Cognitive skills such as intelligence, working memory, rapid naming, executive functions, which determine the learning capacity in children, are considered as domain-general skills, and they are seen as important variables that influence the acquisition of early mathematical skills as in all academic domains. However, there are uncertainties regarding domain-general skills that affect early mathematics achievement and the extent of their impact. This study aimed to determine the impact levels of domain-general skills reported to be related to early mathematics achievement in young children. The study included 100 children attending kindergarten, showing typical development, and having non-verbal cognitive abilities at or above the average level. The children's performance in domain-general skills, including non-verbal intelligence, working memory, and rapid naming, was assessed. It was found that the domain-general skills examined in the study accounted for approximately half of the variance in early mathematics achievement. Verbal working memory was the variable that made the highest contribution. The findings suggest that domain-general skills, especially verbal working memory and rapid naming, which have a high impact on early mathematics achievement, should be included in mathematics intervention programs designed for children at risk.

New family forms have emerge with the inception of artificial reproductive technology (ART) and one of these new forms are donor-conceived families. These families challenge the traditional definition of family but are also challenged to disclose origins to their children. Developmental psychology has scarce evidence about how these conversations unfold and how families feel about these instances of origin storytelling. Therefore, this research explored how families with donor-conceived children experience talking about conception stories. This was achieved with a qualitative descriptive and naturalistic approach with 17 donor-conceived families with children between 3 and 8, living in Chile. Families were asked to record their conversations, and later reflect about them. The main results show that the experience of talking is diverse but share certain common features: conversations are complex, intimate and co-constructed. Conception stories are a multi-layered process ongoing throughout development. The relevance of these results is that rescues the voices of the first generation of children in Chile growing up in donor-conceived families.

The present study provides valuable insights into gender attitudes and beliefs regarding caregiving and parenting practices among low-income caregivers in Bogotá and Malambo, as well as their implications for child development and socialization. The results revealed significant tensions between parents’ stated gender attitudes and their actual parenting practices, highlighting the complex interplay of influences that inform these perspectives. Additionally, this research identified and discussed potential factors that shape parental gender attitudes and practices, including socioeconomic status, formal employment, family structure, child gender, the intergenerational transmission of gender norms and values, and geographic location. By employing sociocultural and feminist frameworks in family research, this study aims to enhance our understanding of parents’ gender role attitudes, beliefs, and practices with a focus on cultural communities located in the Global South. Importantly, it addresses a critical gap in the literature by amplifying the voices of a diverse sample of mothers and fathers from two culturally distinct cities in Colombia, thereby contributing to a more nuanced understanding of gender dynamics in parenting in the Majority World.

Executive function (EF) measures used with African children heavily depend on task-based assessments normed in minority world settings. This reliance poses a challenge as it limits the understanding of how children display their EF behaviors within their own culture. Environmental factors including income and parenting are associated with children’s EF development. In addition, culture-specific practices may shape what EF behaviors are adaptive. Therefore, tasks that do not incorporate culture-specific indicators of EF may lead to misinterpretation or underestimation of children’s true EF capabilities in these settings. To bridge this gap, we used a qualitative approach to design a new observation scale for assessing EF in naturalistic classroom contexts. This paper describes the qualitative work leading to the design of the observation scale, which was later piloted in a quantitative study (reported elsewhere). To design the observation scale, we asked 16 preschool teachers in Nigeria to describe observable behavioral indicators of young children’s EFs based on their own classroom experiences. Their responses were thematically analyzed using a deductive approach, based on the EF constructs of inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning. We used the codes from the thematic analysis to develop a set of pilot items for an observation scale aimed at assessing EF in context. This set of items was shared with international experts on EF who provided feedback on the items’ face validity; a final set of items was extracted to constitute the new observational measure. Our findings suggest that using qualitative approaches can help inform the cultural relevance of instrument design. Theoretical and practical significance of the findings are discussed.

Cultural learning environments and gender roles play a key role in shaping children’s socio-emotional development. However, most work on this topic rely on methods that overlook lived experiences and assume high participant literacy, which may not apply to Majority World contexts. To address these issues, this study qualitatively explored maternal beliefs about childrens’ socio-emotional development and gender roles in two distinct Ugandan locations. We conducted focus groups with 30 mothers each from a rural (Budongo) and urban (Mbarara) setting in Uganda to explore common themes in maternal experiences and attitudes towards the socialisation of their infants and children. Inductive thematic analysis revealed four themes: (1)manhood as an unmet ideal; (2)women’s role as socially contingent; (3)hiding negative emotions and (4)reliance on physical attributes and experiences. These themes and their effect on child socio-emotional development are discussed with regards to current literature on cultural learning and maternal attitudes towards parenting.

