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The current study examined whether autobiographical memories from parents' own childhoods, prebirth expectations, and personality traits contributed to their perceptions of their infants' temperament. It also investigated whether mothers and fathers differed in the extent to which these three sources of subjectivity predicted their perceptions. During the third trimester of pregnancy, expectant mothers and fathers in 96 families completed assessments of their personality traits and expectations for their children's temperament, as well as provided characteristic memories of their relationships with their own caregivers as children. Memories were then coded for themes of growth versus safety and compared to parents' ratings of perceived child temperament 15 months later. Analyses revealed that, for both parents, prebirth expectations predicted perceptions of positive temperament behaviors. Moreover, fathers who described childhoods characterized by exploration and opportunities for growth also perceived their children as displaying more positive temperamental behaviors, whereas those who described greater safety focus in memories and who had higher levels of negative affectivity reported more negative temperamental behaviors. These findings suggest that mothers' and fathers' perceptions of their children are differently related to psychological variables, including autobiographical memories. In turn, it is possible that these subjective perceptions may affect the parenting environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Problems in understanding other people's mental states may relate to distinct personality traits that are associated with early externalizing behavior. A distinction between theory of mind (ToM) and empathy has proven important in shedding light on the problems in understanding other minds encountered by children high on callous-unemotional ( CU) traits and exhibiting impulsivity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether children's early ToM and emotion understanding abilities predicted CU traits and impulsivity at age 10. A further aim was to explore whether the quality of the parent-child relationship very early in the development indirectly or directly predicted the children's CU traits and impulsivity. Method We examined whether ToM and empathy skills might differentially relate to personality traits associated with externalizing behaviors (i.e., impulsivity and CU traits). We examined these relations over time in a longitudinal cohort of 96 boys and girls using follow-back analyses, incorporating measures of maternal mind-mindedness (appropriate mind-related talk) to examine the possible role of parent-child interaction quality. Results Appropriate mind-related talk indirectly predicted CU traits (at age 10 years) via its effect on children's emotion understanding. ToM predicted impulsive/irresponsible traits, but ceased to be significant when controlling for externalizing behaviors. Conclusion The present findings demonstrate that parents who remark appropriately on their infant's mental states may help the child to understand emotions and may mold an empathic understanding of others, thereby preventing CU traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Structural models of oppositional defiant disorder ( ODD) symptoms have gained empirical support but await greater empirical scrutiny on issues such as reconciliation between competing models, evidence for gender differences, and delineation of external correlates. More extensive validation evidence is particularly necessary in consideration of their incorporation in psychiatric nomenclature. Methods We fitted previously proposed, but competing, models to ODD symptoms assessed with the Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (Shaffer et al., 2000, J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 39, 28) in a community sample and then fitted the best-fitting model in a replication sample (combined N = 730, Mage = 9.89, SD = 0.75). Analyses also examined potential classes based on resulting subfactors, gender differences, longitudinal associations with later behavioral problems, and concurrent personality associations. Results Burke's (2010) two-factor model composed of Irritability and Oppositionality subfactors best fit the data. Irritability and Oppositionality showed convergent and divergent patterns of association with personality traits at T1 and with externalizing and internalizing problems at T2. Latent class analyses revealed three classes (low severity, irritable/combined, and oppositional) which showed parallel divergence in externalizing and internalizing problem comorbidity. These findings were largely robust across gender and samples. Conclusions These findings support Irritability/Oppositionality subfactors of ODD in two mixed-gender samples, demonstrate strong evidence for a lack of gender differences in such subfactors, and demonstrate their convergent and divergent validity in emergent latent classes, later behavioral problems, and personality correlates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life offers the recommended best start in the life for a newborn baby. Yet, in Australia only a small number of babies receive breast milk exclusively for the first 6 months. Reasons for the introduction of formula milk are multi‐factorial including access to appropriate support and the woman's experience of breastfeeding. The language and practices of health professionals can impact upon how a woman feels about breastfeeding and her breastfeeding body. One aspect of breastfeeding support that has had scarce attention in the literature is the language used by health professionals to describe the behaviour of the breastfeeding infant during the early establishment phase of breastfeeding. This paper reveals some of the ways in which midwives, lactation consultants and breastfeeding women describe the newborn baby during the first week after birth. The study was conducted at two maternity units in New South Wales. Interactions between midwives and breastfeeding