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It is well known that children who grow up in at-risk families tend to have more behavioral problems; however, few studies have addressed this issue from a parenting competencies framework. This investigation analyzed the relation between parenting competencies and children's externalizing problems. A total of 562 caregivers from at-risk families were assessed through the Interview for the Assessment of Parenting Competencies and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The three competencies in which the families presented more difficulties were parental co-responsibility, child stimulation and family life structuring, and emotional self-regulation. According to the hierarchical regression, the capacity to offer warmth and to establish a healthy communication could explain children's behavioral difficulties. Family interventions should focus on those competencies where families tend to have more difficulties. Furthermore, to prevent and/or reduce externalizing problems, it is convenient to foster, particularly, communication and warmth among their members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the heuristic model of emotion socialization by Eisenberg et al., parental reactions to children's negative emotions (RCNE) have an important role in this socialization process; however, its effects on children's social-emotional outcomes may be moderated by the children's temperament. This longitudinal study verified this proposition by testing maternal and paternal RCNE as predictors of preschoolers' behavioral adjustment and child inhibitory control as a moderator of these associations. Mothers and fathers of 113 Chinese children (M age = 57.41 months, SD = 7.16 months) reported on their RCNE and child inhibitory control at Time 1 (T1) and reported on child behavioral adjustment (i.e., externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and prosocial behaviors) both at T1 and 6 months later (Time 2, T2). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that after controlling for child behavioral adjustment at T1, child age, and paternal education level, (a) paternal supportive reactions negatively predicted child externalizing problems and positively predicted child prosocial behaviors, and (b) the associations between parental RCNE and child behavioral adjustment were moderated by child inhibitory control. Specifically, only for children low on inhibitory control, paternal supportive reactions negatively predicted child externalizing problems, and maternal supportive reactions positively predicted child prosocial behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study examined whether the effect of neuroticism on brain structure is moderated by behavioral adjustment. Background: Neuroticism is widely thought to be harmful to health. However, recent work using proinflammatory biomarkers showed that this effect depends on behavioral adjustment, the willingness and ability to adjust and cope with environmental contingencies, such as different opinions of others or unpredictable life situations. Here, we sought to extend this observation to "brain health" by testing total brain volume (TBV). Method: Using a community sample of 125 Americans, we examined structural magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and quantified TBV. We tested whether the effect of neuroticism on TBV was moderated by behavioral adjustment, net of intracranial volume, age, sex, educational achievement, and race. Results: Behavioral adjustment significantly moderated the effect of neuroticism on TBV, such that neuroticism was associated with lower TBV only when behavioral adjustment was low. There was no such effect when behavioral adjustment was high. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that neuroticism is not debilitating to those who constructively cope with stress. Implications are further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans adjust their behavioral strategies based on feedback, a process that may depend on intrinsic preferences and contextual factors such as visual salience. In this study, we hypothesized that decision-making based on visual salience is influenced by habitual and goal-directed processes, which can be evidenced by changes in attention and subjective valuation systems. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a series of studies to investigate the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying visual salience-driven decision-making. We first established the baseline behavioral strategy without salience in Experiment 1 (n = 21). We then highlighted the utility or performance dimension of the chosen outcome using colors in Experiment 2 (n = 30). We demonstrated that the difference in staying frequency increased along the salient dimension, confirming a salience effect. Furthermore, the salience effect was abolished when directional information was removed in Experiment 3 (n = 28), suggesting that the salience effect is feedback-specific. To generalize our findings, we replicated the feedback-specific salience effects using eye-tracking and text emphasis. The fixation differences between the chosen and unchosen values were enhanced along the feedback-specific salient dimension in Experiment 4 (n = 48) but unchanged after removing feedback-specific information in Experiment 5 (n = 32). Moreover, the staying frequency was correlated with fixation properties, confirming that salience guides attention deployment. Lastly, our neuroimaging study (Experiment 6, n = 25) showed that the striatum subregions encoded salience-based outcome evaluation, while the vmPFC encoded salience-based behavioral adjustments. The connectivity of the vmPFC-ventral striatum accounted for individual differences in utility-driven, whereas the vmPFC-dmPFC for performance-driven behavioral adjustments. Together, our results provide a neurocognitive account of how task-irrelevant visual salience drives decision-making by involving attention and the frontal-striatal valuation systems. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Humans may use the current outcome to make behavior adjustments. How this occurs may depend on stable individual preferences and contextual factors, such as visual salience. Under the hypothesis that visual salience determines attention and subsequently modulates subjective valuation, we investigated the underlying behavioral and neural bases of visual-context-guided outcome evaluation and behavioral adjustments. Our findings suggest that the reward system is orchestrated by visual context and highlight the critical role of attention and the frontal-striatal neural circuit in visual-context-guided decision-making that may involve habitual and goal-directed processes.

