Effects of maternal postpartum depression in a well‐resourced sample: Early concurrent and long‐term effects on infant cognitive,language, and motor development

This study examined early and long‐term effects of maternal postpartum depression on cognitive, language, and motor development in infants of clinically depressed mothers. Participants were 83 mothers and their full‐term born children from the urban region of Copenhagen, Denmark. Of this group, 28 mothers were diagnosed with postnatal depression three to four months postpartum in a diagnostic interview. Cognitive, language, and motor development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development third edition, when the infants were 4 and 13 months of age. We found that maternal postpartum depression was associated with poorer cognitive development at infant age four months, the effect size being large (Cohen's d = 0.8) and with similar effects for boys and girls. At 13 months of age infants of clinical mothers did not differ from infants of non‐clinical mothers. At this time most (79%) of the clinical mothers were no longer, or not again, depressed. These results may indicate that maternal depression can have an acute, concurrent effect on infant cognitive development as early as at four months postpartum. At the same time, in the absence of other risk factors, this effect may not be enduring. The main weaknesses of the study include the relatively small sample size and that depression scores were only available for 35 of the non‐clinical mothers at 13 months.     

Maturation constrains the effect of exposure in linking language and thought: evidence from healthy preterm infants

The power of human language rests upon its intricate links to human cognition. By 3 months of age, listening to language supports infants’ ability to form object categories, a building block of cognition. Moreover, infants display a systematic shift between 3 and 4 months – a shift from familiarity to novelty preferences – in their expression of this link between language and core cognitive processes. Here, we capitalize on this tightly‐timed developmental shift in fullterm infants to assess (a) whether it also appears in preterm infants and (b) whether it reflects infants’ maturational status or the duration of their postnatal experience. Healthy late preterm infants (N = 22) participated in an object categorization task while listening to language. Their performance, coupled with that of fullterm infants, reveals that this developmental shift is evident in preterm infants and unfolds on the same maturational timetable as in their fullterm counterparts.     

A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between maternal mind‐mindedness and theory of mind

Data are presented from a longitudinal investigation examining the relationship between maternal mind‐mindedness (MM) in infancy and socio‐cognitive development in childhood. We revisited children (n = 18) who had taken part in a longitudinal study as infants. MM had been assessed at 10, 12, 16, and 20 months of age. We followed up these children at 5–6 years of age to test their higher order theory of mind (ToM) (using the strange stories task). The convergent validity, temporal stability, and predictive validity of the construct of MM were examined in a longitudinal data set. The five measures of MM were not significantly correlated. Mother's production of appropriate mind‐related comments (but no other measures) showed evidence of temporal stability throughout infancy. Thus, MM (as measured by appropriate mind‐related comments) was confirmed as a stable construct. Children's ToM at 5–6 years of age was significantly predicted by their mother's MM up to 4 years earlier, with MM accounting for 40% of the variance of the strange stories task scores. These findings identify a relationship between MM across a protracted period of infancy and socio‐cognitive development at 5–6 years of age.     

Habituation and novelty detection fNIRS brain responses in 5‐ and 8‐month‐old infants: The Gambia and UK

The first 1,000 days of life are a critical window of vulnerability to exposure to socioeconomic and health challenges (i.e. poverty/undernutrition). The Brain Imaging for Global Health (BRIGHT) project has been established to deliver longitudinal measures of brain development from 0 to 24 months in UK and Gambian infants and to assess the impact of early adversity. Here results from the Habituation‐Novelty Detection (HaND) functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) task at 5 and 8 months are presented (N = 62 UK; N = 115 Gambia). In the UK cohort distinct patterns of habituation and recovery of response to novelty are seen, becoming more robust from 5 to 8 months of age. In The Gambia, an attenuated habituation response is evident: a larger number of trials are required before the response sufficiently suppresses relative to the response during the first presented trials. Furthermore, recovery of response to novelty is not evident at 5 or 8 months of age. As this longitudinal study continues in The Gambia, the parallel collection of socioeconomic, caregiving, health and nutrition data will allow us to stratify how individual trajectories of habituation and recovery of response to novelty associate with different risk factors and adaptive mechanisms in greater depth. Given the increasing interest in the use of neuroimaging methods within global neurocognitive developmental studies, this study provides a novel cross‐culturally appropriate paradigm for the study of brain responses associated with attention and learning mechanisms across early development.     

