Developmental psychology

The literature to date that investigates the development of social perspective taking in children primarily focuses on preschool aged children. These studies provide evidence that implicates language as being crucial for social perspective taking in young children but less is known about the importance of language to social perspective taking during middle childhood and early adolescence. The current study uses Selman's theory of socio-cognitive development to investigate the maturation of social perspective taking and the importance of language to social problem solving in 8 year olds (n = 111) and 12 year olds (n = 112). Analysis of variance and scalogram analysis shows a developmental progression of social perspective taking across the social problem solving process. Children may be able to demonstrate reciprocal perspective taking when generating strategies before they are able to demonstrate reciprocal perspective taking for other steps of social problem solving. Flexibility in interpersonal orientation is shown to be a predictor of social problem solving ability. Correlations and multiple regression analysis demonstrate that language is important to overall social problem solving but that the role of semantic and syntactic language may differ at age 8 compared to age 12.

Author Keywords: interpersonal orientation, language, Selman, social cognition, social perspective taking, social problem solving

This study examined the relation between complexity of pretend play during preschool and early academic skills two years later. Preschool children (n =19), aged 3 years, were observed during self-directed free play, which was then coded for complexity of symbolic thought with respect to symbolic agent (ability to direct self or other's play) and symbolic substitution (abstractness of props). Children's literacy and numeracy skills were assessed concurrently and two years later when children were 5 years old. We found that children who directed others' play compared to children who focused on their own play had higher mathematics achievement at 5 years. In addition, children who engaged in more complex object substitutions (abstract props) had better counting at 3 years and better early reading skills at 5 years than their peers, who showed few complex substitutions. Our findings suggest that encouraging specific aspects of pretend play in preschool could be a relatively simple way to promote early academic achievement.

Author Keywords: Math , Play complexity, Preschool , Pretend Play, Reading

This research project focused on the positive behaviour changes in First Nations youth as a result of participation in a community-based recreation program. The study was a secondary analysis based on a qualitative data set. Both adults and youth were interviewed in one-on-one and focus group settings in 12 First Nations communities across Ontario. The data was analyzed using a grounded theory approach and a substantive model was formed based on the themes that emerged from the data. The most significant of these themes were the job of the role model, self-esteem and self-efficacy. The issue of overcoming shyness and peer mentoring are also discussed.

Guidelines regarding social skills interventions for children with ASD suggest incorporating a holistic approach. This includes increasing the family's understanding of deficits associated with ASD, integrations of natural environments, and parents as active agents while supporting their well-being. The current availability of holistic parent-mediated interventions for children with ASD is limited, with no qualitative understanding of its potential benefits for either the parent or child. The current study examined qualitative parent reports on a parent-mediated social skills intervention for children with ASD (TalkAbilityTM) incorporating a longitudinal approach (i.e., 6-month follow-up). Following Braun and Clarke's model of thematic analysis, data was coded into four themes: 1) communication difficulties, frustrations and progress, 2) social relationships and concerns, 3) communication strategies, and 4) thoughts and emotions surrounding TalkAbilityTM. Results highlight the importance of considering parent experiences regarding interventions for their child's social communication skills through a qualitative viewpoint.

Author Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, parent-mediated intervention, qualitative review

Research to date on social problem solving typically focuses on elementary school aged children. However, adolescents and young adults may experience more novel and emotionally complex social conflicts that require different skills to navigate them successfully. Previous research has highlighted executive function (EF) and emotion regulation as possible skills that help with social problem solving. The current study examined the potential relation between EF, emotion regulation, and social problem solving. The sample consisted of 174 participants with a mean age of 19.60 years. Results showed that the shifting component of EF was associated with being able to take different perspectives when coming up with a solution for a social conflict involving a romantic partner. Additionally, emotion regulation was associate with perspective taking in the overall social problem solving process with a romantic partner. These results suggest that both EF and emotion regulation are involved in the ability to take different perspectives during a social conflict in this age range.

Author Keywords: Emotion Regulation, Executive Function, Social Problem Solving

Although years of research have established that attachment representations are not

consistently transmitted from parent to child (also known as the transmission gap), the

reasons for this gap remain relatively unknown. This transmission gap exists between

parents and peers as well. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the role of

caregiving sensitivity in the relationship between parent attachment and peer attachment

and to test if caregiving sensitivity helps explains the relationship between parent

attachment and peer attachment. This study found support for the transmission of

attachment from parent to peers, but not that caregiving sensitivity explains this

transmission. Results indicate that parenting caregiving sensitivity questionnaires are

inconsistent in assessing the construct of sensitivity. Parenting caregiving sensitivity

questionnaires also do not measure the same concepts as peer caregiving sensitivity

questionnaires. These findings suggest that assessing caregiving sensitivity in parents

differently may help close the transmission gap.

Author Keywords: attachment, caregiving, parenting, peer, sensitivity

Previous research has found that bullying and victimization is related to poor socioemotional competencies. The present study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and bullying and victimization in a large community-based sample of adolescents. Specifically, we explored the EI of bullies, victims, bully-victims, and those uninvolved. We also examined whether the relationship between EI and types of bullying and victimization activities were consistent across age and gender. We found that stress management and interpersonal skills are important EI dimensions to predicting both bullying and victimization. Moreover, intrapersonal skills were predictive of boys' bullying behaviours and adaptability was the strongest EI dimension in bullies and victims. Age did not contribute much to the overall prediction of bullying and victimization in either gender. Results are discussed in terms of future implications regarding anti-bullying interventions.

Author Keywords: Adolescents, age, Bullying, Emotional Intelligence, gender, social emotional competencies

It is well-established that alexithymia in adulthood is a critical risk factor for numerous negative mental health and well-being outcomes. Although this area of research has begun to receive interest in earlier developmental stages, significant methodological limitations have been noted with current measures of alexithymia for adolescence. As such, the aim of the current thesis was to provide empirical evidence on the psychometric strength of a new adolescent measure of alexithymia, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale – Adolescent Version (TAS-A). Study 1 examined the construct validity of the TAS-A in relation to self and informant reported emotional intelligence (EI), while study 2 examined the predictive validity of the TAS-A in relation to adolescent problematic gambling and academic achievement. Adolescents completed self-reports of alexithymia, EI, and gambling behaviour, parents completed informant reports regarding their child's EI, and academic records were obtained. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed significant relationships between adolescent alexithymia, and self and informant reported EI, indicating significant overlap in constructs. Adolescent alexithymia was also shown to be a significant predictor of problematic gambling and academic achievement; however, some interesting gender differences were observed (a pattern of results reported consistently in the adult alexithymia literature). Results are discussed in terms of methodological and clinical implications during the vulnerable developmental transition of adolescence.

Author Keywords: adolescence, alexithymia, psychometrics