Social Behavioural Difficulties Research Articles

The Relationship between Giftedness and Sex and Children's Theory of Mind Skills and Social Behavior.

Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to recognize the mental states and emotions of others, is central to effective social relationships. Measuring higher-order ToM skills in gifted children may be a useful way to identify the tendency to experience difficulties in social behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between intelligence and sex in children using ToM and social behavior measures. Children aged 10-12 years constituted both the gifted (n = 45) and non-gifted (n = 45) groups. The participants were assessed for prosocial behaviors and peer problems using the subscales of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire and in terms of ToM using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test-Child Version (RMET-C) and the Faux Pas Recognition Test-Child Version (FPRT-C). ToM test results were higher in gifted children and girls. Peer problems were lower in gifted children. Prosocial behavior was higher in girls. No relationship was determined between ToM tests and peer problems or prosocial behavior in gifted children, but such a relationship was observed in the non-gifted group. This study shows that gifted children with high cognitive skills also possess superior social cognition skills. Advanced ToM skills in gifted children may be important to supporting their social and cognitive development. The differences between boys and girls should be considered in educational interventions applied to children in the social sphere.

Paroxysmal Dystonic Posturing Mimicking Nocturnal Leg Cramps as a Presenting Sign in an Infant with DCC Mutation, Callosal Agenesis and Mirror Movements.

Background/Objectives: Pathogenic variants in the deleted in colorectal cancer gene (DCC), encoding the Netrin-1 receptor, may lead to mirror movements (MMs) associated with agenesis/dysgenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) and cognitive and/or neuropsychiatric issues. The clinical phenotype is related to the biological function of DCC in the corpus callosum and corticospinal tract development as Netrin-1 is implicated in the guidance of developing axons toward the midline. We report on a child with a novel inherited, monoallelic, pathogenic variant in the DCC gene. Methods: Standardized measures and clinical scales were used to assess psychomotor development, communication and social skills, emotional and behavioural difficulties. MMs were measured via the Woods and Teuber classification. Exome sequencing was performed on affected and healthy family members. Results: The patient's clinical presentation during infancy consisted of paroxysmal dystonic posturing when asleep, mimicking nocturnal leg cramps. A brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed complete ACC. He developed typical upper limb MMs during childhood and a progressively evolving neuro-phenotype with global development delay and behavioural problems. We found an intrafamilial clinical variability associated with DCC mutations: the proband's father and uncle shared the same DCC variant, with a milder clinical phenotype. The atypical early clinical presentation of the present patient expands the clinical spectrum associated with DCC variants, especially those in the paediatric age. Conclusions: This study underlines the importance of in-depth genetic investigations in young children with ACC and highlights the need for further detailed analyses of early motor symptoms in infants with DCC mutations.

The impact of a therapy dog program on children’s with ASD social skills, communication, and behavioral difficulties

Recent research findings confirm the mediating role of animals, especially dogs, between a therapist and a child during therapy sessions. The presence of dogs has been studied in clinical studies. In cases of children with disabilities dogs facilitate the therapeutic session as they distract children from their real problems and make them feel relaxed. However, there is a research gap on the impact of a therapy dog in a school setting. The present study aims to explore the effectiveness of therapy dogs’ presence in an intervention programme for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Three primary school students with ASD, their teachers and parents, and a therapy dog with its attendant were enrolled in the study. Data collection was based on teachers’ and parents’ observations of students’ social responses and behavioural difficulties before and after the intervention, on teachers’ diaries, and on the micro-analysis of the six videotaped therapeutic sessions. Results show that the dog’s presence increased student response to social stimuli and reduced the symptoms of ASD, not only during the intervention but also in the post-intervention phase. No aggressive or self-injurious behaviours were exhibited during the sessions. The study highlights the healing impact for children with ASD when a dog is incorporated in a school setting.

