Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Unpopularity with same- and cross-ethnicity peers as predictors of depressive symptoms during adolescence
Publication date: May–June 2019Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 62Author(s): Luiza V. Mali, David Schwartz, Daryaneh Badaly, Tana J. Luo, Sarah Malamut, Alexandra C. Ross, Mylien T. DuongAbstractThis longitudinal study examined associations between perceptions of unpopularity with same- and cross-ethnicity peers and depressive symptoms in an ethnically diverse adolescent peer group. Participants were 393 Vietnamese and Mexican American adolescents (209 boys, 184 girls; Mage = 15.04 years, SD = 0.73, age range: 14–17 years) followed across two consecutive school years. Participants...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - March 13, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Preschoolers' school readiness profiles and the teacher-child relationship: A latent transition approach
This study used latent profile analysis to identify subgroups of children who displayed similar underlying school readiness skills at the beginning of the school year, as well as to examine whether these children transitioned across readiness profiles over the course of the school year. The sample included 899 preschool children (mean age = 53.91 months). Measures consisted of fall and spring assessments of children's math, science, executive functioning, behavior, and approaches to learning. Latent profile analyses yielded a three-profile solution at both time points. Within each profile, children performed similarl...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - March 13, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Exploring neighborhood environmental influences on reading comprehension
This study examined the association between neighborhood environment and reading using geocoding techniques. Addresses and FCAT reading scores for 2215 (751 MZ, 1464 DZ) twin pairs in 3rd through 10th grades were obtained from The Florida Twin Project on Reading (FTP-R). Additionally, addresses for neighborhood features were collected from publicly available data sources. Distances between participants' homes and potential risk and protective aspects of neighborhood environment were calculated using ArcGIS and used to predict reading comprehension. Results indicated that shelter proximity was negatively associated with FCA...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - March 12, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Preventive intervention for strengthening effective parenting practices: A randomized controlled trial
In conclusion, the ACT Program showed efficacy for improving the mothers' positive parenting practices and reducing the children's behavior problems. (Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology)
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - March 9, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Comprehensive systems of support: Where do we go from here?
Publication date: Available online 5 March 2019Source: Journal of Applied Developmental PsychologyAuthor(s): Patricia A. JenningsAbstractThe articles in this special issue demonstrate that early childhood educator psychological distress is a growing problem and shed light on the causes of this distress. Further, they illuminate the negative impacts early childhood educator distress can have on young children. However, there is still much to learn about how best to support teachers in order to reduce psychological distress, promote social and emotional skills and promote positive impacts on young children. Addressing these ...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - March 6, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

A randomized efficacy trial of the second step early learning (SSEL) curriculum
Publication date: May–June 2019Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 62Author(s): Carole C. Upshur, Melodie Wenz-Gross, Christopher Rhoads, Miriam Heyman, Yeonsoo Yoo, Gail SawosikAbstractA classroom randomized efficacy trial conducted over four years in 7 community-based preschool and 6 Head Start programs investigated effects of the Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) curriculum on end of preschool executive functioning (EF) and social-emotional (SE) skills in low-income children. Outcomes are reported for n = 770 four-year-olds independently assessed for EF and SE by study staff in fall and spr...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - March 5, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Bidirectional and co-developing associations of cognitive, mathematics, and literacy skills during kindergarten
This study of children from two U. S. states examined associations among four cognitive and academic skills: executive function (EF), visuo-motor integration, mathematics assessed with applied problems, and letter-word knowledge. Before (T1) and after (T2) kindergarten, children (N = 555) were assessed using the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) EF task, the Beery-Buktenica test of Visuo-motor Integration (Beery VMI), and Woodcock-Johnson subtests of Applied problems and Letter-word identification. Bidirectional analyses showed that all T1 skills predicted at least one other skill, with T1 HTKS and T1 Applied problems p...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - February 27, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Examination of school readiness constructs in Tanzania: Psychometric evaluation of the MELQO scales
This study examines the development and learning of 684 Tanzanian children starting school, averaging 7 years of age. A primary goal was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a globally-informed measure of school readiness. Using multiple measures including newly-developed direct assessment, and teacher and parent reports of child development, we hypothesized that children's development and learning would demonstrate expected constructs of academic and social/emotional skills and associations with family and child characteristics. Children's direct assessment scores factored into five domains measuring pre-mathemati...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - February 27, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Myths in science: Children trust but do not retain their teacher's information
