<p> Positive psychology provides the theoretical framework for this replication and extension study of Holder, Coleman, and Wallace (2010). Their results indicated that spirituality (especially the domains of communal and personal) predicted students' (<i>N</i> = 307) happiness (across three dependent measures), even after controlling for temperament (Faces Scale (communal, <i>r</i> = .45, personal, <i>r</i> = .44; <i> p</i> &lt; .05), Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Form (communal, <i> r</i> = .44, personal, <i>r</i> = .48; <i>p</i> &lt; .05), and the Subjective Happiness Scale (communal, <i>r</i> = .34, personal, <i>r</i> = .38; <i>p</i> &lt; .05). The present study used archival data drawn from students in grades 4 through 6 (approximately 8 to 12 years old) attending private (faith-based) schools in Western Washington. Similar to the Holder et al. results, this study revealed positive correlations between spirituality and happiness, even after controlling for gender, grade level, and temperament. Extending the work of Holder et al., participant grade level was included in the regression model in order to account for developmental differences among children, but grade level did not contribute significantly to the overall prediction of students' happiness levels. Gender was also of little predicative value. Implications for theory, research, and practice are included.</p>

<p> The goal of this study was to examine influence of peers on the popularity goal of early adolescents. Research has demonstrated that there is increased preoccupation with popularity status during early adolescence, but there is little research on what influences youths' actual goal for popularity status (Adler &amp; Adler, 1998). To address this gap in the literature, this research investigated two types of peer influences on adolescents' popularity goal over time: peer group norms and perceived peer norms. Youth are assumed to be influenced by the norms set by their peer groups and by their perceptions of the peer norms for popularity. However, individuals are also assumed to be differentially open to such influence. Therefore, I considered potential moderators for both types of peer influence. Two moderators were explored for the influence of peer group norm on early adolescents' popularity goal over time: the group's popularity status and an individual's own status within the group. For the influence of perceived peer norms on early adolescents' popularity goal over time, I considered an interaction with the peer group's norm for popularity goal. </p><p> Given the nested nature of the data, with adolescents within peer groups, this study employed Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analyses to model the effects of peer groups on individuals over time. A total of 232 adolescents in 57 peer groups were included in the study. A series of models were analyzed to test for the influence of peer group norms on adolescents' popularity goal over time. First, the main effect of peer group norm on adolescents' popularity goal was tested. Results demonstrate that the higher the peer group norm, the higher adolescents' popularity goal at Time 2, after controlling for their popularity goal at Time 1. Second, the two-way interaction between peer group norm and groups' popularity status on adolescents' popularity goal was tested. Results indicate that the association between peer group norms and adolescents' popularity goal was significantly moderated by the popularity status of the group. A higher peer group norm was associated with higher popularity goal over time when adolescents were in low popular groups. The association between peer group norm and popularity goal remained relatively stable for those adolescents in high popular groups. Third, I tested the three-way interaction between peer group norms, groups' popularity status, and individual members' status within the group on adolescents' popularity goal over time. Results indicate that the strength of the association between group norm and adolescents' popularity goal was stronger for low status individuals than high status individuals in high popular groups. For those high status individuals, a negative association was found. There was also a positive association between group norm and popularity goal for both low and high status individuals in low popular group with overall higher levels of popularity goal (Time 2) for the low status individuals than for the high status ones in these groups. </p><p> This study also analyzed models to test for the influence of perceived peer group norms for popularity on adolescents' popularity goal over time. Results indicate there is a positive association between perceived peer norms for popularity and adolescents' popularity goal over time, even after controlling for the influence of peer group norms. There was no significant interaction of perceived peer norms and peer group norms on the adolescents' popularity goal over time. Together, results provide evidence that youths' popularity goal may be influenced by the norms established in their peer group, their groups' popularity status as indicated by the nuclear members' popularity levels, their own status within the group, and their perception of peer norms in the networks. Results suggest that both individual and peer group factors contribute to youths' openness to peer influence and that such factors should be considered when investigating how peers may influence youths' social goals. </p>

