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To be a desirable social partner and develop healthy relationships with peers, a child must be able to engage with peers across a variety of contexts. Understanding the factors supporting high levels of social engagement with peers is thereby essential, requiring the development of nuanced and ecologically valid indices of social engagement. Building on recent adult work, the current study explores conversational response time as a novel index of children's social engagement with peers in a dyadic context. This study further explores relationship between conversational response time and children's shyness. Fifty‐six 9‐ to 11‐year‐old children interacted with an unfamiliar peer in an unstructured setting and completed a self‐report measure of shyness. Children's behaviour was coded for their conversational RTs and overall social engagement. Faster conversational RTs were significantly related to children's own social engagement and marginally related to their partners' engagement. Moreover, higher shyness in children's partners predicted faster conversational RTs in children themselves. New directions for using conversational RT as an index of children's social engagement and implications for accounts children's social development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperamental style characterized by cautious and fearful behaviors in novel situations. The present multi‐method, longitudinal study examined whether young children's observed and parent‐reported BI in social versus non‐social contexts predicts different long‐term psychosocial outcomes. Participants (N = 279) were drawn from a longitudinal study of socioemotional development. BI in social contexts ("social BI") was measured via children's observed wariness toward unfamiliar adults and peers at 24 and 36 months and parents' reports of children's social fear/shyness at 24, 36, and 48 months. BI in non‐social contexts ("non‐social BI") was measured via children's observed fearful responses to masks and novel toys, and parents' reports of children's distress to non‐social novelty at 9 months and non‐social fear at 48 months. At 15 years, anxiety was assessed via adolescent‐ and parent‐reports, and global internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed via parent‐reports. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a two‐factor model fit the BI data significantly better than a single‐factor model, providing evidence for the dissociation of BI in social versus non‐social contexts. Social BI was uniquely associated with adolescent social anxiety, whereas non‐social BI was specifically associated with adolescent separation anxiety. Neither social BI nor non‐social BI predicted global internalizing and externalizing problems, providing evidence for the specific relations between BI and anxiety problems. Together, these results suggest that young children's inhibited responses in social versus non‐social situations predict different subtypes of anxiety problems in adolescence, highlighting the multifaceted nature of BI and the divergent trajectories of different anxiety problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work has shown that children's shyness is related to personal anxiety during social stress, but we know little about how shyness is related to anxiety during a peer's social stress. Children (Mage = 10.22 years, SD = 0.81, N = 62) were paired with an unfamiliar peer and engaged in a speech task while electrocardiography was recorded. We modeled changes in children's heart rate, a physiological correlate of anxiety, while they observed their peer prepare and deliver a speech. Results revealed that the observing child's shyness related to increases in their heart rate during their peer's preparation period, but modulation of this arousal was sensitive to the presenting peer's anxious behavior while delivering their speech. Specifically, if the presenting child displayed high levels of anxious behavior, the observing child's shyness was related to further increases in heart rate, but if the presenting child displayed low levels of anxious behavior, the observing child's shyness was related to decreases in heart rate from the preparation period. Shy children may experience physiological arousal to a peer's social stress but can regulate this arousal based on social cues from the peer, which may be due to heightened social threat detection and/or empathic anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant research has produced conflicting findings regarding the link between social fearfulness and prosocial behavior, with some studies reporting negative relations and others reporting null effects. Furthermore, these studies have focused predominantly on toddlerhood, and few have examined prosociality between peers. The present study investigated whether the link between social anxiety and prosocial behavior (i.e., providing encouragement) varied depending on interpersonal and situational factors (i.e., one's familiarity with a peer, and the level of support sought by a peer, respectively). We tested this question using a multimethod approach, which included ecologically valid stress‐inducing task and dyadic design with a sample of 9‐ to 10‐year‐olds (N = 447). Results revealed that social anxiety was related negatively to providing encouragement among familiar and unfamiliar dyads. In familiar dyads, however, this