Human Development & Quantitative Methodology Research Works

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30 Parent Number Input
(2024-07-15) Mix, Kelly; Cabrera, Natasha; not applicable
This dataset contains codes of parent numeracy input including number word utterances, other quantitative words, and quantitative actions or gestures based on a set of video recorded home visits conducted for a separate study (Cabrera & Reich, 2017) when children were 30 months old. The dataset also includes demographic information and children's scores on a numeracy outcome measure collected when children were 43 months on average. The parent number input codes were collected in 2022-2023 and the children’s numeracy outcome scores collected between 2020-2021.
9M Parent Number Input
(2023-04-10) Mix, Kelly S.; Cabrera, Natasha
The dataset contains parent math talk scores derived from coding of videorecorded home visits (Cabrera & Reich, 2017) completed when children were 9 months of age, as well as numeracy outcome scores collected when children were 42 months old. Coding was completed between June 2021 and December, 2022.
A hierarchical latent space network model for mediation
(Cambridge University Press, 2022-05-30) Sweet, Tracy M.; Adhikari, Samrachana
For interventions that affect how individuals interact, social network data may aid in understanding the mechanisms through which an intervention is effective. Social networks may even be an intermediate outcome observed prior to end of the study. In fact, social networks may also mediate the effects of the intervention on the outcome of interest, and Sweet (2019) introduced a statistical model for social networks as mediators in network-level interventions. We build on their approach and introduce a new model in which the network is a mediator using a latent space approach. We investigate our model through a simulation study and a real-world analysis of teacher advice-seeking networks.
“Acquired” Equals Addition? Associating Verbs with Arithmetic Operations Impacts Word Problem Performance
(Wiley, 2023-03-29) Jaffe, Joshua Benjamin; Gharibani, Troy; Bolger, Donald Joseph
Successful word problem performance often requires understanding the linguistic relations between characters and objects. However, the keyword method promotes associating specific words with mathematical operations while neglecting the situational context. Research has thoroughly investigated the detrimental effects of individuals associating relational terminology (e.g., “more”) with mathematical operations (e.g., “addition”). The current study expands upon this line of research by examining whether undergraduate students associate verbs with mathematical operations and if verbal associations affect word problem performance. Similar to relational terminology, the participants associated verbs with operations, which significantly impacted performance. The educational implications are discussed.
Age-Related Changes in Children’s Associations of Economic Resources and Race
(Frontiers, 2016-06-16) Elenbaas, Laura; Killen, Melanie
Age-related changes in children’s associations of economic resources and race were investigated. The sample (N = 308) included 5–6 year-olds (n = 153, M = 6.01 years, SD = 0.33 years) and 10–11 year-olds (n = 155, M = 11.12 years, SD = 0.59 years) of African–American (n = 93), European–American (n = 92), Latino (n = 62), Asian– American (n = 23), and multi-racial or multi-ethnic (n = 26) background. Participants matched pairs of target children (African–American and European–American) with visual indicators of low, middle, and high economic status. Children’s associations of economic resources with racial groups changed with age, and reflected different associations at high, middle, and low levels of the economic spectrum. Specifically, children associated targets of both races with middle economic status at a comparable rate, and with age, increasingly associated targets of both races with indicators of middle economic status. By contrast, both younger and older children associated African–American targets with indicators of low economic status more frequently than European–American targets. Finally, children associated African–American targets with indicators of high economic status less frequently with age, resulting in a perceived disparity in favor of European–American targets at high economic status among older children that was not present among younger children. No differences were found by participants’ own racial or ethnic background. These results highlight the need to move beyond a dichotomized view (rich or poor) to include middle economic status when examining children’s associations of economic resources and race.
Annual Research Review: Developmental pathways linking early behavioral inhibition to later anxiety
(Wiley, 2022-09-19) Fox, Nathan A.; Zeytinoglu, Selin; Valadez, Emilio A.; Buzzell, George A.; Morales, Santiago; Henderson, Heather A.
