Beyond bias to Western participants, authors, and editors in developmental science

Research in Latin America from a decolonial perspective: Challenges of producing socially situated knowledge

The developmental science literature predominantly originates from WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) countries. This bias perpetuates colonial power imbalances and marginalizes non-WEIRD societies' knowledge. This special issue addresses this gap by focusing on Latin America, emphasizing the region's diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and political contexts. This commentary contextualizes research in Latin America, and then presents and discusses the articles. Finally, it presents some of the challenges researchers in Latin America face.

A systematic review of the concept of self-regulation in infants between 0 and 36 months in Latin America

This paper aims to identify how cognitive and emotional self-regulation (SR) processes in infants from 0 to 36 months are defined within the Latin American academic context. A systematic review based on the PRISMA methodology was implemented to review the conceptual and operational definition of SR, the type of study, the country of origin of the authors, and the reference to the adequacy of the research to the specific cultural context of Latin America. Twenty-two papers that met the selection criteria were selected. The study identified four types of conceptual definitions for SR, each associated with different constructs or sets of constructs: executive functions, temperament, the integration of executive functions and temperament, and physiological homeostasis. These definitions were based on mainstream approaches to SR rather than being specific to the Latin American region. The study also found compatibility between the sample and some observed trends. On one hand, there was an underrepresentation of the Latin American population in high-impact publications on the subject. However, from 2010 to the present, there is evidence of growth in publications on SR in the analyzed sample. On the other hand, the sample also indicates a disparate representation of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in existing publications. Finally, concerning the adaptation to the cultural context of the research, a small number of studies addressed this variable in a specific and significant way. However, even in these cases, the approach is based on models and hypotheses that are limited to understanding the Latin American region's cultural, socioeconomic, and demographic diversity.

Towards a decolonial developmental science: Adolescent development in the Majority World taking center stage

While aspiring to be a diverse and global science, developmental science continues to be dominated by EuroAmerican epistemologies, researchers, and communities in its published scholarship. Adolescents in communities across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America comprise 85% of the world's adolescent population, and yet their experiences and perspectives are marginalized in our science. Adolescents in the Majority World live in highly diverse social, cultural, political, economic, educational and healthcare contexts that contribute to their development, and we have much to learn from their experiences. This article situates the marginalization of the global majority within coloniality embedded in developmental science. The article describes the impetus for this special issue Towards a decolonial developmental science and the process of putting it together, along with providing an overview of the 18 articles in this collection that push us towards decoloniality. The special issue serves as a call to transform developmental science to be decolonial by empowering adolescent development in Majority World communities to take center stage. Adolescent development research from Majority World communities has the potential to challenge the knowledge base generated from Minority World samples, contributing to a science that is comprehensive, inclusive, and can inform prevention and intervention efforts to support the well-being of adolescents globally.

Greater attention to socioeconomic status in developmental research can improve the external validity, generalizability, and replicability of developmental science

Psychological researchers have been criticized for making broad presumptions about human behavior based on limited sampling. In part, presumptive generalizability is reflected in the limited representation of sociodemographic variation in research reports. In this analysis, we examine time-trends in reporting of a key sociodemographic construct relevant to many aspects of child development-socioeconomic status (SES)-across six mainstream developmental journals (Infancy, Child Development, Developmental Science, Developmental Psychology, Infant and Child Development, and Infant Behavior & Development) between 2016 and 2022. Findings point to limited reporting of SES across developmental journals and across time. Reporting rates varied significantly by region and by topic of development. In terms of specific indicators of SES, there was consistent use of income and caregiver education as SES indicators. The epistemic costs of the lack of integration of socio-economic factors in developmental research are addressed. Pathways to greater integration of SES are proposed. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We analyzed reporting and representation of socioeconomic status in published studies on early child development. A large proportion of published studies did not report any socio-economic information. Suggestions for greater attention to socioeconomic status are proposed.

