School absenteeism among children and adolescents has been associated with a myriad of adverse outcomes. Despite a substantial amount of research on school attendance, our understanding of absenteeism in elementary-aged children with mental health difficulties is limited. The current study used a mixed-method sequential explanatory design to gain…

Effective communication is a fundamental aspect of children's daily living, enabling interaction with adults and peers. A rich literature suggests that communicative abilities develop with age, while little is known about cross-cultural differences and similarities. This study presents a comparison of the communicative performance of Finnish (n =…

Parental engagement in stimulating activities and support in both formal and informal learning environments are important for early childhood development. However, little is known about how parental mental health and beliefs about early childhood development shape such investments. We draw on a sample of young children and their primary caregiver…

The results of studies on early competences suggest that the child's delay of gratification (DoG) ability is a major predictor of school readiness (SR). However, there are no direct data or convincing explanations as to how DoG translates into preschool children's readiness to commence school education. Aiming at a better understanding of the…

Digital technology systems are adopted rapidly throughout the globe for the virtual learning process especially with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital screen-based gadgets are integrated to provide a seamless interactive medium of learning even before the initiation of formal education. Studies on the technology use of younger…

There is now wide consensus that the quality of family relationships is involved in the development of child executive functioning (EF), a set of cognitive skills that bear critical importance for social and academic adjustment at school. This body of research has, however, focused almost exclusively on dyadic parent-child interactions and failed…

Differentiation hypotheses concern changes in the structural organization of cognitive abilities that depend on the level of general intelligence (ability differentiation) or age (developmental differentiation). Part 1 of this article presents a review of the literature on ability and developmental differentiation effects in children, revealing…

Overweight and obesity have been reported to be more prevalent in populations with autism spectrum disorder than in children with typical development. The aim of this study was to compare the anthropometric status of children with autism spectrum disorder (diagnosed and subclinical) and children with typical development and analyse which variables…

Previous research has shown that the majority of 8-year-old children share valuable resources equally with others, whereas 4-year-olds are more likely to favor themselves in their sharing allocations. In this study, we examine whether these patterns of sharing behavior are affected by the needs of the recipient or by the recipient's previous moral…

This paper examines the child development outcomes of two cohorts of children who were exposed to the same intervention at different points in time. One cohort was eligible to access playgroups during the first year of a five-year project cycle, beginning at age four. The other cohort became eligible to access these services during the third year…

There is no current estimation about the impact of prematurity on a child's development in Lebanon.This study describes the developmental profile of 82 former preterm-born children aged between 2 and 8 years. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, third edition (WPPSI-III) and Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL for ages…

Data from a large-scale, longitudinal research study with an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample were utilized to explore linkages between maternal elaborative conversational style and the development of children's autobiographical and deliberate memory. Assessments were made when the children were aged 3, 5, and 6 years old, and the…

Late identification of children with ASD remains a concern. Due to limited research in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as South Africa (SA), the early management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should be further explored. The aim was to describe the demographic characteristics and early management of ASD that may influence…

Imagery research with children has been primarily examined within a structured physical activity context. However, researchers have begun to investigate children's imagery use in their active play (i.e., unstructured leisure-time physical activity). The objective of the present article was to develop a conceptual model of active play imagery--the…

Children with autism spectrum disorder have a high risk of vision problems yet little is known about their vision care. This cross-sectional survey study, therefore, examined vision care among 351 children with autism spectrum disorder ages 6-17 years in the United States or Canada who were enrolled in the Autism Treatment Network Registry. Vision…