The goal of this study was to evaluate immediate and delayed effects of a caregiver-implemented picture book intervention to support children's mathematical language and numeracy skills. Eightyfour 3-to 5-year-olds (M age = 4.14) were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 40) or active control (n = 44) conditions. Participants in the intervention condition received three researcher-designed picture books with embedded mathematical language content. The active control group received similar books without mathematical language content. All families were asked to read each book a total of four times over 4 weeks (a total of 12 reading sessions). Children were pretested, posttested, and delayed (8 weeks) posttested on mathematical language and numeracy. The intervention resulted in significant positive effects on mathematical language and numeracy at the posttest. At delayed posttest, the mathematical language effects were not statistically significant, but the numeracy effects persisted. However, when only examining the quantitative language items that aligned with the intervention, the effects of the intervention were significant at both immediate and delayed posttests. Findings suggest picture book interventions can have positive impacts on children's early skills.Educational Impact and Implications Statement Supporting children's mathematical language and numeracy development is important for their success in later mathematics. The findings from this study demonstrate that caregivers reading a set of books with embedded mathematical language to their children over the course of 4 weeks can have strong and persistent effects on children's mathematical language and numeracy skills.

A growing body of evidence suggests that the ways in which parents and preschool children interact in terms of home-based mathematics activities (i.e., the home mathematics environment; HME) is related to children's mathematics development (e.g., primarily numeracy skills and spatial skills); however, this body of evidence is mixed with some research supporting the relation and others finding null effects. Importantly, few studies have explicitly examined the factor structure of the HME and contrasted multiple hypothesized models. To develop more precise models of how the HME supports children's mathematics development, the structure of the HME needs to be examined and linked to mathematics performance. The purpose of this study was to extend prior work by replicating the factor structure of the HME (as one general HME factor and three specific factors of direct numeracy, indirect numeracy, and spatial) and using those factors to predict direct assessments of children's numeracy, mathematical language, and spatial skills. It was hypothesized that the general HME factor would be related to each direct assessment, the direct numeracy factor would be related to both numeracy and mathematical language, and the spatial factor would be related to spatial skills. Using a sample of 129 preschool children (M age = 4.71 years, SD = 0.55; 46.5% female), a series of confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Results diverged somewhat from prior work as the best fitting model was a bifactor model with a general HME factor and two specific factors (one that combined direct and indirect numeracy activities and another of spatial activities) rather than three specific factors as had previously been found. Further, structural equation modeling analyses suggested that, in contrast to expectations, only the direct + indirect numeracy factor was a significant predictor of direct child assessments when accounting for age, sex, and parental education. These findings provide evidence that a bifactor model is important

The present study explored the unique experiences of siblings during emerging adulthood. Using a qualitative design, this study sought to better understand sibling relationship dynamics (e.g., closeness and negativity), communication strategies (e.g., frequency, quality, and form), and the implications of siblings’ proximity with one another. Importantly, the period of emerging adulthood provides a unique context in which these experiences might be especially salient. We posited the following research questions: What do sibling relationships look like during emerging adulthood? What does communication look like between siblings during emerging adulthood and how does it impact their relationship? and What implications does proximity have for the sibling relationship? To answer these questions, nine different qualitative focus groups (N = 45 participants) were conducted across two different university settings. Results suggested that siblings remained important in the lives of emerging adults, despite a lack of physical proximity and less frequent communication. Participants indicated that although communication was less frequent, the content of the discussions was often more meaningful. When sharing in-person conversations, participants described the relationships to have picked up where they had left off, with no time passing in between. Further, sibling relationship quality appeared to improve with participants, indicating they were happier with their sibling and felt more like equals and had a better understanding of one another. These findings help to fill a gap in knowledge about sibling relationships during emerging adulthood and elucidate our understanding of how these relationships are maintained and developed during this period of transition.

The period of in utero development is one of the most critical windows during which adverse conditions and exposures may influence the growth and development of the fetus as well as its future postnatal health and behavior. Maternal substance use during pregnancy remains a relatively common but nonetheless hazardous in utero exposure. For example, previous epidemiological studies have associated prenatal substance exposure with reduced birth weight, poor developmental and psychological outcomes, and increased risk for diseases and behavioral disorders (e.g., externalizing behaviors like ADHD, conduct disorder, and substance use) later in life. Researchers are now learning that many of the mechanisms whereby adverse in utero exposures may affect key pathways crucial for proper fetal growth and development are epigenetic in nature, with the majority of work in humans considering DNA methylation specifically. This review will explore the research to date on epigenetic alterations tied to maternal substance use during pregnancy and will also discuss the possible role of DNA methylation in the robust relationship between maternal substance use and later behavioral and developmental sequelae in offspring.

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