Anthropogenic noise and buildings are two significant challenges to birds in urban living environments. The Savanna Nightjar Caprimulgus affinis stictomus is a successful urban nocturnal caprimulgiform in Taiwan. It has been found to prefer calling in areas with more buildings to calling in less-developed areas. However, research has yet to be conducted to investigate the relationship between calling height and its possible advantages with regard to acoustic adaptation for the species. We performed field observation and playback experiments to test three hypotheses: the obstacle reduction advantage, the masking reduction advantage, and the amplitude increase advantage. Our results of field observation showed that the mean calling heights were all lower than the tallest building heights within the territories; thus, the obstacle reduction advantage hypothesis was not supported. We also found that calling heights were significantly affected by the building structures but not the ground noise levels; therefore, the masking reduction advantage hypothesis was rejected. To further verify the amplitude increase advantage, we conducted playback experiments at open and walled sites. We found that amplitude measurements were significantly higher for calls broadcast at the walled site than those at the open site. Our findings suggest that Savanna Nightjars adjust their calling heights to reach optimal building wall surroundings to make their calls reverberate and thus increase their call amplitudes, and the benefits of increasing call amplitude may be one of the vital selective forces for Savanna Nightjars to call preferentially in urban areas with buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study examined the impacts of a tiered program on children's socioemotional competence, behavioral adjustment, and pre-academic skills. • The program targeted second-year kindergarten students' socioemotional skills and provided additional training to third-year students with socioemotional difficulties. • After completing the program, children showed better socioemotional competence, behavioral adjustment, and pre-academic skills. Despite the importance of socioemotional competence, few social and emotional learning programs have been developed for and evaluated with non-Western communities. The Early Prevention, Early Identification, and Early Intervention Program is a tiered, school-based program targeting the socioemotional skills of all second-year kindergarten students in Chinese communities with the Little Garden Curriculum and providing additional training to third-year kindergarten students with socioemotional difficulties with the Little Greenhouse Curriculum. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial, this study examined the impacts of the program on 999 children (mean age in the pretest = 4.25 years; 48 % were girls) from 18 kindergartens from Hong Kong, China. Using kindergartens as clusters, children were randomly assigned to undertake the Little Garden Curriculum (n = 624) or join the wait-list control group (n = 375). Furthermore, children who had completed the Little Garden Curriculum but still showed socioemotional difficulties were randomly assigned to undertake the Little Greenhouse Curriculum (n = 87) or join the wait-list control group (n = 50). In other words, the intervention kindergartens used for the evaluation of the Little Garden Curriculum were randomly assigned into a new intervention group or a new wait-list control group for the evaluation of the Little Greenhouse Curriculum. In pre- and posttests, teachers rated children's socioemotional competence and behavioral adjustment, and children completed reading and arithmetic tasks. Results indicated that—controlling for child age, gender, and prior scores—children who had completed the Little Garden Curriculum showed better socioemotional competence, behavioral adjustment, and pre-academic skills (ten out of 12 outcome variables). Moreover, children who had completed the Little Greenhouse Curriculum showed higher scores on six out of 12 outcome measures. Findings highlighted the utility of using culturally relevant programs to improve the socioemotional competence of Chinese children at both the universal and the indicated levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, grounded in developmental systems theory, investigated the roles of family functioning, peer relationships, and adolescents' dark personality traits related to behavioral adjustment so that we would delve deeper into these relations. Cross-sectional data from 1,878 Chinese adolescents (759 females; M age = 14.97 years) was used. Results revealed that psychopathy was the strongest predictor of adolescents' behavioral adjustment. In addition, mediation analysis highlighted the indirect roles of psychopathy and peer relationship between family functioning and behavioral adjustment. These findings clarify the mechanisms of driving adolescents' behavioral adjustment and highlight the importance of future youth programs focusing on the family as a unit and preventing the development of psychopathy simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-lagged panel designs were used to examine longitudinal and potential (bi)directional relationships between primary caregiver reported sibling relationship quality and the behaviors of children with intellectual disability (n = 297) and their closest in age siblings. The behavioral and emotional problems of the child with intellectual disability positively predicted sibling conflict over time. When accounting for control variables, this relationship was no longer present. Sibling warmth positively predicted the prosocial behaviors of the child with intellectual disability over time. When accounting for control variables, both sibling warmth and sibling conflict positively predicted the prosocial behaviors of the child with intellectual disability over time. Future research directions and clinical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of fathers and family dynamics to the deleterious effects of mothers' depressive symptoms on children's behavioral adjustment has been evaluated in this study. Using longitudinal data spanning from toddlerhood to grade school (N = 1,311), this study examined whether negative emotional states in both parents related to mothers' cumulative depressive symptoms during the early years of children were associated with children's later internalizing and externalizing problems in grade school. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to segregate between- and within-individual effects. The results demonstrated that, independent of fathers' depressive symptoms, high levels of maternal cumulative depressive symptoms were positively associated with negative emotional states in both parents over time, which then independently mediated the longitudinal associations between mothers' depressive symptoms and children's subsequent behavioral maladjustment, particularly internalizing problems, at the between-individual trait level. The findings highlight the interdependence of family members from a longitudinal perspective and support the unique contributions of both parents' negative emotional states to better understand children's behavioral adjustment in the context of maternal depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined growth and co-occurrence of latent developmental patterns of classroom behavior problems among young, economically disadvantaged children. A nationally representative sample (N = 3,827) of children was assessed for overactive and underactive behavior problems through two years of prekindergarten, kindergarten and first grade. Latent growth mixture modeling revealed three distinct subpopulations of change in overactivity and two in underactivity. A parallel-process growth mixture model showed that well-adjusted patterns of overactivity and underactivity co-occurred in the majority of the sample, whereas co-occurrence of marginal overactivity and underactivity existed in approximately 7% of the sample. Results are discussed in light of theory and implications for practice. Impact Statement Young children's classroom behavior develops in different ways and at different rates, but some patterns of development are more common than others. In looking at children's overactive and underactive behavior, we found that most children have fewer behavior problems from preschool through 1st grade, some have relatively moderate overactive problems that show little change over time, and a small proportion have increasingly difficult problems with overactivity and with underactivity. Even though overactivity and underactivity are distinct aspects of classroom behavior, children with increasing patterns of overactive behavior problems were more likely than expected to also show more underactivity in the classroom, and these children may require more support from parents and teachers during the early school years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, evaporatively cooled office buildings commonly observed in dry hot areas in summer of China. However, few dedicated studies to record the local residents' thermal comfort and adaptability in these buildings. The contribution of adaptive comfort theory on thermal perception still remains unclear for optimizing office building design parameters. Hence, to deeper probe the adaptive thermal comfort of the related indoor environment, a field study of office buildings during summer considering evaporative cooling air conditioned (ECA) and naturally ventilated (NV) mode was conducted in Turpan, China. Based on 931 valid datasets collected from questionnaires, we found that the neutral temperature (Tn) of 28.4 °C in ECA group, 0.6 °C lower than NV group (29.0 °C). A lower air temperature (Ta) and higher humidity (RH)/air-velocity (Va) were expected in two modes, and Va has a stronger influence than RH on mean thermal sensation votes (MTSV). Meanwhile, occupants can adapt to current indoor environment through physiological, psychological and behavioral adjustments, while the clothing regulation had limited effect on MTSV unless the outdoor temperature exceeds 38 °C. Whether in ECA or NV mode, the predicted mean votes (PMV) model overestimated actual thermal sensation when operative temperature (Top) beyond 28 °C. Adaptive models were also proved varied from that in current standards, which indicated that they were not suitable for evaluating the studied buildings in Turpan. Above findings could suggest us a better understanding of the occupants' thermal adaptability, thereby providing the reference of design parameters revision and passive strategies for local newly/renovated buildings.

