Introduction:
Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) are a growing option for couples facing infertility challenges. Studies have found controversial results when assessing how ART affects the transition to parenthood. After the pilot phase in 2024 to validate various measurement tools on smaller samples, the ART of Mothering Study (AMS) was launched in early 2025. Samples of pregnant women and mothers of infants conceiving via ART are surveyed in Hungary using online questionnaires.

Aims:
We aim to measure and understand the impact of previous infertility and assisted reproduction history on mothers’ perceptions of their infant’s vulnerability, maternal reflectivity and self-efficacy both in the prenatal and postnatal period among mothers conceived via ART. A smaller sample of pregnant mothers is willing to participate in a longitudinal follow-up, allowing us to examine representations that change during the transition to motherhood.

Materials and Methods:
Data is collected from a non-clinical population using an online questionnaire and snowball sampling. The research campaign is launched within various internet-based social groups and mailing lists, and participants are also recruited through the network of health visitors in the Hungarian mother and child care system. We are collecting data cross-sectionally from both pregnant women and mothers of infants conceived via ART (study groups) or naturally (control groups). We use modified versions of the same assessment instruments for the mirrored questionnaires to survey pregnant women and mothers with infants in parallel and to apply these instruments also in the longitudinal study.

Conclusion:
The ART of Mothering Study has the potential to identify how some aspects of becoming a mother are influenced by the method and the history of conception. In our poster, we present the theory and the special mirror-like research methodology of the study in the hope of inspiring possible future cross-cultural comparisons.

Over the years, researchers have used the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to measure attachment. A recent meta-analysis of 20,000 SSPs found global attachment distributions as follows: 51.6% secure, 14.7% avoidant, 10.2% resistant, and 23.5% disorganized, with similar patterns for mothers and fathers (Madigan et al., 2023). Despite its use with fathers since the 1970s, only 4.2% of studies focused on heterosexual father-child relationships. Additionally, only 3.5% of studies included foster or adoptive families, while family forms like same-sex parent families were excluded, limiting understanding beyond the typical mother-child relationship.

To address this, this study examines whether the child attachment differs between attachment in same-sex male and female parent families. Participants were drawn from the New Parents Study (NPS), comprising 140 families: 38 families with two fathers, 61 with two mothers, and 41 with a mother and a father. Same-sex male parent families conceived through surrogacy, while the same-sex female parent families and different-sex parent families had infants conceived through assisted reproductive technologies.

At 12 months, families visited research labs in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and France. Children’s behavior in the SSP was classified using Ainsworth et al. (1978) and Main and Solomon (1990) systems. Three certified coders, blinded to family type, coded the SSPs (n = 229), with no coder reviewing the same child or parent twice. A fourth certified coder double-coded 19.7% (ABC) and 20.1 % (ABCD). Intercoder reliability (Krippendorff’s Alpha) was .73 and .48, for respectively ABC and ABCD category coding. Due to lower reliability of the ABCD scores, consensus meetings resolved disagreements on nine videos, achieving full agreement.

Multinominal regression will be performed in R to assess variations in child attachment across the three family types, accounting for data nesting and the nominal nature of the outcome. I will present the results during the convention.

The Attachment Script Assessment (ASA) assesses attachment representations through narratives that are evaluated for secure base script knowledge (SBSK), reflecting a clear secure base script (attachment problem occurs, support is provided). Previous research linked higher SBSK with child attachment security. However, the ASA does not evaluate insecure or disorganized attachment representations, limiting opportunities to study the intergenerational transmission of these attachment patterns. Groh and Haydon (2024) developed a supplementary coding system to evaluate scripts for deactivation (attachment problems dismissed, minimal support sought), hyperactivation (attachment problems amplified, ineffective support provided), and anomalous content (attachment problems create fear/disorientation, support exacerbates fear/disorientation). This study examines associations between these ASA scripts and mother-child attachment in the Strange Situation procedure (SSP). We hypothesize that deactivation will be associated with insecure-avoidant, hyperactivation with insecure-resistant, and anomalous content with disorganized attachment.

Participants included 142 mother-infant dyads. When infants were 6 months, mothers completed the ASA, a word-prompt procedure in which individuals develop generic attachment narratives. Narratives were transcribed and rated on a seven-point scale for deactivation, hyperactivation, and anomalous scripts. When infants were 12 months, infants participated in the SSP with their mother. Trained, reliable coders classified infants using the standard ABCD coding system.

Results showed that mothers’ higher levels of ASA hyperactivation were strongly associated with infant insecure-resistant (vs. not-resistant) attachment (r = .52) and moderately associated with disorganized (vs. not-disorganized) attachment (r = .27). Mothers’ higher levels of ASA deactivation were moderately associated with insecure-avoidant (vs. not-avoidant) attachment (r = .19). Finally, ASA anomalous content was weakly associated with insecure-resistant (r = .13) but not with disorganized (vs. not-disorganized) attachment (r = -.02).

These results provide the first evidence that insecure attachment representations assessed via the ASA are associated with insecure patterns of mother-child attachment in the next generation.

Emotional regulation skills are deeply shaped by the quality of the parent-child relationship in the first years of life (Sameroff, 2004; Taipale, 2016). From a physiological perspective, emotional regulation is frequently assessed using Heart Rate Variability (HRV; Bauchaire, 2015), with higher HRV levels indicating greater emotional regulation capacity and adaptive stress management. Furthermore, parental Mind-Mindedness (MM), defined as the ability to perceive and treat the child as an individual with a separate mind (Meins, 1997a) and regarded as a cognitive component of the broader construct of maternal sensitivity (Meins, 1999), has been shown to contribute to infants’ physiological emotional regulation (Zeegers et al., 2017). The present study aims to expand the existing literature by investigating whether the quality of parent-infant interactions influences emotional self-regulation abilities as early as 8 months of age. Twenty-seven 8-month-old infants (11 females, Mage = 254 days, SD = 9 days) participated in a two-minute video-recorded free-play interaction session with their parent, where the infant’s heart rate was recorded. Subsequently, we coded the parental MM and evaluated the quality of interaction considering five domains: parental sensitivity, dyadic reciprocity, interaction rhythm, exchange intensity, and emotional tone (Gartstein, Crawford & Robertson, 2008). Data analysis is still ongoing but will be completed before the conference date. We hypothesize that parental MM will influence infant HRV and that interaction quality will also have an impact on HRV. Furthermore, we expect higher levels of MM to be associated with greater interaction quality (i.e., parental sensitivity and dyadic reciprocity). Examining the impact of Mind-Mindedness and parental sensitivity on infants’ physiological regulation will provide deeper insights on the role of relational processes in shaping the development of self-regulation abilities.

Aims: Dutch researchers (Verhoeven et al., 2017) developed the Comprehensive Early Childhood Parenting Questionnaire (CECPAQ), a 54-item parent-report instrument that measures parenting behaviour relevant to early childhood (1-5 years of age) in five domains. Following theoretical development, the Dutch validation study confirmed the 5-factor solution and good reliability parameters for all the parenting dimensions (support, stimulation, structure, positive and harsh discipline). In recent years, some international translations have been made, but only a few validation studies have been published. The aim of the present study was to examine the factor structure, the reliability and the validity of the Hungarian version of CECPAQ among mothers raising 20-36-month-old children in nationally representative community samples in Hungary.
Methods: CECPAQ was assessed in two studies of the ‘Infancy in 21st Century Hungary’ project (Danis et al. 2020), which focused on parenting, parental well-being, early childhood development and mental health. Data were collected from mothers of children aged 3 to 36 months in two cohorts (2019-2020, n = 980; 2023-2024, n = 415) before and after a period of historical stress resulting from COVID-19 waves, geopolitical and financial crises affecting the country. Both samples were nationally representative in terms of children's age, gender and the type of residence. CECPAQ was administered to a sub-sample of mothers of children aged 20-36 months.
Results: Factor structure, psychometric properties and construct validity of the CECPAQ were examined. We compared the distributions of the scale scores in the two, pre- and post-stress waves. Here, we present results focusing on possible stress-related cohort effects on parental behaviour in early childhood.
Conclusion: These validation analyses served to introduce the Hungarian version of CECPAQ to facilitate further research in parenting relevant to the children’s early years.

Immigrant parents, apart from difficulties with their acculturation, may experience tensions related to raising a child and playing a special role for their children in the process of adapting to the new culture. Our study aimed to analyze cultural and relational predictors of parenting self–efficacy (PSE) in Ukrainian mothers living in Poland with their 2 to 6-year-old children. In addition, links between PSE and mother-child dyadic functioning were also analysed.

Mothers (n=400) completed an online survey, and a subgroup (n=100) agreed to participate in the recordings of parent-child interaction. The measurement of PSE was based on four approaches to conceptualizing (and studying) PSE. Other measures comprised: The Social Identification Scale, The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and The Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale. Parent-child interaction was evaluated using the Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale (KIPS).

Four distinct latent profiles were identified based on a multifaceted measurement of PSE. Ukrainian mothers with a low level of PSE reported higher levels of acculturation stress, lower levels of social identity, and lower socio-economic status in Poland than mothers with a high level of PSE. They declared lower levels of social support, relationship satisfaction, and higher stress levels than mothers from all other groups. Levels of parental stress and child behavioral problems were higher among Ukrainian mothers with lower levels of PSE than in other groups. Preliminary data analysis from KIPS showed that mothers with a higher level of PSE presented more emotionally supportive behaviours towards their children than mothers with a medium level of PSE.

Ukrainian parents living in Poland are an understudied and underserved population in clinical psychology. The current study provides missing information on Ukrainian parental functioning, specifically about the complex relationships of PSE with relational and cultural variables.

Objective: This study examines how maternal experiential avoidance influences anxiety in preschool-aged children and investigates whether the child’s only-child status moderates this relationship.

Methods: A total of 387 mothers of preschoolers aged 3 to 7 years participated, with 47.8% of the children being only children. Maternal experiential avoidance was assessed using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), and children’s anxiety levels were measured using the Scale for Child Anxiety (SCAS).

Results: Findings revealed that higher maternal experiential avoidance (higher AAQ-II scores) was significantly associated with greater child anxiety (SCAS total scores) across both only children and non-only children. However, the specific anxiety dimensions affected differed between the groups. For only children, experiential avoidance was positively associated with separation anxiety, fear of physical harm, social fear, and generalized anxiety (β = 0.27–0.34, P < 0.05). For non-only children, the associations extended to separation anxiety, fear of physical harm, social fear, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and generalized anxiety (β = 0.33–0.45, P < 0.001). Moderation analyses confirmed that the relationship between maternal experiential avoidance and child anxiety was stronger for non-only children (P < 0.05), suggesting that family dynamics may amplify this impact in larger sibling systems.

Conclusion: These findings highlight maternal experiential avoidance as a key factor in shaping preschoolers’ anxiety, with nuanced differences based on the child’s sibling status. This underscores the importance of tailored interventions to address maternal psychological flexibility and support children’s emotional well-being within diverse family structures.

