Conditions for young infants' perception of object trajectories

When an object moves behind an occluder and re-emerges, 4-month-old infants perceive trajectory continuity only when the occluder is narrow, raising the question of whether time or distance out of sight is the important constraining variable. One hundred and forty 4-month-olds were tested in five experiments aimed to disambiguate time and distance out of sight. Manipulating the object's visible speed had no effect on infants' responses, but reducing occlusion time by increasing object speed while occluded induced perception of trajectory continuity. In contrast, slowing the ball while it was behind a narrow or intermediate screen did not modify performance. It is concluded that 4-month-olds perceive trajectory continuity when time or distance out of sight is short.     

Developmental trajectories and longitudinal mediation effects of self-esteem,peer attachment,child maltreatment and depression on early adolescents

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to identify the developmental trajectories of peer attachment, self-esteem, depression, and child maltreatment, and to understand the longitudinal mediation effects that peer attachment and self-esteem have on the influence of perceived abuse on early adolescent depression.MethodsThis study uses Year 1 to Year 5 data of the 4th grader panel of the Korea Youth Panel Survey (KYPS) and utilizes a multivariate latent growth model to analyze the main variables in the applicable data between 5th (i.e., Year 2) and 8th (i.e., Year 5) grades.ResultsThe results indicate that from the 5th to the 8th grade, the degree of abuse and depression increases while self-esteem gradually decreases with slowly lowering peer attachment. A significant distribution of the initial values and the rate of change were present for all main variables of the study, confirming individual differences in time wise changes. Further, more exposure to abuse correlated with a decrease in self-esteem, while an increase in self-esteem greatly reduced depression. The initial value of self-esteem showed a partial mediation effect, whereas the rate of change indicated a full mediation effect with a significant longitudinal mediation effect. More experience of abuse during early adolescence indicated a lower degree of peer attachment, and a higher peer attachment was related to decreased depression. A significant partial mediation effect was present for both the initial value and the rate of change of peer attachment, and a longitudinal mediation effect was present.Practice implicationsThis study confirmed that self-esteem in early adolescents is an important protective factor that can greatly reduce the degree of depression, and suggests continuous interventions conducted to increase self-esteem in adolescence. Furthermore, by determining that peer attachment decreases the degree of depression in children at risk, the study emphasizes the healing aspect of adolescent peer attachment.     

Caregiver depression and trajectories of behavioral health among child welfare involved youth

Child welfare involvement has been linked to child behavioral health issues, including increased likelihood of internalizing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, and externalizing behavioral problems such as oppositional behaviors and substance use problems. One predictor of child behavioral health is caregiver mental health. Although, there remains a specific gap associated with identification of factors among caregivers that are associated with longitudinal child behavioral health trajectories. Using LONGSCAN, we explore the effects of caregiver depression on the behavioral health of children over time. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models showed that children with a caregiver who reported depression showed significantly higher internalizing behavioral problems over time, and significantly larger decreases in externalizing behavioral problems over time, compared to children with a caregiver who reported no depression. These findings emphasize that early interventions geared towards jointly assessing and treating parent and child mental health issues in the child welfare system may be successful at improving future behavioral health outcomes.     

The developmental trajectories of mathematics anxiety: Cognitive,personality, and environmental correlates

Students who are highly anxious about mathematics-related activities generally exhibit lower mathematics achievement and motivation compared to their less anxious counterparts. Despite negative implications of mathematics anxiety (MA) on mathematics learning, there is a paucity of research examining how MA develops over time. Using the Longitudinal Study of American Youth dataset (N = 3116), the present study investigated two main questions regarding the development of MA in secondary school: (1) Is the development of MA characterized by a heterogeneous subset of growth trajectories? (2) How are time-varying personal and environmental factors (e.g., mathematics achievement; perceptions of math teachers) related to specific MA growth trajectories? Student MA was repeatedly assessed in six annual waves spanning across middle and high school. Using growth mixture modeling, we identified four growth trajectories of MA: (1) The non-anxious group that exhibited chronically low MA; (2) The highly anxious group which displayed moderately high MA over time; (3) The resilient group that exhibited high initial MA that steadily decreased over time; and (4) The vulnerable group that reported low initial MA that drastically increased over time. In addition, significant differences in the development of mathematics achievement, personality hardiness, and perceptions of mathematics teachers were found in these four MA groups. Findings highlight heterogeneity in the development of MA, identify middle school as a critical period for MA development, and emphasize the importance of examining developmental changes in cognitive, personality, and environmental factors to help clarify distinct MA trajectories across middle and high school.     

Social support, infant temperament, and parenting self-efficacy: a mediational model of postpartum depression

A model of maternal postpartum depression was tested in which difficult infant temperament was construed as a stressor and supportive interpersonal relationships were construed as a protective resource. It was hypothesized that both infant temperamental difficulty and level of social support would affect maternal depression through the cognitive mediation of perceived self-efficacy in the parenting role. Participants were 55 married women who were assessed during pregnancy and again 3 months postpartum. Infant temperament was assessed through observation, maternal crying records, and the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire. Results of a path analysis indicated that infant temperamental difficulty was strongly related to the mothers' level of postpartum depression, both directly and through the mediation of parenting self-efficacy. Consistent with predictions, social support appeared to exert its protective function against depression primarily through the mediation of self-efficacy. Both practical implications for identifying women at risk for postpartum depression and theoretical implications for understanding the mechanisms through which stressful events and social support affect adjustment are discussed.     

