Caregivers' physiological responses during toddler vaccinations: associations with psychological and behavioral responses.

Objective: This study investigated biological, psychological, and behavioral aspects of caregivers' responses to toddlers' pain-related distress by measuring caregivers' high-frequency heart rate variability (HRV) responses during toddler vaccination pain and examining associations with caregivers' behavioral responses and psychological stress.

Methods: Participants included caregiver-toddler dyads (N = 194) from a longitudinal cohort-sequential study who were observed during toddlers' 12-, 18-, or 24-month routine vaccinations. Changes in caregiver HRV were analyzed using growth curve modeling.

A pandemic-related affect gap in risky decisions for self and others.

The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed large portions of the global populations to increased daily stressors. Research on risky choice in medical contexts suggests that affect-rich choice options promote less-advantageous decision strategies compared with affect-poor options, causing an "affect gap" in decision making. The current experiments (total  = 437, age range: 21-82) sought to test whether negative pandemic-related affect would lower expected-value (EV) maximisation within individuals.

The Impact of Measurement Model Misspecification on Coefficient Omega Estimates of Composite Reliability.

Coefficient omega indices are model-based composite reliability estimates that have become increasingly popular. A coefficient omega index estimates how reliably an observed composite score measures a target construct as represented by a factor in a factor-analysis model; as such, the accuracy of omega estimates is likely to depend on correct model specification. The current paper presents a simulation study to investigate the performance of omega-unidimensional (based on the parameters of a one-factor model) and omega-hierarchical (based on a bifactor model) under correct and incorrect model misspecification for high and low reliability composites and different scale lengths.

Sex difference of pre- and post-natal exposure to six developmental neurotoxicants on intellectual abilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of human studies.

Background: Early life exposure to lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybromide diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), and phthalates have been associated with lowered IQ in children. In some studies, these neurotoxicants impact males and females differently. We aimed to examine the sex-specific effects of exposure to developmental neurotoxicants on intelligence (IQ) in a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Distinct trajectories of caregiver-toddler physiological attunement during routine vaccinations.

Introduction: Toddlers rely on their caregivers for regulatory support when faced with pain-related distress. The caregiver's ability to support their toddler relies on their capacity to regulate their own distress and respond effectively to the child's need for support. The aim of the current study was to describe patterns of caregiver-toddler physiological co-regulatory patterns, also known as attunement, during routine vaccinations across the second year of life.

Screening for Anxiety and Depression Symptoms Using Concussion Symptom Scales Among Varsity Athletes.

Objective: This study examined associations between Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-5 (SCAT-5) symptom reporting and gold-standard measures of anxiety and depression, and explored the utility SCAT-5 symptom subscales to identify anxiety and depression symptomology.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.

Setting: York University in Toronto, Canada.

A Measure of Caregivers' Distress-Promoting Behaviors During Toddler Vaccination: Validation of the OUCHIE-RV.

Objective: The current study discusses the development and preliminary validation of an observational measure of caregivers' distress-promoting behavior (OUCHIE-RV) in the context of toddler routine vaccination.

Methods: Measure validation was based on a sample of caregiver-toddler dyads (N = 223) from a longitudinal cohort-sequential study who were observed during toddlers' 12-, 18-, or 24-month routine vaccinations. Validity was assessed using correlations and cross-lagged path analysis and associations were tested between OUCHIE-RV composite scores and toddlers' pain-related distress as well as caregivers' state anxiety, soothing behaviors, heart rate, and heart rate variability.

Parents' physiological reactivity to child distress and associations with parenting behaviour: A systematic review.

This systematic review and narrative synthesis characterized parents' physiological stress responses to child distress and how parents' physiological and behavioural responses relate. The review was pre-registered with PROSPERO (#CRD42021252852). In total, 3607 unique records were identified through Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL.

Caregiver and Child Distress as Predictors of Dyadic Physiological Attunement During Vaccination.

Objective: Previous research discerned 3 groups of caregiver-toddler dyads that differed in their physiological coregulatory patterns, also known as physiological attunement, during routine vaccinations in the second year of life. One group of dyads (80% of sample) displayed an attuned regulatory pattern, and 2 groups of dyads (20% of sample) showed maladaptive attunement patterns (ie, a lack of attunement or misattunement). The objective of the current study was to examine how well the pain-related distress of children and caregivers during vaccination predicted these patterns.

Understanding the concurrent and predictive relations between child-led emotion regulation behaviors and pain during vaccination in toddlerhood.

The purpose of this study was to further our understanding of early childhood pain-related distress regulation. Concurrent and predictive relations between child-led emotion regulation (ER) behaviors and pain-related distress during vaccination were examined at 2 different ages using autoregressive cross-lagged path analyses. Toddlers were video-recorded at the 12- and 18-month routine vaccination appointments (12-month-old [N = 163]; 18-month-old [N = 149]).

