From research to policy and practice: the School of the 21st Century.

PubMed

Zigler, Edward; Finn-Stevenson, Matia

2007-04-01

Current education reform policies focus on raising academic achievement and ensuring that all students have access to high-quality education. Because the achievement gap is apparent even before children enter school, the authors believe that education reform must encompass the early childhood years. The current dialogue about universal preschool presents an opportunity to address the need for a national system for early care and education. The authors believe this system should provide quality child care and preschool experiences for all children and embrace a whole-child approach that nurtures not only cognitive development but physical and mental health and social-emotional behaviors that are also important to successful schooling. The School of the 21st Century provides an example of an effective early care and education system using the public schools. The authors' work with the School of the 21st Century shows that schools can provide high-quality, developmentally appropriate care and that these programs benefit later school performance. 2007 APA, all rights reserved

Timing of high-quality child care and cognitive, language, and preacademic development.

PubMed

Li, Weilin; Farkas, George; Duncan, Greg J; Burchinal, Margaret R; Vandell, Deborah Lowe

2013-08-01

The effects of high- versus low-quality child care during 2 developmental periods (infant-toddlerhood and preschool) were examined using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Propensity score matching was used to account for differences in families who used different combinations of child care quality during the 2 developmental periods. Findings indicated that cognitive, language, and preacademic skills prior to school entry were highest among children who experienced high-quality care in both the infant-toddler and preschool periods, somewhat lower among children who experienced high-quality child care during only 1 of these periods, and lowest among children who experienced low-quality care during both periods. Irrespective of the care received during infancy-toddlerhood, high-quality preschool care was related to better language and preacademic outcomes at the end of the preschool period; high-quality infant-toddler care, irrespective of preschool care, was related to better memory skills at the end of the preschool period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Role of Father–Child Relational Quality in Early Maladaptive Schemas

PubMed Central

Monirpoor, Nader; Gholamyzarch, Morteza; Tamaddonfard, Mohsen; Khoosfi, Helen; Ganjali, Ali Reza

2012-01-01

Background Primary maladaptive schemas, which are the basis of high-risk behavior and psychological disorders, result from childhood experiences with significant objects, such as fathers, in different developmental phases. Objectives This endeavor examined the role of the father in predicting these schemas. Patients and Methods A total of 345 Islamic Azad University students (Qom Branch) who were chosen through convenience sampling completed the Young Schema Questionnaire, the Parental Bonding Instrument, and the Parent–Child Relationship Survey. Results A multivariate regression analysis indicated that anumber of aspects of the father–child relationship, including care, emotional interaction, positive affection, the effective relationship, and excessive support, predict particular schemas. Conclusions Therefore, these findings suggested that psychotherapists examine the different aspects of the father–child relationship when restructuring schemas. PMID:24971232

Position Paper on College-Sponsored Child Care Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Coalition for Campus Child Care, Inc., Milwaukee, WI.

Universities must be prepared to provide quality child care not only to accommodate their changing student population, but also to help attract and retain competent and dedicated employees. Campus child care programs should be: (1) models to the community, to early education specialists, to parents, and to policymakers; (2) an integral part of the…

The Birth of a South African Child Development Center for 2- to 6-Year-Olds: An International Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeMarie, Darlene; Cherian, Lily

2012-01-01

Providing high-quality education and care for young children at a historically Black university in rural South Africa was a challenging task. But despite many obstacles, two teacher educators (an American and a South African) worked together, partnered with a surprising collection of others, seized every possible opportunity, and persisted, seeing…

Bioeconomic analysis of child-targeted subsidies for artemisinin combination therapies: a cost-effectiveness analysis

PubMed Central

Klein, Eili Y.; Smith, David L.; Cohen, Justin M.; Laxminarayan, Ramanan

2015-01-01

The Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria (AMFm) was conceived as a global market-based mechanism to increase access to effective malaria treatment and prolong effectiveness of artemisinin. Although results from a pilot implementation suggested that the subsidy was effective in increasing access to high-quality artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), the Global Fund has converted AMFm into a country-driven mechanism whereby individual countries could choose to fund the subsidy from within their country envelopes. Because the initial costs of the subsidy in the pilot countries was higher than expected, countries are also exploring alternatives to a universal subsidy, such as subsidizing only child doses. We examined the incremental cost-effectiveness of a child-targeted policy using an age-structured bioeconomic model of malaria from the provider perspective. Because the vast majority of malaria deaths occur in children, targeting children could potentially improve the cost-effectiveness of the subsidy, though it would avert significantly fewer deaths. However, the benefits of a child-targeted subsidy (i.e. deaths averted) are eroded as leakage (i.e. older individuals taking young child-targeted doses) increases, with few of the benefits of a universal subsidy gained (i.e. reductions in overall prevalence). Although potentially more cost-effective, a child-targeted subsidy must contain measures to reduce the possibility of leakage. PMID:25994293

Associations of Preschool Type and Teacher-Child Relational Quality with Young Children's Social-Emotional Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Pamela W.; Mahatmya, Duhita; Moses, Laurence Kimberly; Bolt, Elizabeth N.

2014-01-01

Research Findings: This study examined associations of preschool type (i.e., urban and suburban Head Start and university-affiliated center) and teacher-child variables with positive and negative child outcomes among 145 preschoolers (74 boys). Differences emerged across preschools, with urban Head Start children scoring lowest on the emotional…

Individual differences in effects of child care quality: The role of child affective self-regulation and gender.

PubMed

Broekhuizen, Martine L; Aken, Marcel A G van; Dubas, Judith S; Mulder, Hanna; Leseman, Paul P M

2015-08-01

The current study investigated whether the relation between child care quality and children's socio-emotional behavior depended on children's affective self-regulation skills and gender. Participants were 545 children (Mage=27 months) from 60 center-based child care centers in the Netherlands. Multi-level analyses showed that children with low affective self-regulation skills or who were male demonstrated less teacher-rated social competence when exposed to relatively low quality child care. In addition, children with low affective self-regulation skills also showed more social competence in the case of relatively high quality child care, suggesting mechanisms of differential susceptibility. No main effects of child care quality or interactions were found for teacher- and parent-rated externalizing behavior. These findings emphasize the importance of considering children's affective self-regulation skills and gender in understanding the effects of child care quality. High quality child care can be a means to strengthen children's social development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Promoting High-Quality Family Child Care: A Policy Perspective for Quality 2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Modigliani, Kathy

Although family child care has the potential to offer young children individual attention and customized, educational programs to help them thrive, the quality of these programs is dependent upon a workforce that is at the bottom of the occupational status and pay hierarchy. This report examines ways to promote high quality in family child care…

Diversity, Child Care Quality and Developmental Outcomes. FPG Snapshot, #21

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, 2004

2004-01-01

It is widely accepted that high quality child care enhances children's cognitive and social development, but some people question if what constitutes quality care depends on the child's ethnic and cultural background. To examine this issue, secondary analysis of the two largest U.S. studies of child care--the Cost, Quality, and Outcomes Study and…

In the Public Interest: The Benefits of High Quality Child Care. [Videotape].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toronto Univ. (Ontario). Centre for Urban and Community Studies.

Noting that, in Canada, 10,000 child care programs serve children and families of diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, this video examines the characteristics and benefits of high quality programs. The 22-minute video first cites two reasons why quality child care is a current issue: the increasing number of women in the workforce and…

Quality Early Education and Child Care From Birth to Kindergarten.

PubMed

Donoghue, Elaine A

2017-08-01

High-quality early education and child care for young children improves physical and cognitive outcomes for the children and can result in enhanced school readiness. Preschool education can be viewed as an investment (especially for at-risk children), and studies show a positive return on that investment. Barriers to high-quality early childhood education include inadequate funding and staff education as well as variable regulation and enforcement. Steps that have been taken to improve the quality of early education and child care include creating multidisciplinary, evidence-based child care practice standards; establishing state quality rating and improvement systems; improving federal and state regulations; providing child care health consultation; as well as initiating other innovative partnerships. Pediatricians have a role in promoting quality early education and child care for all children not only in the medical home but also at the community, state, and national levels. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The impact of prenatal care quality on neonatal, infant and child mortality in Zimbabwe: evidence from the demographic and health surveys.

PubMed

Makate, Marshall; Makate, Clifton

2017-04-01

The impact of the quality of prenatal care on child mortality outcomes has received less attention in sub-Saharan Africa. This study endeavoured to explore the effect of the quality of prenatal care and its individual components on neonatal, infant and under-five mortality. The empirical analysis uses data from the three most recent waves of the nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey for Zimbabwe conducted in 1999, 2005/06 and 2010/11. The results indicate that a one-unit increase in the quality of prenatal care lowers the prospect of neonatal, infant and under-five mortality by approximately 42.33, 30.86 and 28.65%, respectively. These findings remained roughly the same even after adjusting for potential mediating factors. Examining the effect of individual prenatal care components on child mortality revealed that women who receive information on possible complications arising during pregnancy are less liable to experience a neonatal death. Similarly, women who had blood pressure checks and tetanus immunizations were less likely to experience an infant or under-five death. We did not find any statistically meaningful impact on child mortality outcomes of blood and urine sample checks, iron tablet consumption, and the receipt of malarial tablets. Overall, our results suggest the need for public health policymakers to focus on ensuring high-quality prenatal care to enhance the survival prospects of Zimbabwe's infants. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Timing of High-Quality Child Care and Cognitive, Language, and Preacademic Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Weilin; Farkas, George; Duncan, Greg J.; Burchinal, Margaret R.; Vandell, Deborah Lowe

2013-01-01

The effects of high- versus low-quality child care during 2 developmental periods (infant-toddlerhood and preschool) were examined using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Propensity score matching was used to account for differences in families who used different combinations of child…

The Quality of Toddler Child Care and Cognitive Skills at 24 Months: Propensity Score Analysis Results from the ECLS-B.

PubMed

Ruzek, Erik; Burchinal, Margaret; Farkas, George; Duncan, Greg J

2014-01-01

Over half of the toddlers in the U.S. experience routine nonparental care, but much less is known about early care than about preschool care. This study analyzed 2-year-old child care and child outcome data from the nationally representative ECLS-B sample of children born in 2001. At two-years of age, 51% of children experienced exclusive parental care, 18% relative care, 15% family child care, and 16% center care. More children in nonparental care were in medium quality care (61%) than in high quality (26%) or low quality (13%) care. Low-income children were more likely than non-low income children to be cared for by their parents and, when in care, were more often in lower quality care. The impact of toddler care quality on cognitive skills was estimated using propensity score adjustments to account for potential selection confounds due to family and child characteristics. Children's cognitive scores were higher in high or medium quality care than in low quality care, but no evidence emerged suggesting that poverty moderated the quality effects. Nevertheless, this suggests that increasing the proportion of low-income children in high quality care could reduce the achievement gap because low-income children are very unlikely to experience high quality care.

The Quality of Toddler Child Care and Cognitive Skills at 24 Months: Propensity Score Analysis Results from the ECLS-B

PubMed Central

Ruzek, Erik; Burchinal, Margaret; Farkas, George; Duncan, Greg J.

2013-01-01

Over half of the toddlers in the U.S. experience routine nonparental care, but much less is known about early care than about preschool care. This study analyzed 2-year-old child care and child outcome data from the nationally representative ECLS-B sample of children born in 2001. At two-years of age, 51% of children experienced exclusive parental care, 18% relative care, 15% family child care, and 16% center care. More children in nonparental care were in medium quality care (61%) than in high quality (26%) or low quality (13%) care. Low-income children were more likely than non-low income children to be cared for by their parents and, when in care, were more often in lower quality care. The impact of toddler care quality on cognitive skills was estimated using propensity score adjustments to account for potential selection confounds due to family and child characteristics. Children’s cognitive scores were higher in high or medium quality care than in low quality care, but no evidence emerged suggesting that poverty moderated the quality effects. Nevertheless, this suggests that increasing the proportion of low-income children in high quality care could reduce the achievement gap because low-income children are very unlikely to experience high quality care. PMID:24347815

Diversity, Child Care Quality, and Developmental Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burchinal, Margaret R.; Cryer, Debby

2003-01-01

It is widely accepted that high quality child care enhances children's cognitive and social development, but some question whether what constitutes quality care depends on the child's ethnic and cultural background. To address this question, secondary analysis of data from the two largest studies of child care experiences in the United States,…

Stability of maternal discipline practices and the quality of mother-child interaction during toddlerhood.

PubMed

Huang, Keng-Yen; Caughy, Margaret O'Brien; Lee, Li-Ching; Miller, Therese; Genevro, Janice

2009-07-01

This study examined the stability of maternal punitive/high-power discipline (PD) and inductive/authoritative discipline (ID) over the second and third years of life and the effect of maternal discipline on quality of mother-child interactions. Data from a longitudinal sample with 179 mother-toddler dyads were analyzed, and selected factors (i.e., child sex, temperament) that might moderate the association between maternal discipline and quality of mother-child interactions were also examined. Maternal discipline, quality of mother-child interactions, and temperamental moderators were measured at 16-18 months (Time 1) and 34-37 months (Time 2). Results showed that the stability of maternal use of discipline strategies over the toddler years was moderate. Lower maternal use of PD, higher maternal use of ID, and higher preference/reliance on ID (relative to PD) were associated with higher quality of mother-child interactions. Moderation effects of child temperament were also found. High ID and PD were associated with low quality of mother-child relationships in non-temperamentally difficult children but not in temperamentally difficult children.

A Public Secret: "Education for Quality" and Suicide among Chinese Elite University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bregnbaek, Susanne

2011-01-01

This article is based on anthropological fieldwork undertaken at two elite universities in Beijing. It addresses the paradoxical situation of the many instances of suicide among Chinese elite university students in Beijing, which constitute a public secret. The pressure of education weighs heavily on the shoulders of China's only child in each…

Wormholes and Child Universes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guendelman, E. I.

Evidence to the case that classical gravitation provides the clue to make sense out of quantum gravity is presented. The key observation is the existence in classical gravitation of child universe solutions or "almost" solutions, "almost" because of some singularity problems. The difficulties of these child universe solutions that are due to their generic singularity problems will be very likely be cured by quantum effects, just like for example "almost" instanton solutions are made relevant in gauge theories with the breaking of conformal invariance. Some well-motivated modifcations of general relativity where these singularity problems are absent even at the classical level are discussed. High energy density excitations, responsible for UV divergences in quantum field theories, including quantum gravity, are likely to be the source of child universes which carry them out of the original space-time. This decoupling could prevent these high UV excitations from having any influence on physical amplitudes. Child universe production could therefore be responsible for UV regularization in quantum field theories which take into account semiclassically gravitational effects. Child universe production in the last stages of black hole evaporation, the prediction of absence of trans-Planckian primordial perturbations, connection to the minimum length hypothesis, and in particular the connection to the maximal curvature hypothesis are discussed. Some discussion of superexcited states in the case these states such as Kaluza-Klein excitations are carried out. Finally, the possibility of obtaining "string like" effects from the wormholes associated with the child universes is discussed.

Caregiver-Child Verbal Interactions in Child Care: A Buffer against Poor Language Outcomes when Maternal Language Input is Less

PubMed Central

Vernon-Feagans, Lynne; Bratsch-Hines, Mary E.

2013-01-01

Recent research has suggested that high quality child care can buffer young children against poorer cognitive and language outcomes when they are at risk for poorer language and readiness skills. Most of this research measured the quality of parenting and the quality of the child care with global observational measures or rating scales that did not specify the exact maternal or caregiver behaviors that might be causally implicated in the buffering of these children from poor outcomes. The current study examined the actual language by the mother to her child in the home and the verbal interactions between the caregiver and child in the child care setting that might be implicated in the buffering effect of high quality childcare. The sample included 433 rural children from the Family Life Project who were in child care at 36 months of age. Even after controlling for a variety of covariates, including maternal education, income, race, child previous skill, child care type, the overall quality of the home and quality of the child care environment; observed positive caregiver-child verbal interactions in the child care setting interacted with the maternal language complexity and diversity in predicting children’s language development. Caregiver-child positive verbal interactions appeared to buffer children from poor language outcomes concurrently and two years later if children came from homes where observed maternal language complexity and diversity during a picture book task was less. PMID:24634566

Total Quality Management Simplified.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arias, Pam

1995-01-01

Maintains that Total Quality Management (TQM) is one method that helps to monitor and improve the quality of child care. Lists four steps for a child-care center to design and implement its own TQM program. Suggests that quality assurance in child-care settings is an ongoing process, and that TQM programs help in providing consistent, high-quality…

Measuring the Interactive Skills of Caregivers in Child Care Centers: Development and Validation of the Caregiver Interaction Profile Scales

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helmerhorst, Katrien O. W.; Riksen-Walraven, J. Marianne; Vermeer, Harriet J.; Fukkink, Ruben G.; Tavecchio, Louis W. C.

2014-01-01

Research Findings: High-quality caregiver-child interactions constitute the core of high-quality child care for young children. This article describes the background and development of the Caregiver Interaction Profile (CIP) scales to rate 6 key skills of caregivers for interacting with 0-to 4-year-old children in child care centers: sensitive…

The Impact of Teacher Quality Grants on Long-Term Professional Development of Physical Science Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urquhart, Mary L.; Bober, Kendra M.

2006-02-01

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Teacher Quality Grants, supported through No Child Left Behind, are intended to ensure that secondary teachers of specific subjects are "highly qualified". Now in their third year, these grants have done much to shape long-term professional development for teachers in the physical sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). The grants have also created a suite of challenges and benefits for the UTD Science Education M.A.T. program. Teacher Quality Grants are based on the No Child Left Behind framework that requires teachers to be "highly qualified" as defined by the state. Recruitment is required to be targeted at teachers who are uncertified or teach one or more classes out of their content area and who work in high needs local school districts. Many of the students brought into our program through these grants have incoming content knowledge in physics similar to that typical of undergraduate non-majors, and a large percentage are uncomfortable with basic mathematics as well. How and what we teach has been dramatically impacted by the Teacher Quality Grants, as have our assessments and evaluations. An ongoing challenge has been to implement a Physics Education Research (PER)-based course design while meeting the specific requirements of the Teacher Quality Grant program. The Teacher Quality Grants have also provided a great deal of opportunity to new and existing teachers in our program. A barrier to our teachers, rising tuition costs, has been removed and as a result a mandate has become a doorway of opportunity for physical science teachers.

Using the ACEI Global Guidelines Assessment to Evaluate the Quality of Early Child Care in Greek Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rentzou, Konstantina

2010-01-01

In recent years, there has been a significant growth of interest in ensuring that child care provision for children is of a high quality. This interest has been stimulated by research evidence according to which good quality child care has a positive influence on children's overall development. The global quality in Greek preschool and…

Quality of Individualised Education Programme Goals and Objectives for Preschool Children with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rakap, Salih

2015-01-01

Individualised education programmes (IEPs) are the road maps for individualising services for children with disabilities, specifically through the development of high-quality child goals/objectives. High-quality IEP goals/objectives that are developed based on a comprehensive assessment of child functioning and directly connected to intervention…

Family Income Dynamics, Early Childhood Education and Care, and Early Child Behavior Problems in Norway

PubMed Central

Zachrisson, Henrik Daae; Dearing, Eric

2014-01-01

The sociopolitical context of Norway includes low poverty rates and universal access to subsidized and regulated Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). In this context, the association between family income dynamics and changes in early child behavior problems was investigated, as well as whether high quality ECEC buffers children from the effects of income dynamics. In a population-based sample (N = 75,296), within-family changes in income-to-needs predicted changes in externalizing and internalizing problems (from age 18 to 36 months), particularly for lower-income children. For internalizing problems, ECEC buffered the effect of income-to-needs changes. These findings lend further support to the potential benefits of ECEC for children from lower-income families. PMID:25345342

Promoting Access to Quality Child Care: Critical Steps in Conducting Market Rate Surveys and Establishing Rate Policies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoney, Louise

This report is designed to help policymakers, child care providers, and advocates establish child care rate support policies that support high quality in the context of government-subsidized, privately-provided child care. It also provides advice on the development and interpretation of market rate surveys of local child care fees. Part 1…

Bridging the Gap: using an interrupted time series design to evaluate systems reform addressing refugee maternal and child health inequalities.

PubMed

Yelland, Jane; Riggs, Elisha; Szwarc, Josef; Casey, Sue; Dawson, Wendy; Vanpraag, Dannielle; East, Chris; Wallace, Euan; Teale, Glyn; Harrison, Bernie; Petschel, Pauline; Furler, John; Goldfeld, Sharon; Mensah, Fiona; Biro, Mary Anne; Willey, Sue; Cheng, I-Hao; Small, Rhonda; Brown, Stephanie

2015-04-30

The risk of poor maternal and perinatal outcomes in high-income countries such as Australia is greatest for those experiencing extreme social and economic disadvantage. Australian data show that women of refugee background have higher rates of stillbirth, fetal death in utero and perinatal mortality compared with Australian born women. Policy and health system responses to such inequities have been slow and poorly integrated. This protocol describes an innovative programme of quality improvement and reform in publically funded universal health services in Melbourne, Australia, that aims to address refugee maternal and child health inequalities. A partnership of 11 organisations spanning health services, government and research is working to achieve change in the way that maternity and early childhood health services support families of refugee background. The aims of the programme are to improve access to universal health care for families of refugee background and build organisational and system capacity to address modifiable risk factors for poor maternal and child health outcomes. Quality improvement initiatives are iterative, co-designed by partners and implemented using the Plan Do Study Act framework in four maternity hospitals and two local government maternal and child health services. Bridging the Gap is designed as a multi-phase, quasi-experimental study. Evaluation methods include use of interrupted time series design to examine health service use and maternal and child health outcomes over a 3-year period of implementation. Process measures will examine refugee families' experiences of specific initiatives and service providers' views and experiences of innovation and change. It is envisaged that the Bridging the Gap program will provide essential evidence to support service and policy innovation and knowledge about what it takes to implement sustainable improvements in the way that health services support vulnerable populations, within the constraints of existing resources.

Impact of Universal Health Coverage on Child Growth and Nutrition in Argentina.

PubMed

Nuñez, Pablo A; Fernández-Slezak, Diego; Farall, Andrés; Szretter, María Eugenia; Salomón, Oscar Daniel; Valeggia, Claudia R

2016-04-01

To estimate trends of undernutrition (stunting and underweight) among children younger than 5 years covered by the universal health coverage programs Plan Nacer and Programa Sumar. From 2005 to 2013, Plan Nacer and Programa Sumar collected high-quality information on birth and visit dates, age (in days), gender, weight (in kg), and height (in cm) for 1.4 million children in 6386 health centers (13 million records) with broad coverage of vulnerable populations in Argentina. The prevalence of stunting and underweight decreased 45.0% (from 20.6% to 11.3%) and 38.0% (from 4.0% to 2.5%), respectively, with differences between rural versus urban areas, gender, regions, age, and seasons. Undernutrition prevalence substantially decreased in 2 programs in Argentina as a result of universal health coverage.

