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1.
Child Dev ; 95(3): 679-698, 2024.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37902065

ABSTRACT

Preschool teachers' perceptions about relationships with students (teacher-child relationships [TCRs]) predict children's subsequent social competence (SC) and academic progress. Why this is so remains unclear. Do TCRs shape children's development, or do child attributes influence both TCRs and subsequent development? Relations between TCRs and other measures were examined for 185 preschoolers (107 girls, 89 longitudinal, and ~75% European American). Teachers rated TCRs and child social/affective behaviors. Teacher-child interactions (TCIs) and children's affect expressiveness were observed. Child SC and receptive vocabulary were assessed. TCRs were significantly correlated with each type of outcome. TCIs, SC, expressed affect, and teacher-rated behaviors also predicted TCRs longitudinally. Results suggest that TCR ratings predict subsequent adaptation because they summarize children's behavioral profiles rather than on TCR quality per se.


Subject(s)
Interpersonal Relations , School Teachers , Female , Humans , Child, Preschool , School Teachers/psychology , Social Behavior , Students/psychology , Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell
2.
Children (Basel) ; 10(8)2023 Jul 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37628311

ABSTRACT

Children's self-imposed isolation in the company of others (social withdrawal due to shyness or unsociability) and active isolation due to direct aggressive behaviors can challenge successful engagement in the peer group. The developmental attributional perspective acknowledges that children's intended affiliative responses are, in part, guided by their emotions and beliefs toward peers' social behaviors and may differ depending on children's sex, age group, and social behavior. This study aimed to (1) describe preschoolers' beliefs, emotions, and intended affiliative preferences toward aggressive, shy, and unsociable peers, depending on children's sex and age group, and (2) explore the associations between preschoolers' beliefs, emotions and intended affiliative preferences, depending on children's social behaviors and children's sex or age group. A total of 158 preschoolers aged 3-6 years were interviewed, using the Child Attributions Interview to assess their beliefs, emotions and intended affiliative preferences toward peers. Teachers completed the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale to assess children's prosocial behaviors, aggressive-anger, and anxious-withdrawal. Preschoolers' perspectives toward shy and unsociable peers were less negative than toward aggressive peers. However, participants in our sample were not fully aware of the different intentionality and social motivations of shy and unsociable peers. Higher levels of perceived social standing, social motivation and sympathy predicted higher affiliative preferences toward shy, unsociable, and aggressive peers. However, the magnitude of the associations between preschoolers' beliefs, emotions and intended affiliative preferences differed, depending on children's sex, age group and prosocial behavior, especially toward aggressive and shy peer behaviors. These findings are in line with the developmental attributional perspective, but highlight the need to account for developmental specificities, sex differences in peer relationships and children's individual differences in social behaviors.

3.
Chem Mater ; 35(11): 4435-4448, 2023 Jun 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37332680

ABSTRACT

This work reports on an alternative and advantageous procedure to attain VO2-based thermochromic coatings on silicon substrates. It involves the sputtering of vanadium thin films at glancing angles and their subsequent fast annealing in an air atmosphere. By adjusting thickness and porosity of films as well as the thermal treatment parameters, high VO2(M) yields were achieved for 100, 200, and 300 nm thick layers treated at 475 and 550 °C for reaction times below 120 s. Comprehensive structural and compositional characterization by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning-transmission electron microscopies combined with analytical techniques such as electron energy-loss spectroscopy bring to the fore the successful synthesis of VO2(M) + V2O3/V6O13/V2O5 mixtures. Likewise, a 200 nm thick coating consisting exclusively of VO2(M) is also achieved. Conversely, the functional characterization of these samples is addressed by variable temperature spectral reflectance and resistivity measurements. The best results are obtained for the VO2/Si sample with changes in reflectance of 30-65% in the near-infrared at temperatures between 25 and 110 °C. Similarly, it is also proven that the achieved mixtures of vanadium oxides can be advantageous for certain optical applications in specific infrared windows. Finally, the features of the different structural, optical, and electrical hysteresis loops associated with the metal-insulator transition of the VO2/Si sample are disclosed and compared. These remarkable thermochromic performances hereby accomplished highlight the suitability of these VO2-based coatings for applications in a wide range of optical, optoelectronic, and/or electronic smart devices.

