1,660 research outputs found
The interaction between psychopathological symptoms and conflictual parent-child relationship in predicting social skills and coping strategies
No full textThe quality of early parent-child relationship affects children’s later emotional development, social competence and school performance (Caputi, Lecce, & Pagnin, 2017). Moreover, the perception of a warm relationship with parents supports the use of adaptive social skills and approach-oriented coping strategies (Chan, 2011). Children characterized by psychopathological symptoms are likely to experience difficulties in social adjustment over time (Burt, Obradović, Long, & Masten, 2008) and typically present a dysfunctional coping style (Seiffge-Krenke, Weidemann, Fentner, Aegenheister, & Poeblau, 2001). In turn, children adopting maladaptive coping strategies usually have rejecting, ignoring, inconsistent, or punishing parents (Chan, 2011).peer-reviewe
Mindreading and assertiveness in school-aged children: The role of problem-solving coping strategies
No full textBeing assertive means being able to communicate to others our opinions, desires and feelings in a direct and positive way, without judging other people’s thoughts. In the school context, assertiveness can facilitate interpersonal relationships (Lane & Bowman, 2022). Assertive children are usually considered by teachers as socially mature and less aggressive (Diesendruck & Ben-Eliyahu, 2006). Interestingly, assertiveness has been found to be positively related to prosocial behavior in children performing well in making inferences about others' behaviors (Barrett & Yarrow, 1977). Nonetheless, theory-of-mind skills are also known to be associated with the capacity of forming and managing peer relationships, which includes abilities like understanding the needs of others and being assertive (Devine & Apperly, 2022; Peterson et al., 2007, 2016). In a recent work, Caputi and Schoenborn (2018) found novel associations between theory-of-mind skills and coping strategies. Specifically, children and preadolescents who were more proficient in a theory-of-mind task were more prone to use problem-solving strategies and less prone to use externalizing and trivializing strategies. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the links among theory-of-mind skills, coping strategies and assertiveness in school-aged children. A further aim was testing the hypothesis that problem-solving strategies mediate the relationship between theory-of-mind skills and assertiveness. A sample of 462 students (252 boys) attending 3rd to 8th grade was recruited in Northern Italy to participate in a short-term longitudinal study. Both at Time 1 (beginning of the school year) and at Time 2 (four months later), students completed a theory-of-mind test and self-reported about their coping strategies, while teachers were asked to evaluate students’ assertiveness. T1 theory-of-mind skills were positively associated with T2 assertiveness and T1 problem solving strategies; and negatively associated with T1 externalizing and trivializing strategies. T2 assertiveness was positively associated with T1 problem solving and distraction strategies. Hayes’ PROCESS mediation tool showed that theory-of-mind skills were associated with higher levels of assertiveness only through the mediation of higher use of problem-solving strategies. That is, the combination of higher mindreading skills with coping strategies based on active problem solving led to higher assertiveness perceived by teachers. The identification of such a mediation pattern suggests that assertiveness is an important interpersonal skill that indirectly relates to theory of mind, and partly develops thanks to the employment of adaptive coping strategies. That is, the more a child learns how to cope effectively with social dilemmas that may emerge during the school years, being skilled in ToM abilities may help them to be more assertive and stand up for themselves. As argued by Peterson and colleagues (2007), understanding others’ minds is crucial in complex social exchanges and learning how to cope with life events. When this ability is coupled with problem-solving strategies, children are viewed as more capable of asserting themselves appropriately, for example to express their voiced opinions, or when trying to convince peers. These results contribute to highlight a tight and complex link that connect mindreading abilities, coping strategies and social skills in school-aged children
Cyclic homology for bornological coarse spaces
No full textFunding Information: Open Access funding provided by Projekt DEAL. This work formed part of the author’s PhD thesis at Regensburg University. It is a pleasure to again acknowledge Ulrich Bunke, this work would not exist without him. The author also thanks Clara Löh, Denis-Charles Cisinski and Alexander Engel for helpful discussions, and the anonymous referees for constructive comments and recommendations. The author has been supported by the DFG Research Training Group GRK 1692 “Curvature, Cycles, and Cohomology” and by the DFG SFB 1085 “Higher Invariants”. Publisher Copyright: © 2020, The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Peer reviewe