Parent-child relationships of boys in different offending trajectories. A developmental perspective

PubMed Central

Keijsers, Loes; Loeber, Rolf; Branje, Susan; Meeus, Wim

2012-01-01

Background This study tested the theoretical assumption that transformations of parent-child relationships in late childhood and adolescence would differ for boys following different offending trajectories. Methods Using longitudinal multiinformant data of 503 boys (ages 7–19), we conducted Growth Mixture Modeling to extract offending trajectories. Developmental changes in child reports of parent-child joint activities and relationship quality were examined using Latent Growth Curves. Results Five offending trajectories were found: non-offenders, moderate childhood offenders, adolescent-limited offenders, serious childhood offenders, and serious persistent offenders. Non-offenders reported high and stable levels of relationship quality between age 10 and 16. Adolescent-limited offenders reported a similarly high relationship quality as non-offenders at ages 7 and 10, but a lower and decreasing relationship quality in adolescence. Compared with non-offenders, serious persistent offenders reported poorer parent-child relationship quality at all ages, and a decreasing relationship quality in adolescence. Serious persistent offenders and adolescent-limited offenders reported similar levels and changes in parent-child relationship quality in adolescence. Although serious persistent offenders reported fewer joint activities at age 10 and 13 than non-offenders, a similar linear decrease in joint activities in early to middle adolescence was found for boys in each trajectory. Conclusion Developmental changes in parent-child relationship quality differ for different types of offenders. This finding has scientific and practical implications. PMID:22816682

Implementation and Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of Universal Postnatal Nurse Home Visiting

PubMed Central

Goodman, W. Benjamin; Murphy, Robert A.; O’Donnell, Karen; Sato, Jeannine; Guptill, Susan

2014-01-01

Objectives. We evaluated whether a brief, universal, postnatal nurse home-visiting intervention can be implemented with high penetration and fidelity, prevent emergency health care services, and promote positive parenting by infant age 6 months. Methods. Durham Connects is a manualized 4- to 7-session program to assess family needs and connect parents with community resources to improve infant health and well-being. All 4777 resident births in Durham, North Carolina, between July 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010, were randomly assigned to intervention and control conditions. A random, representative subset of 549 families received blinded interviews for impact evaluation. Results. Of all families, 80% initiated participation; adherence was 84%. Hospital records indicated that Durham Connects infants had 59% fewer infant emergency medical care episodes than did control infants. Durham Connects mothers reported fewer infant emergency care episodes and more community connections, more positive parenting behaviors, participation in higher quality out-of-home child care, and lower rates of anxiety than control mothers. Blinded observers reported higher quality home environments for Durham Connects than for control families. Conclusions. A brief universal home-visiting program implemented with high penetration and fidelity can lower costly emergency medical care and improve family outcomes. PMID:24354833

Making Space for Children: A Toolkit for Starting a Child Care Facilities Fund. Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kershaw, Amy

To address the growing demand for high-quality child care, many communities are seeking to develop specialized child care facilities funds to build new, and improve the quality of existing, child care programs. This toolkit is designed for policymakers, nonprofit leaders, child care providers, and others interested in increasing access to…

The Bottom Line: Quality/Consumer-Oriented Child Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Cheryl D.

Arguing that the provision of child care services is consistent with the role of the community college, this paper provides an overview of the current demand for and delivery of child care services and briefly discusses ways in which community colleges can assist in the development and provision of consumer-oriented, high-quality child care.…

Child Care Quality and Cognitive Development: Trajectories Leading to Better Preacademic Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cote, Sylvana M.; Mongeau, Chantal; Japel, Christa; Xu, Qian; Seguin, Jean R.; Tremblay, Richard E.

2013-01-01

The associations between trajectories of child care quality from ages 2 to 4 years and children's cognitive performance at 4 years ("n" = 250) were tested. Distinct quality trajectories were identified: low and high ascending Teaching and Interactions trajectory; low and high Provision for Learning trajectory. Membership in the high…

Enhancing Early Child Care Quality and Learning for Toddlers at Risk: The Responsive Early Childhood Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landry, Susan H.; Zucker, Tricia A.; Taylor, Heather B.; Swank, Paul R.; Williams, Jeffrey M.; Assel, Michael; Crawford, April; Huang, Weihua; Clancy-Menchetti, Jeanine; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Phillips, Beth M.; Eisenberg, Nancy; Spinrad, Tracy L.; de Viliers, Jill; de Viliers, Peter; Barnes, Marcia; Starkey, Prentice; Klein, Alice

2014-01-01

Despite reports of positive effects of high-quality child care, few experimental studies have examined the process of improving low-quality center-based care for toddler-age children. In this article, we report intervention effects on child care teachers' behaviors and children's social, social-emotional classroom activities (RECC).…

International policies toward parental leave and child care.

PubMed

Waldfogel, J

2001-01-01

The pleasures and pressures of parenting a newborn are universal, but the supports surrounding parents vary widely from country to country. In many nations, decades of attention to benefits and services for new parents offer lessons worthy of attention in this country. This article describes policies regarding parental leave, child care, and early childhood benefits here and in 10 industrial nations in North America and Europe. The sharpest contrast separates the United States from the other countries, although differences among the others also are instructive: The right to parental leave is new to American workers; it covers one-half of the private-sector workforce and is relatively short and unpaid. By contrast, other nations offer universal, paid leaves of 10 months or more. Child care assistance in Europe is usually provided through publicly funded programs, whereas the United States relies more on subsidies and tax credits to reimburse parents for part of their child care expenses. Nations vary in the emphasis they place on parental leave versus child care supports for families with children under age three. Each approach creates incentives that influence parents' decisions about employment and child care. Several European nations, seeking flexible solutions for parents, are testing "early childhood benefits" that can be used to supplement income or pay for private child care. Based on this review, the author urges that the United States adopt universal, paid parental leave of at least 10 months; help parents cover more child care costs; and improve the quality of child care. She finds policy packages that support different parental choices promising, because the right mix of leave and care will vary from family to family, and child to child.

Effective Marketing of Quality Child Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caldwell, Bettye M.; Boyd, Harper W., Jr.

1984-01-01

Identifies negative public and professional attitudes that lie beneath the contemporary negative image of quality child care. Argues that concepts and principles of marketing are appropriate for influencing parents to choose high quality services and helping ensure that supplementary care is of sufficient quality to enhance, not inhibit, the…

Relationship Between Child and Maternal Sleep: A Developmental and Cross-Cultural Comparison.

PubMed

Mindell, Jodi A; Sadeh, Avi; Kwon, Robert; Goh, Daniel Y T

2015-08-01

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between young children's sleep and maternal sleep from both a developmental and a cross-cultural perspective. Mothers of 10,085 young children completed the Brief Infant/Child Sleep Questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Overall, there were significant relationships between maternal and child sleep for bedtime, waketime, number of night wakings, and total nighttime sleep time across ages and cultures, although these relationships were stronger with younger children than preschool-aged children. Mothers report that their child's sleep pattern significantly impacts their sleep and daytime function, and they do not feel confident in managing their child's sleep pattern. Thus, interventions to improve children's sleep and develop good sleep habits, especially in early childhood, are likely to improve the quality of life of the whole family. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Providing High Quality Care in Low-Income Areas of Maryland: Definitions, Resources, and Challenges from Parents and Child Care Providers' Perspectives. Publication #2012-45

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forry, Nicole; Simkin, Shana; Wessel, Julia; Rodrigues, Katherine

2012-01-01

Early life experiences are critical to a child's development. Research has shown that, for a variety of reasons, children born into low-income families are at a disadvantage when compared to their higher-income peers. Fortunately, research has also shown a positive association between high quality child care and the academic and social-emotional…

A Child Development Centre (C.D.C.) Based on the World of Work and Everyday Life: A Case of Quality Education Provision for 2.5-5 Year Old Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frangos, Christos

1993-01-01

Outlines the organization and activities of the Child Development Centre (CDC) of Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, which operates as a model preschool and kindergarten for over 300 similar institutions throughout Greece. The CDC utilizes art, music, visits to workplaces, movement activities, foreign languages and customs, computers,and free…

Child and adolescent experience of and satisfaction with psychiatric care: a critical review of the research literature.

PubMed

Biering, P

2010-02-01

This review paper contributes to better understanding of child and adolescent perception of quality of psychiatric care and should therefore be of interests for those who are concerned with the development and improvement of psychiatric care. * The review shows that the concept of patient satisfaction in child and adolescent psychiatric care is still underdeveloped and that few valid instruments have been developed to measure the concept. * The review helps to clarify the concept of adolescent satisfaction with psychiatric care by indentifying the universal components of the concept. * The paper concludes that children's perception of quality of care differs from their parents' and that quality assessment of children and adolescents needs to be heeded. Abstract Users' perspectives ought to be a determining factor for assessing the quality of psychiatric care and hence their perspectives need to be thoroughly understood. There is a lack of comprehensive knowledge of how children and adolescents perceive the quality of their psychiatric care. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to critically review and synthesize findings from research on youth experience and satisfaction with psychiatric care. The review finds that knowledge about youth perception of quality of care is scattered and that few researchers consider previous findings. There are few valid instruments to measure child and adolescent patient satisfaction and few studies have considered these users' perceptions. These few studies indicate that adolescents' satisfaction has three universal components: satisfaction with environment and the organization of services; with user-caregiver relationship; and with treatment outcome. However, instruments that only use these factors lack sensitivity, while instruments that measure specific components of services capture differences in satisfaction between user groups. The review shows that parents and children have different mental care needs, and that the assessments by children and adolescents of their psychiatric care should be heeded.

New Mexico Look for the STARS--AIM HIGH: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of New Mexico's Look for the STARS--AIM HIGH prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4)…

The Family Startup Program: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a universal group-based parenting support program.

PubMed

Trillingsgaard, Tea; Maimburg, Rikke Damkjær; Simonsen, Marianne

2015-04-21

Inadequate parenting is an important public health problem with possible severe and long-term consequences related to child development. We have solid theoretical and political arguments in favor of efforts enhancing the quality of the early family environment in the population at large. However, little is known about effect of universal approaches to parenting support during the transition to parenthood. This protocol describes an experimental evaluation of group based parenting support, the Family Startup Program (FSP), currently implemented large scale in Denmark. Participants will be approximately 2500 pregnant women and partners. Inclusion criteria are parental age above 18 and the mother expecting first child. Families are recruited when attending routine pregnancy scans provided as a part of the publicly available prenatal care program at Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby. Families are randomized within four geographically defined strata to one of two conditions a) participation in FSP or b) Treatment As Usual (TAU). FSP aims to prepare new families for their roles as parents and enhance parental access to informal sources of support, i.e. social network and community resources. The program consists of twelve group sessions, with nine families in each group, continuing from pregnancy until the child is 15 months old. TAU is the publicly available pre- and postnatal care available to families in both conditions. Analyses will employ survey data, administrative data from health visitors, and administrative register based data from Statistics Denmark. All data sources will be linked via the unique Danish Civil Registration Register (CPR) identifier. Data will be obtained at four time points, during pregnancy, when the child is nine months, 18 months and seven years. The primary study outcome is measured by the Parenting Sense of Competence scale (PSOC) J Clin Child Psychol 18:167-75, 1989. Other outcomes include parenting and couple relationship quality, utility of primary sector service and child physical health, socio-emotional and cognitive development. The protocol describes an ambitious experimental evaluation of a universal group-based parenting support program; an evaluation that has not yet been made either in Denmark or internationally. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02294968. Registered November 14 2014.

Childhood in Crisis: Our Future at Risk. Issues in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haller, Marilyn L.

2003-01-01

Documents the need for and importance of high-quality child care; the influence of caregivers on children's cognitive, social, and emotional development; qualifications of and remuneration for child caregivers; and the relation of quality care to lower juvenile crime. Proposes that child caregivers be given adequate training (including alternate…

Configurations of Adolescents' Peer Experiences: Associations With Parent-Child Relationship Quality and Parental Problem Behavior.

PubMed

Kretschmer, Tina; Sentse, Miranda; Meeus, Wim; Verhulst, Frank C; Veenstra, René; Oldehinkel, Albertine J

2016-09-01

Adolescents' peer experiences embrace behavior, relationship quality, status, and victimization, but studies that account for multiple dimensions are rare. Using latent profile modeling and measures of peer behavior, relationship quality, peer status, and victimization assessed from 1,677 adolescents, four profiles were identified: High Quality, Low Quality, Low Quality Victimized, and Deviant Peers. Multinomial logistic regressions showed that negative parent-child relationships in preadolescence reduced the likelihood of High Quality peer relations in mid-adolescence but only partly differentiated between the other three profiles. Moderation by gender was partly found with girls showing greater sensitivity to parent-child relationship quality with respect to peer experiences. Results underline the multifaceted nature of peer experiences, and practical and theoretical implications are discussed. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Research on Adolescence © 2015 Society for Research on Adolescence.

Impact of Universal Health Coverage on Child Growth and Nutrition in Argentina

PubMed Central

Fernández-Slezak, Diego; Farall, Andrés; Szretter, María Eugenia; Salomón, Oscar Daniel; Valeggia, Claudia R.

2016-01-01

Objectives. To estimate trends of undernutrition (stunting and underweight) among children younger than 5 years covered by the universal health coverage programs Plan Nacer and Programa Sumar. Methods. From 2005 to 2013, Plan Nacer and Programa Sumar collected high-quality information on birth and visit dates, age (in days), gender, weight (in kg), and height (in cm) for 1.4 million children in 6386 health centers (13 million records) with broad coverage of vulnerable populations in Argentina. Results. The prevalence of stunting and underweight decreased 45.0% (from 20.6% to 11.3%) and 38.0% (from 4.0% to 2.5%), respectively, with differences between rural versus urban areas, gender, regions, age, and seasons. Conclusions. Undernutrition prevalence substantially decreased in 2 programs in Argentina as a result of universal health coverage. PMID:26890172

Maltreatment and Affective and Behavioral Problems in Emerging Adults With and Without Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms: Mediation by Parent-Child Relationship Quality.

PubMed

McKinney, Cliff; Stearns, Melanie; Szkody, Erica

2018-03-01

The current study examined the indirect effect of maternal and paternal emotional and physical maltreatment on affective and behavioral symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) through parent-child relationship quality; gender and overall ODD symptoms were examined as moderators. Participants included 2,362 emerging adults who completed questionnaires about parental emotional and physical maltreatment, parent-child relationship quality, and affective and behavioral ODD symptoms. These characteristics were compared across parent and child gender (i.e., maternal and paternal effects as well as male and female differences) as well as participants reporting high and low ODD symptoms. In the low ODD group, indirect effects of emotional maltreatment occurred in all parent-child dyads except the mother-son dyad, whereas in the high ODD group, indirect effects occurred only in the father-son dyad. Indirect effects of physical maltreatment occurred only in the father-son dyad in the low ODD group, and only in the mother-daughter dyad on behavioral ODD symptoms in the high ODD group. The results suggest that specific parent-child gender dyads respond differently, warranting further investigation of gender effects. Moreover, emerging adults in the low ODD symptoms group demonstrated a positive association between parental maltreatment and ODD symptoms and a negative association between parent-child relationship quality and ODD symptoms, whereas those high in the high ODD symptoms group did not demonstrate these associations. That is, emerging adults reporting high ODD symptoms demonstrated no relationship between their ODD symptoms and harsh parenting, suggesting an ineffective coercive process.

Examining Pre-School Classroom Quality in a Statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeon, Lieny; Buettner, Cynthia K.; Hur, Eunhye

2014-01-01

Background: Research has documented the importance of high-quality early childhood experiences in preparing children for school. Quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) have recently emerged in many states as a way to build quality of child care and to promote better child outcomes. Objective: The goal of this study was to determine if…

The support needs of parents having a child with a chronic kidney disease: a focus group study.

PubMed

Geense, W W; van Gaal, B G I; Knoll, J L; Cornelissen, E A M; van Achterberg, T

2017-11-01

Parents of children with a chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a crucial role in the management of their child's disease. The burden on parents is high: they are often exhausted, depressed and experience high levels of stress and a low quality of life, which could have a negative impact on their child's health outcomes. Support aiming at preventing and reducing parental stress is essential. Therefore, it is necessary to have insight in the problems and support needs among these parents. Our aim is to describe parents' support needs regarding the problems they experience in having a child with CKD. Five focus group interviews were conducted with parents of children: (i) with hereditary kidney disease, (ii) with nephrotic syndrome, (iii) with chronic kidney failure, (iv) using dialysis and (v) after renal transplantation. The children were treated at a paediatric nephrology unit in one university hospital in the Netherlands. The data were thematically analysed. Twenty-one parents participated in the focus groups. Parents need more information about their child's CKD and treatment options, and managing their own hobbies and work. Furthermore, parents need emotional support from their partner, family, friends, peers and healthcare professionals to help them cope with the disease of their child. Additionally, parents need practical support to hand over their care and support in transport, financial management and regarding their child at school. Needs regarding balancing their personal life are seldom prioritized by parents as the child's needs are considered more important. Therefore, it is important that healthcare professionals should not only attend to the abilities of parents concerning their child's disease management, but also focus on the parents' abilities in balancing their responsibilities as a caregiver with their own personal life. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Links Among Italian Preschoolers’ Socio-Emotional Competence, Teacher-Child Relationship Quality and Peer Acceptance

PubMed Central

Sette, Stefania; Spinrad, Tracy; Baumgartner, Emma

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations of teacher-child relationship quality (close, conflictive, and dependent), children’s social behavior, and peer likability in a sample of Italian preschool-aged children (46 boys; 42 girls). Preschool teachers evaluated the quality of the teacher-child relationship and children’s social behaviors (i.e., social competence, anger-aggression, and anxiety-withdrawal). Peer-rated likability was measured using a sociometric procedure. Results indicated that conflictual teacher-child relationships were related to high aggressive behavior, and dependent teacher-child relationships were positively associated with children’s anxiety-withdrawal. Moreover, we found an indirect association between close teacher-child relationship quality and peer likability through children’s social competence. The findings provide evidence that the teacher-child relationship is critical for children’s social behaviors, and that social competence was uniquely related to peer likability. PMID:24039375

Links Among Italian Preschoolers' Socio-Emotional Competence, Teacher-Child Relationship Quality and Peer Acceptance.

PubMed

Sette, Stefania; Spinrad, Tracy; Baumgartner, Emma

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations of teacher-child relationship quality (close, conflictive, and dependent), children's social behavior, and peer likability in a sample of Italian preschool-aged children (46 boys; 42 girls). Preschool teachers evaluated the quality of the teacher-child relationship and children's social behaviors (i.e., social competence, anger-aggression, and anxiety-withdrawal). Peer-rated likability was measured using a sociometric procedure. Results indicated that conflictual teacher-child relationships were related to high aggressive behavior, and dependent teacher-child relationships were positively associated with children's anxiety-withdrawal. Moreover, we found an indirect association between close teacher-child relationship quality and peer likability through children's social competence. The findings provide evidence that the teacher-child relationship is critical for children's social behaviors, and that social competence was uniquely related to peer likability.

Health-related quality of life in children with high-functioning autism.

PubMed

Potvin, Marie-Christine; Snider, Laurie; Prelock, Patricia A; Wood-Dauphinee, Sharon; Kehayia, Eva

2015-01-01

The health-related quality of life of school-aged children with high-functioning autism is poorly understood. The objectives of this study were to compare the health-related quality of life of children with high-functioning autism to that of typically developing peers and to compare child-self and parent-proxy reports of health-related quality of life of children. A cross-sectional study of children with high-functioning autism (n = 30) and peers (n = 31) was conducted using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales. Children with high-functioning autism had significantly poorer health-related quality of life than peers whether reported by themselves (p < .001) or their parents (p < .001), although disagreement (intra-class coefficient = -.075) between children and parental scores suggested variance in points of view. This study specifically investigated health-related quality of life in children with high-functioning autism as compared to a sample of peers, from the child's perspective. It strengthens earlier findings that children with high-functioning autism experience poorer health-related quality of life than those without this disorder and points to the importance of clinicians working with families to identify areas in a child's life that promote or hinder their sense of well-being. © The Author(s) 2013.

Relations of parenting quality, interparental conflict, and overnights with mental health problems of children in divorcing families with high legal conflict.

PubMed

Sandler, Irwin N; Wheeler, Lorey A; Braver, Sanford L

2013-12-01

The current study examined the associations between child mental health problems and the quality of maternal and paternal parenting, and how these associations were moderated by three contextual factors: quality of parenting by the other parent, interparental conflict, and the number of overnights parents had with the child. Data for the current study came from a sample of divorcing families who are in high legal conflict over developing or maintaining a parenting plan following divorce. Analyses revealed that the associations between child mental health problems and positive maternal and paternal parenting were moderated by the quality of parenting provided by the other parent and by the number of overnights children spent with parents, but not by the level of interparental conflict. When parenting by the other parent and number of overnights were considered together in the same model, only number of overnights moderated the relations between parenting and child-behavior problems. The results support the proposition that the well-being of children in high-conflict divorcing families is better when they spend adequate time with at least one parent who provides high-quality parenting.

Relations of Parenting Quality, Interparental Conflict, and Overnights with Mental Health Problems of Children in Divorcing Families with High Legal Conflict

PubMed Central

Sandler, Irwin N.; Wheeler, Lorey A.; Braver, Sanford L.

2013-01-01

The current study examined the associations between child mental health problems and the quality of maternal and paternal parenting, and how these associations were moderated by three contextual factors, quality of parenting by the other parent, interparental conflict, and the number of overnights parents had with the child. Data for the current study come from a sample of divorcing families who are in high legal conflict over developing or maintaining a parenting plan following divorce. Analyses revealed that the associations between child mental health problems and positive maternal and paternal parenting were moderated by the quality of parenting provided by the other parent and by the number of overnights children spent with parents, but not by the level of interparental conflict. When both parenting by the other parent and number of overnights were considered in the same model, only number of overnights moderated the relations between parenting and child behavior problems. The results support the proposition that the well-being of children in high conflict divorcing families is better when they spend adequate time with at least one parent who provides high quality parenting. PMID:24098960

Continuing education for maternal child health nurses: a means to improve the health care of mothers and children.

PubMed Central

Bolte, I M; Presler, E P

1983-01-01

The University of Kentucky College of Nursing is in the 7th year of implementing a 7-year federally funded continuing education project. The major goal of MCH (maternal child health) Project 969, which is scheduled to terminate Sept. 30, 1984, is to develop and offer a series of quality continuing education courses for three distinct populations--practicing maternal child health nurses, State nurse consultants, and nurse supervisors at county or district levels. The purpose of these courses is to improve the practice of the participating nurses and thereby ultimately to improve the health status of mothers and children in Region IV of the Department of Health and Human Services. Evaluation of the project by its staff after its first 5 years showed that (a) it has provided a series of continuing education courses of high quality; (b) met its goals and objectives; (c) provided continuing education for practicing maternal child health nurses that has improved MCH nursing practice in Region IV; (d) provided continuing education for State nurse consultants that has enabled them to become more effective leaders in their respective States; (e) used previously untapped resources in Region IV to make the concept of regional continuing education in maternal child health nursing a reality; and (f) generated a networking system among State nurse consultants, nurse educators, and nurse leaders in other service-oriented Title V programs that has been most effective in meeting the learning needs of the three distinct populations it serves. PMID:6419272

Women's Stake in Improving the Availability, Affordability, and Quality of Child Care and Early Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Women's Law Center, Washington, DC.

This report discusses women's need as parents for affordable, high-quality child care, and women's need as providers of child care services for compensation, training, and advancement opportunities that reflect the value of the important work they undertake. Regarding mothers' needs, the report provides a discussion of statistics on: (1) mothers…

Security of attachment and quality of mother-toddler social interaction in a high-risk sample.