4.
Front Psychol ; 14: 1187255, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37303908

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Behavioral inhibition during early childhood is one of the strongest risk factors for the development of later anxiety disorders. Recently developed in-person interventions that target both young children who are highly inhibited and their parents (e.g., the Turtle Program), have decreased children's anxiety and have increased social participation in the peer group. However, researchers have yet to examine the effects of intervention mode of delivery. In the present study, we compared the pre-to post-intervention changes in child and parenting functioning of families participating in the Turtle Program, delivered in-person and online with those changes made in families allocated to a waiting-list condition; compared session attendance, homework completion and satisfaction with the intervention outcomes of families involved in the Turtle Program, delivered in-person and online; and explored the predictive role of parenting and child factors in session attendance, homework completion and satisfaction with the outcomes of families involved in the Turtle Program, depending on the mode of delivery (in-person vs. online). Method: Fifty-seven parents of highly inhibited preschoolers (3-5 years), with no diagnosis of selective mutism or developmental disorders, who were randomly allocated to waiting-list (n = 20), Turtle Program delivered in-person (n = 17) and online (n = 20) conditions completed the Portuguese versions of the Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire, the Preschool Anxiety Scale, the Social Behavior and Competence Scale, the Modified Child-Rearing Practices Questionnaire at pre- and post-intervention assessment. Parents also completed the Preschool Shyness Study Satisfaction Survey at post-intervention assessment. Results: Independent of intervention mode of delivery, generalized equation estimates revealed a reduction in children's total anxiety symptoms and an improvement in parental nurturing behaviors. Child anxiety and social competence at pre-assessment were the most prominent predictors of session attendance and satisfaction with post-intervention child and parenting outcomes. Discussion: Overall, this study showed that parents in both intervention conditions perceived comparable positive changes in child functioning from pre- to post-intervention assessment and similar levels of session attendance, homework completion, and satisfaction. Significantly, however, perceived satisfaction with post-intervention child and parenting outcomes was higher, when children were reported to display higher SEL skills at baseline, independent of the intervention mode of delivery.

5.
Res Sq ; 2023 May 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37205380

ABSTRACT

Tissue-resident immunity underlies essential host defenses against pathogens, but analysis in humans has lacked in vitro model systems where epithelial infection and accompanying resident immune cell responses can be observed en bloc. Indeed, human primary epithelial organoid cultures typically omit immune cells, and human tissue resident-memory lymphocytes are conventionally assayed without an epithelial infection component, for instance from peripheral blood, or after extraction from organs. Further, the study of resident immunity in animals can be complicated by interchange between tissue and peripheral immune compartments. To study human tissue-resident infectious immune responses in isolation from secondary lymphoid organs, we generated adult human lung three-dimensional air-liquid interface (ALI) lung organoids from intact tissue fragments that co-preserve epithelial and stromal architecture alongside endogenous lung-resident immune subsets. These included T, B, NK and myeloid cells, with CD69+CD103+ tissue-resident and CCR7- and/or CD45RA- TRM and conservation of T cell receptor repertoires, all corresponding to matched fresh tissue. SARS-CoV-2 vigorously infected organoid lung epithelium, alongside secondary induction of innate cytokine production that was inhibited by antiviral agents. Notably, SARS-CoV-2-infected organoids manifested adaptive virus-specific T cell activation that was specific for seropositive and/or previously infected donor individuals. This holistic non-reconstitutive organoid system demonstrates the sufficiency of lung to autonomously mount adaptive T cell memory responses without a peripheral lymphoid component, and represents an enabling method for the study of human tissue-resident immunity.

