Given that maternal support promotes healthy social and emotional development in early childhood, it is important to understand the predictors of such support, especially during emotional challenges. In this study, mothers' dispositional distress reactivity (i.e., the tendency toward experiencing distress in response to children's negative…

Theorists argue that parental reflective functioning (PRF) is activated in response to emotions, potentially supporting parenting sensitivity even when arousal is high. That is, when parents become emotionally reactive when interacting with their children, those who can use PRF to understand their children's mental states should be able to parent…

This research examined whether a memorable and unexpected change (deviation details) presented during 1 instance of a repeated event facilitated children's memory for that instance and whether a repeated event facilitated children's memory for deviation details. In Experiments 1 and 2, 8-year-olds (N = 167) watched 1 or 4 live magic shows.…

The current study aimed to substantiate and extend our understanding regarding the existence and developmental pathways of 3 distinct temperament profiles--exuberant, inhibited, and average approach--in a sample of 3.5-year-old children (n = 121). The interactions between temperamental styles and specific types of effortful control, inhibitory…

Although social difficulties have been identified as sequelae of children's experiences with interparental conflict and insecurity, little is known about the specific mechanisms underlying their vulnerability to social problems. Guided by emotional security theory, this study tested the hypothesis that children's emotional insecurity mediates…

Guided by a dyadic view of children's peer behavior, this study assessed actor and partner effects of attachment security and temperament on young children's behavior with an unfamiliar peer. At 33 months of age, child-mother attachment security was assessed via a modified Strange Situation procedure, and parents reported on child temperament…

Using both traditional composites and novel profiles of anger, we examined associations between infant anger and preschool behavior problems in a large, longitudinal data set (N = 966). We also tested the role of life stress as a moderator of the link between early anger and the development of behavior problems. Although traditional measures of…

The goal of this study was to examine physiological and environmental predictors of children's sympathy (an emotional response consisting of feelings of concern or sorrow for others who are distressed or in need) and whether temperamental effortful control mediated these relations. Specifically, in a study of 192 children (23% Hispanic; 54%…

This study drew on prospective, longitudinal data to test the hypothesis that the intergenerational transmission of positive parenting is mediated by competence in subsequent relationships with peers and romantic partners. Interview-based ratings of supportive parenting were completed with a sample of 113 individuals (46% male) followed from birth…

Using data from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin girls (ages 11-17 at Time 1), we examined sociocultural (i.e., family structure, nativity, and acculturation), interpersonal (i.e., supportive parenting and conflict), and developmental (i.e., menarche timing and autonomy expectations) predictors of sexual initiation. Using Cox proportional…

Conceptual change requires learners to restructure parts of their conceptual knowledge base. Prior research has identified the fragmentation and the integration of knowledge as 2 important component processes of knowledge restructuring but remains unclear as to their relative importance and the time of their occurrence during development. Previous…

The literature proposes that leisure boredom may systematically increase during adolescence. Moreover, some authors assume that this hypothesized developmental trend is associated with increases in youthful delinquency and depression. Individual dispositions (e.g., temperamental disinhibition) are believed to exacerbate the relationship between…

Perceived control plays an important role for health across adulthood and old age. However, little is known about the factors that account for such associations and whether changes in control (or control trajectory) uniquely predict major health outcomes over and above mean levels of control. Using data from the nationwide Americans' Changing…

Consistent with a Diathesis × Stress model, it was hypothesized that anxious solitude (individual vulnerability) and the middle school transition (environmental stress) would jointly predict peer exclusion and victimization trajectories. Youth (N = 688) were followed from 3rd through 7th grade, with the middle school transition in 6th grade.…