The Family Investment Model (FIM) represents a major theoretical perspective linking socioeconomic status to child development. The model builds on the notion that parents with socioeconomic advantage have access to more financial, social, and human resources to support their children’s development than disadvantaged parents. The FIM has been tested across diverse sociocultural contexts but a validation within the Nordic setting is lacking. We used multi-method data from a study of Norwegian children (N=1157), their parents, and teachers spanning child age 6 months to Grade 1. Research questions: (1) To what extent does parental education and family financial stress predict parental cognitive stimulation (mothers at 2 years, fathers at 3) and children’s language competence and self-regulation abilities at 4 years? (2) Is the relation between family SES-and children’s language and self-regulation mediated by parental cognitive stimulation? (3) To what extent do language and self-regulation at age 4 predict Grade 1 academic competence and social skills? Path models were analyzed in Mplus. Higher educated parents engaged in more cognitive stimulation with their children than less educated parents. Also, mothers in families having financial difficulties were less engaged in stimulation than mothers without such difficulties. Both parent’s cognitive stimulation was related to age 4 language, whereas only maternal stimulation was predictive of self-regulation. Three out of five indirect effects were significant, including maternal education on language via maternal stimulation, financial stress on language via maternal stimulation, and financial stress on self-regulation via maternal stimulation, with small effect sizes. Both language competence and self-regulation abilities at age 4 were related to Grade 1 academic competence and social skills. In conclusion, we found support for the propositions of the FIM, suggesting that family background influence children’s development partly through parental investments - even within a strong welfare state such as the Norwegian.

Objective: The term "concentration" in German and Lithuanian is used synonymously with the term "attention" or considered as its sub-construct. High concentration requires effective integration of attention[1] components, enabling sustained selection, coordination, and control of actions through wilful effort[2]. Concentration training in preschoolers is crucial due to their rapid cognitive development and the influence of gene-environment interactions, improving cognitive skills and behaviour control. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Marburger Concentration Training (MKT)[3] for preschoolers in Lithuania by assessing changes in their concentration abilities.

Methods: A comprehensive survey led by the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (Department of Health Psychology) in cooperation with Austrian colleagues was conducted across four Lithuanian districts in 2021. A subgroup of 47 five-years-olds was assigned to either a training group (TG, N=23; 12 MKT sessions over six weeks) or an age-matched control group (CG, N=24). Both groups included children with and without behavioural, attention, and emotional problems. Concentration was assessed by measuring task errors before and after training using the KHV-VK[4].

Results: A significant improvement in concentration, reflected by a reduction in errors, was observed in the TG (Z=-3.954, p<0.001, r=0.58), as well as across both low- and high-concentration subgroups and gender subgroups. While a reduction in errors was also observed in the CG, it was less pronounced. Notably, the results within the groups exhibited considerable variability.

Conclusions: The MKT moderately enhanced concentration in 5-year-olds, particularly in boys and in those with lower baseline scores. The implementation of the MKS in the preschool setting proved valuable, despite a short training period and inconsistency of results.

Language assessment is a key tool in the developmental psychology of bilingual children, as it supports and ensures their cognitive, emotional, and social growth through exposure to diverse languages and cultures. Despite its importance, language assessment faces challenges in practice, as parental reluctance to disclose children's linguistic and developmental information—an increasingly pressing issue in our data-conscious society—limits early intervention and compromises the effectiveness of assessment tools.

In contrast to traditional child language assessment that relies on children’s audio data, we propose an innovative approach to evaluating second language (L2) oral narrative comprehension utilizing only teachers’ speech during child-teacher interactions. In the one-on-one interactive test, the child listens to a story and answers ten questions posed by the teacher. The teacher employs oral elicitation techniques such as repetition, stress, intonation changes, and strategic pauses to emphasize key meanings and aid child’s comprehension. Grounded in Vygotsky’s scaffolding theory, this approach aligns with socio-cognitive perspectives that underscore the role of social interactions in language acquisition. To ensure rigor, we employ MAIN, a standardized and well-validated multilingual narrative test, as a ground-truth reference.

By using machine learning methods, we extract speech features such as X-vectors, prosody, emotional embeddings, and duration ratios (e.g., pauses per second, speech-to-pause ratio), and linguistic features like perplexity and word embeddings from teacher speech. These language- and culture-independent features indicate broad applicability across diverse contexts. We identify the most relevant features for children's narrative comprehension and establish their significance through impact ranking.

This study addresses parental concerns regarding children's data security in language assessment by leveraging teacher speech for children's performance. Our presentation demonstrates key audio features that contribute to language assessment, and the impact of teacher speech on children's L2 narrative comprehension.

Theory of mind and emotion comprehension are distinct but related aspects of social cognition, as found by empirical studies and reflected in the comprehensive tests used to assess them: The Theory of Mind Scale (Wellman & Liu, 2004) contains some emotion-related items, and the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC, Pons & Harris, 2000) contains some belief-related items. We tested the relations between performance on these two tests in a group of 51 Norwegian children (30-76 months, M = 53.47, SD = 12.73; 30 girls, 21 boys). We expected positive correlations in overall performance, as well as between pairs of items that assess the same construct, namely children’s understanding (1) that different people can have different preferences, (2) that in the case of false beliefs, emotions rely on the belief instead of the state of the world, and (3) that people can show a different emotion than what they feel. Finally, we compared the passing rates across these pairs of items to explore their relative difficulty in the two tests. Our results showed a significant correlation between overall performance on the ToM Scale and the TEC (r = .48, p < .001), which, nevertheless, disappeared when controlling for age (r_p = .17, p = .238). From the expected item-level correlations, only the one for diverse desires was significant (r = .35, p = .012). The explorative analyses showed that the diverse desires item was passed by significantly more children in the ToM Scale than in the TEC (82.4% resp. 49%, McNemar’s test p < .001), while the belief-emotion and real-apparent emotion items did not differ significantly across tests. These results will be discussed related to theories of social-cognitive development as well as the construction and coding of the ToM Scale and the TEC.

Picky eating behavior and food refusal in children are often linked to parent-child relationships and parental control. Child-centered play therapy helps children gain autonomy and express their feelings through play. This case study examines a 2.5-year-old child undergoing play therapy to address persistent eating difficulties. The child was referred to therapy due to significant food selectivity and strong resistance during mealtimes. Parents reported that the child refused certain foods entirely, exhibited tantrums when pressured, and that mealtimes had become stressful for the family. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of play therapy, particularly sand tray therapy, in improving eating behaviors and reducing anxiety around food.

The intervention included eight weekly play therapy sessions using child-centered play therapy, sensory play, sand tray therapy, and role-playing games related to food. Sand tray therapy provided a safe, non-verbal outlet for the child to express emotions and anxieties. Additionally, parental guidance was provided through interviews. Data were collected via parental interviews, observational notes, and progress tracking of the child's eating behaviors.

Initially, the child was reluctant to engage in food-related play, but sand tray therapy allowed emotional expression and facilitated gradual comfort with the therapeutic process. Over time, the child showed reduced resistance to eating and began accepting new foods. A key factor in this progress was the parents’ increased flexibility and reduced pressure during feeding. By the final sessions, the child demonstrated more positive emotions toward food and mealtimes.

This case highlights the effectiveness of play therapy, particularly sand tray therapy, in addressing eating difficulties in young children. Play-based interventions combined with parental guidance, can help reduce mealtime stress and encourage a more positive feeding experience.

*This presentation is supported by TÜBİTAK 2224-A Grant Program for participation in scientific meetings abroad.

Objective: Parental psychological flexibility is a key component of parenting quality and is closely linked to child development. While experiential avoidance has been identified as a psychological factor, few studies have examined the role of family emotional support, and none have distinguished between support from family of origin and in-laws. This study examined the main and interactive effects of experiential avoidance and emotional support from families of origin and in-laws on the parental psychological flexibility of mothers of preschoolers.

Method: A sample of 335 Chinese mothers of preschoolers completed questionnaires assessing experiential avoidance, emotional support from family of origin and in-laws, parental psychological flexibility. Hierarchical regression analyses tested the main and interaction effects.

Results: Higher experiential avoidance was associated with lower parental psychological flexibility. Emotional support from family of origin was positively associated with flexibility, whereas support from in-laws was negatively associated. A significant interaction showed that among mothers with high experiential avoidance, greater support from in-laws exhibited lower flexibility.

Conclusion: Integrating psychological and environmental factors, this study provides a comprehensive examination of factors of parental psychological flexibility. Differences in the effects of support from families of origin and in-laws highlight the complexity of family support systems. While support from family of origin had beneficial effects, support from in-laws may hinder it. Interventions to enhance parental psychological flexibility should address both individual psychological factors and the source of family support. Culturally sensitive strategies tailored to intergenerational relationships and parental autonomy may be more effective in specific cultural contexts.

The Family stress model (FSM) represents a theoretical perspective addressing the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), family processes and child development. While repeatedly supported in high-risk families, relatively little research has been conducted on the FSM in low-risk samples and welfare societies like the Nordic ones. Also, most research has focused on mothers. We used a large population-based sample (N=1557) of Norwegian fathers and their children and tested the FSM as a framework for predictions of child physical aggression (e.g., hit, pinch, kick) via various paternal stress indicators and parenting practices. More specifically, we examined potential longitudinal SES-related risk pathways between two different indicators of SES (early economic hardship and maternal and paternal education), paternal mental distress (anxiety and depression), paternal parental stress, and paternal harsh parenting behaviors (paternal reports), and subsequent child physical aggression (maternal reports) across child ages 6 to 48 months. The results from a structural model testing mediated pathways with bias corrected bootstrap (=1000) showed support for the tenets of the FSM in that child aggression was predicted by a) economic hardship through paternal stress and paternal harsh parenting, and b) by maternal education through paternal harsh parenting. The mediated pathways were small, but significant. The results thus show that having experienced family economic problems during a child’s first year of life is related to fathers experiencing heightened parental stress, which is linked to more harsh parenting behaviors at child age three, which in turn predicts more physical aggression when the child is four years old. Moreover, higher maternal, but not paternal, education is linked to less paternal harsh parenting practices, which in turn is linked to fewer instances of child physical aggression. In conclusion, the results support the FSM even in the relatively low-risk sociopolitical context of a Nordic welfare state.

This study aims to gain insights into the heterogeneity of early childhood teachers’ mathematics teaching efficacy and seek evidence to build their specific profiles, following a person-oriented approach. This approach was chosen to provide combinations of attributes that shape high-risk groups of teachers being globally unconfident/inefficacious in teaching mathematics. We examined whether these profiles differed concerning their sense of responsibility for their students’ achievement, self-efficacy (overall), locus of control, special educational needs, and individual parameters/work-related characteristics. Moreover, the teacher’s gender, age, highest degree, educational experience, intention to work as a teacher (in years), monthly income, number of modules related to special education, and seminars in special education (that teachers attended) were evaluated for their contribution in differentiating teachers’ profiles. The sample included 547 in-service typical and special education teachers working in kindergartens. Two cluster analyses (two-step) yielded different profiles for special education teachers, entitled: “Passionate - Confident/ Efficacious in Teaching Mathematics”, “Operational - Moderately Confident/Efficacious in Teaching Mathematics”, and “Overworked - Globally Unconfident/ Inefficacious in Teaching Mathematics” and typical education teachers, entitled: “Operational - Moderately Confident/Efficacious in Teaching Mathematics”, and “Overworked – Globally Unconfident/ Inefficacious in Teaching Mathematics”. Findings are discussed for their implications for designing training programs for teachers at risk.

According to previous studies, young children are sensitive to the status of recipients in their resource distribution. For example, 3–4-year-olds allocate more resources to dominant than subordinate recipients, whereas 7–8-year-olds showed the opposite pattern (Charafeddine et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2021). This study investigated preschoolers’ resource distribution to younger and older children. In total, 144 3–6-year-olds participated and were randomly assigned to two conditions: younger (N = 71, M = 60.9 months) and older (N = 73, M = 61.9 months). The children were asked to distribute three stickers between the two recipients. In the younger condition, one recipient was the same age as the participants and one was two years younger. In the older condition, one recipient was the same age as the participants and one was two years older. In the younger condition, 44 children distributed more to the younger recipient, whereas 21 children distributed more to the same-age recipient. Six children distributed one sticker to each recipient and denied distributing the other sticker. A binomial test revealed that children tended to allocate more to same-age recipients than to younger ones (p = .006). In the older condition, 39 children distributed more to the older recipient and 29 children distributed more to the same-age recipient. Five children distributed one sticker to each recipient and denied distributing the other sticker. The distribution of older and same-age recipients was insignificant (p = .275). Logistic regression analyses showed that children’s age did not determine their distribution pattern in younger (B = -0.04, z = -1.47, p = .14) or in older conditions (B = -0.01, z = -0.47, p = .64). Considering the results, preschoolers who distributed more to the same age than to the younger ones might reflect their preference for a higher status.