women were observed and audio recorded on the post‐natal ward and in women's homes, in the first week after birth. The transcribed data were analysed using discourse analysis searching for recurring words, themes and metaphors used in descriptions of the breastfeeding baby. Repeated negative references to infant personality and unfavourable interpretations of infant behaviour influenced how women perceived their infant. The findings revealed that positive language and interpretations of infant breastfeeding behaviour emerged from more relationship‐based communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children base trait inferences about people on direct observations of behavior. In some situations, these inferences might conflict with information supplied by others. This study examined 3- to 6-year-olds' willingness to change their own trait attributions about an actor after receiving a consistent or inconsistent trait label from an authority figure (i.e., a teacher). Participants were more likely to change their attributions when the teacher's trait label was inconsistent with their own and when it was positive rather than negative. In response to inconsistent trait labels, 3- to 4-year-olds changed their trait labels more often than did 5- to 6-year-olds. The results indicate that children do not defer to a teacher's trait testimony indiscriminately but take opportunities to view others positively. Findings are interpreted with reference to children's perceptions of teacher knowledge and trait attribution biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promotion of healthy child development has become a major focus of world attention over the last three decades. However, children are often afflicted by emotional disorders in the recent years. These are exhibited by undue thoughts and disrupted behaviors as opposed to the cultural expectations. The present study is aimed to find out the comparison among children with Externalizing/lnternalizing disorder and their Peer Control with respect to the nature and degree of underlying dynamics of personality. The sample include children with externalizing disorder, internalizing disorder and peer control. Each group consists of 15 participants. On each of the groups, a semi structured socio-demographic proforma, consent letters by parents and clinical data sheet were administered to the children. The criterion for clarification of externalizing and internalizing disorder group was assessed using the Devereux Scales of Mental Disorders (Naglieri etai., 1979) and followed by the CAT-Human Version (Beliak & Beliak, 1965). The findings indicated that, externalizing children have poor impulse control and intense need for autonomy and power, internalizing children have intense need for affiliation and moral values and take decision on the basis of ethical judgments and normal peer control group have more balanced ego as compared to the other two clinical groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no way in which parents can evade having a determining effect upon their children's personality, character, and health. The functions of parenting greatly influence how children develop. Amidst the understanding of the importance of the parent-child relationship, it becomes crucial to decipher whether the parental modernity really affect the health concerns of adolescents. The present study looked into the parental modernity from the perspective of health concerns of adolescents. A total of 280 parents (including both mother and father) along with their 140 adolescent children (66 boys and 74 girls) were selected randomly. Individual Modernity Scale was administered on parents and Adolescent Health Concern Inventory was administered on adolescents. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. The analysis revealed that adolescents of modern parents are much more health concerned than those adolescents of traditional parents. Girls are more concerned about health as compared to boys. Implications, limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accuracy of temperament assessment is a prerequisite in research studies. To identify the extent to which parental assessment of child temperament is biased by their personal attributes, we proposed a new structural equation model, in which biases of parental attributes in their assessment of child temperament can be separated from the true (i.e. non-biased) associations between the two. Methods: We examined 234 father-mother pairs using questionnaires including Emotionality, Activity, Sociability, and Impulsivity; Social Desirability Scale; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Temperament and Character Inventory; and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Results: Paternal Depression and Persistence, maternal Trait Anger, and parental Novelty Seeking showed significant bias in assessment of Emotionality. Maternal Self-transcendence showed significant bias in assessment of child Impulsivity. Conclusion: Researchers should be cautious about biases in parental assessment of children's Emotionality and Impulsivity, but other temperament traits may be free from such biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypothesis that parental narcissism is related to depression and anxiety of the young adult children and that this relationship is mediated by the parental rearing style as reported by the offspring was investigated. Subjects were 409 young adults (264 females), aged 22.85 (SD= 2.00) and their parents. Parental narcissism was measured with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI); the rearing style, as remembered by the offspring, was measured with the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) that includes Parkers's scales of care and overprotection and Gilbert's scales of put-down/shaming and favouritism; depression and anxiety were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) respectively. Two total mediation models (one for fathers and one for mothers), including parental NPI as a predictor, PBI scales as mediators and children's scores on BDI and STAI as