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The interaction between a mother and child stands as one of the most profound and intricate human connections, weaving a rich tapestry of behavioral and emotional bonds during the formative years. Although mother–child interactions have received substantial attention in the developmental science literature, few studies have tapped into the extensive corpus of speech data available to uncover the nuances of these interactions across developmental stages. This study applied text mining and sentiment analysis on narratives extracted from mother–child conversations to identify the developmental trend of mother–child interactions from early to middle childhood. The results, based on three key areas of dyadic interactions, demonstrated a shift toward more balanced turn-taking dynamics and linguistic congruence as children age. Also, there was a significant interdependence of mother and child expressed emotions across time. Further investigation of the dyadic emotionality revealed a nonlinear effect of mother-expressed emotion on child-expressed emotion: mother-expressed negative emotions followed a cubic-like pattern, while positive emotions followed a mild quadratic trend. Taken together, the findings of this study present a picture of progressive augmentation of mother–child synchrony over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperamental inhibitory control is a foundational capacity for children's social, emotional, and behavioral development. Even though temperament is suggested to have a biological basis, the physiological indicators of inhibitory control remain unclear amid mixed empirical results. In this study, we leveraged a multicohort longitudinal design to examine resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a physiological correlate of inhibitory control across the early and middle childhood years. Data were collected annually across four time points from cohorts of 4- (n = 150, Mage = 4.53; SD = 0.30; 49.7% female) and 8- (n = 150; Mage = 8.53; SD = 0.29; 49.7% female) year-old children and their caregivers. There were weak, albeit significant, associations between resting RSA and caregiver-reported inhibitory control in middle childhood but not in early childhood. A stronger association was found for older children when latent trait assessments of RSA and inhibitory control were derived from commonalities across the four annual assessments. We conclude that using repeated measures to extract latent trait scores increases power to detect potential physiological indicators of temperament. Public Significance Statement: In the current study we examined resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a biological correlate of temperamental inhibitory control with a multicohort, 4-year longitudinal design across early and middle childhood. The analyses examining associations between resting RSA and inhibitory control across the latent trait models (derived from four repeated measures) showed significant associations between resting RSA and inhibitory control in middle childhood but not in early childhood. Results indicated that the biological correlates of temperamental inhibitory control might become more crystalized in middle childhood and showed that the use of repeated measures to extract latent trait scores would increases power to detect potential physiological indicators of temperamental inhibitory control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to studies of ethnic identity development in adolescence, fewer investigations have examined the development of ethnic identity during middle childhood, a developmental period of dynamic social and cognitive changes that have direct implications for social identity and group membership. Moreover, research on the developmental processes of Asian American youth has also primarily utilized cross‐group comparisons, while neglecting consideration of variations in acculturation, socioeconomic status, and other sociodemographic characteristics within Asian American ethnic groups. Using a socioeconomically‐ and acculturatively‐diverse sample of Chinese immigrant families in the United States (N = 169; 49.1% girls; M = 9.16 years; SD = 1.05), the present study examined how parents' ERS practices varied by parents' socioeconomic status, education, and cultural orientations, then tested associations between parents' ERS and children's self‐reported ethnic centrality and ethnic regard. More highly‐educated Chinese American immigrant parents reported more frequent cultural socialization and more acculturated parents reported more preparation of their children for racial and ethnic bias. Consistent with hypotheses, parents' cultural socialization was positively associated with children's self‐reported ethnic centrality and positive regard. Results highlight the roles of social status and acculturation in Chinese immigrant parents' ERS, and point to middle childhood as a key developmental window for ethnic identity socialization and development in immigrant families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of 868 unmarried fathers who did not live with their children from birth to age 9, this study focused on the association between patterns of father–child contact during infancy and early and middle childhood and children's perceptions of their relationship with the father at age 9. Children perceived significantly better quality relationships with fathers at age 9 when they had regular contact with fathers during infancy and early and middle childhood, than fathers who never saw their children. Children who no longer saw their fathers after infancy perceived more negative relationship quality at age 9. Contact with fathers at ages 1 and 5 were associated with better quality relationships even if there was no contact at age 9. Implications for policy and programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explored how children's social interactions during a six-month period of school closures impacted the development of their social and emotional functioning on return to school. A sample of 81 primary school children (age 8–12 years) in Ireland completed measurements of social and emotional functioning before and after the school closure period, and a measure of the types of social interactions they experienced with parents, siblings, and peers, during school closures. Playing outside with friends, playing with siblings, and spending quality time with parents, protected children from declines in social and emotional functioning. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) suggests that home environment is associated with early childhood development outcomes. However, studies from LMIC that have examined how the home environment during middle childhood is associated with intellectual abilities are scarce. The objective of the study was to explore the association between different aspects of the home environment at 7–8 years and fluid reasoning abilities in a rural, high-risk cohort in Pakistan. Methods: We employed a cross-sectional research design to examine 1172 children between 7 and 8 years and their families, utilizing the Home Observation for Measurement of Environment for Middle Childhood (HOME-MC) to evaluate various aspects of the home environment and the Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI) of the Wechsler Intelligence for Children (WISC)-5th edition to assess the fluid reasoning abilities of the children. Multivariable regression analyses were used to examine the association between different components of HOME-MC (scored as indices) and FRI scores. Findings: Learning materials and opportunities (β = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.15, 2.33) and Responsivity (β = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.07, 2.38) indices had the strongest association with FRI score followed by Family companionship index (β = 1.27, 95% CI = 0.63, 1.90). The eight different indices of the HOME-DC explained 22% of the total variation in FRI scores. Conclusion: We conclude that concurrent learning opportunities, parental responsivity and family companionship at home are associated with fluid reasoning abilities during middle childhood which is comparable to what has been found in early childhood years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to investigate value change and stability longitudinally in middle childhood. Background: Values are the aspect of personality defining one's aspirations. Research identifies meaningful values in middle childhood, yet we know little about the process of their development within individual. Method: Children (N = 298; 53.7% girls, Mage = 7 years and 3 months, SD = 7.70 months, at the first time point) four times, annually. Results: Rank‐order stability increased with age and decreased with time‐span. We found value hierarchy consistency, with value hierarchy similar to adolescents in the priority given to openness to change versus conservation values, and to adults in the priority given to self‐transcendence values. Latent growth curve analyses indicated linear increase in openness to change, and curvilinear increase