Despite acknowledging that adolescents are active users of electronic technology, little is known about their perceptions concerning how such technologies might be used to promote their social standing among their peer group and whether these perceptions relate to their cyber social behaviors (i.e., cyber aggression perpetration, cyber prosocial behavior). To address this gap in the literature, the present study included 857 seventh graders (M age: 12.19; 50.8&#x25; female) from a large Midwestern city in the United States. They completed questionnaires on face-to-face social behaviors, cyber social behaviors, perceived popularity, social preference, and their perceptions of characteristics and activities related to the cyber context which might be used to promote popularity. Findings revealed four activities and characteristics used to improve adolescents&#x2019; social standing in the peer group, including antisocial behaviors, sociability, prosocial behaviors, and technology access. Using antisocial behaviors in the cyber context to promote popularity was related to cyber aggression perpetration, while controlling for gender, social preference, and perceived popularity. On the other hand, sociability and prosocial behaviors in the cyber context used to improve popularity as well as technology access were associated with cyber prosocial behavior. A call for additional research is made.

Michelle F. Wright

Perceptions of Popularity-Related Behaviors in the Cyber Context: Relations to Cyber Social Behaviors

This paper presents an adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (short version) into three languages spoken in Southern Mozambique. The tool was adapted to study vocabulary development among children of 12 to 25 months of age in two communities: a rural, monolingual Changana speaking community and an urban bilingual Ronga and Portuguese speaking community. We present a norming study carried out with the adaptation, as well as a validation study. The norming study revealed various predictors for reported expressive and receptive vocabulary size. These predictors include age, socioeconomic status, reported health problems, caregiving practices, and location. The validation of the CDI among a small sample in both communities shows positive correlations between the reported expressive vocabulary scores and children&#x2019;s recorded word production. We conclude that the adapted CDI is useful for research purposes and could be used as a template for adaptations into other languages from similar cultures.

Paul Vogt

J. Douglas Mastin

Suzanne Aussems

Early Vocabulary Development in Rural and Urban Mozambique

Empathy and theory of mind (ToM) are distinctive psychological constructs in predicting children&#x2019;s social functioning. This study provided evidence of the independent nature of these constructs and developed a parent questionnaire for measuring individual differences in children&#x2019;s empathy and ToM. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis based on responses of 116 parents of Hong Kong children established a three-factor structure of the Empathy and Theory of Mind Scale (EToMS), that is, Empathy, Nice ToM, and Nasty ToM. An additional 189 parents of Study 2 confirmed this three-factor model. A subsample of 93 children (<svg  xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"   style="vertical-align:-0.2064009pt" id="M1" height="8.8423pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.6359 49.6413 8.8423" width="49.6413pt"><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,0,0)"><path id="g113-78" d="M962 650H795L470 145L347 650H176L170 622C268 613 275 606 244 503L190 322C150 188 132 126 118 91C102 50 80 33 18 28L12 0H245L251 28C175 35 170 48 174 93C177 128 191 180 220 284L292 542H294C331 392 383 150 409 4H432L774 555H776L714 137C700 40 694 34 612 28L606 0H868L874 28C793 34 784 37 797 137L849 533C859 612 863 616 956 622L962 650Z" /><glyph.data ascent="3473" descent="-2876" horiz-adv-x="985" vert-adv-y="985" /></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,16.439,0)"><path id="g117-34" d="M535 323V373H52V323H535ZM535 138V188H52V138H535Z" /><glyph.data ascent="3473" descent="-2876" horiz-adv-x="587" vert-adv-y="587" /></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,27.702,0)"><path id="g113-53" d="M456 178V225H360V632H320C217 496 115 347 20 206V178H280V106C280 40 276 34 189 27V0H445V27C364 34 360 39 360 106V178H456ZM280 225H82C149 335 214 431 278 520H280V225Z" /><glyph.data ascent="3473" descent="-2876" horiz-adv-x="480" vert-adv-y="480" /></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,33.942,0)"><path id="g113-47" d="M113 -12C146 -12 170 11 170 46C170 78 146 103 114 103S58 78 58 46C58 11 82 -12 113 -12Z" /><glyph.data ascent="3473" descent="-2876" horiz-adv-x="228" vert-adv-y="228" /></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,36.906,0)"><path id="g113-58" d="M244 635C114 635 38 519 38 422C38 317 111 240 217 240C236 240 255 244 277 256L345 292C311 140 203 39 59 15L64 -15C89 -15 150 -5 204 17C339 72 440 202 440 386C440 521 368 635 244 635ZM228 602C326 602 352 479 352 390C352 370 351 347 348 324C327 308 293 296 258 296C174 296 124 369 124 458C124 517 152 602 228 602Z" /><glyph.data ascent="3473" descent="-2876" horiz-adv-x="480" vert-adv-y="480" /></g><g transform="matrix(.013,0,0,-0.013,43.147,0)"><path id="g113-56" d="M447 623H65C61 580 56 530 47 475H76C100 541 106 550 172 550H388C308 376 196 170 91 -1L98 -12L172 -2C268 204 360 408 455 611L447 623Z" /><glyph.data ascent="3473" descent="-2876" horiz-adv-x="480" vert-adv-y="480" /></g></svg>, SD = .84, 47 boys) from Study 2 took part in child measures of helping and lying behaviors as well as false belief understanding. The results supported the reliability and validity of the EToMS, making it a useful assessment of children&#x2019;s social predispositions.