6.
Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ ; 14(1): 18-36, 2023 Dec 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38275340

ABSTRACT

Teachers' tolerance toward children's social behaviors is, in part, guided by teachers' cognitions and emotions. Few studies have examined the associations between teachers' cognitions, emotions, and tolerance toward children's social behaviors. This study aimed to (1) describe the cognitions, emotions, and tolerance of Portuguese preschool teachers toward children's shy, physically and relationally aggressive, rough-and-tumble play, exuberant, and unsociable behaviors at preschool, depending on children's sex; and (2) examine the direct and indirect associations (via teachers' emotions) between teachers' cognitions and tolerance toward children's social behaviors, depending on children's sex. One hundred and seven preschool teachers completed the Child Behaviors Vignettes. Preschool teachers displayed more negative views toward children's physical and relational aggression, reported positive perspectives toward children's rough play and mixed attitudes toward children's exuberance, and differentiated shy from unsociable behaviors. Direct associations between teachers' cognitions and tolerance were found only for physical aggression. Teachers' anticipation of negative peer costs and academic performance appear to exert an indirect influence on teachers' tolerance toward physical aggression and unsociability, via increased levels of worry. These findings highlight the role of teachers' emotions for tolerance toward children's social behaviors and the need to enhance their self-awareness.

7.
Inorg Chem ; 61(51): 20886-20895, 2022 Dec 26.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36520079

ABSTRACT

The synthesis and investigation of the physicochemical properties of a novel one-dimensional (1D) hybrid organic-inorganic perovskitoid templated by the 1,1,1-trimethylhydrazinium (Me3Hy+) cation are reported. (Me3Hy)[PbI3] crystallizes in the hexagonal P63/m symmetry and undergoes two phase transitions (PTs) during heating (cooling) at 322 (320) and 207 (202) K. X-ray diffraction data and temperature-dependent vibrational studies show that the second-order PT to the high-temperature hexagonal P63/mmc phase is associated with a weak change in entropy and is related to weak structural changes and different confinement of cations in the available space. The second PT to the low-temperature orthorhombic Pbca phase that corresponds to the high change in entropy and dielectric switching is associated with an ordering of the trimethylhydrazinium cations, re-arrangement and strengthening of hydrogen bonds, and slightly shifted lead-iodide octahedral chains. The high-pressure Raman data revealed two additional PTs, one between 2.8 and 3.2 GPa, related to the symmetry decrease, ordering of the cations, and inorganic chain distortion, and the other in the 6.4-6.8 GPa range related to the partial and reversible amorphization. Optical studies revealed that (Me3Hy)[PbI3] has a wide band gap (3.20 eV) and emits reddish-orange excitonic emission at low temperatures with an activation energy of 65 meV.

8.
Nutrients ; 14(19)2022 Oct 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36235837

ABSTRACT

Previous research identified emotion dysregulation, non-responsive feeding practices, and unhealthy food consumption as risk factors for childhood obesity. However, little is known about the relationships between these factors. This study examined associations between children's emotion regulation, parental feeding practices, and children's food consumption. The sample consisted of 163 mothers of children aged 3-5 years. Mothers completed the Emotion Regulation Checklist, the Child Feeding Questionnaire, and the Child Health Section from the Parent Interview of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-B to assess model variables. Results showed that healthy food consumption was associated with higher emotion regulation abilities, higher monitoring, and lower pressure to eat. For unhealthy food consumption, the associations were in opposite directions. Higher emotion regulation abilities were also associated with higher monitoring, lower pressure to eat, and lower restriction. For lability, the associations were in opposite directions. Regression analyses revealed that children's lability, pressure to eat, and monitoring were significant predictors of children's food consumption. These findings suggest that children's emotion regulation and feeding practices are important determinants of children's food consumption. Future longitudinal studies that examine bidirectional associations between children's emotion regulation, parental feeding practices, children's food consumption, and potential mechanisms accounting for these associations are needed.


