We tested whether adoptive parenting played a role in the association between pre-adoption experiences and children's adaptive (responsiveness) and maladaptive (internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems, attention and sleep problems) behavioral adjustment over time. Ten-year-old girls, adopted at 13 months from institutional care (n =…

A preschool child who is healthy and ready to learn demonstrates the ability to regulate their behavior and emotions, key social and emotional competencies, motor skills, health, and early learning skills. Because healthy development across these domains is more challenging for some children than for others, it is valuable to understand which…

This study explored the relationship between electronic media use, sleep and behaviour in preschool-aged children between the ages of three and five years. The primary hypothesis of this study was that excessive electronic media use (>2 hours a day) would positively correlate with sleep patterns (in particular, disturbances) and negative…

Background: Sleep affects children's cognitive development, preparedness for school and future academic outcomes. People with Down syndrome (DS) are particularly at risk for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). To our knowledge, the association between SDB and cognition in preschoolers with DS is unknown. Methods: We assessed sleep by using…

Clear associations of sleep, cognitive performance, and behavioral problems have been demonstrated in meta-analyses of studies in adults. This meta-analysis is the first to systematically summarize all relevant studies reporting on sleep, cognition, and behavioral problems in healthy school-age children (5-12 years old) and incorporates 86 studies…

Many children and youth have difficulty controlling emotions and impulsive behavior. Brain science is shining new light on the process by which children develop self-regulation and controls from within. This article expands upon Fritz Redl and David Wineman's pioneering work aiding children in the development of flexible and effective controls…

Many newly arrived international adoptees (IA) have difficulties with eating, sleeping, and self-soothing/self-stimulating (SS) behaviors. However, to date the prevalence of these problems and associated risk factors have not been clearly identified. Therefore, we proposed to evaluate 387 IA for the presence of these self-regulation and behavioral…

More than ever before, leaders within the field of education are looking to research on basic processes to inform and improve educational practices. Success requires building a reciprocal relationship between the field of education and research on learning and development, similar to what exists between biology and medicine. Key to this effort is…

Sleeping, eating, and toileting battles frustrate most adults--mainly because they cannot make children do it. Falling asleep (or not) is within a child's control. The same is true for chewing and swallowing, or withholding and releasing urine and feces. Sleeping, Eating, and Toileting (S.E.T.) create lots of frustration. An exhausted adult wants…

Development and behavior during the first 2 years of life was assessed retrospectively by the parents to 23 adolescents and young adults with Asperger syndrome and 13 typically developing adolescents and young adults. The groups were matched on chronological age and the participants were within the normal range of intelligence. The questionnaire,…

Co-existence of disorders--including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, tic disorder, developmental coordination disorder, and autism spectrum disorder--and sharing of symptoms across disorders (sometimes referred to as comorbidity) is the rule rather than the exception in child psychiatry and developmental…

It is well known that adults with sleep disturbances frequently exhibit a wide range of neurocognitive decrements, and that these deficits are potentially reversible with effective treatment. However, the consequences of respiratory sleep disturbances on neurocognitive function in children have only recently been evaluated, and suggest a strong…

Behavioural sleep problems (childhood insomnias) can cause distress for both parents and children. This paper reports a model describing predictors of high sleep problem scores in a representative population-based random sample survey of non-Aboriginal singleton children born in 1995 and 1996 (1085 girls and 1129 boys) in Western Australia.…