criteria, showed adequate goodness of fit indices. The sums of indirect effects of both paternal and maternal narcissism on children's depression and anxiety, via all rearing style dimensions, were significant. These results suggest that parental narcissism is related to children's depression and anxiety and that this relationships is mediated by the rearing style as recalled by the offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a 2-wave longitudinal sample spanning 40 years from childhood (age 12) to middle adulthood (age 52), the present study was designed to examine how student characteristics and behaviors in late childhood (assessed in Wave 1 in 1968) predict career success in adulthood (assessed in Wave 2 in 2008). We examined the influence of parental socioeconomic status (SES), childhood intelligence, and student characteristics and behaviors (inattentiveness, school entitlement, responsible student, sense of inferiority, impatience, pessimism, rule breaking and defiance of parental authority, and teacher-rated studiousness) on 2 important real-life outcomes (i.e., occupational success and income). The longitudinal sample consisted of N = 745 persons who participated in 1968 (M = 11.9 years, SD = 0.6; 49.9% female) and 2008 (M = 51.8 years, SD = 0.6; 53.3% female). Regression analyses and path analyses were conducted to evaluate the direct and indirect effects (via education) of the predictors on career success. The results revealed direct and indirect influences of student characteristics (responsible student, rule breaking and defiance of parental authority, and teacher-rated studiousness) across the life span on career success after adjusting for differences in parental SES and IQ at age 12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy is a critical competency in medicine. Prior studies demonstrate a longitudinal decrease in empathy during residency; however, they have not included pediatric residents. The relations among the expression of empathy, sense of power (ability to influence other's behavior), and personality traits in residents also have not been addressed. Lastly, there are no data on how residents compare with the general nonmedical population in their expression of empathy. The purposes of our study were to assess whether empathy, sense of power, and personality type were statistically correlated; if resident empathy declines over time; and how resident empathy compares with that of nonmedical peers. Methods: In 2010, a cohort of individuals entering pediatric residency were given three validated survey instruments at the beginning of their first and third years of training to explore longitudinal changes in empathy, sense of power, and major personality traits. Results: We found no decrease in resident empathy in 2 years of pediatric training, no changes in their sense of power, and no statistically significant correlation between empathetic tendencies and sense of power. When compared with the general nonmedical population, pediatric residents rated themselves higher in empathy. As expected, the two components of empathy (empathic concern and perspective taking) were moderately correlated. Of the major personality traits, only agreeableness showed significant correlation with empathy. Conclusions: Pediatric resident empathy did not decrease longitudinally, unlike studies in other residents. There was no inverse relation between self-perceptions of sense of power and empathy as is present in the business literature. Finally, pediatric resident empathy was significantly higher when compared with a general nonmedical population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nostalgia and mystery of childhood poses to be an eminent question to behavioural scientists. The present investigation attempts to plunge into the intricacies of childhood among a specific sub-section of orphan children across the backdrop of their normal counterparts to probe into their psyche and inner world in terms of shaping of their “selves”. The garden of childhood has thorns for them and offers emotional pains for them in terms of emotional deprivation. The present sample consisted of 60 orphan children and 60 normal children (30 boys and 30 girls in each of the two groups) living with both parents at their residences after matching them with respect to age, sex, intelligence, socio-economic status, education, religion, nationality, location and duration of stay in any institution. Variables studied were aggression, attachment style and personality. Statistics revealed significant group differences, where orphans had significantly higher mean scores in only one dimension of aggression, namely, Anger-Expression Out; certain indices of personality, namely, Total number of Response, Animal responses, and Anatomical Responses. Again, normal children were found to have significantly higher in only one dimension of aggression, namely, Anger-Expression In and certain indices of personality like, Sex responses, and Typical responses. Significant gender differences and interaction effect were also found. The findings have been discussed to unfurl the inner dynamics of orphan children from the psychologist’s desk. Implications of the findings along the provision of psychotherapeutic strategies for shaping their personalities have also been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between childhood trauma and personality traits has been poorly characterized and reported. Our aim was to evaluate whether distinct types of childhood abuse and neglect are associated with various personality dimensions using data from a large web-based survey. A total of 12,225 volunteers responded anonymously to the Internet versions of the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) via our research website, but only 8,114 subjects (75.7% women, mean age 34.8 ± 11.3 yrs) who met the criteria for validity were included in the analysis. Childhood trauma was positively associated with harm avoidance and was negatively associated with self-directedness and, to a lesser extent, with cooperativeness. The associations were robust with emotional abuse