International Journal of Behavioral Development 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.

Preadolescents and their friends: Similarity in aggression and depressive problems as a function of social status and friendship reciprocity
In the current study, associations between individual and friends’ direct and indirect aggression and depressive problems were examined. It was expected that social status would moderate these associations such that low-status preadolescents would be more similar to their unilateral friends with regard to indirect, but not direct, aggression. Furthermore, it was expected that preadolescents’ depressive problems were positively associated to reciprocal friends’ depressive problems, in particular in low-status preadolescents. The hypotheses were tested by studying unilateral and reciprocal friendships in 20...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Sijtsema, J. J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The self-fulfilling prophecy of adolescent social expectations
Adolescents’ negative social expectations of their peers were examined as long-term predictors of problematic self-reported social functioning. Early adolescent negative expectations were hypothesized to predict risk-averse functioning in late adolescence that would ultimately contribute to confirmation of those expectations. Utilizing observational data and friend- and self-reports from a community sample of 184 adolescents followed from ages 13 to 25, adolescents with more negative expectations were found to have become increasingly submissive with friends over time and were rated as less romantically appealing by ...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Loeb, E., Hessel, E. T., Allen, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Components of effortful control and their relations to childrens shyness
Relations between children’s (n = 213) mother-reported effortful control components (attention focusing, attention shifting, inhibitory control at 42 months; activational control at 72 months) and mother-reported shyness trajectories across 42, 54, 72, and 84 months of age were examined. In growth models, shyness decreased. Inhibitory control and attention shifting predicted higher levels and lower levels of shyness at 42 months (the intercept), respectively. Inhibitory control negatively, and attention shifting positively, predicted the shyness slope. Children with higher inhibitory control had relatively more rapid...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Eggum-Wilkens, N. D., Reichenberg, R. E., Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

More than poverty: Pathways from economic inequality to reduced developmental potential
Studies from both high and low-middle income (LAMI) countries have documented how being reared in poverty is linked to compromised child development. Links between poverty and development are mediated by the timing and extent of exposure to both risk factors nested under poverty and to protective influences which can attenuate the impact of risk. While children from high-, middle-, and low-income countries are exposed to similar types of developmental risks, children from low- and middle-income countries are exposed to a greater number, more varied and more intense risks. Given these contextual differences, cumulative risk...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Wachs, T. D., Cueto, S., Yao, H. Tags: Special Section: Mediators and pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children ' s development Source Type: research

Growth and development among infants and preschoolers in rural India: Economic inequities and caregiver protective/promotive factors
The objectives are to examine whether maternal education and home environment quality: 1) protect children by attenuating the association between economic inequities and children’s growth and development, or 2) promote children’s growth and development, regardless of economic inequities. The sample includes 512 infants and 321 preschoolers in 26 villages in rural India (Project Grow Smart). Data for children: physical growth (weight and length/height measured) and development (Mullen Scales of Early Learning); for mothers/households: economic inequities measured by household assets, education, depressive sympto...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Black, M. M., Fernandez-Rao, S., Hurley, K. M., Tilton, N., Balakrishna, N., Harding, K. B., Reinhart, G., Radhakrishna, K. V., Nair, K. M. Tags: Special Section: Mediators and pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children ' s development Source Type: research

Nothing succeeds like success? Equity, student outcomes, and opportunity to learn in high- and middle-income countries
A strong relationship between article background and educational outcomes fuels a negative inequality cycle. This paper explores the interplay between student socioeconomic status and educational outcomes, and the mediating role of Opportunity-to-Learn (OTL) in high- and middle-income countries. Using data from PISA 2012, we find that the relationship between OTL and mathematics achievement is mostly positive. The magnitude of this relationship is higher in more affluent societies. Our results raise the possibility that unobserved teacher quality, school leadership, or other features of schools in lower-income countries ma...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Santibanez, L., Fagioli, L. Tags: Special Section: Mediators and pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children ' s development Source Type: research

Inequality, preschool education and cognitive development in Ethiopia: Implication for public investment in pre-primary education
This study used longitudinal data from the Young Lives Project in Ethiopia to examine the main factors relating to preschool access and their potential effects on cognitive performance of children aged five and eight years. The results show that only one quarter of the preschool-aged children have the opportunity to attend this vital stage of education, with significant disparities by family wealth, education and regional location. Regardless of its limited coverage, preschool attendance is shown to have statistically significant positive effects on cognitive performance, measured by receptive vocabulary and mathematics te...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Woldehanna, T. Tags: Special Section: Mediators and pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children ' s development Source Type: research