Developmental coordination disorder in preterm children: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This study aimed to review the prevalence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in individuals born preterm and systematically explore this prevalence according to gestational age and different assessment cut-offs and compare it to full-term peers. The eligibility criteria were observational and experimental studies reporting the prevalence of DCD in preterm individuals. A systematic search was performed in databases from inception until March 2022. Two independent reviewers performed the selection. Study quality assessment was performed using the checklists from Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Data analysis was performed on Excel and Review Manager Software 5.4. Among the 1774 studies identified, 32 matched the eligibility criteria. The pooled estimate rate of the DCD rate in preterm was 21% (95% confidence interval [CI] 17.8-24.3). The estimate rates were higher as gestational age decreased, and preterm children are two times more likely to have DCD than their full-term peers risk ratio (RR) 2.2 (95% CI 1.77-2.79). The limitation was high heterogeneity between studies; the assessment tools, cut-off points and age at assessment were diverse. This study provided evidence that preterm children are at higher risk for DCD than full-term children, and the risks increased as gestational age decreased.

A metascience investigation of inclusive, open, and reproducible science practices in research posters at the 2021 SRCD biennial meeting

Over the past decade, there has been a growing appreciation of metascience issues in psychological science. Using data collected from 2615 posters presented at the 2021 biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, this article examines the use of transparent research practices to increase rigor and reproducibility as well as generalizability through greater inclusivity of diverse samples. Research presented through poster presentations was heavily skewed toward quantitative studies featuring American researchers using Western hemisphere samples. Sharing of data/materials, preregistrations, and replications were uncommon. During a time when governments are increasingly requiring more open practices and access, this research provides an important baseline by which developmental science can benchmark progress toward the goals of greater inclusivity and openness.

The Relationship Between Hostile Intent Attribution and Aggression in Japanese Children

Previous studies showed that hostile intent attribution (HIA) was significantly correlated with and contributed to the development of aggression in children. Studies that directly examined the factors that explained the relationship between HIA and aggression are lacking. Hence, this study investigated (a) the correlation between HIA and aggression and (b) the variables (hyperactivity, prosociality, and collaborative problem-solving) that mediated the relationship between HIA and aggression in Japanese children aged 4-9 years. The participants were 180 children and their caregivers. First, the caregivers reported their children's aggression, hyperactivity, prosociality, and collaborative problem-solving through questionnaires. Next, the children worked on an HIA task. The results showed a weak positive correlation between HIA and aggression. Furthermore, significant indirect effects were observed among all the mediation models. The model that contained all three mediators yielded the smallest Akaike Information Criterion value. In this model, the indirect effect was significant only for the path with hyperactivity as the mediator. These findings provide several suggestions for revealing the mechanism of the relationship between HIA and aggression during childhood. Notably, children's hyperactivity was suggested to play a particularly important role in the relationship between HIA and aggression.

Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to study the early developing brain: future directions and new challenges

Significance

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a frequently used neuroimaging tool to explore the developing brain, particularly in infancy, with studies spanning from birth to toddlerhood (0 to 2 years). We provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities that the developmental fNIRS field faces, after almost 25 years of research.

Aim

We discuss the most recent advances in fNIRS brain imaging with infants and outlines the trends and perspectives that will likely influence progress in the field in the near future.

Approach

We discuss recent progress and future challenges in various areas and applications of developmental fNIRS from methodological and technological innovations to data processing and statistical approaches.

Results and Conclusions

The major trends identified include uses of fNIRS "in the wild," such as global health contexts, home and community testing, and hyperscanning; advances in hardware, such as wearable technology; assessment of individual variation and developmental trajectories particularly while embedded in studies examining other environmental, health, and context specific factors and longitudinal designs; statistical advances including resting-state network and connectivity, machine learning and reproducibility, and collaborative studies. Standardization and larger studies have been, and will likely continue to be, a major goal in the field, and new data analysis techniques, statistical methods, and collaborative cross-site projects are emerging.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on Editorial Boards of Global Health Journals

Journals have been described as “duty bearers” of upholding fundamental ethical principles that are essential for maintaining the ethical integrity of newly generated and disseminated knowledge. To play our part, we evaluated diversity and inclusion in the leadership and management of global and international health journals. We developed Journal Diversity Index (JDI) to measure three parameters of diversity and representation (gender, geographic, socioeconomic status). Relevant information regarding editorial board members of systematically screened journals was sequentially extracted and job titles were categorized into five editorial roles. Chi-squared test was utilized to study associations between gender and geographic distribution of editors along with the Medline indexing of the journal and its impact factor. Out of 43 journals included, 62.7% were published from two high-income countries. Women comprised 44% of the total editors. Among all the editorial board members, we did not find any information suggesting the representation of non-binary and transgender individuals. Furthermore, 68.2% of editors were based in high-income countries with 67.3% of the editors belonging to the Global North. This disparity in geographic region and socioeconomic level was observed across all five editorial roles. Among all women editors, more than 70% worked in non-Medline and non-impact factor journals. Only two journals scored “excellent” on JDI. Despite the continuous evolution of the definition of global health ethics, marginalized individuals, and their perspectives remain underrepresented in this field. Thus, we call for swift action regarding the decentralization and redistribution of global and international health journal editorial boards.

