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The International Collaboration on Undergraduate Psychology Outcomes project developed the International Competences for Undergraduate Psychology model to offer a globally relevant framework to provide a reference point for reflection on and development of foundational undergraduate psychology programs across diverse international settings. The project, guided by the International Collaboration on Undergraduate Psychology Outcomes Committee and advisory group members (120 across 47 nations), was inspired by the concepts of psychological literacy and global citizenship and informed by reviews of both overarching and specific competence frameworks. The model emerged through systematic, inclusive processes of scholarship, collaboration, consultation, analysis, and synthesis. It comprises 24 foundational competences across two core categories, psychological knowledge and psychological research methodologies and methods, and five psychology-relevant categories: values and ethics, cultural responsiveness and diversity, critical thinking and problem solving, communication and interpersonal skills, and personal and professional development. The International Competences for Undergraduate Psychology model, the first of its kind, addresses the need of stakeholders to understand how graduates of foundational psychology programs can contribute meaningfully to personal, work, and community contexts. It responds to epistemic imbalances, geographic biases, and the urgent need for culturally inclusive and contextually relevant educational frameworks at a critical time for psychology. Moreover, the model provides a foundation for a shift in the discipline of psychology toward more globally inclusive and impactful processes and outcomes. Rather than prescribing uniform standards, the International Competences for Undergraduate Psychology model offers an adaptable framework that can complement existing national or regional competence models. This approach ensures foundational psychology education aligns with current and future societal needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Despite increased opioid use (OU) among individuals of child-bearing age, pregnant and postpartum individuals with OU, and the experiences of these individuals and scientists with related expertise, are notably absent in scientific literature and discourse. The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a large, longitudinal, U.S.-based consortium project, aims to understand how brain and child development is shaped by various adversities and protective factors, including prenatal exposure to opioids and other substances. Given the persistent challenges of engaging pregnant and postpartum individuals with OU in longitudinal research, this qualitative study, conducted during the pilot phase of HBCD, aimed to better understand barriers, motivators, and best practices to recruitment and retention of this underrepresented population. Participants included perinatal individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) (n = 6) and researchers with expertise in perinatal substance use (n = 22). Semi-structured interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed to identify effective strategies for recruitment, engagement, and retention in longitudinal research. Knowledge and comfort with neurodevelopmental research procedures was also explored. Key themes emerging from both participant groups included the centrality of trust and nonjudgmental relationships between research teams and participants, transparency about research aims and procedures, and meaningful connections to emotional, educational, and logistical supports. Respondents emphasized the value of research staff continuity, flexible study designs, and opportunities for participants to share their stories and receive feedback. Although participants generally expressed comfort with infant neuroimaging and biospecimen collection, misunderstandings about these methods underscored the need for thorough, accessible education. Findings highlight the importance of responsive, ethically grounded research practices to strengthen research on opioid use in a manner responsive to the needs of affected populations. Successful engagement requires creative and adaptable study designs, ancillary supports, and research staff who foster trusting relationships and help participants feel heard and valued.

This study seeks to adapt and validate the Sexual Risk Behaviour Scale (SRBS) for Spanish-speaking adolescents, young adults and future health and educational professionals. The research sought to assess the scale's psychometric properties. To establish known-groups validity, differences across age, professional, and sociodemographic groups were analysed. The SRBS, a 6-item scale with 5 response options, was validated by psychologists and healthcare professionals in collaboration with educational institutions, targeting secondary school and university students in health and education fields. A total of 478 students aged 13 to 48 aged (M = 19.26, SD = 6.13) participated. Of the participants, 327 identified as women, 148 as men, 20 as gay, 392 as heterosexual, 54 as bisexual, 9 as asexual, and 3 indicated another gender and sexual orientation. Among the adults, 275 were single, 11 married, 2 divorced and 1 widowed. Evidence based on internal structure was gathered through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the scale scores. Sociodemographic factors, including gender, age, education level, marital status, and use of dating apps, along with six standardized sexuality scales, were examined to assess the known-groups validity of the Spanish SRBS scores. The scores of the Spanish SRBS yielded evidence of acceptable reliability (α = 0.78) and an average score of 10.08 (SD = 4.52, Min = 6, Max = 24). Factor analyses confirmed its unifactorial structure. The findings of the Spanish SRBS scores revealed significant patterns of risky behaviours influenced by developmental and social factors, such as gender, age, education, and attitudes toward safe practices. Furthermore, sexual risk behaviours (SRBS) were linked to social media (ARS), pornography consumption (PPC-6) and attitudes supportive of rape (RAPE). The Spanish SRBS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing sexual risk behaviours among adolescents and young adults. The findings offer valuable insights for clinicians, educators, and researchers working to evaluate safer sexual practices addressing public health challenges.

