemplar of a contrasting category (e.g., a man). Children were asked whether it would be acceptable or wrong for people in a different country to consider contrasting exemplars to be the same kind. It was found that children from both countries viewed gender as objectively correct and occupation as flexible. The findings regarding race and ethnicity differed in the two countries, revealing how an essentialist bias interacts with cultural input in directing children's conceptualization of social groups.

  April 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12108   open full text
• Why Are Chinese Mothers More Controlling Than American Mothers? “My Child Is My Report Card”.
  Florrie Fei‐Yin Ng, Eva M. Pomerantz, Ciping Deng.
  Child Development. April 12, 2013
  Chinese parents exert more control over children than do American parents. The current research examined whether this is due in part to Chinese parents' feelings of worth being more contingent on children's performance. Twice over a year, 215 mothers and children (Mage = 12.86 years) in China and the United States (European and African American) reported on psychologically controlling parenting. Mothers also indicated the extent to which their worth is contingent on children's performance. Psychologically controlling parenting was higher among Chinese than American mothers, particularly European (vs. African) American mothers. Chinese (vs. American) mothers' feelings of worth were more contingent on children's performance, with this contributing to their heightened psychological control relative to American mothers.

  April 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12102   open full text
• Gene–Environment Correlation Underlying the Association Between Parental Negativity and Adolescent Externalizing Problems.
  Kristine Marceau, Briana N. Horwitz, Jurgita Narusyte, Jody M. Ganiban, Erica L. Spotts, David Reiss, Jenae M. Neiderhiser.
  Child Development. April 10, 2013
  Studies of adolescent or parent‐based twins suggest that gene–environment correlation (rGE) is an important mechanism underlying parent–adolescent relationships. However, information on how parents' and children's genes and environments influence correlated parent and child behaviors is needed to distinguish types of rGE. The present study used the novel Extended Children of Twins model to distinguish types of rGE underlying associations between negative parenting and adolescent (age 11–22 years) externalizing problems with a Swedish sample of 909 twin parents and their adolescent offspring and a U.S.‐based sample of 405 adolescent siblings and their parents. Results suggest that evocative rGE, not passive rGE or direct environmental effects of parenting on adolescent externalizing, explains associations between maternal and paternal negativity and adolescent externalizing problems.

  April 10, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12094   open full text
• Racial Identity From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Does Prior Neighborhood Experience Matter?
  Deborah Rivas‐Drake, Dawn Witherspoon.
  Child Development. April 10, 2013
  This study examined the influence of earlier neighborhood experiences on trajectories of racial centrality and regard among Black youth. Data were drawn from a sample of Black 11‐ to 14‐year‐old youth (N = 718) in the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study, a data set that permits the examination of structural and subjective neighborhood influences. Results suggest that centrality increases, whereas public regard remains relatively stable, across the transition to adulthood. Seventh graders who resided in neighborhoods in which adults were less willing to intervene or respond to problematic situations reported lower public regard in 11th grade. In addition, the trajectory of private regard varied according to the types of neighborhoods youth experienced in early adolescence.

  April 10, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12095   open full text
• The Effect of Teachers' Memory‐Relevant Language on Children's Strategy Use and Knowledge.
  Jennie Grammer, Jennifer L. Coffman, Peter Ornstein.
  Child Development. April 10, 2013
  Building on longitudinal findings of linkages between aspects of teachers' language during instruction and children's use of mnemonic strategies, this investigation was designed to examine experimentally the impact of instruction on memory development. First and second graders (N = 54, Mage = 7 years) were randomly assigned to a science unit that varied only in teachers' use of memory‐relevant language. Pretest, posttest, and 1‐month follow‐up assessments revealed that although all participating children learned new information as a result of instruction, those exposed to memory rich teaching exhibited greater levels of strategic knowledge and engaged in more sophisticated strategy use in a memory task involving instructional content than did students exposed to low memory instruction. The findings provide support for a causal linkage between teachers' language and children's strategic efforts.

  April 10, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12100   open full text
• Reading Development in Young Children: Genetic and Environmental Influences.
  Jessica A. R. Logan, Sara A. Hart, Laurie Cutting, Kirby Deater‐Deckard, Chris Schatschneider, Stephen Petrill.
  Child Development. April 10, 2013
  The development of reading skills in typical students is commonly described as a rapid growth across early grades of active reading education, with a slowing down of growth as active instruction tapers. This study examined the extent to which genetics and environments influence these growth rates. Participants were 371 twin pairs, aged approximately 6 through 12, from the Western Reserve Reading Project. Development of word‐level reading, reading comprehension, and rapid naming was examined using genetically sensitive latent quadratic growth curve modeling. Results confirmed the developmental trajectory described in the phenotypic literature. Furthermore, the same shared environmental influences were related to early reading skills and subsequent growth, but genetic influences on these factors were unique.

  April 10, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12104   open full text
• Environmental‐Scale Map Use in Middle Childhood: Links to Spatial Skills, Strategies, and Gender.
  Lynn S. Liben, Lauren J. Myers, Adam E. Christensen, Corinne A. Bower.
  Child Development. April 01, 2013
  Researchers have shown that young children solve mapping tasks in small spaces, but have rarely tested children's performance in large, unfamiliar environments. In the current research, children (9–10 years; N = 40) explored an unfamiliar campus and marked flags' locations on a map. As hypothesized, better performance was predicted by higher spatial‐test scores, greater spontaneous use of map–space coordinating strategies, and participant sex (favoring boys). Data supported some but not all hypotheses about the roles of specific spatial skills for mapping performance. Data patterns were similar on a computer mapping task that displayed environmental‐scale videos of walks through a park. Patterns of children's mapping errors suggested both idiosyncratic and common mapping strategies that should be addressed in future research and educational interventions.

  April 01, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12090   open full text
• Developmental Changes in Executive Functioning.
  Kerry Lee, Rebecca Bull, Ringo M. H. Ho.
  Child Development. April 01, 2013
  Although early studies of executive functioning in children supported Miyake et al.'s (2000) three‐factor model, more recent findings supported a variety of undifferentiated or two‐factor structures. Using a cohort‐sequential design, this study examined whether there were age‐related differences in the structure of executive functioning among 6‐ to 15‐year‐olds (N = 688). Children were tested annually on tasks designed to measure updating and working memory, inhibition, and switch efficiency. There was substantial task‐based variation in developmental patterns on the various tasks. Confirmatory factor analyses and tests for longitudinal factorial invariance showed that data from the 5‐ to 13‐year‐olds conformed to a two‐factor structure. For the 15‐year‐olds, a well‐separated three‐factor structure was found.

