How does a bicycle work? A new instrument to assess mechanical reasoning in school aged children

This study demonstrated that a brief interview can reveal the mechanical reasoning that could not be assessed via the Bicycle Drawing Test. This study, conducted on 190 children (6 to 11 years old), shows that mechanical reasoning improves with age. It shows correlations with spatial reasoning and motor control, and with visual reasonin

Experimental aluminum pathology in rabbits: effects of hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds.

Aluminum lactate [Al(lact)3] (hydrophilic, hydrolytically unstable) and aluminum acetylacetonate [Al(acae)3] (lipophilic, hydrolytically stable) were tested as potential toxicants to rabbits upon IV administration both as aqueous solutions and as liposome suspensions. Both chemicals behaved as cardiotoxic agents when administered as aqueous solutions, but Al(acae)3 was at least two orders of magnitude more active than Al(lact)3. Al(acae)3, but not Al(lact)3, caused myocardial infarcts resembling those in humans (with contraction bands) at doses as low as 0.24 mg/kg body weight, as well as a prominent acanthocytosis. Al(lact)3, when administered as a liposome suspension, was about 300 times more toxic than in aqueous solution, although cardiac damage was not infarctual in character. Both chemical and physical speciation of aluminum(III) thus play an essential role in determining the toxicity of the metal

Boys’ and Girls’ Relational and Physical Aggression in Nine Countries

Distinguishing between relational and physical aggression has become a key feature of many developmental studies in North America and Western Europe, but very little information is available on relational aggression in more diverse cultural contexts. This study examined the factor structure of, gender differences in, and associations between relational and physical aggression in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Children ages 7 to 10 years (N = 1410) reported on their relationally and physically aggressive behavior. Relational and physical aggression shared a common factor structure across countries. Unsurprisingly, boys reported being more physically aggressive than girls across all nine countries; surprisingly, there were no significant gender differences in relational aggression. In all nine countries, relational and physical aggression were significantly correlated (average r = .49). The countries differed significantly in the mean levels of both relational and physical aggression that children reported using and with respect to whether children reported using more physical than relational aggression or more relational than physical aggression. Despite mean level differences in relational and physical aggression across countries, the findings provided support for cross-country similarities in associations between relational and physical aggression, as well as links between gender and aggression

Mothers\u27, fathers\u27 and children\u27s perceptions of parents\u27 expectations about children\u27s family obligations in nine countries

Children\u27s family obligations involve assistance and respect that children are expected to provide to immediate and extended family members and reflect beliefs related to family life that may differ across cultural groups. Mothers, fathers and children (N = 1432 families) in 13 cultural groups in 9 countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and United States) reported on their expectations regarding children\u27s family obligations and parenting attitudes and behaviours. Within families, mothers and fathers had more concordant expectations regarding children\u27s family obligations than did parents and children. Parenting behaviours that were warmer, less neglectful and more controlling as well as parenting attitudes that were more authoritarian were related to higher expectations regarding children\u27s family obligations between families within cultures as well as between cultures. These international findings advance understanding of children\u27s family obligations by contextualising them both within families and across a number of diverse cultural groups in 9 countries

Severity and justness do not moderate the relation between corporal punishment and negative child outcomes: A multicultural and longitudinal study

There is strong evidence of a positive association between corporal punishment and negative child outcomes, but previous studies have suggested that the manner in which parents implement corporal punishment moderates the effects of its use. This study investigated whether severity and justness in the use of corporal punishment moderate the associations between frequency of corporal punishment and child externalizing and internalizing behaviors. This question was examined using a multicultural sample from eight countries and two waves of data collected one year apart. Interviews were conducted with 998 children aged 7–10 years, and their mothers and fathers, from China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Thailand, and the United States. Mothers and fathers responded to questions on the frequency, severity, and justness of their use of corporal punishment; they also reported on the externalizing and internalizing behavior of their child. Children reported on their aggression. Multigroup path models revealed that across cultural groups, and as reported by mothers and fathers, there is a positive relation between the frequency of corporal punishment and externalizing child behaviors. Mother-reported severity and father-reported justness were associated with child-reported aggression. Neither severity nor justness moderated the relation between frequency of corporal punishment and child problem behavior. The null result suggests that more use of corporal punishment is harmful to children regardless of how it is implemented, but requires further substantiation as the study is unable to definitively conclude that there is no true interaction effect