Development of infant sustained attention and its relation to EEG oscillations: an EEG and cortical source analysis study

The current study examined the relation between infant sustained attention and infant EEG oscillations. Fifty‐nine infants were tested at 6 (N = 15), 8 (N = 17), 10 (N = 14), and 12 (N = 13) months. Three attention phases, stimulus orienting, sustained attention, and attention termination, were defined based on infants' heart rate changes. Frequency analysis using simultaneously recorded EEG focused on infant theta (2–6 Hz), alpha (6–9 Hz), and beta (9–14 Hz) rhythms. Cortical source analysis of EEG oscillations was conducted with realistic infant MRI models. Theta synchronization was found over fontal pole, temporal, and parietal electrodes during infant sustained attention for 10 and 12 months. Alpha desynchronization was found over frontal, central and parietal electrodes during sustained attention. This alpha effect started to emerge at 10 months and became well established by 12 months. No difference was found for the beta rhythm between different attention phases. The theta synchronization effect was localized to the orbital frontal, temporal pole, and ventral temporal areas. The alpha desynchronization effect was localized to the brain regions composing the default mode network including the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex, and inferior parietal gyrus. The alpha desynchronization effect was also localized to the pre‐ and post‐central gyri. The present study demonstrates a connection between infant sustained attention and EEG oscillatory activities.     

Individual differences in neonatal “imitation” fail to predict early social cognitive behaviour

The influential hypothesis that humans imitate from birth – and that this capacity is foundational to social cognition – is currently being challenged from several angles. Most prominently, the largest and most comprehensive longitudinal study of neonatal imitation to date failed to find evidence that neonates copied any of nine actions at any of four time points (Oostenbroek et al., [2016] Current Biology, 26, 1334–1338). The authors of an alternative and statistically liberal post‐hoc analysis of these same data (Meltzoff et al., [2017] Developmental Science, 21, e12609), however, concluded that the infants actually did imitate one of the nine actions: tongue protrusion. In line with the original intentions of this longitudinal study, we here report on whether individual differences in neonatal “imitation” predict later‐developing social cognitive behaviours. We measured a variety of social cognitive behaviours in a subset of the original sample of infants (N = 71) during the first 18 months: object‐directed imitation, joint attention, synchronous imitation and mirror self‐recognition. Results show that, even using the liberal operationalization, individual scores for neonatal “imitation” of tongue protrusion failed to predict any of the later‐developing social cognitive behaviours. The average Spearman correlation was close to zero, mean r_s = 0.027, 95% CI [?0.020, 0.075], with all Bonferroni adjusted p values > .999. These results run counter to Meltzoff et al.'s rebuttal, and to the existence of a “like me” mechanism in neonates that is foundational to human social cognition.     

Amygdala–orbitofrontal connectivity predicts alcohol use two years later: a longitudinal neuroimaging study on alcohol use in adolescence

This study tested the relation between cortical–subcortical functional connectivity and alcohol consumption in adolescents using an accelerated longitudinal design, as well as normative developmental patterns for these measures. Participants between ages 8 and 27 completed resting‐state neuroimaging scans at two time points separated by two years (N = 274 at T1, N = 231 at T2). In addition, participants between ages 12 and 27 reported on recent and lifetime alcohol use (N = 193 at T1, N = 244 at T2). Resting‐state connectivity analyses focused on amygdala–orbitofrontal connectivity given prior research linking reduced coupling between these regions to alcohol use. Mixed model analyses revealed that age had a cubic relationship with alcohol use, with little to no use in childhood, steep increases in adolescence and leveling off in adulthood. No age effects were found for amygdala–OFC connectivity. Prediction analyses showed that left amygdala–orbitofrontal connectivity at the first time point predicted recent and lifetime alcohol use two years later. There was no evidence for the reversed relation, suggesting that brain connectivity measures precede explorative risk‐taking behavior in adolescence, possibly because decreased subcortical–frontal connectivity biases towards more explorative or risky behavior.     

East–West cultural differences in context‐sensitivity are evident in early childhood

Accumulating evidence suggests that North Americans tend to focus on central objects whereas East Asians tend to pay more attention to contextual information in a visual scene. Although it is generally believed that such culturally divergent attention tendencies develop through socialization, existing evidence largely depends on adult samples. Moreover, no past research has investigated the relation between context‐sensitivity and other domains of cognitive development. The present study examined children in the United States and Japan (N = 175, age 4–9 years) to investigate the developmental pattern in context‐sensitivity and its relation to executive function. The study found that context‐sensitivity increased with age across cultures. Nevertheless, Japanese children showed significantly greater context‐sensitivity than American children. Also, context‐sensitivity fully mediated the cultural difference in a set‐shifting executive function task, which might help explain past findings that East Asian children outperformed their American counterparts on executive function.     

