Agency and Opportunity in Early Adolescence: Investigating Gender-Specific Patterns in Developmental Trajectories Using Longitudinal Data

This study explores how individual agency develops during early adolescence (ages 10–14) and how external opportunity structures—like parenting behavior and neighborhood context—differentially shape agency development for boys and girls. The study zooms in specifically on gender-specific patterns in development over time, various types of influence (household, parental, peer, neighborhood), as well as two key domains of agency: Freedom of Movement and Voice. The illustration of “The Unequal Opportunity Race” is a demonstration of this fundamental idea: no matter how fast you run, some of us have a head start.

This study meets at the intersection of developmental cognitive psychology and sociology,  studying both the effects of the environment and identities, as well as individual agency, to create a more comprehensive understanding of how the things we can control and the things we cannot both play a role in shaping who we become. The goal of this study is to explore differences in how agency devlopmes thought adolescence, particularly across genders, to help better understand and promote adolescent empowerment.

To read more on the topic, Click Here!

Thanks for tuning in!

 

Cooper Armogida

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday with UConn KIDS!

 

Last weeks question was “Which cognitive milestone is most related to why peek-a-boo is such a fun game for babies?”

The answer is C. Object permanence

 

This weeks trivia question is:

What sense is most developed at birth?

a. Sight

b. Hearing

c. Taste

d. Smell

Come back next week to view this week’s answer!

Can you tell what a baby’s cry means? Are they hungry, sick, uncomfortable, or in pain? Chances are, if you are parent or someone with experience taking care of babies, you would be able to accurately identify whether a baby’s cry indicates whether they are in pain. But if you haven’t spent time caring of babies, you might have some learning to do!

When a baby expresses pain through their cry, there are distinctive sound elements that can separate that cry from a different one, and these are universal amongst all babies. Some such elements include cries that are longer, louder, and with more shifting pitch then other infant cries. Because of this phenomena, it has long been thought that adults are able to differentiate by ear, whether a baby’s cry is one of pain or not. However, the researchers of this study wanted to see whether that was an ability all adults possess, or one that comes with experience and time.

To determine this, they conducted an experiment with five groups of participants: adults with no caregiving experience, adults with some caregiving experience, parents of children 5 years old or older, parents of babies less than 2 years old, and adults with ample professional caregiving experience. They had the adults do two sets of experiments, one where they tried to determine whether the cries of a familiar baby were of pain or just discomfort, and one where they tried to do the same thing but with an unfamiliar baby. The familiar babies’ discomfort cries had been played for the adults a few hours prior to the experiment, allowing the adults to familiarize themselves with how the baby sounds and be able to distinguish that baby from other.

The results showed that adults with no caregiving experience could identify cries of pain or discomfort no better than chance, correctly choosing only 53.4% of the time. Adults with some caregiving experience were a little better at identifying cries, but only those of the familiar babies, choosing correctly 57.3% of the time. Parents of children 5 years old or older and adults with ample professional caregiving experience both were able to identify the familiar babies’ cry with greater accuracy, this time choosing correctly 65.5% and 71.1% of the time, respectively. Parents of babies less than 2 years old, however, were able to identify  the cries of pain of both a familiar baby and of an unfamiliar baby, choosing correctly 71.2% of the time for a familiar baby and 64.2% of the time for an unfamiliar baby.

This study indicates that the ability to recognize a baby’s cry as one of pain comes from experience listening to babies’ cries. Experience changes the way in which we hear and distinguish between cries, and greater experience can allow someone to accurately identify whether a baby is crying in pain, even if it is their first time hearing that baby cry!

If you want to read more, click here!

Thank you!

Afrah Rafi

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Before babies even start to make sounds that resemble words, there are countless things they must learn first. This includes not just what words mean, but also why we make noises in the first place! In HELLO Lab’s latest episode, they tackle the question “How Does My Baby Learn Words?” which is meant to follow up on the previous featured episode “When Will My Baby Say Their First Word?” These two videos are a part of an educational video series meant to inform parents and individuals curious about language, development, and the many questions relating to the many things invested by the HELLO Lab here at UConn!

Here is the link to the video: Click Here

Here is the link to the entire video series! Click Here

Cooper Armogida

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

What if infants could clearly tell us what they want before they can talk? With simple sign language, they can! Teaching infants signs gives them a voice even before they have words. Research shows that babies as young as 6 months can learn simple signs, which can lead to reduced frustrated crying and support early language development.

Babies have ways to communicate by making facial expressions, crying, and making sounds. However, they can be hard to understand, leading to lots of frustration. By teaching them signs that match their needs, the child is able to communicate better and sooner. Infants learn signs easier compared to learning spoken words, and studies have even confirmed that learning sign language has helped the child develop speech.