Humans adjust their behavioral strategies based on feedback, a process that may depend on intrinsic preferences and contextual factors such as visual salience. In this study, we hypothesized that decision-making based on visual salience is influenced by habitual and goal-directed processes, which can be evidenced by changes in attention and subjective valuation systems. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a series of studies to investigate the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying visual salience-driven decision-making. We first established the baseline behavioral strategy without salience in Experiment 1 (n = 21). We then highlighted the utility or performance dimension of the chosen outcome using colors in Experiment 2 (n = 30). We demonstrated that the difference in staying frequency increased along the salient dimension, confirming a salience effect. Furthermore, the salience effect was abolished when directional information was removed in Experiment 3 (n = 28), suggesting that the salience effect is feedback-specific. To generalize our findings, we replicated the feedback-specific salience effects using eye-tracking and text emphasis. The fixation differences between the chosen and unchosen values were enhanced along the feedback-specific salient dimension in Experiment 4 (n = 48) but unchanged after removing feedback-specific information in Experiment 5 (n = 32). Moreover, the staying frequency was correlated with fixation properties, confirming that salience guides attention deployment. Lastly, our neuroimaging study (Experiment 6, n = 25) showed that the striatum subregions encoded salience-based outcome evaluation, while the vmPFC encoded salience-based behavioral adjustments. The connectivity of the vmPFC-ventral striatum accounted for individual differences in utility-driven, whereas the vmPFC-dmPFC for performance-driven behavioral adjustments. Together, our results provide a neurocognitive account of how task-irrelevant visual salience drives decision-making by involving attention and the frontal-striatal valuation systems. Public significance statement: Humans may use the current outcome to make behavior adjustments. How this occurs may depend on stable individual preferences and contextual factors, such as visual salience. Under the hypothesis that visual salience determines attention and subsequently modulates subjective valuation, we investigated the underlying behavioral and neural bases of visual-context-guided outcome evaluation and behavioral adjustments. Our findings suggest that the reward system is orchestrated by visual context and highlight the critical role of attention and the frontal-striatal neural circuit in visual-context-guided decision-making that may involve habitual and goal-directed processes.

Previous studies have suggested that heterogeneity existed on adolescent adjustment, yet few studies have examined the longitudinal stability and transition patterns for subgroups of adjustment. The current study conducted a 2-wave longitudinal study in a sample of adolescents (2422 students, 47.5% girls, Mage of adolescents at baseline = 12.78 years, SD = 0.87) to determine whether heterogeneity existed on development of adjustment, particularly among early adolescence. By using Latent profile analysis, four meaningful adjustment subgroups: Good Adjustment, Moderate Adjustment, Emotional Behavior Maladjustment, Interpersonal Maladjustment were identified in two time points separately. Furthermore, latent transition anqalysis indicated that adolescents who matched the profiles of Good Adjustment, Moderate Adjustment, and Emotional Behavior Maladjustment were more likely to remain stable across time. However, those matching Interpersonal Maladjustment profiles were more likely to transit to Moderate Adjustment. Finally, distinct adjustment developmental pathways were found in boys and girls. To our knowledge, this study is the first differentiated and dynamic picture of adolescents' developing adjustment of early adolescents. The results also benefit from clarifing developmental risk models for adolescent adjustment from a longitudinal personal-oriented perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Specific loci of the dACC responded to cues paired with fear and cognitive effort. • When combined, two different aversive cues produced additive activity in the dACC. • The dACC switched its effective connectivity depending on aversive contexts. Some studies have argued that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is generally activated in response to aversive information, including pain, negative affect, and cognitive conflict. Other studies have claimed that the dACC has subdivisions, and each division has a specific function. By manipulating emotionally and cognitively aversive cues, the present study determined whether the dACC is generally responsive to aversiveness or it has subdivisions for specific forms of aversiveness. Conjunction functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis showed that emotionally and cognitively aversive cues activated the same portion of the dACC. When these cues were contiguously presented, the region demonstrated additive activity, further supporting the overlapping representation of the two different forms of aversiveness in the dACC. Additional effective connectivity analysis showed that the dACC was co-activated with different brain regions depending on the cue type, characterizing its behavioral control mechanism. Complementary multivariate analyses showed that the reaction time was negatively correlated with the activity of the dACC and that the activity of the dACC under the emotional cue was predicted by the individual state anxiety score but not under the cognitive cue. We also found that the superior part of the dACC was uniquely activated in response to cognitively aversive cues, partially supporting the functional segregation account. Collectively, our results provide evidence that the specific locus of the dACC is generally responsive to distinctive motivational information, whereas the other loci may have segregated functions. Discussion includes recent neurocomputational theories that seem to satisfactorily account for the present results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries have managed COVID-19 infection and mortality differently. Ghana, a resource-constrained country, with a poorer healthcare system, had fewer infections and more recoveries than high-income countries. Although an acculturation framework is commonly discussed in relation to individuals adapting to a new society, we used it to understand how people adapt to rapid changes orchestrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From pre-pandemic to post-pandemic era, we see a change from the ‘old normal’ to the ‘new normal’. Thus, we sought to understand how people were living their lives under the ‘new normal’. Data was gathered from 416 adults on their attitudes towards obedience to authority, compliance with COVID-19-related activities, and changes in the extent of carrying out these activities three and nine months into the pandemic. COVID-19 acculturation strategies were also assessed. Descriptive and inferential analyses showed that most Ghanaians obeyed authorities and followed the preventive measures. However, after five months of the peak period, compliance dropped, and behavioral fatigue increased significantly. Regarding the acculturation strategies integration, which involves keeping old health care practices and adopting new ones, improved behavioral adjustment the most followed by separation (i.e., rejecting the new health care practices and holding on strongly to the old ones) and assimilation (i.e., rejecting old health care practices and adopting new ones). Marginalization which encompasses rejecting both old and new health care practices was the least. These results suggest that integration strategy had a significant positive impact on behavioral adjustment compared to assimilation and separation strategies.