main effect was qualified by an interaction with the level of support sought by one's peer. Compared to those low in social anxiety, children high in social anxiety provided relatively less encouragement in response to higher levels of support seeking from their peers. The findings are considered in relation to theorizing regarding the effect of overarousal on children's prosocial behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral Inhibition is a temperament identified in the first years of life that enhances the risk for development of anxiety during late childhood and adolescence. Amongst children characterized with this temperament, only around 40 percent go on to develop anxiety disorders, meaning that more than half of these children do not. Over the past 20 years, research has documented within‐child and socio‐contextual factors that support differing developmental pathways. This review provides a historical perspective on the research documenting the origins of this temperament, its biological correlates, and the factors that enhance or mitigate risk for development of anxiety. We review as well, research findings from two longitudinal cohorts that have identified moderators of behavioral inhibition in understanding pathways to anxiety. Research on these moderators has led us to develop the Detection and Dual Control (DDC) framework to understand differing developmental trajectories among behaviorally inhibited children. In this review, we use this framework to explain why and how specific cognitive and socio‐contextual factors influence differential pathways to anxiety versus resilience. Read the Commentary on this article at doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13771. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This document is designed to outline the definition, pathogenesis, diagnostic modalities and therapeutic measures to treat antibody‐mediated rejection in children postheart transplant Methods: Literature review was conducted by a Pediatric Heart Transplant Society (PHTS) working group to identify existing pediatric and adult studies on antibody‐mediated rejection (AMR). In addition, the centers participating in PHTS were asked to submit their approach to diagnosis and management of pediatric AMR. This document synthesizes information gathered from both these sources to highlight a practical approach to diagnosing and managing a child with AMR postheart transplant. This document may not represent the practice at all centers in the PHTS and serves as a starting point to understand an approach to this clinical scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript outlines a clinical approach to vasoplegia incorporating the current state of knowledge regarding vasoplegia in pediatric patients immediately post‐transplant and to identify modifiable factors both pre‐ and post‐transplant that may reduce post‐operative morbidity, end‐organ dysfunction, and mortality. Centers participating in the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society (PHTS) were asked to provide their internal protocols and rationale for vasoplegia management, and applicable adult and pediatric data were reviewed. The authors synthesized the above protocols and literature into the following description of clinical approaches to vasoplegia highlighting areas of both broad consensus and of significant practice variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examined temperamental and sociocognitive predictors of socially anxious behavior from preschool to early adolescence. Children (N = 227; 59% male; 69% White) completed a speech task at ages 5, 7, 10, and 13 and socially anxious behaviors were coded. Behavioral inhibition (BI) was assessed at ages 2/3 and Theory of Mind (ToM) was assessed at age 4. Data collection occurred between 2003 and 2016. Three trajectories of socially anxious behavior were identified: high stable, average increasing, and low stable. Higher BI was related to the high stable trajectory, whereas lower ToM was related to the increasing trajectory of socially anxious behavior. There are heterogenous pathways of socially anxious behavior, which may be uniquely influenced by early temperamental and sociocognitive factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although mortality has decreased considerably in pediatric heart transplantation, waitlist and post‐transplant death rates remain notable. End‐of‐life focused research in this population, however, is very limited. This Pediatric Heart Transplant Society study aimed to describe the circumstances surrounding death of pediatric heart transplant patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the multi‐institutional, international, Pediatric Heart Transplant Society registry was conducted. Descriptive statistics and univariate analyses were performed to 1) describe end‐of‐life in pediatric pre‐ and post‐heart transplant patients and 2) examine associations between location of death and technological interventions at end‐of‐life with demographic and disease factors. Results: Of 9217 patients (0–18 years) enrolled in the registry between 1993 and 2018, 2804 (30%) deaths occurred; 1310 while awaiting heart transplant and 1494 post‐heart transplant. The majority of waitlist deaths (89%) occurred in the hospital, primarily in ICU (74%) with most receiving mechanical ventilation (77%). Fewer post‐transplant deaths occurred in the hospital (22%). Out‐of‐hospital death was associated with older patient age (p <.01). Conclusions: ICU deaths with high use of technological interventions at end‐of‐life were common, particularly in patients awaiting heart transplant. In this high mortality population, findings raise challenging considerations for clinicians, families, and policy makers on how to balance quality of life amidst high risk for hospital‐based death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Routine surveillance protocols rely heavily on endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) for detection of rejection in pediatric heart transplant recipients. More sensitive echocardiographic tools to assess rejection may help limit the number of EMBs. This study compared changes in left ventricular (LV) strain in patients who had rejection versus those who did not. Methods: A single center retrospective review was conducted between 2013 and 2020. Patients were categorized based on rejection history. Echocardiograms were evaluated at the time of 2 consecutive EMBs; in the rejection group, the second echocardiogram was collected at the time of a rejection episode. Conventional measures of LV function and speckle‐tracking echocardiography‐derived longitudinal (LS) and circumferential strain (CS) were measured. Results: 17 patients were in the non‐rejection group and 17 were in the rejection group (30 total rejection episodes). The rejection group was older at the time of transplant (12.5 vs. 1.3 years, p =.01). A decline in CS was seen in the rejection group at the second echocardiogram [−18.5 (IQR −21.5, −14.6) to −15.7 (IQR −19.8, −13.2)] while CS improved in the non‐rejection group [−20.8 (IQR −23.9, −17.8) to −23.9 (IQR −24.9, −20.1)]. This difference in change reached significance (p =.02). A similar pattern was seen in LS that neared significance (p =.06). There was no significant difference in ejection fraction change (p =.24). Conclusions: Patients in the non‐rejection group displayed improvement in CS between echocardiograms while patients in the rejection group showed subsequent decline. Worsening of LV CS may help identify acute rejection in the early post‐transplant period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social anxiety is amongst the most prevalent adolescent mental health problems; however, it is often unrecognized due to its comorbidity with other anxiety problems such as generalized anxiety. Thus, understanding the unique developmental pathways to social anxiety is critical for improving its prevention. We examined the pathway from maternal shyness, when children were 4 years old, to adolescents' social anxiety at age 15 through social wariness at age 7. We hypothesized that childhood social wariness would mediate the association between maternal shyness and social anxiety in adolescence. Methods: Participants (N = 291; 54% female) were followed from early childhood to adolescence. Mothers reported on their own shyness when children were 4 years old. Social wariness toward unfamiliar peers was observed in the laboratory at ages 4 and 7. Adolescent social anxiety and generalized anxiety were assessed via self‐report, parent‐report, and clinical diagnoses at age 15. Results: Maternal shyness was positively associated with adolescent social anxiety but not generalized anxiety at age 15. Higher levels of maternal shyness at age 4 predicted greater social wariness at age 7, which in turn predicted greater social anxiety but not generalized anxiety at age 15. Social wariness at age 7 partially mediated the association between maternal shyness and adolescent social anxiety. Conclusions: This study identifies a unique developmental pathway from maternal shyness to adolescent social anxiety. Findings suggest that childhood social wariness connects maternal shyness to adolescent social anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with a behaviorally inhibited (BI) temperament are more likely to develop social anxiety. However, the mechanisms by which socially anxious behavior emerges from BI are unclear. Variation in different forms of top‐down control, specifically executive functions (EF), may play distinct roles and characterize differential pathways to social anxiety. Here 291 children were assessed for BI in toddlerhood (ages 2 and 3), parent‐reported inhibitory control and set shifting during middle childhood (age 7), and multidimensional assessment of socially anxious behavior completed during late childhood and early adolescence (ages 9 and 12). Structural equation modeling revealed that early variation in BI predicted the development of socially anxious behavior through either higher levels of parent‐reported inhibitory control or lower levels of parent‐reported set shifting. These data reinforce the notion that top‐down control does not uniformly influence relations between temperament and socially anxious behavior. These data suggest novel approaches to thinking about the role of EFs and social anxiety outcomes as children approach adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the interplay between children's dispositional anger and susceptibility to peers' influence in increasing children's risk‐taking behaviors. Participants in the current study were children from a larger study of temperament and social–emotional development who were followed across 9, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months. Dispositional anger