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The association between maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and child behavior problems has been widely researched, leaving a gap in understanding the positive aspects of children's mental health. The present study aimed to investigate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and resilience and prosociality among 6–7 year-old children in Japan. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study, a population-based study in 2017 and 2019 including all first-grade students in public schools in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan (n = 7328, response rate = 84.7%). Resilience and prosociality were measured by the Children's Resilient Coping Scale and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, respectively. Maternal pre-pregnancy weight and height were reported based on the Mother and Child Health Handbook, and BMI was categorized as underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal weight (BMI 18.5–24.9), overweight (BMI 25.0–29.9), and obesity (BMI ≥ 30). Linear regression models were employed to control for covariates. Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity was found to be negatively associated with child resilience (coefficient: − 3.29; 95% CI − 6.42–-0.15), while maternal underweight was negatively associated with child prosociality (coefficient: − 0.12; 95% CI − 0.24–-0.005) compared to mothers of pre-pregnancy normal BMI. Perinatal factors, such as gestational weight gain, gestational age, and birth weight, did not mediate the association. Our findings suggest that maternal pre-pregnancy obesity is linked to decreased resilience and maternal underweight is linked to decreased prosociality in children aged 6–7 years. Maintaining an appropriate BMI range before pregnancy may be crucial for enhancing resilience and prosociality of offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children's social behavior develops through diverse experiences. However, the relationship between children's experiences of celebratory events and their behavioral development has not been previously quantified. Therefore, this study aimed to quantitatively explore this relationship., Methods: In 2020, a self-reported questionnaire was completed by 653 sixth-grade students (aged 11-12 years) and/or their caregivers in Nagoya, Aichi, a major metropolitan area in Japan. The main items surveyed were children's experiences with events celebrated by their family and their behavioral development. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to assess children's behavior. This questionnaire identifies behavioral and emotional problems and prosocial behavior. Multiple regression analysis was conducted with the number of family events experienced by children as the explanatory variable and their emotional and prosocial behavior as the objective variables., Results: Children from families who participated in fewer family events tended to have higher problematic behavior risk scores and lower prosociality scores compared with their counterparts. Compared with children who participated in more than 20 family events, those who participated in fewer than 10 family events had more than three times the risk for exhibiting problem behaviors (odds: 3.558, 95% CI: 1.252-10.111, p = .017) and prosocial problems (odds: 3.184, 95% CI: 1.726-5.876, p < .001). Conversely, children from families who participated in more family events tended to have lower problematic behavior risk scores and higher prosociality scores., Conclusions: A higher number of family events may reduce the risk of behavioral problems in children and increase their prosociality. Enjoying family events may be beneficial for social adjustment., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The Ethics Committee of the Kyoto University Graduate School and Faculty of Medicine (E2322) approved this study. It was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Parents provided written informed consent for themselves as well as their children, with the understanding that the study would consist of both baseline and follow-up surveys. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study examines the interaction between gender and classroom social goal structures and the impact they have on children's prosocial behaviors and classroom adjustment. Specifically, classroom social goal structures (consisting of prosocial and compliance goal structure) are the degree to which focal social goals are presented in classrooms. Numerous previous studies have tested the gender differences in social outcomes; however, the results of such past studies have been mixed, as some detected gender differences while others did not. This suggests the existence of moderator variables. Consequently, in this research, we focused on classroom-level moderators in the relationship between gender and social outcomes. We analysed a sample of 3,609 Japanese public elementary school children from 114 classrooms, and we detected the presence of cross-level interactions and found that classroom social goal structures can promote or degrade boys' social outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]