Moral Judgment in Children and Adolescents

The Journal of Child & Adolescent Behavior is one of the journals which are concerned with the discussion of different epigenetic, genetic, and environmental factors that influence the development, cognition, and behavior of healthy children and adolescents as well as those with pediatric mental disorders (PMD). Sociocultural factors that influence the normal development of any child or adolescent, the psychopathology, and the pattern of presentation of different PMD represent vital issues in covering the scope of the journal and have been found to be of prime importance to its followers.

The current issue of the journal (Volume 4, Issue 5) includes a collection of well-presented knowledgeable scientific articles which is expected to be of interest to our followers.

Osera et al. examined the effects of using soybean products at home especially in decreasing the children’s dislike of their intake in school lunch. They showed the importance of nutrition education of kindergarten children to increase their knowledge about soybean products which represent a healthy important source of vegetable proteins in Japan [1].

Afzal highlighted cyber-bullying as a serious international problem in the era of social media. He showed that clinicians and health care providers should be aware about such a problem to be able to pick up its victims among high risk youth or individuals with warning signs, as early possible, to minimize its serious consequences especially fatal outcomes [2].

Likupe and Mwale studied the perceived causes of success and failure by high and low achievers among secondary school adolescents in Malawi. High achievers attributed their success to effort and ability while low achievers attributed their poor outcomes to luck and task difficulty [3].

Renzo et al. examined the context of executive functioning in preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and verified the agreement level between parents and therapists regarding the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions- Preschool Version (BRIEF-P). They found that the parental use of BRIEF-P improved their awareness but did not add clinical data to the diagnosis [4].

Oshukova et al. investigated the association between psychopathic traits and other forms of psychopathology among Finnish youth and highlighted the gender differences in such association. They concluded that screening for psychopathic traits among adolescents with psychosocial adjustment problems seems relevant [5].

Yadegarfard and Yadegarfard explored the influence of parenting style and parental perfectionism on children’s sense of entitlement in the city of Bandarabbas, Iran. They found that the more the parentparticipant subscribed to a sense of self oriented perfectionism, the lower the sense of entitlement expressed by their children [6].

De, on the other hand, studied the mean age of attaining menarche and its effect on nutritional status of adolescent girls living in a rural area in West Bengal, India. She found a better nutritional status in post-menarcheal girls compared to pre-menarcheal ones with differential rates of positive changes in measures of body composition after development of menarche [7].

Hancock et al., reported a follow up study of the outcome of the first randomized controlled trial comparing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with the traditional Cognitive Behavior Therapy in children suffering from anxiety disorders. They showed that both therapeutic modalities have similar long term benefits and recommended further research in this field [8].

Peng et al. investigated the effect of disgust emotion on moral judgment in children and adolescents and found it to be variable across different developmental stages [9].

Lastly, we hope that our followers will enjoy their journey across the current issue of The Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior and find it fruitful in enriching the scientific community with updated knowledge and respectful clinical experience.