Toddler Period Research Articles

Joint Engagement and Early Language in Young Children With Fragile X Syndrome.

In this study, we examine joint engagement (JE) in young children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and its relationship to language abilities and autism spectrum disorder symptomatology at 24 to 36 months (toddler period) and 59 to 68 months (child period). Participants were 28 children with FXS (24 boys, four girls) and their mothers. Videotaped home observations were conducted during the toddler period and coded for JE. Language abilities were measured at both ages from a developmental assessment, a functional measure, and from a language sample. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (Schopler, Reichler, & Renner, 1988) was completed at both ages. Children with FXS spent more time in supported JE than in coordinated JE. Using a weighted JE variable, we found that children with FXS who had higher weighted JE scores also had more advanced expressive language skills at both the toddler and child periods. Weighted JE was negatively related to autism symptomatology in the toddler period. This study provides evidence that children with FXS who use more JE also have more advanced expressive language skills in early development. Therefore, existing early interventions that target JE behaviors may be effective for promoting language, social communication, and social interaction in this population.

Cardiac Orienting Responses Differentiate the Impact of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in Ukrainian Toddlers.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has been found to impact neurophysiological encoding of environmental events negatively in the first year of life but has not been evaluated in older infants or toddlers. Cardiac orienting responses (ORs) collected duringa habituation/dishabituation learning paradigm were obtained from 12- to 18-month-olds to assess the impact of PAE beyond the first year of life. Participants included women and their toddlers who differed in PAE histories and enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of multivitamin/mineral usage during pregnancy. Those who were randomly assigned to the no intervention group were used for this analysis. The habituation/dishabituation paradigm consisted of 10 habituation and 5 dishabituation trials. Baseline heart rate (HR) was collected for 30seconds prior to stimulus onset, and responses to the stimuli were assessed by sampling HR for 12seconds poststimulus onset. The speed of the OR in response to auditory stimuli in the dishabituation condition was found to be altered as a function of maternal alcohol use around conception. For visual stimuli, positive histories of PAE were predictive of the magnitude but not the speed of the response on habituation and dishabituation trials. A history of binge drinking was associated with reduced magnitude of the OR response on visual encoding trials, and level of alcohol exposure at the time of conception was predictive of the magnitude of the response on visual dishabituation trials. Cardiac ORs collected in the toddler period were sensitive to the effects of PAE. The magnitude of the OR was more sensitive to the impact of PAE than in previous research with younger infants, and this may be a function of brain maturation. Additional research assessing the predictive utility of using ORs in making decisions about individual risk was recommended.

Outcomes and genotype-phenotype correlations in 52 individuals with VLCAD deficiency diagnosed by NBS and enrolled in the IBEM-IS database.

Very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency can present at various ages from the neonatal period to adulthood, and poses the greatest risk of complications during intercurrent illness or after prolonged fasting. Early diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance can reduce mortality; hence, the disorder is included in the newborn Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) in the United States. The Inborn Errors of Metabolism Information System (IBEM-IS) was established in 2007 to collect longitudinal information on individuals with inborn errors of metabolism included in newborn screening (NBS) programs, including VLCAD deficiency. We retrospectively analyzed early outcomes for individuals who were diagnosed with VLCAD deficiency by NBS and describe initial presentations, diagnosis, clinical outcomes and treatment in a cohort of 52 individuals ages 1-18years. Maternal prenatal symptoms were not reported, and most newborns remained asymptomatic. Cardiomyopathy was uncommon in the cohort, diagnosed in 2/52 cases. Elevations in creatine kinase were a common finding, and usually first occurred during the toddler period (1-3years of age). Diagnostic evaluations required several testing modalities, most commonly plasma acylcarnitine profiles and molecular testing. Functional testing, including fibroblast acylcarnitine profiling and white blood cell or fibroblast enzyme assay, is a useful diagnostic adjunct if uncharacterized mutations are identified.

Recensement et analyse des outils examinant la qualité de la relation fraternelle. Recherche-action menée auprès de SOS Village d’Enfants

The French law of 1996 plans in the Civil code the preservation, except grave motives, of the community of life of the children. Nevertheless few tools are available for the professionals of the childhood to allow them to estimate objectively the quality of the sibling relationships. In order to meet this need, this study listed, at first, the available search tools concerning the evaluation of the sibling links. Researchers retained then 8 of them, covering the toddler, childhood and adolescence periods, and asked 12 psychologists to test them. This research-action also had for aim to contribute in a wider way to the consideration of the sibling dimension by the professionals of SOS children Villages.