We investigated whether forensic psychiatric inpatients can be distinguished from prisoners and healthy controls on the basis of their performance on cognitive tasks measuring cognitive flexibility (with a reversal learning task) and inhibition (with a stop signal task). Forensic psychiatric inpatients were expected to perform worse compared to prisoners. This study was based on pre-existing data from N = 241 males (119 forensic psychiatric inpatients, 57 prisoners and 65 healthy controls). We fitted logistic generalized linear models to group membership data using outcome measures from a stop signal task and a reversal learning task to examine whether deficiencies in inhibition and cognitive flexibility predict membership of the group of forensic psychiatric inpatients. Neurocognitive measures of cognitive flexibility, but not inhibition, had predictive value for group membership. This suggests that the capacity for cognitive flexibility may help differentiate between forensic subpopulations and healthy controls. Furthermore, our results highlighted substantial heterogeneity in cognitive performance in inhibition and cognitive flexibility within different offender groups. This study indicates that forensic subpopulations can be adequately differentiated based on neurocognitive measures of cognitive flexibility. In a broad sense, this study is an example of how neurocognitive approaches can contribute to refining diagnosis in forensic psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral language skills are critical for psychosocial development and children with language difficulties are more likely than peers to experience behavioral problems. This study investigated the effects of an oral language intervention on behavioral adjustment. We collected teacher ratings of behavioral adjustment for 1173 children taking part in a cluster randomized trial of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) program in 193 primary schools. Ratings were collected before and immediately after the 20-week intervention. Children receiving the language program showed significantly greater improvements than the untreated control group on a latent variable reflecting behavioral adjustment (d = 0.23). However, the improvements in behavioral adjustment for children receiving language intervention were not mediated by improvements in language. We suggest that the improvements in behavioral adjustment are a consequence of the small group and individual teaching sessions in the language intervention program, which emphasizes the need to pay attention and regulate behavior. This emphasis appears to produce generalized improvements in children's behavior regulation outside of the targeted language teaching sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has widely been accepted that play has a major role in human development. The play situation is considered a save and controlled space in which children can learn to express their problems and to regulate their emotions, thus promoting emotional and behavioral adjustment. In early childhood, this process is thought to emerge in close interaction with caregivers. Parent-child play is thus viewed as an ideal window for parents to connect with their children and to support them in their social-emotional development. In this preregistered systematic review, we sought to integrate evidence from developmental and clinical psychology to shed more light on the role of parents in the relationship between parent-child play and children's behavioral adjustment as expressed in internalizing or externalizing behavior. Our review revealed that increased harsh control during play interactions as well as a lack of parental responsiveness, warmth and sensitivity were found to be associated with increased behavioral problems. Yet, no protective effect of warmth or responsiveness could be found in the context of risk groups. Moreover, the included studies indicated that positive affect expressed by parents during parent-child play was associated with fewer behavior problems in children, while negative affect was associated with more behavior problems. In general, this review revealed that quality and quantity of playful parent-child interactions were reduced in children with behavioral problems of both domains compared to children without behavioral problems. These findings illustrate the important role of parental characteristics during play interactions and their possible impact on children's behavioral adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has widely been accepted that play has a major role in human development. The play situation is considered a save and controlled space in which children can learn to express their problems and to regulate their emotions, thus promoting emotional and behavioral adjustment. In early childhood, this process is thought to emerge in close interaction with caregivers. Parent-child play is thus viewed as an ideal window for parents to connect with their children and to support them in their social-emotional development. In this preregistered systematic review, we sought to integrate evidence from developmental and clinical psychology to shed more light on the role of parents in the relationship between parent-child play and children's behavioral adjustment as expressed in internalizing or externalizing behavior. Our review revealed that increased harsh control during play interactions as well as a lack of parental responsiveness, warmth and sensitivity were found to be associated with increased behavioral problems. Yet, no protective effect of warmth or responsiveness could be found in the context of risk groups. Moreover, the included studies indicated that positive affect expressed by parents during parent-child play was associated with fewer behavior problems in children, while negative affect was associated with more behavior problems. In general, this review revealed that quality and quantity of playful parent-child interactions were reduced in children with behavioral problems of both domains compared to children without behavioral problems. These findings illustrate the important role of parental characteristics during play interactions and their possible impact on children's behavioral adjustment.