Introduction: Previous research has demonstrated that parental discipline strategies significantly influence children's social competence (Tompkins & Villaruel, 2022). However, the effectiveness of these strategies may vary depending on parents' beliefs about their caregiving responsibilities, including emotional regulation, providing necessary support, ensuring adult availability for guidance, and fostering peer relationships. This study investigates the moderating role of these perspectives on the relationship between conditional discipline and children's sociability, specifically focusing on behaviors such as cooperation, turn-taking, and sharing.

Method: Data were obtained from the national database "Kids in Taiwan: National Longitudinal Study of Child Development and Care" (KIT) involving 1,484 parents. Parents rated their caregiving responsibilities across four domains using a 3-point scale (1=Parent, 2=Educator, 3=Child). Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was conducted using Mplus 8.4 to identify distinct patterns of caregiving beliefs at age 5. The BCH 3-step method was employed to analyze the moderating effect of these patterns on the relationship between parents' conditional discipline at age 5 and children's sociability at age 6.

Results: A 4-class model demonstrated a good fit (loglikelihood=-4602.84, AIC=9275.68, BIC=9461.27, Adjusted BIC=9350.09, Entropy=0.73, LMR-LTR’s p＜.001, BLRT’s p＜.001). The four classes represent distinct caregiving philosophies: Educator-Trusted Delegators (15.0%), Parent-Centric Duty Delegators (26.7%), Shared Responsibility Advocates (47.8%), and Minimal Parental Responsibility Advocates (10.5%). Parent-Centric Duty Delegators showed a significant negative effect of conditional discipline on sociability (β= -0.090, p<.05), while other groups showed no significant effects (β= 0.13 ~ -0.040, p＞.05). The moderating effect differed significantly between Parent-Centric Duty Delegators and Minimal Parental Responsibility Advocates (p< .05). These results suggest shared responsibility and child autonomy perspectives may buffer the impact of conditional discipline.

Conclusion: Parental caregiving responsibility perspectives moderate the link between conditional discipline and children's sociability. Tailored parenting interventions that align with these caregiving philosophies can enhance children’s social competence.

Diagnosis of a child's genetic disease is a traumatic event that affects the psychological functioning of parents. The aims of this study are (1) to assess the level of posttraumatic stress and (2) post-traumatic growth in mothers of young children with genetic diseases. Temporal and parental predictors will also be considered. The current study presents data collected during the first measurement point of a two-wave longitudinal study.

The study participants are mothers of children aged 0 to 3 years, in whom a specialist diagnosed a genetic disease before the completion of the first year of life. 120 mothers completed the following measures: The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), The Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA), The Kansas Inventory of Parental Perceptions (KIPP), The Family Resilience Assessment Scale (FRAS). All questionnaires are adapted to the Polish cultural setting and widely used. The analyzed data will be presented highlighting key findings and insights.

The presented results may provide valuable insight into how mothers cope with the diagnosis of a genetic disease in their children, both from the perspective of time and parenting. Improving the mother's time perspective might be a valuable direction for practitioners working with the mothers.

There is considerable consensus among experts that creativity involves both divergent and convergent thinking processes, but less agreement regarding the factors related to the creative process, such as the characteristics of the social environment. Several authors argue that the type of educational context can have a significant impact on aspects directly related to creative processes, such as curiosity, interest in novelty, and non-routine thinking. According to this, child-centered schools are expected to be more likely to promote these dispositions and 'open-mindedness' than conventional teacher-centered schools. This study examined creativity in 36 children (4–10 years old) from two school types using a Hook Task, which required constructing an artifact to retrieve an object. We assessed (1) divergent thinking (fluency, originality), (2) exploratory behaviors (object manipulations), (3) convergent thinking (attempts needed to retrieve the object), (4) task success, and (5) time to completion. After controlling for SES, gender, and fluid intelligence, results showed minor differences in success rates: no preschoolers succeeded, while 88% of primary students in child-centered schools and 70% in teacher-centered schools completed the task. However, children in child-centered schools solved the task significantly faster. A binomial logistic regression examined problem resolution as the dependent variable, with exploratory behaviors, school type, and school grade as predictors. Only exploratory behaviors were statistically significant (p < 0.05), showing an inverse relationship with success: more object manipulations correlated with lower success rates. The model explained a substantial portion of variance (R = 0.71), suggesting a strong effect size. This unexpected result suggests that success in non-routine problems may rely more on insightful discovery than trial and error. To clarify this, further analyses are underway to differentiate between purposeful and random exploratory behaviors. The study is also expanding with new data from analogous schools.

Recent research has highlighted links between contextual stressors in a post migration setting and mental health problems in asylum-seeking populations. Less is known about how postmigration stress places additional demands on parents, giving rise to parenting stress. Parents seeking asylum may be more vulnerable to parenting stress due to the postmigration stressors they face such as housing insecurity, economic worries, discrimination, and a loss of social networks.

Survey data were collected from n=78 asylum-seeking parents in the UK between May and August 2020 to explore associations between post migration stress, parenting stress, and depressive symptoms. Gender effects were also considered. We found that mean levels of parenting stress were high and associated with post-migration stress (r=.545, p<.001) but not with depression. Furthermore, there were noteworthy differences in the patterns of associations when we considered the data for mothers and fathers separately. This poster highlight an important association between experienced post-migration stress and parenting stress and are discussed in terms of the need for early intervention for asylum-seeking parents.

Abstract:
This study explored Japanese parents’ expectations regarding reading aloud to their children. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 70 parents of preschoolers (children in the second year of kindergarten), and factor analysis and cluster analysis were used to examine variables related to the purpose of reading aloud, such as knowledge, lifestyle habits, imagination, and parent-child time.

Factor analysis revealed three core factors: (1) knowledge and lifestyle habits, (2) parent-child time and fantasy, and (3) influence of surroundings. Cluster analysis further divided parents into three groups according to their reading purposes. While each group prioritized different aspects, all showed similar behaviors during shared reading: conversations were often left to the children, and parents tended to point to pictures rather than words, indicating a relatively casual reading style.

Across all groups, the most valued feature in choosing books was the richness of the story and enjoyment of content. Fantasy books were the most preferred, while ethical or scientific knowledge was seen as less important. Most families reported reading aloud daily, with little emphasis on concrete learning outcomes.

These findings offer insights into Japanese parenting attitudes reflected in reading practices. Rather than aiming solely at education or knowledge acquisition, reading aloud is used primarily as a means of communication and emotional connection. The study contributes a culturally grounded understanding of how shared picture book experiences function within Japanese families and highlights the social and emotional dimensions of early literacy practices.

Objective: Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at increased risk for comorbid emotional (internalizing) and behavioral (externalizing) problems, which can be an additional burden for parents. This study examines how ASD severity and emotional/behavioral problems (EBP) relate to parental stress and whether parental resilience moderate this relationship. Additional predictors of parental stress, such as parental migration background, and kindergarten childcare, are also considered.

Methods: As part of a research collaboration between the Autism Therapy Centre and the University of Vienna (Department of Clinical and Health Psychology), data collection for this Master's thesis has been conducted from March to December 2024. The sample consists of N = 72 children (46 boys, age M/SD = 5.04/1.83 years) and 71 parents (60 mothers). Associations between predictors and outcomes were examined using multiple regression analyses. Moderation analyses were conducted to examine whether parental resilience buffered these links.

Results: EBP significantly predicted parental stress F(1,76) = 6.09, p = .02, while ASD severity contributed only a slight, non-significant improvement in explained variance. Together, these factors accounted for 11.8 % of the variance in parental stress. Resilience was not a significant protective factor.

Conclusions: Parental stress in families of children with ASD is linked to their child’s emotional and behavioral difficulties, consistent with previous research. Other possible stressors in the daily lives of affected families should be investigated further in future studies.

The Family Check-Up (FCU) is a brief, family-focused intervention designed to enhance parenting behavior and improve child psychosocial functioning. Previous studies have established that this intervention is effective; however, the mechanisms by which these effects occur remain unclear. The proposed working mechanism of the FCU suggests that by improving aspects of parenting behavior – such as the quality of the parent-child relationship, positive behavior support, and limit-setting - children's psychosocial functioning is also likely to improve. So far, this mechanism has been investigated only in individual studies.

In this study, we will employ an innovative analysis method Meta-Analytic Structural Equating Modeling (MASEM), which allows us to assess all available data within a single model rather than examining each path individually. This approach offers a comprehensive overview of the intervention's working mechanism, leading to a more reliable estimation of its effects.

We conducted a thorough search of the PsycINFO, ERIC, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Only articles published in English after January 1st, 2000, were considered eligible. A total of 66 peer-reviewed papers describing randomized controlled trials were eligible for inclusion. From these papers, we extracted correlations between a) the FCU and parenting outcomes (both positive parenting and negative parenting), b) parenting and child psychosocial functioning outcomes, and c) the FCU and child psychosocial functioning directly.

In the upcoming months, we will complete the coding and categorizing of the extracted data. Once coding is finalized, we will analyze all data by running MASEM models to determine whether the FCU effectively improves parenting and whether enhanced parenting leads to improved psychosocial functioning in children. Results will be available in August 2025.

Memory for personal experiences is an important source of new information for children and interventions supporting the formation of autobiographical memories often support content knowledge formation and retention (Benjamin et al., 2010; Haden et al., 2001; Marcus et al., 2017). The pandemic period is marked by several societal restrictions that imposed changes on children’s regular routines and everyday life (Medrano et al., 2021; Pietrobelli et al., 2020; Stoecklin et al., 2021). These global experiences provided an opportunity to form autobiographical memories of the time and construct knowledge on the causes and mechanisms of viral infections. The present study focuses on children’s explanations for the causes of the societal changes to explore children’s everyday learning. Children (N = 96; aged 6 - 17, mean age 10,1; 49% girls) were interviewed and their memory for the societal changes probed; they were also asked why the changes were inflicted. Children provided 349 explanations or justifications for the societal changes in their recollections overall. The explanations were coded as (a) general i.e. explanations that simply introduced COVID-19 as the cause for societal changes; (b) misconceptions i.e., explanations that included elements of scientific explanations, but fell short at some aspect; (c) scientific i.e., explanations that focus on correct mechanisms of disease prevention or transmission; (d) pragmatic/focusing on the rules i.e., focusing on the goal of the restriction or the restriction itself; (e) animistic explanations; (f) socially oriented explanations i.e. explanations that focused on the well-being and safety of others. Age and gender differences in the types of explanations are analyzed. Results are discussed considering the concurrent understanding of concept development and the role of children’s everyday experiences.

Play is one of the most essential activities in a child’s life, according to prominent developmental psychologists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner. Our research indicates that most teachers working in Lithuanian preschool education centers and kindergartens share this view. However, in practice, is there truly space for play in childhood? To explore this question, we conducted several studies.

In one study, we asked various individuals what they consider to be a good childhood. We inquired about their favorite childhood games, their children’s favorite types of play, and whether they played frequently during their childhood. In another study involving Lithuanian preschool teachers, we examined children's opportunities for free play during their time in kindergarten.

