Physiological synchrony, or concordance, among caregiver-child dyads involves the matching of biological states. Understanding this process is critical for enhancing our knowledge of the ways that the caregiver-child relationship supports child development. However, the meaning of physiological synchrony for child adjustment is poorly understood.…

Co-occurring problems with mood and anxiety among adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum are highly prevalent and contribute to poor outcomes and diminished quality of life. The current study's principal aim was to evaluate variation in the presentation of depression symptomatology among adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder,…

Maternal depressive symptoms predict negative child behaviors, including internalizing problems. However, protective factors, such as positive emotionality and positive parenting behaviors, may play an important a role in attenuating associations between maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems. This article presents two studies…

To determine whether children and adolescents (7-17 years old) who had experienced physical, sexual, or both types of abuse reflected distinct profiles of personal resiliency, we administered the "Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents" (RSCA) to 250 youth. We performed cluster analyses with T scores for the RSCA Self-Mastery,…

This study used a prospective adoption design to investigate effects of prenatal and postnatal parent depressive symptom exposure on child hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity and associated internalizing symptoms. Birth mother prenatal symptoms and adoptive mother/father postnatal (9-month, 27-month) symptoms were assessed with the Beck…

The sex-positive framework of sexual development hypothesizes that healthy sexual experiences can be developmentally appropriate and rewarding for adolescents despite the risks involved. Research has not examined whether risky behaviors and rewarding cognitions actually change with sexual debut at a normative or late age. This study measured the…

The authors identified trajectories of teacher-child relationship conflict and closeness from Grades 1 to 6, and associations between these trajectories and externalizing and internalizing behaviors at 11 years old among low-income, urban boys (N = 262). There were three main findings. Nagin cluster analyses indicated five trajectories for…

Mothers of medically at-risk infants were randomly assigned to a Healthy Start intervention (HV) or a cognitive reframing intervention (HV+). Outcome measures were taken at the conclusion of the intervention (1 year) and at the 3-year follow-up visit. At age 3, children in the HV+ condition (in comparison with those in the HV condition) showed…

Parental locus of control refers to parents' perceived power and efficacy in child-rearing situations. This study explored parental locus of control and its correlates in 160 mothers of children ages 8 to 14 cross-sectionally and 1 year later. Maternal depression, maternal expressed emotion, and child internalizing and externalizing behavior were…

We examined the extent to which infant attachment status is directly related to child conduct problems 6 years later, and assessed the potential mediating roles of hostile parenting and maternal depression. The sample included 84 adolescent mothers and their children (45 girls, 39 boys). Infant attachment status was assessed using the Strange…

This study examined whether the general stress--caregiver strain--mental health outcome model may be as appropriate for caregivers of minor-age children as it has been for caregivers of adults with chronic illness. The authors examined whether children's behavioral problems are related to mothers' caregiving strains, which then is related to…

Behavioural sleep problems (childhood insomnias) can cause distress for both parents and children. This paper reports a model describing predictors of high sleep problem scores in a representative population-based random sample survey of non-Aboriginal singleton children born in 1995 and 1996 (1085 girls and 1129 boys) in Western Australia.…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2016, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 30 of April to 2 of May, 2016. Psychology, nowadays, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and…