Adolescence is characterized by heightened sensitivity to social relationships, emotional experiences, and evaluative contexts, making schools a central developmental environment for motivation, learning, and brain maturation. Although educational research has long emphasized the importance of belonging, teacher-student relationships, and socio-emotional learning, and neuroscience has identified adolescence as a sensitive period for social-affective brain systems, these lines of research remain only loosely connected. As a result, socio-emotional school experiences are rarely examined in relation to their underlying neural mechanisms. This article synthesizes findings from the socio-emotional learning factors (SELF) study and introduces an integrative neuroeducational model of the social brain in the classroom. SELF represents an interdisciplinary research approach that combines educational science, psychology, and developmental and social neuroscience to investigate how adolescents' socio-emotional experiences at school-such as belonging, social exclusion, teacher-student relationships, and socio-motivational orientations-are associated with psychological processes and neural systems supporting self-referential processing, socio-emotional salience, feedback learning, and cognitive control. Building on evidence from both behavioral and neuroimaging research, including longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, the proposed model conceptualizes learning in adolescence as a socially embedded process that is psychologically mediated and reflected in neural processes during a period of heightened developmental sensitivity and plasticity. Rather than assuming linear brain-behavior relationships, the model emphasizes reciprocal interactions between classroom social ecology, motivational and affective processes, and neural mechanisms. By integrating multiple levels of analysis, the SELF neuroeducational model advances a non-reductionist perspective on educational neuroscience. It provides a framework for theory-driven research and highlights socio-emotional classroom conditions-particularly belonging and relational quality-as foundational for adolescents' motivation, learning, and socio-emotional development.