Our findings revealed a significant positive correlation between the amount of play adults remember from their childhood and their well-being in the past two weeks (as measured by the WHO-5 Well-Being Index). We also found that while children in kindergartens do have some time to play, this time is usually what remains after other activities or occurs while waiting for scheduled tasks. Play is not a priority in most kindergartens, except for those with a play-centered approach, such as Waldorf or forest kindergartens.

For the conference, we will analyze generational perspectives on childhood and different types of play. We also aim to collect data from Lithuanian youth and students to examine how much they played during their childhood, their favorite types of play, and whether they consider play an important part of their early years. We are also gathering data to assess whether the situation in Lithuanian kindergartens regarding the time allocated for free play has changed.

School well-being is a broad and multidimensional concept that is essential for students' holistic development. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding its definition and conceptualization, compounded by the scarcity of self-reported instruments that capture children's experiences when assessing their own well-being.

This study presents an instrument designed to assess school well-being in children aged 3 to 12. Based on a scale originally developed for adolescents (Bradshaw et al., 2014), which is structured around three domains of school climate (safety, engagement, and environment) and self-administered, we developed 22 items adapted to early childhood and primary education stages. The instrument was administered through a brief individual interview to 389 children aged 3 to 12 years (52.2% girls; M = 96.9 months, SD = 25.7, range = 38-146 months) from 12 educational centers in Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha. The selected schools represent a diversity of geographical and socioeconomic contexts.

An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to determine the underlying structure of the instrument. The results revealed five factors: enjoyment of school, relational climate, sense of belonging, perception of aggression, and outdoor school space. Correlations suggest that the "sense of belonging" factor is central. These findings highlight, on the one hand, the importance of assessing children's school well-being from early childhood and, on the other, the value of using age-appropriate instruments based on direct interaction with children, listening to their voices, and validating their perspectives.

Quality of life (QoL), understood as a person’s physical, mental, and social well-being rather than just the absence of illness (WHO, 1948), has gained increasing relevance in various fields, including education. Research suggests that school environments can shape students' well-being, making it valuable to examine how different educational approaches impact QoL.

This study compares children's QoL in two types of school models: the Teacher-Text-Centered (TTC) approach, which prioritizes content learning and strict evaluation, and the Child-Environment-Interaction (CEI) model, based on constructivist principles that emphasize student engagement (Lillard, 2023). A total of 174 children (N_CEI = 54; N_TTC = 120), aged 6 to 12, were assessed using the standardized Kiddy-KINDL and KINDL QoL tests through individual interviews.

Although the quantitative results revealed no significant differences in overall QoL scores between students in TTC and CEI schools, the latter scored higher on the Physical Well-being and School subscales. These findings suggest that certain aspects of students’ well-being might be linked to the educational approach, though further exploration is needed. In this regard, an ongoing qualitative analysis, based on children's narratives, aims to provide deeper insight into their perceptions and experiences. This complementary analysis is expected to refine the interpretation of the quantitative data and offer a more comprehensive understanding of how educational contexts relate to children's QoL.

By integrating both quantitative and qualitative perspectives, this study contributes to a more nuanced discussion on the potential role of school environments in shaping students' QoL. Future research should continue to explore how diverse educational practices can foster a supportive and enriching school experience for all children.

Introduction
Emotions and learning are known to interact reciprocally. Anxiety is the most prevalent academic emotion, negatively impacting learning when experienced at high levels. Anxiety can be categorized into general and domain-specific anxiety, such as math anxiety. Associations between parent’s and children’s math anxiety have been studied, but few studies have also considered the parent's general anxiety. This is important for better understanding the phenomenon and its transmission mechanisms. Gender differences are evident in math anxiety, with girls reporting higher levels despite performing similarly to boys.

Aims
This study investigates how maternal general and math-specific anxiety are associated with school-aged children’s math anxiety. The study explores whether these associations differ between boys and girls. Additionally, it examines the relationship between mothers’ and children’s arithmetic skills and their levels of anxiety.

Methods
The sample includes 705 children (mean age 9y11mo, 50,8% girls) who were in 3^rd grade, and 362 mothers participating in the VUOKKO study (https://www.jyu.fi/en/projects/interaction-learning-and-development-vuokko-follow-up-study). The data was collected in 2021-2023.

Children’s math anxiety was assessed with a parent-reported questionnaire (adapted from Francis et al., 2020) and child’s own questionnaire (Sorvo et al., 2017, 2019). Mothers’ math and general anxiety were measured through self-reported questionnaires (Núñez-Peña et al., 2014; Viikki & Leinonen, 2015). Mothers’ and children’s arithmetic skills were also evaluated.

Results
Preliminary results show that mothers’ math and general anxiety were weakly positively correlated (r(357)=.17, p=.001). Children’s arithmetic skills and math anxiety were moderately negatively correlated for girls (r(284)=-.30, p=<.001) and for boys (r(269)=-.30, p=<.001). Detailed findings will be presented at the conference.

Conclusions
This study provides insights into the intergenerational transmission of learning-related emotions, and the relationship between general and domain-specific anxiety in mother’s and their children. The study also gives more information on the relationship between arithmetic skills and math anxiety in children and in their mothers.

Aims and Objectives: Previous research suggests bilingual children outperform monolingual peers on executive function tasks (Yurtsever et al., 2023). However, research investigating the effects of bilingualism on prospective memory (PM)—the ability to remember future actions, which also relies on executive functions—is limited. Research found no behavioral differences in event-based PM tasks for young adults but revealed psychophysiological differences in strategic monitoring and processing speed (Lopes-Rojas et al., 2022; Yörük et al., 2023). The impact of bilingualism during childhood, when its effects tend to be more pronounced, on time-based-PM tasks, which require greater strategic monitoring, remains unexplored. This study investigates how bilingualism influences event-based and time-based-PM in children and the role of strategic monitoring in these tasks.

Methodology: In this study, PM tasks adapted from Wang et al. (2011) were used. Our sample consisted of 36 Turkish monolingual and 30 Turkish-Dutch early and balanced bilingual children, aged 9-12. Children were instructed to respond to infrequent PM cues in an ongoing task (spatial working memory task). The PM task type (focal, non-focal event-based, and time-based) was manipulated by giving different PM cue instructions.

Results: PM performance was assessed based on accuracy, and strategic monitoring was evaluated through accuracy and reaction time. Data were analyzed using a 2 × 3 mixed ANOVA, with task type as a within-subjects variable and group as a between-subjects variable. Results showed no clear group differences in PM performance, but bilingual children performed better on time-based-PM tasks requiring strategic monitoring and focused more on detecting PM cues using it.

Conclusion: The research highlights strategic monitoring in time-based-PM tasks and its link to the impact of bilingualism on executive functions. It suggests that differences between these populations depend on task types and developmental stages, emphasizing the need for further study on language acquisition and executive functions.

Emotional competence allows children to deal with emotional hardships and is a key predictor for mental health and academic outcomes in children. Therefore, improving emotional competence in children is an important endeavor. This protocol outlines how the universal intervention Tuning into Kids in School (TIKiS) will be implemented, and the ways the effectiveness and implementation measures of TIKiS will be evaluated. TIKiS consists of six 1.5hr group sessions aiming to improve the emotional competence and emotion socialization practices of teachers. Using randomized controlled trials, 20 schools in Oslo, Norway participated in a study using TIKiS as either an intervention or waitlist control school. The current study is a collaboration between the University of Oslo, and the municipal agencies that work closely with the schools, to create a sustainable continuation of TIKiS after the study is over. By targeting teachers rather than parents, the competence from TIKiS can remain in the schools and reach more children than a parenting intervention.

Recent work has addressed the importance of identifying determinants of parental emotion socialization (ES) to clarify how and why parents engage in various ES practices (Eisenberg, 2020; Shi et al., 2024). Furthermore, emotions occur within cultural contexts and it is important to study ES mechanisms in association with culturally embedded factors (Raval & Walker, 2019). Our cross-cultural study examined parents’ emotion-related beliefs and self-construals as two sets of distinct factors guiding parental ES responses in China (an Eastern culture where collectivistic values are commonly held) and the United States (US; a Western culture where individualistic values are commonly held). One hundred seven parents (75 Chinese, 32 US; 90 mothers, 17 fathers; M_age = 38.17, SD = 5.33) with 7- to 11-year-old children (63 girls, 44 boys; M_age = 9.12, SD = 1.30) completed online questionnaires in their native language. MANCOVA analyses indicated cultural differences. Compared with Chinese parents, US parents less strongly endorsed beliefs about manipulation [children use emotions to manipulate parents], parental knowledge [parents have to know all about their child’s emotions], and autonomy [children can work through emotions on their own]. US parents endorsed more supportive and less nonsupportive ES responses than Chinese parents. Linear regressions accounting for culture showed associations of beliefs about emotions and self-construals with ES responses in both samples. Parents’ stronger manipulation belief related to more nonsupportive responses. Parents with stronger parental knowledge or autonomy beliefs reported more supportive responses to negative emotions and explanations of positive emotions. After controlling for beliefs, parents with higher interdependent self-construal reported more supportive responses to negative emotions and more explanatory responses to positive emotions. Parents endorsing higher independent self-construal reported more encouraging responses to positive emotions and less nonsupportive responses to negative emotions. Results are discussed in relation to ES meaning and significance within socio-cultural contexts.

Socioeconomic status (SES) can influence how youth view themselves and how they are viewed by others, such as teachers. Teachers tend to have more negative stereotypes about lower SES youth, often having lower expectations and underestimating their abilities. Furthermore, lower-SES youth tend to have more negative self-views and to view their abilities as more fixed than higher-SES youth. Limited studies on adolescence show that lower-SES youth tend to hold stronger fixed mindset than stronger growth mindset beliefs.

Growth mindset is the belief that abilities are malleable whereas fixed mindset is the belief that abilities are fixed and unchangeable. Growth mindset relates to higher levels of motivation, school engagement, academic achievement and an overall well-being. Thus, promoting growth mindset beliefs early on may be necessary to nurture every child’s learning and flourishing. However, little is known about SES and mindset beliefs during the elementary school period.

This novel study will investigate the association between SES and children’s mindset beliefs about their reading and math abilities in sixth grade. We will also investigate the role of teacher mindset beliefs in this association. Teacher mindset beliefs refer to the extent to which teachers believe that children’s math and reading abilities are malleable or fixed. To this end, the data of 404 children from Dutch elementary schools will be analyzed in MPLUS. Children self-reported their mindset beliefs about their math and reading abilities. Teachers reported their mindset beliefs about each child’s reading and math abilities.

We hypothesize that lower-SES children will have stronger fixed mindset beliefs about their math and reading abilities than higher-SES children. We also hypothesize that teacher mindset beliefs will play a role in this association and that teachers will have stronger fixed mindset beliefs about lower-SES children than higher-SES children. The findings will provide insights into socioeconomic disparities in mindset.

The family plays a critical role in creating an optimal sleep environment (El-Sheikh & Kelly, 2017). Harsh parenting predicts children’s sleep problems in a linear fashion (Kelly et al., 2014), but emerging research indicates that harsh parenting may have nonlinear effects (Hidalgo et al., 2023). Risk saturation models (Morris et al., 2010) suggest chronic exposure to high levels of harsh parenting depletes the stress response system, leading to a disconnection between risk and development. In a two-wave longitudinal design, we examined linear and nonlinear harsh parenting on change in children’s sleep.

