How my life is unique: Sibling perspectives of autism.

The impact of autism on the family is an important area of study. Much of the existing literature has focused on the parent perspective, with less emphasis on the experiences of other family members, especially non-autistic siblings. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of a sample of nine 8- to 17-year-old non-autistic siblings of children and youth on the autism spectrum.

Theory of mind in middle childhood: Longitudinal associations with executive function and social competence.

The vast majority of studies on theory of mind (ToM) have focused on the preschool years. Extending the developmental scope of ToM research presents opportunities to both reassess theoretical accounts of ToM and test its predictive utility. The twin aims of this longitudinal study were to examine developmental relations between ToM, executive function (EF), and teacher-rated social competence in middle childhood.

Does executive function mediate the path from mothers' depressive symptoms to young children's problem behaviors?

This study investigated the mediation role played by children's executive function in the relationship between exposure to mild maternal depressive symptoms and problem behaviors. At ages 2, 3, and 6years, 143 children completed executive function tasks and a verbal ability test. Mothers completed the Beck Depression Inventory at each time-point, and teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at child age 6.

Mothers' cognitive references to 2-year-olds predict theory of mind at ages 6 and 10.

Mothers' mental-state references predict individual differences in preschoolers' false-belief (FB) understanding; less is known about the origins of corresponding variation in school-age children. To address this gap, 105 children completed observations with their mothers at child ages 2 and 6, three FB tasks and a verbal comprehension test at age 3, and five FB tasks at age 6. Seventy-seven of these children completed five Strange Stories at age 10.

Does maternal depression predict young children's executive function? - a 4-year longitudinal study.

Background: Building on reports that parental maltreatment and neglect adversely affect young children's executive function (EF), this longitudinal study examined whether exposure to a more common risk factor, mothers' depressive symptoms, predicted individual differences in EF at school-age.

Methods: We followed up at age 6 a socially diverse sample of 126 children (78 boys, 48 girls) for whom direct observations of mother-child interactions have been shown to predict gains in EF between the ages of 2 and 4. We used an EF latent factor based on scores from three tasks (Beads, Day/Night, Tower of London) that tapped working memory, inhibitory control and planning, as well as a latent growth model of mothers' Beck Depression Inventory factor scores at four time-points, and included age 6 verbal ability as a covariate in all analyses.