Screen Exposure and Child Development: A Contextual Analysis of Pandemic

Covid Pandemic impacted people across the globe, especially children who spent the most crucial years in lockdown and had to readjust themselves to the real world after the pandemic. Many children were fixated to screen devices for education, entertainment, and family interaction with limited physical socialization. The research aimed to study the impact of screen duration on language acquisition, behavioral development, social competency, and emotional regulation. The sample comprised 406 children 2-6 years old with no physical and psychological diagnosis and acquired developmental milestones at the appropriate age. Purposive sampling was conducted, and data were collected from various public and private schools and daycares. Albert Language Development Questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties, and Social Competence (parent versions) were used to assess language development, behavioral problems, social interaction, and emotional regulation. For analysis, correlation, regression, and ANOVA were conducted. Results showed social competence and behavioral difficulties as significant predictors of Language Impairment. Increased screen exposure was found to be related to language impairment, behavioral difficulties, and poor social competence. Each of the factors was found to be significantly related, confirming our hypothesis. The results are beneficial for caregivers, teachers, and psychologists in providing guidelines about the factors. That is impairing child development especially excessive use of screen devices.

Neuroinflammation, Energy and Sphingolipid Metabolism Biomarkers Are Revealed by Metabolic Modeling of Autistic Brains

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders generally characterized by repetitive behaviors and difficulties in communication and social behavior. Despite its heterogeneous nature, several metabolic dysregulations are prevalent in individuals with ASD. This work aims to understand ASD brain metabolism by constructing an ASD-specific prefrontal cortex genome-scale metabolic model (GEM) using transcriptomics data to decipher novel neuroinflammatory biomarkers. The healthy and ASD-specific models are compared via uniform sampling to identify ASD-exclusive metabolic features. Noticeably, the results of our simulations and those found in the literature are comparable, supporting the accuracy of our reconstructed ASD model. We identified that several oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammatory markers are elevated in ASD. While oxidative phosphorylation fluxes were similar for healthy and ASD-specific models, and the fluxes through the pathway were nearly undisturbed, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) fluxes indicated disruptions in the pathway. Similarly, the secretions of mitochondrial dysfunction markers such as pyruvate are found to be higher, as well as the activities of oxidative stress marker enzymes like alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT and AST) and glutathione-disulfide reductase (GSR). We also detected abnormalities in the sphingolipid metabolism, which has been implicated in many inflammatory and immune processes, but its relationship with ASD has not been thoroughly explored in the existing literature. We suggest that important sphingolipid metabolites, such as sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), ceramide, and glucosylceramide, may be promising biomarkers for the diagnosis of ASD and provide an opportunity for the adoption of early intervention for young children.

Overactivation of posterior insular, postcentral and temporal regions during preserved experience of envy in autism.

Social emotions are critical to successfully navigate in a complex social world because they promote self-regulation of behaviour. Difficulties in social behaviour are at the core of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, social emotions and their neural correlates have been scarcely investigated in this population. In particular, the experience of envy has not been addressed in ASD despite involving neurocognitive processes crucially compromised in this condition. Here, we used an fMRI adapted version of a well-validated task to investigate the subjective experience of envy and its neural correlates in adults with ASD (n = 30) in comparison with neurotypical controls (n = 28). Results revealed that both groups reported similarly intense experience of envy in association with canonical activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior insula, among other regions. However, in participants with ASD, the experience of envy was accompanied by overactivation of the posterior insula, the postcentral gyrus and the posterior superior temporal gyrus, regions subserving the processing of painful experiences and mentalizing. This pattern of results suggests that individuals with ASD may use compensatory strategies based on the embodied amplification of pain and additional mentalizing efforts to shape their subjective experience of envy. Results have relevant implications to better understand the heterogeneity of this condition and to develop new intervention targets.