Children (N=339; Wave1: M_age=9.44 years, 48% girls, 65% White, 35% Black) and their parents from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds participated in two waves of data collection spaced two years apart. Parents reported on harsh parenting (Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale; Straus, 1999). We assessed several well-recognized sleep parameters (Sadeh, 2015). Sleep was measured objectively with actigraphy over one week to derive sleep duration (total number of minutes scored as sleep between sleep onset and wake time), efficiency (percentage of sleep time between onset and wake time), and activity (percentage of epochs during the night with activity). Children self-reported on sleep-wake problems over the past two weeks (School Sleep Habits Survey; Wolfson & Carskadon, 1998).

Controlling for race, sex, body mass index, family income, and marital problems, nonlinear harsh parenting predicted sleep duration, efficiency, and activity. Low to moderate levels of harsh parenting corresponded with declines in sleep duration and efficiency and increases in sleep activity. As harsh parenting reached high levels, negative effects on sleep duration, efficiency, and activity plateaued.

Novel findings illustrate that prospective relations between harsh parenting and children’s sleep may be nonlinear. Consistent with risk saturation perspectives, sleep worsened at low to moderate levels of harsh parenting. At high levels of harsh parenting, associations with less-optimal sleep attenuated.

The study compared socialization and personal values of teachers in general education schools, special education schools, and music schools that offer extracurricular education. A total of 401 teachers in Estonia filled in the Portrait Values Questionnaire. The results showed many similarities in teachers’ socialization and personal values across different schools: Teachers shared the views about the high importance of self-transcendence values both personally and in socialization of children. Teachers in special education schools did, however, also differ from general education and music school teachers. Teachers in schools for students with emotional-behavioral difficulties ranked achievement much lower and considered hedonism more important to socialize in children. Teachers in schools for students with disabilities rated self-transcendence values less important to develop in children than general educators and music school teachers. Regarding personal values, teachers in schools for students with emotional-behavioral difficulties considered hedonism more important and security less important than teachers from other schools. Whilst teachers’ socialization values were strongly correlated with their personal values, the findings also suggest that teachers differentiate which values are adaptive and functional for them and which values support the adaptation of students. Overall, the findings suggest that teachers adapt their values to the school’s context and children’s characteristics.

Background: Self-regulation is continuous and dynamic adaptation of emotions, behavior, and cognition in goal-directed actions. Previous research has associated it with academic achievement, yet the definitions vary by research perspectives and are not often integrated. This study researches self-regulation from a cognitive perspective by examining the core facets of executive functions: working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. Also, it includes a developmental perspective by Rothbart’s temperament model and its temperament dimensions, effortful control, surgency, and negative affectivity. Furthermore, it includes the child’s real-time regulation in learning situations assessed by parents and teachers.

Objectives: This study seeks insights into associations between temperament, executive functions, and everyday self-regulation in learning situations with academic achievement in children. It focuses on early adolescents, while most previous research on self-regulation focuses on younger children.

Methods: The participants of the study (n=190) were Finnish 6th graders (median age 12 years), who performed executive functions tasks. The students also answered a temperament questionnaire (Rothbart’s EATQ-R Short). Parents and teachers were asked to assess students’ self-regulation in homework and learning situations at school by questionnaires.

Results: After controlling for gender, parents’ education, fluid intelligence, and learning difficulties, of the investigated temperament dimensions, effortful control was associated with higher teacher and parent-reported self-regulation in learning situations, and poorer working memory and inhibition. Surgency was negatively associated with cognitive flexibility. Furthermore, higher cognitive flexibility and teacher-reported self-regulation predicted better academic achievement. Finally, higher effortful control predicted higher teacher-reported self-regulation in learning situations, which further contributed to better academic achievement. Also, cognitive flexibility mediated the association between surgency and subsequent academic achievement.

Discussion: This study deepened the understanding of the role of self-regulation in learning outcomes and the underlying mechanisms. This knowledge is needed to better target effective educational supporting interventions and recognize children at risk for difficulties in self-regulation.

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is a serious psychological problem in which individuals intentionally injure themselves without suicidal intent. In the context of Chinese culture, which emphasizes obedience, harmony, and collective interests, and which may lead adolescents to be more likely to ignore their emotional needs and even internalize their pain, thus increasing the risk of NSSI. Self-compassion, a positive psychological quality, may provide adolescents with an important emotional regulation mechanism to help them cope with pressures from family and school, thereby reducing the risk of NSSI. Based on Bronfenbrenner's ecosystem theory, this study investigated how two microsystem-level risk factors, parental psychological control and bullying experiences, interact to predict NSSI among Chinese adolescents, while exploring self-compassion’s potential buffering role.

A total of 901 Chinese adolescents aged 12-17(M_age ± SD = 14.50 ± 1.42) participated in a survey measuring experiences of bullying, parental psychological control, self-compassion levels, and NSSI behaviors. Results revealed that 25.64% had engaged in NSSI, with significantly higher rates among girls. Positive correlations between NSSI and both bullying and parental psychological control, alongside a negative correlation with self-compassion were significant. Bullying and parental psychological control independently increased the risk for NSSI, and their cumulative risk effect was significant. Moderation analysis indicated that self-compassion significantly buffered the negative effects of bullying, parental psychological control, and cumulative risk on NSSI.

This study provides pioneering evidence for the compounded risks posed by parental psychological control and bullying on NSSI within the microsystems of family and peer environments in China’s collectivist cultural framework. Crucially, self-compassion emerged as a protective mechanism, diminishing the pathogenic effects of familial and peer adversities, can help strengthen adolescents' psychological resilience in coping with stress and negative emotions, thereby reducing the risk of NSSI.

Evidence-based parenting programs’ implementation in real-world settings is critical to making effective interventions widely available and improving services and outcomes for children and families. However, there remains a gap in knowledge about how practitioners experience the implementation of these interventions with families at psychosocial risk, particularly in the context of child protection services. The current study examined the experiences of 10 practitioners implementing the 10-session Standard Triple P parenting intervention with 69 families involved with child protection services in Portugal as part of their routine care practice, of which 34 families completed the intervention and 35 did not. Specifically, this study aimed to characterize 1) the implementation fidelity, 2) how and why program modifications were made and their impact on the implementation fidelity, and 3) what barriers and facilitators practitioners perceived to implementation in these services. We evaluated fidelity using the Standard Triple P session summary checklists completed by the practitioners at the end of each session. Discussion sessions were conducted with the practitioners to collect data on modifications and implementation barriers and facilitators. Results showed that Standard Triple P was implemented with high fidelity, with practitioners reporting 96% adherence and 76.5% of families attending the full program dosage. Furthermore, practitioners reported modifications made at the content level and to the format of program delivery. Practitioners described the implementation of Standard Triple P in child protection services as shaped by facilitators and barriers at the client, practitioner, process, innovation, organization, and structural levels. They highlighted the need to balance fidelity with modifications to overcome barriers and increase adjustment to families’ needs. This study emphasizes the role of practitioners’ experience in the implementation process and its relevance to inform evidence-based practice with families at psychosocial risk.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate developmental paths of reading fluency and reading comprehension among adolescents in lower secondary education. In addition, we examined how literacy-related emotions and psychological well-being are associated with these developmental paths.

Methods: The sample of this longitudinal study (n= 1035, 55% girls) consisted of Finnish adolescents (mean age=13.79, SD=0.35 at the outset) and who were investigated in Grades 7 and 9 of lower secondary school. The participant’s reading fluency and reading comprehension were measured with standardized tests. Adolescents' literacy-related emotions and psychological well-being were measured with questionnaires. Research questions were analyzed using latent profile analysis.

Results: Three developmental profiles of reading skills were found: (1) Low reading comprehension and low and slowly increasing reading fluency (11%), (2) High reading comprehension and high-increasing reading fluency (30%), and (3) Average-increasing reading fluency and comprehension (59%). Adolescents following trajectory 2) reported higher literacy-related enjoyment, hope, and pride and lower literacy-related anger, anxiety, hopelessness, and shame than adolescents from other trajectories. Adolescents in trajectory 1) reported lower hope and higher hopelessness towards literacy than adolescents from the trajectory 3). No differences between trajectories were found in life satisfaction, but adolescents from trajectory 1) and 2) reported a higher level of depressive symptoms than adolescents from trajectory 3), and their symptoms increased faster from Grade 7 to 9.

Conclusions: This study shows that reading skills continue to develop still during adolescence and the development follows heterogenous paths. There is a concerning connection between reading skills and depressive symptoms, which would be profitable to take into account in teaching. More studies are needed to establish if reading-related emotions are the cause or consequence of developing reading skills.

Purpose: School victimization among sexually and gender-diverse (SGD) adolescents is likely to persist across forms and contexts. This study aimed to explore SGD adolescents’ detrimental well-being via such contextual persistence, thereby considering the multi-dimensional and heterogeneous nature of school victimization across forms, locations, and perpetrators.

Methods: Data were drawn from the Dutch Social Safety Monitor project, a cross-sectional, school-based national study. We analyzed data from the 2021 and 2022 sweeps, including 13,961 secondary school students (M_age = 14.17; 4,491 same/both-sex attracted; 850 gender-diverse).

Results: Heterogeneous patterns of school victimization were identified: three patterns for forms (none-low victimization, verbal victimization, all-form victimization), four patterns for locations (none-low, fewer-location, more-location, all-location), and three patterns for perpetrators (none-low, student-perpetrator, all-perpetrator). Compared to heterosexual, cisgender adolescents, SGD adolescents were significantly more likely to experience patterns involving multiple or all forms of victimization, across all tested school spaces, and from all tested perpetrators. These victimization disparities were associated with higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and increased substance use.

Conclusion: SGD adolescents tend to experience persistent school victimization across multiple forms and contexts, exposing them to risks in most locations and from various perpetrators. This contextual persistence further contributes to their worse well-being, highlighting the need to address the heterogeneity of victimization and account for different dimensions.

Objective. Despite widespread attention to road safety, young drivers continue to suffer a high proportion of injuries and deaths (Zhu et al., 2024). Risky driving among young adults is one of the major contributors to such outcomes. It was proposed (Harith & Mahmud, 2020) that young drivers’ attitudes towards risky driving (which is a key element of subsequent driving violations) may depend on the perception of social norms. However, research on whether perceived social norms predict young adults’ risky driving attitudes is limited. Therefore, our aim was to determine the relationship between perceived friend, parental, and societal norms (both descriptive and injunctive) and risky driving attitudes in a sample of young drivers. Methods. The current study was conducted on a convenience sample of 102 Lithuanian drivers (18-35 years old (mean age = 19.81, SD = 2.71); 81% females). Of these, 47 possessed a driving license, 25 were undergoing driver training, and 30 did not have a license. Data were collected by means of online self-administered questionnaires. Results. It was found that perceived friend, parental, and societal norms (both descriptive and injunctive) were significantly and positively related to young drivers’ attitudes toward risky driving. Significant positive correlations remained even after controlling for the role of participants’ gender, age, and possession of a driving license. Conclusion. The results suggest that young drivers who believe others approve of or engage in driving violations are more likely to develop favorable attitudes toward risky driving. The study adds to our understanding of how perceived social norms influence young adults’ driving violations, offering valuable insights for future interventions. Based on our findings, addressing perception of social norms in road safety programs may help reduce driving violations among young adults.

