Exposure to adversity during the perinatal period has been associated with cognitive difficulties in children. Given the role of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in attention and impulsivity, we examined whether NAcc volume at age six mediates the relations between pre- and postnatal adversity and subsequent attention problems in offspring. 306 pregnant women were recruited as part of the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes Study. Psychosocial stress was assessed during pregnancy and across the first 5 years postpartum. At six years of age, children underwent structural MRI and, at age seven years, mothers reported on their children’s attention problems. Separate factor analyses conducted on measures of pre- and postnatal adversity each yielded two latent factors: maternal mental health and socioeconomic status. Both pre- and postnatal maternal mental health predicted children’s attention difficulties. Further, NAcc volume mediated the relation between prenatal, but not postnatal, maternal mental health and children’s attention problems. These findings suggest that the NAcc is particularly vulnerable to prenatal maternal mental health challenges and contributes to offspring attention problems. Characterizing the temporal sensitivity of neurobiological structures to adversity will help to elucidate mechanisms linking environmental exposures and behavior, facilitating the development of neuroscience-informed interventions for childhood difficulties.

There is widespread agreement that offspring are shaped by the parenting they receive in early childhood. This development is intertwined with offspring’s biological functioning, evidenced by their telomeres length (TL)—a key biomarker of aging. Until recently, most studies have focused on the detrimental implications of negative parenting for offspring’s TL. Contemporary research is oriented toward exploring the possible resilience-promoting effect of positive parenting on the biological aging of the offspring. We conducted a meta-analysis synthesizing the findings regarding the association between parenting quality and offspring’s TL. It examines whether positive parenting delays aging processes and whether such processes are exacerbated by exposure to negative parenting. An analysis of 15 studies (k = 23; N = 3,599, Mmean cohort’s age = 15.5, SD = 17.5) revealed a significant association between positive parenting and offspring’s longer TL (r = .16, 95% CI [.11, .20]). Negative parenting was associated with an increased risk of TL erosion (r = −.17, 95% CI [−.28, −.06]). Moreover, this negative association became more robust as offspring grew older (β = −.01, p < .001). Future investigations would benefit from probing associations between parental quality and offspring’s development. Interventions fostering positive parenting might also scaffold these biological processes.

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) often struggle with theory of mind (ToM). This study explored the link between parental reflective functioning (PRF) and children’s ToM, focusing on the mediating role of parental stress (PS). A total of 80 children aged 4–7 years (40 with DLD and 40 with typical language development, TLD) and their parents were included for analysis. Assessments included the WPPSI-IV, NEPSY-II, TEC, and ELT for children and the PRFQ and PSI-SF4 for parents. Results showed that children with DLD performed similarly to their TLD peers in terms of nonverbal intelligence but faced difficulties with cognitive and affective ToM and understanding of emotional terms (UET). Parents of DLD children exhibited low interest and curiosity (PRF components) and high PS, particularly due to dysfunctional interactions and challenging behaviors. Mediation analysis revealed that low parental interest and curiosity negatively affected children’s cognitive ToM and UET through increased PS from dysfunctional interactions. These findings highlight the need for early interventions to enhance ToM in children with DLD and support parents in better understanding and interacting with their child. Such interventions can reduce parent–child stress and promote ToM development of children with DLD, aligning with bioecological models of development.

This study utilized a novel, observational paradigm to identify functional patterns of father responsiveness to child distress. In particular, we sought to identify a pattern of caregiving deactivation characterized by parenting behavior that functioned to minimize activation of the caregiving behavioral system. We also sought to identify a pattern of caregiving hyperactivation characterized by parenting behavior that functioned to maintain or heighten caregiving system activation. In turn, we examined whether caregiving deactivation and hyperactivation were differentially associated with children’s socioemotional development over a two-year period. Participants included 235 fathers (55% White) and children (Mage = 2.97; 55% female) who visited the laboratory at two measurement occasions spaced approximately two years apart. A path model analysis revealed that caregiving deactivation was uniquely associated with decreases in children’s oppositional defiance and hostility over a two-year period. In contrast, caregiving hyperactivation was uniquely associated with increases in children’s anxiety and social disengagement two years later. The findings highlight the importance of considering both form and function in parenting behavior and provide evidence on the importance of considering fathers’ caregiving behavior.