Background: This study aimed to examine the association between children’s participation in physical and sports activities and their affective subjective well-being. Method: Data were drawn from the Second Wave of the Children’s Worlds: International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeB), involving a sample of 913 Chilean children aged 10 and 12 years. Participants completed self-report measures assessing feelings of happiness, sadness, stress, energy, and boredom (Positive and Negative Affect - CW PNAS). Results: Participation in physical activities and sports was significantly correlated with positive well-being, indicating a strong link between such involvement and perceived positive affect. Age and gender did not significantly influence these outcomes. In contrast, lower participation in physical and sports activities was significantly associated with higher negative affect, with neither age nor gender showing substantial impact on this result. Conclusions: This research employed structural equation modeling to develop a model measuring Physical and Sports Activities (PSA) and Subjective Well-Being in Chilean schoolchildren. The study confirms the model’s effectiveness in explaining the relationship between children’s SWB and PSA involvement. Analysis showed significant correlations between indicators and emotional well-being factors. Findings emphasize emotions like calmness, happiness, and stress in understanding the affective dimensions of children’s well-being related to PSA.

This article explores the concept of home among 25 Bedouin children aged 4–6 from unrecognized villages in the Negev, southern Israel. These children live in harsh conditions due to ongoing socio-political conflict and the threat of house demolition, with limited access to infrastructure and basic services. The study uses drawing activities and interviews to reveal how children perceive home, showing it as both a source of protection and risk. Five key themes emerge: (1) the concept of home for Bedouin children, (2) perceptions of police and their roles, (3) experiences of home demolition by police, (4) the home as a source of emotional distress, and (5) children’s coping mechanisms. Family, rituals, and attachments play crucial roles in providing emotional security, while nature and community offer safety. The study underscores the need for culturally sensitive interventions and improved infrastructure, emphasizing the importance of considering children’s perspectives in policy-making that affects their living conditions.

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups are at heightened risk of exposure to adversity, with early adverse experiences associated with less optimal neurocognitive development, which has downstream effects on education, work, and health indices. Maternal stress is similarly cited to negatively influence infant development. Given the myriad of stressful experiences more common in lower SES contexts, this review sought to understand whether maternal stress drives differences in infant neurocognition between SES groups. Four databases were systematically searched in line with PRISMA guidelines. Fourteen studies were eligible for inclusion, of which twelve reported infant neurocognitive development to be negatively associated with maternal stress, while ten reported positive associations with SES. Nine studies examined the relationship between stress and SES, with six supporting an interactive effect between maternal stress and SES, although the strength and direction of this relationships varied. Gaps in the current research regarding infant brain responses and research into lower income settings, were identified.

Selecting where to look is one of the primary tools for active learning about the world during infancy. Despite this, the determinants of infant visual attention and perceptual preferences remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of active experience in infant perception. We induced the stepping reflex in five-month-old infants (N=57, n=51). In a follow-up task, we measured their visual preference towards a coherent point-light walker when contrasted with a scrambled control. We found a positive correlation between the number of steps produced and the proportion of looking at the coherent point-light walker. This correlation was only significant in our female sample of infants, who have less leg mass (on average) than male infants. Our results highlight the importance of the frequency but also of quality of stepping when exploring relationships between visual experience and action experience during infancy. This work provides further evidence that the experience of the stepping reflex might contribute to the perception of biological of motion and to infant’s social-cognitive development.

A document by Gairan Pamei. Click on the document to view its contents.

The current study examined the inter-brain coherence (IBC) between 34 dyads of fathers and infants 7-9 months of age using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We specifically focused on father-infant IBC to broaden the empirical base beyond the mother-infant connections, as the former has received limited attention. There were three conditions: a baseline condition, and two task conditions when the infant and the adult participant jointly listened to maternal storytelling in Cantonese in infant-directed speech (IDS) and adult-directed speech (ADS). Father-infant IBC was compared with stranger-infant IBC in the same experimental settings. Our results found that father-infant IBC was greater in the baseline and ADS conditions but not in the IDS condition, compared to stranger-infant IBC. Further, stranger-infant dyads showed greater IBC in the IDS condition than in the ADS condition, with no significance in father-infant IBC between the two speech conditions. These results identified different IBC mechanisms between the two dyads. The IBC pattern in stranger-infant dyads is driven by neural entrainment to mothers’ speech, whereas father-infant IBC is more resistant to mothers’ behaviors in the co-presence of both parents.

Although the role of the home in supporting early childhood development, early learning and school outcomes is well established, the perspectives of caregivers on child development and schooling outcomes are comparatively underexplored. This study was conducted with caregivers of children aged 6 to 10 years in Mahikeng, South Africa, and aimed to explore their practices and beliefs related to the interconnected developmental continuum of ECD, school readiness and educational outcomes. A mixed methods approach was used, with 290 caregivers participating in a household survey, while 18 caregivers participated in focus group discussions. Caregivers expressed beliefs that they played an important role in early language development and in socioemotional development for older children. However, their behaviour was not necessarily motivated explicitly by child outcomes. Additionally, many contextual factors constrain the ability of households to support child development. Caregiving interventions must be informed by contextual understanding and help to overcome these barriers.

