Children Seek Historical Traces of Owned Objects

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141553/1/cdev12453.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141553/2/cdev12453_am.pd

Water Contaminant Levels Interact with Parenting Environment to Predict Development of Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents

Contaminants in drinking water, such as lead, nitrate, and arsenic, have been linked to negative physical health outcomes. We know less, however, about whether such pollutants also predict mental health problems and, if so, the conditions under which such effects are strongest. In this longitudinal study, we examined whether drinking water contaminants interact with negative family environments (parental psychological control) to predict changes in depressive symptoms in 110 adolescents—a developmental period when symptoms often first emerge. We found that for adolescents in psychologically controlling families, levels of drinking water contaminants prospectively predicted depressive symptoms 2 years later; this effect was not present in adolescents in non‐controlling families. Importantly, these associations were not accounted for by family‐ or community‐level socioeconomic resources, demographic features, or by the adolescents’ stress exposure. These findings highlight the interplay of physical and psychological environments in influencing depressive symptoms in adolescents

Children's sensitivity to the knowledge expressed in pedagogical and nonpedagogical contexts

The present studies test 2 hypotheses: (1) that pedagogical contexts especially convey generic information (Csibra & Gergely, 2009) and (2) that young children are sensitive to this aspect of pedagogy. We examined generic language (e.g., "Elephants live in Africa") in 3 studies, focusing on informational versus narrative children's books (Study 1), the language of 6-year-old children and adults assuming either a pedagogical (teacher) or non-pedagogical (friend) role (Study 2), and the language of 5-year-old children and adults speaking to either an ignorant alien (pedagogical context) or a peer (nonpedagogical context; Study 3). Results suggest that generics are more frequent in informational than narrative texts. Furthermore, both adults and young children provide more generic language in pedagogical contexts and when assuming a pedagogical role. Together, the studies demonstrate that pedagogical contexts are distinctive in conveying generic information and that children are sensitive to this aspect of the language input. We suggest that generic knowledge is more useful in making predictions about the future and thus more highly valued during instruction

Children's sensitivity to the knowledge expressed in pedagogical and nonpedagogical contexts.

The present studies test two hypotheses: (1) that pedagogical contexts especially convey generic information (Csibra & Gergely, 2009), and (2) that young children are sensitive to this aspect of pedagogy. We examined generic language (e.g., “Elephants live in Africa”) in three studies, focusing on: informational versus narrative children’s books (Study 1), the language of 6-year-old children and adults assuming either a pedagogical (teacher) or non-pedagogical (friend) role (Study 2), and the language of 5-year-old children and adults speaking to either an ignorant alien (pedagogical context) or a peer (non-pedagogical context; Study 3). Results suggest that generics are more frequent in informational than narrative texts. Furthermore, both adults and young children provide more generic language in pedagogical contexts and when assuming a pedagogical role. Together, the studies demonstrate that pedagogical contexts are distinctive in conveying generic information, and that children are sensitive to this aspect of the language input. We suggest that generic knowledge is more useful in making predictions about the future, and thus more highly valued during instruction

Time Spent with Parents Predicts Change in Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder

Research with community samples suggests that non-affective features of families, such as the amount of time parents and adolescents spend together, affect depressive symptoms in adolescents. It is possible, however, that spending time with parents not only protects against the onset of depressive symptoms, but also reduces symptoms in adolescents who are already depressed. The current study was designed to test this formulation while also examining whether affective dimensions of family functioning – specifically parental warmth – accounted for or moderated observed associations. Finally, we tested the reverse direction of the associations, examining whether greater severity of depression in adolescents results in parents spending less time with them. Forty-one adolescents (ages 14 to 17 years) who met criteria for a current major depressive episode participated in the present study with one parent. Once each month for six time points, dyads completed reports of depressive symptoms and the amount of time parents and adolescents spent with each other. Participants also completed measures of parental warmth. Results of lagged multilevel modeling indicated that spending more time with a parent predicted fewer depressive symptoms in adolescents at the following assessment relative to their mean; in contrast, greater severity of depressive symptoms did not predict spending less time with a parent at the following assessment. In contrast, parental warmth did not account for or moderate the association between time together and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that non-affective dimensions of family life, specifically spending more time with parents, have beneficial effects on depressive symptoms in adolescents diagnosed with depression

Development of Teleological Explanations in Peruvian Quechua‐Speaking and U.S. English‐Speaking Preschoolers and Adults

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/120490/1/cdev12497_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/120490/2/cdev12497.pd

“How Did that Make You Feel?”: Influences of Gender and Parental Personality on Family Emotion Talk

Parent–child conversations about shared events may facilitate important aspects of psychosocial development through the family’s references to emotions. Although past research has begun examining features of speakers and topics that predict emotion talk in these conversations, the potential contribution of personality traits has been overlooked. The current study investigated whether parental personality and participant gender were related to emotion talk during conversations between parents and their 5-year-old children. Results revealed discussion differences as a function of gender and discussion topic. Moreover, higher levels of trait Social Closeness in mothers corresponded to their richer emotional talk during discussions, particularly when conversing with daughters