Accuracy of autism screening using M-CHAT plus the follow-up interview (M-CHAT/F) for children screened positive at 18-months was compared to screening at 24-months. Formal ASD testing was criterion for a community sample of M-CHAT positive children (n = 98), positive predictive value (PPV) was 0.40 for the M-CHAT and 0.58 for the M-CHAT/F.…

The current meta-analysis examines the previous research on the utility of the Social Communication Questionnaire as a screening instrument for autism spectrum disorder. Previously published reports have highlighted the inconsistencies between Social Communication Questionnaire-screening results and formal autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. The…

Symptoms of autism spectrum disorders may appear as early as 6 months, but parent concern, which can precipitate evaluation, often lags significantly. The presence of typical or atypical older siblings can change parents' sensitivity to departures from typical development. This study investigated type and age of parent's first concerns in toddlers…

Callous-unemotional (CU) behavior has been linked to behavior problems in children and adolescents. However, few studies have examined whether CU behavior in "early childhood" predicts behavior problems or CU behavior in "late childhood". This study examined whether indicators of CU behavior at ages 2-4 predicted aggression,…

This study explored individual variability in the bilingual vocabularies of 65 Maltese children aged 23-27 months (N = 33) and 30-34 months (N = 32). Most of the participants' direct input consisted of Maltese sentences embedding English words. Bilingualism was present at the societal level. Word production was measured through parental report,…

Employing a multi-method approach, we investigated observed and parent-rated child behavioral inhibition (BI) and maternal reports of their own negative affectivity (NA) as predictors of young children's internalizing problems. Participants were 201 children who were siblings between 2.5 and 5.5 years of age (mean = 3.86, standard deviation =…

Poverty is a well-established risk factor for behavior problems, yet our understanding of putative family mediators during early childhood (i.e., before age 5 years) is limited. The present study investigated whether the association between poverty and behavior problems during early childhood is mediated simultaneously by perceived parenting,…

Prior research suggests that parenting affects children's relationships, including those with teachers, although there is variation across individuals in such effects. Given evidence suggesting that oxytocin may be particularly important for the quality of social relationships, we tested the hypotheses (a) that change in parenting from 4 to 6…

In the present investigation we focused on 2 broad sets of questions: Do parental overreactivity, laxness, and corporal punishment show evidence of normative change in early to middle childhood? Are persistently elevated child conduct problems (CPs) associated with deviations from normative changes in, as well as high initial levels of, discipline…

Early attachment has both protective and risk factors as regards later mental health. In Finland, insecure-avoidant-type attachment is overrepresented. Does this indicate a risk for emotional and behavioural problems at preschool age? In this study, we examined and compared the association between attachment and mental health in Finnish singletons…

Psychology has recently increased attention to identifying psychological qualities in individuals that indicate positive mental health, such as hope. In an effort to understand further the origins of hope, we examined the relations among parental attachment, stressful life events, personality variables, and hope in a sample of 647 middle school…

Background: The youngest children in an academic year are reported to be educationally disadvantaged and overrepresented in referrals to clinical services. In this study we investigate for the first time whether these disadvantages are indicative of a mismatch between language competence at school entry and the academic demands of the classroom.…

Over the last decade, research on Internet addiction (IA) has increased. However, almost all studies in the area are cross-sectional and do not examine the context in which Internet use takes place. Therefore, a longitudinal study examined the role of conscientiousness (as a personality trait) and classroom hostility (as a contextual factor) in…

This exploratory longitudinal study examined behavioral outcomes and parenting stress among families with children adopted from foster care, taking into account environmental and biological risk factors. Child internalizing and externalizing problems and parenting stress were assessed in 82 adopted children and their families at 2 months…

Background: Language development has been characterised by significant individual stability from school entry. However, the extent to which trajectories of language growth vary in children with language disorder as a function of co-occurring developmental challenges is a question of theoretical import, with implications for service provision.…