Behavioral Inhibition is a temperament identified in the first years of life that enhances the risk for development of anxiety during late childhood and adolescence. Amongst children characterized with this temperament, only around 40 percent go on to develop anxiety disorders, meaning that more than half of these children do not. Over the past 20 years, research has documented within-child and socio-contextual factors that support differing developmental pathways. This review provides a historical perspective on the research documenting the origins of this temperament, its biological correlates, and the factors that enhance or mitigate risk for development of anxiety. We review as well, research findings from two longitudinal cohorts that have identified moderators of behavioral inhibition in understanding pathways to anxiety. Research on these moderators has led us to develop the Detection and Dual Control (DDC) framework to understand differing developmental trajectories among behaviorally inhibited children. In this review, we use this framework to explain why and how specific cognitive and socio-contextual factors influence differential pathways to anxiety versus resilience.
Assessing Differential Item Functioning on the Test of Relational Reasoning
(Frontiers, 2018-03-02) Dumas, Denis; Alexander, Patricia
The test of relational reasoning (TORR) is designed to assess the ability to identify complex patterns within visuospatial stimuli. The TORR is designed for use in school and university settings, and therefore, its measurement invariance across diverse groups is critical. In this investigation, a large sample, representative of a major university on key demographic variables, was collected, and the resulting data were analyzed using a multi-group, multidimensional item-response theory model-comparison procedure. No significant differential item functioning was found on any of the TORR items across any of the demographic groups of interest. This finding is interpreted as evidence of the cultural fairness of the TORR, and potential test-development choices that may have contributed to that cultural fairness are discussed.
Claims of wrongdoing by outgroup members heighten children's ingroup biases
(Elsevier, 2022-10) Glidden, Jacquelyn; D'Esterre, Alexander P.; Butler, Lucas P.; Killen, Melanie
Little is known about how group bias may impact children's acceptance of unsubstantiated claims. Most children view cheating as unfair. However, in competitive situations, when ambiguity surrounds the potential intention to cheat, group affiliation may lead children to support claims of cheating based solely on the team affiliation of the claimant, even when those claims are not clearly substantiated. Therefore, it may be particularly important to consider the role ingroup bias may play in children's accusations of cheating in a competitive intergroup context. The current study investigated 4–10 year old children's (N = 137, MAge = 6.71 years, SDAge = 1.49; 47 % female) evaluations of ambiguous acts and unverified claims about those acts in a competitive, intergroup context. Results showed that children initially viewed an ambiguous act similarly, regardless of team affiliation, but demonstrated increasing ingroup biases after claims of wrongdoing were introduced. Implications for how unsubstantiated claims may impact intergroup interactions more broadly will be discussed.
Commentary: Recognizing our similarities and celebrating our differences – parenting across cultures as a lens toward social justice and equity
(Wiley, 2022-03-07) Cabrera, Natasha J.
Lansford (2022) has aptly and eloquently reviewed the vast scholarly research on cross-cultural parenting and concludes that similarities in parenting norms and behaviors across cultures reflect universally adaptive behaviors for children’s development. Culture-specific differences are due largely to environmental constraints and affordances as well as cultural norms for expected behavior. This is an exemplar review that tells a clear story of what we have learned from the decades of research on this topic and lays the foundation for future scholarship. Specially compelling is Lansford’s argument that we need to take stock of what we know and conduct more of this type of research because the majority of what we have now is biased and does not represent the parenting practices of an increasingly diverse population. In this commentary, I provide some context for the value and potential pitfalls of cross-cultural research; discuss the importance of theoretically driven research; discuss the benefits of cross-cultural research; and conclude with some ideas for future investigations.
The Contributions of Segmental and Suprasegmental Information in Reading Chinese Characters Aloud
(PLOS (Public Library of Science), 2015-11-09) Wang, Min; Li, Chuchu; Lin, Candise Y.