Systematic Review of Child Obesity Prevention and Treatment Trials Addressing Parenting

A systematic review was conducted to determine whether child obesity/overweight treatment and prevention trials that address parenting result in significant changes or differences in child BMIz, BMI percentile, weight status, or related outcomes. On May 14, 2015 Pubmed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched with the following search strategy “parenting OR parent OR mother OR father AND intervention OR RCT OR trial AND parenting style OR feeding style OR responsive feeding OR restrictive feeding AND child obesity OR child overweight OR child weight status OR child waist circumference OR child BMI OR child BMI percentile OR child BMI% or child BMI z OR child BMI centile OR child BMIZ or child BMI‐z,” yielding 244 unique articles. Abstract and title screening (α = .90) excluded all protocols as well as completed studies restricted to adolescents. Full text review resulted in 16 studies that included some aspect of parenting in the trial and also provided weight outcomes for children. Study sample was obese and/or overweight children in 12 studies; the remaining four included children from the full range of weight statuses. Ten of 16 studies reported a significant effect of intervention on child BMIz, BMI percentile, or other weight outcome. All 10 studies with significant effects were focused on intervention and treatment of obese/overweight children rather than on obesity prevention. Only two of the 10 were focused solely on children ages 5 and under. Results suggest obesity intervention trials that address parenting styles and similar constructs have been successful, particularly for older children. Additional efforts to increase the success of interventions for the toddler and preschool periods are needed.Support or Funding InformationUSDA/NIFA Hatch/Multistate and Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station OKLO2849; Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station OKLO2868

Marital Hostility, Hostile Parenting, and Child Aggression: Associations From Toddlerhood to School Age

The spillover hypothesis suggests that childhood aggression results from spillover of interparental conflict to poor parenting, which promotes aggressive child behavior. This study was designed to examine the spillover hypothesis in non-genetically related parent-child dyads from the toddler period through age 6 years. A sample of 361 sets of children, adoptive parents, and birth parents from the Early Growth and Development Study (EGDS) was assessed from child age 9 months to 6 years on measures of adoptive parent financial strain, antisocial traits, marital hostility, hostile parenting, and child aggression. Structural equation modeling was used to examine links from financial strain, parent antisocial traits, and marital hostility in infancy and toddlerhood to hostile parenting and child aggression at ages 4.5 and 6 years. Spillover of marital conflict from child age 18 to 27 months was associated with more parental hostility in mothers and fathers at 27 months. In turn, adoptive fathers' parental hostility, but not mothers', was associated with aggression in children at age 4.5 years. However, there was no significant spillover from hostile parenting at 4.5 years to child aggression at 6 years. Birth mother antisocial traits were unassociated with child aggression. This study is the first to examine spillover of marital hostility to parenting to child aggression from toddlerhood through age 6 years in an adoption design, highlighting the impact of these environmental factors from the toddler to preschool period. The findings support the potential benefit of early identification of marital hostility.

The long-term effectiveness of the Family Check-Up on school-age conduct problems: Moderation by neighborhood deprivation.

Several studies suggest that neighborhood deprivation is a unique risk factor in child and adolescent development of problem behavior. We sought to examine whether previously established intervention effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) on child conduct problems at age 7.5 would persist through age 9.5, and whether neighborhood deprivation would moderate these effects. In addition, we examined whether improvements in parent-child interaction during early childhood associated with the FCU would be related to later reductions in child aggression among families living in the highest risk neighborhoods. Using a multisite cohort of at-risk children identified on the basis of family, child, and socioeconomic risk and randomly assigned to the FCU, intervention effects were found to be moderated by neighborhood deprivation, such that they were only directly present for those living at moderate versus extreme levels of neighborhood deprivation. In addition, improvements in child aggression were evident for children living in extreme neighborhood deprivation when parents improved the quality of their parent-child interaction during the toddler period (i.e., moderated mediation). Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the possibilities and possible limitations in prevention of early problem behavior for those children living in extreme and moderate levels of poverty.