Facilitation of the Dynamics of Social Interaction Skills Development in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The increase in the number of children with autism spectrum disorders has exacerbated the problem of improving (facilitating) social interaction skills in preschoolers. This category of children is characterized by a combination of qualitative disorders, where one of the main manifestations is difficulties in verbal and social behavior. The aim is to study the dynamics of the development of social interaction skills in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders, depending on gender and age, to identify points of facilitation, to give recommendations. On the basis of ontological and behavioral approaches, theoretical methods of analysis of philosophical, psychological and pedagogical literature are used, among the empirical methods are the Sundberg method VB-MAPP (2008), observations, qualitative analysis, Student's T-criterion. A longitudinal study (2018-2022) of 54 preschoolers with ASD from different kindergartens in Kazan is presented. The dynamics of the development of skills of children with ASD in longitudinal study is minimal, contradictory, depends not on age, but on the complexity of the defect.

Effects of Movement-Based Interventions on Imitation and Praxis Skills in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparison of Face-to-Face Versus Telehealth Modes of Delivery

Background Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit poor imitation, movement planning, and praxis skills that in turn compound their core social communication and behavioral difficulties. Objective Our randomized controlled trial compares the effects of 2 whole-body movement interventions (creative movement [“Play”] and general exercise [“Move”]) to those of a seated play standard-of-care intervention (“Create”) on imitation and praxis skills in children with ASD. As part of this clinical trial, we also compare face-to-face (F2F) versus telehealth (TH) modes of intervention delivery in each of the three groups. Methods A total of 44 children with ASD aged between 5 and 14 years participated in this 10-week study. Children were matched at baseline and assigned to the Play, Move, or Create groups (n=14-15/group). Approximately half of the children in each group were seen F2F, while the other half were seen via TH. Training was provided 2 times/week (60-90 minutes/session) for 8 weeks. We administered the Bilateral Motor Coordination (BMC) and Postural Praxis (PP) subtests of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT) at pretest and posttest and assessed spatial and temporal errors in movement execution during both tests. We calculated the percent total imitation error score for both subtests. Results For the SIPT-PP, we found a reduction in percent total errors from pretest to posttest in the Play (pretest: mean 15.8%, SE 1.1%; posttest: mean 12.9%, SE 1.1%; P≤.05), Move (pretest: mean 17.1%, SE 1.4%; posttest: mean 14.8%, SE 1.2%; P≤.05), and Create groups (pretest: mean 16.5%, SE 1.5%; posttest: mean 12.7%, SE 1.7%; P≤.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the percent reduction in total errors among children seen F2F versus via TH in the Play (F2F: mean 3.4%, SE 1.5%; TH: mean 2.4%, SE 2.1%; P=.72), Move (F2F: mean 2.6%, SE 1.6%; TH: mean 2.1%, SE 1.5%; P=.84), and Create groups (F2F: mean 6.1%, SE 1.2%; TH: mean 3.4%, SE 1.8%; P=.22). For the SIPT-BMC, children significantly reduced their percent total error scores from pretest to posttest in the Play group (pretest: mean 8.6%, SE 2.4%; posttest: mean 3.9%, SE 0.7%; P≤.05) but not in the Move and Create groups. Specifically, children in the Play group improved on spatial errors (pretest: mean 9.1%, SE 1.9%; posttest: mean 5.4%, SE 1.2%; P≤.05) and also showed a nonsignificant trend for improvement in temporal errors (pretest: mean 9.2%, SE 3.3%; posttest: mean 3.1%, SE 0.6%; P=.06). Similar to the SIPT-PP, we found no significant differences in the percent reduction in total errors among children seen F2F versus via TH (F2F: mean 2.0%, SE 1.5%; TH: mean 7.3%, SE 3.8%; P=.23). Conclusions Our pilot data suggest that imitation-based gross and fine motor training activities led to improved postural imitation skills in children with ASD across all 3 groups. However, only the Play group that received rhythmic movement practice improved on the BMC subtest of the SIPT. Our findings suggest that improvements in imitation and praxis skills are highly training-specific in children with ASD. The lack of significant differences between the F2F and TH modes across all groups suggests that TH could be a successful method of intervention delivery for promoting imitation and praxis skills in children with ASD. Conflicts of Interest None declared.