  April 01, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12096   open full text
• Maintaining a Social‐Emotional Intervention and Its Benefits for Institutionalized Children.
  Robert B. McCall, Christina J. Groark, Larry Fish, Rifkat J. Muhamedrahimov, Oleg I. Palmov, Natalia V. Nikiforova.
  Child Development. April 01, 2013
  This article reports the maintenance of one of the largest interventions conducted in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) orphanages for children birth to 4 years using regular caregiving staff. One orphanage received training plus structural changes, another training only, and a third business as usual. The intervention produced substantial differences between these institutions on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory and on the Battelle Developmental Inventory scores for children. These institutional differences in HOME scores (N = 298) and Battelle scores for children (N = 357) departing the institutions for families in St. Petersburg and the United States were maintained for at least 6 years after the intervention project. This result may be associated with certain features of the intervention and activities conducted during the follow‐up interval.

  April 01, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12098   open full text
• Developmental Personality Types From Childhood to Adolescence: Associations With Parenting and Adjustment.
  Amaranta D. Haan, Maja Deković, Alithe L. den Akker, Sabine E. M. J. Stoltz, Peter Prinzie.
  Child Development. March 28, 2013
  This study examined whether changes in children's self‐reported Big Five dimensions are represented by (developmental) personality types, using a cohort‐sequential design with three measurement occasions across 5 years (four cohorts, 9–12 years at T1; N = 523). Correlates of, and gender differences in, type membership were examined. Latent class growth modeling yielded three personality types: Resilients (highest initial levels on all Big Five), Overcontrollers (lowest Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Imagination), and Undercontrollers (lowest Benevolence, Conscientiousness). Gender differences in type membership were small. Warm parenting, but not overreactive discipline, in childhood was associated with type membership. The types differed in adjustment problems by the end of middle adolescence. Personality change more likely occurs at the level of dimensions within types than in type membership.

  March 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12092   open full text
• 3‐Year‐Old Children Make Relevance Inferences in Indirect Verbal Communication.
  Cornelia Schulze, Susanne Grassmann, Michael Tomasello.
  Child Development. March 28, 2013
  Three studies investigated 3‐year‐old children's ability to determine a speaker's communicative intent when the speaker's overt utterance related to that intent only indirectly. Studies 1 and 2 examined children's comprehension of indirectly stated requests (e.g., “I find Xs good” can imply, in context, a request for X; N = 32). Study 3 investigated 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children's and adults' (N = 52) comprehension of the implications of a speaker responding to an offer by mentioning an action's fulfilled or unfulfilled precondition (e.g., responding to an offer of cereal by stating that we have no milk implies rejection of the cereal). In all studies, 3‐year‐old children were able to make the relevance inference necessary to integrate utterances meaningfully into the ongoing context.

  March 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12093   open full text
• School Life and Adolescents' Self‐Esteem Trajectories.
  Alexandre J. S. Morin, Christophe Maïano, Herbert W. Marsh, Benjamin Nagengast, Michel Janosz.
  Child Development. March 28, 2013
  This study investigates heterogeneity in adolescents' trajectories of global self‐esteem (GSE) and the relations between these trajectories and facets of the interpersonal, organizational, and instructional components of students' school life. Methodologically, this study illustrates the use of growth mixture analyses, and how to obtain proper student‐level effects when there are multiple schools, but not enough to support multilevel analyses. This study is based on a 4‐year, six‐measurement‐point, follow‐up of 1,008 adolescents (Mage = 12.6 years, SD = 0.6 at Time 1.) The results show four latent classes presenting elevated, moderate, increasing, and low trajectories defined based on GSE levels and fluctuations. The results show that GSE becomes trait‐like as it increases and that school life effects, moderated by gender, played an important role in predicting membership in these trajectories.

  March 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12089   open full text
• Taking Shape: Supporting Preschoolers' Acquisition of Geometric Knowledge Through Guided Play.
  Kelly R. Fisher, Kathy Hirsh‐Pasek, Nora Newcombe, Roberta M. Golinkoff.
  Child Development. March 27, 2013
  Shape knowledge, a key aspect of school readiness, is part of early mathematical learning. Variations in how children are exposed to shapes may affect the pace of their learning and the nature of their shape knowledge. Building on evidence suggesting that child‐centered, playful learning programs facilitate learning more than other methods, 4‐ to 5‐year‐old children (N = 70) were taught the properties of four geometric shapes using guided play, free play, or didactic instruction. Results revealed that children taught shapes in the guided play condition showed improved shape knowledge compared to the other groups, an effect that was still evident after 1 week. Findings suggest that scaffolding techniques that heighten engagement, direct exploration, and facilitate “sense‐making,” such as guided play, undergird shape learning.

  March 27, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12091   open full text
• Impacts of a Prekindergarten Program on Children's Mathematics, Language, Literacy, Executive Function, and Emotional Skills.
  Christina Weiland, Hirokazu Yoshikawa.
  Child Development. March 27, 2013
  Publicly funded prekindergarten programs have achieved small‐to‐large impacts on children's cognitive outcomes. The current study examined the impact of a prekindergarten program that implemented a coaching system and consistent literacy, language, and mathematics curricula on these and other nontargeted, essential components of school readiness, such as executive functioning. Participants included 2,018 four and five‐year‐old children. Findings indicated that the program had moderate‐to‐large impacts on children's language, literacy, numeracy and mathematics skills, and small impacts on children's executive functioning and a measure of emotion recognition. Some impacts were considerably larger for some subgroups. For urban public school districts, results inform important programmatic decisions. For policy makers, results confirm that prekindergarten programs can improve educationally vital outcomes for children in meaningful, important ways.

  March 27, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12099   open full text
• Marital Conflict, Allostatic Load, and the Development of Children's Fluid Cognitive Performance.
  J. Benjamin Hinnant, Mona El‐Sheikh, Margaret Keiley, Joseph A. Buckhalt.
  Child Development. March 27, 2013
  Relations between marital conflict, children's respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and fluid cognitive performance were examined over 3 years to assess allostatic processes. Participants were 251 children reporting on marital conflict, baseline RSA, and RSA reactivity (RSA‐R) to a lab challenge were recorded, and fluid cognitive performance was measured using the Woodcock–Johnson III. A cross‐lagged model showed that higher levels of marital conflict at age 8 predicted weaker RSA‐R at age 9 for children with lower baseline RSA. A growth model showed that lower baseline RSA in conjunction with weaker RSA‐R predicted the slowest development of fluid cognitive performance. Findings suggest that stress may affect development of physiological systems regulating attention, which are tied to the development of fluid cognitive performance.