Self‐Harm in Young Offenders

The prevalence and correlates of self‐harm and suicidal behavior in 515 young offenders (mean age 17.3 years, SD = 1.7) serving community‐based orders (CBOs; n = 242) or custodial sentences (n = 273) in Victoria, Australia, are described. Results from structured interviews showed that 83 (16.1%) participants reported self‐harming in the previous 6 months, and this was more common among those serving custodial sentences than those serving CBOs (19.4% vs. 12.4%; OR 3.10, 95% CI: 1.74–5.55). Multiple incidents were more common in females and 24% (95% CI: 19–39) of participants who had self‐harmed reported having done so with suicidal intent. Self‐harm was associated with recent bullying victimization, expulsion from school, past year violent victimization, cannabis dependence, and risk‐taking behavior in the preceding year. The epidemiological profile of self‐harm in this population appears to be distinct from that seen in the general population. Young offenders who self‐harm are a vulnerable group with high rates of psychiatric morbidity, substance misuse problems, and social risk factors. They may benefit from targeted psychological interventions designed specifically to address impulsivity, delivered both within–and during the transition from–the youth justice system.     

Cerebral blood flow in 5‐ to 8‐month‐olds: Regional tissue maturity is associated with infant affect

Infancy is marked by rapid neural and emotional development. The relation between brain function and emotion in infancy, however, is not well understood. Methods for measuring brain function predominantly rely on the BOLD signal; however, interpretation of the BOLD signal in infancy is challenging because the neuronal‐hemodynamic relation is immature. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) provides a context for the infant BOLD signal and can yield insight into the developmental maturity of brain regions that may support affective behaviors. This study aims to elucidate the relations among rCBF, age, and emotion in infancy. One hundred and seven mothers reported their infants' (infant age M ± SD = 6.14 ± 0.51 months) temperament. A subsample of infants completed MRI scans, 38 of whom produced usable perfusion MRI during natural sleep to quantify rCBF. Mother‐infant dyads completed the repeated Still‐Face Paradigm, from which infant affect reactivity and recovery to stress were quantified. We tested associations of infant age at scan, temperament factor scores, and observed affect reactivity and recovery with voxel‐wise rCBF. Infant age was positively associated with CBF in nearly all voxels, with peaks located in sensory cortices and the ventral prefrontal cortex, supporting the formulation that rCBF is an indicator of tissue maturity. Temperamental Negative Affect and recovery of positive affect following a stressor were positively associated with rCBF in several cortical and subcortical limbic regions, including the orbitofrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus. This finding yields insight into the nature of affective neurodevelopment during infancy. Specifically, infants with relatively increased prefrontal cortex maturity may evidence a disposition toward greater negative affect and negative reactivity in their daily lives yet show better recovery of positive affect following a social stressor.     

The rich are different: Unravelling the perceived and self‐reported personality profiles of high‐net‐worth individuals

Beyond money and possessions, how are the rich different from the general population? Drawing on a unique sample of high‐net‐worth individuals from Germany (≥1 million Euro in financial assets; N = 130), nationally representative data (N = 22,981), and an additional online panel (N = 690), we provide the first direct investigation of the stereotypically perceived and self‐reported personality profiles of high‐net‐worth individuals. Investigating the broad personality traits of the Big Five and the more specific traits of narcissism and locus of control, we find that stereotypes about wealthy people's personality are accurate albeit somewhat exaggerated and that wealthy people can be characterized as stable, flexible, and agentic individuals who are focused more on themselves than on others.     

Identity centrality moderates the relationship between acceptance of group‐based stressors and well‐being

Two two‐wave studies were used to examine the proposition that identity centrality enhances the effectiveness of stressor acceptance in the face of group‐based stressors. Study 1 was conducted in newly commencing psychology students (N = 154). Stressor intensity, psychology student identity centrality, and attempted stressor acceptance were measured at two‐time points over 6‐weeks. Study 2 was conducted in a group of early to late career veterinarians (N = 92) and extended Study 1 by assessing stressor frequency as an indicator of the level of demand. Veterinarian identity centrality and stressor acceptance were measured twice over 12‐months. Both studies provided support for the predicted three‐way interaction. Only when Time 1 stressors and identity centrality were both high was stressor acceptance related to a reduction in perceived stressor intensity (Study 1) or burnout symptoms (Study 2) at Time 2. These findings suggest that identity centrality enhances the effectiveness of stressor acceptance for supporting wellbeing and resilience.     