Trends and physiology of common serum biochemistries in children aged 0–18 years

The aim of this study was to visually present and discuss in detail the physiological trends of 22 serum biochemistries in children aged 0-18.A data-mining, LMS (lambda, mu, and sigma) approach was employed to derive the smoothed continuous serum biochemistry centile charts, after application of stringent outlier exclusion criteria.Serum sodium and calculated osmolality are low in early life and rise with age due to maturing kidney and body water redistribution. Urea, creatinine and uric acid is high at birth, declines to reach a trough by 1 month of age and gradually rises again thereafter. Serum bicarbonate falls initially during the neonatal and toddler period, then rises with declining respiratory rate, further increasing sodium and suppressing chloride. Potassium, calcium and phosphate are required for somatic growth and are actively accrued during periods of rapid growth. Albumin increases until puberty while globulin rises to age 10 as a result of increased hepatic synthetic capacity and maturing immunity. Serum alkaline phosphatase activity peaks during bone growth spurts in infancy and adolescence due to osteoblast leakage, while creatinine increases with muscle mass. Serum gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase activities are high at birth and decline with age. Serum alanine aminotransferase activity is low at birth and is induced by increased gluconeogenesis. Serum bilirubin increases continuously with age, mirroring haemoglobin concentration. Serum total cholesterol declines more markedly in boys than girls during puberty due to the combined effects of free testosterone (lowering high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in boys) and oestradiol (lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in boys and girls).It is important to understand trends and biological variation when interpreting results since partitioned reference intervals may mask this information.

Prediction of autism by translation and immune/inflammation coexpressed genes in toddlers from pediatric community practices.

The identification of genomic signatures that aid early identification of individuals at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the toddler period remains a major challenge because of the genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of the disorder. Generally, ASD is not diagnosed before the fourth to fifth birthday. To apply a functional genomic approach to identify a biologically relevant signature with promising performance in the diagnostic classification of infants and toddlers with ASD. Proof-of-principle study of leukocyte RNA expression levels from 2 independent cohorts of children aged 1 to 4 years (142 discovery participants and 73 replication participants) using Illumina microarrays. Coexpression analysis of differentially expressed genes between Discovery ASD and control toddlers were used to define gene modules and eigengenes used in a diagnostic classification analysis. Independent validation of the classifier performance was tested on the replication cohort. Pathway enrichment and protein-protein interaction analyses were used to confirm biological relevance of the functional networks in the classifier. Participant recruitment occurred in general pediatric clinics and community settings. Male infants and toddlers (age range, 1-4 years) were enrolled in the study. Recruitment criteria followed the 1-Year Well-Baby Check-Up Approach. Diagnostic judgment followed DSM-IV-TR and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule criteria for autism. Participants with ASD were compared with control groups composed of typically developing toddlers as well as toddlers with global developmental or language delay. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were used in a classification test to establish the accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of the module-based classifier. Our signature of differentially coexpressed genes was enriched in translation and immune/inflammation functions and produced 83% accuracy. In an independent test with approximately half of the sample and a different microarray, the diagnostic classification of ASD vs control samples was 75% accurate. Consistent with its ASD specificity, our signature did not distinguish toddlers with global developmental or language delay from typically developing toddlers (62% accuracy). This proof-of-principle study demonstrated that genomic biomarkers with very good sensitivity and specificity for boys with ASD in general pediatric settings can be identified. It also showed that a blood-based clinical test for at-risk male infants and toddlers could be refined and routinely implemented in pediatric diagnostic settings.

Understanding Early Contextual and Parental Risk Factors for the Development of Limited Prosocial Emotions.

A growing body of evidence suggests that parenting influences the development of youth callous unemotional (CU) behavior. However, less is known about the effects of parenting or contextual risk factors on 'limited prosocial emotions' (LPE), a recent conceptualization of CU behavior added to the DSM-5. We focused on LPE at ages 10-12 and age 20 among low income, urban males (N = 310), and examined potential developmental precursors, including contextual risk factors assessed during infancy and observed maternal warmth during the toddler period. We found unique direct associations between maternal warmth, maternal aggression, and low empathetic awareness on LPE at ages 10-12, controlling for concurrent self-reported antisocial behavior. Further, there were indirect effects of maternal aggression, low empathetic awareness, and difficult infant temperament assessed in infancy on LPE at ages 10-12 via their influence on maternal warmth at age 2. Finally, there were lasting indirect effects of parental warmth on LPE at age 20, via LPE at ages 10-12. We discuss the implications of these findings for ecological models of antisocial behavior and LPE development, and preventative interventions that target the broader early parenting environment.