in self‐transcendence values, and linear decrease in conservation and self‐enhancement values, with some differences across ages. Value structure was better differentiated with age. Compatible values changed in similar, and conflicting values in opposite directions. Conclusions: This paper suggests that in middle childhood, children can already report stable values. Moreover, middle childhood is characterized by coherent change patterns, of increase in the importance of growth, and decrease in the focus on conflicting protection values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research suggests that secure base script knowledge is categorically distributed in middle childhood but becomes dimensionally distributed from late adolescence onward, potentially indicating a developmental shift in the nature of secure base script knowledge. Secure base script knowledge may initially be sparse, giving rise to categorical individual differences, while increased relational experiences later in development might contribute to more elaborated secure base script knowledge and dimensional individual differences. However, the cross-sectional nature of prior research limits inferences about developmental changes. To address this, we conducted a three-year, three-wave longitudinal study with a Western European sample transitioning from middle childhood to adolescence. At Wave 1 (n = 599, Mage = 10.30), secure base script knowledge was categorically distributed. By Wave 2 (n = 435, Mage = 11.30), distribution was ambiguous, and by Wave 3 (n = 370, Mage = 12.09), individual differences were dimensional. These results suggest a developmental shift in secure base script knowledge during the transition into adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the link between peer victimization and callous-unemotional (CU) traits has primarily relied on cross-sectional designs and yielded equivocal findings. In light of the poor outcomes related to peer victimization and CU traits, it is important to determine whether this link is reciprocal in nature and to identify factors that may influence its strength. Accordingly, the current study investigated the bidirectional association between peer victimization and CU traits over a 6-month period, accounting for the moderating effects of parents (i.e., support and hostility) and teachers (i.e., support and conflict). Participants included 284 third- through fifth-grade students (ages 7–12; 51.8% boys; 51.1% Hispanic) and their homeroom teachers. Children provided ratings of peer victimization, parental hostility, and parent and teacher support. Teachers provided ratings of CU traits and student-teacher conflict. A series of cross-lagged panel models were estimated. Results revealed that, at higher levels of parental hostility, peer victimization predicted increases in CU traits over time; in contrast, peer victimization predicted decreases in CU traits at lower levels of parental hostility. Surprisingly, at higher levels of teacher conflict, peer victimization predicted decreases in CU traits over time. CU traits did not interact with parent or teacher variables to predict subsequent peer victimization. Moreover, parental hostility was positively associated with subsequent peer victimization, whereas teacher support predicted decreases in victimization over time. These findings build on previous research examining environmental influences on the expression of CU traits by highlighting peer victimization and parental hostility as potential risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often experience academic challenges such as frequent homework difficulties. A subset of children with ADHD exhibit clinically significant levels of affect variability that may contribute to ADHD-related impairment such as homework difficulties. The present study sought to examine the relations between negative and positive affect variability and the two domains of homework problems (i.e., homework management and homework completion) in children with ADHD. It was hypothesized that both negative and positive affect variability would be associated with homework completion and homework management difficulties in children with ADHD. Participants (n = 47) included parents of 7–11-year-old children (M = 8.36, SD = 1.31) with ADHD. During the baseline session, parents completed a structured diagnostic interview and questionnaire measures to assess children's homework problems, ADHD symptoms, and related psychiatric conditions. Subsequently, parents provided ecological momentary assessments (EMA) ratings of their children's positive and negative affect three times daily over a one-week period. Results indicate that, while controlling for ADHD symptom severity, positive affect variability was significantly associated with homework management but not completion difficulties in children with ADHD; negative affect variability was not associated with homework problems in either domain. The current study highlights the importance of positive affect regulation in children's navigation of the homework process, and results suggest that children with ADHD who struggle with homework management difficulties might benefit from homework interventions that incorporate positive affect regulation strategies. Highlights: Positive affect variability is associated with homework management difficulties in children with ADHD. Negative affect variability is not significantly associated with homework problems in children with ADHD. Positive affect variability estimates homework management difficulties even when controlling for ADHD symptom severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents engage in a variety of behaviors that have important impacts on children's psychosocial functioning, including their ability to effectively regulate emotions. Parental support includes behaviors that convey warmth, love, and acceptance, whereas parental psychological control includes shaming, guilt induction, and love withdrawal. Although the unique effects of these parenting behaviors are most often examined in the literature, it is possible that they may interact with one another to influence child outcomes. The goal of the present study was to examine whether parental psychological control moderated the effect of parental support on children's emotion (dys)regulation over a 6-month period. Participants included 284 third- through fifth-grade students (51.8% boys; 51.1% Hispanic/Latinx) as well as their homeroom teachers. Children completed self-report measures of parental support, psychological control, and emotion (dys)regulation during the fall and spring semesters of an academic year. Teachers also completed measures of emotion (dys)regulation at each time point. Results indicated that parental psychological control moderated the association between parental support and self-reported emotion regulation over time. Specifically, parental support predicted increases in emotion regulation over time among youth reporting lower levels of psychological control; at higher levels, however, parental support was not associated with emotion regulation. Furthermore, psychological control uniquely predicted increases in child-reported emotion dysregulation, whereas parental support predicted decreases in teacher-reported emotion dysregulation. Findings from this study suggest that psychological control may serve as an important target for future parenting interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) suggests that home environment is associated with early childhood development outcomes. However, studies from LMIC that have examined how the home environment during middle childhood is associated with intellectual abilities are scarce. The objective of the study was to explore the association between different aspects of the home environment at 7–8 years and fluid reasoning abilities in a rural, high-risk cohort in Pakistan. Methods We employed a cross-sectional research design to examine 1172 children between 7 and 8 years and their families, utilizing the Home Observation for Measurement of Environment for Middle Childhood (HOME-MC) to evaluate various aspects of the home environment and the Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI) of the Wechsler Intelligence for Children (WISC)-5th edition to assess the fluid reasoning abilities of the children. Multivariable regression analyses were used to examine the association between different components of HOME-MC (scored as indices) and FRI scores. Findings Learning materials and opportunities (β = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.15, 2.33) and Responsivity (β = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.07, 2.38) indices had the strongest association with FRI score followed by Family companionship index (β = 1.27, 95% CI = 0.63, 1.90). The eight different indices of the HOME-DC explained 22% of the total variation in FRI scores. Conclusion We conclude that concurrent learning opportunities, parental responsivity and family companionship at home are associated with fluid reasoning abilities during middle childhood which is comparable to what has been found in early childhood years.