  March 27, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12103   open full text
• The Adolescent Relational Dialectic and the Peer Roots of Adult Social Functioning.
  Joseph P. Allen, Joanna Chango, David Szwedo.
  Child Development. March 27, 2013
  The long‐term import of a fundamental challenge of adolescent social development—establishing oneself as a desirable peer companion while avoiding problematic behaviors often supported within peer groups—was examined in a community sample of 184 adolescents, followed from ages 13 to 23, along with parents, peers, and romantic partners. The dialectical nature of this challenge appeared in findings that autonomy vis‐à‐vis peer influences predicted both long‐term success avoiding problematic behavior but also more difficulty establishing strong adult friendships. Conversely, being a desirable peer companion in adolescence predicted more positive adult relationships but also greater alcohol use. Adolescents who established themselves as both desirable companions and as autonomous vis‐à‐vis peers were rated as most successful by their parents at age 23.

  March 27, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12106   open full text
• Development of Phonological Constancy: 19‐Month‐Olds, but Not 15‐Month‐Olds, Identify Words in a Non‐Native Regional Accent.
  Karen E. Mulak, Catherine T. Best, Michael D. Tyler, Christine Kitamura, Julia R. Irwin.
  Child Development. March 22, 2013
  By 12 months, children grasp that a phonetic change to a word can change its identity (phonological distinctiveness). However, they must also grasp that some phonetic changes do not (phonological constancy). To test development of phonological constancy, sixteen 15‐month‐olds and sixteen 19‐month‐olds completed an eye‐tracking task that tracked their gaze to named versus unnamed images for familiar words spoken in their native (Australian) and an unfamiliar non‐native (Jamaican) regional accent of English. Both groups looked longer at named than unnamed images for Australian pronunciations, but only 19‐month‐olds did so for Jamaican pronunciations, indicating that phonological constancy emerges by 19 months. Vocabulary size predicted 15‐month‐olds' identifications for the Jamaican pronunciations, suggesting vocabulary growth is a viable predictor for phonological constancy development.

  March 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12087   open full text
• Inhibitory Control During Emotional Distraction Across Adolescence and Early Adulthood.
  Julia E. Cohen‐Gilbert, Kathleen M. Thomas.
  Child Development. March 18, 2013
  This study investigated the changing relation between emotion and inhibitory control during adolescence. One hundred participants between 11 and 25 years of age performed a go‐nogo task in which task‐relevant stimuli (letters) were presented at the center of large task‐irrelevant images depicting negative, positive, or neutral scenes selected from the International Affective Picture System. Longer reaction times for negative trials were found across all age groups, suggesting that negative but not positive emotional images captured attention across this age range. However, age differences in accuracy on inhibitory trials suggest that response inhibition is more readily disrupted by negative emotional distraction in early adolescence relative to late childhood, late adolescence, or early adulthood.

  March 18, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12085   open full text
• Is the Secure Base Phenomenon Evident Here, There, and Anywhere? A Cross‐Cultural Study of Child Behavior and Experts’ Definitions.
  German Posada, Ting Lu, Jill Trumbell, Garene Kaloustian, Marcel Trudel, Sandra J. Plata, Paola P. Peña, Jennifer Perez, Susana Tereno, Romain Dugravier, Gabrielle Coppola, Alessandro Constantini, Rosalinda Cassibba, Kiyomi Kondo‐Ikemura, Magaly Nóblega, Ines M. Haya, Claudia Pedraglio, Manuela Verissimo, Antonio J. Santos, Ligia Monteiro, Keng‐Ling Lay.
  Child Development. March 15, 2013
  The evolutionary rationale offered by Bowlby implies that secure base relationships are common in child–caregiver dyads and thus, child secure behavior observable across diverse social contexts and cultures. This study offers a test of the universality hypothesis. Trained observers in nine countries used the Attachment Q‐set to describe the organization of children's behavior in naturalistic settings. Children (N = 547) were 10–72 months old. Child development experts (N = 81) from all countries provided definitions of optimal child secure base use. Findings indicate that children from all countries use their mother as a secure base. Children's organization of secure base behavior was modestly related to each other both within and across countries. Experts’ descriptions of the optimally attached child were highly similar across cultures.

  March 15, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12084   open full text
• Developmental Trajectories of Maladaptive Perfectionism Among African American Adolescents.
  Keith C. Herman, Kenneth Wang, Reid Trotter, Wendy M. Reinke, Nicholas Ialongo.
  Child Development. March 10, 2013
  This study examined the developmental trajectories of maladaptive perfectionism over a 7‐year period among African American youth living in an urban setting (N = 547). In particular, the study attempted to determine whether two maladaptive aspects of perfectionism (socially prescribed and self‐critical) changed over time and could be distinguished by variables in 6th and 12th grades (Mage at study entry [first grade] was 6.22 years [SD = 0.34]). Four classes best described the developmental trajectories on both measures of maladaptive perfectionism: high, low, increasing, and decreasing. Sixth‐ and 12th‐grade correlates, including measures of internalizing symptoms, mostly confirmed the distinctiveness of these classes. Parallel process analyses suggested that the two processes are complementary, yet distinct. Implications regarding the prevention of maladaptive perfectionism are discussed.

  March 10, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12078   open full text
• Not All Past Events Are Equal: Biased Attention and Emerging Heuristics in Children's Past‐to‐Future Forecasting.
  Kristin Hansen Lagattuta, Liat Sayfan.
  Child Development. March 10, 2013
  Four‐ to 10‐year‐olds and adults (N = 265) responded to eight scenarios presented on an eye tracker. Each trial involved a character who encounters a perpetrator who had previously enacted positive (P), negative (N), or both types of actions toward him or her in varying sequences (NN, PP, PN, and NP). Participants predicted the character's thoughts about the likelihood of future events, emotion type and intensity, and decision to approach or avoid. All ages made more positive forecasts for PP > NP > PN > NN trials, with differentiation by past experience widening with age. Age‐related increases in weighting the most recent past event also appeared in eye gaze. Individual differences in biased visual attention correlated with verbal judgments. Findings contribute to research on risk assessment, person perception, and heuristics in judgment and decision making.

  March 10, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12082   open full text
• Early Neglect Is Associated With Alterations in White Matter Integrity and Cognitive Functioning.
  Jamie L. Hanson, Nagesh Adluru, Moo K. Chung, Andrew L. Alexander, Richard J. Davidson, Seth D. Pollak.
  Child Development. March 10, 2013
  Cognitive deficits have been reported in children who experienced early neglect, especially children raised in institutionalized settings. Previous research suggests that early neglect may differentially affect the directional organization of white matter in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This may be one mechanism to explain cognitive deficits associated with neglect. To test this idea, properties of white matter and neurocognitive performance were assessed in children who suffered early neglect and those raised in typical environments (n = 63, Mage = 11.75 years). As predicted, prefrontal white matter microstructure was affected, consistent with more diffuse organization, in children that suffered early neglect and this was related to neurocognitive deficits. Such findings underscore how early adversity may affect the PFC and explain cognitive deficits associated with neglect.