The Chinese writing system provides an excellent case for testing the contribution of segmental and suprasegmental information in reading words aloud within the same language. In logographic Chinese characters, neither segmental nor tonal information is explicitly represented, whereas in Pinyin, an alphabetic transcription of the character, both are explicitly represented. Two primed naming experiments were conducted in which the targets were always written characters. When logographic characters served as the primes (Experiment 1), syllable segmental and tonal information appeared to be represented and encoded as an integral unit which in turn facilitated target character naming. When Pinyin served as the primes (Experiment 2), the explicit phonetic representation facilitated encoding of both segmental and suprasegmental information, but with later access to suprasegmental information. In addition, Chinese speakers were faster to name characters than Pinyin in a simple naming task (Experiment 3), suggesting that Pinyin may be read via a phonological assembly route, whereas characters may be read via a lexical route. Taken together, our findings point to the need to consider the contributions of both segmental and suprasegmental information and the time course in the well-established models for reading aloud, as well as the cognitive mechanisms underlying the reading aloud of logographic characters versus alphabetic Pinyin script.
The Creative Stereotype Effect
(PLOS (Public Library of Science), 2016-02-10) Dumas, Denis; Dunbar, Kevin N.
Because of its fundamental relevance to scientific innovation, artistic expression, and human ingenuity, creativity has long been the subject of systematic psychological investigation. Concomitantly, the far-reaching effects of stereotypes on various cognitive and social processes have been widely researched. Bridging these two literatures, we show in a series of two studies that stereotypes related to creativity can both enhance and diminish individuals’ performance on a divergent thinking task. Specifically, Study 1 demonstrated that participants asked to take on a stereotypically uninhibited perspective performed significantly better on a divergent thinking task than those participants who took on a stereotypically inhibited perspective, and a control group. Relatedly, Study 2 showed that the same effect is found within-subjects, with divergent thinking significantly improving when participants invoke an uninhibited stereotype. Moreover, we demonstrate the efficacy of Latent Semantic Analysis as an objective measure of the originality of ideas, and discuss implications of our findings for the nature of creativity. Namely, that creativity may not be best described as a stable individual trait, but as a malleable product of context and perspective.
Effects of foster care intervention and caregiving quality on the bidirectional development of executive functions and social skills following institutional rearing
(Wiley, 2022-08-07) Zeytinoglu, Selin; Tang, Alva; Zeanah, Charles H.; Nelson, Charles A.; Almas, Alisa N.; Fox, Nathan A.
Institutional rearing negatively impacts the development of children's social skills and executive functions (EF). However, little is known about whether childhood social skills mediate the effects of the foster care intervention (FCG) and foster caregiving quality following early institutional rearing on EF and social skills in adolescence. We examined (a) whether children's social skills at 8 years mediate the impact of the FCG on the development of EF at ages 12 and 16 years, and (b) whether social skills and EF at ages 8 and 12 mediate the relation between caregiving quality in foster care at 42 months and subsequent social skills and EF at age 16. Participants included abandoned children from Romanian institutions, who were randomly assigned to a FCG (n = 68) or care as usual (n = 68), and a never-institutionalized group (n = 135). At ages 8, 12, and 16, social skills were assessed via caregiver and teacher reports and EF were assessed via the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Caregiving quality of foster caregivers was observed at 42 months. FCG predicted better social skills at 8 years, which in turn predicted better EF in adolescence. Higher caregiver quality in foster care at 42 months predicted better social skills at 8 and 12 years, and better EF at 12 years, which in turn predicted 16-year EF and social skills. These findings suggest that interventions targeting caregiving quality within foster care home environments may have long-lasting positive effects on children's social skills and EF.