The main goal of the current work was to assess the age sensitivity of a novel battery of cool and hot Executive Function (EF) tasks developed for the middle childhood period: the Executive Brain Battery (EBB). To this end, we carried out a first study in which the EBB was administered to six age groups ranging from 6 to 11. Additionally, in a second study, we compared children at the end of middle childhood (age 11 years) and adult performance in the EBB. Results showed that tasks included in the EBB were suitable for all age groups, with more age-related changes being found in cool than hot EF tasks. Moreover, at the end of middle childhood, children reach an adult-like performance in most of these cool and hot tasks. The present findings extend previous research suggesting that cool and hot EFs exhibit different patterns of age-related growth in middle childhood. Additionally, the EEB could become a useful tool for research on EFs during middle childhood that could be adapted for a wide range of populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Research has consistently shown that difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) are associated with peer problems and internalizing symptoms during middle childhood. However, no longitudinal research has investigated the direction of effects, that is, how these constructs influence each other across time. In this preregistered three-wave panel study, we tested the directional effects between FER, peer problems, and internalizing symptoms among Finnish school-aged children (n = 3,607; M age = 8.20, SD age = 0.86; 51% female). The results of random-intercept cross-lagged panel models showed that a low FER accuracy and high biases toward happiness and sadness correlated with higher levels of peer problems and internalizing symptoms at the between-person level. However, we found no evidence of directional effects at the within-person level. Overall, our findings suggest that these constructs might be associated because of shared underlying causes, rather than mutually influencing one another in middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machiavellianism is an antisocial interpersonal style involving the use of manipulative, deceptive, and coercive behaviors in the pursuit of self-interest. Although widely studied as a "dark" personality trait in adults, relatively little is known about the developmental correlates of Machiavellian tendencies earlier in life. The present study addressed this knowledge gap by examining associations between Machiavellian behavior and three theoretically relevant social–emotional domains—prosocial emotions, emotion recognition skills, and self-control—in a community sample of 7- and 11-year-old Canadian children (N = 300, 50% female). Of particular interest was the extent to which individual differences in social–emotional capacities were uniquely associated with Machiavellian behavior after controlling for aggression, a relatively well-studied antisocial behavior in childhood. Parents reported on children's Machiavellian behavior and aggression. Social–emotional correlates were assessed via parent and child reports, behavioral tasks, and physiological assessments. Machiavellian behavior and aggression were similarly associated with lower parent-reported prosocial emotions and self-control. Machiavellian (but not aggressive) behavior was associated with lower child-reported guilt (a prosocial emotion), higher resting skin conductance levels (reflecting a general tendency for higher arousal), and better anger recognition. Semipartial correlational analyses indicated that these patterns of association with Machiavellian behaviors held independent of aggression. These findings indicate that, by middle childhood, Machiavellian behavior constitutes a distinct form of antisocial conduct that is associated with a unique social–emotional risk profile. Public Significance Statement: By middle childhood, Machiavellian behaviors such as manipulation, deception, and coercion are distinct from aggression in terms of their occurrence and associations with other domains of social–emotional functioning (e.g., prosocial emotions, emotion recognition ability, self-control). This suggests that traditional prevention and intervention programs targeting aggressive and violent tendencies may be less effective at curbing more subtle and self-serving forms of antisocial conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous literature shows that aspects of temperament, executive functioning, and EEG frontal asymmetry are related to externalizing behaviors in children. We examined whether frontal EEG asymmetry measured at age 6 would moderate the impact of negative affectivity, attentional control, and working memory at age 6 on conduct problems at age 9. Behavioral tasks were given to assess children's attentional control and working memory. Parents completed questionnaires about their children's negative affectivity and conduct problems. Results showed that greater negative affectivity reported at age 6 predicted for more conduct problems reported at age 9, regardless of EEG frontal asymmetry. Lower levels of attentional control and working memory at age 6 predicted for more conduct problems reported at age 9 when children also exhibited greater left EEG frontal asymmetry, which has been linked to approach motivation. These findings illustrate the importance of assessing multiple intrinsic factors, both independent and interactive, that contribute to children's conduct problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focuses on assessing the psychometric properties of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) in a German community sample of middle childhood participants. Previous research on the ICU has primarily been conducted in different samples and countries, with inconsistent results, i.e., different models in different samples and little attention given to German middle childhood populations. A critical need to deepen the understanding of callous-unemotional traits in middle childhood is urgently needed. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the factor structure of the ICU within a sample of children in middle childhood from Germany. A total of 824 children aged 7 to 12 years (M = 10.34, SD = 1.65) participated (52.18% boys). The ICU, a self-report measure, was employed to assess callous-unemotional traits in middle childhood. Additionally, this study also examines the relationship between callous-unemotional traits and morality. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate various model structures based on previous research. The best-fitting model was found to be a two-factor model consisting of callousness and uncaring factors. The moral self shows a stronger overarching association with the uncaring factor than with callousness. The study's findings provide valuable insights into the applicability of the ICU across various age ranges, particularly in childhood, and the results are discussed in the context of other identified models and age groups and suggest that assessing CU traits requires a detailed perspective, taking into account other developmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a global concern regarding boys' poor engagement in literacy activities. It is suggested that boys enjoy ways of learning that are active and have explicit goals. Readers' theater (RT) provides an active and collaborative means of practicing oral reading fluency, with a clear goal of performing for an audience at the end of training. In the context of an intervention study for struggling readers in grades 3 and 4 (9–10 years old), we investigated whether boys benefit more than girls from the goal to perform in readers' theater in terms of reading fluency development, engagement, and retrospective perception of their learning. We found that girls slightly outperformed boys in expressive reading and showed higher engagement in RT. Girls were also more interested in drama and more likely to participate in the study. However, boys showed a larger reduction in RT-related disaffection over time. In addition, boys in the goal-oriented program reported learning to act and immerse themselves in the text more often than boys in the practice-oriented RT. In contrast, girls reported learning these skills also in the practice-oriented RT. We conclude that the goal to perform in RT may be particularly helpful in engaging boys