Zhenlin Wang

Lamei Wang

The Mind and Heart of the Social Child: Developing the Empathy and Theory of Mind Scale

The research investigated the relationship between family dynamics and the beliefs about the benefits of talking to infants. Prior research has shown that language development is enhanced by verbal interaction with others. We tested two hypotheses: (a) men may view talking to infants as less beneficial than women and (b) one&#x2019;s relationships with parents would be related to the extent to which young adults view talking to infants as beneficial. In a study with 301 undergraduates (181 women, 120 men), we confirmed both hypotheses, showing that (a) men were less likely than women to view talking to infants as beneficial and (b) for both men and women, the more negative their relationship with their mother, the less likely they were to view talking to infants as beneficial. Implications for infant care are discussed.

Shelia M. Kennison

Jennifer Byrd-Craven

Gender Differences in Beliefs about Infant-Directed Speech: The Role of Family Dynamics

Complex spatial decisions involve the ability to combine featural and spatial information in a scene. In the present work, 4- through 9-year-old children completed a complex map-scene correspondence task under baseline and supported conditions. Children compared a photographed scene with a correct map and with map-foils that made salient an object feature or spatial property. Map-scene matches were analyzed for the effects of age and featural-spatial information on children&#x2019;s selections. In both conditions children significantly favored maps that highlighted object detail and object perspective rather than color, landmark, and metric elements. Children&#x2019;s correct performance did not differ by age and was suboptimal, but their ability to choose correct maps improved significantly when contextual support was provided. Strategy variability was prominent for all age groups, but at age 9 with support children were more likely to give up their focus on features and transition to the use of spatial strategies. These findings suggest the possibility of a U-shaped curve for children&#x2019;s development of geometric knowledge: geometric coding is predominant early on, diminishes for a time in middle childhood in favor of a preference for features, and then reemerges along with the more advanced abilities to combine featural and spatial information.

Pamela L. Hirsch

Elisabeth Hollister Sandberg

Microdevelopment of Complex Featural and Spatial Integration with Contextual Support