Beginning around 6 months, adults can model signs and gently physically prompt the baby to mirror the sign. Prompts and rewards can be motivating but should be gradually delayed to encourage independence. Some useful, simple signs to introduce are “more”, “please”, “up”, “food”, and “all done”. This process of teaching will eventually lead to independent signing from the babies in real scenarios. Communication will become more specific and calmer.

Even if you don’t have a baby to teach, taking the time to learn basic sign language is a small step that can make a big difference. It’s a language everyone can use to connect.

If you would like to read more, click here!

Grace Hoey

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

The answer to last week’s question: How many times as active is a 3-year-old’s brain compared to an adult’s brain?

Is 2x as active!

This week’s trivia question is:

Which cognitive milestone is most related to why peek-a-boo is such a fun game for babies?

a. conservation

b. symbolic play

c. object permanence

d. babbling

While play is often dismissed as entertainment or a break from structured learning, research suggests it plays a crucial role in supporting and fostering essential cognitive abilities in children’s development. While traditional education tends to emphasize instruction and correct answers, play creates an environment where children can learn through curiosity and exploration. Play encompasses a range of forms, with each type contributing to development uniquely. Examining how these forms function highlights the fundamental skills they promote and can provide valuable insight for parents and educators seeking to support children’s learning.

One of the most important aspects of play is its intrinsic motivation. Because children are able to choose if, how, and what they want to play, they are able to remain actively engaged and are more willing to test ideas and combine creativity without the fear of failure. Furthermore, during play, children frequently follow and create their own rules, negotiate social roles, and manage emotions, providing opportunities to practice social and behavioral regulation.

The different forms of play continue to contribute to child development in distinct ways. Physical play promotes motor coordination, emotional regulation, and social competence, while constructive play involving objects stimulates creativity, spatial reasoning, and persistence in problem-solving tasks. Symbolic and language-based play supports communication skills and literacy development through abstract representation, and pretend play enhances imagination, perspective-taking, and emotional understanding. Structured games with rules further reinforce cognitive control and strategic thinking by requiring children to follow guidelines and adapt behavior in social contexts.

Considering play as an integral part of child development, understanding the potential benefits of play can allow parents and educators to incorporate playful experiences into more traditional learning environments. In doing so, they can enhance engagement, creativity, and problem solving in their children’s development.

If you want to read more, click here!

Thank you!

Chelsey Ko 

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Afrah is a research assistant for UConn KIDS. She is a senior Physiology & Neurobiology and Molecular & Cellular Biology double major with a minor in Neuroscience. After graduation she plans on applying to and attending medical school, and hopes to specialize in something that allows her to continue working with kids! Outside of school, she is involved in Future Health Leaders and volunteers with UCHL, and she also works as a home healthcare PCA.

Afrah is so excited for the opportunity to be a UConn KIDS research assistant this semester, and we are excited to have her!

 

 

 

 

 

When is that magical moment when a child goes from coos and babbles to real words? HELLO Lab’s latest episode, “When Do Kids Say Their First Words,” looks at this question using research and real footage from their lab! 

This episode explains that before words fully emerge, babies spend several months practicing sounds, listening closely, and learning how communication works. Word learning is a long, yet important process. The video discusses the milestones babies reach before they begin to talk. All the small steps lead to the child learning about the purpose of communication.  

Although the moment at which children begin talking varies, most babies develop important communication skills throughout infancy before spoken language emerges. 

Watch more here!

Grace Hoey 

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Children in ADHD often also have sleep disorders, such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea, and trouble sleeping at night can double up on the effects of ADHD. Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder where a person may find it hard to breathe at night, leading to trouble sleeping, increased tiredness during the day, and periods of low oxygen throughout the night. In children, this can lead to symptoms similar to those described of kids with ADHD: emotional dysregulation, cognitive deficits, and behavioral issues. Sometimes these symptoms are not seen as indicative of a sleep disorder in kids with ADHD, and some may go undiagnosed.

It is well known that a percentage of children of ADHD also have some sort of sleep disorder, and this research aimed to get a more concrete statistic and also classify which sleep disorders appear to be the most common. After assessing over 600 kids with ADHD, it was found that 70% had a sleep disorder of some sort! The most common sleep disorders, were insomnia (40.2%) and obstructive sleep apnea (23.4%). Factors like ADHD subtype, sleep-related behaviors, and comorbidities (having other disorders/conditions as well), appear to be associated with sleep problems.

Because poor sleep is known to negatively affect behavior, mood, and learning, it is important to recognize how common sleep disorders are in kids with ADHD. These researchers advocate for routine sleep screenings and appropriate sleep interventions to help kids with ADHD sleep better at a young age!

If you want to read more, click here!

Thank you!

Afrah Rafi

UConn KIDS Research Assistant