in RT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helping and seeing others being helped elicits positive emotions in young children but little is known about the nature of these emotions, especially in middle childhood. Here we examined the specific emotional characteristics and behavioral outcomes of two closely related other-praising moral emotions: elevation and admiration. We exposed 182 6.5- to 8.5-year-old children living in New Zealand, to an elevation- and admiration-inducing video clip. Afterwards children's emotion experiences and prosocial behaviour was measured. Findings revealed higher levels of happiness, care, and warmth after seeing prosociality in others (elevation condition) and higher levels of upliftment after seeing talent in others (admiration condition). We found no differences in prosocial behavior between the elevation and admiration conditions. This is the first study to assess elevation in childhood and offers a novel paradigm to investigate the role of moral emotions as potential motivators underlying helping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children prone to irritability experience significant functional impairments and internalising and externalising problems. Contemporary models have sought to elucidate the underlying mechanisms in irritability, such as aberrant threat and reward biases to improve interventions. However, the cognitive control processes that underlie threat (e.g., attention towards threats) and reward (e.g., attention towards reward-related cues) biases and the factors which influence the differential activation of positive and negative valence systems and thus leading to maladaptive activation of cognitive control processes (i.e., proactive and reactive control) are unclear. Thus, we aim to integrate extant theoretical and empirical research to elucidate the cognitive control processes underlying threat and reward processing that contribute to irritability in middle childhood and provide a guiding framework for future research and treatment. We propose an expanded conceptual framework of irritability that includes broad intraindividual and environmental vulnerability factors and propose proximal 'setting' factors that activate the negative valence and positive valence systems and proactive and reactive cognitive control processes which underpin the expression and progression of irritability. We consider the implications of this expanded conceptualisation of irritability and provide suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family meals are beneficial for youth healthy development. However, parents' experiences of daily stressors may hinder their capacity to facilitate family meals, serve healthful foods, and have implications for the family meal atmosphere. Using data from ecological momentary assessment, we examined whether family meals are less likely to occur, meals are less healthful, and meal atmosphere is less positive on days when parents experience higher-than-usual stress and whether coparenting support buffers these associations. We also explored the role of family stressors in these links. Participants were 497 parents (Mage = 35.86 years; 91% female) of 5- to 9-year-old children who identified as Asian (15%), Black (17%), Hispanic (10%), Native American (10%), Native Hawaiian (<1%), White (38%), multiracial (8%), or other (<1%). Results from multilevel models indicated that daily deviations in parents' stress levels were not correlated with family meal occurrence, healthfulness, or positive atmosphere. However, on days when the source of parents' stress was family related (e.g., family demands), odds of a positive meal atmosphere were significantly lower (OR = 0.92, 95% CI [0.88, 0.96]), adjusting for other sources of stress. Coparenting relationship quality was positively associated with family meal occurrence (OR = 1.34, 95% CI [1.01, 1.79]) and healthfulness (γ = 0.20, p <.001), however, it did not moderate links between stress and family meal occurrence, healthfulness, or atmosphere. Findings suggest that day-to-day fluctuations in parents' stress levels may not disrupt whether a family meal occurs, the healthfulness of foods served, or the atmosphere of family meals. However, family stressors and coparenting relationship quality merit investigation as potential intervention targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how children's perceptions of social group differences relate to attitudes and behaviour towards real‐world outgroups. We examined Arab‐Christian children living in Israel (N = 231, 52% female, average age 9.8 years) and randomly presented them with either Arab‐Muslim or Jewish outgroup targets. The children performed tasks measuring attitudes and prosocial behaviour towards the outgroup. Additionally, they were asked to describe the differences between their ingroup and the outgroup target. We found that children favoured the Arab‐Muslim outgroup over the Jewish outgroup, and perceived it as having fewer dimensions of difference from their ingroup. Fewer perceived dimensions of difference correlated with more positive attitudes. By the age of 12, however, perceiving more dimensions of difference was linked to increased compensatory prosocial behaviour towards the Jewish outgroup. The findings emphasize the dynamic interplay between cognitive development and intergroup experiences in understanding children's prosocial behaviour towards different outgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Very little is known about the attachment figures of children born to parents with minoritized sexual identities who used assisted reproduction, despite the importance of attachment for healthy child development. The present study examined the identification and utilization of attachment figures (e.g., parents, siblings, teachers, friends, cousins) for general attachment and companionship needs, as well as in context-specific and emotion-eliciting attachment situations, by donor-conceived children of lesbian mothers in middle childhood. Methods: Thirty-six children 6–12 years of age (Myears = 9.20, SD = 2.50; 47.22% assigned females at birth) of lesbian mothers through donor insemination, all residing in Italy, completed an open-ended interview to identify their attachment figures. Results: Children first sought parents for general attachment needs, context-specific attachment situations, and emotion-eliciting situations at school, and demonstrated no preference between the biological and the non-biological mother or the primary and the secondary caregiver. Also, children first sought peers (i.e., siblings, friends, cousins) as much as parents for general companionship needs, while they first sought parents for context-specific companionship. Conclusion: In middle childhood, lesbian mothers continue to function as safe havens and secure bases for their children. However, it cannot be excluded that children first turn to their biological mother for context-specific attachment situations. Also, children seek out peers more in specific companionship situations (e.g., sharing secrets, playing). Policy Implications: As lesbian mothers through donor insemination effectively meet children's attachment needs, regardless of their biological status and caregiving role, the lack of legal recognition of these families in Italy is empirically unfounded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionExecutive functions (EFs) are linked to positive outcomes across the lifespan. Yet, methodological challenges have prevented precise understanding of the developmental trajectory of their organization.MethodsWe introduce novel methods to address challenges for both measuring and modeling EFs using an accelerated longitudinal design with a large, diverse sample of students in middle childhood (N = 1,286; ages 8 to 14). We used eight adaptive assessments hypothesized to measure three EFs, working memory, context monitoring, and interference resolution. We deployed adaptive assessments to equate EF challenge across ages and a data-driven, network analytic approach to reveal the evolving diversity of EFs while simultaneously accounting for their unity.Results and discussionUsing this methodological paradigm shift brought new precision and clarity to the development of these EFs, showing these eight tasks are organized into three stable components by age 10, but refinement of composition of these components continues through at least age 14.