was measured using mothers' reports across 9 and 48 months. At 60 months, children played a risk‐taking computer game in presence of an unfamiliar peer who watched the child play. The child's risk‐taking was assessed during the game as the unfamiliar peers' reactions were coded based on comments that were peer directed, reflective of praising the target child's performance, or object directed, indicative of excitement toward the game. A latent profile analysis revealed three longitudinal anger profiles across infancy to early childhood: high stable, average stable, and low stable anger. Results suggested that as peers' object‐directed comments predicted risk‐taking independent of children's anger, the association between peer‐directed comments and risk‐taking was dependent on children's dispositional anger. Specifically, when peers praised the target child's performance, children in the high stable anger profile showed increased risk‐taking propensity. Findings are discussed based on the importance of considering both temperamental characteristics and aspects of the peer context in relation to children's risk‐taking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Val158Met rs4680 single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at the catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) gene, primarily involved in dopamine breakdown within prefrontal cortex, has shown relations with inhibitory control (IC) in both adults and children. However, little is known about how COMT genotype relates to developmental trajectories of IC throughout childhood. Here, our study explored the effects of the COMT genotype (Val/Val, Val/Met, and Met/Met) on IC trajectories between the ages of 5 and 10 years. Children (n = 222) completed a Go/Nogo task at ages 5, 7, and 10; IC was characterized using signal detection theory to examine IC performance (d′) and response strategy (RS) (criterion). COMT genotype was not related to initial levels of IC performance and RS at age 5 or change in RS from ages 5 to 10. In contrast, COMT genotype was related to change in IC performance between 5 and 10 years. While Val/Val children did not differ from Val/Met children in development of IC performance, children with the Met/Met genotype exhibited more rapid development of IC performance when compared with Val/Met peers. These results suggest that COMT genotype modulates the development of IC performance in middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with the temperament of behavioral inhibition (BI) face increased risk for social anxiety. However, not all children with BI develop anxiety symptoms. Inhibitory control (IC) has been suggested as a moderator of the pathway between BI and social anxiety. This study uses longitudinal data to characterize development of IC and tests the hypothesis that IC moderates associations between early BI and later social anxiety symptoms. Methods: Children completed a Go/Nogo task at ages 5, 7, and 10 years as part of a longitudinal study of BI (measured at 2–3 years) and social anxiety symptoms (measured at 12 years). To assess IC development, response strategy (criterion) and inhibitory performance (d′) were characterized using signal detection theory. Latent growth models were used to characterize the development of IC and examine relations among BI, IC parameters, and social anxiety symptoms. Results: IC response strategy did not change between 5 and 10 years of age, whereas IC performance improved over time. BI scores in toddlerhood predicted neither initial levels (intercept) nor changes (slope) in IC response strategy or IC performance. However, between ages 5 and 10, rate of change in IC performance, but not response strategy, moderated relations between BI and later parent‐reported social anxiety symptoms. Specifically, greater age‐related improvements in IC performance predicted higher levels of social anxiety in high BI children. Conclusions: IC development in childhood occurs independent of BI levels. However, rapid increases in IC performance moderate risk for social anxiety symptoms in children with BI. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate atypical processing of, and memory for, self-referenced information, which may contribute to the heightened rates of co-occurring internalizing problems. We assessed affective and cognitive aspects of self-referential processing in verbally-fluent children with ASD ( N = 79), and an age-matched comparison sample (COM, N = 73) of children without an autism diagnosis. We examined group differences in these two aspects of the self-system, and their joint contributions to individual differnces in internalizing problems. Using a self-referenced memory (SRM) task, participants indicated whether a series of positive and negative trait adjectives described themselves and a well-known fictional character. Participants were then surprised with a recognition memory test on the same adjectives. Overall, individuals with ASD showed a reduction in the extent to which they preferentially endorsed positive over negative trait adjectives about themselves, and a reduction in their preferential memory for self- over other-referenced information. Across the full sample, these two aspects of self-referential processing jointly predicted self-reported internalizing problems. Specifically, self-evaluations were strongly and inversely associated with internalizing problems but only for children with relatively high SRM. These findings suggest that the salience of the self influences the extent to which affective self-evaluations impact emotional functioning for youth both with and without ASD. Implications for basic (e.g., developmental) and translational (e.g., intervention) research are discussed. Autism Res 2017, 10: 949-960. