International Journal of Developmental Science

Children living in social care represent an extremely vulnerable group in society, with an increased risk of strained and unstable relationships, and increased bullying involvement. With the number of children living in social care in the UK increasing, there is an emphasis on better understanding why these children are at risk, and how we can best support them. Yet, the existing literature in this field is limited: although it is understood that these children are at risk of bullying involvement, it is unclear why they are at risk, or what role their interpersonal relationships may play in their bullying involvement. This research explored this issue, focusing on both traditional bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation. Secondary data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey was analysed, utilising the 2014 and 2018 datasets. Analyses were conducted on a total of 968 British children aged 11, 13, and 15 – 498 of these were males, and 470 were female. 484 of these children lived in social care (residential care and foster care), and 484 lived with biological family members. It was found that children living in social care were at an increased risk of bullying involvement regardless of their age and gender, contradicting the well-established age and gender differences seen in non-care samples. Moreover, children living in social care reported significantly poorer interpersonal relationships; these relationships – particularly those with classmates – mediated the relationship between living in social care and bullying involvement. The results will be discussed in relation to each bullying type, with cross-time replications between the datasets. These findings provide a unique insight into how living in social care impacts bullying involvement, and suggestions for how teachers and schools may support these vulnerable children are made.

Individuals hold optimistic beliefs about the likelihood of experiencing cyberbullying relative to others. However, how cyberbullying experiences and technology use influence these perceptions remains unclear. Data was collected from 444 (371 female, 71 male, 2 non-disclosed) students (M_age = 20.38, SD_age = 3.51) recruited from two Universities in the UK. Participants completed questionnaires assessing problematic internet use, fear of missing out (FoMO), previous experiences of cyberbullying, and the likelihood with which they and eight comparator groups would experience cyberbullying. Problematic internet use and being a victim (negatively) and witness (positively) mediated the relationship between FoMO and comparative optimistic beliefs for experiencing cyberbullying. Elevated FoMO predicted greater problematic internet use which predicted being a victim and witness. Being a: (a) victim predicted reduced comparative optimism and (b) witness predicted increased comparative optimism. Therefore, adults who have previously experienced cyberbullying hold less optimistic beliefs whereas those who witness cyberbullying hold optimistic beliefs.

Due to a decline in diet quality during adolescence, youth are less likely to consume adequate nutrient dense foods to meet recommended requirements. Iron intake in particular is crucial for healthy physical and brain development in adolescence, but few studies have examined the role of iron intake in adolescents’ behavior problems. The current study examined the associations between iron intake and two types of behavior problems in early adolescents – aggression and rule breaking. The sample included 272 middle school students (M_age =12.08; 53% female; 47% Black, 37% White, 9% Hispanic, 6% other racial/ethnic group). Multivariate regression analyses adjusting for sociodemographic covariates revealed that higher iron intake was linked to lower aggressive behaviors (β = - .16, p < .05), but was not associated with rule breaking. These findings support the role of iron intake in healthy behavioral development in adolescence.

Action processing is a crucial aspect of cognition and perception. It provides a window into the way we understand others and learn about the world. During the preschool years, there are significant developments in how children process actions. Here, we systematically review tasks investigating action processing in preschoolers, employing the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO. We extracted 680 studies on action processing in preschoolers and identified 66 papers that focused on typically developing children. The studies employed various tasks, which we categorized based on their complexity and the cognitive abilities they demand. This review not only sheds light on the intricate developmental nuances of action processing during the preschool period but also serves as a valuable resource for researchers. By providing insights into the emergence of different ways how children process actions, it aids in selecting appropriate tasks for investigating action-related skills in preschool children.

This Viewpoint paper argues for a peer trade-off model of personality disorder (PD) traits during adolescence that allows for both positive (e.g., popularity, peer acceptance) and negative (e.g., peer rejection, peer victimization, peer exclusion) peer outcomes. The need for new interpersonal (dsy)function models of PD traits during adolescence is urgent because most research has focused on internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, as well as adults, who differ from adolescents in the value that they place on different social behaviors. Available clinical treatments for PD traits have also been based on findings with adults. Thus, new models are not only needed but would have profound etiological, diagnostic, and treatment implications. We describe preliminary findings that support our proposed peer trade-off model. In conclusion, we describe promising new directions to further evaluate the model and advance knowledge about PD traits during adolescence.