<p> Searching is the term used to describe the phenomenon wherein an adoptee attempts to find their family of origin. Search rates vary by study, but not all adopted people consider searching. Previous research has explored personal attributes, descriptive characteristics, and some familial contextual factors that may contribute to the desire to search. However, the literature on searching is limited, dated, and has not focused on international or adolescent adoptees. The current study provides a newer understanding of the family context and its relation to searching among internationally adopted adolescents through secondary data analysis and a Systems framework. Results indicated that no relation exists between family ecology variables and the adoptee's desire to search. This aligns with more current research that suggests searching is a normative process of identity development and does not reflect pathological functioning of the adoptee or adoptive family. Limitations and considerations for future research are discussed.</p>

The purpose of the present research program was to investigate IA children's language abilities during school age in order to see whether the difficulties reported in this population at younger ages persist (e.g., Gauthier & Genesee, 2011) or if they decrease with more exposure to the adopted language. Another goal was to investigate if IA children have verbal memory difficulties in addition to their language lags. Note that these studies all compared IA children to non-adopted monolingual French-speaking children matched on age, gender, and socio-economic status.Study 1 evaluated the language abilities of IA children from China adopted into French-speaking families as well as their non-verbal cognitive abilities, their socio-emotional development, and their health status. The children were between 7-8 years of age at the time of testing. The IA children's age at the time of adoption ranged between 6-21 months. The results showed that the IA children performed significantly lower than the control children on expressive vocabulary, knowledge of word definitions, receptive grammar, and sentence recall.Study 2 was conducted to investigate IA children's mastery of object clitics during school age. The goal of this study was to determine whether, with sufficient amount of language exposure, IA children are able to master this aspect of French. The IA children were assessed using a Clitic Elicitation task. The participants in Study 2 were the same as those in Study 1. The results indicated that the IA children omitted significantly more accusative object clitics and made significantly more agreement errors in gender and/or numberusing clitics than the non-adopted children.Study 3 was undertaken in order to examine IA children's memory abilities. Children's verbal short-term memory (STM), verbal working memory (WM), verbal long-term memory (LTM), non-verbal STM, non-verbal WM, non-verbal cognitive development, socio-emotional development, and language abilities were assessed. The children were between 9-12 years of age at the time of testing and the IA children's age at the time of adoption ranged between 6 and 24 months of age. The results of this study showed that, although the groups did not differ on measures of non-verbal cognitive ability and socio-emotional development, the IA children performed significantly lower than the controls on expressive and receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, a word association test, and on measures of verbal STM, verbal WM, and verbal LTM. The groups did not differ on non-verbal memory ability, suggesting language-specific memory difficulties. Regression analyses suggested that the IA children's language abilities were best predicted by their verbal memory abilities, verbal STM in particular, while the CTL children's performance on language measures was best predicted by their length of exposure to French. Overall, the findings suggest that, while IA children exhibit normal general development, their verbal memory abilities and aspects of their language abilities are below those of control children matched on