Social and Cognitive Factors Associated With Preschoolers' Different Persuasive Styles
No full textPersuasion skills consist of a complex concoction of specific mental, emotional, and social abilities. Interest in this topic continues to grow; however, there remains limited knowledge on social and cognitive correlates of persuasion in childhood. The present study explores the interrelations among specific cognitive abilities, social skills, and persuasive strategies in preschool age. A sample of 86 (42 boys) children (Mage = 4.85 years, SD = 0.51) was administered a persuasion task, a language test, and a battery of theory of mind and executive functioning tasks. Preschool teachers rated children's social competence. Despite the low frequency of preschoolers' persuasion strategies, results showed significant links among theory of mind, executive functioning, social skills, and persuasion strategies. Results also showed a diverse range of skills that predicted children's persuasive styles. Findings will be discussed within the context of existing literature, considering implications for future research and educational practice
Theory-of-mind abilities and externalizing symptoms in late childhood: the role of maladaptive coping strategies
No full textPast studies show connections between children’s Theory-of-Mind (ToM) abilities and externalizing symptoms. Although studies show grade-school children with lower ToM abilities exhibit more conduct problems and less prosocial behaviors, few studies explore these connections in late childhood. The aim of the present study was to test the role of maladaptive coping strategies as a mediator of the link between ToM skills and externalizing symptoms in middle to late childhood. A sample of 455 Italian students (246 boys) participated in this short-term longitudinal study (Mage = 10.81 years, SD = 1.78 years). At Time 1 (start of the school year) and at Time 2 (four months later), students completed a ToM test, and self-reported about their coping strategies, while teachers evaluated students’ externalizing symptoms. Results showed ToM skills, externalizing coping strategies, and externalizing behaviors were significantly linked - concurrently and over time. Hayes’ PROCESS mediation tool showed that ToM skills were negatively associated with externalizing symptoms both directly and indirectly, through the partial mediation of externalizing coping strategies. These results have implications for educational programs that promote children’s ToM and their adaptive coping skills. Specifically, children with ToM challenges who are already at risk of showing higher externalizing symptoms over time should be especially targeted by specific interventions aimed to improve ToM and adaptive coping
Teoria della mente e qualità della vita in preadolescenza: il ruolo dell’ansia in maschi e femmine.
No full textStudi longitudinali recenti hanno mostrato che la relazione tra cognizione e benessere soggettivo è parzialmente spiegata da altri fattori. Nella presente ricerca abbiamo esplorato se le capacità di teoria della mente fossero collegate alla percezione della qualità di vita e se l'ansia giocasse un ruolo nel plasmare tale relazione. La fascia di età scelta è la preadolescenza, perchè in questo periodo le esperienze sociali ed emotive dei bambini assumono un determinato significato per ogni individuo anche alla luce dell’emergere di sintomi ansiosi. Tipicamente in preadolescenza le femmine ottengono punteggi più elevati in vari sintomi internalizzanti, tra cui l’ansia, che in genere viene associata ad una percezione di qualità della vita più bassa. Ad oggi nessuno studio ha messo in relazione teoria della mente, ansia e qualità della vita. Pertanto, il nostro scopo è stato quello di esplorare questi costrutti focalizzandoci sulle differenze di genere.
Metodo
In una scuola secondaria di primo grado sono stati reclutati 142 studenti (84 maschi, età media = 11.83 anni), che hanno completato una prova di teoria della mente, un questionario relativo alla percezione di diversi sottotipi di ansia e uno sulla percezione della propria qualità di vita. Il disegno della ricerca è trasversale.
Risultati
Nel campione totale la teoria della mente non risultava legata nè all’ansia nè alla qualità della vita. Tuttavia, t-test per campioni indipendenti mostravano significative differenze di genere in tre sottotipi di sintomi d’ansia su cinque, con punteggi sempre più elevati nelle femmine. Abbiamo quindi deciso di condurre, tramite il tool PROCESS per SPSS, analisi di mediazione separate per maschi e femmine. Nei maschi, nessun sottotipo di ansia è risultato mediare la relazione tra teoria della mente e percezione della qualità di vita. Nelle femmine, invece, livelli più elevati di teoria della mente erano associati a percezione di qualità di vita inferiore attraverso la mediazione di alti livelli di ansia generalizzata.
