{"title":"Introduction to the special issue on emotion-focused parenting programs","authors":"Kimberly Shipman , Monica Fitzgerald , Suzanne E.U. Kerns","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101878","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101878","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This special issue brings together three parenting interventions grounded in emotion socialization theory and research. The interventions described in this issue are <em>Let's Connect®</em>, <em>Tuning Into Kids®</em>, and <em>Helping the Noncompliant Child – Emotion Coaching.</em> This issue pairs a theoretical exposition with empirical findings for each intervention, describing each intervention's conceptual foundation and child and parent impact. The theory papers detail the psychological frameworks and design rationales that shape each program, while the accompanying empirical studies evaluate program effectiveness across key developmental outcomes. This dual approach to the special issue supports understanding of how and why these interventions work and provides actionable insights for researchers and practitioners committed to enhancing child social emotional competence, mental and behavioral health, and resilience through evidence-based parenting strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101878"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145321246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jinghui Zhang , Qing Zhang , Bowen Xiao , Yige Xu , Yan Li
{"title":"Family configurations and preschoolers' problematic media use: An fsQCA study","authors":"Jinghui Zhang , Qing Zhang , Bowen Xiao , Yige Xu , Yan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101879","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101879","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the complex relationships between family environmental factors and children's problematic media use using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). A survey of 772 parents of preschool children (aged 3–6 years, <em>Mage</em> = 4.59, <em>SD</em> = 0.92) in Shanghai, China, measured family resilience, parenting stress, parent-child relationships, parental smartphone addiction, parental phubbing, and children's problematic media use (CPMU). The fsQCA revealed three types of configurations associated with high CPMU: High Maternal Parenting Stress with Low Mother-Child Relationship, High Maternal Problematic Media Use and Parenting Stress with Low Mother-Child Relationship, and Maternal Problematic Media Use Despite Family Resources. Two types of configurations associated with low CPMU: Positive Paternal Media Use and Father-Child Relationship, and Low Maternal Problematic Media Use. These findings highlight complex family mechanisms influencing children's media habits, informing targeted interventions and media literacy programs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101879"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145321245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Problematic internet use, the behavioral activation system/behavioral inhibition system, and self-control in children and adolescents: A network analysis","authors":"Hui Zhou , Xinyi Xing , Jiaqi Zhang , Guangteng Meng , Kesong Hu , Ping Wei , Manqi Chen , Jing Xiao , Qi Li","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101881","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101881","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>According to dual systems theory, excessive sensitivity to rewards and punishments, along with weakened self-control, contributes to the high prevalence of problematic internet use (PIU) among Chinese children and adolescents. This study investigates how these dual systems affect PIU and whether their relationships differ across age groups.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>A sample of 4029 Chinese children (9–12 years) and adolescents (13–18 years) completed measures from the Behavioral Activation System/Behavioral Inhibition System Scales (BAS/BIS), the Brief Self-Control Scale (SCS) and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). We used <em>t-</em>tests and network analysis to examine both the age-related differences and the network structures.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared with children, adolescents presented increased scores for total BAS, BAS (drive), and IAT but lower scores for SCS total and SCS (impulse control). Network analysis revealed that both the overall network and the separate networks for the two age groups identified SCSi (impulse control) and IAT as central bridge nodes and the negative connection between SCSi (impulse control) and IAT as the strongest edge. Additionally, a comparison of the network structures between the two age groups revealed that the negative correlation between the SCSd (self-discipline) and BASf (fun seeking) scores was stronger in adolescents than in children.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study breaks through the dual-systems theory in a Chinese context by revealing the similarities and differences between the dual systems network and PIU among Chinese children and adolescents. Additionally, it highlights age-specific mechanisms, which can inform targeted interventions for internet dependence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101881"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145321247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sara A. Schmitt , Brianna L. Devlin , Elyssa A. Geer , Saratessa Palos , Tracy Zehner , Filip-Bogdon Serban-Dragan , Kellie-Anne Brown Campbell , Yitong Jiang , Alyssa Callendar , Emily Wilke , David J. Purpura