Examination of Early Childhood Temperament of Shyness and Social Avoidance and Associations With Cardiometabolic Health in Young Adulthood
(American Medical Association, 2022-01-27) Tang, Alva; Fox, Nathan A.; Slopen, Natalie
A child temperament characterized by shyness and avoidance of social interactions is associated with poor peer relationships and emotional problems, yet its long-term associations with adult cardiometabolic health are largely unknown. To examine whether a childhood temperament characterized by shyness and avoidance of social interactions is associated with poor cardiometabolic health. This cohort study included participants who were recruited at birth between April 1991 to December 1992 as part of a prospective longitudinal cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Follow-up assessments of health behaviors and cardiometabolic health extended into young adulthood (age 24 years). Data analysis was conducted between April and October 2021. Parent reports of temperament across ages 3 to 6 years were used to derive childhood temperament profiles in a longitudinal clustering analysis. Accelerometry measures of adolescent moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from ages 11 to 15 years and adult social occupation class were examined as mediators using path analyses. At age 24 years, 9 cardiometabolic outcomes were measured through anthropometrics and fasting blood samples: triglyceride levels, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, glycated hemoglobin levels, insulin levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Of the 9491 participants included in the analyses, 4908 (51.7%) were male, and 8668 of 9027 (96.0%) were White. Four childhood temperament profiles were identified: (1) introverted (2810 [29.6%]), (2) extraverted (2527 [26.6%]), (3) conflicted-shy (2335 [24.6%]), and (4) avoidant-shy (1819 [19.2%]). Lower childhood socioeconomic status was a precursor associated with the development of an avoidant-shy temperament (eg, introvert vs avoidant-shy: odds ratio, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.04-1.23). Path analyses showed that avoidant-shy children spent less time in MVPA in adolescence compared with all other temperament profiles (eg, introvert vs avoidant-shy: β = 0.10; b = 0.25; 95% CI, 0.14-0.35; P < .001), which in turn was associated with a cluster of cardiometabolic indices at age 24 years, including lower HDL cholesterol levels (β = 0.07; b = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.12-1.78; P = .03) and higher LDL cholesterol levels (β = −0.07; b = −1.69; 95% CI = −3.32 to −0.06; P = .04), insulin levels (β = −0.10; b = −0.57; 95% CI, −1.04 to −0.10; P = .02), diastolic blood pressure (β = −0.09; b = −0.59; 95% CI, −0.97 to −0.21; P = .002), and body mass index (β = −0.07; b = −0.32; 95% CI, −0.56 to −0.07; P = .01). Additionally, children classified as avoidant-shy attained lower social occupation classes at age 24 years, which was concurrently associated with higher BMI (β = 0.06; b = 0.21; 95% CI, 0.08-0.35; P = .002). Notably, these results were adjusted for a range of early developmental precursors and confounders, suggesting an independent association of temperament. In this cohort study, less engagement in physical activity across adolescence seemed to be a developmental mechanism connecting an avoidant-shy childhood temperament and greater cardiometabolic risks over the life course. Future studies should examine the efficacy of physical activity and social skill programs that specially target the needs of different children to thereby reduce cardiometabolic risks.
Group Norms Influence Children’s Expectations About Status Based on Wealth and Popularity
(Frontiers, 2022-05-11) Yee, Kathryn M.; Glidden, Jacquelyn; Killen, Melanie
Children’s understanding of status and group norms influence their expectations about social encounters. However, status is multidimensional and children may perceive status stratification (i.e., high- and low-status) differently across multiple status dimensions (i.e., wealth and popularity). The current study investigated the effect of status level and norms on children’s expectations about intergroup affiliation in wealth and popularity contexts. Participants (N = 165; age range: 5–10 years; Mage = 7.72 years) were randomly assigned to hear two scenarios where a high- or low-status target affiliated with opposite-status groups based on either wealth or popularity. In one scenario, the group expressed an inclusive norm. In the other scenario, the group expressed an exclusive norm. For each scenario, children made predictions about children’s expectations for a target to acquire social resources. Novel findings indicated that children associated wealth status to some extent, but they drew stronger inferences from the wealth dimension than from the popularity dimension. In contrast to previous evidence that children distinguish between high- and low-status groups, we did not find evidence to support this in the context of the current study. In addition, norms of exclusion diminished children’s expectations for acquiring social resources from wealth and popularity groups but this effect was more pronounced between wealth groups. We found age differences in children’s expectations in regards to norms, but not in regards to status. The implications of how these effects, in addition to lack of effects, bear on children’s expectations about acquiring resources are discussed.