Subject(s)
Emotional Regulation , Pediatric Obesity , Body Mass Index , Body Weight , Child , Child Behavior/psychology , Child, Preschool , Feeding Behavior/psychology , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Parenting/psychology , Pediatric Obesity/etiology , Surveys and Questionnaires
9.
Children (Basel) ; 9(7)2022 Jul 19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35884059

ABSTRACT

There is a lack of knowledge regarding the connection between parental emotional responsiveness and children's executive functioning (EF). This study aimed to explore the relations between caregivers' reactions to their children's distress and children's EF. Mothers of 136 preschoolers reported their reactions to their children's negative emotions using the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale. Children's EF was assessed through the mothers and teachers' reports using the Behavioral Inventory of Executive Functioning for Preschool Children. Results showed that the mothers' perceived use of negative emotional regulation responses (i.e., punitive and minimizing reactions) was associated with lower levels of EF in children, as reported by both mothers and teachers. The association between the mothers' use of positive emotional regulation responses (i.e., problem-focused, emotion-focused, and expressive encouragement reactions) and children's EF was not significant. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the mothers' use of negative emotional regulation responses accounted for significant proportions of variance in EF indexes. These findings suggest that parental socialization of emotion could be important for children's EF. Specifically, caregivers' negative emotional regulation responses to children's distress may serve as a risk factor for poorer EF in children. Efforts to improve children's EF may be more effective when parental emotional responsiveness to their distress is considered.

10.
Primates ; 63(5): 443-461, 2022 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34787740

ABSTRACT

In human fission-fusion societies, ritualized non-linguistic signal exchanges that include gestures, vocalizations, and facial expressions are regularly observed at both arrivals (greetings) and departures (leave-takings). These communicative events play an important role in the formation and maintenance of social relationships. Wild chimpanzees also form large communities that split into smaller fluid parties during daily activities, with individuals moving freely between them. However, in chimpanzees only greetings have been reported. This study explores signal exchanges in the Bossou chimpanzee community during fissions (departures) and fusions (arrivals) given an individual's social rank, kinship, position as traveller or party-member, the level of potential threat, and the party size and presence of mature males. We analysed three time periods (1993-1994; 2003-2004; 2013-2014) during which the composition and social hierarchy of the community varied. We show that the occurrence and form of communication during fission and fusion events are mediated by social factors, including rank, kinship, and party size and composition. Individuals were more likely to communicate during fusions than during fissions, communication was more likely to be produced towards a higher-ranking individual and to non-kin individuals, but the tendency to communicate in general increased with an increase in social rank. The presence of more individuals, and in particular mature males, decreased the likelihood of communication. Communication during fusions supported patterns reported in previous studies on greetings, and our results support the argument that, if present, leave-takings are not a common feature of chimpanzee social interactions. Current methodological difficulties regarding the function of declarative signals hinder our ability to discriminate potential parting rituals within communication before departures. Given similar methodological difficulties, we also provide a note of caution in the interpretation of all signals produced during fusions as 'greetings'.


Subject(s)
Pan troglodytes , Social Behavior , Animals , Gestures , Guinea , Humans , Male
11.
Psychoneuroendocrinology ; 136: 105609, 2022 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34875423