IntroductionBipolar depression is disabling and often inadequately responsive to medication alone. The current efficacy evidence of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for bipolar depression is conflicting. Therefore, we synthesized randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that tested the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of TMS for bipolar depression.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE/EMBASE/Cochrane/PsycINFO/gray literature (01/10/2025) for RCTs comparing any TMS protocol with sham. Co-primary outcomes were depressive symptoms, all-cause discontinuation; secondary outcomes were response, remission. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed with RoB-2. Random-effects models estimated standardized mean differences (SMDs) and risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI), alongside sensitivity, subgroup, and meta-regression analyses.ResultsNineteen comparisons from 17 RCTs (N = 563; TMS = 293, sham = 270; mean N TMS = 15.4, sham = 15.9; mean duration = 2.40 weeks; RoB "low" = 35%, "some concerns" = 65%) were included. Among trials reporting subtypes (k = 13), 41.8% of participants had bipolar I disorder, and 58.2% had bipolar II disorder. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was the most common target (k = 12). TMS reduced depressive symptoms versus sham (SMD = -0.34; 95%CI = -0.58 to -0.11), with no difference in all-cause discontinuation. TMS was favoured for response (RR = 1.41; 95%CI = 1.10 to 1.80) and remission (RR = 1.54; 95%CI = 1.06 to 2.23). However, these effects were not consistently confirmed in sensitivity or subgroup analyses by RoB, TMS type, stimulation site, or treatment resistance. Overall, 15 comparisons (88.2%) did not show superiority of TMS over sham for depressive symptoms at the individual trial level. No seizures or serious adverse events occurred; adverse events did not differ from sham. Meta-regression suggested a greater number of total pulses was associated with greater depressive symptom reduction (β = -0.018; p = .00017).ConclusionsTMS shows a small meta-analytic antidepressant effect and acceptable tolerability in bipolar depression despite most individual trials being negative. However, subgroups and sensitivity findings did not support TMS as an efficacious treatment at current doses. Further testing via larger RCTs with higher-dose protocols is warranted. Transcranial magnetic stimulation for bipolar depression: small benefits, good tolerability, but stronger trials are neededBipolar depression can be difficult to treat, and many people continue to have depressive symptoms despite medication. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, is a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain involved in mood regulation. Although TMS is an established treatment for major depressive disorder, its benefit in bipolar depression remains uncertain. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we examined randomized controlled trials that compared TMS with sham treatment, meaning a placebo-like version of TMS. We included 17 trials with 19 comparisons and 563 participants. Most studies were small, lasting about 2 to 3 weeks on average, and most had at least some concerns about risk of bias. Overall, TMS was associated with a small improvement in depressive symptoms compared with sham treatment. Participants receiving TMS were also more likely to have a treatment response or remission. TMS appeared well tolerated: people receiving TMS were not more likely to stop treatment, and adverse events were similar between TMS and sham groups. No seizures or serious adverse events were reported. However, the findings should be interpreted cautiously. Most individual trials did not show that TMS was better than sham treatment on their own. The results were also not consistently supported in sensitivity or subgroup analyses, including analyses based on study quality, type of TMS, brain stimulation target, or treatment resistance. Higher total numbers of magnetic pulses were linked with greater improvement in depressive symptoms, suggesting that dose may be important. In summary, TMS may have a small antidepressant effect in bipolar depression and appears acceptable and safe in the available trials. However, current evidence is not strong enough to confidently support TMS as an effective treatment at the doses tested so far. Larger and better-designed trials, especially using higher-dose protocols, are needed. La dépression bipolaire est invalidante et répond souvent insuffisamment au traitement pharmacologique seul. Les données probantes actuelles sur l’efficacité de la stimulation magnétique transcrânienne (SMT) dans la dépression bipolaire sont contradictoires. Nous avons donc synthétisé les résultats d’essais contrôlés à répartition aléatoire (ECR) ayant évalué l’efficacité, l’innocuité et la tolérabilité de la SMT dans le traitement de la dépression bipolaire. Nous avons effectué une recherche dans MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, PsycINFO et la littérature grise (2025-10-01) afin de recenser les ECR comparant un protocole de SMT à une SMT simulée. Les critères d’évaluation coprincipaux étaient les symptômes dépressifs et l’abandon du traitement toutes causes confondues; les critères secondaires étaient la réponse et la rémission. Le risque de biais a été évalué à l’aide de l’outil RoB-2. Des modèles à effets aléatoires ont permis d’estimer les différences moyennes standardisées (DMS) et les risques relatifs (RR) avec des intervalles de confiance (IC) à 95 %, ainsi que de réaliser des analyses de sensibilité, de sous-groupes et de métarégression. 19 comparaisons issues de 17 ECR (N = 563, SMT = 293, SMT simulée = 270; taille moyenne du groupe SMT = 15,4, SMT simulée = 15,9; durée moyenne = 2,40 semaines, risque de biais « faible » = 35 %, « quelques préoccupations » = 65 %) ont été incluses. Parmi les essais ayant rapporté les sous-types (k = 13), 41,8 % des participants présentaient un trouble bipolaire du type I et 58,2 %, un trouble bipolaire de type II. Le cortex préfrontal dorsolatéral gauche était la cible la plus fréquente (k = 12). La SMT a réduit les symptômes dépressifs par rapport à la SMT simulée (DMS = -0,34; IC à 95 % : -0,58 à -0,11), sans différence pour l’abandon du traitement toutes causes confondues. La SMT a produit une meilleure réponse (RR = 1,41; IC à 95 % : 1,10 à 1,80) et une meilleure rémission (RR = 1,54; IC à 95 % : 1,06 à 2,23). Toutefois, ces effets n’ont pas été systématiquement confirmés par les analyses de sensibilité ou les analyses de sous-groupes selon le risque de biais, le type de SMT, le site de stimulation ou la résistance au traitement. Dans l’ensemble, 15 comparaisons (88,2 %) n’ont pas montré de supériorité de la SMT par rapport à la SMT simulée pour les symptômes dépressifs à l’échelle des essais individuels. Aucun cas de convulsion ni de manifestation indésirable grave n’a été rapporté; les manifestations indésirables ne différaient pas de celles observées avec la SMT simulée. La métarégression a indiqué qu’un nombre total plus élevé de pulsations était associé à une réduction plus importante des symptômes dépressifs (β = -0,018; p = 0,00017). Selon les méta-analyses, la SMT produit un faible effet antidépresseur et possède une tolérabilité acceptable chez les personnes atteintes de dépression bipolaire, malgré le fait que les résultats de la plupart des essais individuels soient contraires. Toutefois, les résultats des analyses de sous-groupes et de sensibilité n’ont pas confirmé l’efficacité de la SMT comme traitement aux doses actuellement utilisées. Des ECR de plus grande envergure, utilisant des protocoles à doses plus élevées, doivent être réalisés.

