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Support for children's rights is greater among children raised in democratic environments. The present two studies examined children's endorsements and predictors of children's rights. Five democratic competences taken from the Council of Europe's Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture served as predictors. We tested the models in a sample of children raised in five European countries and a sample raised in an African country, seeking to extend our model beyond the Global North. In Study 1, we found four of these five competences, namely, higher valuing of cultural diversity, civic‐mindedness, cultural openness and empathy significantly predicted higher endorsements of rights in children from Bulgaria, Italy, Norway, Romania and Spain (7–11‐year‐olds; N = 292). In Study 2, we found higher valuing of cultural diversity significantly predicted higher endorsements of rights in Nigerian children (7–14‐year‐olds; N = 84). Supporting Social Cognitive Domain Theory, children in both studies endorsed nurturance rights more than self‐determination rights. Inclusion of children from the Global North and South enabled us to determine whether patterns of rights endorsements were similar for children from both samples. Overall, this research presents novel findings on the salience of valuing cultural diversity in support for children's rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has impacted the world in many ways; for example, evidence from the United Kingdom indicates that higher rates of discriminatory behaviours against immigrants have been recorded during this period. Prior research suggests that political orientation and trust are instrumental in discriminatory beliefs against immigrants. A longitudinal study (six waves and a follow‐up) was conducted in the United Kingdom during the COVID‐19 pandemic (September 2020–August 2021) using convenience sampling (N = 383). The hypotheses enquired about whether political orientation predicts trust in government, trust in science and discriminatory beliefs. Multilevel regression and mediation analyses were conducted, using repeated measures nested within individuals. It was found that conservative views are associated with higher discriminatory beliefs, lower trust in science and higher trust in government. Furthermore, trust in science promotes reduction of discrimination, whereas trust in government, increases discriminatory beliefs. However, a nuance revealed by an interaction effect, shows that a positive alignment between political and scientific authorities may be required to reduce prejudice against immigrants. Exploratory multilevel mediation showed that trust is a mediator between political orientation and discriminatory beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breastfeeding has many known benefits, but rates vary globally. We propose two main reasons why psychological theory and interventions have not been successful to date in explaining breastfeeding behaviours. Specifically, prior research underestimates the importance of (1) specific emotions and (2) wider injunctive influences (i.e., societal and moral norms about what women feel they ought to be doing) in the breastfeeding experience. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies that explored whether injunctive norms and/ or specific emotions are associated with breastfeeding behaviours (i.e., intentions, initiation and duration). Seventy-two papers were included in this review; data were extracted and quality appraisals conducted for all included studies. A meta-analysis of effect sizes was performed with the quantitative data. A convergent qualitative synthesis of the data was conducted, resulting in the following line of argument: Breastfeeding is a social behaviour and not a personal/individual behaviour. From this line of argument, three themes with associated sub-themes were developed, highlighting the importance of both specific emotions and injunctive norms on breastfeeding behaviours. These influences are discussed in relation to both theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally the rates of breastfeeding duration are extremely low and postnatal mental health issues are common. As a result, it is important to examine the emotions that underlie these matters. Across two studies (one correlational study N = 160 and one experimental study N = 118), we examined participants' experiences of shame and guilt when feeding their baby, and the relationship between these emotions with breastfeeding behaviors and internalized stigma. We also examined the psychosocial factors that predict internalized stigma, and whether shame and guilt mediate these relationships. We focused on three factors that have been shown to be associated with internalized stigma in other domains: self‐esteem and social support (Study 1), as well as self‐efficacy (Study 2). Multiple regression revealed that experienced guilt uniquely predicted a shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding (Study 1). Higher self‐efficacy (Study 2), self‐esteem, and perceived social support (Study 1) predicted lower internalized stigma of feeding choice. We found that shame was a mediator for the self‐esteem and internalized stigma relationship (Study 1), while guilt was a mediator for the self‐efficacy and internalized stigma relationship (Study 2). Our findings highlight the importance of experienced shame and guilt in mothers' infant feeding experiences. The current results can inform future research and the design of interventions to improve breastfeeding rates and reduce feelings of stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]