Most research on the development of executive functions (EF) has applied variable-oriented approaches, neglecting the potential inter- and intraindividual interplay of these capacities. In a person-oriented approach, the present study identified varying profiles of performance for three cool EF facets: inhibition, working-memory updating, and cognitive flexibility, as well as two hot EF facets: affective decision-making and delay of gratification, in a community sample of 1,657 children (T1; age: 6-11years, M = 8.36years, 52.1% female) via latent profile analysis. The best-fitting model allowed for partial dependence across the three cool EF and included four profiles: all-average (69.4% of the children), low-delay (19.0%), regulated-decision-making (7.0%), and low-inhibition (4.6%). Age, binary sex, socio-economic status, multilingualism, and processing speed were identified as significant characteristics of EF profile membership. Longitudinally, a higher probability of belonging to the low-inhibition profile predicted lower rates of the self-regulatory outcome of inhibitory control 1year later, while belonging to the regulated-decision-making profile predicted lower rates of the ability to plan and organize 3 years later. These results not only demonstrate the existence of subgroups with different concurrent within-person expressions of EF performance, but also identify related characteristics and longitudinal outcomes of subgroup membership. In turn, these conclusions stress the importance of person-oriented research to inform on differing weaknesses or strengths in EF performance for varying individuals, thereby providing valuable insight for educational and clinical research into the design of effective personalized support or interventions during middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reader's theatre is a well-used method and studied for practising oral reading. We examined teachers' experiences implementing our drama educational reader's theatre. We interviewed 12 Finnish teachers to find out what benefits teachers see in reader's theatre. The participants saw the approach as beneficial, not only considering reading but in various other areas as well. We also wanted to examine what kind of teacher actions lead to successful DERT. We found out that teachers' sensitivity on embodied level is essential, and the teacher should meet student needs carefully. Overall, implementing the programme seemed successful and beneficial for the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal practices and their exposure to traumatic events might impede children's psychological adjustment; however, family relations, play, and leisure engagement may mitigate it. Previous research that has focused on the mechanisms influencing children's psychological adjustment has not included contextual factors such as family relations and children's engagement in play. In a sample of mothers with and without a history of trauma, this study aimed to examine the impact of maternal practices on children's psychological adjustment and to test their indirect effect through family relations and child engagement in play and leisure activities. A cross-sectional study comprised a sample of 99 mother-child dyads with children aged 6 to 12 years old, predominantly Caucasian, and mothers with college-level education. Self-report measures assessed parental acceptance-rejection, the impact of maternal exposure to traumatic events, family relations, child psychological adjustment, and play. Children of mothers who reported exposure to traumatic events had significantly more psychosocial difficulties. A moderated mediated model tested whether family relations and child play engagement effects varied based on maternal exposure to traumatic events. The model was significant and both direct and indirect effects were supported. Maternal rejection predicted children's psychological maladjustment and this relation was mediated by children's engagement in play for mothers with a trauma history. These findings point to the importance of play and leisure activities within and outside the family context during the middle childhood period. Highlights: Engagement in play was related to greater psychosocial functioning for children whose mothers reported traumatic events exposure impacted their lives. Family relations did not mitigate the relationship between maternal practices and children's psychosocial adjustment. Children's engagement in play and leisure activities may act as a protective factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the current state of children's learning in the context of digital games. It highlights the increasing use of digital games in education and the potential benefits they offer. The article emphasizes the importance of designing efficacious games for learning and promoting durable, transferable learning from gameplay to activities beyond the game screen. It also explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) in enhancing learning experiences. The article addresses the ethical concerns associated with digital games, such as privacy and exposure to negative content, and calls for greater investment in media literacy research. Overall, the article suggests the need for further research and evidence-based guidelines to support the selection of age-appropriate, high-quality games for children. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Children's time use is a complex developmental phenomenon in need of a more in-depth, detailed understanding. Objective: The present study aimed to provide a comprehensive description of children's everyday lives in middle childhood and examine how different portfolios and patterns of daily activities occurring at home, school, and community are influenced by multilevel ecological factors. Method: Based on cross-sectional, multi-informant data from a sample of Portuguese 3rd and 4th graders (n = 209), this research expands previous literature by providing a mixture of variable- and person-centered analytical approaches to children's time use. Results: Findings indicate that children's everyday lives are characterized by a diversity of participation portfolios which embody multidimensional, heterogeneous, and qualitatively distinct participation patterns. A total of five different time use clusters were found: "less-active studious", "highly-engaged players", "less-involved after-schoolers", "highly-active homebodies", and "sedentary home screeners". Both portfolios and patterns of activities significantly varied as a function of child characteristics, parental education, family functioning and culture, and the environment quality of activity settings. Conclusions: Variations in ecological affordances and constraints may represent different levels of exposure to developmental opportunities. An ecological developmental perspective of children's time use is necessary and useful to enlighten how families, schools, and communities can positively influence children's lives and effectively support their well-being and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

