Social skills interventions, such as Children’s Friendship Training (CFT), improve children’s social communication and peer relationships, but the moderating effects of age and ethnicity remain unclear (Alahamari et al., 2025; Frankel & Whitham, 2011). While some studies suggest younger children benefit more from early intervention, others find no significant age-related differences (Donnelly et al., 2023; Gates et al., 2017). Similarly, ethnicity may influence social competence through parenting behaviors, yet its role in intervention outcomes is understudied (Bae et al., 2014). This quasi-experimental study examines how age and ethnicity moderate CFT’s effectiveness in enhancing social skills among 108 elementary-school children (grades 2–5), measured via the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS). Pre- to post-intervention analyses revealed a significant improvement in SSIS scores, increasing from M = 129.65 (pre) to M = 141.80 (post) (p < .001, d = 0.78), supporting CFT’s overall efficacy. However, moderation analyses showed that neither age (analyzed continuously, categorically, and grouped) nor ethnicity (across multiple classifications) significantly influenced outcomes (all p > .05). Marginal trends (e.g., p = .057) for White vs. non-White were indicated. Findings suggest CFT’s benefits for social skills, and did not support differences based on age or ethnicity, indicating its potential broad applicability. Future research should explore non-demographic moderators (e.g., cognitive functioning) to further refine in

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in parents have been linked to higher adult negative affect and more behavioral challenges for their children (Schickedanz et al., 2018; Potter et al., 2025). This study examined whether parental ACEs were associated with observed parental negative affect and child behavior problems. The Study recruited 51 parents with a history of ACEs and their preschool children. Parental affect was assessed by micro-coding the parents’ negative emotional expressions during a challenging parent-child task (1 low to 3 high; Cui et al., 2015; Morris et al., 2011; Labella et al., 2023). We hypothesized that higher parental ACEs would correlate with greater parental negative affect and more child behavior problems, and parental negative affect would be linked to child behavior difficulties. Findings revealed that while parental ACEs were positively correlated with child behavior problems, they were not significantly associated with parental negative affect. Additionally, parental negative affect did not correlate with child behavioral challenges. This study highlights the complexity of ACEs’ effects on parenting and child development, emphasizing the need for future research to explore alternative pathways of intergenerational ACEs transmission, such as parental mental health or broader family dynamics.

Our perceptions about social hierarchies and their capacity to influence us often depends on factors such as environment or ideology. Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) measures preferences for hierarchy and “structured interpersonal relations regardless of the position of one's own group(s) within this hierarchy” (Sidanus, 2016). Life experiences shaped by and preferences for social hierarchy may explain prosocial behavior. Individuals may have extreme SDO scores due to success in hierarchies or empathy in experiencing low social status. This study aims to test the interrelationship between lifetime changes in socioeconomic status (SES), SDO, and participants’ choices in the Dictator Game. Social mobility was determined by examining change in social equality measures through zip codes of the participant’s place of birth and current residence. Once each participant’s social mobility was categorized as “high” or “low,” we examined correlations between their choices in the dictator game and SDO score. We hypothesized that participants who exhibit drastic upwards social mobility will have an extreme SDO in either direction and will exhibit selfish choices in the dictator game. Observing a connection between SDO and change in SES can help us better understand the strength influence that hierarchical thinking has on individuals. Sidanius, J., Cotterill, S., Sheehy-Skeffington, J., Kteily, N., & Carvacho, H. (2017). Social dominance theory: Explorations in the psychology of oppression. The Cambridge handbook of the psychology of

Psychosis has been linked to accelerated aging in cognitive brain networks (Sheffield et al., 2019). Whether this extends transdiagnostically in early psychosis (EP) patients is unclear. We hypothesized that EP patients (within 3 years of onset) would show a greater brain age gap (BAG; the difference between brain age and actual age) than controls and that BAG would be linked to cognitive decline. We analyzed data from 111 EP patients and 54 healthy controls aged 16-35 from the Human Connectome Project-EP database. We examined the BAG, derived from CentileBrain using structural morphometric data, and cognitive functioning using the NIH Toolbox Cognitive Function Battery. We found group differences in total cognitive functioning (p<0.001) and brain age gap (p<0.001), controlling for sex. Interestingly, BAG was significantly correlated with total cognitive functioning across patients and controls (r2=0.06, p<0.01). Cognitive differences between patients and controls were also significant across working memory, processing speed, sensorimotor functioning, language, visuospatial, and executive functioning (p<0.05, q<0.05). However, BAG did not correlate with any individual cognitive sub-domains (p>0.05, q>0.05). These findings suggest BAG differs in patients and controls even in broadly defined EP and overall cognitive functioning might be indexed by normative deviation of brain structure in EP. Future studies should use refined BAG measures independent of chronological age.

Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) are widely used to manipulate neuronal activity, yet proper validation of their expression remains critical. This study assessed the expression of a Cre-dependent DREADD vector encoding the fluorescent reporter protein mCherry to confirm successful transgene delivery to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of mouse brains. We employed a two-pronged approach: (1) genomic validation using RT-qPCR to detect mCherry gene expression in brain lysates and (2) histological analysis of coronal brain sections to confirm mCherry protein expression in the VTA. For genomic validation, brain tissue was dissected at the expected site of vector expression, dissociated, and processed for RNA extraction. RNA quality and quantity were assessed via Nanodrop before RT-qPCR with TaqMan probes. For protein validation, whole brains were dissected, fixed in formalin, and cryoprotected in sucrose before embedding a 2 mm coronal slice of the targeted VTA in optical cutting temperature media for sectioning. 20-micron-thick coronal brain sections were stained with DAPI and visualized in blue and red fluorescent channels using a Leica Aperio Versa digital pathology scanner. Our results confirm successful mCherry expression at both the gene and protein levels, validating vector delivery and expression in the VTA. These findings establish a crucial manipulation check for DREADD-based studies and reinforce the necessity of genomic and histological confirmation in our neuromodulation research.