Social-emotional Behavior Research Articles

Do the Social and Emotional Behaviors of High School Adolescents in Yerevan Determine Mental and Emotional Well-Being?

Adolescence is characterized by rapid physical, mental and physiological development, as well as by the adolescent’s own mental health protection, which is of particular importance. In this study we aim to determine whether certain social anreferend emotional behaviors of high school students, are associated with achieving and maintaining a state of mental and emotional well-being. The study included 439 10th grade high school students in Yerevan, who each completed a survey as well as a biosocial questionnaire to evaluate their lifestyle characteristics and attitudes toward their own health. From the study results, we further evaluate the impact of several determining factors related to the development of adolescent mental health. Such factors include personal relationships that form between adolescents and adults, difficulties arising during the adjustment to a new learning system, insufficient and restless sleep, and the social environment within the family that leads to occurrences of anxiety and health-related complaints.

Investigation of the Relationship between Emotion Socialization Behaviors of Mothers and Temperament of Children

Investigation of the Relationship between Emotion Socialization Behaviors of Mothers and Temperament of Children

Intrinsic, dynamic and effective connectivity among large-scale brain networks modulated by oxytocin

The neuropeptide oxytocin is a key modulator of social-emotional behavior and its intranasal administration can influence the functional connectivity of brain networks involved in the control of attention, emotion and reward reported in humans. However, no studies have systematically investigated the effects of oxytocin on dynamic or directional aspects of functional connectivity. The present study employed a novel computational framework to investigate these latter aspects in 15 oxytocin-sensitive regions using data from randomized placebo-controlled between-subject resting state functional MRI studies incorporating 200 healthy subjects. In order to characterize the temporal dynamics, the ‘temporal state’ was defined as a temporal segment of the whole functional MRI signal which exhibited a similar functional interaction pattern among brain regions of interest. Results showed that while no significant effects of oxytocin were found on brain temporal state related characteristics (including temporal state switching frequency, probability of transitions between neighboring states, and averaged dwell time on each state) oxytocin extensively (n = 54 links) modulated effective connectivity among the 15 regions. The effects of oxytocin were primarily characterized by increased effective connectivity both between and within emotion, reward, salience, attention and social cognition processing networks and their interactions with the default mode network. Top-down control over emotional processing regions such as the amygdala was particularly affected. Oxytocin also increased effective homotopic interhemispheric connectivity in almost all these regions. Additionally, the effects of oxytocin on effective connectivity were sex-dependent, being more extensive in males. Overall, these findings suggest that modulatory effects of oxytocin on both within- and between-network interactions may underlie its functional influence on social-emotional behaviors, although in a sex-dependent manner. These findings may be of particular relevance to potential therapeutic use of oxytocin in psychiatric disorders associated with social dysfunction, such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, where directionality of treatment effects on causal interactions between networks may be of key importance .

Maternal socialization is associated with prosocial behavior in at-risk young children

ABSTRACT Prosocial behaviors are a key component of young children’s developing social competence. The current study examines the impact of two types of maternal socialization on young children’s prosocial behaviors: emotional expressiveness (defined as maternal displayed positive and negative affect) and direct coaching of prosocial responses and explores the relationship of these socialization behaviors with mothers’ own histories of psychosocial risk. An ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample from the United States of 80 mother-child dyads at high risk for violence exposure was assessed when the children were preschool age. All of the maternal emotion socialization behaviors were evaluated by direct observation. The sample included 40 mothers with a history of childhood trauma and 40 mothers without such a history, matched on demographic characteristics. Results indicated that mothers with a history of childhood trauma experiences expressed more positive affect than those without childhood trauma, but the groups did not differ in expressed negative affect or prosocial coaching behaviors. For the full sample, even after controlling for relevant demographic and psychosocial risk factors, socialization behaviors were associated with preschool children’s prosocial behavior. Findings reinforce the critical role of parental socialization behaviors in the development of young children’s peer-directed prosocial behaviors and highlight the importance of helping parents to develop effective socialization skills.

