International Journal of Behavioral Development

Children prenatally exposed to opioids exhibit impairments in cognitive functioning and have an increased likelihood of experiencing other forms of adversity. Given that these other forms of early life adversity are linked to lower levels of cognitive functioning, it is important to determine whether the association between opioid exposure and cognitive functioning is better explained by other forms of adversity. The current study used a practical design (i.e., caregiver report of a preschool-aged child’s exposure to opioids during gestation) to examine the associations between prenatal opioid exposure status (i.e., presence or absence of exposure), postnatal adversity, and preschool-age cognitive functioning. Forty-four preschool-age children, 21 with prenatal opioid exposure (20 of whom were adopted) and 23 comparison children, and their caregivers were invited to a laboratory session during which the child completed a neuropsychological assessment battery while caregivers were interviewed about their child and completed questionnaires. Regression analysis was conducted to examine whether prenatal opioid exposure status explained variation in cognitive functioning over and above child adversity. Children with prenatal opioid exposure had lower full-scale IQ scores than comparison children (Cohen’s d =−0.86). After accounting for exposure to postnatal adversity, prenatal opioid exposure status explained 6.01% of the variance in full-scale IQ scores. Taken together, our results suggest that the association between prenatal opioid exposure status and cognitive functioning at preschool age is not better explained by postnatal adversity. These findings underscore efforts to reduce opioid use among people who are pregnant or likely to become pregnant.

This longitudinal study explores the associations between children’s executive functions at the beginning of preschool and their learning behaviors, namely competence motivation and attentional persistence, at the end of preschool. Participants were 218 Portuguese children (M_age = 40.4 months, SD = 4.2; 52% boys) and their preschool teachers (n = 29). The children’s executive functions (specifically attention shifting, working memory, and response inhibition) were individually assessed when they were 3 years of age. Teachers’ perceptions about the children’s competence motivation and attentional persistence were assessed with the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS) when the children were 6 years old. Results showed positive associations between children’s executive functions and attentional persistence, but not competence motivation, after controlling for covariates (age, gender, and expressive vocabulary). These findings contribute to current evidence about the links between early executive functions and later behavioral indicators of child persistence in learning tasks.

Given the substantial increase in children attending center-based childcare over the past decades, the consequences of center-based childcare for children’s development have gained more attention in developmental research. However, the relation between center-based childcare and children’s neurocognitive development remains relatively underexplored. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the relations between quantity of center-based childcare during infancy and the neurocognitive development (both functional brain networks and self-regulation) of 584 Dutch children. Small-world brain networks and children’s self-regulation were assessed during infancy (around 10 months of age) and the preschool period (2–6 years of age). The findings revealed that the quantity of center-based childcare during infancy was unrelated to individual differences in children’s functional brain networks. However, spending more hours per week in center-based childcare was positively related to the development of self-regulation in preschool age children, regardless of children’s sex or the levels of exposure to risk and maternal support in the home environment. More insight into the positive effects of center-based childcare on children’s development from infancy to toddlerhood can help to increase our insight into a better work–life balance and labor force participation of parents with young children. Moreover, this study highlights that Dutch center-based childcare offers opportunities to invest in positive child outcomes in children, including self-regulation.

The present study provided a novel examination of how children’s theory of mind (ToM) might be related to two maternal beliefs: (1) social dominance orientation (SDO: the belief that inequalities in society are justified) and (2) right-wing authoritarianism (RWA: a belief in following established authorities). We reasoned that these beliefs could affect maternal talk in that mothers with high SDO and RWA would be less likely to use mental state (MS) talk to explore peoples’ desires and feelings, particularly when talking about individuals of an outgroup (e.g., of a different ethnicity). As a consequence, there might be links between maternal beliefs and children’s ToM. We measured SDO and RWA in mothers, gave children theory-of-mind tasks, and measured the MS talk of 79 New Zealand mothers when asked to describe pictures to their 2- to 5-year-olds. Mothers with high SDO and RWA provided less MS talk when describing individuals of a different ethnicity, and mothers with high SDO and RWA had children with a worse ToM. The present findings provide unique information regarding the role of parent beliefs in children’s ToM.

