Developmental Psychology

High-quality foster care reduces irritability in adolescents with early psychosocial deprivation, while longer institutional care and lack of family placement by age 16 are linked to higher irritability, emphasizing the importance of stable family environments.

Children's ability to recognize ambiguity in conversations strengthens between ages 7 and 11. A study shows older kids are better at using disagreement between others to understand when something isn't clear, revealing key cognitive development.

Adolescents with insecure attachment to their fathers are more likely to develop internalizing and externalizing mental health symptoms, which can lead to increased alcohol use. Attachment to mothers did not show a similar association with these outcomes.

Bed-sharing with infants at 9 months old does not appear to negatively impact their emotional or behavioral development later in childhood, providing reassurance for parents who choose this practice.

New research reveals that even young children recognize coincidences, but their understanding evolves with age, becoming more refined as they distinguish between mere coincidences and causally linked events.

A recent study found that prenatal exposure to cannabis components THC and CBD in rodents led to reduced birth size, behavioral changes, and disrupted brain activity, indicating potential long-term neurodevelopmental risks for offspring.

Scientists uncovered that sex and gender are linked to different brain connectivity patterns in children, with sex associated with localized networks and gender with more dispersed areas. However, there is an important caveat to these findings.

A study found that higher prenatal fluoride exposure is linked to nearly double the risk of neurobehavioral problems in children at age three, highlighting potential risks even at levels considered safe for preventing dental cavities.

Babies exposed to fentanyl in utero exhibited distinct facial and musculoskeletal abnormalities, suggesting a potential new syndrome linked to prenatal opioid exposure.

A new study in The Humanistic Psychologist reveals that a higher sense of meaning in daily life significantly predicts better mental health outcomes in children.

A recent study found that problematic media use begins as early as 2.5 years old and is linked to increased social and emotional problems, including anxiety, depression, aggression, and withdrawal, by age 5.5.

Boys aged 3 to 10 outperformed girls in direction-giving accuracy, despite both using landmarks and directional terms equally, indicating quality of language matters more than quantity.

A groundbreaking study reveals that genetic factors increasingly influence IQ as we age, while environmental factors are more significant during early development.

Prolonged pacifier use might be linked to smaller vocabulary sizes in infants, according to a recent study. But more research is needed.

Adolescents today are more likely to be single and more satisfied with singlehood than those from a decade ago, according to new psychology research.