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Monofloral Lavandula spp. honey is very appreciated by consumers due to its characteristic and pleasant aroma and flavor. Given the economic importance of this type of honey, it is important to develop a rapid and nonexpensive methodology that allows certifying its quality. In this context, this study aimed to compare the applicability and accuracy of FTIR-ATR and FT-Raman techniques for the quality evaluation of Lavandula spp. honey. Calibration models, with PLS regression models, were obtained for both methodologies concerning the following parameters: total acidity, reducing sugars, hidroximetilfurfural (HMF), electrical conductivity, ash, proline content, diastase activity, apparent sucrose, total flavonoids, and total phenolic contents. The calibration models had high regression coefficients, r 2 (FTIR-ATR: 0.965–0.996; FT-Raman: 0.983–0.999), high ratios of performance to deviation, RPD (FTIR-ATR: 5.4–15.7; FT-Raman: 7.6–53.7), and low root mean square errors (RMSEs; FTIR-ATR: 0.005–3.0; FT-Raman: 0.004–1.02). These results corroborate the potentiality of FTIR-ATR and FT-Raman for quality evaluation and evaluation of the chemical properties of Lavandula spp. honey even though FT-Raman technique provided more accurate models.

The present study assesses the factor structure, psychometric adequacy, and invariance across sex and age of the Relational Provisions Loneliness Questionnaire (RPLQ). Discriminant validity with an external criterion was also tested. In a sample of Portuguese adolescents, from 7th to 9th grade (N = 817), Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) were conducted to test a four-factor model of loneliness (lack of integration and/or intimacy in peer group and/or family). Results evidenced empirical support for the structure of the RPLQ loneliness scale, which fitted very well the proposed model, and provided adequate fit to the Portuguese data. There was substantial support for the construct validity (factorial, convergent, and discriminant) and reliability of the RPLQ. Measurement invariance (configural, metric, and scalar) was established across sex and age. Finally, it was assured discriminant validity, provided by the contrast with the social functioning dimensions in peer group. Overall, our findings support the conceptualization of loneliness in adolescence by peer- and family-related loneliness through lack of integration and intimacy. In a single instrument, the RPLQ loneliness scale combines measures of four important aspects of adolescents' social life. This seems to be an adequate instrument to be used in the study of adolescents' loneliness, in its different forms and across relational contexts.

Shy‐withdrawn behaviours place preschoolers at increased risk of experiencing adverse developmental outcomes. Positive teacher‐child relationships play a protective role against these negative socioemotional outcomes. This study aimed to understand, in‐depth, the beliefs, practices and support needs of preschool teachers toward shy‐withdrawn children. Thirty preschool teachers of children aged 3–5 years were interviewed, using a semistructured guide. The thematic analysis revealed that most preschool teachers were aware of the main manifestations, transactional influences and consequences of shy‐withdrawn behaviours, and of the empirically validated strategies that may be useful to modify them. However, a noteworthy proportion of participants reported misconceptions about the intentionality of shy‐withdrawn behaviours, negative emotions and inconsistent or less effective practices. Our findings highlight that strengthening pre‐service and in‐service training and providing coaching to the preschool staff may be helpful to restructure dysfunctional beliefs about shy‐withdrawn behaviours, translate developmental knowledge in evidence‐based classroom practices and enhance professionals' self‐awareness. Highlights: This study explored, in‐depth, the beliefs, practices and support needs of preschool teachers toward shy‐withdrawn children.Most of the 30 interviewed preschool teachers were aware of the main manifestations, transactional influences and consequences of shy‐withdrawn behaviours.Our findings highlight the need to strengthen teachers' training, bridging theoretical knowledge with professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preschool teachers' perceptions about relationships with students (teacher–child relationships [TCRs]) predict children's subsequent social competence (SC) and academic progress. Why this is so remains unclear. Do TCRs shape children's development, or do child attributes influence both TCRs and subsequent development? Relations between TCRs and other measures were examined for 185 preschoolers (107 girls, 89 longitudinal, and ~75% European American). Teachers rated TCRs and child social/affective behaviors. Teacher–child interactions (TCIs) and children's affect expressiveness were observed. Child SC and receptive vocabulary were assessed. TCRs were significantly correlated with each type of outcome. TCIs, SC, expressed affect, and teacher‐rated behaviors also predicted TCRs longitudinally. Results suggest that TCR ratings predict subsequent adaptation because they summarize children's behavioral profiles rather than on TCR quality per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Playing with peers is one of the most important contexts for the acquisition of social competencies in early childhood. This study examined the relation between children's play behavior, social acceptance in the peer group, and number of reciprocal friendships. One hundred and twenty eight children, aged between three and five years, participated in the study. Social acceptance and number of reciprocal friendships were assessed using two sociometric measures: nomination and comparison among peers. Children's behavior during play activities was assessed by a Portuguese version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale. Global results showed positive and significant correlations between positive interaction and sociometric measures, indicating that children who manifest positive play behaviors are more accepted by peers and have more reciprocal friendships. On the other hand, play disruption and disconnection were negatively correlated with sociometric measures, indicating that children who show these types of play behaviors have lower social acceptance and fewer reciprocal friendships. Parsing the correlations by the three age groups, results show distinct patterns of associations between quality of play, social acceptance and friendship in function of age. Our results stress that already at an early age, behavior during play is related to friendship and social reputation.