K Place Value Intervention Study (2019-2020)
(2021-06-14) Mix, Kelly S.; Smith, Linda B.
Kindergartners were pre- and post-tested with a battery of place value concept tasks as well as mathematics outcomes after a 20-lesson intervention of place value instruction. Children were randomly assigned to either the instruction or active control group. If you would like a copy of the dataset(s), please send a written request to the study authors and data custodians, care of Dr. Kelly Mix (kmix@umd.edu).
K-2 Place Value Concepts Smart Errors Study (v.1)
(2024-01-19) Bower, Corinne, Mix, Kelly S., Smith, Linda B.
K-2 Place Value Longitudinal Study (2017-2019)
(2018-11-27) Mix, Kelly S.; Smith, Linda B.
Children were tested with a battery of place value concept tasks as well as mathematics outcomes, in kindergarten, first and second grades.
Maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems: Attachment security as a protective factor
(Cambridge University Press, 2022-01-31) Whittenburg, Paige N.; Stern, Jessica A.; Brett, Bonnie E.; Straske, M. Davis; Cassidy, Jude
Maternal depressive symptoms (MDS) have been linked to both child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Theory suggests that child attachment security may be a protective factor against the negative effects of MDS. This study examined child attachment security as a buffer of the link between MDS and child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at two time points in a predominantly African American sample. Participants included mothers (N = 164; M age = 29.68 years; 76% African American) and their preschool-aged children (60% girls; M age = 44.67 months) recruited from four Head Start centers in low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. MDS were concurrently associated with child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at both time points. No significant main effects of child attachment security on behavior problems emerged; however, child attachment moderated the association between MDS and child internalizing behavior problems at Time 2, such that MDS predicted greater child internalizing problems when attachment security was low, and the effect was attenuated when attachment security was high. No interaction emerged for child externalizing problems. Findings suggest that secure attachment in early childhood can serve as a protective factor in the context of parental risk. We discuss implications for intervention and the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology.
Neuroimaging studies of pediatric social anxiety: paradigms, pitfalls and a new direction for investigating the neural mechanisms
(Springer Nature, 2013-07-12) Jarcho, Johanna M; Leibenluft, Ellen; Walker, Olga Lydia; Fox, Nathan A; Pine, Daniel S; Nelson, Eric E
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a common and debilitating condition that typically manifests in adolescence. Here we describe cognitive factors engaged by brain-imaging tasks, which model the peer-based social interactions that evoke symptoms of SAD. We then present preliminary results from the Virtual School paradigm, a novel peer-based social interaction task. This paradigm is designed to investigate the neural mechanisms mediating individual differences in social response flexibility and in participants’ responses to uncertainty in social contexts. We discuss the utility of this new paradigm for research on brain function and developmental psychopathology.
Phonological Training and Word Learning in a Novel Language
(Frontiers, 2022-02-17) Li, Yixun; Wang, Min; Li, Chuchu; Li, Man
In reading Chinese words, learners may process segment and tone either separately or as an integral unit, as evidenced in previous research. The present study compared two ways—Segmental versus Whole-Syllable-Based Training—for improving learners’ phonological and word learning in Chinese as a novel language, while controlling for learners’ musical ability, an important factor that may contribute to phonological learning. Forty-two American college students learned Chinese words represented by Pinyin, a Romanized script which denotes the pronunciation of Chinese characters. Before the training, all participants were introduced to the phonology and Pinyin system. Then, they were trained on the pronunciation and meaning of the Pinyin words with or without an emphasis on separating the tonal from segmental information. All participants’ musical ability was assessed using a musical ability test. Learning outcomes were measured through tasks of same-different phonological judgment, tone identification, and word comprehension. Results showed the equal success of the two training methods, probably due to the consistent involvement of Pinyin and learner’s reliance on segment and tone as an integral unit rather than separate cues in phonological and word learning. Furthermore, musical ability seems to play a role in phonological and word learning among novel learners of Chinese.

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