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined relations between behavioral inhibition (BI) assessed in toddlerhood (n = 268) and attention biases (AB) to threat and positive faces and maternal-reported anxiety assessed when children were 5- and 7-year-old. Results revealed that BI predicted anxiety at age 7 in children with AB toward threat, away from positive, or with no bias, at age 7; BI did not predict anxiety for children displaying AB away from threat or toward positive. Five-year AB did not moderate the link between BI and 7-year anxiety. No direct association between AB and BI or anxiety was detected; moreover, children did not show stable AB across development. These findings extend our understanding of the developmental links among BI, AB, and anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited research has explored how specific elements of physical and social environments influence mental health indicators such as perceived stress, or whether such associations are moderated by gender. This study examined the relationship between selected neighborhood characteristics and perceived stress levels within a primarily low-income, older, African-American population in a mid-sized city in the Southeastern U.S. Residents ( n = 394; mean age=55.3 years, 70.9% female, 89.3% African American) from eight historically disadvantaged neighborhoods completed surveys measuring perceptions of neighborhood safety, social cohesion, aesthetics, and stress. Multivariate linear regression models examined the association between each of the three neighborhood characteristics and perceived stress. Greater perceived safety, improved neighborhood aesthetics, and social cohesion were significantly associated with lower perceived stress. These associations were not moderated by gender. These findings suggest that improving social attributes of neighborhoods may have positive impacts on stress and related benefits for population health. Future research should examine how neighborhood characteristics influence stress over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral inhibition (BI), a temperament characterized in early childhood by wariness and avoidance of novelty, is a risk factor for anxiety disorders. An enhanced startle response has been observed in adolescents characterized with BI in childhood, particularly when they also manifest concurrent symptoms of anxiety. However, no prior study has examined relations among BI, startle responsivity, and anxiety in a prospective manner. Data for the present study were from a longitudinal study of infant temperament. Maternal reports and observations of BI were assessed at ages 2 and 3. At age 7, participants completed a startle procedure, while electromyography was collected, where participants viewed different colors on a screen that were associated with either the delivery of an aversive stimulus (i.e., puff of air to the larynx; threat cue) or the absence of the aversive stimulus (i.e., safety cue). Parental reports of child anxiety were collected when children were 7 and 9 years of age. Results revealed that startle responses at age 7 moderated the relation between early BI and 9-year anxiety. These findings provide insight into one potential mechanism that may place behaviorally inhibited children at risk for anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined emotion regulation (ER) as a mediator in the relation between early behavioral inhibition (BI) and later social competence (N = 257), and whether this mediation varied depending on BI levels. Maternal report and observational measures were used to assess BI (ages 2 and 3). Children's ER strategies (age 5) and social competence with an unfamiliar peer (age 7) were measured using observational measures. Results showed that BI predicted less engaged ER strategies during a disappointment task, and engaged ER predicted higher social competence. Engaged ER mediated the effect of BI on social competence, but only for highly inhibited children. Findings elucidate developmental trajectories of risk and resilience, and suggest targeting regulatory strategies in early prevention efforts with highly inhibited children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Error-monitoring, or the ability to recognize one's mistakes and implement behavioral changes to prevent further mistakes, may be impaired in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder ( ASD). Children and adolescents (ages 9-19) with ASD ( n = 42) and typical development ( n = 42) completed two face processing tasks that required discrimination of either the gender or affect of standardized face stimuli. Post-error slowing and the difference in Error-Related Negativity amplitude between correct and incorrect responses ( ERNdiff) were used to index error-monitoring ability. Overall, ERNdiff increased with age. On the Gender Task, individuals with ASD had a smaller ERNdiff than individuals with typical development; however, on the Affect Task, there were no significant diagnostic group differences on ERNdiff. Individuals with ASD may have ERN