Theory of mind may be contagious, but you don't catch it from your twin

The theory-of-mind abilities of twins, children with nontwin siblings, and only children were compared to investigate further the link between number and type of siblings and theory-of-mind abilities. Three- to 5-year-old children with nontwin siblings outperformed both only children and twins with no other siblings, twins who also had other siblings outperformed twins who did not, and children with at least 1 opposite-sex sibling outperformed children with only same-sex siblings. Twins performed significantly better when asked about the false beliefs of their twins than they did when asked about the false beliefs of their friends. Results are discussed in terms of potential mechanisms that may account for the twin and sibling effects.     

Child on child sexual abuse: psychological perspectives

OBJECTIVE: This study describes the emotional and behavioral responses of children who have been sexually victimized by juveniles (CC) 17 years of age and younger compared to child victims of adults (CA) 18 years of age and older. METHOD: A total sample of N = 194 children and adolescents participated in the study, with 26% (n = 51) comprising CC and 74% (n = 143) encompassing CA. The mother/caretaker was administered a demographic form, Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Family Assessment Measure (FAM-P). The child was given the Family Assessment Measure (FAM-C) and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). The clinician completed the Parental Reaction to Incest Disclosure Scale (PRIDS). RESULTS: No differences were found between the two groups for the type of sexual abuse, penetration, or the use of force. CC were younger and more likely to be males who were abused in a school setting, home, or a relative's home by a sibling or a non-related male. CC endorsed clinically significant sexual preoccupations and manifested borderline clinically significant symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Children victimized by other children manifested elevated levels of emotional and behavioral problems and were not significantly different from those who had been sexually abused by adults.     

The impact of computer-mediated and traditional academic task presentation on the performance and behaviour of children with ADHD

This project aimed to examine whether the use of computers could have a positive impact on the performance of academic tasks and their behaviour whilst completing them of children with ADHD. This small exploratory study therefore investigated the impact of the use of a laptop computer, with and without stimulating animations and features incorporated into task presentation, on Key Stage 2 level science tasks. The effects of these different forms of computer presentation were examined in relation to performance on more traditionally presented, pen and paper, tasks. The results of this study revealed that, in contrast to typically developing children, participants with ADHD produced the greatest number of accurate responses on the more basic computerised tasks (presented as simple Microsoft Word documents) and exhibited significantly more on-task activity on animated computerised tasks. In summary, computerised presentation significantly improved the accuracy of responses and the on-task focus of participants with ADHD. These early findings are encouraging and may have wide reaching practical implications in terms of the design and implementation of educational software aimed at promoting improvements for children with ADHD in terms of both their academic performance and, critically, appropriate on-task focus and behaviour in the classroom.