States and school districts in the USA have begun to create and implement curriculum to promote elementary students' nascent STEM-related interests and to generate their initial knowledge of careers in those fields. Evaluating the efficacy of such interventions warrants valid and reliable tools, which are not presently available for middle childhood (ages 6–11) aged students in lower elementary school (approximately grades 2 to 4). This research study describes the creation and validation of the STEM Future-Career Interest Survey (STEM Future-CIS), a survey informed by extant inventories (i.e., Student Attitudes toward Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Survey and STEM Career Interest Survey) and grounded in the constructs of interest, self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, and personal goals (i.e., social cognitive career theory or SCCT) to better understand the knowledge and interest in S-T-E-M fields for grades 2–4. From two rounds of student and teacher interviews and pilots punctuated by periods of expert review, 804 students (grades 2–4 in the southeastern U.S.) participated in the STEM Future-CIS. By employing exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses among four models, results affirmed SCCT constructs as a model for how middle childhood aged students conceive their interest to engage in future career considerations in 25 items and four validated factors of math/science interest, engineering interest, technology interest, and future self. Sampled students were able to report technology and engineering interests; however, they experienced difficulty in differentiating math and science subject areas and the related future career opportunities in engineering and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study was conducted to perform the Turkish validity and reliability study of the Digital Addiction Scale for Children (DASC). Methods: The study was completed with 259 students (primary school 4th grade, secondary school 5th, 6th, and 7th grades). The research data were analyzed by transferring them to Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) 25 and Amos 22.0 package program. In the validity and reliability analyses of the scale, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability analysis (Cronbach’s alpha), and test-retest were performed to determine the internal consistency of the factors. Results: The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was found to be 0.941 as a result of EFA, and the following fit indices were obtained as a result of CFA; χ²/sd: 2.258, (RMSEA): 0.07, Comparative Fit Index (CFI): 0.907, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR): 0.049. Cronbach's alpha value of the overall 25-item scale was found to be 0.946. As a result of the test-retest, the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was identified as 0.938 for the overall scale. Conclusion: It was found that the DASC was a valid and reliable measurement tool that could assess the level of digital addiction in Turkish children aged 9-12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children from vulnerable backgrounds often have insecure attachment or disorganized attachment, which are related to psychological troubles, and such children need interventions to help them heal. The attachment system reorganizes in middle childhood, and other important adults play a considerable role in children's lives. Thus, it is essential to weigh the impact of psychosocial interventions, while the main focus of the intervention is the staff member's direct work with the child through a trusting relationship. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate whether children's attachment security and mental health outcomes change after participating in a trauma-informed, attachment-based, Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) provided in a daycare center. It was a case-series study involving twelve children aged 8–11 years. The child attachment interview (CAI), CBCL/6-18, TRF/6-18, and clinical interviews for parents and children were used, measuring the change between the TBRI implementation in the daycare center and after one year. For ten participants, we noticed an improvement in mental health; for seven participants, security scales improved; for two participants, their disorganized attachment changed into insecure–dismissing. We have preliminary evidence that vulnerable children may benefit in terms of attachment security and mental health from the trusting relationship that staff build using the TBRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this commentary we reflect on the recently introduced statutory framework for Relationships Education in primary education in England and welcome the inclusion of friendships on the curriculum. We suggest that the attention on some of the more controversial aspects of the framework has perhaps meant that there has been less critical consideration of the teaching of caring friendships. Here we discuss evidence showing the importance of children’s friendships for their school experience, wellbeing and later development and argue that sufficient time and effort should be incorporated into pastoral provision to attend to these topics. We outline some recommendations for practice based on using story-based material to engage children with the intricacies of friendship and equip them with the skills to manage these relationships effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although various assessment tools have been developed for measuring attachment in infancy and adulthood, there are no established measures for assessing attachment in middle childhood and adolescence. Thus, this study employed the semi-structured Child Attachment Interview (CAI) to assess the mental representations of attachment in middle childhood. Specifically, it examined the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the CAI with a non-referred sample of 93 Japanese children (46 boys, mean age＝9.83 years), who completed the CAI, Kerns Security Scale, and subtests for verbal and performance intelligence quotient. Meanwhile, the children's parents completed the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire. The results largely replicated those of prior validation studies, while the distribution of secure/ insecure attachment patterns corresponded to the expected distribution. Moreover, although the CAI scales showed the expected correlations with the self-reported attachment measures, they did not correlate with the children's temperament. Overall, our findings support the CAIʼs concurrent and discriminant validities for Japanese school-aged children. 【Research Impact】 The CAI is a semi-structured interview designed to assess children's mental representations of attachment in the age range referred to as the “measurement gap.” This study is the first to test the cross cultural adaptation of the CAI in a Japanese context. The findings support further research regarding this promising tool and its potential applications in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kindness is key to flourishing school communities. A social-cognitive approach to virtue emphasizes the importance of having an elaborate set of accessible mental representations (i.e., schemas) for expressing kindness. We employed a multi-informant, mixed method, longitudinal design across 6 months that focused on 4th and 5th graders' (N = 320) kindness schemas using the open-ended question, 'What are some ways you can show kindness to others?' Results indicated that children's schemas entailed wide-ranging content, expressing virtues of generosity, compassion, inclusion, civility, and harm avoidance. The breadth of children's schema repertoires was positively associated with peer (but not teacher) ratings of their kindness, and virtues that attend to others' vulnerability (compassion, inclusion) were the most indicative of children's kindness from peers' perspectives. Further, the breadth of kindness repertoires was associated with aspects of classroom ecology (e.g., peer acceptance), suggesting that positive classroom relationships may serve as sites for the cultivation of kindness schemas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined parental depression and parental reflective functioning (PRF) as predictors of parental proficiency in relational savoring (RS), the association between RS proficiency and a marker of children's physiological self-regulation, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), during a stressor, and indirect effects of parental depression and PRF on children's RSA via parents' RS. At Time 1 (T1), parents of 8- to 12-year-old children (N = 139) reported on their depressive symptoms and completed a parenting interview, coded for PRF. After 1.5 years (Time 2; T2), parents savored a positive relational memory that involved their children, which was coded for savoring proficiency. Children's RSA was measured during a stressful task (a series of impossible puzzles). Depressive symptoms (inversely) and PRF (positively) were associated with RS proficiency. Higher parental RS proficiency was associated with children's higher mean levels of RSA during the stressor. Indirect effects models supported that T2 RS proficiency mediated the negative association between parental T1 depressive symptoms and children's T2 RSA, and between T1 PRF and children's T2 RSA. We discuss these findings in terms of implications for parents' emotion regulation, children's emotion regulation, children's mental health, and intervention.

