Central to major depressive disorder (MDD) onset and maintenance is maladaptive self-focused attention, which can be reliably indexed by greater: (a) usage of first-person singular pronouns (e.g., I) in natural language and (b) alpha oscillations in resting-state EEG. Integrating these largely parallel bodies of research, the present study sought to explicate the associations between, and prospective predictive utility of, linguistic and neural indicators of self-focused attention in adolescents with remitted MDD over 12 months. At baseline, 126 adolescents (ages 13-18) with (n = 66) and without (n = 60) remitted MDD completed resting-state EEG. Retrospective interviews determined the occurrence of major depressive episodes (MDEs) during the follow-up period. A total of ~2.3 million messages were passively acquired from adolescents' smartphones, on which the proportion of first-person singular pronouns was derived. During the 12 months, 29 (23.0%) participants developed an MDE (28 remitted MDD, 1 control). Cox regression showed that while greater usage of first-person singular pronouns prior to MDE increased the risk for MDE (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.02, p < .001), greater resting-state alpha power at baseline decreased the risk for MDE (HR = 0.78, p = .001). Moreover, greater alpha power predicted subsequent first-person singular pronoun usage (β = 0.17, p = .004). Mediation analysis indicated a marginal suppression effect (bootstrapped indirect effect p < .10), such that accounting for first-person singular pronoun usage amplified the association between alpha power and MDE risk. Findings highlight functionally distinct alpha mechanisms and provide support for smartphone-based first-person singular pronoun usage as a neurobehavioral risk factor and a potentially promising intervention target for adolescent MDD.

The authors explore publication trends in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry over the past 5 years regarding associations between parenting and child outcomes, with a focus on the directionality of these effects. Bibliometric analysis revealed that far more studies have examined parent-to-child associations than either child-to-parent or bidirectional associations, reflecting a significant imbalance in what researchers publishing in JCPP intend to study. However, when evaluating evidence from a subset of robust and well-designed studies, especially those that permit a test of bidirectionality, the authors see a more balanced picture, with a roughly equal number of studies finding evidence of parent-to-child, child-to-parent, and bidirectional effects. These studies used a range of methodologies and examined a diverse set of parenting behaviors and child outcomes. Overall, the findings suggest that evidence in favor of child effects is consistently observed despite being significantly understudied relative to that of parent effects. The authors emphasize the importance of studying both child and parent effects alongside one another to understand the complexity of parent-child interactions, and underscore how respect for the agency and perspectives of youth is essential to understanding how they shape the conditions in which they grow up.

Increasing evidence suggests that climate change, along with its cascading impacts on ecosystems, societies, and communities, has significant effects on both physical and mental health. However, less is known about how exposure to excessive heat early in life may influence the development of foundational skills that shape lifelong developmental trajectories. This study examined the effects of ambient heat on early childhood development across six countries, using geographic and time-stamped data on child development and ambient temperature. Our primary outcome is the Early Childhood Development Index. We used linear probability models with geographic and seasonality fixed effects to account for baseline climatic conditions, as well as other individual and contextual covariates to address potential selection bias. The sample comprised 19,607 children aged three and four from Georgia, The Gambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and the State of Palestine, all participants in Multiple Indicators Cluster Surveys collected between 2017 and 2020. We merged these data with temperature data from the ERA5-Land Monthly Aggregated Climate Dataset, calculating the mean monthly maximum temperature children experienced from birth to interview. We found that children exposed to average maximum temperatures above 32°C were less likely to be developmentally on track compared to those exposed to cooler temperatures, even after accounting for baseline average climatic conditions and other covariates. Domain-specific models indicate that these effects were most pronounced in literacy and numeracy skills. Subgroup analyses revealed that the negative impacts were particularly severe for children in economically disadvantaged households and urban areas, and for those lacking access to adequate water and sanitation. This study highlights the potential impact of excessive heat on early childhood development, emphasizing the need for policies and interventions that enhance preparedness, adaptation, and resilience to support human development in an rapidly warming world.