Evaluating the Distinction between Cool and Hot Executive Function during Childhood

This article assesses the cool-hot executive function (EF) framework during childhood. First, conceptual analyses suggest that cool EF (cEF) is generally distinguished from hot EF (hEF). Second, both EFs can be loaded into different factors using confirmatory factor analyses. Third, the cognitive complexity of EF is similar across cEF tasks, and the cognitive complexity of cEF is similar to hEF tasks. Finally, neuroimaging analysis suggests that children activate the lateral prefrontal regions during all EF tasks. Taken together, we propose that the cool-hot framework is a useful, though not definitive way of characterizing differences in EF.

Toward a Decolonial Parenting Science Through Centering Majority World Parenting: A Commentary on “Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries”

In “Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries,” Lin et al. examine reports of parents from 37 countries regarding the qualities they consider in an ideal parent and then use a method called Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis to identify broad culture zones across the 37 countries based on shared notions of an ideal parent. I appreciate this substantial effort to explore parenting beyond Euro-American samples, upon which a bulk of parenting science literature is based. I also concur with a data-driven exploratory approach and examination of ideal-parent beliefs across parents with differing educational levels. However, I argue that to advance parenting science, we need more than inclusion of samples from the Majority World (i.e., regions where the majority of the world’s population resides). Future parenting research should be grounded in (a) decolonial epistemology that involves generating localized knowledge by exploring parenting in various communities in the Majority World that are formed through intersecting influences of neighborhood composition, religion, region, social class, urban, rural, and suburban residence, along with other locally relevant social dimensions, (b) decolonial research methodology that values different ways of generating knowledge and includes local communities as partners in the knowledge generation process, and (c) understanding and interpreting parenting in Majority World communities from a cultural resource rather than a deficit framework.

Gender operationalisation and stress measurement in research with adolescent males: a scoping review

Aim

Stress measurement in adolescent males is in its relative infancy, which is likely to influence the effectiveness of mental health services for this heterogeneous population. Although evidence suggests the prevalence of mental health difficulties increases during adolescence, the relationship between gender and stress measurement is less explored or understood. This review summarizes findings on gender operationalisation and stress measurement in research with adolescent males.

Methods

For this scoping review, six electronic databases across social and life sciences were searched using terms linked to adolescence, male, stress and research design. Articles were screened, data were extracted, and a narrative synthesis used to characterise studies by research design, adaptation of method for participants’ cultural context, operationalisation of gender, and measurement of stress.

Results

Searches identified 3259 citations, 95 met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Findings suggest that research on psychological stress in adolescence is a developing field, but one that is currently dominated by Western studies. Furthermore, the results indicate that stress measurement research with adolescent males tends not to make adaptations relative to participants' gender, age, or context.

Conclusions

Stress research with adolescent males is lacking in scope. This review highlights the need for researchers to consider stress responses as more than a biological response, as it has been conceptualised historically. Recommendations for researchers to report research design and protocol more clearly are made to support readers to understand how stress and gender have been operationalised and measured and how this may influence research methodology. Future research should avoid conflating biological differences with gendered experience and demonstrate greater sensitivity to how gender identity may intersect with age and location to perpetuate gendered inequalities.

Visual image of God/gods during early childhood

This study examined whether Japanese children have a different visual image of God/gods than children from Western countries, who have an image of an old White man. Study 1 comprised 183, 4-7-year-old Japanese children (93 girls), who had to choose a face that looked like God/gods from among pictures of faces that differed on age (e.g., young Asian man vs. old Asian man), race (e.g., White woman vs. Black woman vs. Asian woman), or gender (e.g., Asian man vs. Asian woman). Children's responses were relatively biased toward old or White faces, but only boys were weakly biased toward male faces. Study 2 confirmed that children did not have a strong gender bias. Japanese children conceptualise God/gods as old or White.