Research Findings: Empathy plays an important role in children's early social-emotional development. However, there are not many instruments available for measuring the different aspects/levels of empathy in preschool children. Moreover, few studies examined the validity of the existing measures for empathy in Chinese children. The present study…

The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of mutual relations within the Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) (first network) and between adolescent mental health problems and PSU (second network). The invariance of both networks was investigated across age, gender, and severity of symptoms. The participants were 708 Romanian adolescents…

Sense of coherence (SOC) is a relevant contributor and predictor of the individuals' mental and physical health. There are a number of studies about SOC, but only two validation articles of the sense of coherence scale (SOCS) were found on adolescents and none on children. The aim of this research was to validate the SOC scale in youth under 18.…

Background: The research involved 170 adolescents from Brazil and Ecuador, ages 12 to 19, comprising 87 Brazilians and 83 Ecuadorians, with a gender distribution of 95 females and 75 males. Purpose: Examine the correlation between impulsivity, emotional symptoms, and the use of alcohol and drugs among teenagers in these countries. Methods:…

At all ages, a child who can sustain attention, regulate emotions, inhibit impulsive behaviour, and relate appropriately to adults and peers is able to take advantage of learning opportunities in the classroom, and beyond. This study assesses differences in children's socio-emotional development according to family background, and whether early…

Autism is a heterogeneous diagnosis with symptoms that present in different ways. There is a large variety of interventions for autistic individuals. However, little is known about who chooses which specific interventions. We aimed to explore intervention prevalence and predict intervention use, based on demographic and autism-specific…

This exploratory study assesses the utility of the U.S. version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) teacher form as a screener for mental health and behavior concerns. The SDQ was administered to a heavily economically vulnerable, Latinx community sample of 391 students in grades K-6. Internal reliability and differences by sex…

This study used a longitudinal probability sample survey, "Understanding Society: COVID-19," to examine trajectories in adolescents' mental health, via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, at three timepoints during COVID-19 with a particular emphasis on vulnerable groups (i.e., young carers, adolescent girls, BAME--Black, Asian…

Rates of children identified as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continue to increase in both medical and school settings. While procedures for providing a medical diagnosis are relatively consistent throughout the United States, the process for determining special education eligibility under an ASD classification varies by state, with many…

Reading difficulties are linked to several disadvantages in the general population. Less is known about correlates of reading difficulties in individuals with intellectual and severe developmental disabilities (IDD). Vocabulary and word reading were assessed in 112 adolescents with IDD, recruited from Special needs comprehensive schools in Sweden…

Both parasympathetic nervous system regulation and receipt of social support from close relationships contribute to prosocial development, although few studies have examined their combined influences in adolescence and particularly within racially and ethnically minoritized populations. In this longitudinal study of 229 U.S. Mexican-origin…

Children 'in care' have, on average, lower educational attainment than their peers. This article tests the hypothesis that many of these children can 'catch-up', if in stable placements and secondary schools 'apparently effective' with other children with 'similar' difficulties. In a cohort of 542,998 16-year-old English children in mainstream…

Research has identified at least three patterns of direct involvement in bullying and victimization: bullying, bullying-victimized, and predominantly victimized. However, little is known about risk and protective factors for these patterns. As such, the goals of the present study were to establish these patterns and examine risk and protective…

While studies have used assessments on gender differences regarding social and emotional development, there remains a lack of research on the abilities as well as difficulties that are expressed by pre-school aged boys and girls. This study examines the influence of gender on the development of social and emotional competencies during pre-school.…

The present study explored variations in the characteristics of teacher-nominated shy students. Participants were N = 329 teachers from 303 elementary schools across Norway. Teachers were first asked to select a current (or previously taught) student who was considered "shy," and then rated different aspects of this child's school…