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ABSTRACT Research Highlights This study examined whether grandparental support is a protective factor for children's socio‐emotional development in the context of adversity. Using longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study, we investigated the effects of grandparental support across development in children with and without adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Socio‐emotional development was assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire when children were aged 3 years (N = 10,186), 5 years (N = 10,412) and 7 years (N = 10,551). Parent‐reported grandparental childcare, coresidence and financial help were assessed and parents reported on the occurrence of five ACEs: physical and emotional abuse assessed with the Straus’ Conflict Tactics Scale, parental mental illness assessed with the Kessler scale, domestic violence and parental separation. We found that children with relatively higher levels of ACEs showed more prosocial behaviour and less externalizing problems when they received grandparental care compared to non‐grandparental (in)formal care, but only at age 3. By age 7, children with higher levels of ACEs receiving grandparental care showed less prosocial behaviour and more externalizing problems. In addition, grandparental financial support at age 3 was related to more externalizing problems. Post‐hoc analyses showed that internalizing and externalizing behaviours at age 5 were related to an increased probability of grandparental childcare at age 7, indicating that children's socio‐emotional problems trigger grandparental support. Our findings point to a protective effect of grandparental care on children's socio‐emotional development at age 3. Our results highlight the importance of going beyond the nuclear family towards the impact of the wider family network when examining children's socio‐emotional development. Three‐year‐old children with high levels of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) show more prosocial behaviour and less externalizing behaviour when they receive grandparental care. Grandparental care has therefore protective effects on young children's socio‐emotional development in the context of family adversity. Grandparents respond to children's socio‐emotional problems and family adversity by increasing financial support and involvement in care. These findings underscore the importance of going beyond the nuclear family towards the impact of the wider family network when examining children's socio‐emotional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cyberbullying is an emerging public health problem, it is unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic affects cyberbullying. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cyberbullying, to estimate the global cyberbullying prevalence and to explore factors related to cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic. We searched the Medline, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Eric, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, Chinese CNKI, and EBSCO databases to identify relevant empirical studies published between 2019 and 2022. A total of 36 studies were included. Quality assessment, meta-analyses, and subgroup analyses were conducted. The pooled prevalences were 16% for overall cyberbullying, 18% for victimization and 11% for perpetration during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pooled prevalence of postpandemic cyberbullying perpetration is lower in children than in adults. In addition, both virus- and lockdown-related stressors were the main factors contributing to cyberbullying. The COVID-19 crisis may reduce cyberbullying, and the pooled prevalence of cyberbullying during the pandemic in adults is higher than in children and adolescents. In addition, the transient-enduring factor model of postpandemic cyberbullying built in this review could help identify people at high risk of cyberbullying during public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on the impact of COVID-19 indicate that pandemic-related distress increases risks for child maltreatment, although data on the scope of this problem are still scarce. Here, we assessed whether parents with toddlers (n = 206) more often used harsh discipline during the lockdown in the Netherlands compared to a matched parent sample collected prior to the pandemic (n = 1,030). Parents were matched on background characteristics using propensity score matching. We found that harsh parenting levels were significantly elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. Harsh parenting behaviors with a low prevalence before COVID-19 increased most strongly: shaking, calling names, and calling the child stupid. These results suggest that parental tolerance for children's disobedience is lower under the adverse circumstances of COVID-19 and, as a result, abusive parenting responses are more difficult to inhibit. Thus, a lockdown seems to increase risks for child maltreatment, underscoring the need for effective support strategies for at-risk families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Becoming a parent requires new skills and frequent task switching during daily childcare. Little is known about the paternal brain during the transition to fatherhood. The present study examined intrinsic neuronal network connectivity in a group of first-time expectant and new fathers (total N  = 131) using amygdala seed-based resting-state functional connectivity analysis. Furthermore, we examined the association between paternal involvement (i.e. hours spent in childcare and real-time push notifications on smartphone) and connectivity within the parental brain network in new fathers. There were no significant differences in functional connectivity between expectant and new fathers. However, results show that in new fathers, time spent in childcare was positively related to amygdala connectivity with the supramarginal gyrus, postcentral gyrus and the superior parietal lobule—all regions within the cognition/mentalizing network that have been associated with empathy and social cognition. Our results suggest that fathers' time investment in childcare is related to connectivity networks in the parental brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted many aspects of society and has indirectly produced various psychological consequences. This systematic review