and neglect but were non-significant or mild with physical trauma. Emotional neglect was associated with reduced reward dependence and persistence. All types of abuse, but not neglect, were associated with increased novelty seeking scores. Reporting of childhood trauma, especially of an emotional nature, was associated with maladaptive personality traits. Further investigation of the effects of different types of childhood trauma on psychological and neurobiological parameters is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Personality has been associated with a variety of outcomes in adulthood. Most of the literature related to mental state disorder and personality is cross sectional. Methods: Data from more than 900 participants of the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS) were examined. Extroversion and neuroticism were measured at 14 years old and social outcomes at age 30. The presence of mental state disorder between 18-30 years old was identified. Multiple potential confounders in childhood were included in the analysis. Results: Neuroticism at fourteen was significantly correlated with multiple environmental exposures whereas extroversion had relatively few associations. Regression analysis found that neuroticism at 14 predicted depression, anxiety, suicidality and overall mental health problems at 30 as well as poor self-esteem but not relationship quality or wellbeing. Extroversion at 14 predicted alcohol and drug dependence and overall mental health problems, but also predicted improved social wellbeing, self-esteem and relationship quality at 30. Conclusions: In this analysis extroversion interacts with significantly fewer environmental factors than neuroticism in predicting adult outcomes. Neuroticism at 14 years predicts poorer mental health outcomes in adulthood. Extroversion in childhood may be a protective factor in the development of mental disorder other than alcohol use disorders. Extroverted adolescents have more positive social outcomes at 30 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pedagogická Orientace is the property of Pedagogicka Orientace and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examined separate developmental trajectories of anxious and depressive symptoms from childhood to adolescence (9–15 years) in a community-based sample (N = 290). At three measurement points, mothers and fathers reported on their children's anxious and depressive symptoms, and at Time 1 they reported on lower order child personality facets and on their parenting. By means of growth mixture modeling, three developmental trajectories were identified for anxious symptoms: steady low (82%), moderate increasing–decreasing (5.9%), and high declining groups (12.1%). For depressive symptoms, two developmental trajectories were found: steady low (94.1%) and moderate increasing groups (5.9%). Higher shyness, irritability, and altruism predicted membership in more problematic anxious and depressive groups. The personality facets energy, optimism, compliance, and anxiety were unique predictors for class membership for anxious symptoms, and the effects of shyness, irritability, and compliance were moderated by overreactive parenting. Shyness and irritability increased the probability of following the moderate increasing–decreasing anxiety trajectory, but only in the context of high or average levels of overreactive parenting. Compliance increased the probability of following the moderate increasing–decreasing and high decreasing trajectories in the context of high overreactive parenting. Our results indicate that childhood personality facets differentiate trajectories of anxious and depressive symptoms in theoretically compelling ways. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this study, we investigated mean-level personality development in children from 6 to 20 years of age. Additionally, we investigated longitudinal, bidirectional associations between child personality and maternal overreactive and warm parenting. In this 5-wave study, mothers reported on their child's personality from Time 1 (Tl) through Time 4 (T4), and children provided self-reports from Time 2 (T2) through Time 5 (T5). Mothers reported on their levels of overreactive and warm parenting from T2 through T4. Using cohort-sequential latent growth curve modeling, we investigated mother reported child personality from 6 to 17 years of age and child reported personality from 9 to 20 years of age. Extraversion decreased linearly across the entire study. Benevolence and conscientiousness increased from middle to late childhood, temporarily declined from late childhood to mid-adolescence, and increased again thereafter. Imagination decreased from middle childhood to mid-adolescence and also increased thereafter. Mothers reported a temporary decline in emotional stability with an increase thereafter, whereas children did not. Boys and girls differed in mean-levels of the personality dimensions and, to a lesser extent, in the degree and direction of changes. Latent difference score modeling showed that child personality predicted changes in parenting and that, to a lesser extent, parenting predicted changes in child traits. Additionally, changes in child personality were associated with changes in maternal parenting. Results of the present study show that personality change is not directed at increasing maturity from childhood to mid-adolescence and that it elicits and is shaped by both positive and negative parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boys and girls with sex-typical aspirations are significantly more likely to end up in sex-typical jobs as adults. Preference formation among children is therefore relevant for subsequent occupational outcomes. This study investigates the role of parental socialization and children's agency in the formation of sex-typed occupational preferences using data for British children aged 11 to 15. We anchor agency in observable psychological attributes associated with children's capacity to act in the face of constraints. We focus on two such attributes, motivation and self-esteem. Our findings identify two main sources of parental influence: (1) parental sex-typical behaviors, from which children learn which occupations are appropriate for each sex; and (2) parental socio-economic resources, which affect children's occupational ambition. We find, additionally, that girls with high motivation and both girls and boys with high self-esteem are less likely to aspire to sex-typical occupations, net of parental characteristics. Motivation and self-esteem help girls aim higher in the occupational ladder, which automatically reduces their levels of sex-typicality. For boys, however, self-esteem reduces sex-typicality at all levels of the aspired occupational distribution. This suggests that boys with high self-esteem are better equipped to contradict the existing social norms regarding sex-typical behavior. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aimed to find evidences of validity through the analysis of correlation among anxiety indicators of Human Figure Drawing Test -- HFD -- of Karen Machover and the Scale of Personality Trait for Children. 240 children took part in this research, being them both male and female, with age ranging from 8 to 10 years old, all of them attending elementary public school. Through the analysis of Pearson correlation, it was found that when HFD indicators are grouped there are meaningful correlations with personality traits and, it was possible to infer that there are features that convey to them once anxiety is just part of the construct of personality traits as neuroticism and extroversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Special Education & Rehabilitation / Defektološka Teorija i Praktika is the property of Institute of Special Education & Rehabilitation and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines how memories that are acquired by learning a foreign/second language during early childhood are latently retrieved in adult age and influence the further cognitive development. It describes a study of adult learners who had spoken a foreign/second language besides their native language before the age of five, at basic level only, and who resumed learning that language after the age of eighteen or even later. The findings of this research show that these persons outperformed in a short period of time those who started the study of another language in adulthood both in terms of grammar and vocabulary. The conclusions point out the fact that early language acquisition can be accessed in adulthood upon a re-learning phenomenon and also influences other cognitive skill acquisitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Among adults fear of blushing is best predicted by Structure. [•] Among children fear of blushing is best predicted by Neuroticism. [•] Children report more fear of blushing than adults. [•] Females report more fear of blushing than males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Antisocial personality is a common adult problem that imposes a major public health burden, but for which there is no effective treatment. Affected individuals exhibit persistent antisocial behavior and pervasive antisocial character traits, such as irritability, manipulativeness, and lack of remorse. Prevention of antisocial personality in childhood has been advocated, but evidence for effective interventions is lacking. Method: The authors conducted two follow-up studies of randomized trials of group parent training. One involved 120 clinic-referred 3- to 7-year-olds with severe antisocial behavior for whom treatment was indicated, 93 of whom were reassessed between ages 10 and 17. The other involved 109 high-risk 4- to 6-year-olds with elevated antisocial behavior who were selectively screened from the community, 90 of whom were reassessed between ages 9 and 13. The primary psychiatric outcome measures were the two elements of antisocial personality, namely, antisocial behavior (assessed by a diagnostic interview) and antisocial character traits (assessed by a questionnaire). Also assessed were reading achievement (an important domain of youth functioning at work) and parent-adolescent relationship quality. Results: In the indicated sample, both elements of antisocial personality were improved in the early intervention group at long-term follow-up compared with the control group (antisocial behavior: odds ratio of oppositional defiant disorder= 0.20, 95% CI=0.06, 0.69; antisocial character traits: B=–4.41, 95% CI=–1.12, –8.64). Additionally, reading ability improved (B=9.18, 95% CI=0.58, 18.0). Parental expressed emotion was warmer (B=0.86, 95% CI=0.20, 1.41) and supervision was closer (B=–0.43, 95% CI=–0.11, –0.75), but direct observation of parenting showed no differences. Teacher-rated and self-rated antisocial behavior were unchanged. In contrast, in the selective high-risk sample, early intervention was not associated with improved long-term outcomes. Conclusions: Early intervention with severely antisocial children for whom treatment is indicated may prevent the development of antisocial personality in adolescence and may improve academic performance. In contrast, early intervention with selective high-risk samples may be ineffective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moderate, yet relatively consistent, associations between cognitive performance and shyness have been reported throughout the child and adult literatures. The current study assessed longitudinal associations between cognition (i.e., executive functioning) and parent-report temperamental shyness from infancy to early childhood and used temporal order to explore directionality of the relations. Two hundred and eleven children contributed data at multiple ages (5 months, 10 months, 2 years, 3 years, and 4 years). The results indicated a complex pattern of association between cognition and shyness in early development and provided tentative support for both cognitive ability and temperament as causal agents at different developmental time points. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this review, we evaluate developmental and personality research with the aim of determining whether the personality trait of conscientiousness can be identified in children and adolescents. After concluding that conscientiousness does emerge in childhood, we discuss the developmental origins of conscientiousness with a specific focus on self-regulation, academic motivation, and internalized compliance/ internalization of standards. On the basis of the accumulated body of evidence, we conclude that self-regulation fosters conscientiousness later in life, both directly and via academic motivation and internalized compliance with norms. We argue that elements of conscientiousness are evident by early childhood; self-regulation skills are likely a core developmental component of conscientiousness; and despite the contribution of heredity to the aforementioned aspects of functioning, environmental factors likely contribute to conscientiousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the parenthood, the priority is and shall remain at all times to ensure the physical, mental and emotional health of the child. The balanced development of the children is determined by adequately meeting the needs involved by different development stages of the children. Often the parents feel helpless in their capacity, being unable to identify the actual needs of their children or approaching them wrongly, thereby generating negative effects that can sometimes mark for good the behavior of the future adult. Ill-treatments applied to the minor are actions of the parents or of the person to whom the child is entrusted for raising and education, actions that seriously jeopardize the physical, intellectual or moral development of the child. Today's generation has a much faster development rhythm. Today's children are the future adults; the responsibility for their education lies with their parents and teachers, but the society is not relieved from such responsibility. For the parents to successfully accomplish this responsibility, support is required from the community, from the entire society. The parents represent the key-elements in ensuring the observance of child's rights, as the child spends the most of the time at home, and the parents or the adults fulfilling the role of parents have the most significant influence on shaping the child's psyche and personality, whether they are aware of this or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examine three levels of personality hierarchy in childhood. [•] Personality–environment interactions are specific for outcome and informant. [•] Contribution of personality to well-being is larger in difficult circumstances. [•] This pattern applies mainly to proximal family environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between gender and the temperamental characteristics of children between the ages of five and six, as well as to assess their behavioural problems. The sample included 128 children selected by simple random sampling from 5-6 year old children, receiving preschool education in the city centre of İzmir province in Turkey. Of the children, 65 were girls (50.8%) and 63 (49.2%) were boys. The data collection instruments were the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales and the Short Temperament Scale for Children, respectively. The results of this study reveal that there is no significiant difference between gender and the child temperament subscales of approach/withdrawal; persistence and rhythmicity; and a child's behavioural problems, respectively. However, the gender of the children was found to be significantly related to the reactivity sub-dimension of their temperament (p < 0.05). Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between the temperament subscale of reactivity and externalising problems subscale of behavioural problems (p < 0.05). On the other hand, a negative correlation was observed between the persistence temperament dimension and the behavioural problem dimension of self-centredness (p < 0.05). In the opinion of the researcher, it is important to know the children's personality features, monitor their behaviour, and take respective measures when necessary. These research results contributed positively to this end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the level of self-esteem and the degree of socialization of six to seven year olds. The aim is to establish the link -- self-confidence - socialization The results are summarized and conclusions are alleging. Target species are theoretically self-esteem, key factors, components and features. Specificity and importance of socialization on the overall formation of a child's personality is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The parental rights and duties regarding the child's person are not left suspended: they do not only bear a general purpose (the best interests of the child) that set forth common features; they always have their own object. In this study, we only regard the education, as an inherent object of the characteristics of parental authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lahey (2014) provides a thoughtful and scholarly discussion of our review of the research on the potential utility of callous-unemotional (CU) traits for designating a distinct subgroup of children and adolescents with severe conduct problems. In this reply, we attempt to clarify several issues raised in Lahey's commentary. Specifically, by focusing largely on only 1 part of the research review (i.e., implications for evaluating the new specifier included for the diagnosis of conduct disorder in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), the commentary underestimates the available empirical support for the utility of these traits for designating an important subgroup of children and adolescents with severe conduct problems. Furthermore, we highlight a number of studies that provide data inconsistent with the model proposed by Lahey in which CU traits are best considered as solely a marker of more severe conduct problems. Finally, we highlight limitations in estimating the stability of CU traits based solely on the number of individuals who continue to fall