Parent factors impact adolescent’s emotion regulation, which has key implications for the development of internalizing psychopathology. A key transdiagnostic factor which may contribute to the development of youth internalizing pathology is parent anxiety sensitivity (fear of anxiety-related physiological sensations). In a sample of 146 adolescents (M/SDage = 12.08/.90 years old) and their parents (98% mothers) we tested whether parent anxiety sensitivity was related to their adolescent’s brain activation, over and above the child’s anxiety sensitivity. Adolescents completed an emotion regulation task in the scanner that required them to either regulate vs. react to negative vs. neutral stimuli. Parent anxiety sensitivity was associated with adolescent neural responses in bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate, and paracingulate, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, such that higher parent anxiety sensitivity was associated with greater activation when adolescents were allowed to embrace their emotional reaction(s) to stimuli. In the right OFC region only, higher parent anxiety sensitivity was also associated with decreased activation when adolescents were asked to regulate their emotional responses. The findings are consistent with the idea that at-risk adolescents may be modeling the heightened attention and responsivity to environmental stimuli that they observe in their parents.

This study investigated associations between childhood neighborhood deprivation and adolescent mental health difficulties, and potential protective factors. Data were utilized from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) (born in 2000–2002; N = 5,422; 52% female) and the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study (born in 1994–1995; N = 1,920; 53% female). Childhood neighborhood deprivation was measured using the Index of Multiple Deprivation between age 9 months and 14 years (MCS) and at age 12 (E-Risk). Adolescent mental health was assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at age 17 (MCS) and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule conducted at age 18 with symptoms loading onto general psychopathology, internalizing and externalizing factors (E-Risk). Cross-classified models showed high levels of neighborhood deprivation in childhood were associated with more total problems (estimate = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.04–0.88) and internalizing difficulties (estimate = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.06–0.59) in adolescence within MCS. Being male, having higher self-esteem, greater social support, and a more positive parent-child relationship were associated with fewer total problems (estimates = −0.09–−1.87) and internalizing difficulties (estimates = −0.03–−1.88) at age 17 in the full sample regardless of neighborhood deprivation exposure. However, interactions revealed that higher self-esteem was especially beneficial for children exposed to high neighborhood deprivation (estimate = −0.35, 95% CI = −0.43–−0.27). No significant associations between childhood neighborhood deprivation and adolescent mental health symptoms were found in E-Risk. Interventions focused on improving self-esteem, social support, and parenting may help promote better adolescent mental health in the general population. Those living in the most deprived areas may benefit most from increased self-esteem.

Emotion recognition, the ability to interpret others’ emotional expressions and infer mental states, is crucial for caregiver–child interactions. The ability to accurately recognize infant emotions may facilitate attuned and responsive caregiving. Across two studies, we validate a novel measure to assess the recognition of infants’ emotions (Reading the Mind in Infant Eyes Test [RMIET]) and investigate how this ability relates to observed caregiving. Study 1 examined item-level performance in 55 infant mental health experts and 100 undergraduate students. Study 2 examined RMIET scores in 133 pregnant people and their later caregiving when their children were 18-month-old. In Study 1, agreement was high among both mental health experts (ICC = .82) and undergraduate students (ICC = .93), providing evidence of the content validity of the RMIET. In Study 2, scores assessing the recognition of adult and infant emotions were positively correlated (r = .22, p = .012). After accounting for covariates, RMIET scores were statistically significantly associated with higher sensitivity and warmth and lower negative regard. Taken together, these studies provide preliminary evidence of content and predictive validity for the RMIET.

Mothers living in low-income families are more likely to experience depressive symptoms and parenting stress which in turn can undermine mother–child interactions adversely influencing child outcomes. Previous studies demonstrate that social support is beneficial for low-income mothers to fulfill caregiving responsibilities and promote positive child outcomes. However, the longitudinal application of the Family Stress Model with protective factors remains unexplored in the literature. Thus, we examined the association between parenting stress and depressive symptoms at year 1 with harsh and responsive parenting at year 3. Then, we examined whether parenting practices at year 3 predicted child outcomes at year 5 and the main and moderating effects of social support at year 1 and year 3 on parenting and child outcomes. The sample included 1,968 mothers from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Results showed that parenting stress significantly predicted harsh parenting. Harsh parenting was associated with more internalizing behavior problems and decreased adaptive social behavior. Responsive parenting was associated only with fewer internalizing behavior problems. The main effects of social support on responsive and harsh parenting and child outcomes were significant. Specific intervention programs targeted at reducing parenting stress, enhancing parenting skills, and improving the social support network should be designed to support mothers in the context of economic adversity.