  March 10, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12069   open full text
• Do Time in Child Care and Peer Group Exposure Predict Poor Socioemotional Adjustment in Norway?
  Elisabet Solheim, Lars Wichstrøm, Jay Belsky, Turid Suzanne Berg‐Nielsen.
  Child Development. March 05, 2013
  Extensive exposure to nonparental child care during the first 4.5 years of life has been demonstrated in some American studies to negatively affect children's socioemotional functioning. Data from 935 preschool children who averaged 54.9 (SD = 3.0) months of age, from Trondheim, Norway were used to examine whether such negative effects, would emerge in Norway, a country with a different child‐care system. The children's externalizing problems and social competence were unrelated to their child‐care experience. More time spent in child care during the first 4.5 years of life and experiencing peer groups of < 16 or > 18 children predicted greater caregiver–child conflict. The effect sizes were small. The results are discussed in terms of cross‐national child‐care differences.

  March 05, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12071   open full text
• Classifying Prosocial Behavior: Children's Responses to Instrumental Need, Emotional Distress, and Material Desire.
  Kristen A. Dunfield, Valerie A. Kuhlmeier.
  Child Development. March 05, 2013
  This study investigates the diversity of early prosocial behavior by examining the ability of ninety‐five 2‐ to 4‐year‐olds to provide aid to an adult experimenter displaying instrumental need, emotional distress, and material desire. Children provided appropriate aid in response to each of these cues with high consistency over multiple trials. In contrast to the consistency with which the children provided aid within each task, there were no cross‐task correlations, and the tendency to respond to each of the cues revealed unique developmental trajectories. Taken together, these results provide preliminary support for the importance of examining the cues to which children are responding and of differentiating between varieties of aid when considering the development of prosocial behavior.

  March 05, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12075   open full text
• Child‐Care Subsidies and School Readiness in Kindergarten.
  Anna D. Johnson, Anne Martin, Jeanne Brooks‐Gunn.
  Child Development. March 05, 2013
  The federal child‐care subsidy program represents one of the government's largest investments in early care and education. Using data from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort, this study examines associations, among subsidy‐eligible families, between child‐care subsidy receipt when children are 4 years old and a range of school readiness outcomes in kindergarten (sample n ≈ 1,400). Findings suggest that subsidy receipt in preschool is not directly linked to subsequent reading or social‐emotional skills. However, subsidy receipt predicted lower math scores among children attending community‐based centers. Supplementary analyses revealed that subsidies predicted greater use of center care, but this association did not appear to affect school readiness.

  March 05, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12073   open full text
• Transactions Between Child Social Wariness and Observed Structured Parenting: Evidence From a Prospective Adoption Study.
  Misaki N. Natsuaki, Leslie D. Leve, Gordon T. Harold, Jenae M. Neiderhiser, Daniel S. Shaw, Jody Ganiban, Laura V. Scaramella, David Reiss.
  Child Development. February 28, 2013
  This investigation examined the mutual influences between structured parenting and child social wariness during toddlerhood using a longitudinal adoption design. The sample consisted of 361 adoption‐linked families, each including an adopted child, adoptive parents, and a birth mother. Heightened social wariness in children at age 18 months predicted reduced levels of observed structured parenting (i.e., less directive parenting with fewer commands and requests) in adoptive mothers at age 27 months. Adoptive fathers' lower structured parenting at age 18 months predicted subsequent elevation in child social wariness. Birth mothers' history of fear‐related anxiety disorders was not associated with child social wariness. Findings highlight the role of dynamic family transactions in the development of social wariness during toddlerhood.

  February 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12070   open full text
• Response Inhibition in Preschoolers at Familial Risk for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Behavioral and Electrophysiological Stop‐Signal Study.
  Andrea Berger, Uri Alyagon, Hadas Hadaya, Naama Atzaba‐Poria, Judith G. Auerbach.
  Child Development. February 28, 2013
  Children participating in the Ben‐Gurion Infant Development Study were assessed with a dynamic‐tracking version of the stop‐signal task at the age of 5 years. The sample consisted of 60 males. Stop‐signal reaction time (SSRT) was correlated with concurrent ratings of the child's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Paternal symptoms measured in the child's early infancy predicted the child's performance in the stop‐signal task: Paternal inattentiveness predicted SSRT, whereas hyperactivity predicted error proportion. Maternal symptoms were not correlated with the performance of the child in the task. A subsample of children, who were tested while electrophysiological brain activity was measured, showed that having higher ADHD symptomatology, especially hyperactivity, correlated with less activity in the brain areas that are usually recruited by children for successful inhibition.

  February 28, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12072   open full text
• Preschoolers Use Emotion in Speech to Learn New Words.
  Jared M. J. Berman, Susan A. Graham, Dallas Callaway, Craig G. Chambers.
  Child Development. February 25, 2013
  Two experiments examined 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds' use of vocal affect to learn new words. In Experiment 1 (n = 48), children were presented with two unfamiliar objects, first in their original state and then in an altered state (broken or enhanced). An instruction produced with negative, neutral, or positive affect, directed children to find the referent of a novel word. During the novel noun, eye gaze measures indicated that both 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds were more likely to consider an object congruent with vocal affect cues. In Experiment 2, 5‐year‐olds (n = 15) were asked to extend and generalize their initial mapping to new exemplars. Here, 5‐year‐olds generalized these newly mapped labels but only when presented with negative vocal affect.

  February 25, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12074   open full text
• Temperament Moderates Associations Between Exposure to Stress and Children's Externalizing Problems.
  Alice C. Schermerhorn, John E. Bates, Jackson A. Goodnight, Jennifer E. Lansford, Kenneth A. Dodge, Gregory S. Pettit.
  Child Development. February 25, 2013
  The interaction between a temperament profile (four groups determined by high vs. low resistance to control [unmanageability] and unadaptability [novelty distress]) and family stress in predicting externalizing problems at school in children followed from kindergarten through eighth grade (ages 5–13) was investigated. The sample consisted of 556 families (290 boys). At Time 1 just prior to kindergarten, mothers retrospectively reported on their child's temperament during infancy. Each year, mothers reported stress and teachers reported children's externalizing problems. Temperament profile was tested as a moderator of the stress–externalizing association for various time periods. Results indicated that the combination of high resistance to control and high unadaptability strengthens the stress–externalizing association. Findings are discussed in terms of possible underlying mechanisms.

  February 25, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12076   open full text
• Sleep and Cognition in Preschool Years: Specific Links to Executive Functioning.
  Annie Bernier, Miriam H. Beauchamp, Andrée‐Anne Bouvette‐Turcot, Stephanie M. Carlson, Julie Carrier.
  Child Development. February 24, 2013
  This study investigated the prospective links between sleep in infancy and preschoolers' cognitive performance. Mothers of 65 infants completed a sleep diary when infants were aged 1 year, and children completed two subscales of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence at 4 years, indexing general cognitive ability and complex executive functioning. Consistent with hypotheses, children getting higher proportions of their sleep at night as infants were found to perform better on executive functions, but did not show better general cognition. Relations held after controlling for family socioeconomic status and prior cognitive functioning. These findings suggest that the special importance of sleep for higher order cognition, documented among adults, may appear very early in life.

