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This study examined the longitudinal associations of various executive function components with subsequent psychiatric problems in Chinese school-age children. Data from 1,639 children (44.36% girls) ages 6-13 years were drawn from the Children School Functions and Brain Development project. Executive function components were assessed by the cancellation test, the Corsi test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Psychiatric problems were determined by parent report. All assessments were administered twice, separated by a 1-year interval. Cross-lagged panel models showed that cognitive flexibility and general psychiatric problems (general p) mutually predicted each other. Worse inhibitory control at baseline significantly predicted more externalizing problems 1 year later, regardless of age, while externalizing problems did not significantly predict inhibitory control 1 year later. Working memory at baseline did not significantly predict internalizing problems and vice versa. These findings demonstrate that better inhibitory control may help to prevent or reduce externalizing problems in Chinese school-age children and that higher cognitive flexibility may help to mitigate general psychiatric problems.

The modular structure of functional connectomes in the human brain undergoes substantial reorganization during development. However, previous studies have implicitly assumed that each region participates in one single module, ignoring the potential spatial overlap between modules. How the overlapping functional modules develop and whether this development is related to gray and white matter features remain unknown. Using longitudinal multimodal structural, functional, and diffusion MRI data from 305 children (aged 6 to 14 years), we investigated the maturation of overlapping modules of functional networks and further revealed their structural associations. An edge-centric network model was used to identify the overlapping modules, and the nodal overlap in module affiliations was quantified using the entropy measure. We showed a regionally heterogeneous spatial topography of the overlapping extent of brain nodes in module affiliations in children, with higher entropy (i.e., more module involvement) in the ventral attention, somatomotor, and subcortical regions and lower entropy (i.e., less module involvement) in the visual and default-mode regions. The overlapping modules developed in a linear, spatially dissociable manner, with decreased entropy (i.e., decreased module involvement) in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, ventral prefrontal cortex, and putamen and increased entropy (i.e., increased module involvement) in the parietal lobules and lateral prefrontal cortex. The overlapping modular patterns captured individual brain maturity as characterized by chronological age and were predicted by integrating gray matter morphology and white matter microstructural properties. Our findings highlight the maturation of overlapping functional modules and their structural substrates, thereby advancing our understanding of the principles of connectome development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although growth mindset (i.e., the belief that intelligence can be developed) has been shown to play an important role in academic achievement, little is known about the underlying mediating and/or moderating mechanisms in adolescents. The current study investigated (a) the mediating role of reasoning ability in the relationship between growth mindset and academic achievement, and (b) the moderating role of self-affirmation in the direct and indirect relationships between growth mindset and academic achievement. Participants were 1828 Chinese adolescents (age, M = 16.88; 59.4% male). Participants filled out questionnaires regarding growth mindset, academic achievement, reasoning ability, and self-affirmation. After controlling for age, sex, annual family income, hukou (household registered), and parent's educational level, we found that growth mindset was significantly positively associated with academic achievement. Mediation analysis revealed that reasoning ability partially mediated this relationship. Growth mindset (incremental theories of intelligence) significantly predicted academic achievement in adolescents with high self-affirmation, but not in those with low self-affirmation. Moderated mediation analysis further indicated that the direct and indirect relationships between growth mindset and academic achievement were moderated by self-affirmation. The indirect effect of growth mindset on academic achievement via reasoning ability was stronger for adolescents with high self-affirmation than in those with low self-affirmation., Author(s): Daoyang Wang [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Fangqi Yuan [sup.2] , Yanpei Wang [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.410595.c, 0000 0001 2230 9154, College of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, , 310018, [...]

Background : The trajectory of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children and adolescents, encompassing descending, stable, and ascending patterns, delineates their ADHD status as remission, persistence or late onset. However, the neural and genetic underpinnings governing the trajectory of ADHD remain inadequately elucidated. Methods: In this study, we employed neuroimaging techniques, behavioral assessments, and genetic analyses on a cohort of 487 children aged 6–15 from the Children School Functions and Brain Development project at baseline and two follow-up tests for 1 year each (interval 1: 1.14 ± 0.32 years; interval 2: 1.14 ± 0.30 years). We applied a Latent class mixed model (LCMM) to identify the developmental trajectory of ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents, while investigating the neural correlates through gray matter volume (GMV) analysis and exploring the genetic underpinnings using polygenic risk scores (PRS). Results: This study identified three distinct trajectories (ascending-high, stable-low, and descending-medium) of ADHD symptoms from childhood through adolescence. Utilizing the linear mixed-effects (LME) model, we discovered that attention hub regions served as the neural basis for these three developmental trajectories. These regions encompassed the left anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex (ACC/mPFC), responsible for inhibitory control; the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL), which facilitated conscious focus on exogenous stimuli; and the bilateral middle frontal gyrus/precentral gyrus (MFG/PCG), accountable for regulating both dorsal and ventral attention networks while playing a crucial role in flexible modulation of endogenous and extrinsic attention. Furthermore, our findings revealed that individuals in the ascending-high group exhibited the highest PRS for ADHD, followed by those in the descending-medium group, with individuals in the stable-low group displaying the lowest PRS. Notably, both ascending-high and descending-medium groups had significantly higher PRS compared to the stable-low group. Conclusions: The developmental trajectory of ADHD symptoms in the general population throughout childhood and adolescence can be reliably classified into ascending-high, stable-low, and descending-medium groups. The bilateral MFG/PCG, left ACC/mPFC, and right IPL may serve as crucial brain regions involved in attention processing, potentially determining these trajectories. Furthermore, the ascending-high pattern of ADHD symptoms exhibited the highest PRS for ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the reliability and construct validity of the Chinese version of the subjective health complaints (SHCs) scale in children. A total of 851 children completed the self-reported subjective health complaints questionnaire (SHCs-C), and 572 parents completed the subjective health complaints questionnaire (SHCs-P), and reported well-being and depression of children using the Children's Subjective Well-Being Scale and the Children's Depression Inventory, respectively. After 2-3 weeks, 237 children and their fathers/mothers participated in a retest. We explored the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the SHCs-C and SHCs-P. The structure of the questionnaire was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling. The present study showed that the two-factor model (SHCs-Psycho and SHCs-somatic) fit the data better than the one-factor model. SHCs-C had the advantage of providing a better fit to the data than the one-factor model. Similarly, the SHCs-P scale of the two-factor CFA fit indices was better than that of the one-factor model. The Chinese version of the SHCs-P and SHCs-C had adequate internal reliability for the two dimensions (SHCs-Psycho and SHCs-somatic), with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.72-0.80, and with test-retest correlations of 0.57-0.79. The concurrent validity of the Chinese version of the SHCs-C was supported by significant correlations with depression (r = 0.29-0.52) and well-being (r = 0.17-0.46). The Chinese version of the SHCs-C had better adaptability than that of the original English version, but similar reliability coefficients and construct and convergent validity. The Chinese version of the SHCs-C showed acceptable psychometric properties to measure Chinese children's personality., Author(s): Daoyang Wang [sup.1] [sup.2], Cuicui Wang [sup.3], Shaoyue Chen [sup.1], Chenyi Zuo [sup.1], Dan Dong [sup.1], Yanpei Wang [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.440646.4, 0000 0004 1760 6105, College of [...]