Teoria della mente e qualità della vita in preadolescenza: il ruolo dell’ansia in maschi e femmine.

Studi longitudinali recenti hanno mostrato che la relazione tra cognizione e benessere soggettivo è parzialmente spiegata da altri fattori. Nella presente ricerca abbiamo esplorato se le capacità di teoria della mente fossero collegate alla percezione della qualità di vita e se l'ansia giocasse un ruolo nel plasmare tale relazione. La fascia di età scelta è la preadolescenza, perchè in questo periodo le esperienze sociali ed emotive dei bambini assumono un determinato significato per ogni individuo anche alla luce dell’emergere di sintomi ansiosi. Tipicamente in preadolescenza le femmine ottengono punteggi più elevati in vari sintomi internalizzanti, tra cui l’ansia, che in genere viene associata ad una percezione di qualità della vita più bassa. Ad oggi nessuno studio ha messo in relazione teoria della mente, ansia e qualità della vita. Pertanto, il nostro scopo è stato quello di esplorare questi costrutti focalizzandoci sulle differenze di genere. Metodo In una scuola secondaria di primo grado sono stati reclutati 142 studenti (84 maschi, età media = 11.83 anni), che hanno completato una prova di teoria della mente, un questionario relativo alla percezione di diversi sottotipi di ansia e uno sulla percezione della propria qualità di vita. Il disegno della ricerca è trasversale. Risultati Nel campione totale la teoria della mente non risultava legata nè all’ansia nè alla qualità della vita. Tuttavia, t-test per campioni indipendenti mostravano significative differenze di genere in tre sottotipi di sintomi d’ansia su cinque, con punteggi sempre più elevati nelle femmine. Abbiamo quindi deciso di condurre, tramite il tool PROCESS per SPSS, analisi di mediazione separate per maschi e femmine. Nei maschi, nessun sottotipo di ansia è risultato mediare la relazione tra teoria della mente e percezione della qualità di vita. Nelle femmine, invece, livelli più elevati di teoria della mente erano associati a percezione di qualità di vita inferiore attraverso la mediazione di alti livelli di ansia generalizzata. Discussione I risultati ottenuti indicano che, solo per le ragazze, la combinazione di capacità mentalistiche più elevate e di livelli più alti di un certo sottotipo di ansia (quella che fa stare costantemente in allerta), porta a sentirsi meno soddisfatte per la propria vita. Va sottolineato che il disegno trasversale adottato nella presente ricerca non consente di trarre conclusioni circa la variazione nel tempo dei singoli costrutti e la loro covariazione. Tuttavia, sembra che la transizione verso l'adolescenza possa rappresentare una finestra di intervento sfruttabile per prevenire lo sviluppo di sintomi internalizzanti e i loro effetti sul benessere dei giovani. L’interrelazione dei costrutti esaminati, così diversa in maschi e femmine, se confermata in ottica longitudinale, impone infatti una riflessione sugli interventi di prevenzione, che andrebbero strutturati in maniera differenziata a seconda del genere dei soggetti target

Sex differences in mathematics and reading achievement are inversely related: within- and across-nation assessment of 10 years of PISA data

We analyzed one decade of data collected by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), including the mathematics and reading performance of nearly 1.5 million 15 year olds in 75 countries. Across nations, boys scored higher than girls in mathematics, but lower than girls in reading. The sex difference in reading was three times as large as in mathematics. There was considerable variation in the extent of the sex differences between nations. There are countries without a sex difference in mathematics performance, and in some countries girls scored higher than boys. Boys scored lower in reading in all nations in all four PISA assessments (2000, 2003, 2006, 2009). Contrary to several previous studies, we found no evidence that the sex differences were related to nations’ gender equality indicators. Further, paradoxically, sex differences in mathematics were consistently and strongly inversely correlated with sex differences in reading: Countries with a smaller sex difference in mathematics had a larger sex difference in reading and vice versa. We demonstrate that this was not merely a between-nation, but also a within-nation effect. This effect is related to relative changes in these sex differences across the performance continuum: We did not find a sex difference in mathematics among the lowest performing students, but this is where the sex difference in reading was largest. In contrast, the sex difference in mathematics was largest among the higher performing students, and this is where the sex difference in reading was smallest. The implication is that if policy makers decide that changes in these sex differences are desired, different approaches will be needed to achieve this for reading and mathematics. Interventions that focus on high-achieving girls in mathematics and on low achieving boys in reading are likely to yield the strongest educational benefits

