Today, we look at three studies that begin prenatally and examine effects. First, Stürmlinger, Ray, von Krause, Nonnenmacher, Alpers & Zietlow (2025) published “Prenatal Depressive Symptoms, Infant Temperament, Parental Role Satisfaction, and Child Adjustment: A longitudinal serial mediation. Journal of Family Psychology. Here’s the abstract:

Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms (PD symptoms) pose a risk factor for child adjustment difficulties (CAD), defined as internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

I’m presenting a single article today because I found its argument compelling. Grubbs & Boness (2025) published “Thinking Beyond Substances: Why behavioral “addiction” research must move past substance use disorder paradigms” in  Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. Here’s the edited abstract:

Today, I address two studies of substance use in teens and young adults. First, Carbonneau, Vitaro, Brendgen, Boivin, Côté & Tremblay (2024) published “Preadolescent Individual, Familial, and Social Risk Factors Associated with Longitudinal Patterns of Adolescent Alcohol, Cannabis, and Other Illicit Drug Use in a Population-Representative Cohort” in Developmental Psychology. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Today, I’m presenting three articles on autism, each available in full text and each challenging assumptions about autism. First, Long, Catmur & Bird (2025) published “The Theory of Mind Hypothesis of Autism: A critical evaluation of the status quo” in Psychological Review. Here are highly edited excerpts:

The theory of mind (ToM) hypothesis of autism is the idea that difficulties inferring the mental states of others may explain social communication difficulties in autism

Today, we look at two articles related to schizotypy. First, Eddy (2024) published “Self-Other Distinction and Schizotypy: Affect sharing and alexithymia in the prediction of socially anxious and avoidant traits” in Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. Here’s the edited abstract:

Social cognition may play a central role in many schizotypal personality characteristics, such as suspiciousness, constricted affect, social anxiety, and lack of close relationships.

Today, we look at three studies of relationships in people with Borderline Personality Disorder. First, van Schie, Matthews, Marceau, Römer & Grenyer (2024) published “Affective and Neural Mechanisms of How Identity Dysfunction in Borderline Personality Disorder May Interfere with Building Positive Relationships” in Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment. 

Here are some excerpts (the full text is available):

Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often hold pervasive and negative self-views and experience feelings of low connectedness toward others despite effective treatment.

Today, I present four studies emphasizing the roles teachers play in student success. First, McLean, Janssen, Espinoza, Lindstrom Johnson & Jimenez (2023) published “Associations between Teacher and Student mathematics, Science, and Literacy Anxiety in Fourth Grade” in Journal of Educational Psychology. Here are edited excerpts:

The present study explored associations among teachers’ anxiety for teaching mathematics, science, and English language arts and their students’ own anxiety in each content area, and how these associations varied depending on student sex and socioeconomic status (SES).

Today, I’m presenting two articles that I think are ultimately related. First, Spadafora, Al-Jbouri, & Volk (2024) published “Are Child and Adolescent Students More Uncivil After COVID-19?” in School Psychology. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

The goal of the current work was to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic school shutdowns may have impacted classroom incivility in children and adolescents.

This will be a long post for those of who deal with rural populations. Full disclosure – I grew up on a farm and live in a quite rural area. We will touch on a range of issues. First, Kirkby & Papps (2024) published “Correlates of Mental Health Help-Seeking Attitudes among Farming and Nonfarming Rural Women” in Journal of Rural Mental Health. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Today, I’m looking at four articles addressing problems in adolescence. First, Kaiser et al. (2023) published “Neurocognitive Risk Phenotyping to Predict Mood Symptoms in Adolescence” in Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. Here are the edited abstract and impact statement:

Predicting mood disorders in adolescence is a challenge that motivates research to identify neurocognitive predictors of symptom expression and clinical profiles.