We assessed the risk of anxiety disorders in children of clinically anxious parents, focusing on the influence of parent and child sex, parental care level, depressive comorbidity, and anxiety subtype, while controlling for socioeconomic factors and other parental psychiatric conditions. We conducted a population-based study utilizing comprehensive healthcare data. A cohort of children (N = 516,134), born in 1998-2015 and residing in Stockholm, Sweden, was followed until they were diagnosed with anxiety, moved, or turned 18. The primary and secondary exposures were parental specified and unspecified anxiety diagnoses, respectively. The outcome was child specified anxiety diagnosis. Associations were estimated using hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among exposed children, 4.3% were diagnosed with specified anxiety disorders, compared to 3.0% of unexposed (HR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.38, 1.51). Adjustment for socioeconomic factors and other parental psychiatric disorders attenuated the risk (HR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.34). The risk was higher when parental anxiety was recorded in specialized psychiatric care (HR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.60, 1.79) than in primary care (HR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.17, 1.32). Maternal anxiety was linked to a higher risk (HR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.41, 1.56) than paternal (HR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.42). Children were most likely to develop the same anxiety disorder as their parents, in cases of social anxiety, specific phobia, and panic disorder. Parental unspecified anxiety diagnoses were not associated with an increase in risk (HR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.07). Parental specified anxiety modestly increased the risk of child anxiety disorders. While the overall risk was lower than previously reported, it varied across diagnosis types and care levels.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe eating disorder associated with drastic reductions in gray and white matter (WM) volume and structural connectivity alterations. However, the hypotheses regarding underlying mechanisms are inconclusive. The current study investigated the relationships of WM volume as well as WM network architecture with neurofilament light (NF-L), a marker of axonal damage. Blood samples and magnetic resonance imaging scans from 77 predominantly adolescent female participants with acute AN were used. Associations of WM volume with NF-L were tested using linear models. The relationship between NF-L and alterations in brain networks was evaluated using network-based statistic (NBS) models, which predicted connectivity associated with NF-L levels. Additionally, associations with clinical variables and leptin were tested. To test the specificity of the results, control analyses were conducted on 77 female healthy participants (HC). We found negative associations between NF-L concentrations and WM volume. NBS analyses identified seven components, where fractional anisotropy was positively associated with NF-L. In some components, mean connectivity was negatively associated with leptin concentrations. Mediation analyses suggested that the negative correlation of leptin and NF-L might be partially mediated by changes in WM microstructure. These effects were not observed in HC. The results suggest that WM volume reductions in acute AN might be related to axonal damage. The NBS results indicate, that the elevated fractional anisotropy previously found in AN might be related to damage processes leading to axonal swelling. All in all, the present study supports NF-L as a global blood marker for brain damage processes in acute AN.

Discrepancies between retrospective self-reports and official record data of child maltreatment (CM) are well-documented, yet few studies have examined how newer self-report instruments compare with record data or what factors influence inconsistencies across methods. This study addresses two primary aims: (1) to provide the first concordance estimates between prospective child protective services (CPS) records and the maltreatment and abuse chronology of exposure (MACE), a widely used retrospective CM assessment tool; and (2) to examine the influence of positive childhood experiences on discrepancies in CM assessment. We utilize two maltreatment cohorts in which adults and adolescents with documented histories of CM and matched nonmaltreated controls were enrolled. Both cohorts included CM data from CPS records coded with the maltreatment classification system (MCS) and retrospective self-reports of CM and measures of positive childhood experiences. The cohorts vary in age at retrospective assessment (adults vs. adolescents), retrospective time lag (long vs. short), used different self-report measures (MACE vs. CTQ), and different methods for assessing positive experiences (explicit self-report vs. ratings of unconscious content). The rigorous dual-study design ensures findings are robust to study- and measurement-specific differences. Findings revealed minimal agreement between MACE self-reports and MCS-coded CPS records for maltreatment occurring from ages 0-12. Discrepancies were primarily driven by retrospective reports of CM not documented in official records. Importantly, in both studies, individuals with more positive childhood experiences were less likely to self-report maltreatment (via MACE or CTQ) that was documented based on official records. Findings suggest that positive childhood experiences may help facilitate resilience among CM survivors by influencing memory and appraisal of childhood events. Clinical interventions that explore autobiographical memories may be particularly effective in mitigating the psychopathology sequelae of maltreatment.