The association between social capital and mental health and behavioural problems in children and adolescents: an integrative systematic review

Background Mental health is an important component of overall health and wellbeing and crucial for a happy and meaningful life. The prevalence of mental health problems amongst children and adolescent is high; with estimates suggesting 10-20% suffer from mental health problems at any given time. These mental health problems include internalising (e.g. depression and social anxiety) and externalising behavioural problems (e.g. aggression and anti-social behaviour). Although social capital has been shown to be associated with mental health/behavioural problems in young people, attempts to consolidate the evidence in the form of a review have been limited. This integrative systematic review identified and synthesised international research findings on the role and impact of family and community social capital on mental health/behavioural problems in children and adolescents to provide a consolidated evidence base to inform future research and policy development. Methods Nine electronic databases were searched for relevant studies and this was followed by hand searching. Identified literature was screened using review-specific inclusion/exclusion criteria, the data were extracted from the included studies and study quality was assessed. Heterogeneity in study design and outcomes precluded meta-analysis/meta-synthesis, the results are therefore presented in narrative form. Results After screening, 55 studies were retained. The majority were cross-sectional surveys and were conducted in North America (n = 33); seven were conducted in the UK. Samples ranged in size from 29 to 98,340. The synthesised results demonstrate that family and community social capital are associated with mental health/behavioural problems in children and adolescents. Positive parent–child relations, extended family support, social support networks, religiosity, neighbourhood and school quality appear to be particularly important. Conclusions To date, this is the most comprehensive review of the evidence on the relationships that exist between social capital and mental health/behavioural problems in children and adolescents. It suggests that social capital generated and mobilised at the family and community level can influence mental health/problem behaviour outcomes in young people. In addition, it highlights key gaps in knowledge where future research could further illuminate the mechanisms through which social capital works to influence health and wellbeing and thus inform policy development

Mindreading and assertiveness in school-aged children: The role of problem-solving coping strategies

Being assertive means being able to communicate to others our opinions, desires and feelings in a direct and positive way, without judging other people’s thoughts. In the school context, assertiveness can facilitate interpersonal relationships (Lane & Bowman, 2022). Assertive children are usually considered by teachers as socially mature and less aggressive (Diesendruck & Ben-Eliyahu, 2006). Interestingly, assertiveness has been found to be positively related to prosocial behavior in children performing well in making inferences about others' behaviors (Barrett & Yarrow, 1977). Nonetheless, theory-of-mind skills are also known to be associated with the capacity of forming and managing peer relationships, which includes abilities like understanding the needs of others and being assertive (Devine & Apperly, 2022; Peterson et al., 2007, 2016). In a recent work, Caputi and Schoenborn (2018) found novel associations between theory-of-mind skills and coping strategies. Specifically, children and preadolescents who were more proficient in a theory-of-mind task were more prone to use problem-solving strategies and less prone to use externalizing and trivializing strategies. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the links among theory-of-mind skills, coping strategies and assertiveness in school-aged children. A further aim was testing the hypothesis that problem-solving strategies mediate the relationship between theory-of-mind skills and assertiveness. A sample of 462 students (252 boys) attending 3rd to 8th grade was recruited in Northern Italy to participate in a short-term longitudinal study. Both at Time 1 (beginning of the school year) and at Time 2 (four months later), students completed a theory-of-mind test and self-reported about their coping strategies, while teachers were asked to evaluate students’ assertiveness. T1 theory-of-mind skills were positively associated with T2 assertiveness and T1 problem solving strategies; and negatively associated with T1 externalizing and trivializing strategies. T2 assertiveness was positively associated with T1 problem solving and distraction strategies. Hayes’ PROCESS mediation tool showed that theory-of-mind skills were associated with higher levels of assertiveness only through the mediation of higher use of problem-solving strategies. That is, the combination of higher mindreading skills with coping strategies based on active problem solving led to higher assertiveness perceived by teachers. The identification of such a mediation pattern suggests that assertiveness is an important interpersonal skill that indirectly relates to theory of mind, and partly develops thanks to the employment of adaptive coping strategies. That is, the more a child learns how to cope effectively with social dilemmas that may emerge during the school years, being skilled in ToM abilities may help them to be more assertive and stand up for themselves. As argued by Peterson and colleagues (2007), understanding others’ minds is crucial in complex social exchanges and learning how to cope with life events. When this ability is coupled with problem-solving strategies, children are viewed as more capable of asserting themselves appropriately, for example to express their voiced opinions, or when trying to convince peers. These results contribute to highlight a tight and complex link that connect mindreading abilities, coping strategies and social skills in school-aged children