amplitudes similar to those observed in individuals with typical development in more social contexts compared to less social contexts due to greater consequences for errors, more effortful processing, and/or reduced processing efficiency in these contexts. Across all participants, more post-error slowing on the Affect Task was associated with better social cognitive skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insecure attachment and behavioral inhibition ( BI) increase risk for internalizing problems, but few longitudinal studies have examined their interaction in predicting adolescent anxiety. This study included 165 adolescents (ages 14-17 years) selected based on their reactivity to novelty at 4 months. Infant attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation. Multimethod BI assessments were conducted across childhood. Adolescents and their parents independently reported on anxiety. The interaction of attachment and BI significantly predicted adolescent anxiety symptoms, such that BI and anxiety were only associated among adolescents with histories of insecure attachment. Exploratory analyses revealed that this effect was driven by insecure-resistant attachment and that the association between BI and social anxiety was significant only for insecure males. Clinical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral inhibition ( BI) is a temperament associated with heightened vigilance and fear of novelty in early childhood, and social reticence and increased risk for anxiety problems later in development. However, not all behaviorally inhibited children develop signs of anxiety. One mechanism that might contribute to the variability in developmental trajectories is the recruitment of cognitive-control resources. The current study measured N2 activation, an ERP (event-related potential) associated with cognitive control, and modeled source-space activation ( LORETA; Low Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography) at 7 years of age while children performed a go/no-go task. Activation was estimated for the entire cortex and then exported for four regions of interest: ventromedial prefrontal cortex ( VMPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex ( VLPFC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dorsal ACC), and dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex ( DLPFC). BI was measured in early childhood (ages 2 and 3 years). Anxiety problems and social reticence were measured at 7 years of age to ascertain stability of temperamental style. Results revealed that BI was associated with increased performance accuracy, longer reaction times, greater (more negative) N2 activation, and higher estimated dorsal ACC and DLPFC activation. Furthermore, early BI was only associated with social reticence at age 7 at higher (more negative) levels of N2 activation or higher estimated dorsal ACC or DLPFC activation. Results are discussed in the context of overcontrolled behavior contributing to social reticence and signs of anxiety in middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the associations between the early childhood temperament of behavioral inhibition and children's displays of social problem-solving ( SPS) behavior during social exclusion. During toddlerhood (the ages of two to three), maternal report and behavioral observations of behavioral inhibition were collected. At the age of seven, children's SPS behaviors were observed during a laboratory social exclusion task based on the commonly used Cyberball game. Results showed that behavioral inhibition was positively associated with displayed social withdrawal and negatively associated with assertive behavior during the observed social exclusion task at seven years of age. These results add to our understanding of inhibited children's SPS behaviors during social exclusion and provide evidence for the associations between toddler temperament and children's social behavior during middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperament characterized by heightened negative affect and social reticence to unfamiliar peers. In a longitudinal study, 291 infants were assessed for BI at 24 and 36 months of age. At age 7, N2 amplitude was measured during a Flanker task. Also at age 7, children experienced social exclusion in the lab during an interaction with an unfamiliar peer and an experimenter. Our findings indicate that children characterized as high in BI, relative to those low in BI, had larger (i.e., more negative) N2 amplitudes. Additionally, among children with a large N2, BI was positively related to withdrawal and negatively related to assertiveness during social exclusion. These findings suggest that variations in conflict detection among behaviorally inhibited children plays a role in their social behavior during stressful social situations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined two aspects of temperamental approach in early infancy, positive reactivity and anger, and their unique and combined influences on maternal reports of child surgency and attention focusing at 4 years of age. One hundred and fourteen infants were observed for their positive reactions to novel stimuli at 4 months, and their anger expressions during arm restraint at 9 months. Child surgency and attention focusing at age 4 years were assessed by maternal report. Infants who expressed more anger to restraint were rated higher in surgency