Rare renal disorders are a group of complex conditions that can lead to progressive kidney failure and lifelong multi-system complications. Upon reaching young adulthood, adolescents and young adults must navigate the healthcare transition between paediatric and adult services. This process serves to bridge the gap between health services and provide adolescents and young adults with developmentally appropriate support to manage adult life with their condition. However, this process can prove challenging for adolescents and young adults with rare renal disorders, a research area that is currently under explored. To explore the experiences of adolescents and young adults and parents living with a rare renal disorder and undergoing healthcare transition. Qualitative descriptive study, using reflexive thematic analysis. Results reported according to the COnsolidated Criteria for REporting Qualitative research (COREQ) checklist. Twenty eight in-depth interviews were conducted, with 17 parents and 11 adolescents and young adults with rare renal disorders. Five themes were developed: 1. the complex and ever-changing nature of rare renal disorders, 2. preparing to move on, 3. understanding the person, 4. building support networks, and 5. care coordination, consistency, and communication. Adolescents and young adults and their parents recognised the need for individualised, collaborative, and holistic approaches to healthcare transition, emphasising the need for comprehensive support that acknowledges other areas of adolescents and young adults lives, including educational transitions, peer connection and psychological support. This study emphasises the dynamic interplay between health and social systems when planning healthcare transition. This study offers valuable insights into healthcare transition in rare renal disorders. Findings provide a foundation for future research and can inform practice, policy and the development of future healthcare transition interventions. Two adolescents and one parent from a rare-disease advisory group provided input on the study materials.

Human social interactions rely on the ability to reflect on one's own and others' internal states and traits-a process known as mentalizing. Impaired or altered mentalizing is a hallmark of multiple psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. Yet, replicable and easily testable brain markers of mentalizing have so far been lacking. Here, we apply an interpretable machine learning approach to multiple datasets (total n = 390) to train and validate fMRI brain signatures that predict i) mentalizing about the self, ii) mentalizing about another person, and iii) both types of mentalizing. Self-mentalizing and other-mentalizing classifiers had positive weights in anterior/medial and posterior/lateral brain areas, respectively, with accuracy rates of 82% and 77% for out-of-sample prediction. The classifier trained across both types of mentalizing showed 98% predictive accuracy and separated (mental) attributional from factual inferences. Classifier patterns revealed better self/other separation in healthy adults compared to individuals with schizophrenia and with increasing age in adolescence. Together, our findings reveal consistent and separable neural patterns subserving trait-based mentalizing about self and others-present at least from the age of adolescence and functionally altered in severe neuropsychiatric disorders. These mentalizing signatures hold promise as candidate neuromarkers of social-cognitive processes in different contexts and clinical conditions.

Children's academic achievement plays a central role in shaping their educational trajectories and social development. While extensive research has shown that prosocial behavior and interpersonal relationships with teachers and peers are significantly associated with children's academic achievement, most studies have relied on cross-sectional designs, and the few existing longitudinal studies have examined these associations only in a piecemeal manner, limiting understanding of the developmental cascades that link academic, behavioral, and interpersonal domains as an interconnected system. To address this gap, the present longitudinal study investigates the bidirectional relations among academic achievement, prosocial behavior, peer relationships, and teacher-student relationships at the within-person level in Chinese elementary school children. The sample consisted of 3,132 children in Grades 3 and 4 (45.9% girls; Mean age = 9.88 years, SD = 0.72), who were assessed across five waves over a two-year period, with each wave spaced six months apart. Academic achievement was measured using end-of-term exam scores. Prosocial behavior, peer relationships, and teacher-student relationships were assessed through self-reports. The results of the random-intercept cross-lagged panel model indicated that higher academic achievement significantly predicted subsequent increases in prosocial behavior and teacher-student relationships. Conversely, higher prosocial behavior at one time point predicted subsequent increases in peer relationships and academic achievement. Positive peer relationships were associated with later increases in academic achievement, prosocial behavior, and teacher-student relationships. Similarly, more positive teacher-student relationships predicted subsequent increases in prosocial behavior and peer relationships. These findings support a developmental cascade perspective by showing that children's academic, behavioral, and interpersonal adjustment develop as interconnected processes rather than as isolated domains, with changes in one domain carrying implications for subsequent adjustment in other domains.

