Changes in 10‐year‐old children's body esteem: A time‐lag study between 2000 and 2010

This time‐lag study examined if there has been any changes in body esteem over a 10‐year period for 10‐year old children in Gothenburg, Sweden. Two cohorts of children, one in year 2000 and one in 2010, answered the same questionnaire about body esteem. A total of 960 children, 515 girls and 445 boys, participated in the first wave in 2000 and a total of 342 children, 171 girls and 171 boys participated in the second wave in 2010. The results showed a general stability in levels of body esteem for both girls and boys over the past 10 years. The gender differences, with boys being more satisfied with their appearance and weight compared to girls also seems to be stable over the years. In addition, the results also showed a somewhat positive development among the overweight girls with enhanced body esteem for the overweight girls compared to the non‐overweight girls during the ten years studied. Unfortunately, the same pattern was not found for overweight boys. For them the discrepancy in body esteem compared to non‐overweight boys, with the overweight boys being more dissatisfied, found in 2000 remained in 2010.     

Children's self‐reports and parents' reports of internalising and externalising problems in Chinese and Anglo‐Celtic children in Australia

The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self‐Report (YSR) are widely used measures of internalising and externalising problems in children and adolescents, but cross‐cultural differences in these problems have not been examined in Australian children of Chinese and Anglo‐Celtic ancestry. Fifty‐nine Chinese (27 boys and 32 girls) and 65 Anglo‐Celtic Australian (35 boys and 30 girls) children aged 10–13 years completed the YSR, and one of their parents completed the CBCL. Cross‐informant agreement between these two measures was also examined. No differences were found between the Chinese and Anglo‐Celtic groups on parents' and children's ratings on any syndrome or overall scales. The overall level of agreement between YSR and CBCL scores was poor in the Anglo‐Celtic group (intraclass correlation coefficient for total problems = 0.33), but there was no agreement between these scores in the Chinese group. Results highlight the need to obtain multiple sources of information in assessments of mental health problems in children from different cultural backgrounds.     

The presence of magical thinking in obsessive compulsive disorder

Two research groups have raised the possibility that magical ideation may be a fundamental feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It has been proposed to underlie thought action fusion and superstitious beliefs. In this study, the Magical Ideation scale, the Lucky Behaviours and Lucky Beliefs scales, the Thought Action Fusion-Revised scale, the Padua Inventory, and the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Short Version were completed by 60 obsessive compulsive patients at a hospital clinic. Of all the measures, the Magical Ideation (MI) scale was found to be the most strongly related to obsessive compulsive symptoms. Large and significant relationships between MI scores and the measures of OCD were obtained even when alternative constructs (Lucky Behaviours, Lucky Beliefs, Thought Action Fusion-Revised scales) were held constant. No other variable remained significantly related to the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Short Version when magical ideation scores were held constant. The findings suggest that a general magical thinking tendency may underpin previous observed links between superstitiousness, thought action fusion and OCD severity.     

The Downsides of Extreme Conscientiousness for Psychological Well‐being: The Role of Obsessive Compulsive Tendencies

Although conscientiousness exhibits positive relations with psychological well‐being, theoretical and empirical work suggests individuals can be too conscientious, resulting in obsessive‐compulsiveness, and therein less positive individual outcomes. However, the potential for curvilinearity between conscientiousness and well‐being has been underexplored. We measured 912 subjects on facets of conscientiousness, obsessive‐compulsive personality, and well‐being variables (life satisfaction, job satisfaction, self‐esteem, positive affect, negative affect, work stress). Methods of scoring included traditional sum‐scoring, traditional item response theory (IRT), and a relatively new IRT approach. Structural models were estimated to evaluate curvilinearity. Results confirmed the curvilinear relationship between conscientiousness and well‐being, and demonstrated that differential facet‐level relationships underlie weaker curvilinearity at the general trait level. Consistency was found in the strength of relation between conscientiousness facets with their obsessive‐compulsive variants and their contribution to decreased well‐being. The most common association was that higher standing on conscientiousness facets was positively related to negative affect. Findings support the idea that extreme standing on facets of conscientiousness more strongly linked to their obsessive‐compulsive variants contributed to lower well‐being, highlighting the importance of considering alternative functional representations of the relationship between personality and other constructs. Future work should seek to further clarify the link between conscientiousness and negative affect.     