age, gender, and SES. These difficulties suggest very early age of acquisition effects on language and verbal memory abilities, but also that the IA children's verbal memory lags might account for their lags in language, at least proximally. / L'objectif du présent programme de recherche était d'évaluer, à l'âge scolaire, les habiletés langagières d'enfants adoptés internationalement (AI) afin de déterminer si les difficultés rapportées chez des enfants AI d'âge préscolaire persistent (e.g., Gauthier & Genesee, 2011) ou si elles diminuent avec plus d'exposition à la langue d'adoption. Un autre objectif était de déterminer si les enfants AI ont des difficultés de mémoire verbale en plus de leurs retards de langage. Notez que ces études ont toutes comparées les enfants AI à des enfants non-adoptés, monolingues francophones et appariés sur l'âge, le sexe et le statut socioéconomique. L'étude 1 a évalué les habiletés langagières d'enfants AI de Chine par des familles francophones, ainsi que leurs habiletés cognitives non-verbales, leur développement socio-émotionnel et leur santé. Les enfants étaient âgés de 7-8 ans au moment de l'étude. Les enfants AI étaient âgés de 6-21 mois lors de leur adoption. Les résultats ont démontré que la performance des enfants AI aux tests de vocabulaire expressif, de définition de mots, de grammaire réceptive et de répétition de phrases sont significativement plus faibles que celle des contrôles. L'étude 2 a été réalisée dans le but d'évaluer la maitrise des clitiques objets par les enfants AI d'âge scolaire. Le but de cette étude était de déterminer si, avec une exposition suffisante à leur langue d'adoption, les enfants AI sont capables de maitriser cet aspect du français. Les enfants AI ont été évalués à l'aide d'un test d'élicitation de clitiques. Les participants de l'étude 2 étaient les mêmes que ceux de l'étude 1. Les résultats ont indiqués que les enfants AI omettent significativement plus de clitiques objets et produisent significativement plus de clitiques objets contenant des erreurs en genre et/ou nombre que les enfants non-adoptés. L'étude 3 a été entreprise dans le but d'examiner la mémoire chez les enfants AI. La mémoire verbale à court-terme, la mémoire verbale de travail, la mémoire verbale à long-terme, la mémoire non-verbale à court-terme, la mémoire de travail non-verbale,le développement cognitif non-verbal, le développement socio-émotionnel et les habiletés langagières des enfants ont été évalués. Les enfants étaient âges de 9-12 ans au moment de l'étude. Les enfants AI étaient âgés de 6-24 mois au moment de leur adoption. Les résultats de cette étude ont démontré que, malgré le fait que la performance des groupes aux tests de développement cognitif non-verbal et de développement socio-émotionnel soit similaire, les enfants AI performent significativement plus faiblement que les enfants contrôles aux test de vocabulaire expressif et réceptif, de grammaire réceptive, d'association de mots ainsi qu'aux tests de mémoire verbale à court-terme, de mémoire verbale de travail et de mémoire verbale à long-terme. Les groupes ont toutefois performé de façon similaire aux tests de mémoire non-verbale à court-terme et de mémoire de travail non-verbale, suggérant des difficultés spécifiques au langage. Des analyses de régressions ont démontré que les habiletés langagières des enfants AI sont mieux prédites par leur mémoire verbale, la mémoire verbale à court-terme en particulier, alors que, pour les contrôles, le meilleur prédicteur de leur performance aux tests de langage est la durée de leur exposition au français. De façon générale, les résultats suggèrent que, bien que le développement général des enfants AI est normal, leur mémoire verbale et certains aspects de leurs habiletés langagières sont en-deçà de celles des enfants contrôles appariés pour l'âge, le sexe et le statut-socioéconomique. Ces difficultés suggèrent des effets très précoces de « l'âge d'acquisition » sur le langage et sur la mémoire verbale, mais également que les délais de mémoire verbale des enfants AI pourraient expliquer leurs retards de langage, au moins de façon proximale.