Social motor synchrony is critical for successful social interaction. It remains unclear whether autistic children exhibit distinct differences in intentional versus spontaneous social motor synchrony, as well as what underlying interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) mechanisms drive these potential differences. Fifty-four children (28 autistic) completed intentional (a delayed and synchronous imitation tasks in EX1) and spontaneous (a rhythmic hand-clapping task in EX2) tasks with an adult. Brain signals were collected by a portable multichannel fNIRS device and classified by GaussianNB machine learning approach. Compared with non-autistic children, autistic children showed: (1) significantly lower behavioral synchrony across both two experiments; (2) reduced activation in the right temporoparietal junction (r-TPJ, CH18) during Ex1, with no significant group differences in activation observed across all 20 fNIRS channels during Ex2; (3) significantly lower INS values in task-specific brain regions, that left inferior parietal lobule (l-IPL, CH3) in the delayed imitation condition in EX1; left inferior frontal gyrus (l-IFG, CH2), l-IPL (CH9), and r-TPJ (CH18) in the synchronous imitation condition in Ex1, and in the IPL (CH8, CH10-14) and r-TPJ (CH18) in Ex2. The GaussianNB model successfully discriminated between autistic and non-autistic children using task-related INS values, with classification accuracy varying by task condition, reaching 55.56% in the delayed imitation condition of EX1, 57.41% in the time-lag analysis condition of EX1, 64.81% in the synchronous imitation condition of EX1, and 74.07% in Ex2. Notably, the SHAP toolkit identified key channels driving group distinction-and these channels fully overlapped with the statistically significant INS channels identified in the analyses. Autistic children exhibit differences in both intentional and spontaneous social motor synchrony, and these differences are linked to reduced INS in key social cognitive brain regions (IFG, IPL, TPJ). This research advances understanding of social functioning variations in autistic individuals and provides a foundational foundation for developing INS-based diagnostic tools.

This study investigated the stability of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) classifications in a cohort of 304 siblings at elevated likelihood for autism (EL-siblings). ADOS-2 assessments were conducted at 14, 24 and 36 months, with Clinical Best Estimate (CBE) autism diagnoses determined at 36 months. Our findings indicate that while some children have stable ADOS-2 classifications from early on, a significant proportion of the children show inconsistent classifications over time. The overall stability of ADOS-2 autism spectrum classifications increased from 14 to 36 months and agreement with CBE autism clinical diagnosis was moderate and increased with age. Caution is warranted when interpreting individual ADOS-2 results, as they should always complement, and can never replace, a comprehensive clinical evaluation. These findings highlight the importance of continued follow-up beyond 14 months in young EL-children, a group for whom early assessment may be both feasible and beneficial and emphasises the need to integrate multiple assessment measures and multiple informants for accurate early autism identification.

This study evaluated the efficacy of three interconnected parenting seminars delivered online and through schools in promoting positive parenting practices and improving children's social, emotional and behavioural wellbeing. The study employed an incomplete batched stepped wedged cluster randomised trial design, which tests systematic replication of effects across different batches and steps and allowed schools to be recruited throughout the project. Parents (n = 912) of children aged 4-13 years (M = 7.91) from 160 primary schools in three Australian states were included in the evaluation. A comprehensive set of measures was administered at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up to track changes in child- and family-related outcomes. Data analysis adopted an Intention to Treat (ITT) approach, and intervention effects were estimated with Latent Growth Curve Models (LGCMs). ITT analyses showed significant improvements in positive parenting practices, parental adjustment and parental self-regulation, as well as reductions in coercive parenting, child anxiety symptoms, emotional maladjustment, behavioural problems and peer relationship problems with small-to-medium effect sizes. Intervention effects were systematically replicated in seven randomly assigned cohorts. Null effects were found on measures of parental relationships and child depression symptoms. A universally offered, brief, low-intensity, school-based parenting seminar series can produce meaningful improvements in parents' reports of their parenting practices and parental self-regulation, as well as their children's social, emotional and behavioural adjustment.

Autistic children are typically late to develop their expressive vocabulary, but little is known about their early word learning process. This study compared three network growth models on their ability to account for the trajectories of expressive vocabulary acquisition in autistic and non-autistic children. We studied expressive vocabularies using item-level data from a child vocabulary checklist (n = 721 records from young autistic children; n = 2,166 records from non-autistic toddlers). We estimated vocabulary growth trajectories for autistic and non-autistic children and assessed the goodness of fit of three models of vocabulary growth, with varying sensitivity to the structure of the environment and the learner's existing vocabulary knowledge. To do so, we first computed word-level acquisition norms that indicate the vocabulary size at which individual words tend to be learned by each group. Then we evaluated how well network growth models, based on natural language co-occurrence structure and word associations, accounted for variance in the autistic and non-autistic acquisition norms. Our word-level vocabulary size of acquisition norms closely aligned with age of acquisition data, indicating their utility when age of acquisition norms cannot be derived for neurodivergent populations. Furthermore, we extended key observations and demonstrated that the growth models explained similar amounts of variance in each group. Both groups are biased to learn words that have many connections to words that have been previously learned; however, even after accounting for this learning influence, autistic and non-autistic vocabulary growth trajectories receive an added boost in learning when words are connected to many other words in the learning environment, indicating a similar learning profile. Both groups preferentially acquire new words by leveraging the semantic structure in the learning environment, indicating an overlap in theoretical accounts of vocabulary growth.