Self‐esteem and emotional health in adolescents – gender and age as potential moderators

Moksnes, U. K. & Espnes, G. A. (2012). Self‐esteem and emotional health in adolescents – gender and age as a potential moderators. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 483–489. The present paper investigates possible gender and age differences on emotional states (depression and anxiety) and self‐esteem as well as the association between self‐esteem and emotional states. The cross‐sectional sectional sample consists of 1,209 adolescents 13–18 years from public elementary and secondary schools in mid‐Norway. The results showed that girls reported higher scores on state anxiety and state depression, whereas boys consistently scored higher on self‐esteem in all age groups. Self‐esteem was strongly and inversely associated with both state depression and state anxiety. An interaction effect of gender by self‐esteem was found on state depression, where the association was stronger for girls than for boys. The associations found give support for the positive role of self‐esteem in relation to adolescents’ emotional health and well‐being.     

Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Factor-Analytic Examination of the Tripartite Model

The tripartite model of Clark and Watson (1981) suggests that the oft-observed covariation between anxiety and depression can best be understood by examining three related yet distinct constructs: negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and elevated physiological arousal. In the present study, 510 boys and girls in the 4th, 7th, and 10th grades completed the Children's Depression Inventory and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine the goodness of fit of single-factor (i.e., negative affectivity), two-factor (i.e., anxiety and depression), and three-factor models (i.e., negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and physiological arousal). Analyses were conducted by examining each of the models in the whole sample first and then separately for boys and girls and for fourth, seventh, and tenth grade youths. Results failed to support the tripartite theory; rather, the findings supported a two-factor model in all cases. These factors represented the general constructs of anxiety and depression, and these factors remained significantly interrelated. Consistent with previous findings, the strength of these relations was stronger for boys than girls and for children than adolescents.     

Hostility, aggression, and anxiety levels of divorce and nondivorce children as manifested in their responses to projective tests

The effects of parental divorce on the levels of aggression, hostility, and anxiety in children, as measured by the Rorschach test, together with the type and direction of aggression, as measured by the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration (P-F) Study, were studied. The Rorschach and the Rosenzweig P-F study were administered to a nonclinical sample of 108 Swedish children ranging in age from 10 to 12 years old. The subjects constituted a divorce and a nondivorce group of 27 girls and 27 boys each. Children of divorced parents (hereafter referred to as divorce children, divorce boys, or divorce girls) showed significantly higher levels of hostility, aggression, and anxiety than children of married parents (hereafter referred to as nondivorce children, nondivorce boys, nondivorce girls). There were significant differences found in the type and direction of aggression between divorce girls and boys. Divorce boys showed more extraggression and ego defensive reactions, whereas divorce girls tended to evade aggression. The differences between divorce and nondivorce groups and the diversity of reactions between divorce boys and girls are discussed.     

Leaps of faith: the role of religious development in recovering integrity among Jewish alcoholics and drug addicts

In the present study we investigated the association between religiosity and schizotypy in teenagers. The Francis Scale of Attitude towards Christianity (Francis &; Stubbs, 1987) and the Multidimensional Schizotypal Traits Questionnaire (Rawlings &; MacFarlane 1994) were completed by 492 school pupils ranging in age from 13 to 18. It was found that higher scores on the Francis scale were associated with higher scores on the perceptual aberration subscale and lower scores on the impulsive nonconformity and magical ideation subscales. However, when the analysis was repeated for girls and boys separately we found that the association with magical ideation was unique to boys and the association with impulsive nonconformity was unique to girls. Certain associations seem to be sex specific. Also, although our data suggest that in some respects religiosity might be an index of psychosis proneness, in other respects it would seem that religiosity is associated with psychological well-being.     

Hostility,Aggression, and Anxiety Levels of Divorce and Nondivorce Children as Manifested in Their Responses to Projective Tests

The effects of parental divorce on the levels of aggression, hostility, and anxiety in children, as measured by the Rorschach test, together with the type and direction of aggression, as measured by the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration (P-F) Study, were studied. The Rorschach and the Rosenzweig P-F study were administered to a nonclinical sample of 108 Swedish children ranging in age from 10 to 12 years old. The subjects constituted a divorce and a nondivorce group of 27 gifts and 27 boys each. Children of divorced parents (hereafter referred to as divorce children, divorce boys, or divorce girls) showed significantly higher levels of hostility, aggression, and anxiety than children of married parents (hereafter referred to as nondivorce children, nondivorce boys, nondivorce girls). There were significant differences found in the type and direction of aggression between divorce girls and boys. Divorce boys showed more extraggression and ego defensive reactions, whereas divorce girls tended to evade aggression. The differences between divorce and nondivorce groups and the diversity of reactions between divorce boys and girls are discussed.     