  February 24, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12063   open full text
• Touching Up Mental Rotation: Effects of Manual Experience on 6‐Month‐Old Infants’ Mental Object Rotation.
  Wenke Möhring, Andrea Frick.
  Child Development. February 24, 2013
  In this study, 6‐month‐olds' ability to mentally rotate objects was investigated using the violation‐of‐expectation paradigm. Forty infants watched an asymmetric object being moved straight down behind an occluder. When the occluder was lowered, it revealed the original object (possible) or its mirror image (impossible) in one of five orientations. Whereas half of the infants were allowed to manually explore the object prior to testing, the other half was only allowed to observe the object. Results showed that infants with prior hands‐on experience looked significantly longer at the mirror image, while infants with observational experience did not discriminate between test events. These findings demonstrate that 6‐month‐olds' mental rotations benefit from manual exploration, highlighting the importance of motor experience for cognitive performance.

  February 24, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12065   open full text
• The Development of Language Constancy: Attention to Native Versus Nonnative Accents.
  Christine Kitamura, Robin Panneton, Catherine T. Best.
  Child Development. February 24, 2013
  The time frame for infants' acquisition of language constancy was probed, using the phonetic variation in a rarely heard accent (South African English) or a frequently heard accent (American English). A total of 156 Australian infants were tested. Six‐month‐olds looked longer to Australian English than less commonly heard South African accent, but at 9 months, showed similar looking times. With the more frequently heard American accent, 3‐month‐olds looked longer to Australian and American English, whereas 6‐month‐olds looked equally. Together these results imply that in the 1st year, differential attention to native versus nonnative accents decreases as infants develop a sense of language constancy for the common native language. However, experience with the nonnative accent can expedite this process.

  February 24, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12068   open full text
• Mind‐Mindedness and Theory of Mind: Mediating Roles of Language and Perspectival Symbolic Play.
  Elizabeth Meins, Charles Fernyhough, Bronia Arnott, Susan R. Leekam, Marc Rosnay.
  Child Development. February 24, 2013
  Relations among indices of maternal mind‐mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind‐related comments) and children's: (a) internal state vocabulary and perspectival symbolic play at 26 months (N = 206), and (b) theory of mind (ToM) at 51 months (n = 161) were investigated. Appropriate comments were positively associated with ToM, but were unrelated to internal state language and perspectival symbolic play. Nonattuned comments were negatively correlated with internal state language and perspectival symbolic play, but were unrelated to ToM. Path analyses indicated that the best fit model assumed: (a) indirect links between nonattuned comments and ToM via children's perspectival symbolic play, (b) a direct link between appropriate comments and ToM, and (c) an indirect link between appropriate comments and ToM via children's concurrent receptive verbal ability.

  February 24, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12061   open full text
• Online Lexical Competition During Spoken Word Recognition and Word Learning in Children and Adults.
  Lisa Henderson, Anna Weighall, Helen Brown, Gareth Gaskell.
  Child Development. February 24, 2013
  Lexical competition that occurs as speech unfolds is a hallmark of adult oral language comprehension crucial to rapid incremental speech processing. This study used pause detection to examine whether lexical competition operates similarly at 7–8 years and tested variables that influence “online” lexical activity in adults. Children (n = 20) and adults (n = 17) were slower to detect pauses in familiar words with later uniqueness points. Faster latencies were obtained for words with late uniqueness points in constraining compared with neutral sentences; no such effect was observed for early unique words. Following exposure to novel competitors (“biscal”), children (n = 18) and adults (n = 18) showed competition for existing words with early uniqueness points (“biscuit”) after 24 hr. Thus, online lexical competition effects are remarkably similar across development.

  February 24, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12067   open full text
• “Two for Flinching”: Children's and Adolescents' Narrative Accounts of Harming Their Friends and Siblings.
  Holly Recchia, Cecilia Wainryb, Monisha Pasupathi.
  Child Development. February 22, 2013
  This study investigated differences in children's and adolescents' experiences of harming their siblings and friends. Participants (N = 101; 7‐, 11‐, and 16‐year‐olds) provided accounts of events when they hurt a younger sibling and a friend. Harm against friends was described as unusual, unforeseeable, and circumstantial. By contrast, harm against siblings was described as typical, ruthless, angry, and provoked, but also elicited more negative moral judgments and more feelings of remorse and regret. Whereas younger children were more self‐oriented with siblings and other‐oriented with friends, accounts of harm across relationships became somewhat more similar with age. Results provide insight into how these two relationships serve as distinct contexts for sociomoral development.

  February 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12059   open full text
• Rigidity in Gender‐Typed Behaviors in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Study of Ethnic Minority Children.
  May Ling Halim, Diane Ruble, Catherine Tamis‐LeMonda, Patrick E. Shrout.
  Child Development. February 22, 2013
  A key prediction of cognitive theories of gender development concerns developmental trajectories in the relative strength or rigidity of gender typing. To examine these trajectories in early childhood, 229 children (African American, Mexican American, and Dominican American) were followed annually from age 3 to 5 years, and gender‐stereotypical appearance, dress‐up play, toy play, and sex segregation were examined. High gender‐typing was found across ethnic groups, and most behaviors increased in rigidity, especially from age 3 to 4 years. In addressing controversy surrounding the stability and structure of gender‐typing it was found that from year to year, most behaviors showed moderately stable individual differences. Behaviors were uncorrelated within age but showed more concordance in change across time, suggesting that aspects of gender‐typing are multidimensional, but still show coherence.

  February 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12057   open full text
• Genetic Moderation of Early Child‐Care Effects on Social Functioning Across Childhood: A Developmental Analysis.
  Jay Belsky, Michael Pluess.
  Child Development. February 22, 2013
  Data from 508 Caucasian children in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development shows that the DRD4 (but not 5‐HTTLPR) polymorphism moderates the effect of child‐care quality (but not quantity or type) on caregiver‐reported externalizing problems at 54 months and in kindergarten and teacher‐reported social skills at kindergarten and first grade—but not thereafter. Only children carrying the 7‐repeat allele proved susceptible to quality‐of‐care effects. The behavior–problem interactions proved more consistent with diathesis‐stress than differential‐susceptibility thinking, whereas the reverse was true of the social‐skills' results. Finally, the discerned Gene × Environment interactions did not account for previously reported parallel ones involving difficult temperament in infancy.