Key-words: perceived social norms, risky driving attitudes, young drivers

With growing concerns regarding the impact of digital media use on children’s development, the role of parents in their children’s digital media use has been increasingly emphasized. Past research has examined the ways of parents’ guide their children’s media use (i.e. parental mediation) and its relation to adolescents’ digital media use and adjustment. However, there is a scarcity of research on parental mediation in the context of video games. To improve our understanding, in this study, we will examine the association between parental mediation in video games and adolescents’ problem behaviors. Given that whether parents use mediation strategies in a controlling, autonomy supportive, or inconsistent way may change its effects, we will focus on five mediation strategies: autonomy-supportive active, autonomy-supportive restrictive, controlling active, controlling restrictive, and inconsistent restrictive mediation strategies. We will focus on adolescents as identity formation and autonomy are fundamental developmental tasks during adolescence, and video games may serve as a personal space where adolescents can create characters, build relationships, and make both material and emotional investments. Participants will consist of 200 adolescents aged between 11-15 years. We will use Parental Media Mediation Scale (Valkenburg et al., 2013), and Youth Self-Report/11-18 (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) to measure our study variables. Given that autonomy supportive parenting style is associated with better adolescent adjustment and autonomy supportive mediation strategies may promote healthy gaming habits (e.g., lower problematic gaming, lower aggression, lower use), we expect that both types of autonomy-supportive mediation will be negatively associated with internalizing and externalizing problems. In contrast, we anticipate that both types of controlling mediation and inconsistent mediation will be positively associated with internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. This is because controlling or inconsistent parenting approaches may undermine autonomy, create reactance, and increase emotional distress, aggression, and the use video games as an escape for adolescents.

As conflict is an inevitable part of interpersonal relations, conflict resolution is an indispensable social skill that is needed in these interpersonal relations. Although it is important throughout the life, developing conflict resolution skills in adolescence has been seen crucial and attracted particular attention (Seiffge-Krenke, 2000). In this period, parent-adolescent relations become more challenging and interpersonal relations outside the family increasingly become important which makes this period more demanding in terms of conflict resolution skills. The current study aimed to examine adolescents’ conflict resolution patterns in their relationships with their mother, father, and best-friend and to investigate how these patterns differ in adolescents’ well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, problem solving confidence, trait-anxiety). Participants were 1033 Turkish adolescents between the ages of 11 to 19. Adolescents’ conflict resolution behaviors were examined with a person-centered approach through cluster analysis which revealed four groups of adolescents who differ in their conflict resolution patterns. The first cluster which labeled as “Confrontational and Withdrawing” was characterized by low levels of problem-solving and high levels of conflict engagement, withdrawal and compliance. The second cluster which labeled as “Problem Solver” was characterized by high levels of problem solving and low levels of conflict engagement, withdrawal, compliance. The third cluster “Confrontational but not Withdrawing” was characterized by high levels of conflict engagement and low levels of withdrawal, problem solving, compliance. The fourth cluster “Problem Solver but Withdrawing” was characterized by low levels of conflict engagement and high levels of withdrawal, problem solving, compliance. Univariate ANCOVAs, conducted to examine how these clusters differ in psychological well-being revealed that “Problem Solver” had the highest scores in well-being indicators while “Confrontational and Withdrawing” had the lowest scores. Overall, findings revealed how combinations of different resolution styles differ in well-being and highlighted the importance of developing constructive resolution behaviors in adolescence.

In Finland, research highlights a persistent academic achievement gap between majority population non-immigrant and immigrant-origin students. While these gaps remain consistent over the years, recent research indicates that there is a significant overall performance decline in students across all of Finland (OECD, 2023). Drawing on the ecological systems’ theory (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) and the integrative risk and resilience framework for understanding immigrant-origin youth adaptation (Suárez-Orozco et al., 2018), the present study examines whether and how social factors, such as the quality of teacher-student relationships and students’ sense of school belonging are linked with academic outcomes among non-immigrant majority population and immigrant-origin students .

Using multilevel data from the nationally representative Finnish sample in PISA 2022 (N = 10,239), this study investigates the associations between these social factors and reading comprehension test performance – a key measure of overall cognitive development and adaptation. Preliminary results suggest that the perceived quality of teacher-student relationship is an equally important positive predictor of reading test performance for all students controlling for other relevant predictors, such as gender, socio-economic status, language spoken at home and task effort. In turn, a strong sense of school belonging was only a significant predictor for first-generation immigrant students. Specifically, for them, a higher sense of school belonging was positively associated with reading test achievement. The findings are mostly in line with extant research emphasizing the role of feelings of belongingness for immigrant student adjustment but also suggest that a sense of belonging is particularly crucial for First-generation immigrant students.

Background: The topic of overinvolvement has gained significant attention in recent years, not only in academic discussions but also in articles targeted at parents. Despite this interest, there remains a limited number of studies examining parents' perspectives on this phenomenon, even less on the possible reasons for this phenomenon perceived by parents themselves.

Aim: To address this gap, the aim of the current study is to explore possible motives for parental overinvolvement from the perspective of parents.

Methods: The study has qualitative design. The participants consisted of 20 parents (mean age 43.9, 90% female). Criteria for participants were as follows: having a firstborn child currently at the age of 14-16 and sharing the same household with the child. Respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured format via online video call. Interviews were recorded on an audio recorder, transcribed verbatim, and anonymized. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken.

Results: Preliminary results suggest occurrence of two main themes explaining the reasons for parental overinvolvement from the perspective of parents. One, parent-related factors, such as their personality traits, convenience, or compensation of their past. Second theme is external factors, such as the time we live in and perceived social pressure by family and friends and by social media.

Discussion: Based on the results, parents seem to be aware of the occurrence of overinvolvement and wonder about its sources. Further analysis will be undertaken.

Introduction: Given the urgency of addressing climate change and promoting pro-environmental practices to meet global sustainability challenges, innovative educational approaches are essential to actively engage individuals and foster long-term behavioural changes. Climate change underscores the importance of equipping younger generations with the tools to adopt sustainable practices. Education for sustainability should transcend the mere transmission of knowledge, fostering intrinsic motivation, collaboration, and a sense of individual and collective responsibility. This study investigates educational strategies based on gamification, grounded in Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2017), to drive meaningful behavioural changes toward sustainability and empower new generations to effectively address environmental crises.
Method: A quasi-experimental design was employed to evaluate the impact of gamified versus non-gamified sustainability education on university students. Participants were divided into two groups: one engaged in gamified pro-environment activities (e.g., challenges and tasks), while the other followed a traditional, non-gamified educational approach. Data were collected through self-report measures to assess changes in pro-environmental behaviours and related variables (e.g., emotions, beliefs).
Results: Preliminary findings suggest variations between students participating in gamified and non-gamified sustainability education. The gamified approach appears to foster a positive intention toward sustainable behaviours.
Conclusions: The results highlight the potential of gamification in sustainability education to encourage pro-environmental behaviours by promoting active participation. Gamified approaches cultivate an engaging learning environment that can drive behavioural transformation. These findings underscore the importance of further exploring gamification strategies in educational initiatives to advance sustainability goals.

Keywords: gamification, environmental education, pro-environmental behaviours, climate change

Introduction: Game-Based Learning (GBL, Prensky, 2005), which involves the use of games in educational contexts as part of the learning process, and gamification (Deterding et al., 2011), defined as the integration of game elements into non-gaming contexts, represent promising approaches in education. These methods foster engagement and enhance students' intrinsic motivation, particularly in promoting learning within the field of sustainability education (Douglas, & Brauer, 2021). The present study aims to investigate the motivational, emotional, and collaborative processes involved in gamified sustainability training, designed based on the principles of Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2017) and of a sociocultural approach. Research has demonstrated that the incorporation of game elements can effectively capture users' attention, motivate them toward achieving goals and enhance performance (Wee, et al., 2019). For this reason, a gamified platform was developed for this study, incorporating some of game design elements such as points, badges, avatars, storytelling, and feedback.
Methods: Using a sample of students, data were collected through self-report measures to assess the impact of gamified learning on motivation, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), and its potential to facilitate learning outcomes. The study involved three groups: one group participated in the gamified activity on the platform, the second performed the same educational activity in a non-gamified but interactive version, while the third group completed the same activity in a traditional format, using theoretical slides and a final quiz.
Results: Preliminary results indicate the presence of significant educational processes between gamified and non-gamified activities, emphasizing psychoeducational mechanisms that could support learning outcomes, particularly in sustainability education.
Conclusion: The results suggest the importance of continuing to explore the role of gamification as an educational tool, with further studies focusing on its applications in the field of sustainability.

Objectified body consciousness broadly refers to the tendency of individuals to view and assess their own bodies from an outsider’s perspective. This concept comprises three key elements: body surveillance, body shame, and appearance control beliefs. Existing literature suggests that multiple factors, including sociocultural norms, media exposure, and contextual influences, play a significant role in shaping body shame, particularly during emerging adulthood—a critical phase for identity development and psychological well-being. However, research on body shame and its predictors remains scarce in non-Western populations. This study examines the associations between body shame, difference between actual and ideal body size, sociocultural attitudes, body mass index (BMI), and self-compassion among emerging adults in Turkey. A total of 503 participants (aged 18-25, 372 women, 131 men) completed the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 Revised, Figure Rating Scale, and a Demographic Information Form. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26, with descriptive and hierarchical regression analyses conducted to examine the predictive relationships. The results revealed that, among sociocultural attitudes, both internalization of thinness and peer/significant others' pressure, along with BMI, were significant positive predictors of body shame. Conversely, self-compassion negatively predicted body shame, suggesting its protective role. Additionally, females exhibited slightly higher body shame scores compared to males, highlighting marginal gender differences in body image concerns. The findings underscore that body shame is a multidimensional construct shaped by both environmental and individual factors. Furthermore, self-compassion emerged as a prominent factor, mitigating the negative influence of body shame and ‘difference between actual and ideal body size’. These results suggest that interventions aimed at fostering self-compassion could be particularly beneficial for individuals facing high sociocultural pressures related to body ideals. Future research should explore the longitudinal effects of self-compassion and examine potential cross-cultural differences to further understand the mechanisms underlying body shame.

Within the global social network, meso-level networks represent the proximal level of social systems involving family, relatives, and close friends. Perceived support at this level has significant effects on social interaction at different levels of social systems and individual well-being. This study assessed links of perceived support at the meso level to individual satisfaction with life, collective agency, and the sense of national belonging. The study participants were 275 university students from Latvia aged 18 to 29 (mean age was 21.3 ± 2.7 years, 72% females, 54% employed). The Satisfaction With Life Scale, Relational Belonging and Influence subscales of the Sense of Country Inventory, and a scale consisting of four items representing perceived support from parents, siblings, relatives, and friends were included in the analyses. The structural equation modeling included perceived support as a predictor for satisfaction with life, collective agency, and national belonging. The model demonstrated good fit to data: χ2(113) = 187.94, p < .001, CFI = .966, TLI = .959, RMSEA = .049, 90% CI (.038; .060), pRMSEA ≤ .050 = .538, SRMR = .050. The satisfaction with life showed the closest link to perceived meso-level support, and the lowest was with the collective agency. The network analysis confirmed the grouping of variables by subscales. It revealed links between perceived support from parents and relatives and satisfaction with life, support from relatives and involvement, and the sense of commonality and an impact of the people of Latvia on the country. In summary, the results confirm that perceived support at the meso level links to individual well-being and societal phenomena, and the linking mechanisms can be associated with extended systems at meso and macro levels.

Adult education in Latvia faces challenges in developing lifelong learning and adapting to the labor market requirements. National policy frameworks emphasize increasing adult education participation. However, the impact of educational programs on professional performance remains a question for the assessment. A summary of previous studies points to the prioritization of participation in numerical indicators to qualitative improvements in professional development. Therefore, there is a need for more holistic and evidence-based adult education strategies in Latvia.
This study represents part of a broader project aimed at evidence-based solutions for adult professional competence development and transferring its results into practice. This step combined the main insights from focus-groups and experts’ discussions with theoretical views on motivational and structural factors influencing involvement in professional development.
In November-December 2024, 11 focus-group interviews and three expert discussions were conducted, in which 129 participants participated. The discussions emphasized the importance of lifelong learning and professional development in promoting labor productivity, emphasizing flexible and labor market-adapted education, noting the lack of resources in the regions, as well as the challenges of employee motivation in adult education. The focus-group interviews emphasized flexible, accessible, and practical adult education and the lack of motivation and insufficient employer support.
The analysis of theories identified significant factors promoting professional development, including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, engagement in the learning process, and facilitation of the transfer of learning outcomes by employee intentions and perceived organizational support.
A combination of both analytical frameworks resulted in a questionnaire, which presents individual views on involvement or disengagement from professional development and the transfer of acquired knowledge and skills.
The target population for a national-level survey involves adults working across Latvia’s most significant domains of economics and in different positions. The main survey findings will be presented and discussed during a poster session at the conference.