above and below a diagnostic cutoff at 2 points in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frick, Ray, Thornton, and Kahn (2014) presented a comprehensive and well-articulated review of studies relevant to the validity and utility of using callous-unemotional traits to subtype the diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD). Like definitions of subtypes of CD in previous versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the available evidence on the validity of the new subtypes of CD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) based on callous-unemotional traits is thin. Nonetheless, the target article makes a compelling argument for further study of callous-unemotional and related traits to better understand the heterogeneity of CD. In particular, the possibilities that callous-unemotional traits may facilitate under- standing of etiology and psychobiological mechanisms and may help predict the prognosis and treatment outcomes of children with CD deserve greater study. Future research must be stronger than previous research, however, in using more appropriate samples of children with CD along with more informative designs, and in conducting analyses to directly test the incremental validity of callous-unemotional traits as a subtyping variable beyond the severity or aggressiveness of CD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a comprehensive review of the research on the use of callous and unemotional (CU) traits for designating an important subgroup of children and adolescents with severe conduct problems. It focuses on the etiological significance of recognizing this subgroup of youths with severe conduct problems, its implications for diagnostic classification, and the treatment implications of this research. The review highlights limitations in existing research and provides directions for future research. The available research suggests that children and adolescents with severe conduct problems and elevated CU traits show distinct genetic, cognitive, emotional, biological, environmental, and personality characteristics that seem to implicate different etiological factors underlying their behavior problems relative to other youths with severe conduct problems. Recognizing these subgroups could be critical for guiding future research on the causes of severe conduct problems in children and adolescents. Further, children and adolescents with both severe conduct problems and elevated CU traits appear to be at risk for more severe and persistent antisocial outcomes, even controlling for the severity of their conduct problems, the age of onset of their conduct problems, and common comorbid problems, which supports the clinical importance of designating this group in diagnostic classification systems. Finally, although children and adolescents with both severe conduct problems and elevated CU traits tend to respond less positively to typical interventions provided in mental health and juvenile justice settings, they show positive responses to certain intensive interventions tailored to their unique emotional and cognitive characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present case report refers to a child who has been living in an oneiric-fantastic subculture, populated by believes in magic, witches, spells, and the power of curses. Stubbornness, as a distinctive personality trait, has turned into a structure of defence against maternal beliefs, stubbornness which, over the years, became extremely rigid, inflexible and maladaptive. As key elements of psychopathlogy, the patient presents symptoms from the negative area, such as poor hygiene, apathy, avolition in terms of social and occupational functioning, with a hyperbulia selectively targeted within the force she uses to oppose her parents. We suggest psychodynamic discussions over the existence of a disharmonic structuring of personality from the schizotypal register, but fingerprinted with a regional, cultural, histrionic halo, with decompensations from an atypical register, which involves impairment of social and occupational functioning, by emphasizing trends such as infantile stubbornness, which may take the form of self-destruction. We are raising suspicions over meta-simulation elements, such as Münchausen syndrome by proxy, regardless of the psychiatric diagnosis given in longitudinal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author, a child psychotherapist, describes sessions with a ten-year-old girl who was adopted by a single mother after possibly sustaining abuse as a child at age four. The girl's personality, attachment to her adoptive mother, and communication abilities are discussed, as well as her play behavior, polarized emotions, and changes between manic and infantile behavior while in therapy sessions.

The pedagogical vocation of Dimitrie Cantemir is less known than that of a scholar and politician. Our aim is to analyze the pedagogical virtues of his personality, more precisely, his conception of the manner in which children's education is to be carried out, the steps of this important process in developing the human personality. It is also remarkable that a thinker with an encyclopaedic background, having the propensity to universality, pleads for a profoundly Christian education of children, somehow leaving us to understand that all knowledge becomes meaningful if there is there is this paideutic foundation underlying the children's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pedagogical vocation of Dimitrie Cantemir is less known than that of a scholar and politician. Our aim is to analyze the pedagogical virtues of his personality, more precisely, his conception of the manner in which children's education is to be carried out, the steps of this important process in developing the human personality. It is also remarkable that a thinker with an encyclopaedic background, having the propensity to universality, pleads for a profoundly Christian education of children, somehow leaving us to understand that all knowledge becomes meaningful if there is there is this paideutic foundation underlying the