Publication date: May–June 2019Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 62Author(s): Silvia Guerrero, Carla Sebastián-Enesco, Natalia Pérez, Ileana EnescoAbstractRecent years have seen an unprecedented interest in the way children learn from the testimony of others, yet little research has been conducted on the role of the teacher as a source of information. In the current study, we presented a sample of 63 children aged 9–10 and 11–12 with incorrect scientific ideas (myths), to determine whether they accepted the correct scientific facts provided by their actual science teachers. This informatio...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - February 22, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

An exploration of normative social and emotional skill growth trajectories during adolescence
This study examines longitudinal growth trajectories of self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, and relationship skills (creating relationships and relationship quality) using data from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, a diverse sample of over 1500 United States youth beginning at age 10 and following them to age 18. Findings suggest that during adolescence (1) SEL component skills follow differing, often nonlinear trajectories and (2) these trajectories differ for males and females. This tracking can inform a foundational understanding of adolescent social and emotional development and hi...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - February 20, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Agency and high school science students' motivation, engagement, and classroom support experiences
Publication date: May–June 2019Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 62Author(s): Erika A. Patall, Keenan A. Pituch, Rebecca R. Steingut, Ariana C. Vasquez, Nicole Yates, Alana A.U. KennedyAbstractAgentic engagement is a potential gateway to improving the classroom climate and adolescent students' motivation. The current investigation provided the first test of daily and short-term longitudinal relations between U.S. high school science students' agentic engagement during class and their psychological need satisfaction, other forms of engagement (behavioral, cognitive, emotional), and perceptions of...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - February 15, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Early childhood risk and later adaptation: A person-centered approach using latent profiles
Publication date: May–June 2019Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 62Author(s): Janette E. Herbers, J.J. Cutuli, Emily L. Jacobs, Alexandra R. Tabachnick, Tiffany KichlineAbstractRisk factors in early childhood tend to co-occur and accumulate over time in complex patterns. Person-centered methods enable nuanced understanding of developmental processes of risk and resilience. With longitudinal data on 3398 children from the Fragile Families study, we utilized latent class analysis to identify profiles of psychosocial risk in early childhood in relation to profiles of middle childhood functioning. R...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - February 5, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Keeping pre-adolescents safe: Parental knowledge and safety promotion strategies
This study examined parents' knowledge about their pre-adolescent children (where they are, who they are with, what they are doing), sources of knowledge, their safety practices, and children's injury history scores. The 92 parent-child dyads (9–13 years) independently completed questionnaires. Results revealed that parental knowledge was obtained primarily through targeted questioning of the child, with direct control strategies (supervision, requiring the child to check in) and clandestine strategies (snooping) also used sometimes. Parents had poorest knowledge of children's activities, and this was associated with c...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - January 31, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Differences in boys' and girls' attachment to pets in early-mid adolescence
Publication date: May–June 2019Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Volume 62Author(s): Janine C. Muldoon, Joanne M. Williams, Candace CurrieAbstractThe precise nature of attachment to pets and differences between girls' and boys' relationships at age 11, 13 and 15 years are investigated in this paper. Data from the 2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in Scotland were used to examine various qualities of adolescents' attachments to their pet dogs, cats and small mammals. Survey participants (N = 2472) answered pet ownership questions and completed the ‘Short Attachment to P...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - January 27, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Biculturalism dynamics: A daily diary study of bicultural identity and psychosocial functioning
We examined two conceptualizations of bicultural identity – the Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) framework (cultural identity blendedness-distance and harmony-conflict) and cultural hybridizing and alternating (mixing one's two cultural identities and/or switching between them). Utilizing data from a 12-day diary study with 873 Hispanic college students, we examined three research questions: (1) cross-sectional and longitudinal intercorrelations among these biculturalism components, (2) links among daily variability in these biculturalism components, and (3) how this daily variability predicts well-being and mental ...
Source: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - January 17, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research