  February 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12058   open full text
• A Stereotype Threat Account of Boys' Academic Underachievement.
  Bonny L. Hartley, Robbie M. Sutton.
  Child Development. February 12, 2013
  Three studies examined the role of stereotype threat in boys' academic underachievement. Study 1 (children aged 4–10, n = 238) showed that girls from age 4 years and boys from age 7 years believed, and thought adults believed, that boys are academically inferior to girls. Study 2 manipulated stereotype threat, informing children aged 7–8 years (n = 162) that boys tend to do worse than girls at school. This manipulation hindered boys' performance on a reading, writing, and math test, but did not affect girls' performance. Study 3 counteracted stereotype threat, informing children aged 6–9 years (n = 184) that boys and girls were expected to perform similarly. This improved the performance of boys and did not affect that of girls.

  February 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12079   open full text
• Implicit Theories of Personality and Attributions of Hostile Intent: A Meta‐Analysis, an Experiment, and a Longitudinal Intervention.
  David S. Yeager, Adriana S. Miu, Joseph Powers, Carol S. Dweck.
  Child Development. February 12, 2013
  Past research has shown that hostile schemas and adverse experiences predict the hostile attributional bias. This research proposes that seemingly nonhostile beliefs (implicit theories about the malleability of personality) may also play a role in shaping it. Study 1 meta‐analytically summarized 11 original tests of this hypothesis (N = 1,659), and showed that among diverse adolescents aged 13–16 a fixed or entity theory about personality traits predicted greater hostile attributional biases, which mediated an effect on aggressive desires. Study 2 experimentally changed adolescents' implicit theories toward a malleable or incremental view and showed a reduction in hostile intent attributions. Study 3 delivered an incremental theory intervention that reduced hostile intent attributions and aggressive desires over an 8‐month period.

  February 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12062   open full text
• Parent Praise to 1‐ to 3‐Year‐Olds Predicts Children's Motivational Frameworks 5 Years Later.
  Elizabeth A. Gunderson, Sarah J. Gripshover, Carissa Romero, Carol S. Dweck, Susan Goldin‐Meadow, Susan C. Levine.
  Child Development. February 11, 2013
  In laboratory studies, praising children's effort encourages them to adopt incremental motivational frameworks—they believe ability is malleable, attribute success to hard work, enjoy challenges, and generate strategies for improvement. In contrast, praising children's inherent abilities encourages them to adopt fixed‐ability frameworks. Does the praise parents spontaneously give children at home show the same effects? Although parents' early praise of inherent characteristics was not associated with children's later fixed‐ability frameworks, parents' praise of children's effort at 14–38 months (N = 53) did predict incremental frameworks at 7–8 years, suggesting that causal mechanisms identified in experimental work may be operating in home environments.

  February 11, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12064   open full text
• Multilevel Mediation: Cumulative Contextual Risk, Maternal Differential Treatment, and Children's Behavior Within Families.
  Jean Christophe Meunier, Michael Boyle, Thomas G. O'Connor, Jennifer M. Jenkins.
  Child Development. February 11, 2013
  This study tests the hypothesis that links between contextual risk and children's outcomes are partially explained by differential parenting. Using multi‐informant measurement and including up to four children per family (Mage = 3.51, SD = 2.38) in a sample of 397 families, indirect effects (through maternal differential parenting: self‐reported and observed) of cumulative contextual risk on four child outcomes were investigated. Cumulative risk was associated with higher levels of differential parenting and, in turn, with higher levels of behavioral problems. Indirect effects were strongest for attentional and social problems but also evident for aggression. The link between differential parenting and outcome was moderated by favoritism, but this was only evident for maternal report and strongest for aggression.

  February 11, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12066   open full text
• Visual Attention to Global and Local Stimulus Properties in 6‐Month‐Old Infants: Individual Differences and Event‐Related Potentials.
  Maggie W. Guy, Greg D. Reynolds, Dantong Zhang.
  Child Development. February 04, 2013
  Event‐related potentials (ERPs) were utilized in an investigation of 21 six‐month‐olds’ attention to and processing of global and local properties of hierarchical patterns. Overall, infants demonstrated an advantage for processing the overall configuration (i.e., global properties) of local features of hierarchical patterns; however, processing advantages were found to vary based on individual differences in look duration. Short‐looking infants showed differences in the negative central ERP component and the late slow wave (LSW) indicating greater attention to and discrimination of changes in global properties. Analysis of the LSW revealed that long‐looking infants discriminated changes in local features, but did not discriminate changes in global properties of visual stimuli. These findings indicate that short‐ and long‐looking infants utilize different approaches when processing hierarchical patterns.

  February 04, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12053   open full text
• Associations Among Pubertal Development, Empathic Ability, and Neural Responses While Witnessing Peer Rejection in Adolescence.
  Carrie L. Masten, Naomi I. Eisenberger, Jennifer H. Pfeifer, Natalie L. Colich, Mirella Dapretto.
  Child Development. February 04, 2013
  Links among concurrent and longitudinal changes in pubertal development and empathic ability from ages 10 to 13 and neural responses while witnessing peer rejection at age 13 were examined in 16 participants. More advanced pubertal development at age 13, and greater longitudinal increases in pubertal development, related to increased activity in regions underlying cognitive aspects of empathy. Likewise, at age 13 greater perspective taking related to activity in cognitive empathy‐related regions; however, affective components of empathy (empathic concern and personal distress) were associated with activity in both cognitive and affective pain‐related regions. Longitudinal increases in empathic ability related to cognitive and affective empathy‐related circuitry. Findings provide preliminary evidence that physical and cognitive‐emotional development relate to adolescents' neural responses when witnessing peer rejection.

  February 04, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12056   open full text
• Genetic and Environmental Influences on Negative Life Events From Late Childhood to Adolescence.
  Daniel P. Johnson, Soo Hyun Rhee, Mark A. Whisman, Robin P. Corley, John K. Hewitt.
  Child Development. February 04, 2013
  This multiwave longitudinal study tested two quantitative genetic developmental models to examine genetic and environmental influences on exposure to negative dependent and independent life events. Participants (N = 457 twin pairs) completed measures of life events annually from ages 9 to 16. The same genetic factors influenced exposure to dependent events across time and increased in magnitude during the transition to adolescence. Independent events were less genetically influenced than dependent events in boys, but not girls. Shared environmental influences decreased in magnitude as youth transitioned into adolescence. Nonshared environmental influences were mostly age specific and contributed significantly to both types of events at all ages. Results provide theoretical implications for developmental risk pathways to stress exposure and stress‐related psychopathology.