Socio-economic status and early childhood cognitive skills: A mediation analysis using the Young Lives panel
This article documents differences in cognitive development, as measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), between children from households with high and low socioeconomic status (SES) in two different phases of early childhood in four developing countries. A large number of potential mediators, such as urban residence, preschool attendance, early nutrition, caregiver’s education, and primary school attendance are discussed. Overall, the SES gradient is reduced but persists in most countries even when controlling for all the mediators. The mediational analysis shows that, while urban residence, caregiver...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Lopez Boo, F. Tags: Special Section: Mediators and pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children ' s development Source Type: research

Pathways to improved development for children living in poverty: A randomized effectiveness trial in rural Mexico
In this study, collaboration and integration of two social programs was critical for program impact, which occurred through pathways relating to parental engagement in reading and play. (Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development)
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Knauer, H. A., Kagawa, R. M. C., Garcia-Guerra, A., Schnaas, L., Neufeld, L. M., Fernald, L. C. H. Tags: Special Section: Mediators and pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children ' s development Source Type: research

Mediating pathways in the socio-economic gradient of child development: Evidence from children 6-42 months in Bogota
Research has previously shown a gap of near 0.5 of a standard deviation (SD) in cognition and language development between the top and bottom household wealth quartile in children aged 6–42 months in a large representative sample of low- and middle-income families in Bogota, using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. The gaps in fine motor and socio-emotional development were about half that size. Developmental deficits increased with age. The current study explored the associations amongst child development, household socio-economic status (SES), and a set of potential mediating variables—paren...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Rubio-Codina, M., Attanasio, O., Grantham-McGregor, S. Tags: Special Section: Mediators and pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children ' s development Source Type: research

Introduction to the special section on pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on childrens development
A special section of the International Journal of Behavioral Development devoted to the topic of pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children’s development. (Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development)
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - November 2, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Wachs, T. D., Cueto, S. Tags: Special Section: Mediators and pathways underlying the impact of economic inequality on children ' s development Source Type: research

A Bifactor Model of School Engagement: Assessing General and Specific Aspects of Behavioral, Emotional and Cognitive Engagement among Adolescents
In this study, we examined the validity of a multidimensional measure of school engagement in adolescence, the Behavioral-Emotional-Cognitive School Engagement Scale (BEC-SES; Li & Lerner, 2013), by comparing the model fit and predictive power of the widely-used one- and three-factor models with a bifactor model. Using data from 561 youth in Iceland (46% girls, Mage at Wave 1 = 14.3 years, SD = 0.3), only the multidimensional models (i.e., the three-factor and bifactor models) gave a good fit to the data. We then assessed the predictive power of the multidimensional models for academic achievement. The addition of acad...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - August 17, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Stefansson, K. K., Gestsdottir, S., Geldhof, G. J., Skulason, S., Lerner, R. M. Tags: Methods and Measures Source Type: research

Sowing seeds for future generations: Development of generative concern and its relation to environmental narrative identity
In this longitudinal study, we examined the relationship between the trajectory of generative concern measured at ages 23, 26 and 32 and environmental narrative identity at age 32. Canadian participants completed a questionnaire on generative concern at ages 23, 26 and 32 and were then interviewed about their personal experiences with the environment at age 32 (N = 112). Narratives were coded by independent raters for meaning, vividness and impact, with higher levels indicating a more salient environmental narrative identity. Latent growth models revealed significant individual variability in the trajectories of generative...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - August 17, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Jia, F., Soucie, K., Alisat, S., Pratt, M. Tags: Brief Empirical Report Source Type: research

Bullying, empathic concern, and internalization of rules among preschool children: The role of emotion understanding
The present study examined whether bullying, defending, and outsider behaviors in preschool children were associated with two conscience aspects (empathic concern and internalization of rules) and with emotion understanding. We also investigated whether emotion understanding moderated the relationship between these dimensions and bullying roles. Participants were 105 children (51 males), aged 36 to 76 months. Bullying roles were assessed through peer nominations. Internalization of rules and empathic concern were observed in classroom and their scores derived from selected Q-Sort items. Emotion understanding was evaluated ...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - August 17, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Camodeca, M., Coppola, G. Tags: Reports Source Type: research

Parental aggression as a predictor of boys hostile attribution across the transition to middle school
This study examined the link between parental aggression and children’s hostile attributions longitudinally among a diverse sample of 123 boys as they entered middle school. Results support acceptance of a model in which parental aggression to children prior to entering middle school predicted children’s hostile attributions after the transition to middle school above and beyond that which was predicted by previous levels of hostile attributions. As expected, hostile attributions also predicted change in parent- and teacher-rated child aggression. These findings provide important evidence of the role that paren...
Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development - August 17, 2016 Category: Child Development Authors: Yaros, A., Lochman, J. E., Wells, K. Tags: Reports Source Type: research