Although ample research links social factors and suicidality, there remains a gap in understanding how distinct processes within social communication relate to suicidality. We demonstrate how reciprocity of eye-gaze and facial expressions of happiness differ during parent-adolescent conflict based on adolescents’ future suicidal ideation (SI). Facial affect analyses were based on 103 girls (ages 11–13; M = 12.28; 75% White) and their parents. Eye-gaze analyses were conducted in subset of these dyads (N = 70). Participants completed a conflict discussion during which gaze to their partners’ eyes was assessed using mobile eye-tracking glasses and facial affect was coded using FaceReader Observer XT. Adolescents’ SI was assessed 12-months later. Actor-partner interdependence models tested whether participants’ gaze and affect predicted their own and their partners’ gaze and affect one second later and if these intra and interpersonal dynamics differed based on adolescents’ future levels of SI. Girls from dyads with less parental reciprocity of eye-gaze and happiness reported higher levels of SI 12-months later. During early adolescence, girls whose parents reciprocate their eye-contact or positive affect less during conflict may be at heightened risk for SI. If replicated, social communication could provide a promising intervention target to reduce suicidality prospectively.

Detrimental impacts of early ecological adversity on children’s development are known, but our understanding of their mechanisms and factors contributing to multifinality of developmental trajectories triggered by adversity is incomplete. We examined longitudinal pathways from ecological adversity parents experienced when children were infants, measured as a cumulative index of fine-grained scores on several ecological risks, to children’s future self-regulation (SR) in 200 U.S. Midwestern community families (96 girls). Parents’ observed power-assertive styles were modeled as mediators, and their negative internal working models (IWMs) of the child, coded from interviews – as moderators. Both were assessed twice, at 16 months and at 3 years, to inform our understanding of their developmental timing. Children’s SR was reported by parents and observed at 4.5 years. Path analyses revealed moderated mediation in mother-child relationships: A path from higher early ecological adversity to elevated power assertion to children’s poorer SR was significant only for mothers with highly negative IWMs of the child. Maternal negative IWMs assessed early, at 16 months, moderated the link between ecological adversity and power assertion. Once elevated, maternal power assertion was stable through age 3 and not moderated by IWM at age 3. There were no significant effects in father-child relationships.

Individuals on the autism spectrum or with elevated autistic traits have shown difficulty in recognizing people’s facial emotions. They also tend to gravitate toward anime, a highly visual medium featuring animated characters whose facial emotions may be easier to distinguish. Because autistic traits overlap with alexithymia, or difficulty in identifying and describing feelings, alexithymia might explain the association between elevated autistic traits and difficulty with facial emotion recognition. The present study used a computerized task to first examine whether elevated autistic traits in a community sample of 247 adults were associated with less accurate emotion recognition of human but not anime faces. Results showed that individuals higher in autistic traits performed significantly worse on the human facial emotion recognition task, but no better or worse on the anime version. After controlling for alexithymia and other potentially confounding variables, autistic traits were no longer associated with performance on the facial emotion recognition tasks. However, alexithymia remained a significant predictor and fully mediated the relationship between autistic traits and emotion recognition of both human and anime faces. Findings suggest that interventions designed to help individuals on the autism spectrum with facial emotion recognition might benefit from targeting alexithymia and employing anime characters.

Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) stems from a bunch of restricted and repetitive behaviors, which are part of normal behavioral repertoire up to the age of 7. The persistence of compulsive-like behaviors after that age is often associated with unique comorbidity patterns, which are age-at-onset dependent and reflect different developmental stages. In particular, OCD synchronically co-occurs with a broad constellation of neurodevelopmental disorders, whereas diachronically it is related to an increased risk of major adult psychoses. Moreover, OCD is associated with trait-like sensory phenomena, suggesting a common disrupted sensorimotor grounding.

The present study is aimed at exploring the hypothesis that this specific temporal and comorbidity OCD profile may be due to a developmental heterochronic mechanism of delay in attenuation of ontogenetically early behavioral patterns. The developmental shift of highly evolutionarily conserved behavioral phenotypes might be regulated by epigenetic changes induced by different conditions of sensory unbalance. This evolutionary and developmental model allows capturing childhood OCD in light of the ultimate causes of ritual behavior throughout phylogeny, namely its “homeostatic” function over conditions of unpredictability. Moreover, it may have important clinical implications, as OCD symptoms could represent putative biomarkers of early divergent developmental trajectories, with a pathoplastic effect on course and outcome.