The Influence Of Single Parent Parenting Style On Social Emotional Development Women Student Of Al-Istiqamah Ngatabaru Modern Islamic Boarding School

This study was conducted in al-istiqamah ngatabaru modern islamic boarding school with sample of 50 students. Data were gathered through observation and questionnaires. The data were analysed using descriptive analysis approach. The results showed that the parenting style applied by each parents of students in general can be said to be quite democratic, but none of the parents of students who apply pure democratic parenting. Under certain circumstances, parents are authoritarian and in another circumstances parents are permissive. Based on the significant value of the Coefficients table, the significance value of 0,000 <0,05, then based on the known value of , while the Ttable value at the error level 5% = 2.011, thus the statement can be written that, tcount> (18.254 <2.011 ), the degree of the influence of single parent parenting style on social emotional behavior women student of al-istiqamah ngatabaru modern islamic boarding school also can be known through the magnitude of coefficient of determination (R Square) is 0.871 or 87.1%. This means that 12.9% is influenced by other factors not included in this study. so it can be concluded that single parent parenting style (X) parenting variable influential to emotional social development variable (Y), the result is significant hypothesis that there is positive influence between parenting parent single parent to emotional social development santriwati pondok pesantren modern Al-istiqamah Ngatabaru.

Socio-emotional and adaptive behaviour in children treated for severe anaemia at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda: a prospective cohort study

BackgroundSevere anaemia is a global public health challenge commonly associated with morbidity and mortality among children < 5 years of age in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, less is known about the behavioural performance of children < 5 years surviving severe anaemia in low resource settings. We investigated social-emotional and adaptive behaviour in children < 5 years diagnosed with severe anaemia in Northern Uganda.MethodsWe conducted a hospital based prospective cohort study among children 6—42 months who were treated for severe anaemia (n = 171) at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda. Socio-emotional and adaptive behaviour were assessed 14 days post discharge using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd edition. Age-adjusted z-scores for each domain were calculated using scores from healthy community children (n = 88) from the same environment for each age category. Multiple linear regression was used to compare z-scores in the social-emotional and adaptive behaviour scales between the two groups after adjusting for weight-for-age z-score, social economic status, mother’s education, father’s education and father’s employment on all the scales.ResultsCompared with healthy community controls, children with severe anaemia had poorer [adjusted mean scores (standard error)], socio-emotional [− 0.29, (0.05) vs. 0.01, (0.08), P = 0.002]; but not overall/ composite adaptive behaviour [− 0.10, (0.05) vs. − 0.01, (0.07), P = 0.343]. Within the adaptive behaviour subscales, children with SA displayed significantly poorer scores on the community use [adjusted mean score (standard error)], [− 0.63, (0.10) vs. − 0.01, (0.13), P < 0.001]; and leisure [− 0.35, (0.07) vs. − 0.02, (0.07), P = 0.036] skills.ConclusionThis study suggests that severe anaemia in children < 5 years is associated with poor social-emotional scores in the short-term post clinical recovery in Northern Uganda. We recommend long-term follow-up to determine the course of these problems and appropriate interventions to reduce the behavioural burden among children < 5 years surviving severe anaemia in Uganda.

Observed Social Emotional Behavior at 22Months Predicts a Later ASD Diagnosis in High-Risk Siblings.

Social engagement, pretend play, and concern for another's distress represent fundamental features of typical social-emotional development in the second year. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display delays and deficits in these areas, and research on toddlers at heightened risk for ASD (HR; younger siblings of children with ASD) indicates these deficits may be apparent in toddlerhood. Prior research has examined these aspects of social-emotional development individually in HR toddlers. The present paper examines them jointly as predictors of ASD. We show that social engagement, pretend play, and empathic concern at 22-months each contribute uniquely to predicting later ASD diagnosis with high specificity and moderate sensitivity. Results have important implications for early diagnosis and intervention in young children with ASD.

Parenting Styles and Self-Help Skills of Kindergarten Learners

Parenting style has influenced children's development, particularly on behavior development and school readiness among kindergarten learners. It is a strong predictor not only of the cognitive but also of the social-emotional developmental success in children. Quality care for children during the early years of development has been emphasized. To achieve developmental outcomes, children should develop independence by acquiring self-help skills or self-care skills, which enable them to look after themselves and socialize daily. Studies have associated parenting styles with the academic performance and social-emotional behavior of children; however, the literature on parents' role, particularly on children's self-help skills, is very limited. This study assessed the dominant parenting styles of a district in Negros Occidental during the school year 2018-2019 and the learners' level of self-help skill. It determined the differences in the learners' self-help skills regarding the parents' sex, family monthly income, employment status, marital status, and the relationship between parenting styles and self-help skills.