护理干预对产后焦虑和抑郁症状的影响

目的：焦虑和抑郁是产妇不良心绪的核心症状,本研究旨在了解护理干预对患者产后焦虑和抑郁情绪的影响。方法：将64例产后伴有焦虑和抑郁的产妇随机分为实验组和对照组,各32例。对照组只给予常规医学护理,而实验组在进行常规护理的同时联合系统护理干预措施。对两组均采用焦虑自评量表（SAS）和抑郁自评量表（SDS）进行测评分析。结果：测得实验组和对照组产妇焦虑、抑郁分值比较具有显著性差异（P〈0．05）,提示有效的护理干预对改善产妇不良心绪有积极意义。结论：正确的产后教育,良好的家庭、社会支持系统,有效的心理疏导,温馨的护患关系等,对于减轻和消除产妇的焦虑、抑郁心绪具有一定的临床意义,可能对于减少产后抑郁症的发病也有某种积极作用,从而提倡重视对产妇开展及时有效的护理干预措施。     

Optimality versus complications: assessing predictive values of perinatal scales

In this study, 2 optimality scales and 3 complication scales were used to obtain perinatal risk scores for 103 infants. The scores generated by the 5 scales were compared for accuracy in predicting a variety of traditional and frequently used neonatal and infant outcome measures. The results were interpreted as showing an advantage in favor of the 3 complication scales in the number and variety of outcome measures that could be predicted from the scale scores.     

The role of child temperament as a predictor of early literacy and numeracy skills in preschoolers

A study was performed to explore the role of temperament as a predictor of early literacy and numeracy skills in preschoolers. The participants in this study were 94 children (46 males, 48 females) enrolled in half-day junior kindergarten (M_age= 51.52,SD = 3.25 mos.). Parents completed theColorado Child Temperament Inventory (CCTI, Buss and Plomin 1984 and Plomin). Child interviews were conducted, and vocabulary, concepts about print, counting, and numeracy skills were assessed. Results from hierarchical regression analyses revealed that temperament contributed uniquely to the explanation of literacy and numeracy skills over and above well-established indicators of a child’s academic achievement (i.e., parental education, gender, vocabulary). Results are discussed in terms of educational and developmental implications.     

Parenting styles as predicators of anxiety and depression of in-school adolescents in Nigeria

The study investigates parenting styles as predictors of anxiety and depression in secondary school students in Edo State, Nigeria. It employed a correlation research design. Two hundred and forty students constituted the sample for the study. Parenting Style Scale questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Linear regression was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) significantly predict anxiety in adolescent secondary school students in Edo State. However, parenting styles did not significantly predict depression in adolescent secondary school students in Edo State. Based on these findings it was recommended among others that school counsellors should organise seminars and create awareness among parents and students on the influence of these parenting styles on the students and professional counselling intervention programmes were recommended for professional counselling practices.     

Attachment,self-esteem and test anxiety in adolescence and early adulthood

The purpose of this study was to assess how attachment dimensions (anxiety and avoidance), self-esteem, and three subscales of test anxiety – cognitive obstruction, social derogation and tenseness are related in two age groups: adolescents and college students. Participants (N?=?327) completed relevant questionnaires. Results showed that college students revealed higher test anxiety than did high school students on the cognitive obstruction and tenseness scales, whereas high school students revealed higher social derogation than college students. Anxious attachment was related to all three sub-scales of test anxiety and avoidant attachment was related to cognitive obstruction among college students and to tenseness among high school students. Most of the correlations between anxious attachment and test anxiety were mediated by self-esteem among high school students. The mediation ability of self-esteem was weaker among college students.     

Infant temperament moderates relations between maternal parenting in early childhood and children's adjustment in first grade

A differential susceptibility hypothesis proposes that children may differ in the degree to which parenting qualities affect aspects of child development. Infants with difficult temperaments may be more susceptible to the effects of parenting than infants with less difficult temperaments. Using latent change curve analyses to analyze data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care, the current study found that temperament moderated associations between maternal parenting styles during early childhood and children's first-grade academic competence, social skills, and relationships with teachers and peers. Relations between parenting and first-grade outcomes were stronger for difficult than for less difficult infants. Infants with difficult temperaments had better adjustment than less difficult infants when parenting quality was high and poorer adjustment when parenting quality was lower.     

