Is there evidence for sensitive periods in emotional development?

Revisiting adolescence as a sensitive period for sociocultural processing

Waves of research and public discourse have characterized adolescence as periods of developmental risk and opportunity. Underlying this discussion is the recognition that adolescence is a period of major biological and social transition when experience may have an outsized effect on development. This article updates and expands upon prior work suggesting that adolescence may be a sensitive period for sociocultural processing specifically. By integrating evidence from developmental psychology and neuroscience, we identify how trajectories of social and neurobiological development may relate to adolescents' ability to adapt to and learn from their social environments. However, we also highlight gaps in the literature, including challenges in attributing developmental change to adolescent experiences. We discuss the importance of better understanding variability in biology (e.g., pubertal development) and cultural environments, as well as distinguishing between sensitive periods and periods of heightened sensitivity. Finally, we look toward future directions and translational implications of this research.

Screen time, brain network development and socio-emotional competence in childhood: moderation of associations by parent-child reading

BACKGROUND

Screen time in infancy is linked to changes in social-emotional development but the pathway underlying this association remains unknown. We aim to provide mechanistic insights into this association using brain network topology and to examine the potential role of parent-child reading in mitigating the effects of screen time.

METHODS

We examined the association of screen time on brain network topology using linear regression analysis and tested if the network topology mediated the association between screen time and later socio-emotional competence. Lastly, we tested if parent-child reading time was a moderator of the link between screen time and brain network topology.

RESULTS

Infant screen time was significantly associated with the emotion processing-cognitive control network integration (p = 0.005). This network integration also significantly mediated the association between screen time and both measures of socio-emotional competence (BRIEF-2 Emotion Regulation Index, p = 0.04; SEARS total score, p = 0.04). Parent-child reading time significantly moderated the association between screen time and emotion processing-cognitive control network integration (β = -0.640, p = 0.005).

CONCLUSION

Our study identified emotion processing-cognitive control network integration as a plausible biological pathway linking screen time in infancy and later socio-emotional competence. We also provided novel evidence for the role of parent-child reading in moderating the association between screen time and topological brain restructuring in early childhood.

Towards a more comprehensive understanding of PTSD and parenting

BACKGROUND

The impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on parenting and the parent-child relationship has been well-documented in the scientific literature. However, some conceptual and methodological challenges within this research field remain.

PROCEDURE

We reflect on a number of challenges that we identified while examining the literature in preparation of an individual participant data meta-analysis on the relationships between PTSD and parenting.

FINDINGS

We address 1) the presence of 'trauma-islands'; 2) the need for transdiagnostic theoretical frameworks for mechanisms between PTSD and parenting; 3) the lack of developmental perspectives; 4) the overuse of self-reported retrospective measures; 5) the need to study more diverse samples and cultural contexts; and 6) the lack of research on resilience and post-traumatic growth in parenting. Based on these reflections, we offer suggestions on strategies for responding to these challenges through: 1) welcoming open science; 2) working towards shared theoretical frameworks; 3) doing more longitudinal research 4) expanding the methodological palette; 5) centering lived experience; and 6) taking systemic inequality into account.

CONCLUSION

With this commentary, we aim to open a discussion on next steps towards a more comprehensive understanding of the association between PTSD and parenting, and inspire collaborative research.

Does Timing Matter? Associations Between Intimate Partner Violence Across the Early Life Course and Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior in Children