{"title":"Executive function, math, and spatial skills in English learners and English speakers","authors":"Sara A. Schmitt , Brianna L. Devlin , Elyssa A. Geer , Saratessa Palos , Tracy Zehner , Filip-Bogdon Serban-Dragan , Kellie-Anne Brown Campbell , Yitong Jiang , Alyssa Callendar , Emily Wilke , David J. Purpura","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101880","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101880","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aim of this study was to assess the relations between English Learner (EL) status and preschool math (i.e., numeracy and math language) and spatial skills, and to explore whether the strength of any relations are impacted by level of executive function (EF). Participants were 242 preschoolers from two Midwestern states in the United States (<em>M</em> = 52.01 months, <em>SD</em> = 6.78; 50 % female). All children came from families with low incomes, and 20 % of the sample were Spanish-speaking ELs. Negative associations between EL status and early skills were found on measures of cardinality, numeral identification, and broad numeracy, but not spatial skills. Furthermore, the negative relation between EL status and numeracy was moderated by indicators of EF, such that the negative relation between EL status and early numeracy was present for children with higher EF, but not lower. Findings have implications for future research focused on designing early childhood instruction and intervention for ELs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101880"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145266857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Promoting early language development through parent education: A randomized trial of a text messaging intervention","authors":"Jamlick Peter Ondieki Bosire , Amy R. Napoli","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101875","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101875","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The integral role of early language skills on children's academic and social outcomes cannot be overemphasized. However, children arrive at kindergarten with different levels of these skills. One way to reduce these disparities is to use parent-implemented language interventions to support parent-child interactions early in children's lives. Although these interventions have shown effectiveness, variations in the quality of parent-child interactions persist among intervention participants. These variations have been linked to differences in family background and parent characteristics—which are not readily modifiable through intervention. To identify more proximal and readily modifiable characteristics to enhance parent-child interaction, we examined whether parents' knowledge of child development, parental self-efficacy (PSE), parent-child interaction, and children's early language skills are malleable through a text messaging intervention in a randomized controlled trial. We recruited 41 parents of 12 to 24 months-old-children and randomly assigned them to either a text message intervention group or a control waitlist. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA), results showed that the intervention increased parents' knowledge of child development, parent-child interaction, and children's early language skills. The intervention did not increase PSE. The results suggest that implementing structured parent-focused interventions can effectively improve parental knowledge of child development and promote more enriching parent-child interactions, which in turn support early language development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101875"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Relations of parental play beliefs with children's executive functions, reading, and mathematics","authors":"Wing Kai Fung , Kevin Kien Hoa Chung","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101877","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101877","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examined how parental play support and academic focus differentially predicted kindergarten children's longitudinal development in executive functions, word reading, and mathematics skills. Participants were 150 Hong Kong kindergarten children (47.3 % girls; mean age of 4.4 years at Time 1 and 5.4 years at Time 2) and their parents. At Time 1, parents reported demographic information and rated children's executive functions through questionnaire. Children were administered behavioral tasks assessing their word reading and mathematics. One year later, at Time 2, the parents rated children's executive functions, and children completed the same behavioral tasks again. Results from a path analytic model revealed the indirect relation between parental play support at Time 1 and word reading at Time 2, mediated through executive functions at Time 1, was positive and significant. However, parental academic focus was unrelated to children's academic skills. The results suggest fostering parental play support might facilitate kindergarten children's cognitive skills, academic learning, and holistic development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101877"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sonja Hasler , Daniel Schmerse , Stefan Zehentmayer , Marina Jambreus , Larissa M. Troesch , Alexander Grob
{"title":"Societal language and social skills in preschool dual language learners","authors":"Sonja Hasler , Daniel Schmerse , Stefan Zehentmayer , Marina Jambreus , Larissa M. Troesch , Alexander Grob","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101874","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101874","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This longitudinal study examined the relationship between societal language skills of dual language learners and two forms of social behavior: peer social engagement and aggressive behavior. The study comprised 160 preschool children aged three to six years, all spoke German as a societal language. A cross-lagged panel model was employed to analyze data collected at three time points: 18 months before kindergarten entry, at the beginning, and at the end of kindergarten. Results revealed high stability in societal language skills across these time points. Aggressive behavior also demonstrated high stability; however, it was not significantly associated with language skills at any time point. In contrast, social engagement with peers showed a relationship with language skills before kindergarten and remained stable after kindergarten entry. Notably, early societal language skills predicted social engagement at the beginning of kindergarten and were linked to societal language skills at the same measurement interval. The findings underscore the critical role of early societal language skills in promoting peer social engagement as children transition to formal schooling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101874"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julia Mendez Smith , Sihong Li , Kaitlin Quick , Philip Fisher