Discussione
I risultati ottenuti indicano che, solo per le ragazze, la combinazione di capacità mentalistiche più elevate e di livelli più alti di un certo sottotipo di ansia (quella che fa stare costantemente in allerta), porta a sentirsi meno soddisfatte per la propria vita. Va sottolineato che il disegno trasversale adottato nella presente ricerca non consente di trarre conclusioni circa la variazione nel tempo dei singoli costrutti e la loro covariazione. Tuttavia, sembra che la transizione verso l'adolescenza possa rappresentare una finestra di intervento sfruttabile per prevenire lo sviluppo di sintomi internalizzanti e i loro effetti sul benessere dei giovani. L’interrelazione dei costrutti esaminati, così diversa in maschi e femmine, se confermata in ottica longitudinale, impone infatti una riflessione sugli interventi di prevenzione, che andrebbero strutturati in maniera differenziata a seconda del genere dei soggetti target
THEORY OF MIND AND LONELINESS IN LATE CHILDHOOD: WHEN AND HOW DOES GENDER MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
No full textFeelings of loneliness reflect the perception of dissatisfaction with one’s interpersonal relationships, and correspond with feelings of sadness, emptiness, and isolation. Developmental trajectories of loneliness across middle childhood and adolescence show a general stability of loneliness from age 8 to age 15. Studies show links between children’s theory of mind (ToM) - or the ability to read the minds and emotions of others - and feelings of loneliness, although results are mixed. Some studies show proficient mindreaders are more lonely, whereas other show the reverse, skilled mindreading relates to higher feelings of social connection (less loneliness). To add to this complexity, few studies explore the combined influence of age and gender. Accordingly, the present study investigated ToM and loneliness in 462 Italian students (252 boys, Mage = 10.80 years, SD = 1.78 years) at the start of the school year (T1) and four months later (T2). At both timepoints students completed a ToM task, a self-report loneliness measure, and teachers evaluated students’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results showed significant relations between ToM and loneliness, as well as significant interactions among gender and age on loneliness and ToM. Children who reported high feelings of loneliness were also rated as high internalizers by teachers. Implications for developmentally appropriate and gender-sensitive mental health and social emotional learning programs are discussed
Gender differences in young preadolescents’ mindreading abilities and well-being.
No full textRecent longitudinal evidence shows that the relation between cognition and subjective well-being is partially explained by other factors. We investigated whether mindreading skills were linked to life satisfaction and anxiety in middle school-aged children. Research on children’s social and emotional experiences during the transition into adolescence shows the emergence of anxiety symptoms, with girls often scoring higher than boys. High levels of anxiety are usually related to lower life satisfaction. In contrast, little findings exist on mindreading and anxiety. That is, there remains a lack of research on specific dimensions of anxiety, and on the specific mentalization skills. Therefore, our aim was to investigate individual differences in those constructs and gendered relational patterns among preadolescents. A sample of 142 sixth- and seventh-graders (84 boys) was recruited in Northern Italy and completed tests regarding theory-of-mind skills, perceptions of different subtypes of anxiety, and life satisfaction. Although no interrelations were found among the variables for total sample, separate gender analyses conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS mediation tool showed significant results. Specifically, only among girls, higher levels of theory-of-mind skills were associated with lower levels of life satisfaction through the mediation of higher levels in generalized anxiety. That is, for girls only, the combination of higher mindreading skills with higher levels of anxiety led to feelings of lower life satisfaction. The identification of such a mediation pattern suggests that the approach to adolescence might be a timely intervention window to prevent the development of internalizing symptoms and their cascade effects on young people’s well-being
The Role of Gender in the Relation Among Anxiety, Theory of Mind, and Well-Being in Early Adolescents
No full textThe relation between cognition and life satisfaction is shaped by several factors. The present research investigated whether mindreading skills are linked to subjective well-being and anxiety during the transition into adolescence. Specifically, our aim was to investigate individual differences in those constructs and gendered relational patterns. A sample of 142 Italian sixth- and seventh-graders (84 boys, M = 11.83 years, SD = 6.87 months) completed a theory-of-mind task, and questionnaires on perceptions of different anxiety subtypes and life satisfaction. In the total sample, no interrelations were found among the variables. Nonetheless, mediation analyses conducted separately by gender showed that, only among girls, higher theory-of-mind scores were associated with lower perception of life satisfaction through the mediation of higher generalized anxiety levels. Results suggest that the approach to adolescence may provide a timely intervention window to develop preventive programs that target internalizing symptoms and their cascade effects on young people’s well-being
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