during early childhood relative to infants who expressed less anger. The effects of positive reactivity to novelty on attention focusing were moderated by anger to restraint. These findings suggest that infant temperamental approach tendencies are multifaceted and have both unique and combined influences on later maternal report of attention and social behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goals of the current study were to examine whether children's social problem solving (SPS) skills are a mechanism through which temperament influences later academic achievement and whether sex moderates these associations. The participants included 1117 children enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. During preschool, mothers and childcare providers rated children's temperamental shyness and inhibitory control, and SPS was assessed using a hypothetical-reflective measure during a laboratory visit. During kindergarten and first grade, teacher-report of math and language skills was collected. The results indicated that high ratings of inhibitory control in preschool, but not shyness, predicted better kindergarten and first-grade academic skills. Furthermore, children's SPS competence mediated the relations between both shyness and inhibitory control on later academic skills. The child's sex did not moderate these associations. The results suggest that preventative efforts targeting early SPS skills may buffer against later academic adjustment problems among temperamentally extreme children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperament works in combination with a child's environment to influence early socioemotional development. We examined whether maternal caregiving behavior at infant age 9 months moderated the relation between infant temperamental fear (9 months) and observations of children's social behavior with an unfamiliar peer at age 2 in a typically developing sample of 155 children. When infants received lower quality maternal caregiving, temperamental fear was inversely related to observed social engagement and aggression. These relations were nonsignificant when infants received higher quality maternal caregiving. Findings indicate that variations in temperamental fear may predict individual differences in future peer interactions, but sensitive, nonintrusive caregiving behaviors can attenuate these associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the influence of children's experiences during non-maternal childcare on their behavior toward unfamiliar peers. Participants included children classified as negatively reactive at four months of age (N = 52) and children not negatively reactive (N = 61), who were further divided into those who experienced non-maternal care and those who did not. Children were observed during childcare at 24 months of age and in the laboratory with an unfamiliar peer at 24 and 36 months of age, where their wariness, dysregulation, and social engagement were assessed. Within the negatively reactive childcare group, children's positive interactions with peers during childcare at 24 months predicted lower levels of wariness toward an unfamiliar peer at 36 months. This relation was not significant for children not classified as negatively reactive. The findings suggest that the influence of non-maternal childcare is dependent on a child's temperament and on the nature of peer interactions during care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rodent models of early caregiving find that pups reared by dams providing low levels of early stimulation subsequently display heightened stress reactivity and social aggression. We examined these effects in humans by investigating the effects of early caregiving on markers of biobehavioral development at ages 2 and 3 years. This study extended the findings reported by Hane and Fox (Hane and Fox [2006] Psychol. Sci. 17: 550–556) in which 185 mothers and infants were observed and scored for variations in maternal caregiving behavior (MCB) at age 9 months. Relative to young children who received high-quality MCB in infancy, those who received low-quality MCB showed significantly higher socially inhibited behavior with adults, right frontal electroencephalographam (EEG) asymmetry, aggressive play, and maternal reported internalizing behavior problems and anger proneness. These effects were independent of early temperamental reactivity. Results parallel rodent models and demonstrate that ordinary variations in MCB influence stress reactivity and social behavior in young children. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 558–567, 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relations among infant anger reactivity, approach behavior, and frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry, and their relations to inhibitory control and behavior problems in early childhood were examined within the context of a longitudinal study of temperament. Two hundred nine infants' anger expressions to arm restraint were observed at 4 months of age. Infants' approach behaviors during play with an unpredictable toy and baseline frontal EEG asymmetry were assessed at 9 months of age. Inhibitory control during a Go/No-Go task and parent report of behavior problems were evaluated at 4 years of age. High anger-prone infants with left, but not right, frontal EEG asymmetry showed significantly more approach behaviors and less inhibitory control