PubMed

Haltigan, John D; Lambert, Brittany L; Seifer, Ronald; Ekas, Naomi V; Bauer, Charles R; Messinger, Daniel S

2012-02-01

The quality of children's social interactions and their attachment security with a primary caregiver are two widely studied indices of socioemotional functioning in early childhood. Although both Bowlby and Ainsworth suggested that the parent-child interactions underlying the development of attachment security could be distinguished from other aspects of parent-child interaction (e.g., play), relatively little empirical research has examined this proposition. The aim of the current study was to explore this issue by examining concurrent relations between toddler's attachment security in the Strange Situation Procedure and quality of mother-child social interaction in a high-risk sample of toddlers characterized by prenatal cocaine exposure and low levels of maternal education. Analyses of variance suggested limited relations between attachment security and quality of social interaction. Further research examining the interrelations among various components of the parent-child relationship is needed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A landscape analysis of universal health coverage for mothers and children in South Asia.

PubMed

Scammell, Katy; Noble, Douglas J; Rasanathan, Kumanan; O'Connell, Thomas; Ahmed, Aishath Shahula; Begkoyian, Genevieve; Goldner, Tania; Jayatissa, Renuka; Kuppens, Lianne; Raaijmakers, Hendrikus; Simbeye, Isabel Vashti; Varkey, Sherin; Chopra, Mickey

2016-01-01

The United Nations made universal health coverage (UHC) a key health goal in 2012 and it is one of the Sustainable Development Goals' targets. This analysis focuses on UHC for mothers and children in the 8 countries of South Asia. A high level overview of coverage of selected maternal, newborn and child health services, equity, quality of care and financial risk protection is presented. Common barriers countries face in achieving UHC are discussed and solutions explored. In countries of South Asia, except Bhutan and Maldives, between 42% and 67% of spending on health comes from out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) and government expenditure does not align with political aspirations. Even where reported coverage of services is good, quality of care is often low and the poorest fare worst. There are strong examples of ongoing successes in countries such as Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Related to this success are factors such as lower OOPE and higher spending on health. To make progress in achieving UHC, financial and non-financial barriers to accessing and receiving high-quality healthcare need to be reduced, the amount of investment in essential health services needs to be increased and allocation of resources must disproportionately benefit the poorest.

A landscape analysis of universal health coverage for mothers and children in South Asia

PubMed Central

Scammell, Katy; Noble, Douglas J; Rasanathan, Kumanan; O'Connell, Thomas; Ahmed, Aishath Shahula; Begkoyian, Genevieve; Goldner, Tania; Jayatissa, Renuka; Kuppens, Lianne; Raaijmakers, Hendrikus; Simbeye, Isabel Vashti; Varkey, Sherin; Chopra, Mickey

2016-01-01

The United Nations made universal health coverage (UHC) a key health goal in 2012 and it is one of the Sustainable Development Goals' targets. This analysis focuses on UHC for mothers and children in the 8 countries of South Asia. A high level overview of coverage of selected maternal, newborn and child health services, equity, quality of care and financial risk protection is presented. Common barriers countries face in achieving UHC are discussed and solutions explored. In countries of South Asia, except Bhutan and Maldives, between 42% and 67% of spending on health comes from out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) and government expenditure does not align with political aspirations. Even where reported coverage of services is good, quality of care is often low and the poorest fare worst. There are strong examples of ongoing successes in countries such as Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Related to this success are factors such as lower OOPE and higher spending on health. To make progress in achieving UHC, financial and non-financial barriers to accessing and receiving high-quality healthcare need to be reduced, the amount of investment in essential health services needs to be increased and allocation of resources must disproportionately benefit the poorest. PMID:28588912

Impact of divorce on the quality of life in school-age children.

PubMed

Eymann, Alfredo; Busaniche, Julio; Llera, Julián; De Cunto, Carmen; Wahren, Carlos

2009-01-01

To assess psychosocial quality of life in school-age children of divorced parents. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the pediatric outpatient clinic of a community hospital. Children 5 to 12 years old from married families and divorced families were included. Child quality of life was assessed through maternal reports using a Child Health Questionnaire-Parent Form 50. A multiple linear regression model was constructed including clinically relevant variables significant on univariate analysis (beta coefficient and 95%CI). Three hundred and thirty families were invited to participate and 313 completed the questionnaire. Univariate analysis showed that quality of life was significantly associated with parental separation, child sex, time spent with the father, standard of living, and maternal education. In a multiple linear regression model, quality of life scores decreased in boys -4.5 (-6.8 to -2.3) and increased for time spent with the father 0.09 (0.01 to 0.2). In divorced families, multiple linear regression showed that quality of life scores increased when parents had separated by mutual agreement 6.1 (2.7 to 9.4), when the mother had university level education 5.9 (1.7 to 10.1) and for each year elapsed since separation 0.6 (0.2 to 1.1), whereas scores decreased in boys -5.4 (-9.5 to -1.3) and for each one-year increment of maternal age -0.4 (-0.7 to -0.05). Children's psychosocial quality of life was affected by divorce. The Child Health Questionnaire can be useful to detect a decline in the psychosocial quality of life.

Child maltreatment prevention: a systematic review of reviews.

PubMed

Mikton, Christopher; Butchart, Alexander

2009-05-01

To synthesize recent evidence from systematic and comprehensive reviews on the effectiveness of universal and selective child maltreatment prevention interventions, evaluate the methodological quality of the reviews and outcome evaluation studies they are based on, and map the geographical distribution of the evidence. A systematic review of reviews was conducted. The quality of the systematic reviews was evaluated with a tool for the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR), and the quality of the outcome evaluations was assessed using indicators of internal validity and of the construct validity of outcome measures. The review focused on seven main types of interventions: home visiting, parent education, child sex abuse prevention, abusive head trauma prevention, multi-component interventions, media-based interventions, and support and mutual aid groups. Four of the seven - home-visiting, parent education, abusive head trauma prevention and multi-component interventions - show promise in preventing actual child maltreatment. Three of them - home visiting, parent education and child sexual abuse prevention - appear effective in reducing risk factors for child maltreatment, although these conclusions are tentative due to the methodological shortcomings of the reviews and outcome evaluation studies they draw on. An analysis of the geographical distribution of the evidence shows that outcome evaluations of child maltreatment prevention interventions are exceedingly rare in low- and middle-income countries and make up only 0.6% of the total evidence base. Evidence for the effectiveness of four of the seven main types of interventions for preventing child maltreatment is promising, although it is weakened by methodological problems and paucity of outcome evaluations from low- and middle-income countries.

Providing High-Quality Support Services to Home-Based Child Care: A Conceptual Model and Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bromer, Juliet; Korfmacher, Jon

2017-01-01

Research Findings: Home-based child care accounts for a significant proportion of nonparental child care arrangements for young children in the United States. Yet the early care and education field lacks clear models or pathways for how to improve quality in these settings. The conceptual model presented here articulates the components of…

Effective coverage of primary care services in eight high-mortality countries

PubMed Central

Malata, Address; Ndiaye, Youssoupha; Kruk, Margaret E

2017-01-01

Introduction Measurement of effective coverage (quality-corrected coverage) of essential health services is critical to monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal for health. We combine facility and household surveys from eight low-income and middle-income countries to examine effective coverage of maternal and child health services. Methods We developed indices of essential clinical actions for antenatal care, family planning and care for sick children from existing guidelines and used data from direct observations of clinical visits conducted in Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda between 2007 and 2015 to measure quality of care delivered. We calculated healthcare coverage for each service from nationally representative household surveys and combined quality with utilisation estimates at the subnational level to quantify effective coverage. Results Health facility and household surveys yielded over 40 000 direct clinical observations and over 100 000 individual reports of healthcare utilisation. Coverage varied between services, with much greater use of any antenatal care than family planning or sick-child care, as well as within countries. Quality of care was poor, with few regions demonstrating more than 60% average performance of basic clinical practices in any service. Effective coverage across all eight countries averaged 28% for antenatal care, 26% for family planning and 21% for sick-child care. Coverage and quality were not strongly correlated at the subnational level; effective coverage varied by as much as 20% between regions within a country. Conclusion Effective coverage of three primary care services for women and children in eight countries was substantially lower than crude service coverage due to major deficiencies in care quality. Better performing regions can serve as examples for improvement. Systematic increases in the quality of care delivered—not just utilisation gains—will be necessary to progress towards truly beneficial universal health coverage. PMID:29632704

Children in family foster care have greater health risks and less involvement in Child Health Services.

PubMed

Köhler, M; Emmelin, M; Hjern, A; Rosvall, M

2015-05-01

This study investigated the impact of being in family foster care on selected health determinants and participation in Child Health Services (CHS). Two groups of 100 children, born between 1992 and 2008, were studied using data from Swedish Child Health Services for the preschool period up to the age of six. The first group had been in family foster care, and the controls, matched for age, sex and geographic location, had not. Descriptive statistics were used to describe differences in health determinants and participation in Child Health Services between the two groups. The foster care group had higher health risks, with lower rates of breastfeeding and higher levels of parental smoking. They were less likely to have received immunisations and attended key nurse or physician visits and speech and vision screening. Missing data for the phenylketonuria test were more common in children in family foster care. Children in family foster care were exposed to more health risks than the control children and had lower participation in the universal child health programme during the preschool period. These results call for secure access to high-quality preventive health care for this particularly vulnerable group of children. ©2015 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Systematic Review of Universal Resilience-Focused Interventions Targeting Child and Adolescent Mental Health in the School Setting.

PubMed

Dray, Julia; Bowman, Jenny; Campbell, Elizabeth; Freund, Megan; Wolfenden, Luke; Hodder, Rebecca K; McElwaine, Kathleen; Tremain, Danika; Bartlem, Kate; Bailey, Jacqueline; Small, Tameka; Palazzi, Kerrin; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Wiggers, John

2017-10-01

To examine the effect of universal, school-based, resilience-focused interventions on mental health problems in children and adolescents. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of universal, school-based interventions that included strategies to strengthen a minimum of 3 internal resilience protective factors, and included an outcome measure of mental health problems in children and adolescents aged 5 to 18 years. Six databases were searched from 1995 to 2015. Results were pooled in meta-analyses by mental health outcome (anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, hyperactivity, conduct problems, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and general psychological distress), for all trials (5-18 years). Subgroup analyses were conducted by age (child: 5-10 years; adolescent: 11-18 years), length of follow-up (short: post-≤12 months; long: >12 months), and gender (narrative). A total of 57 included trials were identified from 5,984 records, with 49 contributing to meta-analyses. For all trials, resilience-focused interventions were effective relative to a control in reducing 4 of 7 outcomes: depressive symptoms, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and general psychological distress. For child trials (meta-analyses for 6 outcomes), interventions were effective for anxiety symptoms and general psychological distress. For adolescent trials (meta-analyses for 5 outcomes), interventions were effective for internalizing problems. For short-term follow-up, interventions were effective for 2 of 7 outcomes: depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. For long-term follow-up (meta-analyses for 5 outcomes), interventions were effective for internalizing problems. The findings may suggest most promise for using universal resilience-focused interventions at least for short-term reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms for children and adolescents, particularly if a cognitive-behavioral therapy-based approach is used. The limited number of trials providing data amenable for meta-analysis for some outcomes and subgroups, the variability of interventions, study quality, and bias mean that it is not possible to draw more specific conclusions. Identifying what intervention qualities (such as number and type of protective factor) achieve the greatest positive effect per mental health problem outcome remains an important area for future research. Systematic Review of Universal Resilience Interventions Targeting Child and Adolescent Mental Health in the School Setting; http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13643-015-0172-6; PROSPERO CRD42015025908. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Love flows downstream: mothers’ and children’s neural representation similarity in perceiving distress of self and family

PubMed Central

Qu, Yang

2017-01-01

Abstract The current study aimed to capture empathy processing in an interpersonal context. Mother–adolescent dyads (N = 22) each completed an empathy task during fMRI, in which they imagined the target person in distressing scenes as either themselves or their family (i.e. child for the mother, mother for the child). Using multi-voxel pattern approach, we compared neural pattern similarity for the self and family conditions and found that mothers showed greater perceptual similarity between self and child in the fusiform face area (FFA), representing high self–child overlap, whereas adolescents showed significantly less self–mother overlap. Adolescents’ pattern similarity was dependent upon family relationship quality, such that they showed greater self–mother overlap with higher relationship quality, whereas mothers’ pattern similarity was independent of relationship quality. Furthermore, adolescents’ perceptual similarity in the FFA was associated with increased social brain activation (e.g. temporal parietal junction). Mediation analyses indicated that high relationship quality was associated with greater social brain activation, which was mediated by greater self–mother overlap in the FFA. Our findings suggest that adolescents show more distinct neural patterns in perceiving their own vs their mother’s distress, and such distinction is sensitive to mother–child relationship quality. In contrast, mothers’ perception for their own and child’s distress is highly similar and unconditional. PMID:29069521

Using Generalized Additive Modeling to Empirically Identify Thresholds within the ITERS in Relation to Toddlers' Cognitive Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Setodji, Claude Messan; Le, Vi-Nhuan; Schaack, Diana

2013-01-01

Research linking high-quality child care programs and children's cognitive development has contributed to the growing popularity of child care quality benchmarking efforts such as quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS). Consequently, there has been an increased interest in and a need for approaches to identifying thresholds, or cutpoints,…

Increasing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Existing Public Investments in Early Childhood Education: Recommendations to Boost Program Outcomes and Efficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Donna; Costa, Kristina

2012-01-01

There is a mounting body of research demonstrating the impact of early learning on lifelong success. The quality of early child care is the most consistent predictor of young children's behavior, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Childcare Research Network. Children who receive high-quality child care…

Twins conceived using assisted reproduction: parent mental health, family relationships and child adjustment at middle childhood.

PubMed

Anderson, Kayla N; Koh, Bibiana D; Connor, Jennifer J; Koerner, Ascan F; Damario, Mark; Rueter, Martha A

2014-10-10

Compared with singletons, what is the parent mental health, parent-child and couple relationship satisfaction, and child adjustment of 6- to 12-year-old assisted reproduction technology (ART) twins and their families? There are no differences between 6- and 12-year-old ART twin and singleton families in parent mental health or family relationships; however, twins had significantly fewer behavior and attention problems than singletons in middle childhood. When ART twins are younger than 5 years old, parents have more mental health difficulties and poorer parent-child relationship quality, and no differences have been found in ART twin and singletons' psychosocial adjustment. However, studies have only examined the implications of ART twin status in families with infant and toddler aged children. A cross-sectional study of 300 6-12-year-old ART children (n = 124 twins and n = 176 singletons) from 206 families at a reproductive endocrinology clinic in the USA. Patients from one clinic with a child born between 1998 and 2004 were invited to participate in an online survey (82% recruitment rate). Participants provided information on each 6- to 12-year-old ART child in the family, and responded to questions on parent mental health, family relationships and child adjustment. There were no differences in parent mental health or family relationships in families with 6- to 12-year-old ART twins versus singletons. However, twins (M = 2.40, SE = 0.35) had significantly fewer behavior problems than singletons (M = 3.47, SE = 0.36; F(1, 201) = 4.54, b = 1.08, P < 0.05). Twins (M = 1.86, SD = 0.23) also had fewer attention problems than singletons (M = 2.64, SD = 0.23; F(1, 156) = 5.75, b = 0.78, P < 0.05). Results also suggest that full-term twins had significantly fewer attention problems (M = 1.37, SE = 0.33; F(1, 222) = 2.65, P = 0.05) than premature twins (M = 2.32, SE = 0.32, b = 0.95, P < 0.05), full-term singletons (M = 2.25, SE = 0.21, b = 0.88, P < 0.05) and premature singletons (M = 2.84, SE = 0.49, b = 1.47, P = 0.01). There were no significant differences between the other groups. Although the response rate is high (82%) and family demographics are representative of US ART patients, patients are from one US clinic. Responses also are from one family member and may be subject to social desirability biases. Additionally, our data did not include identification of monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Studies on infant and toddler ART twins suggest these families have parents with more mental health difficulties and lower parent-child relationship quality than singleton families. This study indicates the negative effects of twin status may have ameliorated by middle childhood, and twins may even have more optimum psychosocial adjustment than singletons in this developmental period. This research is based on a collaborative research effort supported by University of Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station Project Number MN-52-107, a University of Minnesota Grant-in-Aid of Research, Artistry and Scholarship grant, a University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development Research Development Investment Grant and the M. Janice Hogan Fellowship. The authors of this article have no commercial or corporate interests to declare. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

MATERNAL INTERACTION QUALITY MODERATES EFFECTS OF PRENATAL MATERNAL EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS ON GIRLS' INTERNALIZING PROBLEMS.

PubMed

Endendijk, Joyce J; De Bruijn, Anouk T C E; Van Bakel, Hedwig J A; Wijnen, Hennie A A; Pop, Victor J M; Van Baar, Anneloes L

2017-09-01

The role of mother-infant interaction quality is studied in the relation between prenatal maternal emotional symptoms and child behavioral problems. Healthy pregnant, Dutch women (N = 96, M = 31.6, SD = 3.3) were allocated to the "exposed group" (n = 46), consisting of mothers with high levels of prenatal feelings of anxiety and depression, or the "low-exposed group" (n = 50), consisting of mothers with normal levels of depressive or anxious symptoms during pregnancy. When the children (49 girls, 47 boys) were 23 to 60 months of age (M = 39.0, SD = 9.6), parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (T.M. Achenbach & L.A. Rescorla, ), and mother-child interaction quality during a home visit was rated using the Emotional Availability Scales. There were no differences in mother-child interaction quality between the prenatally exposed and low-exposed groups. Girls exposed to high prenatal emotional symptoms showed more internalizing problems, if maternal interaction quality was less optimal. No significant effects were found for boys. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Empowering the Parent-Child Relationship in Homeless and Other High-Risk Parents and Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swick, Kevin J.

2008-01-01

High quality parent-child relations are essential to healthy development and learning in children. Homeless families experience many barriers to realizing the needed bonding and nurturance for having healthy relationships. This article explores the obstacles to the development of nurturing parent-child relations and offers strategies for…

Interventions to Improve Neonatal Health and Later Survival: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

PubMed

Lassi, Zohra S; Middleton, Philippa F; Crowther, Caroline; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

2015-08-01

Evidence-based interventions and strategies are needed to improve child survival in countries with a high burden of neonatal and child mortality. An overview of systematic reviews can focus implementation on the most effective ways to increase child survival. In this overview we included published Cochrane and other systematic reviews of experimental and observational studies on antenatal, childbirth, postnatal and child health interventions aiming to prevent perinatal/neonatal and child mortality using the WHO list of essential interventions. We assessed the methodological quality of the reviews using the AMSTAR criteria and assessed the quality of the outcomes using the GRADE approach. Based on the findings from GRADE criteria, interventions were summarized as effective, promising or ineffective. The overview identified 148 Cochrane and other systematic reviews on 61 reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health interventions. Of these, only 57 reviews reported mortality outcomes. Using the GRADE approach, antenatal corticosteroids for preventing neonatal respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants; early initiation of breastfeeding; hygienic cord care; kangaroo care for preterm infants; provision and promotion of use of insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) for children; and vitamin A supplementation for infants from six months of age, were identified as clearly effective interventions for reducing neonatal, infant or child mortality. Antenatal care, tetanus immunization in pregnancy, prophylactic antimalarials during pregnancy, induction of labour for prolonged pregnancy, case management of neonatal sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia, prophylactic and therapeutic use of surfactant, continuous positive airway pressure for neonatal resuscitation, case management of childhood malaria and pneumonia, vitamin A as part of treatment for measles associated pneumonia for children above 6 months, and home visits across the continuum of care, were identified as promising interventions for reducing neonatal, infant, child or perinatal mortality. Comprehensive adoption of the above six effective and 11 promising interventions can improve neonatal and child survival around the world. Choice of intervention and degree of implementation currently depends on resources available and policies in individual countries and geographical settings. This review was part of doctoral thesis which was funded by University of Adelaide, Australia.

Child maltreatment prevention: a systematic review of reviews

PubMed Central

Butchart, Alexander

2009-01-01

Abstract Objective To synthesize recent evidence from systematic and comprehensive reviews on the effectiveness of universal and selective child maltreatment prevention interventions, evaluate the methodological quality of the reviews and outcome evaluation studies they are based on, and map the geographical distribution of the evidence. Methods A systematic review of reviews was conducted. The quality of the systematic reviews was evaluated with a tool for the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR), and the quality of the outcome evaluations was assessed using indicators of internal validity and of the construct validity of outcome measures. Findings The review focused on seven main types of interventions: home visiting, parent education, child sex abuse prevention, abusive head trauma prevention, multi-component interventions, media-based interventions, and support and mutual aid groups. Four of the seven – home-visiting, parent education, abusive head trauma prevention and multi-component interventions – show promise in preventing actual child maltreatment. Three of them – home visiting, parent education and child sexual abuse prevention – appear effective in reducing risk factors for child maltreatment, although these conclusions are tentative due to the methodological shortcomings of the reviews and outcome evaluation studies they draw on. An analysis of the geographical distribution of the evidence shows that outcome evaluations of child maltreatment prevention interventions are exceedingly rare in low- and middle-income countries and make up only 0.6% of the total evidence base. Conclusion Evidence for the effectiveness of four of the seven main types of interventions for preventing child maltreatment is promising, although it is weakened by methodological problems and paucity of outcome evaluations from low- and middle-income countries. PMID:19551253

Promoting High Quality Teacher-Child Interactions: Examining the Role of Teachers' Depression, Perceptions of Children's Peer Relationships, and Contextual Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granger, Kristen

2017-01-01

The overall goal of this dissertation was to examine teacher characteristics, teachers' beliefs, and contextual factors that may motivate teachers' decisions to engage in high quality teacher-child interactions. I use two complementary studies to meet this goal. These two studies provide insight into several aspects of early childhood teachers'…

Influences of early child nutritional status and home learning environment on child development in Vietnam.

PubMed

Nguyen, Phuong H; DiGirolamo, Ann M; Gonzalez-Casanova, Ines; Young, Melissa; Kim, Nicole; Nguyen, Son; Martorell, Reynaldo; Ramakrishnan, Usha

2018-01-01

Early childhood development plays a key role in a child's future health, educational success, and economic status. However, suboptimal early development remains a global challenge. This study examines the influences of quality of the home learning environment (HOME) and child stunting in the first year of life on child development. We used data collected from a randomized controlled trial of preconceptional micronutrient supplementation in Vietnam (n = 1,458). The Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III were used to assess cognition, language, and motor development domains at 2 years. At 1 year, 14% of children were stunted, and 15%, 58%, and 28% of children lived in poor, medium, and high HOME environments, respectively. In multivariate generalized linear regression models, living in a high HOME environment was significantly associated with higher scores (0.10 to 0.13 SD) in each of the developmental domains. Stunted children scored significantly lower for cognitive, language, and motor development (-0.11 to -0.18), compared to nonstunted children. The negative associations between stunting on development were modified by HOME; the associations were strong among children living in homes with a poor learning environment whereas they were nonsignificant for those living in high-quality learning environments. In conclusion, child stunting the first year of life was negatively associated with child development at 2 years among children in Vietnam, but a high-quality HOME appeared to attenuate these associations. Early interventions aimed at improving early child growth as well as providing a stimulating home environment are critical to ensure optimal child development. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Association between Child Autism Symptomatology, Maternal Quality of Life, and Risk for Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zablotsky, Benjamin; Anderson, Connie; Law, Paul

2013-01-01

Parents raising children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have been shown to experience high levels of stress and report a lower quality of life. The current study examined the association between child autism symptomatology, mother's quality of life, and mother's risk for depression in a sample of 1,110 mothers recruited from a…

Teacher-child relationships and classroom-learning behaviours of children with developmental language disorders.