心理干预对初发糖尿病患者抑郁和焦虑的影响

依照我科室60位初发糖尿病患者的心理特征,制定出合理科学的心理护理方案。应用焦虑（SAS）和抑郁（SDS）自评量表对初发糖尿病患者心理状况进行评价和比较。心理干预组的患者SAS.SDS评分明显低于对照组。对初发糖尿病患者采取有效的心理干预,能够减少和消除初发糖尿病患者的焦虑和抑郁情绪,使其积极配合治疗,提高患者的生活质量。     

Parents do matter: trajectories of change in externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence

This study examined the relative influence of three parenting behaviors (support, behavioral control, and psychological control) and deviant peers on trajectories of externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence. A white, working-to-middle-class sample of adolescents and their mothers and fathers in two-earner families participated in a 32-year longitudinal study (N = 109 families). The study began when the adolescents were in sixth grade (M age = 11.5 years). Analyses showed that parents' firm behavioral control seemed to halt the upward trajectory in externalizing problems among adolescents with deviant peers. Initial levels of internalizing problems were higher among adolescents with parents who reported lower levels of behavioral control and among adolescents with deviant peers. This study suggests that parenting exerts an important influence in adolescents' lives and may do so even in the face of potentially negative peer influence.     

A developmental perspective on full- versus part-day kindergarten and children's academic trajectories through fifth grade

Children's kindergarten experiences are increasingly taking place in full- versus part-day programs, yet important questions remain about whether there are significant and meaningful benefits to full-day kindergarten. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study's Kindergarten Cohort ( N = 13,776), this study takes a developmental approach to examining associations between kindergarten program type and academic trajectories from kindergarten (ages 4–6 years) through 5th grade (ages 9–12 years). Full-day kindergarten was associated with greater growth of reading and math skills from fall until spring of kindergarten. Initial academic benefits diminished soon after kindergarten. The fade-out of the full-day advantage is in part explained by differences in the children who attend part- and full-day kindergarten as well as school characteristics.     

Maternal history of child maltreatment and maternal depression risk in the perinatal period: A longitudinal study

Existing research is limited, with only a few studies considering each single type and multiple types of child maltreatment (CM) as well as multiple assessments of maternal depression throughout the perinatal period. The purpose of the study was to assess each type and accumulative types of CM in relation to the risk of maternal depression throughout the perinatal period. In total, 276 pregnant women were recruited from the prenatal clinic at a general hospital in China. Maternal CM history and depression risk were assessed at late pregnancy, postpartum week 1, and postpartum week 4 using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The GEE showed that physical and emotional neglect and multiple types of CM were associated with higher overall depression risk across the perinatal period. The multinomial regression models showed physical neglect and multiple types of CM predicted higher risk of both antepartum and postpartum depression. Emotional and sexual abuse and emotional neglect predicted antepartum depression risk, while none of the three types of CM predicted postpartum depression risk. Physical abuse did not predict antepartum and postpartum depression risk. The findings suggest that maternal history of child physical and emotional neglect play significant roles in perinatal depression risk with physical neglect as the most important predictor. Routine screening for maternal CM history and depression risk in prenatal clinics is needed to aid in the early detection and treatment of depression.     

Prenatal and early postnatal depression and child maltreatment among Japanese fathers

We investigated the association of paternal depression in the prenatal and early postnatal period with child maltreatment tendency at two months postpartum among Japanese fathers. This population-based longitudinal study recruited Japanese perinatal women and their partners living in Nishio City, Aichi, Japan. Of the 270 fathers who participated, 196 were included in the analysis. All data were collected via self-administrated questionnaires at four time points: 20 weeks’ gestation and in the first few days, one month, and two months postpartum. Paternal depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Three definitions of paternal depression were coded based on participants’ scores on this measure: prenatal, prior, and current. Child maltreatment tendency was evaluated using the Child Maltreatment Scale at two months postpartum. The associations of the three definitions of paternal depression and child maltreatment tendency were separately analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of prenatal, prior, and current paternal depression was 9.7%, 10.2%, and 8.8%, respectively. According to the multivariate analysis, current paternal depression was significantly associated with child maltreatment tendency at two months postpartum (adjusted odds ratio: 7.77, 95% CI: 1.83–33.02). The other two types of depression, however, were not related to child maltreatment tendency. Thus, current paternal depression increased the risk of child maltreatment tendency in the postnatal period, suggesting that early detection and treatment of paternal depression might be useful for the prevention of child maltreatment.     

Efficacy of internet-based integrated intervention on depression and anxiety symptoms in patients with COVID-19

Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B -...     

Mental health in deaf adults: symptoms of anxiety and depression among hearing and deaf individuals

Individuals with disabilities encounter practical and social problems beyond those experienced by nondisabled individuals. This extra burden may in turn increase the risk of developing mental health problems. The objective of this article is to disclose the mental health situation among deaf individuals compared to a control sample of hearing individuals. The analyses are based on two separate Norwegian postal surveys, one among the general population (1995-1997) and one among the deaf population (2001). A shortened version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist was used to disclose the degree of mental distress among the respondents. Three questions common to the studies were analyzed to determine differences between the two groups. Analyses revealed that the deaf respondents showed significantly more symptoms of mental health problems than the hearing respondents. The results point to the need for focussing more attention on the mental health of deaf children and adults. Society must be made aware of the special risks that deaf children and adults encounter with respect to mental health.