Longitudinal trajectories of social reticence with unfamiliar peers across early childhood.

Behavioral inhibition is a temperament assessed in the toddler period via children's responses to novel contexts, objects, and unfamiliar adults. Social reticence is observed as onlooking, unoccupied behavior in the presence of unfamiliar peers and is linked to earlier behavioral inhibition. In the current study, we assessed behavioral inhibition in a sample of 262 children at ages 2 and 3, and then assessed social reticence in these same children as they interacted with an unfamiliar, same-age, same-sex peer at 2, 3, 4, and 5 years of age. As expected, early behavioral inhibition was related to social reticence at each age. However, multiple trajectories of social reticence were observed including High-Stable, High-Decreasing, and Low-Increasing, with the High-Stable and High-Decreasing trajectories associated with greater behavioral inhibition compared to the Low-Increasing trajectory. In addition, children in the High-Stable social reticence trajectory were rated higher than all others on 60-month Internalizing problems. Children in the Low-Increasing trajectory were rated higher on 60-month Externalizing problems than children in the High-Decreasing trajectory. These results illustrate the multiple developmental pathways for behaviorally inhibited toddlers and suggest patterns across early childhood associated with heightened risk for psychopathology.

Role of Maternal Gesture Use in Speech Use by Children With Fragile X Syndrome

The purpose of this study was to investigate how maternal gesture relates to speech production by children with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Participants were 27 young children with FXS (23 boys, 4 girls) and their mothers. Videotaped home observations were conducted between the ages of 25 and 37 months (toddler period) and again between the ages of 60 and 71 months (child period). The videos were later coded for types of maternal utterances and maternal gestures that preceded child speech productions. Children were also assessed with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning at both ages. Maternal gesture use in the toddler period was positively related to expressive language scores at both age periods and was related to receptive language scores in the child period. Maternal proximal pointing, in comparison to other gestures, evoked more speech responses from children during the mother-child interactions, particularly when combined with wh-questions. This study adds to the growing body of research on the importance of contextual variables, such as maternal gestures, in child language development. Parental gesture use may be an easily added ingredient to parent-focused early language intervention programs.

Emerging effortful control in infancy and toddlerhood and maternal support: A child driven or parent driven model?

This study examined the association between children's temperamental characteristics of rudimentary effortful control (EC) and mothers’ supportive reactions to their children's negative emotions in infancy and toddler period. One hundred and fifty eight (78 girls) Taiwanese children's EC was assessed at 12 and 24 months with mothers’ report on the very short-form scales of Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) and Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) respectively. The mothers also completed questionnaires to assess their comforting behaviors at 12 months and both comforting and cognitive assistance to their children's expression of negative emotions when the child was 24 months old. A structural model was used to examine within- and across-time relations between children's EC and the maternal support. The results showed continuity of EC related temperament from infancy to toddlerhood and the 12-month rudimentary EC positively predicted mothers’ comforting and cognitive assistance at 24 months, suggesting that mothers modulate their use of support in accordance with their prior knowledge of their children's regulatory capacities. The results indicated an influence of infants’ temperament on adult behaviors, supporting potential evocative child effects on mothers’ emotion coaching behaviors.

Adaptation to the birth of a child with a congenital anomaly: A prospective longitudinal study of maternal well-being and psychological distress.

This study explores the stability and change in maternal life satisfaction and psychological distress following the birth of a child with a congenital anomaly using 5 assessments from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study collected from Pregnancy Week 17 to 36 months postpartum. Participating mothers were divided into those having infants with (a) Down syndrome (DS; n = 114), (b) cleft lip/palate (CLP; n = 179), and (c) no disability (ND; n = 99,122). Responses on the Satisfaction With Life Scale and a short version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist were analyzed using structural equation modeling, including latent growth curves. Satisfaction and distress levels were highly diverse in the sample, but fairly stable over time (retest correlations: .47-.68). However, the birth of a child with DS was associated with a rapid decrease in maternal life satisfaction and a corresponding increase in psychological distress observed between pregnancy and 6 months postpartum. The unique effects from DS on changes in satisfaction (Cohen's d = -.66) and distress (Cohen's d = .60) remained stable. Higher distress and lower life satisfaction at later assessments appeared to reflect a persistent burden that was already experienced 6 months after birth. CLP had a temporary impact (Cohen's d = .29) on maternal distress at 6 months. However, the overall trajectories did not differ between CLP and ND mothers. In sum, the birth of a child with DS influences maternal psychological distress and life satisfaction throughout the toddler period, whereas a curable condition like CLP has only a minor temporary effect on maternal psychological distress.