Gender differences on the Five to Fifteen questionnaire in a non‐referred sample with inattention and hyperactivity‐impulsivity and a clinic‐referred sample with hyperkinetic disorder

Lambek, R., Trillingsgaard, A., Kadesjö, B., Damm, D. & Thomsen, P. H. (2010). Gender differences on the Five to Fifteen questionnaire in a non‐referred sample with inattention and hyperactivity‐impulsivity and a clinic‐referred sample with hyperkinetic disorder. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 540–447. The aim of the present study was to examine gender differences in children with inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity on the Five to Fifteen (FTF) parent questionnaire. First, non‐referred girls (n = 43) and boys (n = 51) with problems of attention and hyperactivity‐impulsivity and then clinic‐referred girls (n = 35) and boys (n = 66) with hyperkinetic disorder (HKD) were compared on the FTF. Results suggested that non‐referred boys were more hyperactive‐impulsive than non‐referred girls, whereas clinic‐referred boys and girl with HKD were more similar than dissimilar on the FTF questionnaire. Secondly, it was examined whether the application of gender mixed norms versus gender specific norms would result in varying proportions of clinic‐referred children with HKD being identified as impaired on the subdomains of the FTF questionnaire. Based on results it was concluded that the use of a gender mixed normative sample may lead to overestimation of impairment in boys with HKD, but the type of sample applied to define impairment on the FTF should depend on the purpose for applying the questionnaire.     

Anxiety symptoms in Japanese and in German children

The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of anxiety symptoms and their association with gender and age in Japanese and German children using the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS). A total of 1837 children (862 from Germany and 975 from Japan) between the age of 8 and 12 years were investigated. Results revealed that German children reported significantly higher symptoms of separation anxiety, social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder than Japanese children. Conversely, Japanese children reported significantly higher scores on symptoms related to physical injury fear. In both countries, girls scored higher than boys on all the scales of the SCAS. Symptoms of separation anxiety and panic decreased with age, whereas social phobia increased with age. The findings underscore the impact of culture on children's anxiety.     

Peer play,emotion understanding,and socio‐moral explanation: The role of gender

Engagement in peer play is an important factor in young children's adjustment as they make the transition to school. We evaluated individual differences in peer play within a sample of 58 children aged 4–5 years. Among boys, but not among girls, emotion understanding and verbal ability independently served as positive predictors of interactive peer play and negative predictors of disconnected play. Among girls, but not among boys, interactive peer play and socio‐moral reasoning about peer conflict situations independently predicted sociometric most‐like nominations. The results provide a foundation for further research on divergence in the early peer play of girls and boys.     

Comorbidity between SCARED anxiety factors and depressive symptomatology in 8- to 12-year-old children

The aim of this study was to examine the comorbidity between the SCARED anxiety factors and depressive symptoms in 8-12-year-old children. Participants were 792 girls and 715 boys, who completed: the 41-ítem version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorder (SCARED), the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and a Socio-demographic questionnaire. Of the sample, 47% showed anxiety symptoms and 11.5% showed depressive symptoms. Heterotypic comorbidity was 82% in children at risk of depression and 20% in children at risk of anxiety. Homotypic Comorbidity between anxiety factors was 87%. Homotypic comorbidity and heterotypic comorbidity were high; their early detection will prevent the continuity of an anxious disorder and the development of depression.     

Reading Anxiety: An Early Affective Impediment to Children’s Success in Reading

Learning to read is a critical but often challenging academic task for young children. In the current study, we explore the relation between children’s reading affect-–particularly anxiety-–and reading achievement in the early years of reading acquisition. We hypothesized that reading anxiety would relate to reading achievement across the school year and that boys and girls might show differential patterns in the relation between reading anxiety and achievement due to the common stereotype that boys underperform in reading. A sample of first and second grade students completed measures of reading anxiety, positive reading affect, math achievement, and reading achievement in the fall and spring. Results show that reading anxiety and reading achievement share a bi-directional relation in which fall reading anxiety predicts spring reading achievement and vice versa. Furthermore, the pattern of relation between reading anxiety and achievement differs by gender: boys appear more susceptible to the reciprocal damaging effects of reading anxiety on reading achievement across the school year. Finally, reading achievement shares a stronger relation with reading anxiety than with positive reading affect, perhaps because of the phenomenon in which negative relative to positive experiences have a greater psychological impact.     

Gender differences in the relation between stressful life events and adjustment among school-aged children

The study evaluated gender differences in the relation between stressful life events and adjustment among elementary school children. In Study I, anxiety, aggression, submissive withdrawal, and life event questionnaires were completed by 63 Israeli children. The frequency of life events was associated with increased anxiety and trends toward heightened withdrawal and aggression among boys, but not girls. In Study II, 80 Israeli mothers of elementary school children completed parallel questionnaires regarding their child. As in Study I, life events were associated among boys, but not girls, with increased anxiety and a trend toward heightened withdrawal. No gender difference arose in the association for aggression. Discussion focused on the possible roots of these findings in differential patterns of stress sensitivity, resilience, and coping, and on their ramifications for the study of cross-situational gender differences.     