Positive parenting and children\u27s prosocial behavior in eight countries

Background Research supports the beneficial role of prosocial behaviors on children\u27s adjustment and successful youth development. Empirical studies point to reciprocal relations between negative parenting and children\u27s maladjustment, but reciprocal relations between positive parenting and children\u27s prosocial behavior are understudied. In this study reciprocal relations between two different dimensions of positive parenting (quality of the mother–child relationship and the use of balanced positive discipline) and children\u27s prosocial behavior were examined in Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Methods Mother–child dyads (N = 1105) provided data over 2 years in two waves (Mage of child in wave 1 = 9.31 years, SD = 0.73; 50% female). Results A model of reciprocal relations between parenting dimensions, but not among parenting and children\u27s prosocial behavior, emerged. In particular, children with higher levels of prosocial behavior at age 9 elicited higher levels of mother–child relationship quality in the following year. Conclusions Findings yielded similar relations across countries, evidencing that being prosocial in late childhood contributes to some degree to the enhancement of a nurturing and involved mother–child relationship in countries that vary widely on sociodemographic profiles and psychological characteristics. Policy and intervention implications of this study are discussed

How International Research on Parenting Advances Understanding of Child Development

International research on parenting and child development can advance our understanding of similarities and differences in how parenting is related to children\u27s development across countries. Challenges to conducting international research include operationalizing culture, disentangling effects within and between countries, and balancing emic and etic perspectives. Benefits of international research include testing whether findings regarding parenting and child development replicate across diverse samples, incorporating cultural and contextual diversity to foster more inclusive and representative research samples and investigators than has typically occurred, and understanding how children develop in proximal parenting and family and distal international contexts

Neighborhood Danger, Parental Monitoring, Harsh Parenting, and Child Aggression in Nine Countries

Exposure to neighborhood danger during childhood has negative effects that permeate multiple dimensions of childhood. The current study examined whether mothers’, fathers’, and children’s perceptions of neighborhood danger are related to child aggression, whether parental monitoring moderates this relation, and whether harsh parenting mediates this relation. Interviews were conducted with a sample of 1293 children (age M = 10.68, SD = 0.66; 51% girls) and their mothers (n = 1282) and fathers (n = 1075) in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). Perceptions of greater neighborhood danger were associated with more child aggression in all nine countries according to mothers’ and fathers’ reports and in five of the nine countries according to children’s reports. Parental monitoring did not moderate the relation between perception of neighborhood danger and child aggression. The mediating role of harsh parenting was inconsistent across countries and reporters. Implications for further research are discussed, and include examination of more specific aspects of parental monitoring as well as more objective measures of neighborhood danger

Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to?

The European biodiversity and forest strategies rely on forest sustainable management (SFM) to conserve forest biodiversity. However, current sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We focused on forest multi-taxon biodiversity to: i) gather and map the existing information; ii) identify knowledge and research gaps; iii) discuss its research potential. We established a research network to fit data on species, standing trees, lying deadwood and sampling unit description from 34 local datasets across 3591 sampling units. A total of 8724 species were represented, with the share of common and rare species varying across taxonomic classes: some included many species with several rare ones (e.g., Insecta); others (e.g., Bryopsida) were represented by few common species. Tree-related structural attributes were sampled in a subset of sampling units (2889; 2356; 2309 and 1388 respectively for diameter, height, deadwood and microhabitats). Overall, multi-taxon studies are biased towards mature forests and may underrepresent the species related to other developmental phases. European forest compositional categories were all represented, but beech forests were over-represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Most sampling units (94%) were referred to a habitat type of conservation concern. Existing information may support European conservation and SFM strategies in: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) definition and testing of SFM indicators and thresholds; (iii) data-driven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information