EPA-0836 – Maternal depression timing and trajectories, socioeconomic position and child problem behavior at age five – results from the EDEN mother-child cohort

Maternal depression is an important risk factor for child behavioral and psychological problems. Both timing and chronicity of depression may interfere with developmental tasks during infancy or the toddler years. The aim of the present research is to assess whether maternal depression timing and depression trajectories predict child emotional and behavioral problems at 5 years, and to examine whether there are differential effects according to parental socioeconomic status. Analysis of prospective data from 1183 children participating in the EDEN mother–child cohort study. Maternal depressive symptoms were determined in pregnancy ( prenatal ); 4, 8 and 12 months after birth ( postpartum ) and at 3 and 5 years ( toddler ) using the CESD and EPDS scales. Children's emotional and behavioral problems at age five were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms were modeled with a group-based technique. A series of multiple regression models were used to examine the association between maternal depression timing and trajectories and SDQ scores. Children exposed to maternal depression in the postpartum or toddler period presented more emotional and behavioral problems at age five. The same pattern was found for children exposed to chronic symptoms of maternal depression. Postpartum depressive symptoms were associated with more conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention and overall problem behavior at age five in children whose mothers had a low educational level. Maternal depression timing and chronicity may have detrimental emotional and behavioral effects on young children, especially for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds.

Infant temperament: implications for later sleep and eating/feeding

Objective: A study was conducted to investigate links between infant temperament and eating/feeding, as well as sleep, in the toddler period. Background: Prior studies suggest there may be important connections between temperament and these health-related areas of functioning. However, existing research has been rather limited, generally cross-sectional in nature, with an emphasis on challenging aspects of temperament. As a result, positive emotionality and regulatory capacity, as well as more fine-grained domains of temperament, have been largely neglected. Method: Mothers who participated in an infant temperament evaluation were invited to take part in the follow-up study addressing sleep and eating/feeding for toddlers, completing questionnaires concerning these areas of functioning (N = 27). The Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ) and the Infant Feeding Practices Questionnaire (IFQ) were utilised to measure sleep and eating/feeding difficulties, respectively, whereas the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) provided indicators of temperament. Results: Greater infant Vocal Reactivity translated into increased concerns regarding toddler under-eating, whereas Smiling and Laughter were linked with more positive mealtime interactions. Vocal Reactivity, Smiling and Laughter, and High Intensity Pleasure together contributed to Using Food to Calm Fussiness. Conclusions: Fine-grained temperament distinctions appear as important in examining links with eating/feeding and sleep. Implications for understanding child health-related variables in the context of infant temperament are discussed.

Development of children’s internalising and externalising problems from infancy to five years of age

Mental health problems are an international public health issue affecting a substantial proportion of youth. This study aimed to identify groups of young children exhibiting distinct internalising and externalising symptom trajectories across early childhood compared to existing norms. Linear regression then identified child, parenting and family predictors from infancy in the development of internalising and externalising behaviours at age 5 years. This consisted of a follow-up of 5-year-old children from a longitudinal, population-based study with earlier surveys having been completed by primary caregivers when the children were aged 7, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months. Five hundred 5-year-olds (68% retention) were included from 733 children recruited at age 6-7 months from routine well-child appointments across six socio-economically diverse government areas in Victoria, Australia. Mothers then completed a further questionnaire when their children reached 5 years of age, repeating the instruments included in previous waves. The primary outcomes were the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), 1.5-5 internalising and externalising symptoms (T-scores in relation to norms) and behaviours (raw scores). Across early childhood, three distinct profiles for each of the internalising and externalising symptoms (T-scores) were identified and compared to CBCL norms. Around 20% of this Australian child population exhibited consistently elevated symptoms for each problem. Regarding aetiology, longitudinally the strongest predictors of internalising behaviours at 5 years of age were harsh discipline, maternal stress, having no older siblings, single parenthood and maternal substance misuse. The strongest predictors of externalising behaviours at 5 years of age were male sex, harsh discipline and maternal stress. The predictors explained 22% of the variation in internalising behaviours and 24% of the variation in externalising behaviours at 5 years. Starting as early as the toddler period, effective population approaches to preventing mental health problems are needed. Randomised trials of preventive interventions focused on improving parenting practices and reducing maternal stress are under way.