Historical events change the socio-cultural and political contexts that Latinx gay men live in, shaping how different generations are impacted by and respond to minority stress over time, as well as their external support and comfort being out—factors crucial in buffering the effects of stigma. The stigma Latinx gay fathers face is informed by racial and xenophobic prejudice they encounter as Latinx individuals and negative attitudes towards their parenting abilities as gay men. To better understand the lives of Latinx gay fathers, we employed a life course perspective to explore their pathways to parenthood, experiences and avoidance of stigma, helpfulness of social relationships, and their comfort being out. Eighty-six Latinx gay fathers from 47 states in the U.S. participated. Over half of participants’ first and second children were genetically related to them. Participants reported low frequencies of sexuality-based stigma and even lower levels of stigma avoidance, as well as relatively high levels of comfort being publicly out and helpfulness of social relationships. Generational differences between Latinx gay fathers in the AIDS-1 (born 1950-1969) and AIDS-2 generations (born 1970-1980s) were salient, signifying the importance of historical context in understanding this population.

Delay of gratification tasks seem to have an impressive predictive value for several outcomes and are supposed to measure self-regulation. Since many behavioural and psychological problems in children are related to limitations in self-regulation, the extent to which delay tasks can be used as a screening to detect psychopathology is examined. Children (N= 1498; 51% girls) participated in Delay tasks at the age of 3 and 5. Parents rated ADHD and conduct problems at the children‘s age of 5 and 6, which we classified according to cut-offs. Delay at age 3 was related to ADHD at age 5 (OR = 1.84) and conduct at age 6 (OR = 2.61). The results showed high specificity (77-78%) and negative predictive values (95-98%), correctly identifying children below the SDQ cut-off, but low sensitivity (27-42%), deeming the task unsuitable as screening for children at risk. These results were aggravated when considering only the first 20 seconds.

Emotional knowledge (EK) refers to the ability to identify and understand emotions. EK is seldom explored in toddlerhood, when many of its facets begin to develop, nor in the context of online assessments. To address this gap, a sample of 98 toddlers (age:18-36-months, 55 female and 43 male) and their mothers (Mage= 32.5 years; 89.8% Caucasian) participated in this exploratory study investigating child and maternal characteristics associated with toddlers’ receptive and expressive EK abilities, which were evaluated using an online modified version of the Affective Knowledge Task (AKT). Results support the feasibility of assessing toddler EK online, as most of the toddlers (68.3%) were able to partially complete the task. Stronger receptive and expressive EK were both associated with older child age, yet receptive abilities were inversely related to maternal depression severity. Methodological strengths and suggestions are discussed to facilitate research including online assessments with younger cohorts.

The development of early numeracy skills takes place within the home and school environments. Parental engagement in daily activities that incorporate numerical concepts plays a pivotal role in maximizing learning opportunities. In this study, we developed and implemented a family intervention program designed to promote numerical activities in the home setting. Our goal was to promote the use of mathematical concepts and enhance children’s mathematical performance. Employing a pre-post intervention design, we conducted individual cognitive assessments on 115 Uruguayan children (mean age: 5.0 years; standard deviation: 0.5) across various domains, including mathematics, vocabulary, and general intelligence. We then organized three distinct groups: one focused on numeracy, another on literacy, and the third continued with their regular routines (business as usual). Parents assigned to the first two groups were extended invitations to participate in three workshops, during which they were introduced to both theoretical and practical tools to promote the respective academic domains. While our intervention suggested parental interest in participating in math workshops and in promoting academic skills at home, the results indicated that it did not produce the anticipated effect on mathematical skills. Practical and policy: This study presents an intervention on engaging parents in mathematical activities at home for promoting mathematical skills in Latin America, and it highlights challenges for designing effective interventions in the future.

Sibling relationships’ effects on social–emotional competence were investigated among elementary school children experiencing changing family structures. The study involved 965 students (ages 10–12 years; 472 boys, 503 girls; N5th grades = 510, N6th grades = 465) in a developed province in China. Sibling relationships and social–emotional competence showed a significant positive association. Sibling rivalry, conflict, and power contrast hindered children’s self-awareness, decision making, and interpersonal skills. Positive sibling relationships (e.g., sibling intimacy) were positively correlated with and predictive of social–emotional competence in children from multi-child families. Sibling intimacy best explained children’s social–emotional competence and predicted the development of social–emotional competence dimensions. Sibling intimacy aspects—pro-sociality, affect, companionship, and admiration—primarily predicted social–emotional competence.

Previous studies have demonstrated the negative impacts of ostracism on primary needs and moods, particularly children and adolescents. Given children’s early exposure to the Internet, online ostracism could potentially affect their primary needs and moods at an earlier age. To investigate this, the present study utilized the Cyberball paradigm to manipulate the exclusion and re-inclusion and examined the threats to primary needs (sense of belonging, self-esteem, control, meaningful existence) and emotions (happiness, sadness, anger) in school-aged children (163 children aged 6-8, 8-10, and 10-11) following social exclusion and subsequent inclusion. The findings revealed that the threats to the four primary needs due to ostracism began to emerge around the age of 8-10 years and persisted until the age of 10-12 years. Regarding moods, the negative effects of ostracism appeared from the age of 6-8 years and worsened with age. This suggests the existence of a critical period during which ostracism poses a threat to children’s primary needs and has adverse effects on their moods. Moreover, the study demonstrated that brief inclusion following exclusion effectively restores the primary needs and moods of ostracized children. These findings provide insights into how to support children in recovering from the negative effects of ostracism.