Objective: Physical activity (PA) is essential to promote both optimal physical and emotional health in preschool children. Hence, well-founded PA guidelines are essential. 24-hour Movement Guidelines (which include PA, recreational screen time and sleep) have been established. Thus, this study aimed to explore preschool-aged children's adherence…

Background: The longitudinal impact of fetal growth on attention problems in males and females is unclear. This study aims to evaluate the impact of fetal growth assessed by neonatal anthropometry throughout childhood and adolescence in males and females separately. Methods: We compared neonatal anthropometry (birth weight (BW), head circumference…

Creativity is recognised as a key facet of the suite of 21st century skills driving education worldwide. Understanding its existence outside of The Arts is vital for recognising young children's creativity. However, what constitutes creativity and what it 'looks like' is not always clear. As a result, inconsistency and lack of efficacy when…

We conducted a meta-analytic review of 53 studies published between 2000 and 2020 to quantify associations of parents' emotion regulation with parenting behavior and children's emotion regulation and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Twelve meta-analyses, which included between 4 to 22 effect sizes (N from 345 to 3609), were conducted to…

This longitudinal study of Australian families (n = 1,884, from age 6-12) examined how fathers' and mothers' quantitative involvement (time spent on childcare) and qualitative involvement (specific parenting behaviors) relate to children's emotional adjustment development. We used dynamic structural equation modeling to disentangle stable…

Mounting evidence finds that early life environmental factors increased the probability of autism spectrum disorder. We estimated prospective associations between early life environmental factors and autism spectrum disorder symptoms in children at the age of 2 years in a population-derived birth cohort, the Barwon Infant Study. Autism spectrum…

More boys than girls are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder; however, there are conflicting findings about whether they differ in their presentation. This study involved a survey of parents of school-aged children on the autism spectrum (171 parents of girls and 163 parents of boys) that was distributed via social media. The surveys provided…

The objective of this study is to examine the trajectory of internalizing problems across middle childhood among a population sample of Australian children, and to understand the timing of explanatory factors related to children's development of internalizing problems, by using multiple-indicator latent growth curve modeling. Participants were…

Speech sound disorders are a common communication difficulty in preschool children. Teachers indicate difficulty identifying and supporting these children. The aim of this research was to describe speech and language characteristics of children identified by their parents and/or teachers as having possible communication concerns. 275 Australian 4-…

This study investigated whether host and heritage cultural orientations were associated with Chinese preschoolers' social competence and whether such associations varied across gender in Western contexts. Ninety-six Chinese-Australian children aged 36-69 months from 15 childcare centres in Sydney participated in the study. The General Ethnicity…

Conduct problems in childhood are associated with the way in which children engage in daily activities. Research, to date, on conduct problems in relation to time use has primarily focused on school aged children and their participation in discrete activities such as watching TV and sport. The purpose of the present study is to determine if…

The aim of this study was to examine associations between ostracism, internalising problems, and threat to primary needs (belonging, control, self-esteem, meaningful existence) in children (N= 165, M age = 9 years). Ostracism was simulated experimentally using the Cyberball paradigm--a computer-based ball-throwing game--and threats to primary…

This study examined the association between typical parental work hours (including nonemployed parents) and children's behavior in two-parent heterosexual families. Child behavior was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 5, 8, and 10 in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study ("N" = 4,201 child-year…

Objective: This study examines the association between maternal anxiety from pregnancy to 5 years and child attention problems at 5 and 14 years. Method: Birth cohort of 3,982 individuals born in Brisbane between 1981 and 1983 are assessed. Self-reported measures of maternal anxiety are assessed at four time points. Maternal reports of child…

Evidence-based parent-training programmes aim to reduce child behaviour problems; however, the effects of these programmes are often limited by poor participation rates. This study proposes a model of parent, child and family factors related to parental participation in parenting interventions. A computer-assisted telephone interview was used to…