Relations between early child care and adolescent functioning at the end of high school (EOHS; M age = 18.3 years) were examined in a prospective longitudinal study of 1,214 children. Controlling for extensive measures of family background, early child care was associated with academic standing and behavioral adjustment at the EOHS. More experience in center-type care was linked to higher class rank and admission to more selective colleges, and for females to less risk taking and greater impulse control. Higher quality child care predicted higher academic grades and admission to more selective colleges. Fewer hours in child care was related to admission to more selective colleges. These findings suggest long-term benefits of higher quality child care, center-type care, and lower child-care hours for measures of academic standing at the EOHS. (PsycINFO Database Record

This paper explores how a diagnosis of hypertension might affect a person's health‐related behaviors. The analysis uses a two‐dimensional regression discontinuity design because hypertension is diagnosed when a person's systolic or diastolic blood pressure (SBP or DBP) surpasses a pre‐established threshold. We find that those closely above the SBP threshold significantly adjusted their lifestyle, such as reducing daily fat intake and quitting smoking, while those just surpassing the DBP cutoff did not. Further mechanism analysis suggests that the possibility of constraints, rather than education and income gradients, does more to explain the disparate behaviors of subjects near the SBP and DBP thresholds. Those around the DBP threshold generally have tighter work schedules and undertake more competitive jobs, which hinder them from improving their lifestyle. Overall, our findings complement the existing literature by posing a new perspective for understanding people's potential reluctance to adjust their behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impairments in inhibitory control (IC) are traditionally seen as a vital aspect in the emergence and course of maladaptive behavior across early childhood. However, it is currently unclear whether this view applies to both the externalizing and internalizing domain of parent‐reported behavioral adjustment. Furthermore, past (meta‐analytic) developmental research and theory characterizing this association have largely neglected the vast heterogeneity of IC measures and conceptualizations. The present meta‐analyses examined the association of IC with parent‐reported externalizing (N = 3160, 21 studies) and internalizing (N = 1758, 12 studies) behavior problems, assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), in non‐clinical populations of children aged 2–8 years. They further investigated the moderating effects of a priori IC categorization, according to a recently proposed two‐factor model of IC ("Strength/Endurance" account, Simpson & Carroll, 2019). In line with previous research in the clinical domain, the current results corroborate the notion of a robust, but small association between IC and externalizing behavior problems (r = −0.11) in early childhood. However, although frequently proposed in the literature, no significant linear association could be identified with internalizing behavior problems. Furthermore, in both meta‐analyses, no significant moderating effects of IC categorization could be revealed. These findings enhance our knowledge about the cognitive underpinnings of early‐emerging maladaptive behavior, indicating that different subtypes of IC are statistically related with externalizing, but not internalizing behavior problems. Overall, the small association of IC ability with behavior problems in non‐clinical populations provokes broader questions about the role of IC in behavioral adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female mate choice is remarkably complex and has wide-ranging implications for the strength and direction of male trait evolution. Yet mating decisions can be fickle and inconsistent. Here, we explored predation risk as a source of variation in the effort a female is willing to invest in acquiring a preferred mate type ("choosiness"). We did so by comparing phonotaxis behaviors of female eastern gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) across trials with and without simulated predators. We tested the behavioral adjustment hypothesis (mate choice is unchanged under predation threat, but mate searching behaviors are modified to reduce conspicuousness) against the mate choice flexibility hypothesis (mate choice becomes indiscriminate under predation threat). Additionally, effectiveness of evasive behaviors may depend on predator attack strategy, so we incorporated two simulated predator cues (bird model vs predatory ranid call). We found support for the behavioral adjustment hypothesis: choosiness was maintained in the presence of predators, but females reduced conspicuousness of mate searching locomotion. Females approached the conspecific male stimuli slower and more cautiously in both predator treatments. In the ranid frog call treatment (stationary cue), females adjusted movements away from predator location. Females also attempted escape more frequently when predator cues were present. We suggest that focusing exclusively on the final mate decision may overlook nuances in mating decisions and hamper our understanding of the remarkable complexity of mate choice. Significance statement: The presence of predators is an inherent threat to survival. This leads to the general expectation that higher predation risk results in more indiscriminate mate choice decisions and, hence, a weakening of sexual selection. Yet, discriminating mate choice may be maintained if prudent prey change their approach behavior when detecting the presence of a predator. We conducted playback trials with female treefrogs to test whether their willingness to invest in obtaining a more attractive mate (quantified by "choosiness") differed depending on the presence and type of predation risk. We found that females adjusted their approach behavior in a way that should make them less conspicuous to predators, but that they did not compromise their mate choice decisions. Our results show that strong sexual selection by females' choice can be maintained in high predation environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A considerable body of research has analyzed the development of children internationally adopted from Romania. However, domestic adoption remains largely uninvestigated. Our study examined the behavioral adjustment of 52 Romanian adolescents domestically adopted. Adoptive mothers and their children completed Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) – School Age forms. While overall our sample did not differ from the normative population, the rate of subjects obtaining clinical scores was higher. Behavioral problems did not appear to be linked to the considered pre-adoption risk factors. The overall positive adjustment of this rare sample of domestic adoptees encourages a deeper understanding of the mechanisms involved in the success of this child welfare policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral adjustments are of critical importance for the survival of animals when exposed to risk and resource variations in their environment. Moving to safer habitats allows prey to reduce the risk of mortality triggered by predation. This response has been well studied at the population level to assist in identifying key habitat components for wildlife