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Oxytocin (OXT) has attracted research interest for its potential involvement in many of the behavioural problems observed in childhood. Due to its logistical advantages, saliva is an attractive fluid to quantify neuropeptides in children. Salivary OXT has been suggested as a potential biomarker for psychopathology during childhood. However, several questions still remain about the extent to which, and under what conditions, concentrations of OXT in saliva can be reliably measured and are related to behavioural problems in preschool age children. METHODS: Seven samples of saliva from 30 preschool children (17 girls) were collected in five different days at their homes. Three of the samples were collected by the children's parents at baseline daily routine conditions, and four of the samples were collected by researchers during two home-visits: before and after two 15-minute dyadic play sessions (one with mothers and one fathers) between each individual parent and the child. Oxytocin concentrations were quantified by Radioimmunoassay with prior extraction. Children's behavioural problems were assessed by the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF) questionnaire, completed by the child's' preschool teacher. RESULTS: Salivary OXT measured in baseline samples could not predict any of the behavioural problems measured by the C-TRF. However, when measured after playing with parents salivary OXT showed a stronger pattern of negative correlations, specially with the depression and opposition scales of the C-TRF. Furthermore, salivary OXT was unlikely to be reliably measured using single sampling, but acceptable reliabilities were achieved when averaging several samples. Finally, the single measures of salivary OXT evoked after an episode of play with parents showed better reliabilities than collected at baseline. CONCLUSION: Measurements of OXT evoked after positive affect interactions with parents seem to capture aspects of the OXT system in young children that might be relevant for understanding the role of this system in children's social behaviour.


Subject(s)
Oxytocin , Problem Behavior , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Parents , Saliva , School Teachers
12.
Chemistry ; 27(67): 16662-16669, 2021 Dec 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34661929

ABSTRACT

In this work, a simple, fast and dry method for the fabrication of a thermochromic product with a high load of VO2 (M1) consisting of the controlled heat treatment of pure vanadium nanoparticles in air is presented. After a complete design of experiments, it is concluded that the most direct way to attain the maximum transformation of V into VO2 (M1) consists of one cycle with a fast heating ramp of 42 °C s-1 , followed by keeping 700 °C for 530-600 seconds, and a subsequent cooling at 0.05 °C s-1 . Careful examination of these results lead to a second optimum, even more suitable for industrial production (quicker and less energy-intensive because of its lower temperatures and shorter times), consisting of subjecting V to two consecutive cycles of temperatures and times (625 °C for 5 minutes) with similar preheating (42 °C s-1 ) but a much faster postcooling (∼ 8 °C s-1 ). These green reactions only use the power for heating a tube open to atmosphere and a vanadium precursor; without assistance of reactive gases or catalysts, and no special vacuum or pressure requirements. The best products present similar thermochromic properties but higher thermal stability than commercial VO2 particles. These methods can be combined with VO2 doping.

13.
Am J Primatol ; 83(9): e23313, 2021 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34358359

ABSTRACT

Comparative psychology provides important contributions to our understanding of the origins of human language. The presence of common features in human and nonhuman primate communication can be used to suggest the evolutionary trajectories of potential precursors to language. However, to do so effectively, our findings must be comparable across diverse species. This systematic review describes the current landscape of data available from studies of gestural communication in human and nonhuman primates that make an explicit connection to language evolution. We found a similar number of studies on human and nonhuman primates, but that very few studies included data from more than one species. As a result, evolutionary inferences remain restricted to comparison across studies. We identify areas of focus, bias, and apparent gaps within the field. Different domains have been studied in human and nonhuman primates, with relatively few nonhuman primate studies of ontogeny and relatively few human studies of gesture form. Diversity in focus, methods, and socio-ecological context fill important gaps and provide nuanced understanding, but only where the source of any difference between studies is transparent. Many studies provide some definition for their use of gesture; but definitions of gesture, and in particular, criteria for intentional use, are absent in the majority of human studies. We find systematic differences between human and nonhuman primate studies in the research scope, incorporation of other modalities, research setting, and study design. We highlight eight particular areas in a call to action through which we can strengthen our ability to investigate gestural communication's contribution within the evolutionary roots of human language.