Predictive Validity and Patterns of Change Over Time of the Sensitivity to Pain Traumatization Scale: A Trajectory Analysis of Patients Seen by the Transitional Pain Service Up to Two Years After Surgery.

Purpose: The Sensitivity to Pain Traumatization Scale (SPTS-12) was developed to assess the propensity to develop a traumatic stress response to pain. The SPTS-12 is a reliable and valid scale with a one-factor structure. The aim of the present study is to further examine the psychometric properties of the SPTS-12 by evaluating its criterion validity and how scores change over time in a sample of postsurgical patients at the Toronto General Hospital Transitional Pain Service.

Age-Related Variance in Performance versus Ratings of Attention and Impulse Regulation in Children: Implications for the Assessment of ADHD.

Executive function task (EF) deficits are hypothesized to underlie difficulties with self-regulation. However, tasks assessing EF impairments have only been weakly correlated with rating scales that index self-regulation difficulties. A community sample of children and youth aged between 8 and 20 years old were assessed longitudinally.

Iodine Status Modifies the Association between Fluoride Exposure in Pregnancy and Preschool Boys' Intelligence.

In animal studies, the combination of in utero fluoride exposure and low iodine has greater negative effects on offspring learning and memory than either alone, but this has not been studied in children. We evaluated whether the maternal urinary iodine concentration (MUIC) modifies the association between maternal urinary fluoride (MUF) and boys' and girls' intelligence. We used data from 366 mother-child dyads in the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals Study.

Development and Validation of the Prevention of Toxic Chemicals in the Environment for Children Tool: A Questionnaire for Examining the Community's Knowledge of and Preferences Toward Toxic Chemicals and Children's Brain Development.

Early-life exposures to toxic chemicals can adversely impact brain development. Understanding people's knowledge of the impact of toxic chemicals on brain development is critical to reduce widespread exposure to chemicals. Yet it is unknown what people know about risks of toxic chemicals and how to reduce exposures.

Child Distress Expression and Regulation Behaviors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The goal of the current study was to review and meta-analyze the literature on relationships between child distress expression behaviors (e.g., cry) and three clusters of child distress regulation behaviors (disengagement of attention, parent-focused behaviors, and self-soothing) in the first three years of life.

Caregiver and Young Child Biological Attunement In Distress Contexts: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis.

The objective of the current study was to systematically review the literature on caregiver-child biological attunement within distress contexts during the first three years of life. A total of 9932 unique abstracts were identified through Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus databases. Thirty-six studies provided data from caregivers and their infants or toddlers within a distress paradigm, used biological indicators of distress, and assessed the relations between caregiver and child biological indicators.

Urinary Fluoride Levels among Canadians with and without Community Water Fluoridation.

Drinking water is a major source of dietary fluoride intake in communities with water fluoridation. We examined the association between urinary fluoride adjusted for specific gravity (UF) and tap water fluoride levels, by age and sex, among individuals living in Canada. Participants included 1629 individuals aged 3 to 79 years from Cycle 3 (2012-2013) of the Canadian Health Measures Survey.

A Benchmark Dose Analysis for Maternal Pregnancy Urine-Fluoride and IQ in Children.

As a guide to establishing a safe exposure level for fluoride exposure in pregnancy, we applied benchmark dose modeling to data from two prospective birth cohort studies. We included mother-child pairs from the Early Life Exposures in Mexico to Environmental Toxicants (ELEMENT) cohort in Mexico and the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) cohort in Canada. Maternal urinary fluoride concentrations (U-F, in mg/L, creatinine-adjusted) were measured in urine samples obtained during pregnancy.

Understanding Stability and Change in Perceived Social Support in Parents of Autistic Children and Adolescents.

Parents of children with autism often have their own support needs. Informal social support can be an important component of managing parenting-related stressors. We know very little about the factors that lead to higher levels of perceived social support or the potential reciprocal relationship social support has with other factors in parents of children with autism.

Critical windows of fluoride neurotoxicity in Canadian children.

Background: Fluoride has been associated with IQ deficits during early brain development, but the period in which children are most sensitive is unknown.

Objective: We assessed effects of fluoride on IQ scores across prenatal and postnatal exposure windows.

Methods: We used repeated exposures from 596 mother-child pairs in the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals pregnancy and birth cohort.

Fluoride exposure and duration and quality of sleep in a Canadian population-based sample.

Background: Fluoride from dietary and environmental sources may concentrate in calcium-containing regions of the body such as the pineal gland. The pineal gland synthesizes melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. We examined associations between fluoride exposure and sleep outcomes among older adolescents and adults in Canada.