Personalized Training via Serious Game to Improve Daily Living Skills in Pediatric Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The majority of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit difficulties in social communication and behavior, which hinder their learning capability, amid others. Among technological solutions for people with ASD, serious games are frequently used to enhance learning of specific skills and instructional contents. However, because of heterogeneity in applications and game design, few studies have investigated their use in training daily activities. This paper presents a 3D personalized serious game we developed and validated to help ASD patients practice with shopping activities. Personalized training is paramount in people with ASD, thus several elements of this game were personalized to improve engagement and therefore the effectiveness of the virtual training. In order to assess the validity of the game, ten subjects (age [Formula: see text], 20% female) with ASD played ten sessions of the serious game, once per week. The participants underwent a real-life experience pre- and post-training in a real-life supermarket. Changes in daily living skills among participants were evaluated through specific tools: a form based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth; and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale II. Significant improvements (p 0.05) were detected in the main skills trained with the serious game, especially in learning the shopping procedure, directing attention, and problem-solving skills. These findings suggest that personalized serious games can represent a prominent tool to enhance daily living skills, but future work should clinically validate their efficacy.

Research Progress on the Role of Vitamin D in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can lead to severe social behavioral difficulties, which mainly manifests as social communication and interaction disorders; narrow interests; and repetitive, stereotyped behaviors. In recent years, the prevalence of ASD has increased annually, and it has evolved from a rare disease to one with a high incidence among childhood developmental disorders. The pathogenesis of ASD is considered to be the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. There is increasing evidence that vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and early childhood can lead to the occurrence of ASD. Studies have demonstrated that vitamin D intervention can significantly improve the symptoms of ASD, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, exploring the neuroprotective mechanism of vitamin D against ASD is a huge challenge currently being worked on by current basic and clinical researchers, a task which is of great significance for the clinical promotion and optimization of vitamin D in the treatment of ASD. To further clarify the relationship between vitamin D and ASD, this review summarizes the correlation between vitamin D level and ASD, the effects of vitamin D supplementation on ASD, the possible mechanism of vitamin D involved in ASD, and insights from ASD animal models.

Social Emotional Competence, Learning Outcomes, Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties of Preschool Children: Parent and Teacher Evaluations.

This paper addresses the role of social emotional competence in the emotional and behavioral problems and learning outcomes of preschool children based on their parents’ and teachers’ evaluations. In this study, we compared the perceptions of teachers and parents when evaluating the same child using the multi-informant assessment. First, the associations and differences between both the informant evaluations were investigated. Second, the correlation of the social emotional competence and emotional, and behavioral difficulties among preschool children was analyzed, separately addressing their parents’ and teachers’ evaluations. Third, the role of the preschool children’s social emotional competence in their emotional and behavioral problems, and learning outcomes was investigated building the regression and mediation models. The sample consisted of 507 preschool children (3–6 years, mean age 4.85 years, SD 0.82) and their parents and teachers. Both informants completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Social Skills Improvement System Social-Emotional Learning Brief Scales, and teachers reported on each child’s learning outcomes (by completing a three-item Learning outcomes measure). When comparing both informants’ evaluations, positive associations were found between teacher and parental evaluations of prosocial behavior and emotional, and behavioral difficulties of preschool children, as well as self-management. Parents evaluated their children higher than teachers in conduct problems, hyperactivity, prosocial behavior, and total difficulty, while teachers evaluated children higher than parents in social emotional competence. According to teachers, the social emotional competence of preschool children was negatively correlated to all difficulty scales, and positively related to the prosocial behavior scale. The demographic variables, as well as parental socioeconomic status and children’s belonging to a vulnerable group were not found to be significantly associated with the preschool children’s learning outcomes. However, social emotional competence remains a significant variable in teacher-rated learning outcomes of preschool children even if sociodemographic variables are controlled. Our findings indicate that a higher level of social emotional competence and lower levels of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties are related to a higher preschoolers’ academic learning in their teachers’ evaluation. This suggests the importance of early facilitation of social emotional competence as a key factor for academic success and more positive behavioral outcomes.