Subject(s)
Gestures , Language , Animal Communication , Animals , Primates
14.
Child Dev ; 92(6): e1154-e1170, 2021 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34259345

ABSTRACT

Adolescents' dyadic relationships are likely influenced by the cultural context within which they exist. This study applied a person-oriented approach to examine how perceived support and negativity were manifested across youths' relationships with mothers, fathers, and best friends, simultaneously, and how distinct relationship profiles were linked to adaptive and maladaptive functioning (aggression, anxious-withdrawal, prosociality) within and across cultures. Participants resided in metropolitan areas of South Korea, the United States, and Portugal (10-14 years; N = 1,233). Latent profile analyses identified relationship profiles that were culturally common or specific. Additional findings highlighted commonality in the relations between a high-quality relationship profile and adaptive functioning, as well as cultural specificity in the buffering and differential effects of distinct relationship profiles on social-behavioral outcomes.


Subject(s)
Friends , Mothers , Adolescent , Cross-Cultural Comparison , Fathers , Female , Humans , Interpersonal Relations , Male , Social Adjustment , United States
15.
Front Psychol ; 12: 660866, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34248755

ABSTRACT

Children acquire and develop emotional regulatory skills in the context of parent-child attachment relationships, nonetheless empirical studies have focused mainly on mother and less information is available regarding the role of both parent-child attachment relationships. Furthermore, despite its importance, there is no information regarding preschool years. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the potential influences of both mother-child and father-child attachments on preschooler's later emotion regulation observed in the peer group. Fifty-three Portuguese nuclear families (mother, father and focal child) participated in the study; 47% of the children were boys and 53% were girls. Attachment Security was assessed at home using the Attachment Behavior Q-set when children were 3 years of age, and emotion regulation was observed in the preschool classrooms attended by the children at age 5, using the California child Q-sort to derive an Emotion Regulation Q-Scale. Results showed that the combined influence of both parent-child attachment security predicted better emotion regulation results, than did the specific contributions of each parent per se. Findings are consistent with integrative approaches that highlight the value of including both mother- and father-child attachment relationships, as well as their combined effect, when studying emotion regulation.

16.
Front Psychol ; 12: 664079, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34276490

ABSTRACT

Interpersonal adversity such as peer victimization has been shown to have complex associations with other socio-emotional difficulties, particularly during adolescence. We used a multidimensional peer nomination measure on a sample of 440 (52% girls) 11- to 17-year-old (M = 13.14 years, SD = 1.26) Portuguese youths to identify three groups, classified by peers as (1) victimized adolescents who showed anxious withdrawn behaviors in the context of the peer group (n = 111), (2) victimized adolescents who did not exhibit anxious withdrawn behaviors (n = 104), and (3) non-victimized adolescents (n = 225). We compared these groups on their peer-reported social functioning and on their self-reported feelings of social and emotional loneliness (with peers and family). Anxiously withdrawn victims were viewed by peers as more excluded, less aggressive, less prosocial, and less popular than non-withdrawn victims and non-victims. Non-anxiously withdrawn victims were considered more excluded than non-victims, and more aggressive than both anxiously withdrawn victims and non-victims. Finally, anxiously withdrawn victims reported feeling less integrated and intimate with their peers than non-withdrawn victims and non-victims, which is indicative of greater feelings of social and emotional loneliness at school. Youths in the current study did not report feeling lonely in their family environment. Our findings thus provide further evidence that victimized youths constitute a heterogeneous group, which differ in the way they behave toward their peers and experience loneliness.

17.
Nutrients ; 13(4)2021 Apr 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33920602

ABSTRACT

Although there is a large body of research connecting emotion to eating behaviors, little is known about the role of caregivers' responses to children's emotions in the context of child feeding. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation between caregivers' emotional responsiveness and feeding responsiveness. The mothers of 137 children between 2 and 6 years of age reported on their responses to children's negative emotions using the Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale and on their feeding practices using the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire. The results showed that mothers' supportive emotion responses (e.g., problem-focused, emotion-focused, and expressive encouragement reactions) tend to be positively associated with responsive feeding practices (e.g., encouraging, modelling, and teaching healthy food-related behaviors). Instead, mothers' unsupportive responses (e.g., distress, punitive and minimization reactions) tend to be positively associated with nonresponsive feeding practices (e.g., food as reward or to regulate emotions, and pressure to eat) and negatively associated with responsive feeding practices. Our results suggest that emotional and feeding responsiveness may be intertwined and that differences in parent's emotional responsiveness may translate into differences in their feeding styles, setting the stage for parents' use of positive vs. negative feeding practices.


