To examine developmental processes, intervention effects, or both, longitudinal studies often aim to include measurement intervals that are equally spaced for all participants. In reality, however, this goal is hardly ever met. Although different approaches have been proposed to deal with this issue, few studies have investigated the potential…

The important role of early self-regulation skills has been repeatedly demonstrated in research. However, there is a lack of studies that have simultaneously examined the influence of hot and cool self-regulation skills on school performance and behavior problems in a longitudinal design from preschool to elementary school and controlling…

Based on the temporal framework of transition experiences, this study tested time-graded patterns of family resource effects on children's and early adolescents' psychological adjustment during a time of multiple transitions. Using data of a longitudinal study including 2,020 German children covering the age span between 8 and 12 (n[subscript…

This study examined the incremental validity of different information and communication technologies (ICT)-related person characteristics over and above intelligence and and prior achievement when predicting ICT literacy across a period of three years. Relative weights analyses were performed to determine the relative contribution of each…

Loneliness is a stressful experience that appears to interfere with health and social integration (SI). Recently, researchers proposed that both antecedents and consequences of loneliness may change across the life span. To fully understand the processes related to loneliness it may thus be crucial to adopt an age-differentiated perspective. This…

The present article aims to show how to model longitudinal change in cohort sequential data applying latent true change models using Mplus' multi-group approach. The underlying modeling ideas are described and explained in this article. As an example, change in internalizing problem behaviors between the age of 8 and 13 years is modeled and…

This study examined the prospective links between maladaptive anger regulation and aggressive behavior in middle childhood over a 10-month period, analyzing the mediating influence of peer problems. Participants were 599 elementary school children in Germany, aged 6-10 years at Time 1 (T1) and 7-11 years at Time 2 (T2). Anger regulation at T1 was…

Self-concepts of ability (SCA) and intrinsic task values (ITV) are key determinants of students' choice of study program and dropout. Both constructs are multidimensional (i.e., specific to curricular learning content) and hierarchically structured (i.e., aggregate into one or more higher-order factors). The present study investigated German…

The present work broadens previous research on students' mastery goals and intrinsic motivation by exploring their reciprocal effects using a longitudinal approach. To this end, a study using four measurement points was conducted during 10 weeks of one semester. The sample comprised 1156 students enrolled in psychology courses at a medium-sized…

Theory of mind is one of the most important cognitive factors in social information-processing, and deficits in theory of mind have been linked to aggressive behavior in childhood. The present longitudinal study investigated reciprocal links between theory of mind and two forms of aggression--physical and relational--in middle childhood with three…

To support prospective teachers' professional development, teacher education should be characterised by conditions that help to prevent burnout and facilitate satisfaction. This study investigates predictors of burnout and satisfaction in teacher education by drawing on universities with different teacher education programme structures and assumed…

Enjoyment is one of the most relevant and frequently experienced discrete emotions for both teachers and students in classroom learning contexts. Based on theories of emotion transmission between interaction partners, we propose a reciprocal effects model linking teachers' and students' enjoyment in class. The model suggests that there are…

Reading comprehension is a self-regulated activity that depends on the proactive effort of the reader. Therefore, the authors studied the effects of personal initiative (PI) on the development of reading comprehension, mediated by reading strategy knowledge. Structural equation modelling was applied to a longitudinal study with two data waves…

Being surrounded by peers who are accepting of aggression is a significant predictor of the development and persistence of aggression in childhood and adolescence. Whereas past research has focused on social reinforcement mechanisms as the underlying processes, the present longitudinal study analysed the role of external control beliefs as an…

Executive functions (EFs) may help children to regulate their food-intake in an "obesogenic" environment, where energy-dense food is easily available. There is mounting evidence that overweight is associated with diminished hot and cool EFs, and several longitudinal studies found evidence for a predictive effect of hot EFs on children's…