{"title":"Parenting stress among Latine mothers during the pandemic predicts children's emotional distress","authors":"Julia Mendez Smith , Sihong Li , Kaitlin Quick , Philip Fisher","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101873","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101873","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted Latine families, who experienced disproportionate rates of infection and economic hardship. Using a national sample collected between April 2020 and September 2022, we explored parenting stress among 2191 Latine mothers of children under six years old in the U.S. Path analysis confirmed that household experiences of material hardship, but not parental unemployment, significantly predicted increases in parenting stress. Elevated parenting stress during the pandemic was further associated with significant increases in child fussiness/defiance and fear/anxiety behaviors. In addition, parental unemployment had a direct negative effect on children's fussiness/defiance behaviors. Structural Topic Modeling (Roberts, 2019) discerned 11 themes from open-ended survey responses provided in English on what was challenging for Latine mothers and their families. Four topics– cost of basic needs (food), disrupted family life and social isolation, struggles with emotional distress, and lack of childcare/early intervention services –were significant predictors of parenting stress, which was linked to significant increases in children's emotional distress. Universal and targeted strategies to promote resilience for Latine children are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101873"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Living in a digital ecology: Children's selective trust in technological informants","authors":"Zuofei Geng , Bei Zeng , Jin Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101872","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101872","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Children learn not only from observation and interaction with their environment but also from the testimony of others. In the digital age, interactive technologies increasingly serve as information sources alongside peers, caregivers, and teachers. This study investigated whether children selectively learn from technological informants in a novel-word learning context. 180 Chinese preschoolers (<em>M</em> = 49.17 months, <em>SD</em> = 7.04 months, 51.7 % girls) were randomly assigned to one of six conditions: accurate voice assistant, inaccurate voice assistant, accurate robot, inaccurate robot, accurate human, or inaccurate human. Children first engaged in an agency beliefs interview regarding their corresponding informants followed by a classic selective trust task. We found that children selectively trusted (and distrusted) voice assistants and robots based on their past accuracy, while they demonstrated a general trust in humans, even when the humans were previously inaccurate. Agency beliefs explained variations in children's trust of voice assistants and humans. We also observed developmental differences in children's levels of trust and distrust toward both accurate and inaccurate informants. These findings suggest that 3–4-year-olds engage in both epistemic and social considerations in selective trust, and their judgments are susceptible to the agentic features of informants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101872"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145061044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natalie L. Bohlmann , Natalia Palacios , Bethany A. Bell , Min Hyun Oh
{"title":"Academic outcomes of English learners in monolingual and dual language programs","authors":"Natalie L. Bohlmann , Natalia Palacios , Bethany A. Bell , Min Hyun Oh","doi":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101869","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.appdev.2025.101869","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study examined the association between language program enrollment and academic achievement for Spanish-speaking English Learners in the U.S. and the extent to which the association may be mediated by children's basic literacy skills. Capitalizing on Utah state data, two matched samples were generated through propensity score matching using child and family factors known to be associated with children's academic achievement (Dual Language Immersion (DLI)/English as a Second Language (ESL), <em>n</em> = 380; DLI/Structured English Immersion (SEI), <em>n</em> = 380). Using path analysis, we tested the direct effects of program enrollment beginning in first grade on fifth-grade English Language Arts (ELA) and math achievement. Additionally, we examined the indirect effect of third-grade basic literacy skills. We found evidence in support of mediation of basic literacy skills on ELA and math achievement when comparing DLI and monolingual English programs. We did not find evidence of a direct effect on fifth-grade outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48168,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 101869"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}