Subject(s)
Diet, Healthy/psychology , Feeding Behavior/psychology , Mothers/psychology , Parent-Child Relations , Parenting/psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Adult , Child , Child Behavior/psychology , Child, Preschool , Emotions , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Portugal , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young Adult
18.
Attach Hum Dev ; 23(1): 56-74, 2021 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31931671

ABSTRACT

We examine the factorial structure of the Security Scale Questionnaire (SSQ), exploring measurement invariance across mother-father-child attachment relationships, child sex, and country. We used the new 21-item SSQ version that integrates both safe haven and secure base behaviors in a two factors structure. Participants were 457 children (224 girls and 233 boys), ranging from 9 to 14 years old (M = 10.84, SD = 1.02) from Portuguese and USA samples. We confirmed the SSQ's two-factor structure, although four items were unrelated to the latent structure and excluded from the final model. Results showed that SSQ can be used to study both mother/child and father/child attachment relationships. Multi-group analyses suggested measurement invariance between boys and girls and between Portuguese and USA samples. Our findings suggest that the SSQ can be considered a valid and cost-effective tool to measure perceived attachment security in middle childhood for both mother/child and father/child relationships.


Subject(s)
Fathers , Mothers , Adolescent , Child , Father-Child Relations , Female , Humans , Male , Mother-Child Relations , Object Attachment
19.
Children (Basel) ; 9(1)2021 Dec 31.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35053651

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Few researchers have examined young adolescents' perceived qualities and satisfaction in their relationships with their mothers, fathers and best friends simultaneously, using a cross-cultural perspective. This study aimed to compare the perceived qualities and satisfaction of USA and Portuguese adolescents in their relationships with their parents and best friends and to examine the influence of perceived relationship qualities on the satisfaction of young adolescents with their close relationships. METHODS: The sample consisted of 347 USA adolescents (170 boys, 177 girls) and 360 Portuguese adolescents (176 boys, 184 girls) who completed the Network of Relationships Inventory Social Provision Version to assess perceived support, negativity, power balance and satisfaction in their relationships with their mothers, fathers and same-sex best friends. RESULTS: Adolescents from both countries perceived their relationships with parents to be more negative and imbalanced in power than their relationships with friends, but the magnitude of differences was greater in the USA. Furthermore, USA adolescents reported higher satisfaction in their relationships with friends than in their relationships with parents. Country differences in the concomitants of relationship satisfaction were found. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the notion that young adolescents' perceived qualities and satisfaction in close relationships may differ depending on cultural norms.

20.
Ultramicroscopy ; 221: 113177, 2021 Feb.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33290981

ABSTRACT

Nanoparticles have a wide range of applications due to their unique geometry and arrangement of atoms. For a precise structure-property correlation, information regarding atomically resolved 3D structures of nanoparticles is utmost beneficial. Though modern aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopes can resolve atoms with the sub-angstrom resolution, an atomic-scale 3D reconstruction of a nanoparticle using Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) based tomographic method faces hurdles due to high electron irradiation damage and "missing-wedge". Instead, inline 3D holography based tomographic reconstructions from single projection registered at low electron doses is more suitable for defining atomic positions at nanostructures. Nanoparticles are generally supported on amorphous carbon film for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) experiments. However, neglecting the influence of carbon film on the tomographic reconstruction of the nanoparticle may lead to ambiguity. To address this issue, the effect of amorphous carbon support was quantitatively studied using simulations and experiments and it was revealed that increasing thickness and/or density of carbon support increases distortion in tomograms.

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