Prevalence of Serum Bactericidal Antibody to Serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis in England a Decade after Vaccine Introduction

Serogroup C meningococcal disease incidence and carriage declined rapidly in the United Kingdom after infant serogroup C conjugate vaccination was introduced in 1999, with catch-up vaccination for children under 18 years. Antibody levels and effectiveness waned quickly in children vaccinated at 2, 3, and 4 months of age. Therefore, in 2006, the current revised schedule of doses at 3, 4, and 12 months was introduced. This study assessed age-specific protection in 2009 compared with data from historical prevaccination and early postvaccination studies. Rabbit complement serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) was measured in anonymously banked serum samples collected in England in 2009 (n = 1,174), taking titers of ≥ 8 as protective. Age-stratified proportions of SBA titers that were ≥ 8 and geometric mean titers were compared. SBA titers varied markedly by birth cohort and time since vaccination. Overall, 35% of samples (95% confidence interval [CI], 33 to 38%) had titers that were ≥ 8. Only in cohorts eligible for catch-up vaccination did the majority of individuals have protective antibody levels. Antibody levels were higher in children eligible for vaccination at primary and secondary school ages, compared to those eligible below the age of 5 years. In those eligible for completed vaccination under the current schedule, protective levels were very modest and there was no evidence of superiority to cohorts that were eligible for the previous schedule. This supports a need for older childhood or adolescent booster vaccination in those previously eligible for vaccination during the infant, toddler, or preschool periods, to maintain direct protection and potentially enhance population immunity.

Depressive-symptom onset during toddlerhood in a sample of depressed preschoolers: Implications for future investigations of major depressive disorder in toddlers.

This study investigated the occurrence of depressive symptoms prior to age 36 months as retrospectively reported by parents of preschoolers with clinical depression. The study provides some of the first empirical data on the manifestations of depressive symptoms during the toddler period, advancing existing theoretical and case-report literature. A sample of 301 (depressed, disruptive, and healthy) children between the ages of 3.0 and 6.0 years were screened and oversampled for depressive symptoms from community sites. Primary caregivers (parents) were interviewed about their child's symptoms of depression (as well as other symptoms of mental disorders and developmental parameters), and age of first onset of depressive symptoms was ascertained. Findings suggest that clinical-level symptoms of depression may arise as early as age 24 months. The domain of negative self-concept during the toddler period evidenced by self-deprecation and difficulty making choices emerged as the two strongest variables predictive of preschool depression. Our results suggest that prospective empirical studies of depressive symptoms in children younger than 3 years of age should now be undertaken.

The stability of mastery motivation and its relationship with home environment in infants and toddlers

Mastery motivation (intrinsic drives to explore and master one's environment) is a key developmental element. The aims of this study were to investigate (1) the stability of mastery motivation between 2 and 3 years of age for two genders; and (2) the associations between early home environment and toddlers’ mastery motivation in children with typical development. Methods Data of 102 children developing typically from a birth cohort study at Northern Taiwan were analyzed in two parts: (1) stability part: mastery motivation of children were measured at 2 and 3 years of age; (2) environment part: child–parent dyads were assessed from birth, 4 months, 6 months, and 2–3 years of age. Outcomes variables were measured at ages 2 and 3 years by the Dimension of Mastery Questionnaire-17th version. Main predictive variables were measured by Home Observation for Measuring Environment Inventory (HOME) to collect data of the qualities of home environment at 6 months and 2 years; by the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire to obtain 4-month activity levels; and by the Comprehensive Developmental Inventory for Infants and Toddlers to obtain 2-year developmental quotient (DQ). Results There was moderate stability of mastery motivation from 2 to 3 years, and girls’ stability was higher than boys’. 6-Month HOME rather than 2-year HOME measures were positively and significantly correlated with instrumental mastery motivation even when controlling for gender, activity level, and DQ. Conclusion Mastery motivation had moderate stability during the toddler period. The quality of home environment in infancy appeared to have a significant impact on toddler's mastery motivation. To promote mastery motivation, caregivers should provide better quality of home environment for infants/toddlers during the very early years.