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As more schools begin to include preschool classrooms, teachers and administrators may need physical activity (PA) curricula that are inclusive, specially designed for young children, and linked to...

Background: According to the US Institute of Medicine guideline, preschool-aged children should participate in ≥15 minutes of physical activity (PA) per hour or 3 hours per day over 12 hours. Examinations of PA guideline compliance to date averaged time spent in PA over several days; however, children could exceed the guideline on some days and not on others. Therefore, this cross-sectional study examined PA guideline compliance in preschool children based on number of minutes per hour (average method) and percentage of days the guideline was met (everyday method). Methods: PA was measured by accelerometry during the preschool day for up to 10 days in 177 children (59.3% males, Mage = 4.23). Minutes per hour and percentage of time in light, moderate to vigorous, and total PAs were calculated. Percentage of days in compliance was determined by number of days in compliance (defined as the child active on average ≥15 min/h) divided by total accelerometer days. Results: Children engaged in PA, on average, 17.01 minutes per hour, suggesting that on average, children are meeting the guideline. However, children were only in compliance with the PA guideline 62.41% of assessment days. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate the importance of examining compliance with both the average and everyday methods to more accurately portray level of Institute of Medicine PA guideline compliance.

BACKGROUND Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often present with additional psychiatric conditions. Comorbidity is associated with poorer long-term outcomes, highlighting the need for effective assessment and intervention. However, self-perceptual biases may mask the presence of symptoms for a subgroup of children with ADHD. This study examined the role of social self-perceptual biases in children with ADHD versus control children on self-reports of loneliness, and depressive and anxious symptoms. METHODS The research question was examined in two samples. Sample 1 consisted of 7.7-12.8-year-old boys with ADHD (n = 199) and control boys (n = 74); Sample 2 consisted of 7.7-11.4-year-old boys and girls with ADHD (n = 178) and control children (n = 86). Across samples, children reported social competence and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Child-reported loneliness was examined in Sample 1. A social competence discrepancy score (difference between self-report and teacher-report) was used as an indicator of social self-perceptual bias. RESULTS Hierarchical multiple regression analyses tested social self-perceptual bias as a suppressor variable. The magnitude of the associations between ADHD and self-reported feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness was greater when social self-perceptual bias was included in models as compared to models that did not include social self-perceptual bias (ΔR2 s range = 0.04-0.19). CONCLUSIONS Findings across both samples suggest that social self-perceptual biases may mask internalizing symptom severity on self-reports for individuals who overestimate their social competence. More research is needed to determine the best approach to assessing internalizing problems among children with ADHD.

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often present with additional psychiatric conditions. Comorbidity is associated with poorer long-term outcomes, highlighting the need for effective assessment and intervention. However, self-perceptual biases may mask the presence of symptoms for a subgroup of children with ADHD. This study examined the role of social self-perceptual biases in children with ADHD versus control children on self-reports of loneliness, and depressive and anxious symptoms.The research question was examined in two samples. Sample 1 consisted of 7.7-12.8-year-old boys with ADHD (n = 199) and control boys (n = 74); Sample 2 consisted of 7.7-11.4-year-old boys and girls with ADHD (n = 178) and control children (n = 86). Across samples, children reported social competence and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Child-reported loneliness was examined in Sample 1. A social competence discrepancy score (difference between self-report and teacher-report) was used as an indicator of social self-perceptual bias.Hierarchical multiple regression analyses tested social self-perceptual bias as a suppressor variable. The magnitude of the associations between ADHD and self-reported feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness was greater when social self-perceptual bias was included in models as compared to models that did not include social self-perceptual bias (ΔRFindings across both samples suggest that social self-perceptual biases may mask internalizing symptom severity on self-reports for individuals who overestimate their social competence. More research is needed to determine the best approach to assessing internalizing problems among children with ADHD.

This study sought to expand on prior research suggesting that children low in peer status who either over- or underestimate their social competence relative to others' reports are more likely to be aggressive (White and Kistner [2011]. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 645-656). The curvilinear associations between social competence bias and two forms of aggression (physical and relational) were examined in a sample of 4th through 6th graders (n = 183); moderation by both sex and peer status (peer preference and popularity) also were tested. Social competence bias was operationally defined as the residual difference between child and teacher ratings of the child's social competence. Aggression and peer status were measured using peer nomination procedures. There was a significant curvilinear association between social competence bias and physical aggression moderated by both types of peer status. For low peer status children greater underestimation and overestimation of social competence was associated with higher physical aggression. The curvilinear association between social competence bias and relational aggression was moderated by both peer status and sex. Popular boys had higher rates of relational aggression when they had accurate, rather than biased, self-perceptions of social competence. However, for very highly preferred girls, a more extreme positive bias was associated with an exponential increase in relational aggression. RESULTS are discussed in terms of implications for aggression theory and intervention. Aggr. Behav. 9999:XX-XX, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Language: en