Long-Term Effects of Social-Emotional Learning on Academic Skills: Evidence from a Randomized Trial of INSIGHTS

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs are school-based preventive interventions that aim to improve children’s social-emotional skills and behaviors. Although meta-analytic research has shown that SEL programs implemented in early childhood can improve academic and behavioral outcomes in the short-term, there is limited work examining program effects on children’s math and language skills in the longer-term. Moreover, few studies have considered variation in impacts by children’s pre-intervention academic skills. Using an experimental design, the current study leveraged administrative data available through school records (N = 353) to examine the impacts of one SEL program—INSIGHTS into Children’s Temperament—implemented in early elementary school on math and language standardized test scores from third through sixth grade. Findings revealed positive average treatment effects on English/Language Arts (ELA) test scores in third and fourth grade, but not in fifth and sixth grade. Students who had higher academic skills at study enrollment showed lasting impacts on ELA scores in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. There were no treatment impacts on math skills, and no variation in effects on math achievement by baseline skills. Implications are discussed.

Interrelations between After-School Settings and the Delinquency and Emotional-Behavioral Problems of Elementary School Children: Findings from Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study

Even though there are different types of after-school settings, numerous studies have focused on formal after-school settings (i.e., after-school programs or ASPs) and their association with children’s academic, physical, and social-emotional behaviors. The few findings from informal settings are also outdated. To bridge this gap, our study aimed to locate the interrelations between after-school settings and the behavioral outcomes of children with a particular emphasis on children’s delinquency and emotional-behavioral problems. We used the U.S. national dataset, fifth wave of Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing (nine-year follow-up), with the binary logistic and ordinary least square regression analyses. With a sample size of 3320, we found that children in parental care were reported to commit less delinquency than children in ASPs. Also, children in non-adult care were reported to have more emotional-behavioral problems than children in ASPs. Educators, school social workers, and policymakers should consider the impact of ASPs on children whose parents are not able to spend significant amounts of time with them. In particular, public assistance should be utilized in such a way that helps parents to achieve their children’s positive behavioral outcomes. At the same time, government and community assistance should be provided to enhance the quality of ASPs for the positive results of emotional-behavioral problems of elementary school students.

The association between social emotional development and symptom presentation in autism spectrum disorder.

Understanding differences in social-emotional behavior can help identify atypical development. This study examined the differences in social-emotional development in children at increased risk of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis (infant siblings of children diagnosed with the disorder). Parents completed the Brief Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) to determine its ability to flag children with later-diagnosed ASD in a high-risk (HR) sibling population. Parents of HR (n = 311) and low-risk (LR; no family history of ASD; n = 127) children completed the BITSEA when their children were 18 months old and all children underwent a diagnostic assessment for ASD at age 3 years. All six subscales of the BITSEA (Problems, Competence, ASD Problems, ASD Competence, Total ASD Score, and Red Flags) distinguished between those in the HR group who were diagnosed with ASD (n = 84) compared to non-ASD-diagnosed children (both HR-N and LR). One subscale (BITSEA Competence) differentiated between the HR children not diagnosed with ASD and the LR group. The results suggest that tracking early social-emotional development may have implications for all HR children, as they are at increased risk of ASD but also other developmental or mental health conditions.

Head righting reflex in newborns as the predictive factor of early child development: a longitudinal study

ABSTRACT This study analysed whether the assessment of head righting reflex (HRR) in babies immediately after birth can be used in prediction of early child development. In 54 healthy newborns, testing of HRR was conducted on the third day upon birth. The HRR at birth were correlated with balance ability (BA), speech and language development (SLD) and social-emotional behaviour (SEB), on the same sample of children at the age of 5. Children whose HRR was absent or incomplete immediately after birth, later start to sit, stand, walk and talk and that differences are statistically significant (p<0.02, p<0.05, p<0.01 and p<0.01 respectively). Children with better BA (t = 2,32; p<0.02) and SLD (t = 2,33; p<0.02) at the age of 5, had present HRR at birth. Although the HRR reaches its full maturity at the end of the 2nd month of life, its onset immediately after birth could serve as a predictor of early child development.

Does private education make nicer people? The influence of school type on social-emotional development.