The Importance of Experimental Investigation of the CNS Oxytocin System.

This chapter provides an overview of the oxytocinergic system and its role in social behavior. We first consider the relationship between oxytocin and social behavior in neurotypical individuals, focusing on studies that have looked at effects of intranasal oxytocin treatment, as well as research investigating the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms associated with individual differences in social behavior. We then outline the proposed role of the oxytocinergic system in autism spectrum disorder and Williams syndrome, two neurodevelopmental disorders where a dysfunctional oxytocinergic system is thought to lead to difficulties in social behavior. Given the contrasting social phenotypes of these disorders, they provide an intriguing comparison through which we can better understand the role of the oxytocinergic system in social behavior. Finally, we consider how future research can best harness the potential of oxytocin, both by addressing measurement and administration issues inherent in many studies, and by developing our understanding of the oxytocinergic system so we are better able to identify the people who are likely to benefit from oxytocin treatment, and intervene at the right time.

Motor intervention and autism: one way, several domains of effectiveness

In the literature, a delay in the development and acquisition of motor skills is generally described in children with autism spectrum disorder, affecting between 50% and 80% of this population. In spite of this high frequency of occurrence, motor difficulties are not yet considered in the same way as the core deficits of this disorder (difficulties in social interaction, communication and behavior); addictionaly, there is not yet enough research about the efficacy of a specific intervention that can support the development of motor functions compromised in autism. Recent findings, which support the correlation between motor domain and other areas of development (social and cognitive), together with other evidence that underline the benefits of practicing motor activities on the individual's well-being, lead us to re-evaluate the effects of motor intervention for autism. To define the salient points of this kind of intervention, with particular attention to rehabilitation practice, a literature search was carried out on four different databases, which sifted through 602 bibliographic citations and found 10 studies that were able to meet the set research purposes. This review showed that physical activity in autistic children not only improves motor performance, but also plays an important role in the social, cognitive and behavioural development, as well as helping to reduce some secondary or associated symptoms, such as stereotypies or sleep disorders.

Disturbances of Shared Intentionality in Schizophrenia and Autism.

Schizophrenia and autism are today considered complex spectrum disorders characterized by difficulties in social behavior. Drawing on recent advances in collective or shared intentionality studies, we present a novel theoretical approach to these social difficulties by exploring them from the angle of shared intentionality. We begin by describing two forms of shared intentionality: joint intentionality and we-intentionality. Joint intentionality crucially relies on the agents' mentalizing abilities such as mind reading and the ability to factor in (or “to be moved” by) their partner's intentions in deliberation and action planning. By contrast, we-intentionality relies on the agents' capacity to understand themselves as group members and to adopt the group's perspective. In schizophrenia spectrum disorders, we propose that joint intentionality remains unaffected, but we-intentionality may be impaired. In severe autism spectrum disorder (i.e., infantile autism), we propose that both forms of shared intentionality are impaired. We suggest that the source of the problems affecting we-intentionality in schizophrenia spectrum disorders lies primarily in trait-like, anomalous self-experiences. In severe autism spectrum disorder, we suggest that problems with mind reading, the ability to “be moved” by others' intentions, and with the capacity for perspective-taking impede both forms of shared intentionality.

Perception of Stuttering in Individuals With Stuttering.