PubMed

Rhoad-Drogalis, Anna; Justice, Laura M; Sawyer, Brook E; O'Connell, Ann A

2018-03-01

Children with developmental language disorders (DLDs) often struggle with classroom behaviour. No study has examined whether positive teacher-child relationships may act as a protective factor for children with DLDs in that these serve to enhance children's important classroom-learning behaviours. To examine the association between the quality of teacher-child relationships and teacher-rated classroom-learning behaviours of children with DLDs in both preschool and kindergarten. Longitudinal data were collected on 191 preschoolers (mean = 42.4 months of age, SD = 11.6 months) with DLDs in special education classrooms during preschool and in kindergarten. Teacher-child relationship quality was assessed in preschool, and children's classroom-learning behaviours were measured in preschool and kindergarten. Regression models were used to examine the relationship between teacher-child relationship quality and children's concurrent and future classroom-learning behaviours. Positive teacher-child relationship quality in preschool was associated with better classroom-learning behaviours in preschool and kindergarten for children with DLDs. Preschool teacher-child relationship quality characterized by low levels of conflict and high levels of closeness was associated with positive classroom-learning behaviours during preschool. Teacher-child conflict but not closeness was predictive of children's classroom-learning behaviours in kindergarten. These results suggest that the quality of the teacher-child relationship for children with DLDs during preschool is associated within their learning-related behaviours in the classroom both concurrently and in the subsequent year. Findings suggest that teacher-child relationships should be explored as a mechanism for improving the learning-related behaviours of children with DLDs. © 2017 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Agreement between children with cancer and their parents in reporting the child's health-related quality of life during a stay at the hospital and at home.

PubMed

Speyer, E; Herbinet, A; Vuillemin, A; Chastagner, P; Briançon, S

2009-07-01

Although parent-child agreement is widely studied in the paediatric clinical sample, no study has compared parent-child agreement during home and hospital stays. We aimed to determine the level of agreement in reports of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between parents of children with cancer and the children themselves during a stay in the hospital and a stay at home. The sample consisted of 28 children, aged 9-18 years old, hospitalized and treated for cancer in a Children's University Hospital in France. The child's HRQoL was assessed by the parent and child versions of the Child Health Questionnaire. Parent-child agreement was estimated by the intraclass correlation coefficient. Potential predictors influencing the parent-child agreement were investigated. For both locations of stay, parent scores from the HRQoL survey were lower than those for their children for all domains, except for the general behaviour during the home stay. Scores for both parents and children, for all domains, were lower during the hospital than the home stay. The parent-child agreement was better for mental health, self-esteem, general health and family activities during the hospital stay (range 0.32-0.66), but was better for physical function, role/physical and general behaviour during the home stay (range 0.45-0.71). Few predictors of parent-child agreement were found. Agreement between parents and their children who have cancer in reporting the child's HRQoL differed by location of stay. For the home stay, the agreement was better for domains related to the child's physical life, but for the hospital stay, it was better for domains related to the child's behaviour/psychological life.

Practitioner Perspective: Assessing Child-Care Quality with a Telephone Interview.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ponder, Karen W.

2001-01-01

Discusses findings that child care quality can be measured effectively and efficiently through telephone interview. Notes that interview items were more highly correlated to the materials composite than to the interaction composite of the Environment Ratings Scales. Describes situations where on-site observation is necessary. Suggests that one…

Differential susceptibility effects: the interaction of negative emotionality and sibling relationship quality on childhood internalizing problems and social skills.

PubMed

Morgan, Judith K; Shaw, Daniel S; Olino, Thomas M

2012-08-01

Whereas socialization influences in early childhood have been linked to children's emerging internalizing problems and prosocial behavior, relatively few studies have examined how NE might moderate such associations in both advantageous and maladaptive ways. Furthermore, more research is needed to evaluate the impact of sibling relationships as an influential socialization influence on these child outcomes. In the current study we examined how NE might differentially moderate the associations between quality of relationships with siblings and both internalizing problems and social skills at school entry. NE moderated the effects of positive and destructive sibling relationship quality on child internalizing problems. Specifically, for boys high on NE, more positive sibling relationship quality predicted fewer internalizing problems, but more destructive sibling conflict predicted more internalizing problems. NE also moderated the effects of destructive sibling conflict on child social skills. For boys high on NE, destructive sibling conflict predicted fewer social skills. Boys high on NE appear to show greater susceptibility to the effects of sibling socialization on child outcomes, relative to boys low on NE. The implications of these interactions are discussed with respect to differential susceptibility theory.

Differential Susceptibility Effects: The Interaction of Negative Emotionality and Sibling Relationship Quality on Childhood Internalizing Problems and Social Skills

PubMed Central

Shaw, Daniel S.; Olino, Thomas M.

2012-01-01

Whereas socialization influences in early childhood have been linked to children’s emerging internalizing problems and prosocial behavior, relatively few studies have examined how NE might moderate such associations in both advantageous and maladaptive ways. Furthermore, more research is needed to evaluate the impact of sibling relationships as an influential socialization influence on these child outcomes. In the current study we examined how NE might differentially moderate the associations between quality of relationships with siblings and both internalizing problems and social skills at school entry. NE moderated the effects of positive and destructive sibling relationship quality on child internalizing problems. Specifically, for boys high on NE, more positive sibling relationship quality predicted fewer internalizing problems, but more destructive sibling conflict predicted more internalizing problems. NE also moderated the effects of destructive sibling conflict on child social skills. For boys high on NE, destructive sibling conflict predicted fewer social skills. Boys high on NE appear to show greater susceptibility to the effects of sibling socialization on child outcomes, relative to boys low on NE. The implications of these interactions are discussed with respect to differential susceptibility theory. PMID:22366882

Child Care Subsidies and Child Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herbst, Chris M.; Tekin, Erdal

2010-01-01

Child care subsidies are an important part of federal and state efforts to move welfare recipients into employment. One of the criticisms of the current subsidy system, however, is that it overemphasizes work and does little to encourage parents to purchase high-quality child care. Consequently, there are reasons to be concerned about the…

Early Mother-Child Interaction and Later Quality of Attachment in Infants With an Orofacial Cleft Compared to Infants Without Cleft.

PubMed

Habersaat, Stephanie; Monnier, Maryline; Peter, Camille; Bolomey, Luce; Borghini, Ayala; Despars, Josée; Pierrehumbert, Blaise; Müller-Nix, Carole; Ansermet, François; Hohlfeld, Judith

2013-04-23

Objective :  The main objective of this study was to assess mother-child patterns of interaction in relation to later quality of attachment in a group of children with an orofacial cleft compared with children without cleft. Design :  Families were contacted when the child was 2 months old for a direct assessment of mother-child interaction and then at 12 months for a direct assessment of the child's attachment. Data concerning socioeconomical information and posttraumatic stress symptoms in mothers were collected at the first appointment. Participants :  Forty families of children with a cleft and 45 families of children without cleft were included in the study. Families were recruited at birth in the University Hospital of Lausanne. Results :  Results showed that children with a cleft were more difficult and less cooperative during interaction at 2 months of age with their mother compared with children without a cleft. No significant differences were found in mothers or in dyadic interactive styles. Concerning the child's attachment at 12 months old, no differences were found in attachment security. However, secure children with a cleft were significantly more avoidant with their mother during the reunion episodes than secure children without cleft. Conclusion :  Despite the facial disfigurement and the stress engendered by treatment during the first months of the infant's life, children with cleft and their mothers are doing as well as families without cleft with regard to the mothers' mental health, mother-child relationships, and later quality of attachment. A potential contribution for this absence of difference may be the pluridisciplinary support that families of children with cleft benefit from in Lausanne.

Early mother-child interaction and later quality of attachment in infants with an orofacial cleft compared to infants without cleft.

PubMed

Habersaat, Stephanie; Monnier, Maryline; Peter, Camille; Bolomey, Luce; Borghini, Ayala; Despars, Josée; Pierrehumbert, Blaise; Müller-Nix, Carole; Ansermet, François; Hohlfeld, Judith

2013-11-01

Objective : The main objective of this study was to assess mother-child patterns of interaction in relation to later quality of attachment in a group of children with an orofacial cleft compared with children without cleft. Design : Families were contacted when the child was 2 months old for a direct assessment of mother-child interaction and then at 12 months for a direct assessment of the child's attachment. Data concerning socioeconomical information and posttraumatic stress symptoms in mothers were collected at the first appointment. Participants : Forty families of children with a cleft and 45 families of children without cleft were included in the study. Families were recruited at birth in the University Hospital of Lausanne. Results : Results showed that children with a cleft were more difficult and less cooperative during interaction at 2 months of age with their mother compared with children without a cleft. No significant differences were found in mothers or in dyadic interactive styles. Concerning the child's attachment at 12 months old, no differences were found in attachment security. However, secure children with a cleft were significantly more avoidant with their mother during the reunion episodes than secure children without cleft. Conclusion : Despite the facial disfigurement and the stress engendered by treatment during the first months of the infant's life, children with cleft and their mothers are doing as well as families without cleft with regard to the mothers' mental health, mother-child relationships, and later quality of attachment. A potential contribution for this absence of difference may be the pluridisciplinary support that families of children with cleft benefit from in Lausanne.

Teacher-Child Relationships Make All the Difference: Constructing Quality Interactions in Early Childhood Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNally, Shelley; Slutsky, Ruslan

2018-01-01

High-quality teacher-child relationships provide protective and supportive environments that provide social support for children to engage in curriculum and take risks that result in overall school success (Buyse, Verschueren, & Doumen, 2011; Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004). Teachers have the potential to use their relationship as a tool for…

Head Start/Child Care Partnerships: Program Characteristics and Classroom Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schilder, Diane; Smith Leavell, Ashley

2015-01-01

As part of President Obama's Early Education Plan, Congress authorized $500 million in the 2014 Omnibus Act to support states and communities in expanding high-quality early learning through the creation of a new Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership initiative. This initiative has placed renewed interest on research regarding the nature and…

Enhancing Child Care Quality by Director Training and Collegial Mentoring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, Gillian; Ferguson, Tammy McCormick; Ressler, Glory; Lomotey, Jonathan

2015-01-01

Although considerable evidence confirms that a director with good leadership and administrative skills is vital for developing and sustaining a high quality child care program, many directors assume the role with little management experience or training. This paper reports on a training program in Canada that combined a formal curriculum to…

The Role of Early Head Start Programs in Addressing the Child Care Needs of Low-Income Families with Infants and Toddlers: Influences on Child Care Use and Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Love, John M.; Constantine, Jill; Paulsell, Diane; Boller, Kimberly; Ross, Christine; Raikes, Helen; Brady-Smith, Christy; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2004-01-01

In 1994, the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers set forth a vision for Early Head Start programs in declaring that all child care settings used by Early Head Start families, whether or not the program provides the care directly, must meet the high standards of quality embodied in the Head Start…

Recurrent acute otitis media detracts from health-related quality of life.

PubMed

Kujala, T; Alho, O-P; Kristo, A; Uhari, M; Renko, M; Pokka, T; Koivunen, P

2017-02-01

Acute otitis media causes discomfort to children and inconvenience to their parents. This study evaluated the quality of life in children with recurrent acute otitis media aged less than 24 months. Quality of life was evaluated in 149 children aged 10 to 24 months who were referred to the Oulu University Hospital on account of recurrent acute otitis media. The children were treated with or without surgery. Age-matched controls were selected randomly from the general child population. Parents completed the Child Health Questionnaire. The children with recurrent acute otitis media had a significantly poorer quality of life than control children. The control children with a history of a few acute otitis media episodes had a significantly poorer quality of life than those without any such history. The quality of life of the children with recurrent acute otitis media improved during the one-year follow up, regardless of the treatment, but did not reach the same level as healthy children. Acute otitis media detracted from quality of life when a generic measure was used. The mode of treatment used to prevent further recurrences of acute otitis media did not influence quality of life improvement.

Infant Massage and Quality of Early Mother-Infant Interactions: Are There Associations with Maternal Psychological Wellbeing, Marital Quality, and Social Support?

PubMed

Porreca, Alessio; Parolin, Micol; Bozza, Giusy; Freato, Susanna; Simonelli, Alessandra

2016-01-01

Infant massage programs have proved to be effective in enhancing post-natal development of highly risk infants, such as preterm newborns and drug or HIV exposed children. Less studies have focused on the role of infant massage in supporting the co-construction of early adult-child relationships. In line with this lack of literature, the present paper reports on a pilot study aimed at investigating longitudinally the quality of mother-child interactions, with specific reference to emotional availability (EA), in a group of mother-child pairs involved in infant massage classes. Moreover, associations between mother-child EA, maternal wellbeing, marital adjustment, and social support were also investigated, with the hypothesis to find a link between low maternal distress, high couple satisfaction and high perceived support and interactions of better quality in the dyads. The study involved 20 mothers and their children, aged between 2 and 7 months, who participated to infant massage classes. The assessment took place at three stages: at the beginning of massage course, at the end of it and at 1-month follow-up. At the first stage of assessment self-report questionnaires were administered to examine the presence of maternal psychiatric symptoms (SCL-90-R), perceived social support (MSPSS), and marital adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale); dyadic interactions were observed and rated with the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008) at each stage of data collection. The results showed a significant improvement in the quality of mother-child interactions, between the first and the last evaluation, parallel to the unfolding of the massage program, highlighting a general increase in maternal and child's EA. The presence of maternal psychological distress resulted associated with less optimal mother-child emotional exchanges, while the hypothesis regarding couple satisfaction and social support influence were not confirmed. These preliminary results, if replicated, seem to sustain the usefulness of infant massage and the importance of focusing on early mother-infant interactions.

The Disheartened Teacher: Living in the Age of Standardisation, High-Stakes Assessments, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin, Daniel Ian

2011-01-01

There has been a universal movement towards government-regulated standardisation and high-stakes assessment. In the United States, this has resulted in the No Child Left Behind Act (2001). Because of the predominant focus on high-stakes reading and writing assessments required by NCLB, teachers in the subject area of English/Language Arts (ELA)…

Quality Care for School-Age Children: A Self-Instructional Guide To Help Staff Plan and Implement a Quality Program for School-Age Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Childcare Resources, Birmingham, AL.

The purpose of this manual is to provide school-age child care center staff in Alabama with information about school-age children that facilitates program planning and provides a basis for implementing and evaluating a high quality school-age child care (SACC) program. Sections of the manual discuss: (1) teacher competencies addressed by the…

Participatory Research in Support of Quality Public Education in New Orleans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson-Burel, Deirdre; Drame, Elizabeth; Frattura, Elise

2014-01-01

In 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina, several education and child advocacy groups began discussing the depleted conditions of the New Orleans public school district. These groups came together to discuss how to create a sustainable education reform movement post Katrina. New Orleans-based community groups and outside university researchers…

The Influence of Parental Health Literacy Status on Reach, Attendance, Retention, and Outcomes in a Family-Based Childhood Obesity Treatment Program, Virginia, 2013-2015.

PubMed

Zoellner, Jamie M; Hill, Jennie; You, Wen; Brock, Donna; Frisard, Madlyn; Alexander, Ramine; Silva, Fabiana; Price, Bryan; Marshall, Ruby; Estabrooks, Paul A

2017-09-28

Few interventions have evaluated the influence of parent health literacy (HL) status on weight-related child outcomes. This study explores how parent HL affects the reach, attendance, and retention of and outcomes in a 3-month multicomponent family-based program to treat childhood obesity (iChoose). This pre-post, quasiexperimental trial occurred in the Dan River Region, a federally designated medically underserved area. iChoose research protocol and intervention strategies were designed using an HL universal precautions approach. We used validated measures, standardized data collection techniques, and generalized linear mixed-effect parametric models to determine the moderation effect of parent HL on outcomes. No significant difference in HL scores were found between parents who enrolled their child in the study and those who did not. Of 94 enrolled parents, 34% were low HL, 49% had an annual household income of less than $25,000, and 39% had a high school education or less. Of 101 enrolled children, 60% were black, and the mean age was 9.8 (standard deviation, 1.3) years. Children of parents with both low and high HL attended and were retained at similar rates. Likewise, parent HL status did not significantly influence improvements in effectiveness outcomes (eg, child body mass index [BMI] z scores, parent BMI, diet and physical activity behaviors, quality of life), with the exception of child video game/computer screen time; low HL decreased and high HL increased screen time (coefficient = 0.52, standard error, 0.11, P < .001). By incorporating design features that attended to the HL needs of parents, children of parents with low HL engaged in and benefited from a family-based childhood obesity treatment program similar to children of parents with high HL.

Providing Child Care to Military Families: The Role of the Demand Formula in Defining Need and Informing Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moini, Joy S.; Zellman, Gail L.; Gates, Susan M.

2006-01-01

The Department of Defense (DoD) is committed to meeting the need for child care among military families. DoD supports the largest employer-sponsored system of high-quality child care in the country. Through accredited child development centers (CDCs), family child care (FCC) homes, youth centers, and other after-school programs, DoD currently…

Adaptive style and differences in parent and child report of health-related quality of life in children with cancer.

PubMed

Jurbergs, Nichole; Russell, Kathryn M W; Long, Alanna; Phipps, Sean

2008-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine the self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQL) of children with cancer, and the consistency between child and parent reports of child HRQL, as a function of the child's adaptive style. Participants included 199 children with cancer, 108 healthy children, and their parents. Children completed self-report measures of HRQL and adaptive style. Measures of adaptive style were used to categorize children as high anxious, low anxious, defensive high anxious or repressor. Parents completed measures reporting their children's HRQL. Adaptive style was a significant predictor of child-reported HRQL, particularly on the psychosocial scales, with children identified as repressors reporting the best HRQL. Adaptive style was also predictive of discrepancies between parent and child report of child HRQL. Repressor and low anxious children reported better HRQL than did their parents, while high anxious children reported poorer HRQL, regardless of health status. Adaptive style is a significant determinant of self-reported HRQL in children, particularly in psychosocial domains, while health status (i.e. cancer patient vs healthy control) is predictive only of physical health domains. Researchers and clinicians should be aware of the impact of child adaptive style when assessing HRQL outcomes using self- or parent report.

Teacher-child relationships and academic achievement: a multilevel propensity score model approach.

PubMed

McCormick, Meghan P; O'Connor, Erin E; Cappella, Elise; McClowry, Sandee G

2013-10-01

A robust body of research finds positive cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between teacher-child relationships and children's academic achievement in elementary school. Estimating the causal effect of teacher-child relationships on children's academic achievement, however, is challenged by selection bias at the individual and school level. To address these issues, we used two multilevel propensity score matching approaches to estimate the effect of high-quality teacher-child relationships in kindergarten on math and reading achievement during children's transition to first grade. Multi-informant data were collected on 324 low-income, Black and Hispanic students, and 112 kindergarten and first-grade teachers. Results revealed significant effects of high-quality teacher-child relationships in kindergarten on math achievement in first grade. No significant effects of teacher-child relationships were detected for reading achievement. Implications for intervention development and public policy are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

University Child Care Proposal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eastern Michigan Univ., Ypsilanti.

Options for expanding child care services to Eastern Michigan University students, staff, and faculty are presented by the special assistant to the university vice president for university marketing and student affairs. The university's policy statement concerning child care services is considered, along with the relationship of these services to…

Child Care and Other Support Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Floyd, Latosha; Phillips, Deborah A.

2013-01-01

The U.S. military has come to realize that providing reliable, high-quality child care for service members' children is a key component of combat readiness. As a result, the Department of Defense (DoD) has invested heavily in child care. The DoD now runs what is by far the nation's largest employer-sponsored child-care system, a sprawling network…

Called to Act: Stories of Child Care Advocacy in Our Churches.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Margery, Ed.

Experiences of church-based child care advocates are narrated in this booklet. Introductory remarks argue that the National Council of Churches (NCC) must advocate high quality, affordable child care for all children and persuade church members to provide it. Part I tells stories about members' efforts to provide child care services to families:…

Institutional deliveries weakly associated with improved neonatal survival in developing countries: evidence from 192 Demographic and Health Surveys.

PubMed

Fink, Günther; Ross, Rebecca; Hill, Kenneth

2015-12-01

Child and maternal mortality remain high in many developing countries. A principal strategy used in low- and middle-income countries is increasing the proportion of pregnancies delivered at facilities. Although this strategy is reasonable with high quality facilities, evidence for the protective effects of facility deliveries is mixed. We pooled 1.47 million birth records collected by the Demographic and Health Surveys to estimate the association between institutional deliveries and early neonatal mortality. Subsample analysis and instrumental variable estimation were used to assess and correct the extent to which mortality differentials are biased by an increased likelihood of facility attendance for high-risk deliveries. No associations between institutional deliveries and early neonatal mortality were found in the pooled sample [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.995, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.966-1.025)]. When stratified by facility type, protective effects were found for private facilities (aOR 0.876, 95% CI 0.840-0.914), but not for public hospitals or health centres. Significant protective effects were found when past behaviour was used to eliminate selection bias generated by short-term responses to medical need (aOR 0.884, 95% CI 0.814-0.961). At the community and country levels, strong positive associations were found between early neonatal mortality among facility deliveries and the prevalence of institutional deliveries. Facility deliveries have the potential to reduce early neonatal mortality in developing countries. The results presented suggest that the quality, utilization and protective effects of institutional deliveries vary widely across countries; major improvements in both utilization and quality of care will be needed to achieve further improvements in maternal and child health. © The Author 2015; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

Decreasing food fussiness in children with obesity leads to greater weight loss in family-based treatment.

PubMed

Hayes, Jacqueline F; Altman, Myra; Kolko, Rachel P; Balantekin, Katherine N; Holland, Jodi Cahill; Stein, Richard I; Saelens, Brian E; Welch, R Robinson; Perri, Michael G; Schechtman, Kenneth B; Epstein, Leonard H; Wilfley, Denise E

2016-10-01

Food fussiness (FF), or the frequent rejection of both familiar and unfamiliar foods, is common among children and, given its link to poor diet quality, may contribute to the onset and/or maintenance of childhood obesity. This study examined child FF in association with anthropometric variables and diet in children with overweight/obesity participating in family-based behavioral weight loss treatment (FBT). Change in FF was assessed in relation to FBT outcome, including whether change in diet quality mediated the relation between change in FF and change in child weight. Child (N = 170; age = 9.41 ± 1.23) height and weight were measured, and parents completed FF questionnaires and three 24-h recalls of child diet at baseline and post-treatment. Healthy Eating Index-2005 scores were calculated. At baseline, child FF was related to lower vegetable intake. Average child FF decreased from start to end of FBT. Greater decreases in FF were associated with greater reductions in child body mass index and improved overall diet quality. Overall, diet quality change through FBT mediated the relation between child FF change and child body mass index change. Children with high FF can benefit from FBT, and addressing FF may be important in childhood obesity treatment to maximize weight outcomes. © 2016 The Obesity Society.