conservation. However, while individuals may differ in their response to risk and thus in their survival expectancy, the determinants of individual adjustments in space and habitat use are largely unknown in management and conservation studies. Using GPS monitoring, we investigated the relationship between individual traits (morphometry, personality, health status) and adjustments in the use of space relative to risky features (hedgerows, roads/tracks, woodlands, built-up areas) with regard to predation risk. We used the gray partridge (Perdix perdix) as a study model (captive-reared birds released into the farmlands). During the diel cycle, predation risk mainly occurs by carnivores at night, whereas human hunting pressure occurs during the day. We found that personality and health status had an effect on adjustments in the use of space as response to risky features. At night, when carnivore activity is expected to be high, bolder individuals were farther from hedgerows relative to the day. Similarly, individuals in good health were located farther from hedgerows, roads/tracks, and woodland at night relative to the day. We discuss the need for better consideration of individual traits in management and conservation programs, with a particular focus on recovery programs that rely on translocation of captive-reared individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of research has documented Weiner's theory as it applies to achievement contexts, highlighting the role of the causal dimensions (locus of causality, stability, and controllability) as antecedents of specific emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions. The aim of this article is to address important, and as yet unanswered questions, by focusing on the relationship between these causal dimensions and their cognitive and behavioral consequences, and by meta-analyzing research using the direct-rating method to measure the causal dimensions identified by Weiner (1985, 2005). 43 studies using direct-rating measures of causal dimensions, reporting 57 correlation matrices involving 15,213 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Using meta-analytic structural equation modeling, the fit of the cognition-expectancy-action sequence of Weiner's model, its structural parameters and between-sample variations were examined. Our model fitted the data well, and the structural parameters showed that the causal dimensions influenced behavioral adjustment and performance through psychological consequences. The results also revealed large effect size heterogeneity across studies, explained by several moderators such as event valence. To conclude, the results support the cognition-expectancy- action sequence proposed by Weiner's attributional theory. Public Significance Statement: This meta-analysis supports the main relationships described in the cognition-expectancy-action sequence of Weiner's intrapersonal attributional theory. Causal attributions shape behavioral adjustment and future academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Behavioral and emotional difficulties are reported following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). But few studies have used a broad conceptual approach to examine children's long-term psychosocial outcomes. This study examines children's psychosocial outcomes at 4-years after mild TBI and associated factors. Methods: Parents of 93 children (<16 years) with mild TBI completed subscales of age-appropriate versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and the Adolescent Scale of Participation questionnaire at 4-years post-injury. Results: Mean group-level scores were statistically significantly higher for hyperactivity/inattention and lower for emotional functioning than published norms. Levels of participation were greater compared to those observed in normative samples. More than 19% met published criteria for clinically significant hyperactivity/inattention, emotional functioning problems, peer relationship problems, and social functioning difficulties. Lower family socio-economic status and greater parental anxiety and depression were associated with overall psychosocial difficulties. Conclusions: Findings indicate that as a group, children with mild TBI are characterized by elevated rates of behavioral, emotional, and social difficulties at 4-years post-injury. Parent mental health may be an untapped opportunity to support children's psychosocial development following mild TBI, with replication required in larger samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent findings indicate that the utilization of social information, produced inadvertently by other individuals through their spatial location and/or interaction with the environment, may be ubiquitous in the animal kingdom. If so, social information-mediated effects on population growth and interspecies interactions may be more prevalent than previously thought. However, little is known about how social information may spread among non-grouping individuals, i.e., in animals that do not form cohesive groups and therefore social attraction among group-mates does not facilitate information diffusion. Are there any perception-related, temporal, and/or spatial parameters that may facilitate or limit the spread of social information in temporary aggregations or among dispersed individuals in a population? We argue that living in cohesive groups is not necessarily required for the diffusion of social information and for social information-mediated effects to emerge in a population. We propose that while learning complex problem-solving techniques socially is less likely to occur in non-grouping animals, the spread of adaptive responses to social stimuli, especially to non-visual cues, can be common and may affect population, and/or community dynamics in a wide range of taxa. We also argue that network-based diffusion analysis could be a suitable analytical method for studying information diffusion in future investigations, providing comparable estimations of social effects on information spread to previous studies on group-living animals. We conclude that more studies are warranted to verify what intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence information propagation among incidentally and/or indirectly interacting individuals if we are to better understand the role of social information in animal populations and how the social and ecological characteristics of species are related to information spread in natural communities.

Preterm birth is associated with a significantly increased risk for childhood and adolescent psychopathology relative to full-term birth, with an inverse relationship between gestational age at birth and later risk for psychopathology. The manifestation of symptomatology and comorbidity profiles of emotional and behavioral adjustment problems in this high-risk group have been shown to be distinct from the broader pediatric population. Acknowledging these differences, a preterm behavioral phenotype has been proposed and increasingly recognized, highlighting the unique, frequent co-occurrence of symptomatology associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and anxiety disorders. The current state-of-the-art review provides a comprehensive characterization of this phenotype to date and further highlights key knowledge gaps primarily regarding the evolution of symptoms, co-occurrence of disorders and/or symptomatology within the phenotype, and associations of the phenotype with chronological age and degree of prematurity.