The importance of self-action and its considerable links with cognitive activity in childhood are known. For instance, in arithmetical cognition, 2-year-olds detected an impossible arithmetical outcome more accurately when they performed the operation themselves (actor mode) than when the experimenter presented it (onlooker mode). A key component in this domain concerns the understanding of the inversion principle between addition and subtraction. Complex operations can be solved without calculation by using an inversion-based shortcut (3-term problems of the form <svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-0.3625994pt" id="M1" height="10.0405pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -9.6779 47.8138 10.0405" width="47.8138pt"><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,0,0)"><path id="g113-98" d="M483 97L471 123C436 91 401 65 392 65C388 65 384 74 390 106C414 239 444 378 457 429L455 433C444 433 429 436 416 439C392 444 368 448 344 448C281 448 204 415 152 376C71 315 23 205 23 103C23 21 57 -12 85 -12C114 -12 149 6 185 34C231 70 285 119 329 183H331L309 81C292 0 308 -12 326 -12C350 -12 421 24 483 97ZM374 387C370 363 356 291 345 261C315 193 181 50 139 50C124 50 110 71 110 118C110 224 153 331 218 379C238 394 271 402 301 402C329 402 359 394 374 387Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,9.886,0)"><path id="g117-36" d="M535 230V280H323V490H265V280H52V230H265V-3H323V230H535Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,20.866,0)"><path id="g113-99" d="M452 333C452 398 425 448 375 448C329 448 235 404 140 292H138L229 683C233 701 234 712 225 712C208 712 149 686 66 677L64 652H97C135 652 140 651 129 598L38 167C23 96 29 57 44 33C60 7 98 -12 132 -12C169 -12 232 3 290 41C383 102 452 223 452 333ZM365 316C365 199 308 87 239 49C221 39 200 35 183 35C137 35 99 70 112 163C116 191 123 215 129 233C190 316 290 392 330 392C348 392 365 372 365 316Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,30.253,0)"><path id="g117-33" d="M535 230V280H52V230H535Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,41.234,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-99"/></g></svg> must equal <i>a</i>). Some studies have shown that, around the age of 4, children implicitly use the inversion principle. However, little is known before the age of 4. Here, we examined the role of self-action in the development of this principle by preschool children. In the first experiment, 2-year-olds were confronted with inversion (<svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-0.3625803pt" id="M2" height="9.06134pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.69876 69.8396 9.06134" width="69.8396pt"><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,0,0)"><path id="g113-50" d="M384 0V27C293 34 287 42 287 114V635C232 613 172 594 109 583V559L157 557C201 555 205 550 205 499V114C205 42 199 34 109 27V0H384Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,9.531,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-36"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,20.512,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,30.043,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-33"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,41.024,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,51.312,0)"><path id="g117-34" d="M535 323V373H52V323H535ZM535 138V188H52V138H535Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,63.05,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g></svg> or 2) and standard (<svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-0.3625803pt" id="M3" height="9.06134pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.69876 69.8396 9.06134" width="69.8396pt"><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,0,0)"><path id="g113-52" d="M285 378C315 398 338 416 353 432C373 451 384 474 384 503C384 579 325 635 236 635H235C182 635 136 610 108 579L65 516L85 496C110 533 150 575 205 575C258 575 300 543 300 481C300 407 232 369 141 339L147 310C163 315 188 321 211 321C268 321 338 284 338 192C338 94 288 40 217 40C160 40 119 68 93 91C85 98 77 97 69 91C60 84 47 71 46 58C44 46 48 35 62 22C75 10 116 -12 162 -12C234 -12 424 62 424 224C424 297 373 359 285 376V378Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,9.531,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-33"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,20.512,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,30.043,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-33"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,41.024,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,51.312,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-34"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,63.05,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g></svg> or 2) arithmetical problems either in actor or onlooker mode. The results revealed that actor mode improved accuracy for the inversion problem, suggesting that self-action helps children use the inversion-based shortcut. These results were strengthened with another inversion problem (<svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-0.3625803pt" id="M4" height="9.06134pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.69876 69.8396 9.06134" width="69.8396pt"><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,0,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,9.531,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-33"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,20.512,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,30.043,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-36"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,41.024,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,51.312,0)"><use xlink:href="#g117-34"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,63.05,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-50"/></g></svg> or 2) in a second experiment. Our data provide new support for the importance of considering self-action in early mathematics education.

Am&#xe9;lie Lubin

Sandrine Rossi

Nicolas Poirel

C&#xe9;line Lano&#xeb;

Arlette Pineau

Olivier Houd&#xe9;

The Role of Self-Action in 2-Year-Old Children: An Illustration of the Arithmetical Inversion Principle before Formal Schooling

Although early reading practices impact a host of child literacy, language, and school outcomes, many parents do not read to their young children. One possible explanation for this lack of early literacy practices is mothers&#x2019; feelings about their ability to successfully read to their children. A series of multiple regressions were used to explore whether new mothers&#x2019; reading self-efficacy predicted their perceived barriers to reading to their 18-month-old children. Findings suggest that self-efficacy buffers against mother-centered (e.g., too tired), child-centered (e.g., toddler fussy), and structural (e.g., environmental distractions) barriers to reading. Given the importance of early literacy and that not all mothers read to their toddlers, increasing reading self-efficacy may offer a way to reduce perceived barriers to early literacy practices.

Joyce Lin

Stephanie M. Reich

Sabrina Kataoka

George Farkas

Maternal Reading Self-Efficacy Associated with Perceived Barriers to Reading

About this journal

<p><em>Child Development Research</em> publishes original research articles as well as review articles in all areas of child development research.</p>


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<p><em>Child Development Research</em> maintains an Editorial Board of practicing researchers from around the world, to ensure manuscripts are handled by editors who are experts in the field of study.</p>


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Child Development Research ceased publication in 2019 and is no longer accepting submissions.

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Child Development Research publishes original research articles as well as review articles in all areas of child development research.

Child Development Research