Working adults’ well‐being: An online self‐help goal‐based intervention

An online self‐help goal‐setting and planning (GAP) intervention to improve working adults’ well‐being was tested using a longitudinal, randomized crossover design. The study sought to (1) test the effectiveness of the intervention relative to wait‐list controls; and (2) test the stability of effects over a 3‐month follow‐up period. Participants were recruited from the UK Civil Service and were randomized to either a GAP intervention or a wait‐list control condition. Wait‐list participants then crossed‐over to receive GAP. Relative to wait‐list controls (N = 149), GAP participants (N = 158) reported significantly higher levels of positive affect (PA) and flourishing, but similar levels of negative affect (NA) and life satisfaction immediately after the intervention. Longitudinal data were analysed for the whole sample (N = 307). Compared to the start of the intervention, participants reported an increase in PA and flourishing directly after the intervention and 3 months later. NA and life satisfaction showed no change by the end of the intervention, but had improved by 3‐month follow‐up. Completing more modules predicted post‐intervention improvements in well‐being, accounting for pre‐intervention well‐being levels. The online self‐help format allowed the intervention to be offered with minimal therapeutic support, enabling convenient access by a large group of employees. The study provides an example of a successful adaptation of a clinically proven well‐being intervention to make it accessible to working adults.

Practitioner points

• Well‐being interventions proven in clinical settings can be effectively adapted for use in workplace settings with only minor alterations.
• Brief, online self‐help interventions can improve working adults’ well‐being.
• Goal‐based interventions can improve working adults’ well‐being when focused towards goals that are aligned with personal values and have been chosen by the individual.

     

Maternal Psychological Absence and Toddlers' Social‐Emotional Development: Interpretations From the Perspective of Boundary Ambiguity Theory

The current study tests a novel latent construct reflecting psychological absence and examines its relations with maternal depression, mother–toddler interactions, and toddlers' social‐emotional outcomes in a low‐income sample (N = 2,632). Structural equation modeling confirmed a psychological absence construct and revealed that psychological absence, measured at the child's 36‐month birthday‐related assessment, is a significant predictor of children's social‐emotional development at 36 months, mediated by mother–child interaction. Results are interpreted within a boundary ambiguity framework.     

Measurement of cognitive functions in experts and elite athletes: A meta‐analytic review

An extraordinary physiological capacity combined with remarkable motor control, perception, and cognitive functioning is crucial for high performance in sports. Tests that assess the physical abilities are already well established. Moreover, a growing area of research evolved in the recent past that is particularly concerned with the basic cognitive functions by means of neurocognitive tests in experts and elite athletes. The aim of this meta‐analysis (k = 19) is to quantify differences among experts and nonexperts as well as elite athletes and non‐elite athletes. In addition, it aims to assemble and compare previous research and analyze possible differences in cognitive functions depending on age, skill level, and used cognitive tasks. Overall, the mean effect size was small to medium (r = 0.22), indicating superior cognitive functions in experts and elite athletes. The factor of skill definition significantly differentiates the cognition–expertise relationship. In contrast, differences in age groups and cognitive areas appeared but were not significant. Future research should prefer the elite rather than the expert definition and distinguish between high‐performance and amateur athletes. Furthermore, the findings suggest that it can be beneficial for coaches and sport clubs to integrate cognitive tests as an additional tool for scouting and for optimizing the athletic development of their players.     