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The transition to middle school is recognized as a period of increased risk for students' adjustment difficulties across the academic, behavioral, and social domains, underscoring the need for developmentally responsive interventions that address these potential vulnerabilities. This study examined the impact of a multi-component intervention on students' perceived adjustment during the first year of middle school using a cluster randomized controlled trial design. A total of 24 metropolitan schools (12 intervention), 220 teachers (122 intervention), and 2925 students (1537 intervention) participated. Teachers in intervention schools received training and consultation in the Behavioral, Academic, and Social Engagement (BASE) classroom management model. Significant intervention effects, moderated by students' gender, race/ethnicity, and economic status, were found for self-reported social anxiety, defiance, willingness to protect peers being bullied, and emotional problems. The results suggest that teachers trained in the BASE model were better able to create supportive classroom contexts during the middle school transition which promoted positive adjustment for particular students. This study stresses the importance of using developmentally appropriate strategies across correlated domains to reduce adjustment difficulties during the transition to middle school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preterm birth is associated with a significantly increased risk for childhood and adolescent psychopathology relative to full-term birth, with an inverse relationship between gestational age at birth and later risk for psychopathology. The manifestation of symptomatology and comorbidity profiles of emotional and behavioral adjustment problems in this high-risk group have been shown to be distinct from the broader pediatric population. Acknowledging these differences, a preterm behavioral phenotype has been proposed and increasingly recognized, highlighting the unique, frequent co-occurrence of symptomatology associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and anxiety disorders. The current state-of-the-art review provides a comprehensive characterization of this phenotype to date and further highlights key knowledge gaps primarily regarding the evolution of symptoms, co-occurrence of disorders and/or symptomatology within the phenotype, and associations of the phenotype with chronological age and degree of prematurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish often undergo predation stress and food shortages in nature, and living in groups may provide the ecological benefits of decreased predator risk but the costs of increased food competition. The main aim of the present study was to test whether the behavioral response of qingbo (Spinibarbus sinensis) to predators and/or starvation differed between a singleton and a group. We measured the locomotor activity and distance to a predator and/or food item of prior predator-experienced, starved, double-treated and control qingbo; the qingbo were tested both as singletons and in a group (five individuals). Fish from all groups showed increased activity when tested collectively compared to individually. The predator-experienced fish showed decreased locomotor activity to predators as an antipredator strategy when tested as singletons; however, increased locomotor activity occurred when tested in a group, which might be partially due to the decreased predator risk when living in a group and thus higher levels of boldness. As expected, starvation elicited increased activity indicating increased foraging willingness when tested in a group; however, the difference between starved and normal-fed fish was no longer significant when they were tested as singletons, possibly due to the increased predation risk and decreased food competition when living individually and higher behavioral variation among individual fish than among those in a shoal. Compared with the control fish, the double-treated fish showed no difference in activity when tested both individually and collectively (except a slower speed when tested in a group). The reason for the results from the singletons might be an offset of the effect of predator exposure and starvation. The reason for this difference in the group might be due to the impaired body condition indicated by a slower swimming speed as a consequence of severe stress. The present study demonstrated that behavioral adjustment was closely related to the size of the group, which might be due to differences in the predation risk and food competition.

This article provides a review of indicators of child well-being in the six Gulf countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), focusing on well-being in six domains: physical health, behavioral adjustment, psychological well-being, social relationships, safety, and cognitive well-being. The purpose of the review is to provide an overview of how children in the Gulf countries are faring in these six domains in an effort to provide a framework for child well-being in the Gulf countries. Data from the Gulf countries generally are available on the following domains of well-being: Physical health (including infant and under-5 mortality, growth and nutrition, and access to quality health care), some aspects of behavioral adjustment (in particular, smoking, alcohol, and drug use as well as adolescent pregnancy and HIV/AIDs), safety (in terms of laws, although data on the prevalence of abuse and neglect are limited), and cognitive development (including enrollment and performance in school and skills for a knowledge economy, with more limited data available on quality early child care and school readiness). The following domains of well-being have more limited available data in the Gulf countries: Behavioral adjustment (including social competence, prosocial behavior, and externalizing behavior problems), psychological well-being (including subjective well-being of children, mental health, and participation), and social relationships (including positive relationships with parents and other caregivers, peer relationships, and relationships with non-family adults). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosing and treating patients with acute or early HIV-1 infection (AEHI) is an important strategy to prevent HIV-1 transmission. We used qualitative methods to understand factors that facilitate adjustment to AEHI diagnosis, prompt linkage to care and initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART). Twenty-three AEHI patients (12 women, 11 men) included 18 participants identified at health facilities, and 5 participants identified in a sex worker cohort. Of these, 17 participants (9 women, 8 men) participated in qualitative interviews about their AEHI status 2 weeks after diagnosis. Thirteen participants (7 women, 6 men) returned for a second interview 12 weeks after diagnosis. Interviews explored participants' experiences at the time of and following their diagnosis, and examined perceptions about ART initiation and behavior change recommendations, including disclosure and partner notification. A grounded theory framework was used for analysis, eliciting three important needs that should be addressed for AEHI patients: 1) the need to better understand AEHI and accept one's status; 2) the need to develop healthy strategies and adjust to the reality of AEHI status; and 3) the need to protect self and others through ART initiation, adherence, safer sex, and disclosure. A preliminary conceptual framework to guide further intervention and research with AEHI populations is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to explore whether creativity in undertaking activities such as free writing, telling a story, crafts, painting, drawing, or drama at age 7 is associated with a lower risk of social and behavioral maladjustment in children at the onset of adolescence. Data from 7558 7‐year‐olds who were socially and behaviorally "stable" at baseline were analyzed from the nationally representative National Child Development Study. Multinomial regression analyses showed associations between teacher‐rated creativity at age 7 and a lower relative risk of social and behavioral instability and maladjustment at age 11. Specifically, the associations were found between moderate and marked creativity and a lower risk of symptoms of internalizing behaviors (including depression and withdrawal), externalizing behaviors (such as restlessness) as well as a lower risk of various nervous symptoms of social and behavioral instability and maladjustment. Associations were independent of social, demographic, educational, parental, academic, and personality covariates, and robust to a range of sensitivity analyses. These results suggest that facilitating engagement with creative activities could be explored further as a way of reducing levels of instability and maladjustment at the onset of adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was study the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral family therapy on family function of couples, behavioral adjustment and academic performance of their high school (1st to 4th grade) male students in Ahwaz from 1393-1395 years. The students, who had one standard deviation below the mean in adjustment questionnaire and poor academic performance, were asked to inform their parents to participate in the research (related to the researcher) for a clinical interview. Then, from parents who had poor family performance based on clinical interview and family performance questionnaire, 121 couples were selected and were matched from age, duration of marriage, educational status, not suffering from acute physical and mental disorders and other criteria considered in this research. Then randomly 40 couples were selected. The research method was semi experimental with pre-post test and control group. The sample randomly divided in‌‌‌ to two groups as experimental and control. The instruments were family performance questionnaire, adjustment inventory of high school students and academic performance. The experimental group received 12 sessions of 45 minutes cognitive behavioral family therapy, but the control group did not receive any intervention. If necessary, the students of the experimental group participated in family therapy sessions. For ethical considerations, after the end of the research, they received three sessions of cognitive- behavioral family therapy with their parents.The results revealed that there was a significant difference between two groups in family function, behavioral adjustment and academic performance of their students (p < 0.001).

