Friendships assume a salient role in well-being during mid-adolescence. This research examined (a) how friendship quality (stressful vs. supportive) is differentially associated with mid-adolescents' social adjustment (engagement in antisocial vs. prosocial behavior); (b) the extent to which these associations are contingent on individual…

In the context of increasing emotional vulnerability and social adjustment difficulties among university students in China, there is a growing need to understand the psychosocial mechanisms that support holistic student development. Physical exercise has been widely recognized not only for its physiological benefits but also for its potential role…

This study investigated the experiences of college-student mentors to gain a nuanced understanding of 'humility' in higher education (HE) and to illuminate how it operates within mentoring dyads. Seventeen mentors, comprising both undergraduate (9) and graduate (8) students, were interviewed in this exploratory qualitative research. One-on-one…

Mental health promotion interventions have some evidence of improving well-being outcomes among children in humanitarian settings. Yet, are they sufficient to ensure health equity, particularly in contexts of structural oppression and protracted displacement? We describe "Qaderoon" (We Are Capable), a year-long social skills building…

Purpose: Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience challenges with facial emotion recognition (FER), which may exacerbate social difficulties in ASD. Few studies have examined whether FER can be experimentally manipulated and improved for autistic people. This study utilized a randomized controlled trial design to examine…

Using two intact offerings of an engineering course for a treatment class and a comparison class at a U.S. university, the current study examined the effects of instructional interventions on students' self- and peer-assessed intercultural competence while completing a group design project. Undergraduate students enrolled in a semester-long…

Although children with Williams syndrome (WS) are strongly socially motivated, many have friendship difficulties. The parents of 21 children with WS and 20 of the children themselves participated in a semi-structured interview about the children's friendships. Parents reported that their child had difficulties sustaining friendships and low levels…

Sense of belonging among undergraduate college students improves the likelihood of retention and graduation, along with the overall association with positive mental health and well-being. College students build a sense of belonging with their peers through various forms of involvement opportunities, including informal campus recreation activities.…

Neighborhood is a key context where children learn to process social information; however, the field has largely overlooked the ways children's individual characteristics might be moderated by neighborhood effects. We examined 1,030 six- to 11-year-olds (48.7% female; 82% White) twin pairs oversampled for neighborhood disadvantage from the Twin…

Many studies have linked quality in early childhood education and care [ECEC] to school performance, but the mechanisms of how ECEC process quality affects children in ways that lead to improved school performance is unclear. In this study on 7431 children in Norway, we test the hypothesis that the relation between process quality in ECEC and…

Professional identity is essential for a qualified teacher; however, the imbalance between job resources and demands is a serious impediment to promoting teachers' professional identity. Given that personal job resources (i.e., teachers' socioemotional competence and psychological capital) and challenging job demands (homeroom/non-homeroom…

This paper reports on a systematic review of the early childhood teacher education (ECTE) literature that explores what teacher educators have been doing to shift the curriculum away from developmental perspectives to more critical approaches. Twenty-three empirical studies were coded and analysed. It was found that most studies were qualitative…

Currently, there are no existing measures to screen for or diagnose Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder (SPCD). We conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the Social Communication Disorder Screener (SCDS), a 14-item, parent-report measure based on the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for SPCD. This EFA examined the internal consistency…

Many autistic college students struggle with academics, mental health, and career development. Despite a proliferation of peer mentoring programs, there is little consensus as to what approaches are effective and even less published data on the impact of such programs on student outcomes. The purpose of this review is to describe peer mentoring…

The Global Agenda 2030 has set out a common pathway that delineates the type of vocational training that higher education institutions (HEIs) should provide to respond to the challenges it sets. Rankings and other metrics are concerned with examining the quality of higher education in terms of research standards or international accreditation.…