Interventions to Prevent Child Marriage Among Young People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of the Published and Gray Literature.

PubMed

Kalamar, Amanda M; Lee-Rife, Susan; Hindin, Michelle J

2016-09-01

Child marriage, defined as marriage before the age of 18 years, is a human rights violation that can have lasting adverse educational and economic impacts. The objective of this review was to identify high-quality interventions and evaluations to decease child marriage in low- and middle-income countries. PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, CINAHL Plus, Popline, and the Cochrane Databases were searched without language limitations for articles published through November 2015. Gray literature was searched by hand. Reference tracing was used, as well as the unpacking of systematic reviews. Retained articles were those that were evaluated as having high-quality interventions and evaluations using standardized scoring. Eleven high-quality interventions and evaluations were abstracted. Six found positive results in decreasing the proportion married or increasing age at marriage, one had both positive and negative findings, and four had no statistical impact on the proportion married or age at marriage. There is wide range of high-quality, impactful interventions included in this review which can inform researchers, donors, and policy makers about where to make strategic investments to eradicate marriage, a current target of the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the cultural factors that promote child marriage, the diversity of interventions can allow decision makers to tailor interventions to the cultural context of the target population. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Supporting High Quality Teacher-Child Interactions in Pre-K Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGuire, Patrick

2010-01-01

The purpose of this three-paper manuscript dissertation is to add value to the limited knowledge base of research surrounding the quality of teacher-child interactions in pre-k mathematics contexts. The first paper, based on an extensive review of literature, presents a theoretical basis for using five-frames to support children's development of…

University Rankings in Action? The Importance of Rankings and an Excellence Competition for University Choice of High-Ability Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horstschraer, Julia

2012-01-01

This paper analyzes how high-ability students respond to different indicators of university quality when applying for a university. Are prospective students influenced by quality indicators of a university ranking or by an excellence status awarded within a nationwide competition? And if so, are some quality dimensions, e.g. research reputation,…

Systematic review and meta-analysis of distraction and hypnosis for needle-related pain and distress in children and adolescents.

PubMed

Birnie, Kathryn A; Noel, Melanie; Parker, Jennifer A; Chambers, Christine T; Uman, Lindsay S; Kisely, Steve R; McGrath, Patrick J

2014-09-01

To systematically review the evidence (and quality) for distraction and hypnosis for needle-related pain and distress in children and adolescents. To explore the effects of distraction characteristics (e.g., adult involvement, type of distracter), child age, and study risk of bias on treatment efficacy.  26 distraction and 7 hypnosis trials were included and self-report, observer-report, and behavioral pain intensity and distress examined. Distraction studies were coded for 4 intervention characteristics, and all studies coded for child age and study risk of bias.  Findings showed strong support for distraction and hypnosis for reducing pain and distress from needle procedures. The quality of available evidence was low, however. Characteristics of distraction interventions, child age, and study risk of bias showed some influence on treatment efficacy. Distraction and hypnosis are efficacious in reducing needle-related pain and distress in children. The quality of trials in this area needs to be improved. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Home food environment in relation to children's diet quality and weight status.

PubMed

Couch, Sarah C; Glanz, Karen; Zhou, Chuan; Sallis, James F; Saelens, Brian E

2014-10-01

The objective of this cohort study was to explore relationships among the home food environment (HFE), child/parent characteristics, diet quality, and measured weight status among 699 child-parent pairs from King County, WA, and San Diego County, CA. HFE variables included parenting style/feeding practices, food rules, frequency of eating out, home food availability, and parents' perceptions of food costs. Child dietary intake was measured by 3-day recall and diet quality indicators included fruits and vegetables, sweet/savory snacks, high-calorie beverages, and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score. Individual linear regression models were run in which child BMI z score and child diet quality indicators were dependent variables and HFE variables and child/parent characteristics were independent variables of interest. Fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with parental encouragement/modeling (β=.68, P<0.001) and unhealthful food availability (-0.27, P<0.05); DASH score with food availability (healthful: 1.3, P<0.01; unhealthful: -2.25, P<0.001), food rules (0.45, P<0.01), and permissive feeding style (-1.04, P<0.05); high-calorie beverages with permissive feeding style (0.14, P<0.01) and unhealthful food availability (0.21, P<0.001); and sweet/savory snacks with healthful food availability (0.26, P<0.05; unexpectedly positive). Children's BMI z score was positively associated with parent's use of food restriction (0.21, P<0.001), permissive feeding style (0.16, P<0.05), and concern for healthy food costs (0.10, P<0.01), but negatively with verbal encouragement/modeling (-0.17, P<0.05), and pressure to eat (-0.34, P<0.001). Various HFE factors associated with parenting around eating and food availability are related to child diet quality and weight status. These factors should be considered when designing interventions for improving child health. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interactive Contributions of Attribution Biases and Emotional Intensity to Child-Friend Interaction Quality During Preadolescence.

PubMed

Chen, Xi; McElwain, Nancy L; Lansford, Jennifer E

2017-12-20

Using data from a subsample of 913 study children and their friends who participated in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the interactive contributions of child-reported attribution biases and teacher-reported child emotional intensity (EI) at Grade 4 (M = 9.9 years) to observed child-friend interaction at Grade 6 (M = 11.9 years) were examined. Study children's hostile attribution bias, combined with high EI, predicted more negative child-friend interaction. In contrast, benign attribution bias, combined with high EI, predicted more positive child-friend interaction. The findings are discussed in light of the "fuel" interpretation of EI, in which high-intensity emotions may motivate children to act on their cognitive biases for better or for worse. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Financing Child Care. A Public Policy Report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Winter 2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, MO.

This public policy report focuses on financing child care in the United States. The report contains brief articles on the following topics: (1) child care wages in comparison to other positions; (2) benefits to businesses when employees have high-quality child care; (3) resources for funding early education systems; (4) comparison of the cost of…

Colorado Business Commission on Child Care Financing, Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colorado State Dept. of Human Services, Denver. Div. of Child Care.

This report examines child care from a business perspective and proposes methods to help finance affordable, accessible, and high-quality child care in Colorado. The Commission's procedures are described, and data summaries are included. The following 12 recommendations are made: (1) establish model planning and zoning programs to increase and…

Health-Related Quality of Life in Children with High-Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potvin, Marie-Christine; Snider, Laurie; Prelock, Patricia A.; Wood-Dauphinee, Sharon; Kehayia, Eva

2015-01-01

The health-related quality of life of school-aged children with high-functioning autism is poorly understood. The objectives of this study were to compare the health-related quality of life of children with high-functioning autism to that of typically developing peers and to compare child-self and parent-proxy reports of health-related quality of…

Association of fathers' feeding practices and feeding style on preschool age children's diet quality, eating behavior and body mass index.

PubMed

Vollmer, Rachel L; Adamsons, Kari; Foster, Jaime S; Mobley, Amy R

2015-06-01

The associations of parental feeding practices and feeding style with childhood obesity have gained more attention in the literature recently; however, fathers are rarely included within these studies. The aim of this research was to determine the relationship of paternal feeding practices on child diet quality, weight status, and eating behavior, and the moderating effect of paternal feeding style on these relationships in preschool age children. This study included a one-time, one-on-one interview with biological fathers of preschoolers (n = 150) to assess feeding practices (Child Feeding Questionnaire), feeding style (Caregiver Feeding Style Questionnaire), child eating behaviors (Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire), and diet quality (24 hour recall, Healthy Eating Index). Height and weight for each father and child were also measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) or BMI z-score calculated. Linear regression was used to test the relationship between paternal feeding practices, style and child diet quality and/or body weight. Overall, the findings revealed that a father's feeding practices and feeding style are not associated with children's diet quality or weight status. However, child eating behaviors are associated with child BMI z-score and these relationships are moderated by paternal feeding practices. For example, child satiety responsiveness is inversely (β = -.421, p = 0.031) associated with child BMI z-score only if paternal restriction scores are high. This relationship is not significant when paternal restriction scores are low (β = -.200, p = 0.448). These results suggest that some child appetitive traits may be related to child weight status when exposed to certain paternal feeding practices. Future studies should consider the inclusion of fathers as their feeding practices and feeding style may be related to a child's eating behavior. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stability of Maternal Discipline Practices and the Quality of Mother-Child Interaction during Toddlerhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Keng-Yen; Caughy, Margaret O'Brien; Lee, Li-Ching; Miller, Therese; Genevro, Janice

2008-01-01

This study examined the stability of maternal punitive/high-power discipline (PD) and inductive/authoritative discipline (ID) over the second and third years of life and the effect of maternal discipline on quality of mother-child interactions. Data from a longitudinal sample with 179 mother-toddler dyads were analyzed, and selected factors (i.e.,…

School-Based Health Education Programmes, Health-Learning Capacity and Child Oral Health--related Quality of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Ruth; Gibson, Barry; Humphris, Gerry; Leonard, Helen; Yuan, Siyang; Whelton, Helen

2016-01-01

Objective: To use a model of health learning to examine the role of health-learning capacity and the effect of a school-based oral health education intervention (Winning Smiles) on the health outcome, child oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL). Setting: Primary schools, high social deprivation, Ireland/Northern Ireland. Design: Cluster…

The Prospective Links Between Hyperactive/Impulsive, Inattentive, and Oppositional-Defiant Behaviors in Childhood and Antisocial Behavior in Adolescence: The Moderating Influence of Gender and the Parent-Child Relationship Quality.

PubMed

Giannotta, Fabrizia; Rydell, Ann-Margret

2016-12-01

We prospectively investigated the effect of child hyperactive/impulsive, inattentive, and oppositional/defiant behaviors on the development of youth antisocial behaviors, and the moderating influence of gender and the parent-child relationship quality in a normative sample. Participants (N = 673, 50 % girls) were assessed at 10 years of age (parent reports) and at age 15 (parent and adolescent reports). Using latent change models, we found that initial levels of, as well as increases in, hyperactivity/impulsivity and oppositional behaviors and initial levels of inattention behaviors predicted youth antisocial behaviors. The increase in oppositional behaviors was predictive of youth antisocial behaviors in girls only. Child hyperactive/impulsive behaviors predicted youth antisocial behaviors only in children for whom the quality of the parent-child relationship deteriorated from childhood to adolescence. Thus, both initial levels of and increases in disruptive behaviors as well as gender are important for understanding the development of antisocial behaviors in adolescence. We received partial support for the hypothesized, moderating role of a high-quality parent-child relationship.

Changes in sleep quality and levels of psychological distress during the adaptation to university: The role of childhood adversity.

PubMed

John-Henderson, Neha A; Williams, Sarah E; Brindle, Ryan C; Ginty, Annie T

2018-05-25

Stress-related sleep disturbances are common, and poor sleep quality can negatively affect health. Previous work indicates that early-life adversity is associated with compromised sleep quality later in life, but it is unknown whether it predicts greater declines in sleep quality during stressful life transitions. We propose and test a conceptual model whereby individuals who reported experiencing greater levels of child maltreatment would experience greater psychological distress during a stressful life transition, which in turn would contribute to greater declines in sleep quality, relative to their quality of sleep before the stressful transition. Controlling for potential confounding variables (e.g., age, gender), structural equation modelling demonstrated that psychological distress experienced during a stressful transition (i.e., beginning life at university) mediated the relationship between childhood emotional neglect and changes in sleep quality. The hypothesized model demonstrated a good overall fit to the data, χ 2 (15) = 17.69, p = .279, CFI = .99, TLI = .97, SRMR = .04, RMSEA = .04 (90% CI <0.001-0.09). Emotional neglect (β = .22) was positively associated with psychological distress which in turn was positively associated with poor sleep quality (β = .31) during a stressful transition. Future research should aim to understand the specific stressors in the university environment that are most challenging to individuals who faced early-life emotional maltreatment. These findings will help inform interventions to facilitate adaptation to a new environment and improve sleep quality for these university students. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

The Role of Distance and Quality on Facility Selection for Maternal and Child Health Services in Urban Kenya.

PubMed

Escamilla, Veronica; Calhoun, Lisa; Winston, Jennifer; Speizer, Ilene S

2018-02-01

Universal access to health care requires service availability and accessibility for those most in need of maternal and child health services. Women often bypass facilities closest to home due to poor quality. Few studies have directly linked individuals to facilities where they sought maternal and child health services and examined the role of distance and quality on this facility choice. Using endline data from a longitudinal survey from a sample of women in five cities in Kenya, we examine the role of distance and quality on facility selection for women using delivery, facility-based contraceptives, and child health services. A survey of public and private facilities offering reproductive health services was also conducted. Distances were measured between household cluster location and both the nearest facility and facility where women sought care. A quality index score representing facility infrastructure, staff, and supply characteristics was assigned to each facility. We use descriptive statistics to compare distance and quality between the nearest available facility and visited facility among women who bypassed the nearest facility. Facility distance and quality comparisons were also stratified by poverty status. Logistic regression models were used to measure associations between the quality and distance to the nearest facility and bypassing for each outcome. The majority of women bypassed the nearest facility regardless of service sought. Women bypassing for delivery traveled the furthest and had the fewest facility options near their residential cluster. Poor women bypassing for delivery traveled 4.5 km further than non-poor women. Among women who bypassed, two thirds seeking delivery and approximately 46% seeking facility-based contraception or child health services bypassed to a public hospital. Both poor and non-poor women bypassed to higher quality facilities. Our findings suggest that women in five cities in Kenya prefer public hospitals and are willing to travel further to obtain services at public hospitals, possibly related to free service availability. Over time, it will be important to examine service quality and availability in public sector facilities with reduced or eliminated user fees, and whether it lends itself to a continuum of care where women can visit one facility for multiple services reducing travel burden.

Infant Massage and Quality of Early Mother–Infant Interactions: Are There Associations with Maternal Psychological Wellbeing, Marital Quality, and Social Support?

PubMed Central

Porreca, Alessio; Parolin, Micol; Bozza, Giusy; Freato, Susanna; Simonelli, Alessandra

2017-01-01

Infant massage programs have proved to be effective in enhancing post-natal development of highly risk infants, such as preterm newborns and drug or HIV exposed children. Less studies have focused on the role of infant massage in supporting the co-construction of early adult–child relationships. In line with this lack of literature, the present paper reports on a pilot study aimed at investigating longitudinally the quality of mother–child interactions, with specific reference to emotional availability (EA), in a group of mother–child pairs involved in infant massage classes. Moreover, associations between mother–child EA, maternal wellbeing, marital adjustment, and social support were also investigated, with the hypothesis to find a link between low maternal distress, high couple satisfaction and high perceived support and interactions of better quality in the dyads. The study involved 20 mothers and their children, aged between 2 and 7 months, who participated to infant massage classes. The assessment took place at three stages: at the beginning of massage course, at the end of it and at 1-month follow-up. At the first stage of assessment self-report questionnaires were administered to examine the presence of maternal psychiatric symptoms (SCL-90-R), perceived social support (MSPSS), and marital adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale); dyadic interactions were observed and rated with the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen, 2008) at each stage of data collection. The results showed a significant improvement in the quality of mother–child interactions, between the first and the last evaluation, parallel to the unfolding of the massage program, highlighting a general increase in maternal and child’s EA. The presence of maternal psychological distress resulted associated with less optimal mother–child emotional exchanges, while the hypothesis regarding couple satisfaction and social support influence were not confirmed. These preliminary results, if replicated, seem to sustain the usefulness of infant massage and the importance of focusing on early mother–infant interactions. PMID:28144222

Remaining missed opportunities of child survival in Peru: modelling mortality impact of universal and equitable coverage of proven interventions.

PubMed

Tam, Yvonne; Huicho, Luis; Huayanay-Espinoza, Carlos A; Restrepo-Méndez, María Clara

2016-10-04

Peru has made great improvements in reducing stunting and child mortality in the past decade, and has reached the Millennium Development Goals 1 and 4. The remaining challenges or missed opportunities for child survival needs to be identified and quantified, in order to guide the next steps to further improve child survival in Peru. We used the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) to project the mortality impact of proven interventions reaching every women and child in need, and the mortality impact of eliminating inequalities in coverage distribution between wealth quintiles and urban-rural residence. Our analyses quantified the remaining missed opportunities in Peru, where prioritizing scale-up of facility-based case management for all small and sick babies will be most effective in mortality reduction, compared to other evidenced-based interventions that prevent maternal and child deaths. Eliminating coverage disparities between the poorest quintiles and the richest will reduce under-five and neonatal mortality by 22.0 and 40.6 %, while eliminating coverage disparities between those living in rural and urban areas will reduce under-five and neonatal mortality by 29.3 and 45.2 %. This projected neonatal mortality reduction achieved by eliminating coverage disparities is almost comparable to that already achieved by Peru over the past decade. Although Peru has made great strides in improving child survival, further improvement in child health, especially in newborn health can be achieved if there is universal and equitable coverage of proven, quality health facility-based interventions. The magnitude of reduction in mortality will be similar to what has been achieved in the past decade. Strengthening health system to identify, understand, and direct resources to the poor and rural areas will ensure that Peru achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Demands and Job Resources in the Child Care Workforce: Swiss Lead Teacher and Assistant Teacher Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bloechliger, Olivia R.; Bauer, Georg F.

2016-01-01

Center-based child care has been struggling with poor health and high turnover rates of child care staff and their adverse impact on care quality for decades. Yet little is known about personal and structural antecedents of job resources and job demands that are valid predictors of health and turnover in the child care workforce. Research…

Low- and High-Text Books Facilitate the Same Amount and Quality of Extratextual Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muhinyi, Amber; Hesketh, Anne

2017-01-01

Recent research suggests that caregiver-child extratextual talk during shared book reading facilitates the development of preschool children's oral language skills. This study investigated the effects of the amount of picturebook text on mother-child extratextual talk during shared book reading. Twenty-four mother-child dyads (children aged…

Child Development Functionality Assessment Guide: Standards and Requirements for Developing Most Efficient Organizations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of the Army, Washington, DC.

As part of its cost containment efforts, the U.S. Navy continues to evaluate its child development program to expand availability without compromising the high quality standards required by the 1989 Military Child Care Act. This manual provides guidelines for conducting Functionality Assessments (FA) and delineates the standards and requirements…

Success of University Student Volunteers in Obtaining Consent for Reviewing Private Health Information for Emergency Research.

PubMed

Kramer, Adam I; Stephenson, Elizabeth; Betel, Adam; Crudden, Johanna; Boutis, Kathy

2017-01-01

This study aimed to determine the success of university student volunteers in obtaining consent from parents to allow review of their child's personal health information (PHI) for emergency research screening. This study also aimed to examine the variables associated with successful consent. This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at a pediatric emergency department (ED). University students, who functioned as delegates of the health information custodian, approached parents for consent. Of 2,506 parents, 1,852 (73.9%) provided consent to allow review of their child's PHI for research screening. Variables associated with successful consent were high (≥12 months) versus low (<12 months) volunteer experience (OR = 2.0), research related (vs. unrelated) to the child's chief complaint (OR = 2.0), child treated regularly by specialists at the study institution (OR = 1.7), and ED presentation mid-week vs. weekend (OR = 1.7) and morning vs. evening presentation (OR = 1.4). When approached by a university student volunteer, about 25% of parents declined to have their child's PHI reviewed for research screening. This model of obtaining consent may put some emergency research at risk for selection bias. Variables that increase the odds of successful consent can be considered in program design to improve the effectiveness of this model.

OC35 - Child Friendly Healthcare Initiative, implementation project in a paediatric department in Greece.

PubMed

Boutopoulou, Barbara; Clarke, Andrew; Christothanopoulou, Ioanna; Douros, Konstantinos; Tsirouda, Maria; Papaevangelou, Vasiliki

2016-05-09

Theme: Accreditation and quality improvement. Child Friendly Healthcare Initiative (CFHI) aims to improve quality of experience and health care given to children and families by improving realisation of children's rights and reducing unnecessary fear, anxiety and suffering during and because of health care. To present results of preliminary CFH assessment. Implementation was initiated in a paediatric department of a University Hospital in Athens, Greece, consisting of a 37-bed ward, Outpatient Clinic and Emergency Department. For the preliminary assessment of the CFHI tool No1, which is for parents-caregiverschildren and health workers, this was translated into Greek. 112 parents-caregivers and six children were interviewed by an independent interviewer. In total, 24 health workers - 5 paediatricians, 11 residents and 8 nurses - responded to the CFHI tool No 1. Issues highlighted were mostly about CFH Standard 3 and Standard 7. Suggestions for improvement in all Standards were suggested. Preliminary assessment revealed the quality of care needs improvement. The next step is the training health workers, planning and making improvements.

Back-Up Childcare: A Quality Alternative to Regular Care Which Fosters Resilience in Infants and Toddlers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

La Bar, Nicole J.

To many in the field of early care and education, back-up child care may be viewed as a stressful disruption that could interfere with attachment and be detrimental to continuity of care. This paper attempts to prove that high-quality back-up child care offered by employers actually fosters the development of resiliency in young children by…

The Influence of Parental Control and Parent-Child Relational Qualities on Adolescent Internet Addiction: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study in Hong Kong

PubMed Central

Shek, Daniel T. L.; Zhu, Xiaoqin; Ma, Cecilia M. S.

2018-01-01

This study investigated how parental behavioral control, parental psychological control, and parent-child relational qualities predicted the initial level and rate of change in adolescent internet addiction (IA) across the junior high school years. The study also investigated the concurrent and longitudinal effects of different parenting factors on adolescent IA. Starting from the 2009/2010 academic year, 3,328 Grade 7 students (Mage = 12.59 ± 0.74 years) from 28 randomly selected secondary schools in Hong Kong responded on a yearly basis to a questionnaire measuring multiple constructs including socio-demographic characteristics, perceived parenting characteristics, and IA. Individual growth curve (IGC) analyses showed that adolescent IA slightly decreased during junior high school years. While behavioral control of both parents was negatively related to the initial level of adolescent IA, only paternal behavioral control showed a significant positive relationship with the rate of linear change in IA, suggesting that higher paternal behavioral control predicted a slower decrease in IA. In addition, fathers' and mothers' psychological control was positively associated with the initial level of adolescent IA, but increase in maternal psychological control predicted a faster drop in IA. Finally, parent-child relational qualities negatively and positively predicted the initial level and the rate of change in IA, respectively. When all parenting factors were considered simultaneously, multiple regression analyses revealed that paternal behavioral control and psychological control as well as maternal psychological control and mother-child relational quality were significant concurrent predictors of adolescent IA at Wave 2 and Wave 3. Regarding the longitudinal predicting effects, paternal psychological control and mother-child relational quality at Wave 1 were the two most robust predictors of later adolescent IA at Wave 2 and Wave 3. The above findings underscore the importance of the parent-child subsystem qualities in influencing adolescent IA in the junior high school years. In particular, these findings shed light on the different impacts of fathering and mothering which are neglected in the scientific literature. While the findings based on the levels of IA are consistent with the existing theoretical models, findings on the rate of change are novel. PMID:29765349

The Influence of Parental Control and Parent-Child Relational Qualities on Adolescent Internet Addiction: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Zhu, Xiaoqin; Ma, Cecilia M S

2018-01-01

This study investigated how parental behavioral control, parental psychological control, and parent-child relational qualities predicted the initial level and rate of change in adolescent internet addiction (IA) across the junior high school years. The study also investigated the concurrent and longitudinal effects of different parenting factors on adolescent IA. Starting from the 2009/2010 academic year, 3,328 Grade 7 students ( M age = 12.59 ± 0.74 years) from 28 randomly selected secondary schools in Hong Kong responded on a yearly basis to a questionnaire measuring multiple constructs including socio-demographic characteristics, perceived parenting characteristics, and IA. Individual growth curve (IGC) analyses showed that adolescent IA slightly decreased during junior high school years. While behavioral control of both parents was negatively related to the initial level of adolescent IA, only paternal behavioral control showed a significant positive relationship with the rate of linear change in IA, suggesting that higher paternal behavioral control predicted a slower decrease in IA. In addition, fathers' and mothers' psychological control was positively associated with the initial level of adolescent IA, but increase in maternal psychological control predicted a faster drop in IA. Finally, parent-child relational qualities negatively and positively predicted the initial level and the rate of change in IA, respectively. When all parenting factors were considered simultaneously, multiple regression analyses revealed that paternal behavioral control and psychological control as well as maternal psychological control and mother-child relational quality were significant concurrent predictors of adolescent IA at Wave 2 and Wave 3. Regarding the longitudinal predicting effects, paternal psychological control and mother-child relational quality at Wave 1 were the two most robust predictors of later adolescent IA at Wave 2 and Wave 3. The above findings underscore the importance of the parent-child subsystem qualities in influencing adolescent IA in the junior high school years. In particular, these findings shed light on the different impacts of fathering and mothering which are neglected in the scientific literature. While the findings based on the levels of IA are consistent with the existing theoretical models, findings on the rate of change are novel.