Stuttering is a puzzling disorder which involves voluntary repetition, prolongation along with blocking and other interruptions to the flow of speech. Stuttering impacts on quality of life of individuals with difficulties in overall social behavior and performance. The present study focuses on perception of stuttering by individual with stuttering and their experiences toward their stuttering among family and society. The present study was carried out in two phases. Phase 1 included the development of questionnaire and phase 2 incorporated the administration of questionnaire and analysis of the results. Total of 20 participants (16 males and 4 females) between the age ranges of 15-50years (SD = 8.33) were included in the study. The results of present study consisted of perception of the individual with stuttering, their family members and other people regarding the probable cause, effects and treatment of stuttering. The causes were than categorized into psychological, superstitious, genetic, physiological and unknown. Likewise the treatment was categorized into speech therapy, medical treatment, self management strategies, superstitious beliefs and unknown. Many of the participants, their family members and other people had inappropriate, irrational and superstitious believes about the cause and treatment of stuttering due to which they faced many difficulties in their life. Hence from this study we conclude that there is requirement of awareness regarding the etiologies of stuttering and its consequences in hazarding the quality of life. It was also observed the urgent need of awareness regarding the speech therapy and its beneficial outcome in enhancing the fluency of individuals with stuttering, therefore, avoiding the consequence of the condition in their life.

Sleep, social behaviour and food consumption of schoolchildren of a large Brazilian city.

To explore the impact of inadequate sleep and associated factors on the social behaviour and food consumption of children and adolescents. Cross-sectional study. Sleep information, social behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), food consumption, demography, nutritional status, lifestyle, and biochemical tests were investigated. School children in the 4th grade of the municipal school system of a large Brazilian city. Of a total of 797 schoolchildren, 50·9 % were female, with a median age of 9·7 (9·5-10·0) years old and an energy consumption of 7613·6 (5982·7-9766·2) kJ. It was determined that 31·6 % were overweight, and 76·8 % reported insufficient weekly practice of physical activity. A median of 9·6 (8·9-10·5) h of sleep (lower values on weekdays: 9·3 v. 10·5 h, P < 0·001) was recorded. In addition, 27 % of the individuals who experienced inadequate sleep (<9 h) engaged in longer screen time daily (≥2 h/d) (P = 0·05), had an inadequate bedtime (> 22 h) or adequate wake-up time (5-7 h), studied in the morning (P < 0·001) and never took a shower before school (P < 0·001). Of the entire sample, 9·9 % had poor or very poor sleep quality and a greater probability of sleep talking regularly, had difficulty falling asleep, and engaged in inadequate social behaviour while experiencing these conditions compared with those with positive sleep quality. There was no association between sleep and the other variables investigated. Sleep impairment contributed to changes in sleep and social behaviour in schoolchildren. The findings of this study may reinforce the importance of developing actions to promote adequate sleep and a healthy lifestyle at school age.

الدلالة التمييزية لاختبارات صعوبات السلوک الاجتماعي والانفعالي ببطارية نبسي2 لدى تلاميذ المرحلة الابتدائية

استهدفت الدراسة الحالية إلى تحديد الفروق بين الأفراد ذوي صعوبات السلوک الاجتماعي والانفعالي وبين أقرانهم العاديين، کما استهدفت إثراء المکتبة العربية بأدوات تشخيصية دقيقة لمجال السلوک الاجتماعي والانفعالي، وباستخدام اختبارات السلوک الاجتماعي والانفعالي ببطارية نبسي2 وتطتبيقها علي عدد 50 تلميذ من العاديين بصف الخامس والسادس بالمرحلة الابتدائية بمدرسة مجمع شها الابتدائية وعدد 51 من أقرانهم ذوي صعوبات السلوک الاجتماعي والانفعالي، أشارت النتائج إلى تفوق العاديين عن ذوي صعوبات السلوک الاجتماعي والانفعالي على کلا مقياسي مجال السلوک الاجتماعي والانفعالي ببطارية نبسي 2 مما يشير إلى الدلالة التمييزية لاختبارات هذا المجال في التمييز بين ذوي صعوبات السلوک الاجتماعي والانفعالي عن أقرانهم العاديين. Summary The current study aimed to identify the differences between individuals with social and emotional behavioral difficulties and their ordinary peers, as well as to enrich the Arab library with accurate diagnostic tools for the field of social and emotional behavior, by using social and emotional behavior tests with the Nipsi 2 battery and applying them to 50 ordinary students in the fifth and sixth grade of elementary school. The Shaha Elementary Complex and 51 of their peers with social and emotional behavior difficulties, the results indicated that the ordinary people were superior to those with social and emotional behavior difficulties on both scales of the field of social and emotional behavior in the Nebsi battery 2, which indicates the differential significance of the tests in this field in distinguishing between those with social and emotional behavior difficulties From ordinary peers.