Marriage and reproduction are key aspects of adult development and psychosocial crises. Social norms surrounding these themes can stigmatize individuals who deviate from conventional expectations (e.g., sexual minorities, single individuals, or those without children). A review of existing scales revealed that while some measure individuals’ desires to marry or have children, none assess normative attitudes —such as "Life without marriage is lonely," "One should marry to reassure one’s parents," "Raising children makes one a full-fledged adult," or "Those without children are selfish." This study aimed to develop two scales—the Marriage Normativity Scale and the Reproduction Normativity Scale—and evaluate their reliability and validity.

Through a rigorous development process, including feedback from nine experts and cognitive interviews, we created 17 (for the Marriage Normativity Scale) and 11 (for the Reproduction Normativity Scale) items rated on a seven-point Likert scale under two instructional conditions: internalized beliefs ("I think ~") and perceived societal norms ("People generally think ~"). Data were collected from 921 Japanese-speaking individuals aged 18–69 through an online survey. In addition to the scales, participants also answered measures of gender role attitudes, political and religious attitudes for convergent validity, and autistic tendencies (AQ-J-10) for discriminant validity.

The scales demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha > .90) and strong structural validity (SRMR < .15). Construct validity was confirmed as the hypotheses were supported. These findings establish the scales as reliable and valid tools for research, practice, and broader applications.

Generational analysis revealed that teenagers scored the highest, while individuals in their 20s scored the lowest. Scores then increased with age up to the 60s, suggesting that developmental and societal factors shape normative attitudes. The high scores among teenagers may reflect their tendency to internalize family and generational values due to limited independence and social experience.

Variable-centered approaches, based on inter-individual differences, frequently examine predictors and outcomes of various coping strategies (e.g., active coping, defense coping, emotion regulation). Such studies, however, rarely demonstrate how individuals combine different coping strategies. Person-centered approaches, in contrast, identify such combinations and group individuals in subgroups of similar coping strategies profiles. Our study aimed at identifying such subgroups. In addition, we wanted to predict subgroup membership by cultural conditions (ethnicity) and the endowment with financial, educational, and social (strong and weak network ties) resources, as predicted by theories of person-context-interaction. Coping strategies based on primary and secondary control (Heckhausen & Schulz, 1995) were assessed via vignettes among 907 mothers of preschool or elementary school children, who also reported disposable resources. In a vignettes approach typical hassles and mothers’ coping responses in kindergarten or school were assessed. Latent Class analyses revealed five coping profiles: Profile 1 (n = 110; 12.1%) was primarily characterized by individuals’ problem avoidance. Individuals in Profile 2 (n = 104; 11.5%) were marked by low levels of help-seeking, whereas members of Profile 3 (n = 218; 24.0%) scored highest in help-seeking strategies. Profile 4 (n = 122; 13.5%) was characterized by problem-oriented, active coping with a tendency to blame others for failures. Members of Profile 5 (n = 353; 38.9%) also reported problem-oriented coping, but do not blame others for failures. Membership in these subgroups was predicted by disposable resources. Findings showed, for instance, that social network size differentiated between members of Profile 2 (comparatively smaller networks) and Profile 3 (comparatively larger networks). Individuals with higher levels of education were less likely to represent Profile 1 and more likely to represent Profile 5. Altogether, our research shows that person-oriented approaches can add to the scientific understanding of how individuals cope with challenges.

This study aimed to investigate how parental involvement in child-rearing affects each spouse’s Satisfaction with Family Life Scale (SWFL) scores through the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). We surveyed 300 couples with a preschool-aged first child, using online measures of parental involvement (“discipline,” “psychological care,” and “housework”) and SWFL. Because the alpha coefficient for “housework” was low, only “discipline” and “psychological care” were retained for subsequent analyses. Both self- and partner-rated subscales, as well as SWFL, showed consistent two-factor structures and satisfactory alpha coefficients. Paired t-tests indicated that wives scored significantly higher than husbands on discipline and psychological care, whereas husbands scored significantly higher on SWFL. We computed difference scores (e.g., husband’s self-rated discipline minus the wife’s rating of his discipline), but none reached significance. Next, APIM analyses using Mplus with robust maximum likelihood revealed no significant paths from discipline to each spouse’s SWFL. However, psychological care demonstrated significant positive effects: the husband’s psychological care predicted his own SWFL (β = .291, p < .001), and both the wife’s (β = .148, p < .05) and the husband’s psychological care (β = .229, p < .001) predicted her SWFL. An additional APIM analysis based on difference scores showed significant negative paths between the spouses’ SWFL. Taken together, these findings indicate mutual interdependence between spouses regarding how parental involvement shapes SWFL.

Parents of children with intellectual disabilities experience heightened stress levels compared to parents of children without disabilities. In Croatian society, the availability of resources and support systems necessary for mitigating these stressors is often insufficient. Over time, prolonged exposure to stress can deplete parental coping resources, leading to adverse psychological outcomes.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among parents of children with intellectual disabilities in Croatia and to identify factors contributing to these psychological outcomes. Data were collected through an online survey administered to a sample of 67 parents (94% female) with at least one child aged 6 to 18 years diagnosed with an intellectual disability. The study gathered demographic information regarding parents and children, as well as data on the child’s diagnosis and educational status. Standardized psychometric instruments, including the Neuroticism subscale of the Big Five Inventory, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Questionnaire on Caregiver Workload, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, were employed for data collection.

Findings indicated that only 22.4% of parents exhibited no increased symptoms of anxiety or depression. Employment status was inversely associated with anxiety and depressive symptom severity, with employed parents reporting lower symptom levels. Additionally, perceived social support demonstrated a negative correlation with depressive and anxiety symptoms, whereas the severity of the child’s difficulties and the perceived burden of caregiving exhibited a positive correlation with these symptoms. Hierarchical regression analysis identified neuroticism and perceived caregiving burden as significant predictors of anxiety symptom severity. Furthermore, neuroticism, the severity of the child’s difficulties, and perceived social support were identified as significant predictors of depressive symptom severity.

Keywords: parenting, children with intellectual disabilities, anxiety, depression

Executive functions encompass interconnected cognitive processes that enable purposeful and goal-directed behavior (Anderson, 2002; Hughes & Graham, 2002). They include skills such as planning, organization, initiating and monitoring activities, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and response evaluation (Anderson, 2002). This study aims to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Adult Executive Functioning Inventory (ADEXI; Holst & Thorell, 2016) on a sample of fathers from Croatia. The ADEXI is a scale developed to measure executive functions in adults. Participants were asked to rate how accurate each statement was for them on a scale from 1 to 5. The scale consists of 14 items, which, according to the original study by Thorell and Nyberg (2008), form two subscales: working memory and inhibition. The study included a total of 103 male participants, fathers of preschool-aged children. The average age of the participants was 39 years (M = 39.30; SD = 4.36; range 30–52 years). Results from the confirmatory factor analysis indicate a good model fit to the data (Little, 2013), confirming the originally proposed two-factor structure of the scale. Additionally, the scale demonstrated good psychometric properties in the sample of fathers from the Croatian population. These findings indicate that the ADEXI is a valid instrument and can be used for scientific and practical purposes in the Croatian context.

Objective
Beliefs about gender neutrality in parenting challenge traditional stereotypes by emphasizing that caregiving should not be dictated by gender. These perspectives advocate for equitable roles in child-rearing, fostering flexibility and inclusivity. However, the absence of a standardized tool to assess such beliefs limits research and interventions. This study aimed to develop and validate the Gender Neutrality in Parenting Questionnaire, a measure designed to evaluate attitudes toward gender-neutral parenting.

Methods
The study analyzed data from 488 Polish participants aged 18 to 68, including 269 men, 162 women, and 57 non-binary individuals. Of these, 253 were parents or legal guardians. The research validated the Gender Neutrality in Parenting Questionnaire and included the Biological Essentialism in Parenting Questionnaire. Additional questions for parents assessed parental role engagement, focusing on time spent with children, types of activities, financial responsibilities, and decision-making processes.

Results
The Gender Neutrality in Parenting Questionnaire showed strong psychometric properties, with high internal consistency and a clear two-factor structure reflecting beliefs that parenting abilities are based on individual skills rather than gender, and confidence in parents' ability to raise children of the opposite sex. A negative correlation with the Biological Essentialism in Parenting Questionnaire further supported its validity. Men scored the lowest in gender neutrality beliefs, while non-binary participants scored the highest. Higher gender neutrality scores were observed among individuals without children. Additionally, these beliefs were linked to key parenting aspects, including time spent with children, activities, finances, and decision-making.

Conclusions
Our findings confirm that the Gender Neutrality in Parenting Questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool with strong psychometric properties for assessing beliefs in gender-neutral parenting. Its two-factor structure, negative correlation with biological essentialism, and links to parenting roles highlight its utility. The questionnaire provides a valuable resource for studying gender equality in parenting and advancing research in family and gender studies.

Objectives

Cultural stereotypes about gender roles in parenting are widespread and similar globally. Women are often seen as naturally suited to childcare, while men are viewed as predisposed to provide financial support. To what extent are these beliefs based on the idea that such predispositions stem from biological differences between genders? This study aimed to assess the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the Biological Essentialism in Parenting Questionnaire, a new tool for evaluating these beliefs.

Methods

The analysis included data from 488 Polish participants aged 18 to 68, comprising 269 men, 162 women, and 57 non-binary individuals. Among them, 253 were parents or legal guardians. The study validated the Biological Essentialism in Parenting Questionnaire and incorporated the Gender Neutrality in Parenting Questionnaire. For parents, additional questions assessed parental role engagement, examining factors such as time spent with children, types of activities, financial responsibilities, and decision-making roles in parenting.

Results

The Biological Essentialism in Parenting Questionnaire demonstrated good psychometric properties, with high internal consistency and a clear two-factor structure capturing distinct dimensions for female and male predispositions. A negative correlation with the Gender Neutrality in Parenting Questionnaire further underscored its validity. Notably, men expressed the strongest essentialist beliefs, while non-binary individuals exhibited the lowest. Parents and guardians displayed significantly higher levels of gender essentialism than non-parents. Moreover, these beliefs were linked to parenting aspects such as time with children, activities, finances, and decision-making.

Conclusions

Our findings confirm that the Biological Essentialism in Parenting Questionnaire is a reliable, valid tool with strong psychometric properties for assessing beliefs in biological essentialism. Its two-factor structure, ability to highlight gender differences, and links to parenting roles demonstrate its utility. The questionnaire is a valuable resource for studying gender stereotypes and advancing research in gender and family studies.