This study extends previous research and examines whether working memory (WM) is associated with multiple measures of concurrent social functioning (peer rejection, overall social competence, relational aggression, physical aggression, and conflict resolutions skills) in typically developing fourth- and fifth-grade children (N = 116). Poor central executive WM was associated with both broad social impairments (peer rejection and poor overall social competence) and specific social impairments (physical aggression, relational aggression, and impaired conflict resolution skills); poor verbal storage was associated only with greater peer rejection, and spatial storage was not associated with any measures of social impairment. Analyses also examined whether specific impairments in aggressive behavior and conflict resolution skills mediated the association between central executive and broad measures of social functioning. Greater physical aggression and impaired conflict resolution skills were both significant mediators; relational aggression was not. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

The majority (67%) of African American youth live in single-parent households, a shift in the family structure that has been linked to increased risk for both internalizing and externalizing problems behaviors. Although the majority of single mothers endorse the assistance of another adult or family member in childrearing, relatively little is known about who is engaged in this non-marital coparenting role (i.e., grandmother, father/social father, aunt, and female family friend) and how it relates to coparenting quality, maternal parenting, and youth psychosocial outcomes (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems). This question, which is critical to the advancement of family-focused programming for youth in these families, is addressed in this study. The participants examined in the current study were 159 African American single-mother child dyads. Adolescents' maternal grandmothers constituted the largest proportion of coparents in the sample (37.2%), followed by the mothers' female family friends (22.5%), adolescents' maternal aunts (12.7%), and adolescents' fathers/social fathers (11%). Differences emerged among groups of coparents in support and conflict with the mother. Specifically, grandmothers, aunts, and female family friends provided significantly more instrumental support than fathers. Furthermore, grandmothers and fathers had more conflict with the mother, both generally and specifically in front of the child, than aunts or female family friends. In turn, these differences were associated directly and indirectly through maternal parenting with internalizing and externalizing problems. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Aggressive behaviors have been associated with social costs (e.g., rejection) and benefits (e.g., popularity) in previous studies. The current study sought to examine the moderating effect of teacher preference on the association between distinct forms of aggressive behavior (i.e., physical aggression and relational aggression) and social status (i.e., rejection and popularity), and to explore whether these associations differed for boys and girls. Fourth and fifth grade students (N = 193) completed peer nomination procedures to assess rejection and aggressive behavior and teachers provided self-reports of their preferences for their students. Findings indicated that relationally aggressive girls were more likely to be popular with their peers when their teachers also liked them. In addition, both relationally and physically aggressive girls were less likely to be rejected by their peers when their teachers liked them. Although physical aggression was most strongly associated with rejection among boys whose teachers liked them, relational aggression predicted popularity among boys whose teachers disliked them. Results suggest that teacher preferences may be a particularly important factor contributing to both physically and relationally aggressive children's social status (e.g., rejection and popularity), especially for girls. Aggr. Behav. 00:1-13, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Language: en

The association between having a reputation for valuing popularity and relational aggression was assessed in a sample of 126 female children and adolescents (mean age = 12.43 years) at a 54-day residential summer camp for girls. Having a reputation for valuing popularity was positively related to relational aggression. This association was moderated by both popularity and physiological reactivity to social exclusion (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity [RSAR] and heart rate reactivity [HRR]). Popular girls with a reputation for valuing popularity were at greater risk for engaging in relational aggression when they also exhibited blunted reactivity to social exclusion. Conversely, girls who had a reputation for valuing popularity but were not popular (i.e., the "wannabes") were at risk for engaging in relational aggression when they exhibited heightened reactivity to exclusion. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Associations between physiological reactivity to exclusion (i.e., heart rate [HRR], respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSAR], and skin conductance [SCR]) and relational and physical aggression were assessed. It was hypothesized that blunted "fight or flight" responses to stress (i.e., blunted HRR, SCR, and RSA withdrawal) would be associated with relational aggression, whereas heightened "fight or flight" responses (i.e., heightened HRR, SCR, and RSA withdrawal) would be associated with physical aggression. In addition, it was hypothesized that heightened "fight or flight" responses would interact with social and cognitive risk factors in the prediction of physical aggression. Data were collected at an all-girls residential summer camp (mean age = 12.47 years; N = 119). Overall, findings indicated that blunted "fight or flight" was associated with relational aggression whereas heightened "fight or flight" was associated with physical aggression, particularly in the context of high social and cognitive risk. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relationship between physiological reactivity and different forms of aggression in girls. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.