children's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All children and young people need to play. The impulse to play is innate. Yet, the pure essence of play is playfulness a notion not new, yet limitedly researched. Playfulness refers to the individual style each child has to play, which is linked to personality descriptors and attributes. The present study had a twofold aim. On the one hand, it aimed at assessing Greek preschool children's playfulness employing Children's Playfulness Scale. On the other hand, it aimed at examining whether personal and family variables affect children's playfulness. Results suggest that the sample exhibits rather medium levels of playfulness and that during play they enact more cognitive spontaneity, compared with other components of playfulness. Thus, correlation analysis showed that playfulness components predict one another and that several personal and family characteristics correlate with playfulness' aspects. Implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Developmental psychologists have shown interest in the development of psychological essentialism among children; that is, a belief that certain psychological characteristics (such as personality) are relatively stable and unchanging. Although previous studies have shown that children are essentialistic about human traits, and the coherence among various essentialism dimensions increases with age, moderating cultural factors in the development of essentialism, especially among Asian children, have received little attention. Using the methodologies of Gelman, Heyman, and Legare (2007), levels of psychological essentialism among Korean children and adults were measured, and compared with the original US data. Results demonstrated cross‐cultural similarity in the development of coherence in essentialistic thought, and difference in the level of essentialism among adult participants. The present findings imply that different cultural values between Asians and Westerners can play a role in the developmental trajectory of psychological essentialism. Les psychologues développementaux ont exprimé un intérêt pour le développement de l'essentialisme psychologique chez les enfants, lequel représente la croyance que certaines caractéristiques psychologiques (comme la personnalité) sont relativement stables et inchangeables. Quoique les études antérieures aient montré que les enfants sont essentialistes à propos des traits humains, et que la cohérence de plusieurs dimensions essentialistes augmente avec l’âge, les facteurs culturels modérateurs du développement de l'essentialisme, spécialement chez les enfants asiatiques, ont reçu peu d'attention. Les niveaux d'essentialisme psychologiques chez des enfants et des adultes coréens ont été mesurés en utilisant la méthode de Gelman, Heyman et Legare (2007). Les résultats ont été comparés avec les données originales obtenues aux États‐Unis. Les résultats ont démontré des similarités entre les cultures à propos du développement de la cohérence de la pensée essentialiste, ainsi que des différences dans le niveau d'essentialisme chez les participants adultes. Les présents résultats impliquent que différentes valeurs culturelles entre les Asiatiques et les Occidentaux peuvent jouer un rôle dans la trajectoire développementale de l'essentialisme psychologique. Los psicólogos del desarrollo han mostrado interés en el desarrollo del esencialismo psicológico en niños, es decir, en la creencia que ciertas características psicológicas (tales como la personalidad) son relativamente estables y no cambiantes. Aunque estudios anteriores han mostrado que los niños son esencialistas respecto de los rasgos humanos, y que la coherencia de las diversas dimensiones esencialistas aumenta con la edad, los factores culturales que moderan el desarrollo del esencialismo, especialmente entre los niños asiáticos, han recibido poca atención. Se utilizaron las metodologías de Gelman, Heyman, y Legare (2007) para medir los niveles del esencialismo psicológico entre niños y adultos coreanos, y se compararon los resultados con los datos originales de los Estados Unidos. Los resultados mostraron similitudes transculturales en el desarrollo de la coherencia en el pensamiento esencialista, y diferencias en el nivel de esencialismo entre los sujetos adultos. Los hallazgos actuales implican que los valores culturales diferentes entre los asiáticos y los occidentales pueden cumplir una función en la trayectoria del desarrollo del esencialismo psicológico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether, and if so, to what extent, education and coping strategies may reduce the detrimental effects of childhood maltreatment on personality functioning. Methods: We assessed dimensional trait-scores of all 10 DSM-IV personality disorders (PDs), childhood maltreatment, education and three coping styles in 511 subjects of the general population of Zurich, Switzerland, using data from the ZInEP Epidemiology Survey. Results: Childhood maltreatment was associated with all 10 PDs. Low education was related to antisocial, borderline and histrionic PD. Low emotion-focused coping was associated with paranoid, schizoid, borderline, avoidant, and obsessive–compulsive PD. Low problem-focused coping was related to schizoid PD and high problem-focused coping to histrionic PD. High dysfunctional coping was significantly related to all 10 PD dimensions. Obsessive–compulsive trait scores were significantly lower in maltreated subjects with high emotion-focused coping. Antisocial, borderline and narcissistic trait scores were significantly higher in maltreated subjects with high dysfunctional coping. Conclusion: Education and adaptive coping may have a protective effect on PD symptomatology. Promotion of adaptive coping and suppression of dysfunctional coping may additionally reduce PD symptoms specifically in maltreated subjects. Those findings have important clinical implications. Longitudinal research is needed to address questions of causality and to evaluate potential effects of treatment and intervention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]