Behaviour–emotional characteristics of primary‐school children rated as having language problems

Background Primary‐school teachers are expected to detect problems related to language function, but the teachers' evaluations may be heavily influenced by gender and classroom behaviour. Aim To investigate the relationship between language problems (LPs) and behaviour–emotional problems as rated by primary‐school teachers. Methods All participants participated in a population‐based study, the Bergen Child Study (BCS). Teachers of 9,072 children and parents of 6,234 children completed forms containing questions pertaining to language function and the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for behaviour–emotional problems. LP was defined as a score above the 95th percentile on the sum score of five language items. Children achieving a total SDQ score above the 90th percentile were defined as high scorers, indicating a high risk for behavioural–emotional problems. Results Based on teacher reports, 540 children were defined as having LP, more boys (N = 366) than girls. Children defined as having LP were reported to have significantly higher scores on all SDQ subscales, and a higher total difficulty score than children without language problems (NLP). More LP boys than LP girls were defined as high scorers on the SDQ, with the highest effect size on the hyperactivity–inattention subscore. The agreement between teachers and parents was moderate to low, with the highest consensus of behaviour–emotional problems in children with LP. Conclusions Primary‐school children defined as having LP according to their teachers are frequently characterized by behavioural–emotional problems. Further assessment is warranted for primary‐school children defined as having LP by their teachers.     

On the relationship between locus of control, level of ability and gender

In a sample of Norwegian 14- and 15-year-old students no significant relationship was found between total externality-internality score and level of ability. However, a significant relationship was found between ability and a subscale of locus of control related to degree of belief in the impact of school effort. The analyses of gender differences showed that girls had significantly higher total internal locus of control scores than boys. Boys were, however, significantly more internally oriented than girls on a subscale related to the respondents' general belief in luck, while girls were significantly more internally oriented than boys on a school effort scale. The present study does not support the notion that girls develop an attributional pattern which is more closely related to their abilities while boys may develop a broader attributional pattern.     

Associations between assertiveness,psychological well‐being,and self‐esteem in adolescents

This study explored the associations between adolescents’ assertive behavior, psychological well‐being, and self‐esteem. The sample consisted of 1,023 students (14.9 ± .51; 47.6% boys). Two dimensions of the Scale for Interpersonal Behavior (distress and performance), 2 factors of the General Health Questionnaire‐12 (depression/anxiety and social dysfunction), and 2 factors of the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (positive self‐esteem and negative self‐esteem) were used; data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. It was found that (a) the more anxious respondents felt in assertive situations, the less frequently they engaged in these situations; and that (b) both dimensions of assertiveness were associated with psychological well‐being and self‐esteem.     

Self‐construal and students’ math self‐concept,anxiety and achievement: An examination of achievement goals as mediators

This study examines the role of self‐construal in student learning by testing a mediation model: through math achievement goals, self‐construal predicts math self‐concept and anxiety, which further predict math achievement. A sample of 1196 students from 104 secondary classes in Singapore took a survey and a math achievement test. The results from multi‐group structural equation modelling support measurement invariance and equal path coefficients in the mediation model between boys and girls. Interdependent self‐construal positively predicted mastery approach and avoidance goals, through which interdependent self‐construal had a positive total indirect effect on math anxiety. Independent self‐construal positively predicted mastery approach, performance approach and performance avoidance goals, and through the two approach goals, high independent self‐construal was associated with high math self‐concept. Overall, self‐construal was not associated with math achievement. The findings enhance our understanding of achievement motivation from a sociocultural perspective and help explain East Asian students’ relatively higher anxiety and lower self‐concept in comparison with their Western counterparts as reported in international studies.     

Body Image and Disordered Eating in Adolescent Girls and Boys: A Test of Objectification Theory

This study aimed to test components of objectification theory in a large sample of adolescent girls and boys. Participants were 714 Australian adolescents (382 boys, 332 girls) ranging in age from 12 to 16 years who completed questionnaire measures of body surveillance, body shame, appearance anxiety and disordered eating. Although it was found that girls displayed higher levels of body surveillance, body shame, appearance anxiety and disordered eating than boys, the model proposed by objectification theory was largely supported for both girls and boys. It was concluded that objectification theory appears applicable to adolescents of both genders.