The Circle of Security – Parenting (COSP™) is a psychoeducational intervention aiming at fostering secure child-parent attachment relationships. In a randomized controlled trial, we investigate the effect of COSP™ as an adjunct to care-as-usual compared to only care-as-usual for at-risk families. Mothers and their 2–12-month-old infants were randomized into COSP™ +care-as-usual (n = 197) for at-risk families in Copenhagen or only care-as-usual (n = 100). At-risk status was either mothers diagnosed with postpartum depression and/or infants showed social withdrawal. The primary outcome was maternal sensitivity which was coded with the Coding Interactive Behavior. Our secondary outcomes were maternal reflective functioning, assessed with the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire – Infant Version, and child-mother attachment, assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure. Results showed no significant differences between the RCT groups on either the primary or secondary outcomes (all ps ≥ .146). We discuss these findings in relation to the applicability and targeted population who can benefit from COSP™, and whether alternative programs would be more effective for at-risk families with infants.

Difficulty with emotion regulation is a transdiagnostic problem associated with a variety of psychological disorders. The biosocial model suggests that early biological vulnerability, including impulsivity, may potentiate across development by transacting with environmental risk factors leading to the development of emotional dysregulation. During transition from late childhood to early adolescence, family may be a prominent source of environmental influences. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether trait impulsivity and family conflict influence each other in a transactional fashion over the span of two years (from age 9–10 to 11–12) using data collected from 6112 children and their caregivers through the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study. In an exploratory manner, the study also aimed to test whether the transactional process was different among children with high, moderate, or low levels of emotion regulation difficulties at age 12–13. Results supported a cross lagged transaction between trait impulsivity and family conflict among this sample of children but a lack of reciprocal paths among those with higher levels of emotion dysregulation. These results provided partial support for the biosocial model.

The present study examined several distinct indicators of regulation (i.e., task-based executive function, surveyed child effortful control, and surveyed household chaos) as moderators of longitudinal bidirectional links between developmental changes in harsh parenting (HP) and child externalizing behaviors (EXT) from age 9 to 14 years. The sample included 311 children (50.4% female; 111 White or European American; 97 Hispanic or Latino; 103 Black or African American). We conducted cross-lagged panel analyses and utilized multiple reporters (mother, father, and child). Regarding bidirectionality between HP and EXT, findings were mixed depending on informant, but overall more child effects than parent effects or bidirectional effects emerged. Child and household regulation moderated certain effects, providing initial evidence of the potential role of regulations in bidirectional links between HP and EXT. The present study adds impetus to considering child self-regulation and household chaos as critical features influencing the bidirectional link between parenting and child functioning.

This paper reports the methods and preliminary findings of Germina, an ongoing cohort study to identify biomarkers and trajectories of executive functions and language development in the first 3 years of life. 557 mother-infant dyads (mean age of mothers 33.7 years, 65.2% white, 48.7% male infants) have undergone baseline and are currently collecting data for other timepoints. A linear regression was used to predict baseline Bayley-III using scores derived from data-driven sparse partial least squares utilizing a multiple holdout framework of 15 domains. Significant associations were found between socioeconomic/demographic characteristics (B = 0.29), epigenetics (B = 0.11), EEG theta (B = 0.14) and beta activity (B = 0.11), and microbiome functional pathways (B = 0.08) domains, and infant development measured by the Bayley-III at T1, suggesting potential interventions to prevent impairments.

Childhood maltreatment, a significant distal risk factor for individual development, is potentially linked to maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (MCERS) and increased internalizing problems (i.e., depression and anxiety). Prior research has widely identified that MCERS mediate the link between childhood maltreatment and internalizing problems. However, this result overlooks the potential bidirectional relationship between MCERS and internalizing problems. In this study, we aim to explore whether childhood maltreatment longitudinally linked to internalizing problems through the mediating role of MCERS, or, conversely, was related to subsequent MCERS through internalizing problems. Gender differences in the associations between these variables were also examined. Participants were 892 adolescents from a longitudinal design with two waves (487 females, 405 males; Mage = 15.36, SDage = 1.43). Our results indicated that childhood maltreatment was longitudinally related to MCERS and internalizing problems. T1 MCERS mediated the relationship between T1 child maltreatment and T2 internalizing problems, while T1 internalizing problems also played a mediating role between T1 child maltreatment and T2 MCERS. These findings were also equivalent across genders. Taken together, childhood maltreatment was longitudinally associated with internalizing problems through MCERS, and also related to subsequent MCERS through internalizing problems.