In a longitudinal sample from Britain, we tested if attending private, fee-charging schools rather than non-selective state schools benefitted children's social-emotional development. State (N=2,413) and private school children (N=269) showed no differences in well-being across adolescence, but private school children reported fewer behaviour problems and greater peer victimisation over time than state schoolers. These results were independent of schools' selection criteria, including family background, and prior academic and cognitive performance. At age 21, private and state school students differed marginally in social-emotional behaviours, such as self-control, volunteering, sexual conduct, and substance use. After considering schools' selection criteria, only risk taking and age at having the first alcoholic drink differed between private and state school children, with the privately educated ones being less risk averse and drinking at younger ages than those attending state school. Our results suggest that private education adds little positive value to children's social-emotional development.

Five direct behavior rating multi-item scales: Sensitivity to the effects of classroom interventions

Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) is a tool designed for the assessment of behavioral changes over time. Unlike methods for summative evaluations, the development of progress monitoring tools requires evaluation of sensitivity to change. The present study aimed to evaluate this psychometric feature of five newly developed DBR Multi-Item Scales (DBR-MIS). Teachers identified students with behaviors interfering with their learning or the learning of others and implemented a Daily Report Card (DRC) intervention in the classroom settings for two months. The analyses were performed on 31 AB single case studies. Change metrics were calculated at an individual level by using Tau-UA vs. B + trend B and Hedges' g and at a scale-level by using Mixed Effect Meta-Analysis, Hierarchical Linear Models (HLMs), and Between-Case Standardized Mean Difference (BC-SMD). HLMs were estimated considering both fixed and random effects of intervention and linear trend within the intervention phase. The results supported sensitivity to change for three DBR-MIS (i.e., Academic Engagement, Organizational Skills, and Disruptive Behavior), and the relative magnitudes were consistent across the metrics. Sensitivity to change of DBR-MIS Interpersonal Skills received moderate support. Conversely, empirical evidence was not provided for sensitivity to change of DBR-MIS Oppositional Behavior. Particular emphasis was placed on the intervention trend in that responses to behavioral interventions might occur gradually or require consistency over time in order to be observed by raters. Implications for the use of the new DBR-MIS in the context of progress monitoring of social-emotional behaviors are discussed.

Effects of the Global Coronavirus Disease-2019 Pandemic on Early Childhood Development: Short- and Long-Term Risks and Mitigating Program and Policy Actions

Effects of the Global Coronavirus Disease-2019 Pandemic on Early Childhood Development: Short- and Long-Term Risks and Mitigating Program and Policy Actions

Neural Control of Emotional Actions in Response to Affective Vocalizations.

Social-emotional cues, such as affective vocalizations and emotional faces, automatically elicit emotional action tendencies. Adaptive social-emotional behavior depends on the ability to control these automatic action tendencies. It remains unknown whether neural control over automatic action tendencies is supramodal or relies on parallel modality-specific neural circuits. Here, we address this largely unexplored issue in humans. We consider neural circuits supporting emotional action control in response to affective vocalizations, using an approach-avoidance task known to reliably index control over emotional action tendencies elicited by emotional faces. We isolate supramodal neural contributions to emotional action control through a conjunction analysis of control-related neural activity evoked by auditory and visual affective stimuli, the latter from a previously published data set obtained in an independent sample. We show that the anterior pFC (aPFC) supports control of automatic action tendencies in a supramodal manner, that is, triggered by either emotional faces or affective vocalizations. When affective vocalizations are heard and emotional control is required, the aPFC supports control through negative functional connectivity with the posterior insula. When emotional faces are seen and emotional control is required, control relies on the same aPFC territory downregulating the amygdala. The findings provide evidence for a novel mechanism of emotional action control with a hybrid hierarchical architecture, relying on a supramodal node (aPFC) implementing an abstract goal by modulating modality-specific nodes (posterior insula, amygdala) involved in signaling motivational significance of either affective vocalizations or faces.

Development and Refinement of the RELAX Intervention, an Intervention Targeting Emotion Dysregulation and Interpersonal Conflict in Adolescents with ADHD: Results from a Pilot Study

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to refine and conduct a pilot evaluation of the RELAX (Regulating Emotions Like An eXpert) intervention for families of adolescents with ADHD. RELAX was refined based on 12 community clinicians’ feedback. RELAX was then implemented with 18 adolescents with ADHD and their caregivers (14 mothers, 3 fathers, 1 grandmother). Outcomes included parent and adolescent ratings of adolescent emotion dysregulation and family conflict; parent self-report of emotion dysregulation; coded parent emotion socialization behaviors during a conflict discussion; and weekly parent and clinician ratings of family conflict, emotion regulation, and communication. All outcomes were collected pre- and post-RELAX. Adolescents made large improvements on parent and adolescent ratings of emotion dysregulation (d = 1.10 and 1.23, respectively) and family conflict (d = 1.12 and 1.77, respectively). Parents made large increases in use of supportive reactions during the conflict discussion (d = 1.04) and in self-reported emotion dysregulation (d = 0.82). Large effects were found for parent and clinician weekly ratings (ds = 1.82–3.15). Results suggest that the RELAX intervention is a promising intervention targeting emotion dysregulation and family conflict among families of adolescents with ADHD, and warrants further evaluation of intervention effectiveness.