Exploring the Relations between Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) Cognitive Abilities and Mathematics Achievement

As standardized measures of cognitive abilities and academic achievement continue to evolve, so do the relations between the constructs represented in these measures. A large, nationally representative sample of school‐aged children and youth between 6 and 19 years of age (N = 4,194) was used to systematically evaluate the relations between cognitive abilities and components of academic achievement in mathematics. The cognitive abilities of interest were those identified from the Cattell–Horn–Carroll model of intelligence. Specific areas of mathematics achievement included math calculation skills and math problem solving. Results suggest that fluid reasoning (Gf), comprehension‐knowledge (Gc), and processing speed (Gs) have the strongest and most consistent relations with mathematics achievement throughout the school years.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Triadic interactions support infants’ emerging understanding of intentional actions

Infants’ understanding of the intentional nature of human action develops gradually across the first year of life. A key question is what mechanisms drive changes in this foundational social‐cognitive ability. The current studies explored the hypothesis that triadic interactions in which infants coordinate attention between a social partner and an object of mutual interest promote infants’ developing understanding of others as intentional agents. Infants’ spontaneous tendency to participate in triadic engagement was assessed in a semi‐structured play session with a researcher. Intentional action understanding was assessed by evaluating infants’ ability to visually predict the goal of an intentional reaching action. Study 1 (N = 88) revealed that 8‐ to 9‐month‐olds who displayed more bouts of triadic engagement showed better concurrent reasoning about the goal of an intentional reaching action. Study 2 (N = 114) confirmed these findings using a longitudinal design and demonstrated that infants who displayed more bouts of triadic engagement at 6–7 months were better at prospectively reasoning about the goal of an intentional reaching action 3 months later. Cross‐lagged path analyses revealed that intentional action understanding at 6–7 months did not predict later triadic engagement, suggesting that early triadic engagement supports later intentional action processing and not the other way around. Finally, evidence from both studies revealed the unique contribution of triadic over dyadic forms of engagement. These results highlight the importance of social interaction as a developmental mechanism and suggest that infants enrich their understanding of intentionality through triadic interactions with social partners.     

Infants prefer motionese to adult‐directed action

In two studies, we investigated infants’ preference for infant‐directed (ID) action or ‘motionese’ ( Brand, Baldwin & Ashburn, 2002 ) relative to adult‐directed (AD) action. In Study 1, full‐featured videos were shown to 32 6‐ to 8‐month‐olds, who demonstrated a strong preference for ID action. In Study 2, infants at 6–8 months (n= 28) and 11–13 months (n= 24) were shown either standard ID and AD clips, or clips in which demonstrators’ faces were blurred to obscure emotional and eye‐gaze information. Across both ages, infants showed evidence of preferring ID to AD action, even when faces were blurred. Infants did not have a preference for still‐frame images of the demonstrators, indicating that the ID preference arose from action characteristics, not demonstrators’ general appearance. These results suggest that motionese enhances infants’ attention to action, possibly supporting infants’ learning.     

Room for advancement: The regulatory fit of bottom‐rank intermediate feedback

This research tests the hypothesis that promotion‐focused individuals experience regulatory fit from bottom rank, intermediate performance‐feedback. Prior research suggests promotion‐focused individuals experience fit in high social ranks (power). Bottom performance ranks may appear psychologically opposite to high power, which might lead one to expect that promotion‐focused individuals experience fit at top ranks. We propose that the opposite occurs in intermediate performance ranking feedback, in that promotion‐focused individuals experience regulatory fit at a bottom rank, because bottom rank implies having something to gain (yielding eagerness), whereas top rank implies having something to lose (yielding vigilance). Study 1 (N = 261) supports the notion that ranks affect eagerness/vigilance. Study 2 (N = 199) extends these findings by examining engagement from regulatory fit.     

Benchmarking Treatment Effectiveness of Community‐Delivered Trauma‐Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

It is critical for urban youth with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) living in poverty to have access to evidence‐based interventions for their traumatic stress. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of these interventions when provided in urban, community settings. The objectives of the current study are to (a) evaluate the effectiveness of trauma‐focused cognitive behavioral therapy delivered from 2013 to 2016 in 15 behavioral health agencies on youth (N = 114) PTSD as well as  general mental health symptoms and  functioning, and (b) benchmark these clinical outcomes against other published efficacy and effectiveness trials. Effectiveness data are from the Philadelphia County Community Behavioral Health System, a system that has invested significantly in the training and ongoing support of clinicians providing high‐quality trauma services to youth since 2012. From baseline to last assessment, youth PTSD symptom severity (d = 0.34), PTSD functional impairment (d = 0.38), and overall mental health problem severity (d = 0.29) improved. The effect sizes of  improvements were smaller than effect sizes observed in efficacy and effectiveness studies. This study is the first benchmarking study of TF‐CBT and provides preliminary findings with regard to the effectiveness, and transportability, of TF‐CBT to urban community settings that serve youth in poverty.