Education in Emergencies and Early Reconstruction: UNICEF Interventions in Colombia, Liberia, and Southern Sudan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beleli, Ozsel; Chang, Victoria; Feigelson, Michael J.; Kopel-Bailey, Jules A.; Maak, Sheila A.; Mnookin, Jacob P.; Nguyen, Thu H.; Salazar, Mariana; Sinderbrand, Joy E.; Tafoya, Simon N.

2007-01-01

Broad access to quality, child-friendly education in emergencies is a critical component of early reconstruction and development. As a class of graduate students at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, our goal is to make a modest contribution to the field of education in emergencies by working…

Relevance of the quality of partner relationships and maternal health to early child wellness.

PubMed

Surkan, Pamela J; Poteat, Tonia

2011-05-01

To examine the relationship between child health and maternal relationship quality with a spouse/partner, self-rated health, depressive symptoms, and social support. In a cross-sectional study, structured interviews were completed with 595 mothers in 2002. Women were recruited from a random sample of households in low-income communities of Teresina, Piauí. Child health status was assessed with the Eisen Infant Health Rating Scale and a composite index of child fever, worms, or diarrhea in the past 2 weeks. Exposure variables included maternal relationship quality, self-rated health, depressive symptoms, and social support. Analyses included multivariable linear and logistic regression modeling, controlling for sociodemographics. Both a high-quality partner relationship and good/excellent maternal self-rated health were significantly associated with higher scores on the Eisen Infant Health Rating Scale (â = 0.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.3-1.4 and β = 1.1; 95% CI: 0.7-1.6, respectively). Every 5-point increase in depressive symptoms was negatively associated with infant health scores (β = -0.3; 95% CI: -0.4 to -0.1) and with recent child wellness (lack of fever, diarrhea, or worms) (odds ratio = 0.9 95%; CI: 0.8-1.0). Maternal factors, such as partner relationship quality and health status, may be important to child health and should be considered for inclusion in confirmatory longitudinal studies.

Is the National Guideline Clearinghouse a Trustworthy Source of Practice Guidelines for Child and Youth Anxiety and Depression?

PubMed

Duda, Stephanie; Fahim, Christine; Szatmari, Peter; Bennett, Kathryn

2017-07-01

Innovative strategies that facilitate the use of high quality practice guidelines (PG) are needed. Accordingly, repositories designed to simplify access to PGs have been proposed as a critical component of the network of linked interventions needed to drive increased PG implementation. The National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) is a free, international online repository. We investigated whether it is a trustworthy source of child and youth anxiety and depression PGs. English language PGs published between January 2009 and February 2016 relevant to anxiety or depression in children and adolescents (≤ 18 years of age) were eligible. Two trained raters assessed PG quality using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II). Scores on at least three AGREE II domains (stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, and editorial independence) were used to designate PGs as: i) minimum quality (≥ 50%); and ii) high quality (≥ 70%). Eight eligible PGs were identified (depression, n=6; anxiety and depression, n=1; social anxiety disorder, n=1). Four of eight PGs met minimum quality criteria; three of four met high quality criteria. At present, NGC users without the time and special skills required to evaluate PG quality may unknowingly choose flawed PGs to guide decisions about child and youth anxiety and depression. The recent NGC decision to explore the inclusion of PG quality profiles based on Institute of Medicine standards provides needed leadership that can strengthen PG repositories, prevent harm and wasted resources, and build PG developer capacity.

Resource factors for mental health resilience in early childhood: An analysis with multiple methodologies.

PubMed

Miller-Lewis, Lauren R; Searle, Amelia K; Sawyer, Michael G; Baghurst, Peter A; Hedley, Darren

2013-02-22

Given that relatively little is known about the development of resilience in early childhood, this longitudinal study aimed to identify preschool resource factors associated with young children's mental health resilience to family adversity. A community sample of 474 young Australian children was assessed in preschool (mean age 4.59 years, 49% male), and again two years later after their transition into formal schooling. At each assessment, standard questionnaires were used to obtain ratings from both parents and teachers about the quality of children's relationships with parents and teachers, children's self-concept and self-control, mental health (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), and family adversities (including stressful life events and socioeconomic disadvantage). Greater exposure to cumulative family adversities was associated with both greater teacher- and parent-reported child mental health difficulties two years later. Multiple methodologies for operationalizing resilience were used to identify resources associated with resilient mental health outcomes. Higher quality child-parent and child-teacher relationships, and greater child self-concept and self-control were associated with resilient mental health outcomes. With the exception of child-teacher relationships, these resources were also prospective antecedents of subsequent resilient mental health outcomes in children with no pre-existing mental health difficulties. Child-parent relationships and child self-concept generally had promotive effects, being equally beneficial for children facing both low- and high-adversity. Child self-control demonstrated a small protective effect on teacher-reported outcomes, with greater self-control conferring greater protection to children under conditions of high-adversity. Findings suggest that early intervention and prevention strategies that focus on fostering child-adult relationship quality, self-concept, and self-control in young children may help build children's mental health and their resilience to family adversities.

A harsh parenting team? Maternal reports of coparenting and coercive parenting interact in association with children's disruptive behaviour.

PubMed

Latham, Rachel M; Mark, Katharine M; Oliver, Bonamy R

2017-05-01

Parenting and coparenting are both important for children's adjustment, but their interaction has been little explored. Using a longitudinal design and considering two children per family, we investigated mothers' and fathers' perceptions of coparenting as moderators of associations between their coercive parenting and children's disruptive behaviour. Mothers and fathers from 106 'intact' families were included from the Twins, Family and Behaviour study. At Time 1 (M child age  = 3 years 11 months, SD child age  = 4.44 months) parents reported on their coercive parenting and children's disruptive behaviour via questionnaire; at Time 2 (M child age  = 4 years 8 months, SD child age  = 4.44 months) perceptions of coparenting and the marital relationship were collected by telephone interview. Questionnaire-based reports of children's disruptive behaviour were collected at follow-up (M child age  = 5 years 11 months, SD child age  = 5.52 months). Multilevel modelling was used to examine child-specific and family-wide effects. Conservative multilevel models including both maternal and paternal perceptions demonstrated that maternal perceptions of coparenting and overall coercive parenting interacted in their prediction of parent-reported child disruptive behaviour. Specifically, accounting for perceived marital quality, behavioural stability, and fathers' perceptions, only in the context of perceived higher quality coparenting was there a positive association between mother-reported overall coercive parenting and children's disruptive behaviour at follow-up. When combined with highly coercive parenting, maternal perceptions of high quality coparenting may be detrimental for children's adjustment. © 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

The Flow of Higher Qualified New Teachers into Challenging UK High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, John

2015-01-01

If every child is to have a fairly even chance of a good education, every child must have a fairly even chance of being taught by high-quality teachers. However, high levels of social segregation in UK schools concentrate disadvantaged young people in some schools creating conditions that may deter many teachers. This study investigates whether…

Mothers' alexithymia, depression and anxiety levels and their association with the quality of mother-infant relationship: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Yürümez, Esra; Akça, Ömer Faruk; Uğur, Çağatay; Uslu, Runa Idil; Kılıç, Birim Günay

2014-08-01

To evaluate the relationship between mothers and their developmentally normal infants in terms of maternal alexithymia, depression and anxiety, and marital satisfaction. Fifty children between 18 and 48 months of age, and their mothers, were referred consecutively to the Infant Mental Health Unit of Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The sociodemographic features of the families and the depressive symptoms, anxiety, marital satisfaction and alexithymia levels of the mothers were assessed. The relationships between children in normal developmental stages and their mothers were evaluated and rated using a structured clinical procedure. There was a negative correlation between the mothers' alexithymia scores and the quality of the mother-infant relationship (p < 0.05). Mothers with high alexithymia showed higher depression and lower relationship qualities than mothers with low alexithymia, according to the correlation analysis. When depression and anxiety were controlled, high alexithymia levels were predictive of a low, impaired mother-infant relationship. Since alexithymia is a trait-like variable which has a negative correlation with impairment in a mother-infant relationship, it must be investigated in the assessment of mothers' interactions with their babies.

Quality Assessment of University Studies as a Service: Dimensions and Criteria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pukelyte, Rasa

2010-01-01

This article reviews a possibility to assess university studies as a service. University studies have to be of high quality both in their content and in the administrative level. Therefore, quality of studies as a service is an important constituent part of study quality assurance. When assessing quality of university studies as a service, it is…

The Art of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdul-Alim, Jamaal

2012-01-01

Dr. Robert F. Sabol, professor of visual and performing arts at Purdue University says that art education has suffered some serious setbacks since No Child Left Behind--the landmark federal education law that put a greater emphasis on high-stakes testing. Since No Child Left Behind became law in 2002, school systems--under increased pressure to…

National Quality Measures for Child Mental Health Care: Background, Progress, and Next Steps

PubMed Central

Murphy, J. Michael; Scholle, Sarah Hudson; Hoagwood, Kimberly Eaton; Sachdeva, Ramesh C.; Mangione-Smith, Rita; Woods, Donna; Kamin, Hayley S.; Jellinek, Michael

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To review recent health policies related to measuring child health care quality, the selection processes of national child health quality measures, the nationally recommended quality measures for child mental health care and their evidence strength, the progress made toward developing new measures, and early lessons learned from these national efforts. METHODS: Methods used included description of the selection process of child health care quality measures from 2 independent national initiatives, the recommended quality measures for child mental health care, and the strength of scientific evidence supporting them. RESULTS: Of the child health quality measures recommended or endorsed during these national initiatives, only 9 unique measures were related to child mental health. CONCLUSIONS: The development of new child mental health quality measures poses methodologic challenges that will require a paradigm shift to align research with its accelerated pace. PMID:23457148

Cannabis use in children with individualized risk profiles: Predicting the effect of universal prevention intervention.

PubMed

Miovský, Michal; Vonkova, Hana; Čablová, Lenka; Gabrhelík, Roman

2015-11-01

To study the effect of a universal prevention intervention targeting cannabis use in individual children with different risk profiles. A school-based randomized controlled prevention trial was conducted over a period of 33 months (n=1874 sixth-graders, baseline mean age 11.82). We used a two-level random intercept logistic model for panel data to predict the probabilities of cannabis use for each child. Specifically, we used eight risk/protective factors to characterize each child and then predicted two probabilities of cannabis use for each child if the child had the intervention or not. Using the two probabilities, we calculated the absolute and relative effect of the intervention for each child. According to the two probabilities, we also divided the sample into a low-risk group (the quarter of the children with the lowest probabilities), a moderate-risk group, and a high-risk group (the quarter of the children with the highest probabilities) and showed the average effect of the intervention on these groups. The differences between the intervention group and the control group were statistically significant in each risk group. The average predicted probabilities of cannabis use for a child from the low-risk group were 4.3% if the child had the intervention and 6.53% if no intervention was provided. The corresponding probabilities for a child from the moderate-risk group were 10.91% and 15.34% and for a child from the high-risk group 25.51% and 32.61%. School grades, thoughts of hurting oneself, and breaking the rules were the three most important factors distinguishing high-risk and low-risk children. We predicted the effect of the intervention on individual children, characterized by their risk/protective factors. The predicted absolute effect and relative effect of any intervention for any selected risk/protective profile of a given child may be utilized in both prevention practice and research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mothers' Resolution of Their Young Children's Psychiatric Diagnoses: Associations with Child, Parent, and Relationship Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kearney, Joan A.; Britner, Preston A.; Farrell, Anne F.; Robinson, JoAnn L.

2011-01-01

Maternal resolution of a child's diagnosis relates to sensitive caregiving and healthy attachment. Failure to resolve is associated with maternal distress, high caregiving burden, and the quality of marital and social support. This study examined maternal resolution of diagnosis in a child psychiatric population utilizing the Reaction to Diagnosis…

Marketing. Nourishing News. Volume 3, Issue 7

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Idaho State Department of Education, 2009

2009-01-01

The use of marketing can effectively enhance the growth and image of the Child Nutrition Programs. The customer has changed over the years, and today's customer in the Child Nutrition Programs wants the food served to be high-quality at low prices. As a result, many child nutrition managers are looking at what the customer is requesting. This…

Strategies for Learning Experiences in Family Child Care: American and Swedish Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Ramona; Karlsson, Fil dr Malene

2012-01-01

The outlook for teaching and learning in the homes of family child care (also called "day care" and "child minding" [the latter term is used in the United Kingdom]) is both promising and precarious. The authors believe such programs hold potential for high-quality learning, yet they suffer from lack of recognition and support.…

Child Care Decision Making: Understanding Priorities and Processes Used by Low-Income Families in Minnesota

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forry, Nicole; Isner, Tabitha K.; Daneri, Maria P.; Tout, Kathryn

2014-01-01

Research Findings: Few studies have described parents' child care decision-making process, yet understanding how parents make child care choices is fundamental to developing effective services to promote the selection of high-quality care. This study used latent profile analysis to distinguish subgroups of low-income parents identified as having…

Six years beyond pediatric trauma: child and parental ratings of children's health-related quality of life in relation to parental mental health.

PubMed

Sluys, Kerstin Prignitz; Lannge, Margaretha; Iselius, Lennart; Eriksson, Lars E

2015-11-01

To examine the relationship between child self-report and parent proxy report of health-related quality of life (HRQL) and how parents' mental health status relates to the HRQL ratings 6 years after minor to severe injury of the child. This cross-sectional cohort study was performed at a regional pediatric trauma center in Stockholm, Sweden. The PedsQL 4.0 versions for ages 5-7, 8-12, and 13-18 years were completed by 177 child-parent dyads 6 years after injury to the child. The parents also rated their own mental health through the mental health domain (MH) in the SF-36 Health Survey. The children's median age was 13 years (IQR 10-16 years), 54 % were males, and the median ISS was 5 (IQR 2-9). Most of the parents were female (77 %), born in Sweden (79 %), and half had university degrees. There was no statistically significant difference between child self-report and parent proxy report in any of the PedsQL 4.0 scales or summary scales. The levels of agreement between child self-report and parent proxy reports were excellent (ICC ≥ 0.80) for all scales with the exception of emotional functioning (ICC 0.53) which also was the scale with the lowest internal consistency in child self-report (α 0.60). Multiple regression analyses showed that worse parental mental health status correlated with worse child self-report and parent proxy report of children's HRQL. Children and their parents' reports on child's HRQL were in agreement. Decreased mental health in parents was associated with lower scores on parent proxy reports and child self-reports of HRQL after injury. The current investigation highlights the possible relationship between parent's mental health status and children's HRQL long after an injury, which should be considered in future investigations and in clinical care.

Presence and Quality of Kindergarten Children’s Friendships: Concurrent and Longitudinal Associations with Child Adjustment in the Early School Years

PubMed Central

Engle, Jennifer M.; McElwain, Nancy L.

2010-01-01

The presence and quality of friendships are posited to have developmental significance, yet little is known about the extent to which children without friends versus low-quality friendships compare on socioemotional adjustment. The current study utilized data from a subsample of 567 children (289 boys) participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Based on maternal reports at kindergarten, four friendship groups were formed: no friends, low quality, average quality, and high quality, and these groups were used to predict teacher-reported behavior problems and social skills concurrently (in kindergarten) and longitudinally (in first and third grade). Concurrently, low-quality friendships were associated with greater externalizing behavior, whereas high-quality friendships were associated with greater social skills. Longitudinally, having no friends in kindergarten was associated with higher levels of externalizing behavior for boys, but lower levels for girls. Children without friends also showed more internalizing problems at first grade. Lastly, having a high-quality friendship in kindergarten was associated with greater social skills in first and third grades, but only for boys. Results underscore high-quality friendship as a context for the development of social skills and indicate different trajectories of problem behavior for kindergarten children with no friends versus low-quality friendships. PMID:21822401

Cultural socialization and ethnic pride among Mexican-origin adolescents during the transition to middle school.

PubMed

Hernández, Maciel M; Conger, Rand D; Robins, Richard W; Bacher, Kelly Beaumont; Widaman, Keith F

2014-01-01

The relation between cultural socialization and ethnic pride during the transition to middle school was examined for 674 fifth-grade students (50% boys; Mage = 10.4 years) of Mexican origin. The theoretical model guiding the study proposes that parent-child relationship quality is a resource in the transmission of cultural values from parent to child and that parental warmth promotes the child's positive response to cultural socialization. Results showed that mother and father cultural socialization predicted youth ethnic pride and that this relation was stronger when parents were high in warmth. The findings highlight the positive role parent cultural socialization may play in the development of adolescent ethnic pride. Furthermore, findings reveal the role of parent-child relationship quality in this process. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

The Equitable Distribution of High-Quality Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bumgardner, Stan

2010-01-01

A new report by the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality (TQ Center) highlights efforts across the nation to address a key point in the No Child Left Behind law and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)--the equitable distribution of high-quality teachers across all schools. Research consistently has pointed to effective…

School/University Partnerships: An Agenda That Works.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florez, Viola E.

2002-01-01

Examines the importance of high quality teachers for urban schools, discussing best practices for high quality school- university partnerships and describing the University of New Mexico and Albuquerque Public Schools Partnership programs, which support collaboration as a strong component of university-level teacher preparation and provide teacher…

Factors associated with universal infant free school meal take up and refusal in a multicultural urban community.

PubMed

Goodchild, G A; Faulks, J; Swift, J A; Mhesuria, J; Jethwa, P; Pearce, J

2017-08-01

Universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) were introduced in September 2014 and are available to all key stage 1 (4-7 years) children attending state-maintained infant and primary schools in England. The present study aimed to investigate the school-based factors, child and family socio-demographic characteristics, and parental beliefs associated with UIFSM take up in an urban community. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was completed in October to November 2015, amongst parents whose children attended eligible schools in Leicester, England. A questionnaire about school meals was also completed by each school. Parents reported their child did not take (non-UIFSM, n = 159) or took (UIFSM, n = 517) a UIFSM on most days. The non-UIFSM group were more likely to be White-British, have a higher socio-economic status, have English as a first language, and involve their child in the decision over whether or not to take UIFSM, compared to the UIFSM group. Cluster analysis revealed that non-UIFSM parents were either concerned over quality of meals and what/how much their child ate, concerned only by what/how much their child ate or whether their child did not like the food provided. Two subsets of parents in the UIFSM group were either very positive about UIFSM or appeared to take meals because they were free. Schools used a variety of measures to increase and maintain UIFSM take up. Parents like to have control over what their child eats at school and children need to enjoy their school meals. Using a range of interventions to target subsets of parents may help local authorities, schools and caterers to increase UIFSM take up. © 2017 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Iowa Child Care Quality Rating System: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of Iowa's Child Care Quality Rating System prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile is divided into the following categories: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Indicators for Family Child Care Programs;…

Committed to High-Quality Education for All Children: An Interview with Hugh Price.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldberg, Mark F.

2000-01-01

Hugh Price has dedicated his career to achieving racial equality. The president of the National Urban League stresses each child's right to a high-quality preschool education, highly qualified teachers with high expectations, access to challenging courses of study, and organization of communities for learning, not just maintaining order. (MLH)

Family Child Care Marketing Guide: How To Build Enrollment and Promote Your Business as a Child Care Professional. Redleaf Business Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Copeland, Tom

Because family child care providers operate out of private homes and are largely invisible to parents, they are faced with a special challenge when they try to market their programs. Based on the premise that there is no contradiction between offering a high-quality home-based child care program and marketing it as a business, this book focuses on…

You Are What You Write: Improving the Quality of Your Written Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Rachel

2012-01-01

Good and plentiful communication often lands high on the list of priorities for families participating in child care programs. Conversely, poor and scarce communication often lands high on the list of reasons parents leave a particular child care program. There are many types of communication to consider when meeting families' needs. While in most…

Structural Predictors of Child Care Quality in Child Care Homes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burchinal, Margaret; Howes, Carollee; Kontos, Susan

2002-01-01

Used data from a family child care study and a licensing study to identify dimensions best predicting global day care quality in over 300 child care homes. Found that caregiver training most consistently predicted global quality. Found no reliable association between care quality and child-caregiver ratio or age-weighted group size recommendations…

Emotional Disclosure Through Journal Writing: Telehealth Intervention for Maternal Stress and Mother-Child Relationships.

PubMed

Whitney, Rondalyn V; Smith, Gigi

2015-11-01

This study examines emotional disclosure through the activity of journaling as a means of coping with maternal stress associated with parenting a child with disruptive behaviors. Through a randomized control and pre-test post-test study design of an online journal writing intervention, change to maternal stress and quality of mother-child relationship for children with ASD, ADHD and SPD was addressed. Behavioral symptoms were found to be the primary source of parenting stress for mothers and a significant relationship between child characteristics and maternal stress was identified. Emotional disclosure through the online journal writing program (especially in the presence of high disclosure of negative emotions) was shown to reduce maternal stress and improve the quality of mother-child relationship. These findings suggest cost-effective telehealth interventions may support maternal health. Important clinical implications are discussed.

The Evaluation of Child Care Centers and the "Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale": An Environmental Critique.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Gary T.