A new inhibition measure based on the Ainsworth Strange Situation correlated with validated measures of temperament, specifically fear, approach, shyness and sociability, and did not correlate with attachment classification. Inter-observer reliabilities were high for this new measure, and we were able to code children on a continuous measure of inhibition-noninhibition. Difference in cortisol levels did not differ between the children who scored at opposite extremes of the inhibited-noninhibited score. On the other hand, specific differences between inhibited and non-inhibited children were observed in heart rate patterns. The measure moderately predicted increased internalizing behaviour in inhibited children, however, in combination with maternal depression, had much stronger predictive power. In summary, our inhibition measure appears to be an efficient means of assessing inhibition that predicts risk factors of childhood behavioural problems.

To date, the differential development of the subcomponents of attention and executive function in preschool ages is not yet fully understood. Although there exists a large-body of research investigating the maturation of attention and executive function throughout the school-ages, little is known about the emergence of such skills among preschool-aged children. The importance of delineating age-related changes of attentional proficiencies and deficiencies rests largely in their utility for understanding atypical developmental trajectories; specifically in neurodevelopmental disorders that are characterized by attentional difficulties. Using adapted computerized paradigms, the present study examined age- related changes in visual and auditory sustained attention, inhibition and working memory in seventy typically-developing children aged 3 to 6 years. The results indicated that similar age-related gains in performance emerged across all three cognitive tasks and both visual and auditory modalities, which suggest that the adapted-measures used are sensitive enough to capture developmentally-associated variations in performance. / Présentement, le développement différencié des sous-composantes de l'attention et des fonctions exécutives durant les âges préscolaires n'est pas entièrement compris. Bien qu'il existe un grand corps de recherche portant sur la maturation de l'attention et les fonctions exécutives dans les enfants d'âge scolaire, il reste encore beaucoup à apprendre concernant l'émergence de ces compétences chez les enfants d'âges préscolaires. Il est nécessaire de délimiter les compétences et les carences attentionnelles dans le développement typique pour qu'on puisse utiliser ces informations pour mieux comprendre et définir les trajectoires des habilités attentionnelles dans le développement atypique; précisément, dans les troubles du développement neurologique qui se caractérisent par des difficultés attentionnelles. En utilisant des paradigmes informatiques adaptés, la présente étude a examiné le développement de l'attention soutenue, l'inhibition et la mémoire de travail visuelle et auditive chez soixante-dix enfants au développement typique âgés de 3 à 6 ans. Les résultats montrent que des améliorations de performance liées à l'âge ont émergé à travers les trois tâches cognitives et les modalités visuelle et auditive, suggérant que les paradigmes adaptés utilisés sont suffisamment sensibles pour capturer des variations de performance associées aux changements développementaux.

AbstractThe current study is an investigation of attentional blink (AB) in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Attentional Blink refers to the brief lapse in visual processing when the eye rapidly moves from one location to another. The aim of the study was to determine whether individuals with ASD experience a more pronounced or longer AB than comparisons. Eleven children and adolescents with ASD and 11 typically developing children were matched on verbal and non-verbal mental age (MA) and presented with a dual-stream rapid serial visual presentation containing images of animals (targets) and objects (distractors), and instructed to identify the animals. No significant group differences were found in accuracy rates, indicating that temporal dynamics of attention might be intact in ASD. However, differences were found in accuracy rates when the participants were divided by MA, regardless of diagnosis, indicating a developmental trajectory of AB, for individuals with and without ASD. / RésuméCette étude porte sur le phénomène « d'attentional blink » (AB) chez les enfants et les adolescents atteints de troubles envahissants du développement (TED). L'« attentional blink » correspond au bref laps de temps pendant lequel le traitement visuel est défaillant lorsque le regard se déplace rapidement d'un endroit à l'autre. L'objectif de cette étude est de déterminer si les individus atteints de TED présentent un AB plus prononcé ou plus long que les individus témoins. Onze enfants et adolescents atteints de TED et 11 enfants au développement typique étaient appariés selon leur âge mental (AM) verbal et non verbal et devaient visionner une série de présentations doubles visuelles rapides contenant des images d'animaux (cibles) et des objets (distracteurs), et parmi lesquelles ils devaient identifier les animaux. Aucune différence significant entre les groupes n'est trouvée au niveau de l'exactitude des réponses, indiquant que la dynamique temporelle de l'attention pourrait être intacte dans les TED. Cependant, des différences sont trouvées au niveau de l'exactitude des réponses lorsque les participants sont regroupés en fonction de l'AM, indépendamment du diagnostic, indiquant ainsi une trajectoire développementale de l'AB, chez les individus présentant ou non un TED.