This study aimed to assess the influence of peer relationships on the self-consciousness and social adaptation of school-aged children in the Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used, with a population of 60,780 (29,968 males and 30,812 females). A multi-stage sampling method was employed to select 602 school-aged children from 58 schools in the Local Government Area, forming the sample for the study. For data collection, the study used questionnaires. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that more than half of the respondents (62.6%) showed moderate social adaptation, particularly when they were with their families (mean score of 4.53±2.31). The majority (76.6%) had low peer relationships, while 80.6% had high self-consciousness. The mean scores for peer relationships, self-consciousness, and social adaptation differed between male and female respondents. Females had higher peer relationships and social adaptation. The mean score for peer relationships was higher among students in private schools compared to those in public schools. A moderate positive relationship was found between peer relationships and social adaptation at a significance level of p

Values, abstract motivational goals—guides for the right and wrong, the desirable and undesirable—relate to many important attitudes and behaviors. Although meaningful understanding of values exists already at age 5, most developmental value research has focused on adolescence. Not enough is known about what happens to children's values during middle childhood, the period between these two life stages. We propose five criteria for value maturation, reflecting key cognitive and social advances in this period: (a) that children's value coherence increasingly reflects the motivational associations among values and that, with age, values become increasingly (b) abstract (c) consistent, (d) stable, and (e) related to behavior. Values undergo profound developmental changes during middle childhood indicating that, the importance of adolescence notwithstanding, middle childhood is crucial for value maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents' management of their children's sibling relationships, or sibling-focused parenting, has substantial theoretical and practical importance but is rarely studied. This study's goals were to describe dimensions of sibling-focused parenting and to examine sociocultural resources and challenges as potential correlates among Latinx mothers and fathers in 262 families with two children in middle childhood. Families were recruited from 11 public elementary schools, and caregivers (248 mother figures; 118 father figures) participated in a home visit and phone interviews at the onset of the study. Sibling-focused parenting included three dimensions: positive guidance (10 items), nonintervention (four items), and authoritarian control (five items). Parents rated positive guidance as their most frequent strategy, and comparisons of mothers and fathers from the same families revealed that mothers engaged in more sibling-focused parenting overall than fathers. Regarding correlates, mothers' familism values and mothers' and fathers' family cohesion reports were associated with more positive guidance and mothers' cohesion was negatively related to nonintervention in sibling conflicts. For mothers only, parenting stress was linked to all three dimensions of sibling-focused parenting—negatively to guidance and positively to authoritarian control and nonintervention; maternal depressive symptoms were positively linked to authoritarian control. Economic hardship was not a significant correlate of any dimension. Findings suggest that sibling-focused parenting is a key domain of parenting in need of further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined parental depression and parental reflective functioning (PRF) as predictors of parental proficiency in relational savoring (RS), the association between RS proficiency and a marker of children's physiological self-regulation, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), during a stressor, and indirect effects of parental depression and PRF on children's RSA via parents' RS. At Time 1 (T1), parents of 8- to 12-year-old children (N = 139) reported on their depressive symptoms and completed a parenting interview, coded for PRF. After 1.5 years (Time 2; T2), parents savored a positive relational memory that involved their children, which was coded for savoring proficiency. Children's RSA was measured during a stressful task (a series of impossible puzzles). Depressive symptoms (inversely) and PRF (positively) were associated with RS proficiency. Higher parental RS proficiency was associated with children's higher mean levels of RSA during the stressor. Indirect effects models supported that T2 RS proficiency mediated the negative association between parental T1 depressive symptoms and children's T2 RSA, and between T1 PRF and children's T2 RSA. We discuss these findings in terms of implications for parents' emotion regulation, children's emotion regulation, children's mental health, and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive peer experiences and self-regulation (SR) skills are crucial for children's healthy development, but little is known about how they interact during middle childhood. Therefore, we examined the prospective links between adverse peer experiences (APEs) and SR, drawing from the dataset of the PIER study. Across three measurement points, 1654 children aged 6–11 (T1), 7–11 (T2), and 9–13 years (T3) were included. We assessed the SR facets updating, flexibility, inhibition, emotional reactivity, inhibitory control, and planning using computerized tasks, parent- and teacher-reports. The latent variable of APEs consisted of measures of peer victimization and peer rejection assessed via self-, parent-, and teacher-report. Separate cross-lagged panel models were calculated, investigating the interplay of each SR facet and APEs. Results indicated that experiencing more APEs at T1 predicted higher emotional reactivity, and lower inhibition, inhibitory control, updating, and flexibility at T2. More APEs at T2 predicted higher emotional reactivity and lower planning at T3. Lower inhibition, updating, and flexibility at T2 predicted more APEs at T3. Accordingly, we found a negative bidirectional relationship between inhibition, updating, and flexibility with APEs. Our findings highlight that during middle childhood more APEs predict lower SR, which in turn predicts more experiences of peer victimization and rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have indicated that the media plays a role in the development of body dissatisfaction in children. Nevertheless, there is limited understanding of the protective factors that may reduce this association, such as the parent-child relationship. Therefore, this study investigates children's body dissatisfaction and self-esteem and the role of media pressure and a trust in parent-child relationships herein. A sample of n = 246 participants (59.8% girls, aged 8-10) was recruited. Children completed self-report questionnaires that assessed body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, media pressure, and trust in parent-child relationships. Results revealed that higher scores on media pressure were linked to increased body dissatisfaction and decreased self-esteem. On the other hand, higher scores on trust in mother and father were associated with lower levels of body dissatisfaction and higher levels of self-esteem. However, the presence of trust in parent-child relationships did not attenuate the impact of media pressure on body dissatisfaction or self-esteem. Further investigation is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of how sociocultural and interpersonal factors interact and contribute to the development of body image problems. While current prevention and intervention programs predominantly focus on the individual, it may be beneficial to place greater emphasis on the family environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study examined (1) whether measures of paternal anxious and depressive symptoms collected prenatally and during a follow-up assessment when the child was in middle childhood, predict child neuroendocrine outcomes, and (2) whether neuroendocrine outcomes are intermediate factors between paternal mental health and child cognitive/behavioral outcomes. Middle