This paper questions the physical environmental adequacy of the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) developed by Thelma Harms, Debby Cryer, and Richard Clifford at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. ITERS is a 35-item scale designed to assess the quality of center-based infant and toddler care, and one of a family of child…

The Conduct of Quality Basic Combat Individual Training

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-03

exminaton of the concepts of child and adult learning . This examination was undertaken to discover the nature of these concepts and thereby to...Nqw York: Academic Press, Inc., 1969. Bruner , Jerome S. The Process of Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1977. Champagne, David W. and...reverse if necessary and iidentify by block number) FIELD GROUP $S-GEROUP j Individual Training Learning Theory Training Centers Initial Entry Training

Cluster-randomised controlled trials of individual and combined water, sanitation, hygiene and nutritional interventions in rural Bangladesh and Kenya: the WASH Benefits study design and rationale

PubMed Central

Arnold, Benjamin F; Null, Clair; Luby, Stephen P; Unicomb, Leanne; Stewart, Christine P; Dewey, Kathryn G; Ahmed, Tahmeed; Ashraf, Sania; Christensen, Garret; Clasen, Thomas; Dentz, Holly N; Fernald, Lia C H; Haque, Rashidul; Hubbard, Alan E; Kariger, Patricia; Leontsini, Elli; Lin, Audrie; Njenga, Sammy M; Pickering, Amy J; Ram, Pavani K; Tofail, Fahmida; Winch, Peter J; Colford, John M

2013-01-01

Introduction Enteric infections are common during the first years of life in low-income countries and contribute to growth faltering with long-term impairment of health and development. Water quality, sanitation, handwashing and nutritional interventions can independently reduce enteric infections and growth faltering. There is little evidence that directly compares the effects of these individual and combined interventions on diarrhoea and growth when delivered to infants and young children. The objective of the WASH Benefits study is to help fill this knowledge gap. Methods and analysis WASH Benefits includes two cluster-randomised trials to assess improvements in water quality, sanitation, handwashing and child nutrition—alone and in combination—to rural households with pregnant women in Kenya and Bangladesh. Geographically matched clusters (groups of household compounds in Bangladesh and villages in Kenya) will be randomised to one of six intervention arms or control. Intervention arms include water quality, sanitation, handwashing, nutrition, combined water+sanitation+handwashing (WSH) and WSH+nutrition. The studies will enrol newborn children (N=5760 in Bangladesh and N=8000 in Kenya) and measure outcomes at 12 and 24 months after intervention delivery. Primary outcomes include child length-for-age Z-scores and caregiver-reported diarrhoea. Secondary outcomes include stunting prevalence, markers of environmental enteropathy and child development scores (verbal, motor and personal/social). We will estimate unadjusted and adjusted intention-to-treat effects using semiparametric estimators and permutation tests. Ethics and dissemination Study protocols have been reviewed and approved by human subjects review boards at the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, and Innovations for Poverty Action. Independent data safety monitoring boards in each country oversee the trials. This study is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of California, Berkeley. Registration Trial registration identifiers (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov): NCT01590095 (Bangladesh), NCT01704105 (Kenya). PMID:23996605

The Development and Piloting of the ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool-Parent Version (ICAST-P)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Runyan, Desmond K.; Dunne, Michael P.; Zolotor, Adam J.; Madrid, Bernadette; Jain, Dipty; Gerbaka, Bernard; Menick, Daniel Mbassa; Andreva-Miller, Inna; Kasim, Mohammed Sham; Choo, Wan Yuen; Isaeva, Oksana; Macfarlane, Bonnie; Ramirez, Clemencia; Volkova, Elena; Youssef, Randa M.

2009-01-01

Objective: Child maltreatment is a problem that has longer recognition in the northern hemisphere and in high-income countries. Recent work has highlighted the nearly universal nature of the problem in other countries but demonstrated the lack of comparability of studies because of the variations in definitions and measures used. The International…

Parenting acceptance and commitment therapy: a randomised controlled trial of an innovative online course for families of children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Whittingham, Koa; Sheffield, Jeanie; Boyd, Roslyn N

2016-10-19

Cerebral palsy (CP) impacts on the entire family in a manner that is long-term, complex and multifactorial. In addition, the quality of the parent-child relationship impacts on many and varied child outcomes, making the provision of easily accessible and evidence-based support to parents of children with CP a priority. This paper reports the protocol of a randomised controlled trial of an innovative and translatable online intervention, parenting acceptance and commitment therapy (PACT), for families of children with CP. We predict that participating in the PACT programme will be associated with improvements in the parent-child relationship, in child functioning and in adjustment and quality of life for both parent and child. We aim to recruit 66 parents of children (2-10 years old) diagnosed with CP to this study. Families will be randomly assigned to two groups: wait-list control and PACT. PACT is a parenting intervention grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and developed into an online course 'PARENT101 Parenting with Purpose' using the edX platform. All participants will be offered PACT before completion of the study. Assessments will take place at baseline, following completion of PACT and at 6-month follow-up (retention) and will focus on the parent-child relationship, parent and child adjustment and parent and child quality of life. Analysis will follow standard methods for randomised controlled trials using general linear models, specifically analysis of variance or analysis of covariance. Ethics approvals have been obtained through the Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/15/QRCH/115) and The University of Queensland (2015001743). If efficacy is demonstrated, then the PARENT101 course has the potential to be disseminated widely in an accessible manner and at minimal cost. Further, the PACT framework may provide a blueprint for similar online courses with parents in a full range of contexts. ACTRN12616000351415; Pre-results. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Strategies to avoid the loss of developmental potential in more than 200 million children in the developing world.

PubMed

Engle, Patrice L; Black, Maureen M; Behrman, Jere R; Cabral de Mello, Meena; Gertler, Paul J; Kapiriri, Lydia; Martorell, Reynaldo; Young, Mary Eming

2007-01-20

This paper is the third in the Child Development Series. The first paper showed that more than 200 million children under 5 years of age in developing countries do not reach their developmental potential. The second paper identified four well-documented risks: stunting, iodine deficiency, iron deficiency anaemia, and inadequate cognitive stimulation, plus four potential risks based on epidemiological evidence: maternal depression, violence exposure, environmental contamination, and malaria. This paper assesses strategies to promote child development and to prevent or ameliorate the loss of developmental potential. The most effective early child development programmes provide direct learning experiences to children and families, are targeted toward younger and disadvantaged children, are of longer duration, high quality, and high intensity, and are integrated with family support, health, nutrition, or educational systems and services. Despite convincing evidence, programme coverage is low. To achieve the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty and ensuring primary school completion for both girls and boys, governments and civil society should consider expanding high quality, cost-effective early child development programmes.

Group Care for Young Children: Considerations for Child Care and Health Professionals, Public Policy Makers, and Parents. Pediatric Round Table: 12. Summary of a Conference (Key Biscayne, Florida, October 1986).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunzenhauser, Nina, Ed.; Caldwell, Bettye M., Ed.

Participants in this pediatric round table met to (l) detrivialize child care; (2) advance the concept of child care as a continuum of services; (3) establish the role of health care professionals in the design and implementation of high quality child care; and (4) develop action guidelines for use by professionals attempting to provide high…

Data Management and Data Quality in PERCH, a Large International Case-Control Study of Severe Childhood Pneumonia.

PubMed

Watson, Nora L; Prosperi, Christine; Driscoll, Amanda J; Higdon, Melissa M; Park, Daniel E; Sanza, Megan; DeLuca, Andrea N; Awori, Juliet O; Goswami, Doli; Hammond, Emily; Hossain, Lokman; Johnson, Catherine; Kamau, Alice; Kuwanda, Locadiah; Moore, David P; Neyzari, Omid; Onwuchekwa, Uma; Parker, David; Sapchookul, Patranuch; Seidenberg, Phil; Shamsul, Arifin; Siazeele, Kazungu; Srisaengchai, Prasong; Sylla, Mamadou; Levine, Orin S; Murdoch, David R; O'Brien, Katherine L; Wolff, Mark; Deloria Knoll, Maria

2017-06-15

The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study is the largest multicountry etiology study of pediatric pneumonia undertaken in the past 3 decades. The study enrolled 4232 hospitalized cases and 5325 controls over 2 years across 9 research sites in 7 countries in Africa and Asia. The volume and complexity of data collection in PERCH presented considerable logistical and technical challenges. The project chose an internet-based data entry system to allow real-time access to the data, enabling the project to monitor and clean incoming data and perform preliminary analyses throughout the study. To ensure high-quality data, the project developed comprehensive quality indicator, data query, and monitoring reports. Among the approximately 9000 cases and controls, analyzable laboratory results were available for ≥96% of core specimens collected. Selected approaches to data management in PERCH may be extended to the planning and organization of international studies of similar scope and complexity. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

THE QUALITY OF FATHER-CHILD ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE PLAY AND TODDLERS' AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN CHINA.

PubMed

Anderson, Sheila; Qiu, Wei; Wheeler, Shanalyn J

2017-11-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the quality of early father-child rough-and-tumble play (RTP) on toddler aggressive behaviors and more fully understand how child, mother, and father characteristics were associated with higher quality father-child RTP among contemporary urban Chinese families. Participants included 42 families in Changsha, China. Play observations of fathers and their children were coded for RTP quality. The specific RTP quality of father-child reciprocity of dominance was associated with fewer toddler aggressive behaviors, as rated by both fathers and mothers. Mothers' democratic parenting attitudes were associated with higher quality father-child RTP. These findings suggest that higher quality father-child RTP may be one way in which some fathers influence children's expression of aggressive behaviors, and the quality of father-child RTP may be influenced by the broader family, social, and cultural contexts. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Telepsychiatry with child welfare families referred to a family service agency.

PubMed

Keilman, Peggy

2005-02-01

A telepsychology and telepsychiatry service, using ISDN interactive video H.320, providing psychological consultations for the Family Resource Center in Farmington, New Mexico, was evaluated. During the first year of service, 56 individuals participated including University of New Mexico staff, Family Resource Center staff and clients. Consultations involved children from families referred by the Children, Youth and Family Department (CYFD) in New Mexico. Telemedicine was used in some child abuse cases. This study investigated whether the quality and acceptance of telemedicine consultations were comparable to face-to-face interactions in a group referred by a state child welfare agency. Participants received formal written consultation reports after the video conferencing sessions, which included a number of recommendations. Participants were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire to rate various aspects of videoconferencing. The participants rated the university staff as involved, enjoyed the Family Resource Center staff's presence, felt the procedure was useful for evaluation purposes, found the format allowed for discussions of problems, and felt that the format was useful when compared to face-to-face consultations. The participants also said they had followed up on many of the recommendations. Videoconferencing appears to be a viable approach for providing consultation for families referred by a state child welfare agency. Several participants rated the session as both educational and consultative compared to simply therapeutic.

Measuring effective coverage of curative child health services in rural Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

Koulidiati, Jean-Louis; Nesbitt, Robin C; Ouedraogo, Nobila; Hien, Hervé; Robyn, Paul Jacob; Compaoré, Philippe; Souares, Aurélia; Brenner, Stephan

2018-01-01

Objective To estimate both crude and effective curative health services coverage provided by rural health facilities to under 5-year-old (U5YO) children in Burkina Faso. Methods We surveyed 1298 child health providers and 1681 clinical cases across 494 primary-level health facilities, as well as 12 497 U5YO children across 7347households in the facilities’ catchment areas. Facilities were scored based on a set of indicators along three quality-of-care dimensions: management of common childhood diseases, management of severe childhood diseases and general service readiness. Linking service quality to service utilisation, we estimated both crude and effective coverage of U5YO children by these selected curative services. Results Measured performance quality among facilities was generally low with only 12.7% of facilities surveyed reaching our definition of high and 57.1% our definition of intermediate quality of care. The crude coverage was 69.5% while the effective coverages indicated that 5.3% and 44.6% of children reporting an illness episode received services of only high or high and intermediate quality, respectively. Conclusion Our study showed that the quality of U5YO child health services provided by primary-level health facilities in Burkina Faso was low, resulting in relatively ineffective population coverage. Poor adherence to clinical treatment guidelines combined with the lack of equipment and qualified clinical staff that performed U5YO consultations seemed to be contributors to the gap between crude and effective coverage. PMID:29858415

Tennessee Star-Quality Child Care Program: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of Tennessee's Star-Quality Child Care Program prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4)…

Oregon Child Care Quality Indicators Program: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of Oregon's Child Care Quality Indicators Program prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4)…

Character Development: Encouraging Self-Esteem & Self-Discipline in Infants, Toddlers, and Two-Year-Olds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, Polly

With the goal of maintaining settings most conducive to helping each child develop optimally, the essays in this book delve into realistic ways in which child care providers can move from providing inadequate or merely adequate day care to providing high quality center-based or family child care. Most of the 12 essays begin with a question or…

Perceived parent-child relational qualities and parental behavioral and psychological control in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L

2006-01-01

Chinese secondary school students (N = 3,017) were asked to respond to instruments measuring their perceived parent-child relational qualities (parental trust of the child, child's trust of parents, child's readiness to communicate with parents, and child's satisfaction with parental control), parental behavioral control (including indicators of knowledge, expectation, monitoring, discipline, and demandingness), and parental psychological control. Results showed that parental trust of the child and child's trust of parents were positively related to child's readiness to communicate with the parents and satisfaction with parental control. While parental trust of the child and child's trust of parents were basically negatively related to different aspects of behavioral control (except parental knowledge), readiness to communicate with the parents and satisfaction with parental control were positively associated with parental control. Parent-child relational quality measures were negatively related to psychological control. Relative to measures of parental behavioral control, parental psychological control was a stronger predictor of parent-child relational qualities. The present findings clarify the parent-child relational quality correlates of parental behavioral and psychological control.

Impact of the Journal of Child Neurology: 2002 data.

PubMed

Brumback, Roger A

2003-11-01

The Journal of Child Neurology (JCN) began in 1986 as a quarterly publication focused on child neurology and the related clinical pediatric neuroscience areas of pediatric neurosurgery, child psychiatry, pediatric neuroradiology, and developmental and behavioral pediatrics. As submitted material increased, JCN expanded in publication frequency and now appears monthly. Article quality has always been high and many articles have been frequently cited. Over the years, the ratings produced for the ISI Journal Citation Reports have identified JCN as a high-ranking pediatric journal based upon the impact factor value. Currently (year 2002 figures), JCN (with its impact factor of 1.338) ranks 24th out of 68 pediatric journals.

How the differential treatment of siblings is linked with parent-child relationship quality.

PubMed

Kowal, Amanda K; Krull, Jennifer L; Kramer, Laurie

2004-12-01

Little is currently known about the significance of parents' unequal treatment of siblings and their relationships with their children; for example, are high levels of differential treatment consistently indicative of poorer parent-child relationships? Associations among differential parenting practices, perceptions of the fairness of these practices, and parent-child relationship quality were assessed from the perspectives of adolescent siblings and their parents in 74 maritally intact families. Multilevel random coefficient modeling revealed that the magnitude of differential treatment was associated with more negative parent-child relationships only when adolescents perceived differential treatment to be unfair. Differential treatment judged to be fair is not linked with negative parent-child relationships. Results highlight the importance of examining all family members' viewpoints about the legitimacy of differential treatment and of encouraging family members to discuss their understanding of these events. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved).

Poor Infant Feeding Practices and High Prevalence of Malnutrition in Urban Slum Child Care Centres in Nairobi: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Mwase, Ivan; Mutoro, Antonina; Owino, Victor; Garcia, Ada L; Wright, Charlotte M

2016-02-01

Little is known about the style and quality of feeding and care provided in child day-care centres in slum areas. This study purposively sampled five day-care centres in Nairobi, Kenya, where anthropometric measurements were collected among 33 children aged 6-24 months. Mealtime interactions were further observed in 11 children from four centres, using a standardized data collection sheet. We recorded the child actions, such as mood, interest in food, distraction level, as well as caregiver actions, such as encouragement to eat, level of distraction and presence of neutral actions. Of the 33 children assessed, with a mean age of 15.9 ± 4.9 months, 14 (42%) were female. Undernutrition was found in 13 (39%) children with at least one Z score <-2 or oedema (2): height for age <-2 (11), weight for age <-2 (11), body mass index for age <-2 (4). Rates of undernutrition were highest (9 of 13; 69%) in children aged 18-24 months. Hand-washing before the meal was lacking in all centres. Caregivers were often distracted and rarely encouraged children to feed, with most children eating less than half of their served meal. Poor hygiene coupled with non-responsive care practices observed in the centres is a threat to child health, growth and development. © The Author [2015]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Parenting Intervention Combined With Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: A Trial With Families of Children With Cerebral Palsy.

PubMed

Whittingham, Koa; Sanders, Matthew R; McKinlay, Lynne; Boyd, Roslyn N

2016-06-01

To examine the effects of Stepping Stones Triple P (SSTP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on child functioning, quality of life, and parental adjustment. 67 parents (97.0% mothers) of children (64.2% male; mean age 5.3 ± 3.0 years) with cerebral palsy participated in a randomized controlled trial with three groups: wait-list control, SSTP, and SSTP + ACT. This article details the secondary outcomes. In comparison with wait-list, the SSTP + ACT group showed increased functional performance and quality of life as well as decreased parental psychological symptoms. No differences were found for parental confidence. No differences were found between SSTP and wait-list or between SSTP and SSTP + ACT. ACT-integrated parenting intervention may be an effective way to target child functioning, quality of life, and parental adjustment. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Cultural Socialization and Ethnic Pride Among Mexican-Origin Adolescents During the Transition to Middle School

PubMed Central

Hernández, Maciel M.; Conger, Rand D.; Robins, Richard W.; Bacher, Kelly Beaumont; Widaman, Keith F.

2013-01-01

The relation between cultural socialization and ethnic pride during the transition to middle school was examined for 674 5th grade students (50% boys; Mage = 10.4 years) of Mexican origin. The theoretical model guiding the study proposes that parent-child relationship quality is a resource in the transmission of cultural values from parent to child and that parental warmth promotes the child's positive response to cultural socialization. Results showed that mother and father cultural socialization predicted youth ethnic pride, and that this relation was stronger when parents were high in warmth. The findings highlight the positive role parent cultural socialization may play in the development of adolescent ethnic pride. Furthermore, findings reveal the role of parent-child relationship quality in this process. PMID:24117445

Relational Resources of a University as a Source of Education Quality Assurance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagdasaryan, Irina; Vasilyeva, Zoya; Almabekova, Olga

2015-01-01

This paper considers high quality educational services provided by a university being the highest priority and assumes relational resources as valuable sources that can facilitate and enhance quality assurance. Each university with a unique resource base is connected with a variety of entities--other universities, non-profit and for-profit…

What Is Quality Preschool? Fact Sheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Advocates for Children of New Jersey, 2010

2010-01-01

Children need quality early learning programs. This can be a child care center, a preschool or a Head Start program. Not all early learning programs provide the high quality children need. This paper presents questions that should be considered when looking for an early learning program.

The Pennsylvania State University Child Sexual Abuse Scandal: An Analysis of Institutional Factors Affecting Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holland, Alice R.

2015-01-01

The outcomes of The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) child sexual abuse scandal have left many scholars and individuals questioning the university's collective identity. The goal of this research was to uncover the dominant themes that describe a problematic institutional response to the child sexual abuse incidents in order to provide…

Louisiana Quality Start Child Care Rating System: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of Louisiana's Quality Start Child Care Rating System prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs;…

Family Day Care Provider Handbook

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 2006

2006-01-01

Family day care providers are responsible for creating a high-quality program where children have opportunities to grow, learn and thrive. Part of providing high-quality child care includes complying with the family day care regulations from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). This Handbook will help day care…

Resource factors for mental health resilience in early childhood: An analysis with multiple methodologies

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Given that relatively little is known about the development of resilience in early childhood, this longitudinal study aimed to identify preschool resource factors associated with young children’s mental health resilience to family adversity. Methods A community sample of 474 young Australian children was assessed in preschool (mean age 4.59 years, 49% male), and again two years later after their transition into formal schooling. At each assessment, standard questionnaires were used to obtain ratings from both parents and teachers about the quality of children’s relationships with parents and teachers, children’s self-concept and self-control, mental health (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), and family adversities (including stressful life events and socioeconomic disadvantage). Results Greater exposure to cumulative family adversities was associated with both greater teacher- and parent-reported child mental health difficulties two years later. Multiple methodologies for operationalizing resilience were used to identify resources associated with resilient mental health outcomes. Higher quality child–parent and child-teacher relationships, and greater child self-concept and self-control were associated with resilient mental health outcomes. With the exception of child-teacher relationships, these resources were also prospective antecedents of subsequent resilient mental health outcomes in children with no pre-existing mental health difficulties. Child–parent relationships and child self-concept generally had promotive effects, being equally beneficial for children facing both low- and high-adversity. Child self-control demonstrated a small protective effect on teacher-reported outcomes, with greater self-control conferring greater protection to children under conditions of high-adversity. Conclusions Findings suggest that early intervention and prevention strategies that focus on fostering child-adult relationship quality, self-concept, and self-control in young children may help build children’s mental health and their resilience to family adversities. PMID:23432929

Teacher Quality: Equalizing Educational Opportunities and Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sunderman, Gail L.; Kim, Jimmy

2005-01-01

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) teacher quality provisions recognize both the importance of teacher quality for improving student achievement and the unequal distribution of teachers across districts and schools. But the question of how to achieve the goal of a high quality teacher in every classroom is complicated because of the challenges of…

Systematic Review of Knowledge Translation Strategies to Promote Research Uptake in Child Health Settings.

PubMed

Albrecht, Lauren; Archibald, Mandy; Snelgrove-Clarke, Erna; Scott, Shannon D

2016-01-01

Strategies to assist evidence-based decision-making for healthcare professionals are crucial to ensure high quality patient care and outcomes. The goal of this systematic review was to identify and synthesize the evidence on knowledge translation interventions aimed at putting explicit research evidence into child health practice. A comprehensive search of thirteen electronic databases was conducted, restricted by date (1985-2011) and language (English). Articles were included if: 1) studies were randomized controlled trials (RCT), controlled clinical trials (CCT), or controlled before-and-after (CBA) studies; 2) target population was child health professionals; 3) interventions implemented research in child health practice; and 4) outcomes were measured at the professional/process, patient, or economic level. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed methodological quality. Study data were aggregated and analyzed using evidence tables. Twenty-one studies (13 RCT, 2 CCT, 6 CBA) were included. The studies employed single (n=9) and multiple interventions (n=12). The methodological quality of the included studies was largely moderate (n=8) or weak (n=11). Of the studies with moderate to strong methodological quality ratings, three demonstrated consistent, positive effect(s) on the primary outcome(s); effective knowledge translation interventions were two single, non-educational interventions and one multiple, educational intervention. This multidisciplinary systematic review in child health setting identified effective knowledge translation strategies assessed by the most rigorous research designs. Given the overall poor quality of the research literature, specific recommendations were made to improve knowledge translation efforts in child health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Long-term outcome of a randomized controlled universal prevention trial through a positive parenting program: is it worth the effort?

PubMed

Hahlweg, Kurt; Heinrichs, Nina; Kuschel, Annett; Bertram, Heike; Naumann, Sebastian

2010-05-16

Approximately 20% of children experience internalizing or externalizing DSM-IV-TR disorders. This prevalence rate cannot be reduced through treatment only. Effective preventive interventions are therefore urgently needed. The aim of the current investigation is to evaluate the two-year efficacy of the group Triple P parenting program administered universally for the prevention of child behavior problems. Based on their respective preschool, N = 280 families were randomly assigned either to the parent training or to the control group. The efficacy was analyzed using multi-source assessments, including questionnaires by mother and father, behavioral observation of mother-child interaction, and teacher evaluations. At the 2-year follow-up, both parents in the Triple P intervention reported significant reductions in dysfunctional parenting behavior, and mothers also an increase in positive parenting behavior. In addition, mothers reported significant reductions in internalizing and externalizing child behavior. Single-parent mothers in the Triple P intervention did not report significant changes in parenting or child problem behavior which is primarily due to inexplicable high positive effects in single parent mothers of the control group. Neither mother-child interactions nor teacher ratings yielded significant results. The results support the long-term efficacy of the Triple P - group program as a universal prevention intervention for changing parenting behavior in two-parent households, but not necessarily in single-parent mothers.