The association between exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and child behavior problems is well established. However, questions remain about whether the timing during the child's early life course matters. We used a structured life course approach to investigate associations between the timing of IPV and children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Participants were from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), a national, randomly sampled community-based study that has surveyed women every 3 years since 1996. For this study, mothers born 1973 to 1978 (N = 2,163) provided data on their three youngest children under 13 years (N = 3,697, 48.5% female) as part of the Mothers and their Children's Health (MatCH) study in 2016/2017. Mothers indicated IPV in ALSWH using the Community Composite Abuse Scale in early (M = 0.99 years, SD = 0.88 years) and middle childhood (M = 3.98 years, SD = 0.92 years), and before birth (preconception). Mothers rated child internalizing and externalizing behavior in MatCH (child age: M = 8.15 years, SD = 2.37 years) using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We tested critical period, sensitive period, and accumulation hypotheses by comparing the fit of nested linear regression models (separately for girls and boys). Mothers were predominantly Caucasian (>90%) and university educated (65.5%), and 41.7% reported financial stress. Most children were not exposed to IPV (68.1%). Of those who were, 55.2% were exposed at one time, 28.7% at two times, and 16.1% at all three. Accumulation was the best model for externalizing in boys and girls and for internalizing in girls. A critical period in middle childhood was identified for internalizing in boys. Overall, the duration of exposure was more important than the timing. This suggests early detection is essential in mitigating the impact of IPV on children, with particular attention needed for boys exposed to IPV in middle childhood.

Patterns of life stress and the development of ruminative brooding in adolescence: A person-centered approach

Research links life stressors, including acute, chronic, and early life stress, to the development of ruminative brooding. However, singular forms of life stress rarely occur in isolation, as adolescents typically encounter stressors that vary on important dimensions (e.g., types, timings, quantities) across development. The current study employs latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify natural clusters of life stress that, over time, may be differently associated with ruminative brooding. Evaluations of episodic, chronic, and early life stress were conducted with community-recruited mid-adolescents (N = 241, Mage = 15.90 years, 53% female) and their parents using the UCLA Life Stress Interview and lifetime adversity portions of the Youth Life Stress Interview. Analyses identified four distinct patterns: low stress, high peer stress, moderate home / family stress, and multifaceted / high school stress. Adolescents in the high peer stress and moderate home / family stress profiles were at highest risk for developing a brooding style over time. Despite high overall levels of stress, teens in the multifaceted / high school stress profile were at not at elevated risk for developing a brooding style. Findings demonstrate the utility of person-centered approaches to identify patterns of stress exposure that heighten risk for brooding over time.

Autism in Preschool-Aged Children: The Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown

The COVID-19 lockdown affected children, especially those with autism spectrum disorder, due to the disruption in rehabilitation and educational activities. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 315 preschool-aged children, 35 of which had autism, to investigate this impact. A questionnaire was administered to explore socio-demographic status, familiar/home environment, and COVID-19 exposure. The clinical features of autistic subjects were also examined. Seven variables were considered to describe the effect of pandemic: Remote learning, Behavior changes, Home activities, Sleep habits, Night awakenings, Physical activity, Information about the virus. The lockdown had a significant impact on Remote learning, Behavior changes, and Information about the virus in participants with autism. Moreover, we found a worsening in repetitive movements, echolalia, restricted interests, and aggressive behaviors.

Physiological reactivity to fear moderates the relation between parenting distress with conduct and prosocial behaviors

This study investigated whether the associations between parental distress with conduct problems (CPs) and prosocial behaviors (PBs) are moderated by children's skin conductance (SC) and heart rate (HR) reactivity to fear. Participants were 147 Greek-Cypriot children (M_age  = 7.30, 44.2% girls), selected from a larger screening sample (data were collected from 2015 to 2018). Longitudinal associations suggested that children with high HR reactivity to fear were more likely to display PB, whereas those with low SC reactivity were more likely to engage in CP behaviors. In contrast, interaction effects suggested that children high on SC reactivity to fear were more susceptible to the effects of parental distress, as indicated by their higher vulnerability to engage in CP (cross-sectionally) behaviors and their lower scores on PB (cross-sectionally and longitudinally).

Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity

PURPOSE

Evidence suggests that difficulties identifying and describing one's feelings, core components of alexithymia, are associated with attitudinal and behavioral symptoms of disordered eating; depressive symptoms also may underlie these associations. Specifically, research indicates that alexithymia is positively related to depressive symptoms, which in turn may promote both disordered-eating attitudes and certain disinhibited-eating behaviors (e.g., emotional eating). Findings also suggest that military-dependent youth with high weight may exhibit elevated depressive symptoms and disordered eating. As such, understanding associations among alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating is particularly relevant for this vulnerable population.