Behavioral adjustment plays an important role in the treatment and relapse of drug addiction. Nonetheless, few studies have examined behavioral adjustment and its plasticity following error commission in methamphetamine (METH) dependence, which is detrimental to human health. Thus, we investigated the behavioral adjustment performance following error commission in long-term METH addicts and how it varied with the application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Twenty-nine male long-term METH addicts (for > 3 years) were randomly assigned to high-frequency (10 Hz, n = 15) or sham (n = 14) rTMS of the left DLPFC during a two-choice oddball task. Twenty-six age-matched, healthy male adults participated in the two-choice oddball task pretest to establish normal performance for comparison. The results showed that 10 Hz rTMS over the left DLPFC significantly decreased the post-error slowing effect in response times of METH addicts. In addition, the 10 Hz rTMS intervention remarkably reduced the reaction times during post-error trials but not post-correct trials. While the 10 Hz rTMS group showed a more pronounced post-error slowing effect than the healthy participants during the pretest, the post-error slowing effect in the posttest of this sample was similar to that in the healthy participants. These results suggest that high-frequency rTMS over the left DLPFC is a useful protocol for the improvement of behavioral adjustment after error commission in long-term METH addicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroticism, a broad personality trait linked to negative emotions, is consistently linked to ill health when self-report is used to assess health. However, when health risk is assessed with biomarkers, the evidence is inconsistent. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the association between neuroticism and biological health risk is moderated by behavioral adjustment, a propensity to flexibly adjust behaviors to environmental contingencies. Using a U.S.-Japan cross-cultural survey, we found that neuroticism was linked to lower biological health risk for those who are high, but not low, in behavioral adjustment. Importantly, Japanese were higher in behavioral adjustment than European Americans, and as predicted by this cultural difference, neuroticism was linked to lower biological health risk for Japanese but not for European Americans. Finally, consistent with prior evidence, neuroticism was associated with worse self-reported health regardless of behavioral adjustment or culture. Discussion focused on the significance of identifying sociocultural correlates of biological health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban areas with a high level of human disturbance, wildlife has to adjust its behavior to deal with the so called “landscape of fear.” This can be studied in risk perception during movement in relation to specific habitat types, whereby individuals trade-off between foraging and disturbance. Due to its high behavioral plasticity and increasing occurrence in urban environments, wild boar (Sus scrofa) is an excellent model organism to study adjustment to urbanization. With the help of GPS tracking, space use of 11 wild boar from Berlin's metropolitan region was analyzed: we aimed at understanding how animals adjust space use to deal with the landscape of fear in urban areas compared to rural areas. We compared use vs. availability with help of generalized linear mixed models. First, we studied landscape types selected by rural vs. urban wild boar, second, we analyzed distances of wild boar locations to each of the landscape types. Finally, we mapped the resulting habitat selection probability to predict hotspots of human-wildlife conflicts. A higher tolerance to disturbance in urban wild boar was shown by a one third shorter flight distance and by an increased re-use of areas close to the trap. Urban wild boar had a strong preference for natural landscapes such as swamp areas, green areas and deciduous forests, and areas with high primary productivity, as indicated by high NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) values. The areas selected by urban wild boar were often located closely to roads and houses. The spatial distribution maps show that a large area of Berlin would be suitable for urban wild boar but not their rural conspecifics, with the most likely reason being a different perception of anthropogenic disturbance. Wild boar therefore showed considerable behavioral plasticity suitable to adjust to human-dominated environments in a potentially evolutionarily adaptive manner.

We investigated academic and behavioral outcomes of internationally adopted children and the associations between these outcomes and age at adoption, time spent in the adoptive family, and parenting. At two time points (T1 and T2, ~15 months apart), we examined early academic skills (school readiness), and parent-reported behavioral adjustment (internalizing and externalizing behavior) and adaptive functioning of a sample of 75 children (45.9% boys, mean age = 5.17 years) adopted from Russia into US families. We also collected parents' self-assessments of their parenting at T1. Children who were adopted at a younger age showed higher levels of early academic skills. Correlations between age at adoption and other outcomes were overall small and mostly non-significant. However, adoptees' academic and behavioral progress differed notably in several respects. Specifically, adoptees improved in early academic skills over time, whereas, as a group, their adaptive functioning and behavioral adjustment remained stable within the normal range. Early academic skills were not related to behavioral adjustment at each time point and over time. The time spent in the adoptive family was positively related to early academic skills at T2. Whereas outcomes showed little to no relation to parenting as reported by mother and father separately, higher discrepancies between mothers' and fathers' reports of positive parenting were related to higher levels of behavioral symptoms and lower levels of adaptive skills at T2. These differential results may be explained in part by drawing upon the notion of dissociated domains of psychological and sociocultural adaptation and acculturation, outlined in the immigration literature. These results also bring to light the possible importance of between-parent consistency in parenting for adoptees' behavioral outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]