Puberty represents a major developmental transition involving several aspects. In Indonesia, limited open discussion about puberty, and the widespread use of non- standardized instruments have constrained efforts to assess children's psychological readiness for pubertal changes. This study aimed to develop and validate a developmentally appropriate, culturally relevant Affective Evaluation toward Pubertal changes Scale for boys and girls aged 9-12 years. A quantitative instrument development design was employed, including item generation, expert-based content validation, pilot testing, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using a polychoric matrix with unweighted least squares extraction and oblique rotation, and that the number of factors determined by parallel analysis. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted and the WLSMV estimator used for ordinal data. A bifactor model also tested to verify the presence of a general attitude factor. Calculating omega hierarchical and explained common variance. Discriminant validity assessed via HTMT and invariance between boys and girls tested through multigroup CFA. Data were collected from 514 elementary school children and randomly divided into independent samples for EFA (n = 264) and CFA (n = 250). This study evaluated the factorial structure, construct validity, reliability, and gender- based measurement invariance of a newly developed instrument. EFA supported a three-factor structure. CFA demonstrated good model fit across multiple indices. Initial assessment indicated marginal convergent validity for one factor; however, model respecification improved Average Variance Extracted values. Discriminant validity was generally acceptable. Bifactor indices suggested a predominantly unidimensional structure with meaningful specific factors. Reliability estimates indicated high internal consistency for each factor and the overall scale. Multi-Group CFA employed across gender, although a relatively high HTMT value between two factors was observed in the male subgroup. The findings provide strong preliminary support for the factorial validity, reliability, and cross-gender applicability of the instrument. The three-factor structure was empirically supported through both exploratory and confirmatory analyses, and dimensionality assessment indicated the presence of a dominant general factor alongside distinct subdimensions. Measurement invariance across gender suggests that the instrument operates equivalently for male and female respondents. However, the elevated discriminant validity estimate between two factors in the male group suggests further investigation.

Fear-themed digital media exposure is increasingly common in school-aged children, yet its developmental implications remain insufficiently understood. Rather than conceptualizing frightening content as inherently pathogenic, emotionally intense media may act as a mild arousal stimulus within a neurodevelopmental system characterized by heightened limbic reactivity and still-maturing regulatory control. The present study examined whether fear-themed exposure is associated with dimensional variability in sleep regulatory sensitivity, consistent with a tentative developmental PhenoSleep construct. This cross-sectional study included 132 children aged 5-11 years (mean age = 8.69 years, SD = 2.01), divided into an exposed group (n = 66) and a non-exposed control group (n = 66). Engagement with fear-themed content (Huggy Wuggy) was assessed using an ad hoc exposure questionnaire (TOT_HW). Emotional-behavioral functioning was measured with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and sleep regulation with the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC). Independent-sample t-tests and Pearson's correlations were performed. Compared to controls, exposed children showed higher CBCL Total Problems and SDSC Total Scores. Domain-specific differences were modest and not uniformly distributed across subscales. Within the exposed group, engagement intensity showed small positive associations with selected social, cognitive, and sleep-related measures, consistent with dimensional variability rather than overt dysfunction. The findings do not support a deterministic psychopathological effect of fear-themed digital exposure. Instead, they are compatible with the interpretation that emotionally salient media may function as a mild environmental probe revealing interindividual differences in sleep regulatory sensitivity. We tentatively introduce the PhenoSleep construct to describe developmental variability in sleep continuity and arousal modulation in response to emotionally intense stimuli. Longitudinal and physiologically informed studies are required to further examine and refine this developmental regulatory model.