aimed to estimate the worldwide prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to identify protective or risk factors contributing to child PTSD. Methods. We conducted a systematic literature search in the PubMed, ProQuest, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science, WanFang, CNKI, and VIP databases. We searched for studies published between January 1, 2020 and May 26, 2021, that reported the prevalence of child PTSD due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as factors contributing to child PTSD. Eighteen studies were included in our systematic review, of which 10 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results. The estimated prevalence of child PTSD after the COVID-19 outbreak was 28.15% (95% CI: 19.46–36.84%, I 2 = 99.7%). In subgroup analyses for specific regions the estimated prevalence of post-pandemic child PTSD was 19.61% (95% CI: 11.23–27.98%) in China, 50.8% (95% CI: 34.12–67.49%) in the USA, and 50.08% in Italy (95% CI: 47.32–52.84%). Conclusions. Factors contributing to child PTSD were categorized into four aspects: personal factors, family factors, social factors and infectious diseases related factors. Based on this, we presented a new framework summarizing the occurrence and influence of the COVID-19 related child PTSD, which may contribute to a better understanding, prevention and development of interventions for child PTSD in forthcoming pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to provide appropriate responses to infant distress is vital to paternal care, but may be affected by fathers' experiences of childhood maltreatment. Detrimental effects of childhood maltreatment have been found in the adult brain's white matter fibers, accompanied with impaired emotional and cognitive functioning. In the current study (N = 121), we examined new and expectant fathers' childhood maltreatment experiences (i.e. emotional and physical abuse and neglect), current behavioral responses (i.e. handgrip force) to infant cry sounds, and white matter integrity using diffusion tensor imaging. First, more exposure to childhood maltreatment was associated with more use of excessive handgrip force in response to infant crying by fathers. Second, the association between experienced childhood maltreatment and white matter integrity was not significant in whole‐brain analyses. Lastly, we found that the association between maltreatment exposure and excessive handgrip force during infant crying was absent in fathers with high tract integrity in the bilateral uncinate fasciculus. These findings possibly point to insufficient behavioral inhibition or emotional dysregulation in fathers who experienced childhood maltreatment, but buffering for this effect in those with larger integrity in brain fibers connecting the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infant protection is an important but largely neglected aspect of parental care. Available theory and research suggest that endocrine levels and neural responses might be biological correlates of protective behavior. However, no research to date examined associations between these neurobiological and behavioral aspects. This study, preregistered on https://osf.io/2acxd, explored the psychobiology of paternal protection in 77 new fathers by combining neural responses to infant‐threatening situations, self‐reported protective behavior, behavioral observations in a newly developed experimental set‐up (Auditory Startling Task), and measurements of testosterone and vasopressin. fMRI analyses validated the role of several brain networks in the processing of infant‐threatening situations and indicated replicable findings with the infant‐threat paradigm. We found little overlap between observed and reported protective behavior. Robust associations between endocrine levels, neural responses, and paternal protective behavior were absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viewing cute images has been reported to promote performance on tasks requiring carefulness, possibly related to an enhanced positive emotional state. However, it is unclear whether viewing infant images also enhances attention control in mothers. Therefore, this experimental study examined whether exposure to images of infants affected mothers' performance on a visual search task, studying associations with happy facial expressivity. Mothers (N = 101, Mage = 30.88) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in which they either viewed images of infants or images of adults. Before and after viewing images, mothers performed a visual search task. Mothers' happy facial expressions at baseline and when viewing images were analysed. Viewing images of infants, in contrast to viewing images of adults, improved task performance indexed by accurateness, but not the number of correct responses. Images of infants elicited happy facial expressivity, which was associated with the number of correct responses on the visual search task. This study showed that viewing images of infants evokes happy facial expressions in mothers and can improve mothers' performance on a perceptual-cognitive task requiring attention control. Mothers' responses to infant images may be explained as an attentional preparedness for caregiving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood adversity has been associated with poor adult health. However, it is unclear whether timing of adversity matters in this association and whether adversity is related to poorer age-related physical health status. A representative sample of the adult Dutch population (N = 3,586, age M = 54.94, age range = 18–92) completed surveys on health and diagnoses of age-related diseases. Information about weight and fat percentage was collected using weighing scales and childhood experiences were assessed retrospectively. Adversity was associated with higher body mass index and fat percentage, more physical problems, and high cholesterol, and this association was most pronounced in individuals with experiences of adversity during early adolescence. In addition, individuals with adversity more often reported physical problems or a medical diagnosis at a younger age. This study indicates that (1) timing of exposure to adversity matters in the relationship between experienced childhood adversity and health and (2) adversity is associated with a higher prevalence of age-related diseases at earlier ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]