Parental emotion and emotion regulation: A critical target of study for research and intervention to promote child emotion socialization.

Parents' behaviors-particularly their emotion socialization behaviors (ESBs)-drive children's emotion socialization (Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinrad, 1998). We propose that a major next step in the effort to promote healthy emotional development is to improve the field's understanding of the most proximal contributor to parent ESBs: parents' own experience and regulation of emotions in the context of caregiving. As an initial step, this paper integrates Eisenberg and colleagues' model of emotion socialization with theoretical and empirical work on parental emotion. We review the literature on the emotionally evocative nature of parenting, which influences parental ESBs, including parents' expressions of emotions and their responses to children's emotions. However, whereas parental emotions influence behavior, they do not necessarily determine it; parents may regulate their emotions to engage in optimal ESBs. Thus, parental regulation contributes to emotion socialization not only by modeling emotion regulation strategies for children, but also by influencing the quality of parents' ESBs. From a clinical perspective, parental emotion regulation is of utmost importance due to the degree of parental involvement in interventions for childhood emotional and behavioral disorders, which are often aimed at promoting child self-regulation. To illustrate practical applications of Eisenberg's model, we discuss evidence-based practices that include enhancement of parent emotion regulation as a primary target, with the ultimate goal of promoting child emotional development. Ultimately, we aim to spur future theoretical, empirical, and translational work in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Maternal emotion socialization in early childhood predicts adolescents' amygdala-vmPFC functional connectivity to emotion faces.

Guided by Eisenberg, Cumberland, and Spinrad's (1998) conceptual framework, we examined multiple components of maternal emotion socialization (i.e., reactions to children's negative emotion, emotion talk, emotional expressiveness) at 33 months of age as predictors of adolescents' amygdala-vmPFC connectivity and amygdala activation when labeling and passively observing angry and happy faces. For angry faces, more positive maternal emotion socialization behaviors predicted (a) less positive amygdala-vmPFC connectivity, which may reflect more mature vmPFC downregulation of the amygdala activation underlying implicit emotion regulation, and (b) more amygdala activation, which may reflect higher sensitivity to others' emotional cues. Associations between negative emotion socialization behaviors and neural responses to angry faces were nonsignificant, and findings for the models predicting neural responses to happy faces showed a less consistent pattern. By expanding Eisenberg et al.'s (1998) framework to consider neural processing of negative emotions, the current findings point toward the potential long-term implications of positive emotion socialization experiences during early childhood for optimal functioning of the amygdala-vmPFC circuitry during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

A review of associations between parental emotion socialization behaviors and the neural substrates of emotional reactivity and regulation in youth.

As highlighted by Eisenberg, Cumberland, and Spinrad (1998), parents play a critical role in children's socioemotional development, in part, by shaping how children and adolescents process, respond to, and regulate their emotions (i.e., emotional reactivity/regulation). Although evidence for associations between parenting behavior and youth's emotional processing has relied primarily on behavioral measures of emotion, researchers have begun to examine how parenting is related to the neural substrates of youth's reactivity and regulation. This article reviews a growing literature linking parental behavior with structural brain development as well as functional activity and connectivity in neural regions supporting emotional reactivity/regulation during infancy, childhood, and adolescence. By focusing on normative parental behaviors, we evaluate the evidence for associations between typical variations in caregiving and neural processes thought to support youth's emotional reactivity/regulation. The purpose of this review is to (1) extend the model put forth by Eisenberg and colleagues to consider the ways that parenting behaviors are related to neural substrates of youth's emotional reactivity and regulation; (2) review the empirical evidence for associations between parenting, particularly parental "emotion-related socialization behaviors" (ERSBs), and neural substrates of youth's emotional reactivity/regulation; and (3) recommend future directions for this emerging area of research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).