Developmental Psychology

A large survey of adolescents reveals that strong parent-child communication significantly boosts a teen's emotional and social skills. Interestingly, researchers found these character-building benefits are particularly strong for urban teenagers and only children.

Trying to drown out a noisy street with pink noise? You might be making things worse. New research indicates combining environmental noise with continuous pink noise degrades overall sleep architecture more than the traffic alone.

Frequent digital media use tends to be linked with poorer developmental outcomes in children and teens, according to a massive review of longitudinal research, published in JAMA Pediatrics, that analyzed data from hundreds of thousands of youth.

Proponents of physical punishment often cite historical experiments to justify the practice. However, a new analysis published in Child Abuse & Neglect suggests these older studies are deeply flawed and fail to prove spanking works.

New research shows a child’s home environment is closely linked to how their brain matures. A recent study associates parental acceptance with faster brain development, while exposure to household abuse correlates with delayed microstructural brain changes.

A new longitudinal study reveals that toddlers with higher levels of plant-based pigments in their skin at 12 to 18 months of age show greater improvements in fine motor skills and language comprehension over the following year.

A recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology suggests that while mothers and fathers are equally skilled at making preschoolers laugh, shared laughter is more strongly associated with secure emotional bonds in father-child relationships.

A new psychological study reveals how specific childhood experiences and inherent personality traits predict whether adults will use scientific evidence or religious faith to make sense of the world around them.

A new study suggests that growing up in poverty accelerates biological development. For adolescent girls, this early onset of puberty provides a pathway linking financial hardship to increased anxiety, behavioral issues, and lower academic achievement.

A massive new analysis of over 200,000 people reveals that the relative lengths of your index and ring fingers are linked to your sexual orientation, pointing to the powerful role of prenatal hormones in human development.

Using brain scans and parent surveys, scientists discovered that infants in households struggling to make ends meet show delayed brain maturation. A mother's feeling of income insufficiency proved to be the strongest predictor of these delays.

Few parenting topics spark as much debate as the "cry it out" method. While some experts warn it causes psychological harm, a study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry argues it does not negatively affect infant development.

Breathing indoor air pollution during childhood tends to be linked to worse memory in older adulthood. A new study suggests that improving access to clean energy early in life might help protect the brain as it ages.

A new study finds that how fathers react when their toddlers are scared—whether they minimize the fear or become overly involved—is linked to distinct differences in the children's anxiety and behavior two years later.

Many teenagers sleep in on weekends to catch up on rest. New research associates this irregular schedule with differences in the physical structure and internal communication of the developing brain, which may relate to cognitive growth.