Evidence from developmental sciences points to the role of psychological and cognitive factors in youth crime. Deficits in decision-making are hallmarks of adolescence suggesting that young individuals are less blameworthy than adults. Politicians in both the United States and Canada, however, are currently seeking to enact legislation stressing a more punitive approach to juvenile crime. Such harsh measures, moreover, may hinder the psychological health of adolescents and have been argued to be largely ineffective in reducing criminal recidivism. The present thesis comprises two manuscripts. One presents a conceptual framework in which we explore the blameworthiness and rehabilitation of youth. The second manuscript consists of results from a pilot survey in which we have assessed opinions of legal and clinical experts regarding the influence of developmental factors on legal desiderata concerning juvenile delinquents. Our findings suggest that while the legal community is moderately sensitive to developmental issues associated with youth culpability, the gap between developmental science and the legal system persists. We suggest that a closer interaction between clinical and legal experts is crucial to create an evidence-based developmental law. / Des preuves issues des sciences du développement révèlent l'influence des facteurs psychologiques et cognitifs sur la criminalité juvénile. Des déficits de prise de décision jalonnent l'adolescence, ce qui suggère que les jeunes individus sont moins coupables que les adultes. Cependant, les hommes politiques tant aux États-Unis qu'au Canada sont en train de chercher à mettre en vigueur des législations insistant sur une approche punitive envers les crimes juvéniles. De plus, de telles mesures, peuvent heurter la santé psychologique des adolescents et ont été accusées d'être largement inefficaces à la réduction de la récidive criminelle. La thèse ci-présente comporte deux manuscrits: l'un contient un cadre conceptuel dans lequel nous étudions la culpabilité et la réhabilitation de la jeunesse. L'autre manuscrit comprend des résultats d'un sondage pilote dans lequel nous avions évalué les opinions légales et cliniques des experts en se basant sur l'influence des facteurs du développement sur des désidérata légaux concernant les jeunes délinquants. Nos découvertes suggèrent que pendant que la communauté légale est modérément sensible aux problèmes de développement associés avec la culpabilité juvénile, le fossé entre la science du développement et le système légal persiste. Nous suggérons qu'une interaction plus rapprochée entre la loi et la science du développement est nécessaire afin de créer une loi fondée sur la recherche.

Previous research has shown that Japanese-speaking 20-month-old children associate novel words with objects over actions when the words are presented as a single word. This study investigated young Japanese children's ability to use verb morphosyntactic cues in input to form associations between novel words and actions using a habituation paradigm with a switch design. Sixteen 20-month-old Japanese children were habituated to novel words in a verb syntactic frame paired with movies that show novel objects engaging in unfamiliar actions. The children were then tested with three trials in which one of the original word, object, or action was switched. The results indicate that children mapped the novel words onto the actions, rather than onto the objects. These, along with the previous findings, suggest that Japanese children become sensitive to verb morphosyntactic cues in input and use them in learning words for actions by the age of 20 months.

This study explores the impact of individual attributes and environmental risk on youth gambling, substance, and deviant behaviour problems. With a cross-sectional design, regression analyses indicated that among a sample of mostly first-generation immigrant adolescents from low-income homes, social bonding was associated with a decrease in severity for all three problem behaviours, while peer and neighbourhood risk were associated with an increase in severity for all three behaviours. As well, personal competence was associated with a decrease in deviant behaviour only, while family risk was associated with an increase in both substance problem and deviant behaviour severity. Interestingly, social competence was associated with an increase in substance problems and deviant behaviour. In terms of protective processes, a putative moderating effect was found for composite individual attributes on the relationship between composite environmental risk and deviant behaviour. Findings are discussed with respect to the roles of compensatory, risk, and protective processes. / Cette thèse examine l'impact des attributs individuels et des facteurs de risque environnementaux sur les problèmes de jeux de hasard et d'argent, de consommation et de délinquance chez les jeunes. Dans le cadre de cette étude transversale, des analyses de régression, effectuées sur un échantillon composé en majorité d'adolescents immigrants de première génération et provenant de milieux défavorisés, ont démontré que les liens sociaux étaient associés à une diminution de la sévérité des problèmes; alors que les facteurs de risque reliés aux pairs et à la communauté étaient associés à une augmentation de la sévérité des problèmes. De plus, les aptitudes personnelles étaient associées à une diminution de la délinquance seulement, alors que les facteurs de risque familiaux étaient associés à une augmentation des problèmes de consommation et de délinquance. Il fut intéressant d'observer que les aptitudes sociales étaient associées à une augmentation des problèmes de consommation et de délinquance. En ce qui concerne les facteurs de protection, il a été démontré que les attributs individuels ont un effet de modération putatif sur la relation entre les facteurs de risque environnementaux et la délinquance. Les résultats sont interprétés en termes du rôle des facteurs compensatoires, de risque et de protection.