childhood coincides with increased autonomy as the child transitions into grade school, and with adrenarche, as the maturing adrenal gland increases secretion of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated metabolite (DHEA-S), hormones that are implicated in corticolimbic development which regulate emotions and cognition. Methods: Participants were recruited from a subsample of a large prospective birth cohort study (3D study). We conducted a follow-up study when children were 6–8  years old (N  =  61 families, 36 boys, 25 girls). Parental symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression were assessed via validated self-report questionnaires: prenatally using an in-house anxiety questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D), and at the follow up, using the Beck Anxiety and Beck Depression Inventories. Children provided salivary hormone samples, and their pituitary gland volume was measured from structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans. Child behaviors were measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and cognitive outcomes using the WISC-V. Multiple regression analyses were used to test whether paternal mental health symptoms assessed prenatally and during childhood are associated with child neuroendocrine outcomes, adjusting for maternal mental health and child sex. Indirect-effect models assessed whether neuroendocrine factors are important intermediates that link paternal mental health and cognitive/behavioral outcomes. Results: (1) Fathers’ prenatal anxiety symptoms predicted lower DHEA levels in the children, but not pituitary volume. (2) Higher prenatal paternal anxiety symptoms predicted higher child internalizing symptoms via an indirect pathway of lower child DHEA. No associations were detected between paternal anxiety symptoms measured in childhood, and neuroendocrine outcomes. No child sex differences were detected on any measure. Conclusion: These results highlight the often-overlooked role of paternal factors during pregnancy on child development, suggesting that paternal prenatal anxiety symptoms are associated with child neuroendocrine function and in turn internalizing symptoms that manifest at least up to middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental work aimed at examining principles of distributive justice in children can be interpreted as an effort to present methodologies that confirm the recognition and practice of these principles at increasingly early ages. The critical reading of sources implied by the review of specialized literature showed the possibility of classifying experimental studies with children into four periods. The first one corresponds to the contributions made by Piaget, Kohlberg, and Damon. Subsequently, findings in middle childhood are examined. Regarding early childhood, it has been observed that studies are divided into those examining preschool-aged children and those involving two-year-old infants. The overview shows that the discussion of experimental studies with the works of precursors is focused on identifying the principles at earlier ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study was conducted on a group of 208 children with a diagnosis of the autism spectrum aged between 3 years and 6 years 11 months, with a view to validating the four-factorial structure of the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire – 3.0 – Polish Version (SEQ-3.0 – Polish Version). The following questionnaires completed by the children’s parents/caregivers were used: SEQ-3.0 – Polish Version, the Child Behaviour Questionnaire – Very Short Form (CBQ-VSF), and a version of the EAS Temperament Survey for Children (EAS-C). The obtained results confirmed the four-factorial structure of the SEQ-3.0 – Polish Version: hyperresponsiveness (HYPER), hyporesponsiveness (HYPO), sensory interests, repetitions and seeking behavior (SIRS), and enhanced perception (EP). Not all of the items of the EP factor were found to have satisfactory loadings. Therefore, inferences about its presence in the structure of the SEQ-3.0 – Polish Version should be drawn with caution. All factors correlated with the temperamental traits of the children in the analyzed sample. The results suggest that in a group of children on the autism spectrum aged between 3 years and 6 years 11 months, the EP factor might not become manifest. Therefore, it is advisable that future studies be conducted with separate analyses for age subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim was to investigate if structural and relational characteristics of sibling relationships moderated the association between known injury risk factors and child injuries. Prior to the pandemic, 80 Canadian parents of two school‐aged biological siblings completed standardized questionnaires concerning child risk‐taking behaviours and injury frequency; they also reported on sibling caregiving. Children reported on sibling warmth. Wider age spacing amplified injury risk for younger siblings who engaged in more risk‐taking, while warmer sibling relationships lessened injury risk for younger siblings cared for by older siblings. The importance of incorporating sibling characteristics into family‐centred injury prevention programs was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interoception refers to the processing of internal bodily states and plays a critical role in motivational processes and behaviours. Instruments for assessing its subjective components (i.e., interoceptive sensibility) during childhood are crucially needed. Thus, in this study, we adapted and evaluated the psychometric properties of the Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ) in a sample of Italian children. The SAQ language was revised, and 239 children, ranging in age from 7 to 13 years, completed the adapted questionnaire (SAQ-C). A two-factor solution (visceral and somatosensorial domains) with 24 items showed the best fit of the data. The reliability was good. Convergent validity was fair, and the results indicated good discriminant validity. Moreover, correlational and regression analyses showed that interoceptive sensibility, particularly that associated with visceral sensations, increased with age. Current findings provide preliminary evidence that the SAQ-C may be a reliable and valid tool for assessing interoceptive sensibility in middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to re-examine psychodynamic understanding of middle childhood towards a conceptual reformulation of this critical developmental stage. We believe such a reformulation is necessary in the light of contemporary psychoanalytic thought and developmental findings outside of the psychoanalytic field. This is intended as a preliminary stage in the direction of a recalibration of the technique and language of child analytic treatment to fit the particular psychological challenges and needs of middle childhood. Historically, middle childhood (or latency) has been regarded as a period of psychosexual dormancy and psychic rigidity. We review contemporary developmental findings and suggest a shift in emphasis in psychodynamic thinking towards the psychic growth, developmental challenges and emotional fragility that also characterise middle childhood. We propose that the psyche of the school-aged child is at once wave and particle, constantly growing and evolving and yet simultaneously stable and structured. We also emphasise the complexity of psychosocial development in middle childhood beyond the triangular, into what we term the polygonal psychic space. The familiar structured games of middle childhood – card games, ball games, board games and today's console games – reflect this complex and paradoxical developmental picture, but the traditional child psychotherapy paradigm remains biased towards the toys and make-believe games of early childhood. Adaptation of technique and clinical theory to middle childhood is critical, particularly given the recent steep rise in referrals of school-aged children to mental health clinics across the globe, and the relatively high treatment drop-out rate commonly seen, especially in boys. We suggest the game-play typical of middle childhood offers a safe and developmentally appropriate medium of play, through which the child can express and explore their intrapsychic and interpsychic world in a psychotherapeutic setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]