An understanding of harm is central to social and cognitive development, but harm largely has been conceptualized as physical damage or injury. Less research focuses on children's judgments of harm to others' internal well-being (emotional harms). We asked 5- to 10-year-old children (N = 456, 50% girls, 50% boys; primarily tested in Central New…

A year after receiving his PhD in psychology from the University of Rochester, Tim Kasser accepted a position at Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, where he is currently professor of psychology. He regularly teaches psychology classes on personality, clinical and abnormal psychology, dreaming, and research methods, as well as an…

There is nationwide concern that the abrupt transition to remote instruction in response to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic will have detrimental impacts on student learning. As a uniquely vulnerable group within schools, students with disabilities like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be at enhanced risk for these…

The PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI) has recently been shown, in a large multisite study, to discriminate well between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other groups when its scores were examined using a machine learning tool, Classification and Regression Trees (CART). Discrimination was good for toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children;…

Siblings are a critical part of lifelong support for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). But siblings face their own social-emotional adjustment needs. These needs may be addressed through programs that include support groups specifically for the siblings. This study examined the effects of a community program on typical siblings'…

This pilot study investigated the efficacy of point-of-view video modeling as an intervention strategy to improve self-help skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A single-subject A-B design was implemented with eight school-aged children ages 7.5 years to 13.5 years. Six of the students participated in general education classes…

Theories of childhood amnesia and autobiographical memory development have been based on the assumption that the age estimates of earliest childhood memories are generally accurate, with an average age of 3.5 years among adults. It is also commonly believed that early memories will by default become inaccessible later on and this eventually…

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of current psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents (collectively called children) of mothers entering treatment for depression; to examine maternal predictors of child psychopathology among children of depressed mothers; and to determine consistency of findings with a similar child study ancillary…

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

Data from the Nurse-Family Partnership intervention program were analyzed to compare the "selection" versus "unique" effects of maternal jail time on adolescent antisocial and health risk outcomes. Data from 320 women and their firstborn children were available from the prenatal, birth, and 15-year assessments. Consistent with…

Background: The differential susceptibility hypothesis states that some genetic variants that confer risk in adverse environments are beneficial in normal or nurturing environments. The cholinergic system is promising as a source of susceptibility genes because of its involvement in learning and neural plasticity. The cholinergic receptor gene…

We examined aggressive behavior in 6- to 12-year-old children, including 20 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on stimulant medication, 19 children with ADHD on placebo (n = 19), and 32 controls. Children completed a laboratory provocation task designed to measure hostile, instrumental, reactive, and proactive…

A developmental cascade model for adolescent substance use beginning in infancy was examined in a sample of children with alcoholic and nonalcoholic parents. The model examined the role of parents' alcohol diagnoses, depression and antisocial behavior in a cascading process of risk via 3 major hypothesized pathways: first, via parental…

This column features summaries of research articles from 3 recent crisis management publications. The first, "School Shootings and Counselor Leadership: Four Lessons from the Field" summarized by Kristi Fenning, was conducted as the result of the increased demand for trained crisis personnel on school campuses. Survey participants were…

Children's reactions after being exposed to mass violence may be influenced by a spectrum of factors. Relatively unexplored is the extent to which family exposure to mass violence may affect child mental health, even when these children have not been directly exposed. In a representative sample of NYC public school children assessed 6 months after…