Globally, an estimated 15 million children are born prematurely each year, resulting in a high burden of under-five mortality and neurodevelopmental disability. Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a key intervention to support the development of preterm infants. However, evidence on the impact of KMC in routine care settings remains limited. This paper…

We assessed whether the negative association between maternal postpartum depression (PPD) and infants' development of joint attention (gaze following) generalizes from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) to Majority World contexts. The study was conducted in Bhutan (N = 105, M = 278 days, 52% males) but also draws from…

Research Findings: This study investigated the sequential mediating effects of parental material investment (MI) and time investment (TI) upon the correlation between family socioeconomic status (SES) and toddlers' development (TD). Data derived from a 2016 data set, including a sample of 1,316 toddlers based in 117 villages across 22 counties…

Aim: To investigate developmental trajectories in early childhood and predictors of class assignment. Methods: Data were available for Gen2 infants at 12 (n = 2275), 24 (n = 1845) and 36 (n = 2110) months of age in the Raine Study. Latent growth class analysis was used to identify developmental trajectories based on the Ages and Stages…

The earliest experiences of children can ensure their future success, and parenting is noted to be an influential factor (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Lamb et al., 2002). Many researchers theorized that parental involvement could encourage children to actively engage and improve their academic achievement in schools (Epstein, 2018). However, less…

The authors of this study examined the relationship between motor imitation behaviors and social communication behaviors in 15-18-month-old infants, using a quantitative correlational research design. Imitation behaviors have been shown to be an index of later social cognition and language development, and a critical mechanism in language learning…

Previous research assessing consequences of interpregnancy intervals (IPIs) on child development is mixed. Utilizing a population-based US sample (n = 5339), we first estimate the associations between background characteristics (e.g. sociodemographic and maternal characteristics) and short ([less than or equal to]1 year) and long (>3 years)…

Mind-mindedness (MM), the parent's propensity to treat their young child as an individual with a mind of their own, has repeatedly been found to be positively associated with subsequent child development outcomes. In the current Swedish study, the first aim was to investigate the main features of MM in this cultural context and the second aim was…

Sensitive caregiving is an essential aspect of positive parenting that influences executive functions development, but the mechanisms underlying this association are less clear. Using data from the Family Life Project, a large prospective longitudinal sample of 1292 families residing in rural, predominately low-income communities, the current…

Purpose: This study evaluates the extent to which automated indices of vocal development are stable and valid for predicting language in infants at increased familial likelihood for autism and/or language impairment and relatively lower likelihood infants. Method: A group of infants with autistic siblings (Sibs-autism; 20 infants) and a comparison…

This study compared mother, infant, and dyad interactions between infants with and without biological risk, considering contextual factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-two infants with biological risk and 33 without risk (average age 5.6 months) were evaluated via remote video assessments. Results showed that infants without biological…

Although it is well established that reading with young children supports early language and literacy development, few studies have focused on the importance of parental beliefs about reading with infants. The current study, which sheds light on parental beliefs had three main aims. The first was to examine practices of shared reading in infancy…

Puerperium may lead to memory and executive/attentional complaints that interfere with women's daily life. This might be prevented by dietary compounds, such as neuroprotective polyphenols. Their bioactivity depends on their effects on lipid metabolism in different tissues, such as the brain, fat, and breast. Thus, a polyphenol-related cognitive…

Modern developmental science is informed by several shared principles and adopts a lifespan approach that goes from infancy to senescence. Increasingly, disciplines outside psychology are adopting research frameworks (e.g., fetal origins, developmental origins of health and disease, first 1000 days) that prioritize prenatal experience as a driver…

Multiple domains develop simultaneously and interact throughout infancy and early childhood. Although relationships between motor and language skills have been examined cross-sectionally during the first three years of life, little is known regarding the individual factors that influence the development of these domains as well as the relationship…