METHODS

We examined 149 adolescent military dependents (14.4 ± 1.6y; 55.0% female; 20.0% non-Hispanic Black; BMIz: 1.9 ± 0.4) at high risk for binge-eating disorder and obesity in adulthood. Participants completed questionnaires assessing two components of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings [DIF] and difficulty describing feelings [DDF]), depressive symptoms, emotional eating, and trait anxiety; disordered-eating attitudes were assessed via semi-structured interview.

RESULTS

A series of regression-based models examined indirect relationships of DIF and DDF with disordered-eating attitudes and emotional eating through depressive symptoms. Bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant indirect path from each of the alexithymia components to disordered-eating attitudes via depressive symptoms; indirect paths to emotional eating were non-significant.

CONCLUSION

Results support the salience of depressive symptoms in the relationship between alexithymia and disordered-eating attitudes. Future research should utilize prospective designs and explore direct and indirect associations of alexithymia with other disordered-eating behaviors.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, evidence obtained from a well-designed cohort study.

Effects of Tai Chi and Walking Exercise on Emotional Face Recognition in Elderly People: An ERP Study

Both tai chi and walking can improve the physical health of the elderly, but the effect on the emotional cognitive function of the elderly is unclear. To investigate the effect of long-term walking and tai chi exercise on the emotional cognitive function of the elderly, 63 subjects were recruited in this study according to age and exercise habits, including 16 in the youth control group, 15 in the elderly non-exercise control group, 17 in the elderly walking group, and 18 in the elderly tai chi group. The “learning–test paradigm” of emotional faces was used to measure the subjects’ ability to recognize and remember emotional (negative and neutral) faces. Behavioral and EEG data were recorded during the learning and testing phases. The results showed that there is aging in emotional cognition in older adults compared with younger adults. Long-term walking and tai chi exercise can delay the deterioration of emotional cognitive function in older adults to some extent. Both walking and tai chi exercise can delay the decline in aging-related emotional face recognition function to some extent. Walking exercise can delay the decline in aging-related emotional face memory function to some extent.

Social emotional ability development (SEAD): An integrated model of practical emotion-based competencies

Social emotional abilities (i.e., specific skills), defined as the set of cognitive abilities, emotion-based knowledge, and behavioral competencies (i.e., skill levels) that facilitate adaptively employing prosocial processes and behaviors (i.e., "actions"), such as emotional regulation and sympathetic and empathetic response behaviors, is contemporarily modeled and measured as emotional intelligence. This conceptualization can be problematic, however, as the two concepts are not the same and traditional methods of measuring emotional intelligence can have limited practical utility. The social emotional ability development (SEAD) theoretical model introduced in this treatise represents a pragmatic and simplified approach to the development of social emotional ability and competency as abstracted from constructs of emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and sociocultural learning theory. Further, the SEAD model reaches beyond the individual as the unit of analysis to explore, conceptualize, differentiate, investigate, and define the hierarchal, bi-directional, and contextual nature of the dimensions of social emotional ability within close relationships. Implications for how the SEAD model can be used by researchers, practitioners, educators, individuals, families, and couples across a broad spectrum of domains and interventions are discussed.

Is Adolescence a Sensitive Period for the Development of Incentive-Reward Motivation?

Human adolescence is broadly construed as a time of heightened risk-taking and a vulnerability period for the emergence of psychopathology. These tendencies have been attributed to the age-related development of neural systems that mediate incentive motivation and other aspects of reward processing as well as individual difference factors that interact with ongoing development. Here, we describe the adolescent development of incentive motivation, which we view as an inherently positive developmental progression, and its associated neural mechanisms. We consider challenges in applying the sensitive period concept to these maturational events and discuss future directions that may help to clarify mechanisms of change.

Social processes and social environment during development

Social behavior involves many processes including cognitive functions. Altered social behaviors associated with many psychiatric disorders might have alterations in the processes. Poor social environment affects development and maturation of cognitive functions that are important for social cognition, possibly introducing social stress as well as vulnerability to the stress into the developing brain. Adolescence and early adulthood have higher sensitivity to social stress, which may be linked to the onset of psychiatric disorders during this time period. Understanding social behavioral processes in detail will be crucial for elucidating mechanisms of emerging the social behavior phenotypes in psychiatric disorders and for devising therapeutic and preventive interventions to introduce the resilience for the onset of psychiatric disorders through modulation of social circuitries.