Gender differences in young preadolescents’ mindreading abilities and well-being.

Recent longitudinal evidence shows that the relation between cognition and subjective well-being is partially explained by other factors. We investigated whether mindreading skills were linked to life satisfaction and anxiety in middle school-aged children. Research on children’s social and emotional experiences during the transition into adolescence shows the emergence of anxiety symptoms, with girls often scoring higher than boys. High levels of anxiety are usually related to lower life satisfaction. In contrast, little findings exist on mindreading and anxiety. That is, there remains a lack of research on specific dimensions of anxiety, and on the specific mentalization skills. Therefore, our aim was to investigate individual differences in those constructs and gendered relational patterns among preadolescents. A sample of 142 sixth- and seventh-graders (84 boys) was recruited in Northern Italy and completed tests regarding theory-of-mind skills, perceptions of different subtypes of anxiety, and life satisfaction. Although no interrelations were found among the variables for total sample, separate gender analyses conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS mediation tool showed significant results. Specifically, only among girls, higher levels of theory-of-mind skills were associated with lower levels of life satisfaction through the mediation of higher levels in generalized anxiety. That is, for girls only, the combination of higher mindreading skills with higher levels of anxiety led to feelings of lower life satisfaction. The identification of such a mediation pattern suggests that the approach to adolescence might be a timely intervention window to prevent the development of internalizing symptoms and their cascade effects on young people’s well-being

Canadian Early-Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of Children’s Gendered Shy, Aggressive, and Prosocial Behaviors

ABSTRACT: Early childhood educators’ (ECE) perceptions of gender roles may contribute to the development of children’s own gender-role identities. This qualitative study examined 40 Canadian female ECEs’ perceptions of gender and children’s shy, aggressive, and prosocial behaviors. Content analysis of extensive interviews revealed three themes: (1) shyness as personality based, (2) influences on the behaviors, and (3) teachers’ role in addressing gender and behavior. Most ECEs believed that shyness is a personality trait, exhibited equally among both genders, but displayed differently. In contrast, there were some inconsistencies as to which gender was perceiv

Children’s and Adolescents’ Pet Attachment, Empathy, and Compassionate Responding to Self and Others

The research shows that children’s and adolescents’ attachments with pets play an important role in their social and emotional lives. However, little research exists on how children and adolescents show compassion toward themselves and others and how this caring ability relates to their attachment with pets. This study explored the relations among children’s and adolescents’ compassion, empathy, and attachment to their pets. Sixty-one Canadian youths aged 7–15.9 years (M = 11.35) participated in this study (n = 38 g, 23 b) and completed self-report questionnaires including the Lexington Attachment to Pets scale, subscale of Dispositional Positive Emotions, Self-compassion scale for children, and Bryant’s Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA). The results showed older adolescents were more likely than younger children to score high on cognitive and emotional dimensions of empathy and be less likely to feel alone and isolated. High levels of emotional pet attachment related to high levels of the ability to feel sad when witnessing others in distress and high levels of mindful, compassionate, and self-responding feelings of compassion for others. The results also showed that those participants who experienced intensified emotional attachment toward their pets (either current or in the past), were less likely to judge themselves in negative ways. Overall, our findings suggest that children’s emotional attachments with pets relate to their ability to respond to themselves and others in kind and compassionate ways and not necessarily their ability to understand another person’s emotions