Exploring the effect of an attachment intervention in areas of multiple deprivation on adult–child interaction and the implications for children's social, emotional and behavioural development

ABSTRACT This paper explores the incidence of children’s social, emotional and behavioural difficulties within areas of multiple deprivation in one Local Authority in Wales and the potential effects of targeted training interventions on the quality of adult–child interactions. The quality of adult–child interaction was measured pre and post-test using the Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing Scale (SSTEW). Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) identified social, emotional and behavioural difficulties of children aged two to three years old illustrating the levels of difficulties presented by children attending Flying Start childcare. The SDQ results highlight a high incidence of social emotional and behavioural difficulties for children in areas of multiple deprivation. The SSTEW results highlight the potential impact of targeted professional development on the quality of adult–child interactions with the consideration that good quality childcare is associated with better outcomes for emotional, hyperactivity and peer problems with an improvement in pro-social skills.

Emotion recognition in young male offenders and non-offenders

The study of facial emotional expressions not only gives information about communicative and adaptive processes, but also provides valuable knowledge about some aspects of human behaviour, such as emotions and intentions.Taking into account the proved evidence that deficits in processing emotional information shows difficulties in executive functions and social behavior, the present work aims to compare the perceptual and dimensional similarities between the emotions transmitted by the faces (facial emotions) and those typically associated with two particular emotional contexts (offenders and non-offenders). To evaluate the contextual influence on emotional face categorization, the emotional recognition in 69 male young (35 offenders (17.22 ± 1.5 years) and 34 non-offenders (16.90 ± 1.56 years) from Barranquilla (Colombia) was analyzed. Experimental results displayed significant differences among the two groups, mainly focused in the recognition of anger and disgust faces. In this sense, the analysis of abovementioned data may lead to the development of more specific and cost-effective therapeutic treatments for offender population.

Effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on acoustic characteristics of ultrasonic vocalizations in rat pups

Rat pups produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) on isolation from their dam. Ultrasonic vocalization is a sensitive tool for evaluating social behavior between pups and their dam. Prenatal ethanol-exposure leads to a reduction in USVs and have the potential of inducing difficulties in social behavior between pups and their dam. However, effects of prenatal ethanol-exposure on the acoustic characteristics of USVs remain unclear. In this study, we recorded USVs produced by rat pups that were prenatally exposed to ethanol and examined their acoustic characteristics. Ethanol was administered to 13 pregnant rats in three stages by gradually increasing concentrations between gestational days (GDs) 8–20. From GDs 14–20, ethanol-containing tap water at concentrations of 30% and 15% (v/v) was administered to the high- and low-ethanol groups, respectively. Tap water without ethanol was given to the control group. On postnatal days (PNDs) 4, 8, 12, and 16, individual newly-born pups were isolated from their dam and littermates and USVs produced by them were recorded for 5 min. The number of USVs in the high-ethanol group was greater than that in both low-ethanol and control groups on PND 12. The mean, minimum, and maximum fundamental frequencies of USVs were elevated in the high-ethanol group compared with that in both low-ethanol and control groups. Higher amplitudes of USVs were produced by male pups in the high-ethanol group than in those in both low-ethanol and control groups on PND 12. These results suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure changed emotionality and accordingly, the high-ethanol group produced more USVs as distress calls.