Neurological and mental health disorders affect over one-third of the global population. Healthcare systems continue to treat maternal brain health and neurodevelopment as separate domains. Critical intervention windows continue to be missed before and during the first 1,000 days after conception. Current fetal-neonatal neurology training reflects healthcare fragmentation. Specialty-siloed education impedes integrative critical thinking that more successfully capitalizes on pre-conception and gestational neuroprotective opportunities. This narrative review presents perspectives that argue for a transdisciplinary approach among stakeholders that advances life-course brain healthcare. Integrative women's and children's health, the developmental origins of health and disease, cultural neuroscience, and brain health capital frameworks collectively contribute to an educational, practice and research model. This methodology more productively addresses public health priorities to offer equitable global brain health care based on knowledge of intersectionality. We propose that every pregnancy represents a brain health intervention opportunity. Healthcare bundles have been defined as a set of three to five evidence-based interventions to assess the quality and outcome of medical care choices. Equity-informed brain care bundles similarly can be developed to assess proactive and reactive neuroprotective intervention outcomes. Gene-environment interactions will influence the dynamic neural exposome across each person's lifespan. More effective therapeutic options can shift intergenerational neurodevelopmental trajectories to improve neurologic and mental health for entire communities. Combining biological, social, and structural determinants determine the direction of vulnerability or resilience pathways based on time-sensitive shared healthcare decisions. Two clinical vignettes ground this theoretical framework with fetal-neonatal neurology practice experiences. Emphasis on fragmented care, limited genomic screening, structural inequity, and uncorrected environmental exposures diminish preventable neurological and maternal outcomes across generations. We propose five implementation recommendations: dismantle structural barriers to integrate care; redesign training around transdisciplinary competency frameworks; realign payment structures to incentivize coordinated care; reorient research priorities with integrated care models; and develop measurable metrics of integrated maternal-child brain health. Artificial intelligence-assisted monitoring and learning health system platforms offer infrastructural elements to enable equitable intervention scaling across diverse clinical settings. Implementation of this framework across each lifespan will reduce intergenerational burdens of neurological and mental health disorders to sustain global brain health equity.

Individuals with developmental language disorder (DLD) are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. The prospective associations between DLD and offending, and the educational and criminal justice pathways through which DLD might increase the risk of offending and reoffending, remain unclear. We analysed existing data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (maximum N = 6,800; 51% female; 9% with DLD) with linked school data (national pupil database) and crime records (Avon and Somerset police records for offences committed between ages 13 and 29 years in the region). DLD was determined when the individuals were aged 7-9 years using direct assessments and parent reports. Regression and mediation models were fitted to the data. Individuals with DLD were more likely (odds ratio 1.74, 95% confidence intervals 1.25, 2.44) to have a recorded offence (i.e. charged or cautioned by the police) compared to those without DLD. School suspension was a significant mediator of the relationship between DLD and recorded offending. However, SEN identification was not associated with recorded offending for those with DLD. There was also no difference in the odds of being given an out of court disposal or reoffending for individuals with DLD compared to those without DLD. Individuals who have DLD are more likely to be cautioned or convicted for an offence by the police than those without DLD, and this may in part be because they are more likely than those without DLD to be suspended from school.

Differentiating between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in early childhood, when language and behavioral repertoires are not yet fully developed, remains a major challenge in clinical practice. This study aimed to examine which aspects of social attention are preserved or altered in each condition, using eye-tracking. We analyzed how children explored faces and objects in three groups: children with ASD, children with DLD, and non-clinical children. A paired-preference task was used in which children viewed images with one face and one object. Variables included stimulus type (face vs. object), object interest (related vs. unrelated to autistic circumscribed interests), and facial emotional expression (neutral, happy, angry). The sample included 69 children aged 32 to 74 months (23 per group). Eye-tracking measures captured how quickly children oriented to each stimulus (time to first fixation; prioritization index), how long they looked at it (total fixation duration; preference index), and how sustained their visual engagement was (visit duration; duration index). The ASD group showed preserved orientation toward social stimuli, with no differences relative to the non-clinical group. The ASD and DLD groups differed in the duration index, indicating stronger visual engagement with objects in the ASD group. Both prioritization and preference indices differentiated between clinical and non-clinical groups. These findings characterize how children in each group attend to social and non-social information, highlighting distinct patterns that may inform early differential diagnosis and clinical assessment.