  February 04, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12055   open full text
• Coparenting Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Couples: Associations With Adopted Children's Outcomes.
  Rachel H. Farr, Charlotte J. Patterson.
  Child Development. January 21, 2013
  Coparenting is associated with child behavior in families with heterosexual parents, but less is known about coparenting among lesbian‐ and gay‐parent families. Associations were studied among self‐reported divisions of labor, coparenting observations, and child adjustment (Mage = 3 years) among 104 adoptive families headed by lesbian, gay, or heterosexual couples. Lesbian and gay couples reported sharing child care, whereas heterosexual couples reported specialization (i.e., mothers did more child care than fathers). Observations confirmed this pattern—lesbian and gay parents participated more equally than heterosexual parents during family interaction. Lesbian couples showed the most supportive and least undermining behavior, whereas gay couples showed the least supportive behavior, and heterosexual couples the most undermining behavior. Overall, supportive coparenting was associated with better child adjustment.

  January 21, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12046   open full text
• Developmental Trajectories of Acculturation in Hispanic Adolescents: Associations With Family Functioning and Adolescent Risk Behavior.
  Seth J. Schwartz, Sabrina Des Rosiers, Shi Huang, Byron L. Zamboanga, Jennifer B. Unger, George P. Knight, Hilda Pantin, José Szapocznik.
  Child Development. January 17, 2013
  This study examined longitudinal acculturation patterns, and their associations with family functioning and adolescent risk behaviors, in Hispanic immigrant families. A sample of 266 Hispanic adolescents (Mage = 13.4) and their primary parents completed measures of acculturation, family functioning, and adolescent conduct problems, substance use, and sexual behavior at five timepoints. Mixture models yielded three trajectory classes apiece for adolescent and parent acculturation. Assimilated adolescents reported the poorest family functioning, but adolescent assimilation negatively predicted adolescent cigarette smoking, sexual activity, and unprotected sex indirectly through family functioning. Follow‐up analyses indicated that discrepancies between adolescent and parent family functioning reports predicted these adolescent outcomes. Results are discussed regarding acculturation trajectories, adolescent risk behavior, and the mediating role of family functioning.

  January 17, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12047   open full text
• Increases in Cognitive and Linguistic Processing Primarily Account for Increases in Speaking Rate With Age.
  Ignatius S. B. Nip, Jordan R. Green.
  Child Development. January 17, 2013
  Age‐related increases of speaking rate are not fully understood, but have been attributed to gains in biologic factors and learned skills that support speech production. This study investigated developmental changes in speaking rate and articulatory kinematics of participants aged 4 (N = 7), 7 (N = 10), 10 (N = 9), 13 (N = 7), 16 (N = 9) years, and young adults (N = 11) in speaking tasks varying in task demands. Speaking rate increased with age, with decreases in pauses and articulator displacements but not increases in articulator movement speed. Movement speed did not appear to constrain the speaking. Rather, age‐related increases in speaking rate are due to gains in cognitive and linguistic processing and speech motor control.

  January 17, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12052   open full text
• Child Care in Infancy and Cognitive Performance Until Middle Childhood in the Millennium Cohort Study.
  Sylvana M. Côté, Orla Doyle, Amélie Petitclerc, Lori Timmins.
  Child Development. January 17, 2013
  This study used a British cohort (n = ∼13,000) to investigate the association between child care during infancy and later cognition while controlling for social selection and missing data. It was found that attending child care (informal or center based) at 9 months was positively associated with cognitive outcomes at age 3 years, but only for children of mothers with low education. These effects did not persist to ages 5 or 7 years. Early center‐based care was associated with better cognitive outcomes than informal care at ages 3 and 5 years, but not at 7 years. Effect sizes were larger among children whose mother had low education. Propensity score matching and multiple imputation revealed significant findings undetected using regression and complete‐case approaches.

  January 17, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12049   open full text
• Preschool Center Quality and School Readiness: Quality Effects and Variation by Demographic and Child Characteristics.
  Tran D. Keys, George Farkas, Margaret R. Burchinal, Greg J. Duncan, Deborah L. Vandell, Weilin Li, Erik A. Ruzek, Carollee Howes.
  Child Development. January 17, 2013
  This article examines associations between observed quality in preschool center classrooms for approximately 6,250 three‐ to five‐year‐olds and their school readiness skills at kindergarten entry. Secondary analyses were conducted using data from four large‐scale studies to estimate the effects of preschool center quality and interactions between quality and demographic characteristics and child entry skills and behaviors. Findings were summarized across studies using meta‐analytic methods. Results indicate small, but statistically significant associations for preschool center quality main effects on language and mathematics outcomes with little evidence of moderation by demographic characteristics or child entry skills and behaviors. Preschool center quality was not reliably related to socioemotional outcomes. The authors discuss possible explanations for the small effect sizes and lack of differential effects.

  January 17, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12048   open full text
• Dual Routes to Cognitive Flexibility: Learning and Response‐Conflict Resolution in the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task.
  Michael Ramscar, Melody Dye, Jessica W. Gustafson, Joseph Klein.
  Child Development. January 11, 2013
  Cognitive control, the ability to align our actions with goals or context, is largely absent in children under four. How then are preschoolers able to tailor their behavior to best match the situation? Learning may provide an alternative route to context‐sensitive responding. This study investigated this hypothesis in the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), a classic test of cognitive control that most under‐fours fail. A training intervention based on learning theoretic principles proved highly effective: Three‐year‐olds who learned about DCCS rules and game contexts in a card‐labeling task, subsequently transferred this knowledge to sorting in the DCCS, passing at more than 3 times the rate of controls (N = 47). This surprising finding reveals much about the nature of the developing mind.

  January 11, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12044   open full text
• Forces and Motion: How Young Children Understand Causal Events.
  Tilbe Göksun, Nathan R. George, Kathy Hirsh‐Pasek, Roberta M. Golinkoff.
  Child Development. January 11, 2013
  How do children evaluate complex causal events? This study investigates preschoolers' representation of force dynamics in causal scenes, asking whether (a) children understand how single and dual forces impact an object's movement and (b) this understanding varies across cause types (Cause, Enable, Prevent). Three‐and‐a half‐ to 5.5‐year‐olds (n = 60) played a board game in which they were asked to predict the endpoint of a ball being acted upon by one or two forces. Children mostly understood the interactions of forces underlying each type of cause; only 5.5‐year‐olds could integrate two contradictory forces. Children perceive force interactions underlying causal events, but some concepts might not be fully understood until later in childhood. This study provides a new way of thinking about causal relations.

  January 11, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12035   open full text
• Little Evidence That Time in Child Care Causes Externalizing Problems During Early Childhood in Norway.
  Henrik D. Zachrisson, Eric Dearing, Ratib Lekhal, Claudio O. Toppelberg.
  Child Development. January 11, 2013
  Associations between maternal reports of hours in child care and children's externalizing problems at 18 and 36 months of age were examined in a population‐based Norwegian sample (n = 75,271). Within a sociopolitical context of homogenously high‐quality child care, there was little evidence that high quantity of care causes externalizing problems. Using conventional approaches to handling selection bias and listwise deletion for substantial attrition in this sample, more hours in care predicted higher problem levels, yet with small effect sizes. The finding, however, was not robust to using multiple imputation for missing values. Moreover, when sibling and individual fixed‐effects models for handling selection bias were used, no relation between hours and problems was evident.