relative to less anger-prone infants. Although a link between anger proneness in infancy and behavior problems in early childhood was not found, a combination of low approach behaviors and poor inhibitory control was predictive of internalizing behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We examined performance on a self-referenced memory (SRM) task for higher-functioning children with autism (HFA) and a matched comparison group. SRM performance was examined in relation to symptom severity and social cognitive tests of mentalizing. Method: Sixty-two children (31 HFA, 31 comparison; 8–16 years) completed a SRM task in which they read a list of words and decided whether the word described something about them, something about Harry Potter, or contained a certain number of letters. They then identified words that were familiar from a longer list. Dependent measures were memory performance (d′) in each of the three encoding conditions as well as a self-memory bias score (d′ self–d′ other). Children completed The Strange Stories Task and The Children’s Eyes Test as measures of social cognition. Parents completed the SCQ and ASSQ as measures of symptom severity. Results: Children in the comparison sample showed the standard SRM effect in which they recognized significantly more self-referenced words relative to words in the other-referenced and letter conditions. In contrast, HFA children showed comparable rates of recognition for self- and other-referenced words. For all children, SRM performance improved with age and enhanced SRM performance was related to lower levels of social problems. These associations were not accounted for by performance on the mentalizing tasks. Conclusions: Children with HFA did not show the standard enhanced processing of self- vs. other-relevant information. Individual differences in the tendency to preferentially process self-relevant information may be associated with social cognitive processes that serve to modify the expression of social symptoms in children with autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with behavioral inhibition, a temperamental style characterized by infant distress to novelty and childhood social reticence, exhibit both continuity and discontinuity of this behavioral trait over the course of development. However, few researchers have identified factors that might be responsible for these different patterns. In the current study, childcare history, maternal personality, and maternal behavior were examined as moderators of the relations between infant temperament, preschool social reticence, and childhood social wariness. Seventy-seven children participated in this longitudinal study that began in infancy and continued into middle childhood. Maternal negative personality moderated the relation between infant temperament and childhood social wariness. In addition, maternal behavior moderated the relation between preschool social reticence and childhood social wariness. The findings suggest that a complex interplay of within-child and maternal factors affect the development of internalizing behavior in the early school years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four-year-old children showing low levels of social behavior in a laboratory play session with unfamiliar peers were classified as reticent (unoccupied or onlooking behaviors) or solitary-passive (solitary constructive or exploratory play). Compared with a group of more social children, the children in both low-social groups were rated high on maternal reports of shyness and displayed a pattern of right frontal EEG asymmetry. However, only the reticent group was elevated on measures indicative of a fearful temperament, both concurrently and retrospectively. A subset of children in the solitary-passive group showed increasing levels of reticent behavior over the course of the visit, suggesting that for some children solitary-passive behaviors provide a means for coping with feelings of unease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four-month-old infants were screened (N = 433) for temperamental patterns thought to predict behavioral inhibition, including motor reactivity and the expression of negative affect. Those selected (N = 153) were assessed at multiple age points across the first 4 years of life for behavioral signs of inhibition as well as psychophysiological markers of frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry. Four-month temperament was modestly predictive of behavioral inhibition over the first 2 years of life and of behavioral reticence at age 4. Those infants who remained continuously inhibited displayed right frontal EEG asymmetry as early as 9 months of age while those who changed from inhibited to noninhibited did not. Change in behavioral inhibition was related to experience of nonparental care. A second group of infants, selected at 4 months of age for patterns of behavior thought to predict temperamental exuberance, displayed a high degree of continuity over time in these behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critiques the article 'Travel Broadens the Mind,' published in the June 2000 issue of 'Infancy.' Developmental model used to specifically examine the influence of self-produced locomotion on various psychological domains; Application for the study of temperament or the infant's behavioral style; Relations between brain development and the ontogeny of behavior.