This manuscript describes the design and baseline findings of the POI trial, a school-based, cluster-randomized intervention aimed at the prevention of childhood obesity in the Canary Islands, Spain. Childhood obesity prevalence in this region is among the highest in Europe, with 40.6% of children aged 6-9 years classified as overweight or obese. Early, multidisciplinary, school-based interventions integrating nutrition and physical activity are therefore a public health priority. The POI trial is a cluster-randomized controlled study conducted in primary schools in Gran Canaria, enrolling children aged 6-10 years. The intervention integrates nutrition education, physical activity promotion, and family engagement, supported by both paper-based and digital educational materials. Teachers played a central role in intervention delivery within the classroom setting. Schools served as the unit of randomization and implementation. Baseline assessments included standardized anthropometric measurements, objectively measured physical activity, and selected metabolic parameters (fasting glucose and lipid profile). Dietary intake outcomes will be reported separately; this manuscript focuses on the nutrition education framework and baseline nutrition-related metabolic indicators. A total of 557 children from 13 schools were included (298 intervention participants from 5 schools and 259 controls from 8 schools). Significant differences in overweight and obesity prevalence were observed by school type, with the highest prevalence in public schools (48.6%), followed by partially subsidized (33.2%) and private schools (28.3%) (p = 0.001). Among participants with available blood samples (n = 237), elevated fasting glucose was detected in 21 children and hypercholesterolemia in 24 children. These baseline findings highlight substantial socioeconomic disparities in childhood overweight and obesity and demonstrate the presence of early metabolic risk in school-aged children. The POI trial provides a scalable, school-based model integrating nutrition education and physical activity for obesity prevention, with the potential to inform public health strategies in high-prevalence settings. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06607159.

Problematic gaming has become an increasingly prominent developmental concern among youth, yet little is known about its heterogeneous developmental course, predictors, and school adjustment outcomes among Chinese migrant children. The present study examined developmental trajectories of problematic gaming from Grade 3 to Grade 6, identified family-, school-, and individual-level predictors of trajectory membership, and tested whether distinct trajectories were associated with later school adjustment. A total of 1,313 Chinese migrant children (Mean age = 9.42 years, SD = 0.51; 48.7% girls) participated in a six-wave longitudinal study with six-month intervals between waves. Growth mixture modeling identified four qualitatively distinct trajectories: low-decreasing, high-onset decreasing, moderate-onset increasing, and high-increasing. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that specific variables-namely autonomy-supportive parenting, peer victimization, self-control, and internalizing symptoms-significantly differentiated trajectory membership, whereas harsh punishment, psychological control, teacher emotional support, teacher maltreatment, self-concept clarity, and externalizing problems did not show significant unique predictive effects. Further analyses indicated that children in the escalating or persistently high-risk trajectories reported lower school engagement and school well-being at Wave 6 than those in the low-decreasing group, even after adjusting for baseline levels. These findings highlight the developmental heterogeneity of problematic gaming among Chinese migrant children and suggest that interventions targeting peer victimization, internalizing symptoms, and self-control, while enhancing autonomy-supportive parenting, may help reduce high-risk gaming trajectories and promote school adjustment.

This study examined the effects of implicit learning-based instruction-analogy, external focus (EF), and their combination-on golf putting performance and learning in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Given that internal focus of attention often competes with external focus by drawing attention to body movements, combining analogy with EF may help direct attention externally by simplifying movement execution. Sixty children aged 7-9 with DCD were randomly assigned to five groups: analogical instruction, EF, internal focus (IF), analogical-external focus (A-EF), and control. The IF group focused on their striking hand; the EF group focused on the putter's path and target. The analogical group performed a pendulum-like swing based on a biomechanical metaphor. The A-EF group combined the pendulum analogy with EF instructions. The control group received no instructional cues. Participants completed a pretest, followed by three acquisition sessions (3 × 20 trials per session), immediate and delayed retention tests (72 hours post-practice), a transfer test (from a 5.5-meter distance), and an automaticity test under dual-task conditions. Results showed that, collapsed across acquisition sessions, both the external focus (EF) and combined analogy-external focus (A-EF) groups significantly outperformed the internal focus (IF) group. In retention, transfer, and dual-task performance, all three implicit learning groups (A, EF, A-EF) performed significantly better than the IF and control groups. These findings suggest that implicit instructional methods, particularly the combined approach, enhance motor learning in children with DCD, likely due to reduced reliance on working memory and greater automaticity of movement execution.