  January 11, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12040   open full text
• Daily Intragroup Contact in Diverse Settings: Implications for Asian Adolescents' Ethnic Identity.
  Tiffany Yip, Sara Douglass, J. Nicole Shelton.
  Child Development. January 07, 2013
  This study examined the daily‐level association between contact with same‐ethnic others and ethnic private regard among 132 Asian adolescents (mean age = 14 years) attending four high schools ranging in ethnic composition diversity. The data suggest a positive daily‐level association between contact with same‐ethnic others and ethnic private regard for adolescents, who were highly identified with their ethnic group and who attended predominantly White or ethnically heterogeneous schools. In addition, using time lag analyses, contact with same‐ethnic others yesterday was positively related to ethnic private regard today, but ethnic private regard yesterday was unrelated to contact with same‐ethnic others today, suggesting that adolescents' identity is responsive to their environments. The implications of these findings for the development of ethnic identity are discussed.

  January 07, 2013   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12038   open full text
• Predicting Long‐Term Growth in Students' Mathematics Achievement: The Unique Contributions of Motivation and Cognitive Strategies.
  Kou Murayama, Reinhard Pekrun, Stephanie Lichtenfeld, Rudolf vom Hofe.
  Child Development. December 20, 2012
  This research examined how motivation (perceived control, intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation), cognitive learning strategies (deep and surface strategies), and intelligence jointly predict long‐term growth in students' mathematics achievement over 5 years. Using longitudinal data from six annual waves (Grades 5 through 10; Mage = 11.7 years at baseline; N = 3,530), latent growth curve modeling was employed to analyze growth in achievement. Results showed that the initial level of achievement was strongly related to intelligence, with motivation and cognitive strategies explaining additional variance. In contrast, intelligence had no relation with the growth of achievement over years, whereas motivation and learning strategies were predictors of growth. These findings highlight the importance of motivation and learning strategies in facilitating adolescents' development of mathematical competencies.

  December 20, 2012   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12036   open full text
• Role Models and the Psychological Characteristics That Buffer Low‐Socioeconomic‐Status Youth From Cardiovascular Risk.
  Edith Chen, William K. Lee, Lisa Cavey, Amanda Ho.
  Child Development. December 20, 2012
  Little is understood about why some youth from low‐socioeconomic‐status (SES) environments exhibit good health despite adversity. This study tested whether role models and “shift‐and‐persist” approaches (reframing stressors more benignly while persisting with future optimism) protect low‐SES youth from cardiovascular risk. A total of 163 youth, ages 13–16, completed role model interviews and shift‐and‐persist measures while cholesterol and inflammatory markers, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), and C‐reactive protein were assessed. Low‐SES youth with supportive role models had lower IL‐6. Low‐SES youth high in shift‐and‐persist also had lower IL‐6. Shift‐and‐persist partially mediated the interaction of SES and role models on IL‐6. Benefits were not found among high‐SES youth. Identifying psychological buffers in low‐SES youth has implications for health disparities.

  December 20, 2012   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12037   open full text
• Siblings, Theory of Mind, and Executive Functioning in Children Aged 3–6 Years: New Longitudinal Evidence.
  Anna R. McAlister, Candida C. Peterson.
  Child Development. December 17, 2012
  Longitudinal data were obtained from 157 children aged 3 years 3 months to 5 years 6 months at Time 1. At Time 2 these children had aged an average of 12 months. Theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) were measured at both time points. Results suggest that Time 1 ToM scores predict Time 2 EF scores. Detailed examination of sibling influences suggests that benefits—in terms of advanced ToM development—accrue to children with siblings versus without, and to those with a larger number of child‐aged siblings. Any advance in either area (ToM or EF) is likely to benefit the other, and early sibling interaction appears to act as a catalyst.

  December 17, 2012   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12043   open full text
• The Moving Window Technique: A Window Into Developmental Changes in Attention During Facial Emotion Recognition.
  Elina Birmingham, Tamara Meixner, Grace Iarocci, Christopher Kanan, Daniel Smilek, James W. Tanaka.
  Child Development. December 17, 2012
  The strategies children employ to selectively attend to different parts of the face may reflect important developmental changes in facial emotion recognition. Using the Moving Window Technique (MWT), children aged 5–12 years and adults (N = 129) explored faces with a mouse‐controlled window in an emotion recognition task. An age‐related increase in attention to the left eye emerged at age 11–12 years and reached significance in adulthood. This left‐eye bias is consistent with previous eye tracking research and findings of a perceptual bias for the left side of faces. These results suggest that a strategic attentional bias to the left eye begins to emerge at age 11–12 years and is likely established sometime in adolescence.

  December 17, 2012   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12039   open full text
• Sociocultural Settings Influence the Emergence of Prelinguistic Deictic Gestures.
  Dorothe Salomo, Ulf Liszkowski.
  Child Development. December 16, 2012
  Daily activities of forty‐eight 8‐ to 15‐month‐olds and their interlocutors were observed to test for the presence and frequency of triadic joint actions and deictic gestures across three different cultures: Yucatec‐Mayans (Mexico), Dutch (Netherlands), and Shanghai‐Chinese (China). The amount of joint action and deictic gestures to which infants were exposed differed systematically across settings, allowing testing for the role of social–interactional input in the ontogeny of prelinguistic gestures. Infants gestured more and at an earlier age depending on the amount of joint action and gestures infants were exposed to, revealing early prelinguistic sociocultural differences. The study shows that the emergence of basic prelinguistic gestures is socially mediated, suggesting that others' actions structure the ontogeny of human communication from early on.

  December 16, 2012   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12026   open full text
• Informants' Traits Weigh Heavily in Young Children's Trust in Testimony and in Their Epistemic Inferences.
  Jonathan D. Lane, Henry M. Wellman, Susan A. Gelman.
  Child Development. December 13, 2012
  This study examined how informants' traits affect how children seek information, trust testimony, and make inferences about informants' knowledge. Eighty‐one 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds and 26 adults completed tasks where they requested and endorsed information provided by one of two informants with conflicting traits (e.g., honesty vs. dishonesty). Participants also completed tasks where they simultaneously considered informants' traits and visual access to information when inferring their knowledge and trusting their testimony. Children and adults preferred to ask and endorse information provided by people who are nice, smart, and honest. Moreover, these traits influenced the knowledge that young children attributed to informants. Children younger than 5 years of age reported that people with positive traits were knowledgeable even when they lacked access to relevant information.

  December 13, 2012   doi: 10.1111/cdev.12029   open full text