Globally, one in three women experiences domestic violence over their lifetimes. Yet, the factors that shape adult behavior toward domestic violence remain poorly understood. We examine the effect of exposure to political violence in early stages of life on likelihood of domestic violence in marital life. Combining household level survey with political violence datasets from 1988 to 2018, our findings show that it is the exposure of men to political violence that matters, but not the exposure of their wives. Furthermore, we show that the critical age bracket is between 4 and 6 years of age in which exposure to political violence seems to shape adult behavior toward domestic violence. This is true for physical and emotional violence. Moreover, exposure to political violence at almost any point in male individuals’ life increases their likelihood to perpetrate sexual violence on their wives.

JEL classification: J12, J15, J16, O12

Theorized mechanisms linking views on aging, self-regulation, and well-being have not previously been examined longitudinally. This study considers goal re-engagement as a potential mediator of longitudinal relationships between awareness of age-related change (AARC) and vitality. We expected that more positive perceptions of aging (i.e., higher AARC-gains and lower AARC-losses) at Time 1 (T1) would be associated with increases in goal re-engagement and, in turn, increases in vitality. We also examined possible moderating effects of age on associations of AARC with goal re-engagement and vitality. A sample of 408 middle-aged and older adults (60 years and over) completed three online assessments capturing AARC (gains and losses), goal re-engagement, and vitality over a 12-month period. Parallel process latent growth models were used to test for mediation. Associations among variable intercepts revealed that more positive views of aging were associated with higher levels of goal re-engagement and greater vitality. However, there was no support for the longitudinal mediation hypotheses, with T1 levels of AARC showing negligible associations with rates of change in goal re-engagement and vitality. Moderation analyses revealed a stronger association of T1 AARC-gains with the intercept for goal re-engagement at older, relative to younger ages. Although growing evidence supports cross-sectional links between views on aging, self-regulation and well-being, research with longer measurement intervals and a more comprehensive array of potential mediators is needed to conclusively identify underlying mechanisms.

Parental knowledge is often the result of parents soliciting information from their child and their child’s disclosure of that information. Although child disclosure is most closely (and negatively) associated with behavior problems in adolescence, it is not yet known whether this is also the case in childhood. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal associations between child disclosure, parental solicitation, and behavior problems in Grades 1 to 4 in a Canadian sample, taking into account intra-individual stability, the child’s gender, and socioeconomic status. The mothers and teachers of 911 children (62.7% boys) completed questionnaires in Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) showed that behavior problems in Grade 2 predicted an increase in parental solicitation in Grade 3. In contrast, behavior problems in Grade 3 predicted a decrease in parental solicitation in Grade 4. No cross-lagged association with child disclosure was observed. Although these results differ from those reported in adolescence, they suggest that middle childhood is a sensitive period for parent–child communication and behavior problems.

Adolescent risky behaviors are often interpreted as products of self-control failures stemming from a developmental mismatch between reward processing and cognitive control systems. However, adolescents – much like adults – may also engage in risky behaviors because of conscious and deliberate (even if objectively poor) decisions. It is not easy to distinguish between these two scenarios because when people fail in self-control they actually do things they want to do. We build on philosopher Harry Frankfurt’s classical work on free will to provide a framework for determining when and why a given risky behavior stems from a failure of self-control. This framework enables the proposal of clear and reasonable criteria that can be used to clarify the relationship between adolescent risk-taking and self-control.

The study tested daily mutual emotion recognition in 153 parent-adolescent triads, adolescents’ mean age, 15.71 years (SD = 1.53), 51% girls. Over seven consecutive days, adolescents and parents provided self and other reports on daily positive mood, daily negative mood (distress, anger), and daily time spent together. A series of analyses of variance showed parents underestimated adolescents’ positive and negative moods, while adolescents overestimated parents’ negative moods and underestimated positive ones. Multilevel path analysis showed mothers recognized adolescents’ negative and positive daily moods, while fathers only recognized adolescents’ positive mood. Adolescents recognized changes in their parents’ daily moods, but not always the emotion type. All significant daily associations were modest. Overall, it seems parents and adolescents are not well-informed on each other’s affective changes.

Climate change worry (CCW) is a specific worry about climate change, involving thoughts about changes that might occur in the climate system and their possible effects. Nowadays, it is growing especially among adolescents. As there is a lack of measurement tools with adequate psychometric properties to assess CCW in this age group, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) in youth. Participants were 1,846 Italian adolescents (58% males; mean age = 16.37; SD = 1.27). The expected unidimensional structure was supported by cross-validation with a multigroup confirmatory analysis, and measurement invariance of the scale across sex and age groups. Sex and age differences were analyzed. The CCWS had a high internal consistency, and good validity. Overall, this study contributes to attest that the CCWS is a suitable instrument for measuring CCW in adolescents.