Uncertainty is a major factor affecting cancer patients throughout all stages of the disease. Given its impact, this study aimed to adapt Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Scale (MUIS-A) into Spanish for cancer patients in Spain and to analyze the relationship between uncertainty and selected clinical and psychosocial variables. A descriptive cross-sectional transcultural adaptation and psychometric validation study was conducted using a prospective convenience sample of 174 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy. Uncertainty, socio-family support, dependence in activities of daily living, and functional status were assessed using validated questionnaires. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and correlational analyses were performed to examine the factorial structure and associations among variables. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) supported the presence of the four dimensions of the original scale in the Spanish version. The 33-item scale showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.794) and an initial explained variance of 39.26%. After an iterative item reduction process to improve factor loadings, a 26-item version was obtained, maintaining the four-factor structure, acceptable reliability (Cronbach's alpha&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.787), and increasing the total explained variance to 44.6%. The mean uncertainty score was 73.15&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;14.41. Most patients reported adequate social support and were independent in basic activities of daily living. A significant negative association was found between social support and uncertainty (r&#x2009;=&#x2009;-&#x2009;0.315, p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.001). Additionally, a significant negative association was observed between uncertainty and the number of disease-related hospital admissions (Z&#x2009;=&#x2009;-&#x2009;2.775, p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.005). The Spanish transcultural adaptation of Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Scale is a reliable and valid tool for assessing uncertainty in cancer patients in Spain. Uncertainty was present in all participants and was significantly associated with socio-family support and disease-related hospital admissions. Its clinical application provides a practical resource for oncology nurses to facilitate psychosocial screening and tailor specific communication strategies.

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are highly heritable, yet the pathways linking parental genetic liability to child outcomes remain poorly understood. Traditional designs cannot easily separate genes transmitted to the child from environmental influences shaped by parental genotypes. In 3,270 families from the Generation R Study, we applied a mother-father-offspring trio design to disentangle direct genetic effects from indirect parental influences ('genetic nurture'). Polygenic scores (PGSs) included a transdiagnostic neurodevelopmental score (NDV) and disorder-specific scores for ADHD, ASD, and major depressive disorder (MDD). Offspring brain structure (cortical surface area, subcortical gray matter, cerebellar volume) at age 9 and behavioral problems at age 14 were assessed. Structural equation modeling was used to test direct, indirect, and brain-mediated genetic pathways. Transdiagnostic NDD genetic liability predicted multiple behavioral domains, primarily via direct genetic effects, with similar influence on internalizing and externalizing problems. ADHD PGS effects closely paralleled those of the NDV PGS, whereas ASD and MDD PGSs showed more domain-specific associations. Notably, maternal, but not paternal, MDD genetic liability was indirectly related to behavioral problems across domains, independent of the child's own genetic risk. This maternal pathway was partly reporter-specific but robust for attention problems across both parent and child reports. Global brain measures did not mediate any of the identified genetic pathways. Intergenerational NDD risk is predominantly driven by direct genetic transmission. However, maternal depression liability exerts additional influence through environmentally mediated pathways. The absence of brain-mediated effects suggests that the gross neural phenotypes examined here do not capture the mechanisms underlying these pathways. Our findings highlight the importance of maternal influences on child NDD outcomes and underscore the need for longitudinal, multimodal research designs that integrate genetic, caregiving, and fine-grained neural phenotyping data to inform targeted prevention and early intervention strategies for at-risk families.

Understanding the comfort or discomfort expressions of preterm and term newborns represents a challenge for both parents and nurses, particularly in hospitalization settings. While parents rely mainly on intuitive parenting abilities and parental experience, pediatric nurses receive specific training to recognize newborns' expressions. This study compared the perception of preterm and term infants' facial emotion expressions across five observer groups: 63 parents of hospitalized preterm infants, 53 parents of hospitalized term infants, 55 general parents, 91 na&#xef;ve non-parents and 61 professional pediatric nurses (total N&#x2009;=&#x2009;323). Observers from Strasbourg (France) and Geneva (Switzerland) rated 30 video extracts of preterm infants at 32- and 40-weeks PMA and of term infants, balanced across positive, negative, and neutral conditions. They judged the comfort, discomfort, or neutrality of expressions using a graduated scale. The objective was to assess the influence of training, professional, and parental experience on evaluations of newborns' emotional expressions. The effect of parenting emerges in valence judgement, with parents and non-parents' tendency to attribute discomfort to the newborn's expression, and nurses being more likely than all other groups to judge infant expressions as comfort. Across groups, preterm infants at 32&#xa0;weeks were mainly perceived as uncomfortable, but ratings shifted toward comfort at 40&#xa0;weeks, while term infants showed a more balanced profile. Finally, accuracy analyses showed that nurses were most accurate in recognizing comfort, parents performed best for discomfort, and non-parents achieved the highest accuracy for neutral expressions, with significant contrasts across all groups (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;.05). These findings highlight that the recognizability of infant emotional expressions depends on the infants' developmental maturation, while the accuracy and interpretive patterns of ratings are shaped by the observers' parental or professional experience.