Teachers' tolerance toward children's social behaviors is, in part, guided by teachers' cognitions and emotions. Few studies have examined the associations between teachers' cognitions, emotions, and tolerance toward children's social behaviors. This study aimed to (1) describe the cognitions, emotions, and tolerance of Portuguese preschool teachers toward children's shy, physically and relationally aggressive, rough-and-tumble play, exuberant, and unsociable behaviors at preschool, depending on children's sex; and (2) examine the direct and indirect associations (via teachers' emotions) between teachers' cognitions and tolerance toward children's social behaviors, depending on children's sex. One hundred and seven preschool teachers completed the Child Behaviors Vignettes. Preschool teachers displayed more negative views toward children's physical and relational aggression, reported positive perspectives toward children's rough play and mixed attitudes toward children's exuberance, and differentiated shy from unsociable behaviors. Direct associations between teachers' cognitions and tolerance were found only for physical aggression. Teachers' anticipation of negative peer costs and academic performance appear to exert an indirect influence on teachers' tolerance toward physical aggression and unsociability, via increased levels of worry. These findings highlight the role of teachers' emotions for tolerance toward children's social behaviors and the need to enhance their self-awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tested the hypothesis that social engagement (SE) with peers is a fundamental aspect of social competence during early childhood. Relations between SE and a set of previously validated social competence indicators, as well as additional variables derived from observation and sociometric interviews were assessed using both variable-centered and person-centered approaches (N = 1,453,696 girls) in 4 samples (3 U.S.A., 1 Portuguese). Directly observed SE was positively associated with broad-band measures of socially competent behavior, peer acceptance, being a target of peers' attention, and also with broad-band personality dimensions. Using individual Q-items significantly associated with SE in 3 of our 4 samples, a hierarchical cluster analysis yielded a 5-cluster solution that grouped cases efficiently. Tests on relations between cluster membership and the set of social competence and other variables revealed significant main effects of cluster membership in the full sample and within each individual sample, separately. With the exception of tests for peer negative preference, children in the lowest SE cluster also had significantly lower overall social competence, personality functioning scores than did children in higher SE clusters.

The goal of this study was to determine whether peer social competence (SC), defined as the capacity to use behavioral, cognitive, and emotional resources in the service of achieving personal goals within preschool peer groups, was related to the type of affiliative subgroups to which children belonged. Two hundred forty Portuguese preschool children (152 seen in consecutive years of data collection) from middle-class families participated. Affiliative subgroup type was assessed from observed proximity data. Social competence was assessed using observational and sociometric measures. Children in more cohesive affiliative subgroups had higher levels of SC, whereas ungrouped children had the lowest SC scores. Follow-up analyses indicated that 2 of the measured SC domains (social engagement/motivation, profiles of behavior/personality attributes) were responsible for the overall difference in SC. Further, membership in a more cohesive subgroup in 1 year contributed to increases in scores for 2 of 3 SC domains (i.e., profiles of behavior/personality attributes and peer acceptance) in the following year. Results suggest that affiliative subgroups both reflect and support individual differences in peer SC during early childhood.

Research Findings: Data from a national sample of Portuguese preschool centers were used to examine the relationship between age of start and number of hours in child care and levels of externalizing and prosocial behaviors with peers. Participants were both parents and teachers of 543 children (mean age = 4.5 years, 50.6% girls). Children started child care between 3 and 64 months and were attending child care 1-9 hr per day. The child care centers' classrooms had adult-child ratios between 5 and 8.7 and group sizes between 15 and 26 children. Externalizing and prosocial behavior with peers was assessed with the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale-Short Form completed by the 3 adult informants. Control variables included family sociodemographics and education level, maternal parenting style assessed with the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, and maternal stress assessed with the Parenting Experiences questionnaire. Practice or Policy: Both the number of hours per week in child care and an earlier start of center-based child care had modest but significant associations with dimensional scores from teachers' reports of externalizing behavior but not with mothers' or fathers' reports, suggesting that externalizing behavior with peers could be regarded as context specific to peer relationships in group child care. There was no evidence that the quantity of exposure to child care per se could be a substantial risk factor for severe levels of externalizing behavior. Prosocial behavior with peers was not significantly associated with the number of hours in child care or with the age of entry into group child care.

This study examines the temporal stability (over 3 years) of individual differences in 3 domains relevant to preschool children's social competence: social engagement/motivation, profiles of behavior and personality attributes characteristic of socially competent young children, and peer acceptance. Each domain was measured with multiple indicators. Sociometric status categories (Asher & Dodge, 1986) and reciprocated friendships were derived from sociometric data. Composites for social competence domains were significantly associated across all time points. Within age-periods, social competence domains were associated with both sociometric and friendship status categories; however, neither sociometric status nor reciprocated friendships were stable over time. Nevertheless, analyses examining the social competence antecedents to reciprocated friendship at age-4 and age-5 suggested that more socially competent children in the prior year were more likely to have a reciprocated friendship in the current year. Popular and rejected sociometric status categories were also associated with social competence indicators in prior years, but this was most clearly seen at age-5.

Attachment theorists suggest that attachment security with parents supports the quality of social adaptation in peer groups during early childhood, and numerous studies supporting this conjecture have been published. Most of these studies used enacted representations rather than mental representations of attachment security, and most studies examining mental representations used adult (parent or teacher) ratings of peer-group adaptation. Our study tested relations between preschool children's (N = 147; age 48-69 months) mental representations of attachment by using the Attachment Story Completion Task and child-level indicators of social competence based on direct observations and sociometric interviews. General intelligence tests were administered to control for effects of developmental level on child narrative production. Analyses revealed positive, significant associations between attachment measures and all social competence composites. Children with more secure attachment representations were more socially engaged and more likely to exhibit social, emotional, and cognitive skills that contribute to peer acceptance. Results support the hypothesis that attachment security is a foundational support for peer social competence.

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