Climate Change and Children’s Mental Health: A Developmental Perspective

Climate change is a major global public-health challenge that will have wide-ranging impacts on human psychological health and well-being. Children and adolescents are at particular risk because of their rapidly developing brain, vulnerability to disease, and limited capacity to avoid or adapt to threats and impacts. They are also more likely to worry about climate change than any other age group. Drawing on a developmental life-course perspective, we show that climate-change-related threats can additively, interactively, and cumulatively increase psychopathology risk from conception onward; that these effects are already occurring; and that they constitute an important threat to healthy human development worldwide. We then argue that monitoring, measuring, and mitigating these risks is a matter of social justice and a crucial long-term investment in developmental and mental health sciences. We conclude with a discussion of conceptual and measurement challenges and outline research priorities going forward.

The impact of COVID-19 on the learning and achievement of vulnerable Canadian children and youth

Many children and youth in Canada are identified as vulnerable due to educational, environmental, and social factors. They are more likely to be negatively affected by events that cause significant upheaval in daily life. The changes imposed by COVID-19, such as physical distancing, school closures, and reductions in community-based services all have the potential to weaken the systems of support necessary for these children to learn and develop. Existing inequities in educational outcomes experienced by vulnerable children prior to the pandemic have been greatly exacerbated as cracks in our support structures are revealed. Many children and youth have experienced disengagement, chronic attendance problems, declines in academic achievement, and decreased credit attainment during the pandemic, with the impact far deeper for those already at-risk. This chapter examines what is known to date regarding the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable children and youth and provides recommendations to guide postpandemic planning. Vulnerable children, youth, and their families require access to reliable high-speed internet, effective and inclusive learning spaces, and a range of coordinated social services. All stakeholders need to develop and fund initiatives that address these critical areas to ensure that educational opportunities for all children and youth can be realized.

Rethinking Concepts and Categories for Understanding the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Childhood Adversity

Discovering the processes through which early adverse experiences affect children's nervous-system development, health, and behavior is critically important for developing effective interventions. However, advances in our understanding of these processes have been constrained by conceptualizations that rely on categories of adversity that are overlapping, have vague boundaries, and lack consistent biological evidence. Here, we discuss central problems in understanding the link between early-life adversity and children's brain development. We conclude by suggesting alternative formulations that hold promise for advancing knowledge about the neurobiological mechanisms through which adversity affects human development.

The Development of Emotion Reasoning in Infancy and Early Childhood

Historically, research characterizing the development of emotion recognition has focused on identifying specific skills and the age periods, or milestones, at which these abilities emerge. However, advances in emotion research raise questions about whether this conceptualization accurately reflects how children learn about, understand, and respond to others’ emotions in everyday life. In this review, we propose a developmental framework for the emergence of emotion reasoning—that is, how children develop the ability to make reasonably accurate inferences and predictions about the emotion states of other people. We describe how this framework holds promise for building upon extant research. Our review suggests that use of the term emotion recognition can be misleading and imprecise, with the developmental processes of interest better characterized by the term emotion reasoning. We also highlight how the age at which children succeed on many tasks reflects myriad developmental processes. This new framing of emotional development can open new lines of inquiry about how humans learn to navigate their social worlds.

Sensitive periods in executive function development

Executive functions (EFs) are cognitive processes that support flexible goal pursuit. Healthy development of EFs during childhood is critical for later life outcomes including health, wealth and educational attainment. As such it is crucial to understand how EFs can be supported and protected against insult. Here we examine whether there are sensitive periods in the development of EFs, by drawing on deprivation and enrichment studies in humans. While there is suggestive evidence that pre-6 months of age constitutes a sensitive period for EF development, given the higher-order nature of EF, we argue for the possibility of multiple sensitive periods of constituent processes. We identify relevant future questions and outline a research agenda to systematically test for sensitive period in EF development.