Today, I look at several articles dealing with people involved in the legal system. First, van der Ploeg, Rameckers & van Emmerik (2024) published “The Efficacy of Psychological Interventions for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Incarcerated Forensic Populations: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials” in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Here are the edited abstract and impact statement:

Given the high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in incarcerated forensic populations,

Last time, we looked at attachment in children. Today we turn to adolescents. First, Xia, Coffey & Fosco (2024) published “Daily Dynamics of Feeling Loved by Parents and Their Prospective Implications for Adolescent Flourishing” in Developmental Science. Here’s the edited abstract:

Feeling loved by one's caregiver is essential for individual flourishing (i.e., high levels of psychological well-being in multiple dimensions). Although similar constructs are found to benefit adolescent well-being, research that directly tests parental love as a feeling from the recipient's perspective is rare.

Today and next time, I am presenting a series of articles on attachment, all published in Developmental Science. First, Misch, Kramer & Paulus (2024) published “The Relationship between Attachment Representations and Minimal Intergroup Bias in Preschool-Aged Children in Developmental Science. Here are edited excerpts:

Attachment theory proposes that young children's experience with their caregivers has a tremendous influence on how children navigate their social relationships

It’s been awhile since I posted about moral injury. From the What Is Moral Injury website: “Moral injury is the damage done to one’s conscience or moral compass when that person perpetrates, witnesses, or fails to prevent acts that transgress one’s own moral beliefs, values, or ethical codes of conduct.“ Here, we look at two articles related to posttraumatic stress. First, Mojallal, Simons, Simons & Swaminath (2024) published “Betrayal Trauma, Mindfulness, and Emotional Dysregulation: Associations with moral injury and posttraumatic stress disorder” in Traumatology. Here’s the edited abstract:

This post follows the last. Abrams (2024) published “New Approaches to Youth Substance Misuse” in APA Monitor.

For years, students in middle and high schools across the country were urged to “just say no” to drugs and alcohol. But it’s no secret that the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program, which was typically delivered by police officers who urged total abstinence, didn’t work. A meta-analysis found the program largely ineffective and one study even showed that kids who completed D.A.R.E. were more likely than their peers to take drugs.

This post and the next deal with substance use and abuse. Today we look at correlates. First, Clinchard et al. (2024) published “Family Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Substance Use: The role of parent–adolescent brain similarity and parental monitoring” in Journal of Family Psychology. Here’s the edited abstract:

Today, we look at three very different studies of PTSD, each addressing progress after a diagnosis. First, Weinberg, Soffer & Gilbar (2023) published “PTSD and Public Stigma: Examining the relationship between public stigmas attached to PTSD and self-esteem, spirituality, and well-being” in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

Today, I present two articles related to working class students. First, Claes, Smeding, Carré & Sommet (2024) published “The Social Class Test Gap: A worldwide investigation of the role of academic anxiety and income inequality in standardized test score disparities” in Journal of Educational Psychology.  Here are the edited abstract and impact statements:

We conducted three preregistered studies using the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data to provide a worldwide estimation of the standardized test gap between students from lower and higher social classes.

This is a long post regarding an article I found intriguing. Lee, Long, Catmur, Hauser & Bird (2024) published “Information Gathering: Dissociable effects of autistic and alexithymic traits in youths aged 6–25 years” in Emotion. Here are highly edited excerpts:

Autistic youths tend to react negatively to uncertain events. Little is known about the cognitive processes associated with this intolerance of uncertainty, most notably the tendency to actively gather information to minimize uncertainty.

Today, I examine an article I found intriguing. Hart, Hall, Lambert, Cease & Wahlers (2024) published “Antagonistic but Holier than Thou: Antagonistic people think they are (way) better-than-average on moral character” in Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment.  Here’s the edited abstract:

Although clinical psychologists have long speculated that antagonistic individuals may lack insight into their moral deficits, some evidence has shown that more (vs. less) antagonistic people view moral traits as somewhat desirable and rate themselves as lower on moral characteristics (suggestive of some insight).