The Approximate Number System (ANS) is believed to be innate and develops with age and through the education system. However, the ANS measurement itself is burdened with numerous methodological difficulties. The aim of the presentation will be to compare the methods used to measure ANS (habituation paradigm, computer tasks) and ANS indices (accuracy, reaction time, numerical distance, ratio, size effects, Weber’s W) in different age groups (from infancy to adulthood). Although the ANS indices are often used interchangeably, previous research results suggest that they measure different aspects of cognitive processing of numerosity. This rises the question which ANS indices is theoretically most valid. At the same time, few studies have examined the reliability of ANS indices, which raises questions about the accuracy of ANS estimates and their ability to predict future mathematical achievement. Establishing the psychometric properties of ANS measurement tools is essential to draw meaningful conclusions about the role of ANS in the development of numerical cognition and mathematical skills. However, developmental studies face an additional challenge. Different research paradigms, response recording methods, and task demands are often employed depending on the age of participants. These variations complicate comparisons across developmental stages and affect the calculation of ANS indices. This presentation will explore how the development of ANS can be effectively assessed throughout the lifespan while maximizing the validity and reliability of measurement tools under diverse conditions. It will also propose practical guidelines for addressing these challenges, offering a pathway to more robust and generalizable research in the field.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges (CDC, 2015). According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2023, ASD is seen in 1 out of every 36 children. Adolescents diagnosed with ASD may experience social difficulties due to the increased social complexity and higher social expectations (White et al., 2007). Particularly, adolescents with high-functioning ASD may have the motivation or desire to interact with their peers; however, they are also aware of their social hardships (Tantam, 2003). Acquiring social skills is a considerably more challenging process for adolescents with ASD compared to their typically developing peers; therefore, social skills must be explicitly taught to them (Klinger et al., 2007). Consequently, social skills intervention programs have become increasingly popular. The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) for adolescents is an evidence-based intervention focusing on social skills for adolescents with ASD (Laugeson et al., 2012). This study aims to examine the effects of the culturally adapted version of the PEERS Program on the social skills knowledge of adolescents with ASD in Türkiye. A total of 39 adolescents, aged 12–17 (10% girls; M=14.3, SD=1.60), were assigned to one of the two conditions: the intervention group (n = 22) or the waitlist control group (n = 17). Preliminary findings showed that the adolescents who participated in the PEERS Program showed significant improvements in their social skills knowledge compared to the waitlist control group. Thus, the findings provide evidence that the PEERS program has positive contributions to the social skills of adolescents with ASD in the Türkiye sample.

Gaming and social media use are common in adolescents’ lives and can become problematic and pose a risk for young people, with effects such as aggression, low mood, or other emotional issues. 2018 the World Health Organization introduced the diagnosis gaming disorder into ICD-11 and refers to when gaming is excessive and risks unhealthy consequences. Similar research results exist regarding the use of social media, but there is currently no diagnosis or proposed diagnosis. However, social media usage is as prevalent as gaming, but with more girls than boys engaging in activities like passive scrolling and socializing through social media.

Parent-child relationships are essential for healthy and positive child development. The emotional quality of this relationship might also affect the child’s gaming activity and vice versa, as the time spent on gaming also might affect the parent-child relationship. Relations between parenting on the one hand and gaming and social media use on the other have not been sufficiently addressed yet, especially not from a longitudinal perspective.

The aim of the study is to study the longitudinal associations between parental psychological control, addictive gaming and social media use in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and USA) from the project Parenting Across Cultures. We hypothesized that high parental psychological control is linked to more addictive gaming and social media use over time. Parent and child reports of parent psychological control when children were 15, and child self-reported gaming and social media use at age 19 are used.

Due to the relatively new diagnosis of gaming disorder and the increased use of social media around the world, a study that includes both gaming and social media along with a longitudinal perspective would give important knowledge regarding how parenting is related to addictive gaming and excessive social media use.

Although starting school is exciting for many children and their families, school, which is a very different environment from home, can cause anxiety in some children. Some children may have difficulty adjusting to school and this may affect their future academic, career and social emotional development. In this study, the psychological counseling process with a 7-year-old boy who has just started the first grade of primary school is discussed. The client lives with her parents and is an only child. In the first stage, the parents of the child were interviewed and information was obtained about both the family history and the past and current situation of the child. Parents were informed about the limits and ethical principles in the counseling process. Afterwards, the counseling process was started with the child and a humanistic approach close to child-centered play therapy was adopted. It was observed that the child played with animals during the sessions. Although the child showed a timid stance at first, he started to be more sociable in his games with the development of his relationship with the psychological counselor and getting used to the environment. While the counseling process with the child continued, a psychoeducation session was held with the parents on the changes they needed to make in their parental attitudes. Afterwards, the process was continued for three more sessions with the child and ended. In the last parent session, it was learnt that the peer relations of the child had improved and that the child started to play and participate in games with his classmates. It was stated by the parents that the class teacher gave feedback that the child was getting adjusted to the school and classroom environment. These changes in the client were confirmed by the follow-up interview with the parents after two-months.

Before the 1920s, sibling jealousy received little attention in both family settings and academic research. It was often seen as a natural part of family life. However, from the mid-1920s, interest in the topic grew, leading to more comprehensive studies.

Sibling jealousy can strongly impact childhood and adolescent relationships, sometimes leading to frustration and harming well-being. It can also reduce the likelihood of close sibling bonds and is a common reason families seek counseling. From this point of view, two different cases that applied to counseling due to sibling jealousy are discussed in this study. Different therapeutic approaches were used: A child-centered play therapy approach for the second-born and an experiential play therapy approach for the first-born, incorporating Jungian elements.

As a qualitative case study, the research followed a snowball sampling method, considering school counselors’ evaluations and parent interviews. Six sessions were conducted with each child, incorporating board games and storytelling. Three parent sessions took place—before, during, and after the process.

Pre-sessions with parents revealed that both children had a sibling and often compared themselves to them. When parents focused on the sibling, the children displayed behaviors like damaging household items, poor academic performance, and violence toward peers. One child was 5 years old and the eldest, while the other was 11 years old and the youngest.

Findings indicated that, regardless of birth order, sibling jealousy showed similar patterns. Providing a space for autonomy and individual attention reduced sibling-related concerns over time. Additionally, after the third session, changes in parental attitudes were observed.

This presentation is supported by TÜBİTAK 2224-A Grant Program for participation in scientific meetings abroad.

Despite growing recognition of climate change's psychological impacts, well-validated survey instruments measuring climate-related psycho-socio-emotional experiences remain lacking, especially in the Global South. Efforts to understand and mitigate the psychological impacts of climate change on adolescents require robust, culturally valid instruments. To address this gap, this study aims to present a comprehensive validation of two survey instruments which have previously been validated only in high income countries: the Climate Change Worry Scale for Adolescents (CWS-A) and the Climate Change Impact on Daily Life Scale (CCIDLS).

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in January 2025 with 1202 Pakistani adolescents aged 12–18 years (M=14.7, SD=1.9) from socioeconomically and geographically diverse areas. The sample comprised 60% girls and a 3:7 rural-urban ratio. Participants completed assessments of sociodemographic variables, CWS-A and CCIDLS and mental health (WHO-5, GAD-7). Content and face validity were established through interviews with adolescents (cognitive interviewing and piloting) and expert reviews. Test-retest reliability was evaluated by administering the scales to a subset of participants (n=40) 6-8 days apart. Data collection has just concluded, and analyses are currently underway. Planned analyses include reliability testing of the CWS-A and CCIDLS (internal consistency through Cronbach's alpha and test-retest through inter-class correlation coefficient). Further analyses will include confirmatory factor analyses to explore the factor structure of the instruments, and multi-group confirmatory analyses to test measurement invariance across age, gender and location. Convergent validity will be evaluated through correlations with mental health measures.

This study has the potential to advance developmental psychology by providing robust validation evidence around two measures that are being used widely to assess climate-related psychological impacts. Without robust, culturally sensitive measures, it is challenging to develop evidence-based interventions that effectively support adolescent wellbeing and resilience in the face of climate challenges, especially in regions where the need for such interventions is most urgent.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), which emerged in 2019 and quickly became a global pandemic, has caused emotional and behavioral changes in older adults due to its high infectiousness and mortality risk. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the levels of physical activity, health status, and fear of pandemic among Turkish older adults during the COVID-19 period. Using a quantitative cross-sectional study design, data were collected from 201 participants, of whom 45% were women, with a mean age of 69.76 (SD = 8.05). Participants completed an online survey consisting of demographic questions and Turkish versions of Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly. Data collection took place from July to December 2021, while there were no restrictions on leaving house or public transportation for people aged 65 and over in Türkiye. The analyses showed that the level of physical activity in older adults was associated with certain demographic variables such as age, place of residence, and employment status. While there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the participants' health status and fear of the pandemic, the level of physical activity was positively correlated with fear of the pandemic and negatively correlated with health status. Among the participants with low levels of fear, those with higher health status had significantly higher levels of physical activity than those with lower health status. The same difference was not observed among the participants with high levels of fear. The findings of the study show the importance of physical health as well as the affective states in shaping the physical activity participation among older adults. *This presentation is supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye 2224-A Grant Program for Participation in Scientific Meetings Abroad.

Theoretical Background: Emotion regulation (ER) and sleep are both essential for healthy development and have a reciprocal influence, but the way in which preschool children’s ER associates their sleep has not yet been studied in depth. Cosleeping is controversial and commonly not recommended, but can be seen as a form of social support, which may assist children as coregulation.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effects of ER on sleep, with a specific focus on co-sleeping. We hypothesised that:

1.Higher ER would be associated with better sleep quality and less co-sleeping. 2.Sleep quality factors would mediate the correlation between ER and co-sleeping. 3. Co-sleeping would moderate the relationship between ER and sleep quality.

Methods: N=92 children (Age: M=44.9 months; SD=6.7 months;56% girls) from 16 Swiss playgroups participated. To measure the level of ER, we observed the children in a semi-standardized group play situation and collected data on children's ER and sleep quality from their educators, and parents.

Results: Low levels of ER, but not cosleeping, were associated with poorer sleep quality. Only nighttime fears were correlated with cosleeping. We used Generalized Linear Models and found that lower observed and teacher-reported ER led to more cosleeping because children experienced more nighttime fears. Furthermore, cosleeping moderated some of the connections between observed ER and sleep quality factors (i.e., night waking and sleep resistance), such that children with lower ER slept better when they coslept.

Discussion and Conclusion: In times of increased sleep disturbances in young children, our findings shed new light on the importance of addressing ER to improve children’s sleep, and offer a better undestanding on the associations between childrens ER, sleep quality and the role of co-sleeping.

The co-occurrence of behavioral and emotional problems is a common form of pathological comorbidity, raising questions about the boundaries between specific categories and broader symptom domains. This study aimed to investigate whether behavioral and emotional symptoms cluster in a manner consistent with the pathological categories as outlined in DSM and ICD, and whether this network structure varies from childhood to adolescence. In total of 45,866 students from elementary to high school and junior-technician schools, participated in the study. They completed a series of measures on emotional and behavioral problems including the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), and Achenbach Youth Self-Report (YSR). We employed network psychometrics to examine the symptom-symptom associations of emotional and behavioral problems developmentally from childhood to adolescence. The results showed that the estimated network was densely connected and characterized by a multitude of weak associations between symptoms. Walktrap community detection identified five communities in grade 4~8 and high school, and six communities in junior-technician school; the communities were weakly demarcated. The depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, and somatic symptoms generally correspondingly clustered; while symptoms of conduct problems, attentive deficit/hyperactive problems, and oppositional defiant problems clustered according to severity, and showed variations across developmental stages. The central symptoms were generally consistent across stages, with symptoms reflecting low self-esteem, anxious and unsettling mood, and some somatic symptoms occupying an important position in the network. Anxious symptoms were the core connecting symptoms in the network of internalizing and externalizing problems. These findings underscore the interconnected nature of behavioral and emotional symptoms, challenging the view that such pathology takes the form of distinct disorders. The study also discusses implications for prevention and intervention of emotional and behavioral problems.