Family Rituals and Quality of Life in Children With Cancer and Their Parents: The Role of Family Cohesion and Hope.

PubMed

Santos, Susana; Crespo, Carla; Canavarro, M Cristina; Kazak, Anne E

2015-08-01

Family rituals are associated with adaptive functioning in pediatric illness, including quality of life (QoL). This article explores the role of family cohesion and hope as mediators of this association in children with cancer and their parents. Portuguese children with cancer (N = 389), on- and off-treatment, and one of their parents completed self-report measures. Structural equation modeling was used to examine direct and indirect links between family rituals and QoL. When children and parents reported higher levels of family rituals, they also reported more family cohesion and hope, which were linked to better QoL. At the dyadic level, children's QoL was related to parents' family rituals through the child's family cohesion. This model was valid across child's age-group, treatment status, and socioeconomic status. Family rituals are important in promoting QoL in pediatric cancer via family cohesion and hope individually and via family cohesion in terms of parent-child interactions. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Associations of Mothers’ Friendship Quality with Adolescents’ Friendship Quality and Emotional Adjustment

PubMed Central

Glick, Gary C.; Rose, Amanda J.; Swenson, Lance P.; Waller, Erika M.

2012-01-01

Little research has examined the association of parents’ friendships with adolescent’s well-being, perhaps because the association was considered too distal. However, developmental theories suggest that contexts in which parents, but not their children, are situated may be related to child development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; 1986). The current work examined associations between the quality of mothers’ own friendships and their adolescent children’s friendship quality and emotional adjustment. Fifth-, eighth-, and eleventh-graders (N = 172) whose mothers’ friendships were characterized by conflict and antagonism reported having friendships that were high in negative friendship qualities as well as elevated internalizing symptoms. These associations held after controlling for mother-child relationship quality, suggesting that mothers’ friendships may have a unique association with adolescents’ adjustment. PMID:24348001

Irie Classroom Toolbox: a study protocol for a cluster-randomised trial of a universal violence prevention programme in Jamaican preschools

PubMed Central

Baker-Henningham, Helen; Vera-Hernández, Marcos; Alderman, Harold; Walker, Susan

2016-01-01

Introduction We aim to determine the effectiveness of a school-based violence prevention programme implemented in Jamaican preschools, on reducing the levels of aggression among children at school, and violence against children by teachers. Methods and analysis This is a 2-arm, single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled trial with parallel assignment. Clusters are 76 preschools in Kingston, and all teachers and classrooms in the selected schools are included in the study. In addition, a random sample of up to 12 children in the 4-year-old classes have been selected for evaluation of child-level outcomes. The intervention involves training teachers in classroom behaviour management and in strategies to promote children's social-emotional competence. Training is delivered through five full-day workshops, monthly in-class coaching over 2 school terms, and weekly text messages. The primary outcome measures are: (1) observed levels of child aggression and (2) observed violence against children by teachers. Secondary outcomes include observations of the levels of children's prosocial behaviour and the quality of the classroom environment, teachers’ reports of their mental health, teacher-reported child mental health, direct tests of children's self-regulation and child attendance. Ethics and dissemination If this intervention were effective at improving the caregiving environment of young children in school, this would have significant implications for the prevention of child mental health problems, and prevention of violence against children in low and middle-income countries where services are often limited. The intervention is integrated into the school system and involves training existing staff, and thus, represents an appropriate strategy for large-scale implementation and benefits at the population level. Ethical consent for the study was given by the School of Psychology Ethics and Research Committee, Bangor University (ref: 2014-14167), and by the University of the West Indies Ethics Committee (ref: ECP 50,14/15). Trial registration number ISRCTN11968472; Pre-results. PMID:27165651

Parental Perceptions of Child Care Quality in Centre-Based and Home-Based Settings: Associations with External Quality Ratings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehrer, Joanne S.; Lemay, Lise; Bigras, Nathalie

2015-01-01

The current study examined how parental perceptions of child care quality were related to external quality ratings and considered how parental perceptions of quality varied according to child care context (home-based or centre-based settings). Parents of 179 4-year-old children who attended child care centres (n = 141) and home-based settings…

Assessing the Validity of the Qualistar Early Learning Quality Rating and Improvement System as a Tool for Improving Child-Care Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zellman, Gail L.; Perlman, Michal; Le, Vi-Nhuan; Setodji, Claude Messan

2008-01-01

As a result of the generally low quality of child care in the United States and the increased emphasis on accountability in education policy, quality rating systems (QRSs) are proliferating in the child-care arena. QRSs assess child-care providers on multiple dimensions of quality and integrate these assessments into an easily understood summary…

Investing in Our Children's Future: The Path to Quality Child Care through the Pennsylvania Child Care/Early Childhood Development Training System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iutcovich, Joyce; Fiene, Richard; Johnson, James; Koppel, Ross; Langan, Francine

This study identified training needs for Pennsylvania child care providers and assessed the impact of training, classroom/caregiver dynamics, and staff characteristics on child care quality. Participating were 29 family child care providers, 30 group homes, and 60 child care centers, stratified by type of site and geographic region. Quality of…

Imaging and Diagnosis of Physical Child Abuse.

PubMed

Johnson, Marlene M

2017-09-01

Child abuse involves grave and disturbing acts of violence that can have lasting physical and emotional consequences for children and their families. The diagnosis of child abuse is emotionally difficult for those involved, and an error in judgment either way can have a detrimental effect on the health and safety of the child. Physicians rely on the skills of the imaging team to produce high-quality images that assist in differentiating inflicted injuries from accidental trauma. This article explores the significance of imaging in child abuse by discussing the types of injuries that occur and the imaging studies that aid in diagnosing physical child abuse. ©2017 American Society of Radiologic Technologists.

Assessing diets of 3-year-old children: evaluation of an FFQ.

PubMed

Jarman, Megan; Fisk, Catherine M; Ntani, Georgia; Crozier, Sarah R; Godfrey, Keith M; Inskip, Hazel M; Cooper, Cyrus; Robinson, Sian M

2014-05-01

To evaluate the use of an administered eighty-item FFQ to assess nutrient intake and diet quality in 3-year-old children. Frequency of consumption and portion size of the foods listed on the FFQ during the 3 months preceding the interview were reported by the child's main caregiver; after the interview a 2 d prospective food diary (FD) was completed on behalf of the child. Nutrient intakes from the FFQ and FD were estimated using UK food composition data. Diet quality was assessed from the FFQ and FD according to the child's scores for a principal component analysis-defined dietary pattern ('prudent' pattern), characterised by high consumption of fruit, vegetables, water and wholemeal cereals. Southampton, UK. Children (n 892) aged 3 years in the Southampton Women's Survey. Intakes of all nutrients assessed by the FFQ were higher than FD estimates, but there was reasonable agreement in terms of ranking of children (range of Spearman rank correlations for energy-adjusted nutrient intakes, r s = 0·41 to 0·59). Prudent diet scores estimated from the FFQ and FD were highly correlated (r = 0·72). Some family and child characteristics appeared to influence the ability of the FFQ to rank children, most notably the number of child's meals eaten away from home. The FFQ provides useful information to allow ranking of children at this age with respect to nutrient intake and quality of diet, but may overestimate absolute intakes. Dietary studies of young children need to consider family and child characteristics that may impact on reporting error associated with an FFQ.

Investing in Our Future: A Guide to Child Care Financing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoney, Louise; Groginsky, Scott; Poppe, Julie

This book investigates the innovative ways being used to ensure and finance high quality care for children. Chapter 1, "Introduction," discusses the government's role in helping to structure, build, and finance the system, as well as financing strategies. Chapter 2, "Financing Child Care Supply," addresses center-based child…

Playgrounds for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frost, Joe L.; Dempsey, James D.

This paper offers practical assistance for the development of high quality playgrounds for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in child care. Discussion of the value of play in child development and the benefits of outdoor play is followed by a consideration of the ways children use playgrounds in exercise, construction, group and dramatic forms…

Contextualising ECEC Research: The Case of Slovenia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vidmar, Maša

2015-01-01

In the present study the longitudinal relations between quantity of centre-based child care (in months) and teacher reports of internalising and externalising behaviour in the first and second grades were examined for 325 Slovenian children. The socio-political context of affordable, accessible and homogenously high-quality child care is quite…

Infant temperament moderates relations between maternal parenting in early childhood and children's adjustment in first grade.

PubMed

Stright, Anne Dopkins; Gallagher, Kathleen Cranley; Kelley, Ken

2008-01-01

A differential susceptibility hypothesis proposes that children may differ in the degree to which parenting qualities affect aspects of child development. Infants with difficult temperaments may be more susceptible to the effects of parenting than infants with less difficult temperaments. Using latent change curve analyses to analyze data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care, the current study found that temperament moderated associations between maternal parenting styles during early childhood and children's first-grade academic competence, social skills, and relationships with teachers and peers. Relations between parenting and first-grade outcomes were stronger for difficult than for less difficult infants. Infants with difficult temperaments had better adjustment than less difficult infants when parenting quality was high and poorer adjustment when parenting quality was lower.

A mother-child intervention program in adolescent mothers and their children to improve maternal sensitivity, child responsiveness and child development (the TeeMo study): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Firk, Christine; Dahmen, Brigitte; Lehmann, Christin; Niessen, Anke; Koslowski, Julia; Rauch, Geraldine; Schwarte, Reinhild; Stich, Kerstin; Konrad, Kerstin; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate

2015-05-27

Children of adolescent mothers present a high-risk group for child neglect and maltreatment. Previous findings suggest that early interventions can reduce maltreatment by improving the quality of mother-child interaction, particularly maternal sensitivity. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effects of a mother-child intervention program using home visits and video-feedback regarding mother-child interaction (STEEP-b) plus psychiatric treatment of the mother in cases where mental illness is present compared with TAU (treatment as usual, that is, standardized support by the child welfare system) on enhancing maternal sensitivity and child responsiveness in adolescent, high-risk mothers. The second aim of the current project is to investigate behavioral and neural differences between adolescent and adult mothers at baseline and postintervention. This is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 120 high-risk adolescent mothers (<21 years old) and their 3- to 6-month-old children. Half of the participants will be randomized to receive STEEP-b in addition to their standard treatment for up to 12 to 18 sessions over 9 months. The other half will continue with treatment as usual. For further comparisons, 40 adult mothers with positive and negative rearing experiences (>25 years) will additionally be recruited to investigate behavioral and neural differences between the adolescent and adult group. Blind assessments will take place at T1 (pre-intervention), at the end of the 9-month intervention (T2, postintervention) and 6 months postintervention (T3, follow-up). Moderators of treatment outcomes and sociodemographic data will be assessed at T1. The primary outcome hypothesis is that STEEP-b added to treatment as usual will improve maternal sensitivity and child responsiveness compared with treatment as usual alone in high-risk adolescent mothers. The primary hypothesis will be evaluated at the end of the 9-month follow-up assessment based on the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is funded by the German Ministry for Research and Education (BMBF). Data collection started in October 2012. This is a randomized controlled trial that evaluates the effects of an early intervention program (STEEP-b) on the quality of mother-child interaction and child development in adolescent, high-risk mothers. DRKS00004409 (27 September 2012).

Preparing and Licensing High Quality Teachers in Pacific Region Jurisdictions. Issues & Answers. REL 2007-No. 031

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heine, Hilda C.; Emesiochl, Masa Akii

2007-01-01

The provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 for teacher quality direct that all students in U.S. public schools be taught by highly qualified teachers. Although the Pacific Region entities are trying to meet this teacher-quality mandate, most are still far from fulfilling the minimum education requirements for their teachers. By…

Is the secure base phenomenon evident here, there, and anywhere? A cross-cultural study of child behavior and experts' definitions.

PubMed

Posada, German; Lu, Ting; Trumbell, Jill; Kaloustian, Garene; Trudel, Marcel; Plata, Sandra J; Peña, Paola P; Perez, Jennifer; Tereno, Susana; Dugravier, Romain; Coppola, Gabrielle; Constantini, Alessandro; Cassibba, Rosalinda; Kondo-Ikemura, Kiyomi; Nóblega, Magaly; Haya, Ines M; Pedraglio, Claudia; Verissimo, Manuela; Santos, Antonio J; Monteiro, Ligia; Lay, Keng-Ling

2013-01-01

The evolutionary rationale offered by Bowlby implies that secure base relationships are common in child-caregiver dyads and thus, child secure behavior observable across diverse social contexts and cultures. This study offers a test of the universality hypothesis. Trained observers in nine countries used the Attachment Q-set to describe the organization of children's behavior in naturalistic settings. Children (N = 547) were 10-72 months old. Child development experts (N = 81) from all countries provided definitions of optimal child secure base use. Findings indicate that children from all countries use their mother as a secure base. Children's organization of secure base behavior was modestly related to each other both within and across countries. Experts' descriptions of the optimally attached child were highly similar across cultures. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Parent-child interaction in motor speech therapy.

PubMed

Namasivayam, Aravind Kumar; Jethava, Vibhuti; Pukonen, Margit; Huynh, Anna; Goshulak, Debra; Kroll, Robert; van Lieshout, Pascal

2018-01-01

This study measures the reliability and sensitivity of a modified Parent-Child Interaction Observation scale (PCIOs) used to monitor the quality of parent-child interaction. The scale is part of a home-training program employed with direct motor speech intervention for children with speech sound disorders. Eighty-four preschool age children with speech sound disorders were provided either high- (2×/week/10 weeks) or low-intensity (1×/week/10 weeks) motor speech intervention. Clinicians completed the PCIOs at the beginning, middle, and end of treatment. Inter-rater reliability (Kappa scores) was determined by an independent speech-language pathologist who assessed videotaped sessions at the midpoint of the treatment block. Intervention sensitivity of the scale was evaluated using a Friedman test for each item and then followed up with Wilcoxon pairwise comparisons where appropriate. We obtained fair-to-good inter-rater reliability (Kappa = 0.33-0.64) for the PCIOs using only video-based scoring. Child-related items were more strongly influenced by differences in treatment intensity than parent-related items, where a greater number of sessions positively influenced parent learning of treatment skills and child behaviors. The adapted PCIOs is reliable and sensitive to monitor the quality of parent-child interactions in a 10-week block of motor speech intervention with adjunct home therapy. Implications for rehabilitation Parent-centered therapy is considered a cost effective method of speech and language service delivery. However, parent-centered models may be difficult to implement for treatments such as developmental motor speech interventions that require a high degree of skill and training. For children with speech sound disorders and motor speech difficulties, a translated and adapted version of the parent-child observation scale was found to be sufficiently reliable and sensitive to assess changes in the quality of the parent-child interactions during intervention. In developmental motor speech interventions, high-intensity treatment (2×/week/10 weeks) facilitates greater changes in the parent-child interactions than low intensity treatment (1×/week/10 weeks). On one hand, parents may need to attend more than five sessions with the clinician to learn how to observe and address their child's speech difficulties. On the other hand, children with speech sound disorders may need more than 10 sessions to adapt to structured play settings even when activities and therapy materials are age-appropriate.

[The placement courses and the subjective quality of life of 6- to 11-year-old children living in child welfare institutions].

PubMed

Bacro, F; Rambaud, A; Humbert, C; Sellenet, C

2015-10-01

Besides diseases, the concept of quality of life is increasingly used to account for the consequences of other vulnerability situations that may be encountered by individuals, including young children. However, very few studies have examined children's perception of their quality of life in the context of child welfare and protection, and they yielded mixed results. The objectives of this study were (1) to compare the subjective quality of life of children placed in institution with that of children living in their families, by controlling for child sex, age, socioeconomic and familial status, and (2) to examine its relations with their placement course in the child welfare system. The sample of this study was composed of 56 children aged 6 to 11, 28 of which were placed in a child welfare institution. Information about the placement course of institutionalized children was given by their social workers and the quality of life of all participants was assessed with the AUQUEI questionnaire. This self-report, which is based on children's conception of their quality of life, allows assessment of four distinct dimensions in addition to the overall score: leisure, performances, relations and family life, and separation. According to the results, the quality of life of children placed in institutions did not differ from that of children living in their families. However, its perception was closely related to the placement course of institutionalized children in the child welfare system. Whereas maltreated children obtained lower overall and performance scores than their neglected peers, children placed in foster families before institution had a poorer perception of their quality of life in the domains of family life and separations. These results are interpreted in light of attachment research and theory. Indeed, the relations between children's quality of life and their placement course could be explained by their high level of attachment disorganization. Finally, the results of this study suggested that children were well aware of their difficulties and that they can easily be identified by directly assessing the children's quality of life. Copyright © 2014 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

High-risk diagnosis, social stress, and parent-child relationships: A moderation model.

PubMed

Bentley, Eryn; Millman, Zachary B; Thompson, Elizabeth; Demro, Caroline; Kline, Emily; Pitts, Steven C; DeVylder, Jordan E; Smith, Melissa Edmondson; Reeves, Gloria; Schiffman, Jason

2016-07-01

Stress is related to symptom severity among youth at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis, although this relation may be influenced by protective factors. We explored whether the association of CHR diagnosis with social stress is moderated by the quality of parent-child relationships in a sample of 96 (36 CHR; 60 help-seeking controls) adolescents and young adults receiving mental health services. We examined self-reported social stress and parent-child relationships as measured by the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2), and determined CHR status from the clinician-administered Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndrome (SIPS). The social stress subscale, part of the clinical domain of the BASC-2, assesses feelings of stress and tension in personal relationships and the relations with parents subscale, part of the adaptive domain of the BASC-2, assesses perceptions of importance in family and quality of parent-child relationship. There was a modest direct relation between risk diagnosis and social stress. Among those at CHR, however, there was a significant relation between parent-child relationships and social stress (b=-0.73, t[92]=-3.77, p<0.001, f(2)=0.15) that was not observed among non-CHR individuals, suggesting that a positive parent-child relationship may be a protective factor against social stress for those at risk for psychosis. Findings provide additional evidence to suggest that interventions that simultaneously target both social stress and parent-child relationships might be relevant for adolescents and young adults at clinical high-risk for psychosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quality in Family Child Care Settings: The Relationship between Provider Educational Experiences and Global Quality Scores in a Statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallam, Rena A.; Bargreen, Kaitlin N.; Ridgley, Robyn

2013-01-01

This study is a secondary analysis of a statewide sample of licensed family child care providers in the Tennessee Child Care Evaluation and Report Card Program ("N"?=?1,145) that describes the general quality of family child care programs in the state and examines the relationships between provider education and global quality. Study…

Knowledge Translation Efforts in Child and Youth Mental Health: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

SCHACHTER, HOWARD M.; BENNETT, LINDSAY M.; McGOWAN, JESSIE; LY, MYLAN; WILSON, ANGELA; BENNETT, KATHRYN; BUCHANAN, DON H.; FERGUSSON, DEAN; MANION, IAN

2012-01-01

The availability of knowledge translation strategies that have been empirically studied and proven useful is a critical prerequisite to narrowing the research-to-practice gap in child and youth mental health. Through this review the authors sought to determine the current state of scientific knowledge of the effectiveness of knowledge translation approaches in child and youth mental health by conducting a systematic review of the research evidence. The findings and quality of the 12 included studies are discussed. Future work of high methodological quality that explores a broader range of knowledge translation strategies and practitioners to which they are applied and that also attends to implementation process is recommended. PMID:22830938

Alcohol-specific parenting, adolescents' self-control, and alcohol use: a moderated mediation model.

PubMed

Koning, Ina M; van den Eijnden, Regina J J M; Vollebergh, Wilma A M

2014-01-01

There is convincing evidence that parental rules about alcohol are important in curbing adolescents' alcohol use. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which the direct link between alcohol-specific parenting and alcohol use is obtained. In this study, we investigated the mediating effect of adolescent self-control on the relationship between alcohol-specific rules and adolescents' drinking behavior and whether this mediation effect depends on the level of quality of communication. A total of 883 adolescents participated in this longitudinal study at ages 13, 14, and 15 years. Strict rules predicted lower rates of drinking, but no direct effect of the quality of communication on adolescents' alcohol use was found. A higher level of self-control was related to lower rates of drinking in adolescents. The indirect effect of rules about alcohol through adolescents' self-control was statistically significant, yet only in adolescents with high qualitative parent-child communication about alcohol. In adolescents with low quality of parent-child communication, self-control was not related to drinking. These findings imply that strict rule setting in combination with qualitative parent-child communication is an important target for prevention. In addition, findings point at the importance of high qualitative parent-child communication for adolescents' motivation to engage in self-control to avoid drinking.

PERCH in Perspective: What Can It Teach Us About Pneumonia Etiology in Children?

PubMed

Klugman, Keith P; Rodgers, Gail L

2017-06-15

The pneumonia team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation congratulates the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study on delivering on their grant to collect high-quality data from thousands of children with World Health Organization-defined severe and very severe pneumonia and from controls in 9 diverse sites in 7 low- and middle-income countries. This supplement sets the foundation to understanding this complex study by providing an in-depth description of the study methodology, including discussion of key aspects such as antibiotic pretreatment, chest radiograph interpretation, utility of induced sputum in children, measurement of pathogen density, and use of C-reactive protein, and how these affect pneumonia etiology. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Group Family Day Care Provider Handbook

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 2006

2006-01-01

Group family day care providers need to create high-quality programs where children have opportunities to grow, learn and thrive. Part of providing high-quality child care includes complying with the group family day care regulations from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). This Handbook will help day care providers:…

Supervisory needs of research doctoral students in a university teaching hospital setting.

PubMed

Caldwell, Patrina Hy; Oldmeadow, Wendy; Jones, Cheryl A

2012-10-01

Teaching hospitals affiliated with universities are now common sites for research higher degree supervision. We hypothesised that the hospital environment poses unique challenges to supervision compared with the traditional university research institute setting. This study aimed to identify and rank important supervision issues in a clinical setting from the students' perspective. Using the Delphi method to explore issues and facilitate consensus, small group discussions were conducted with 10 research doctoral students from a tertiary teaching hospital. We identified supervision issues that are unique to the hospital-based context. These include the demands placed on supervisors combining clinical and supervisory roles, the challenges of academic medical/scientific writing and career issues for students who are already established in their professions. Other issues identified, common to all doctoral students, include differing expectations between students and supervisors (with students wanting support for their career plans, training in research skills and increasing autonomy and responsibility), supervisor access, quality and frequency of meetings, lack of training in writing and dealing with conflicts. Our research identified that postgraduate students of supervisors who combine clinical and supervisory roles report significant issues with supervision, some of which are unique to the clinical setting. Clinician researchers who supervise postgraduate students need to balance clinical and supervisory responsibilities, identify and negotiate student expectations early in candidature and provide career counselling to students who are already highly experienced. Furthermore, clinician supervisors should undertake postgraduate supervisor training programme tailored to the hospital setting to better support their students. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2012 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Parental and Child Psychopathology: Moderated Mediation by Gender and Parent-Child Relationship Quality.

PubMed

Franz, Annabel O; McKinney, Cliff

2018-03-26

Previous literature has not examined the processes underlying the relations among parent-child relationship quality, parental psychopathology, and child psychopathology in the context of gender. Further, research examining these variables in emerging adulthood is lacking. The current study examined whether parent-child relationship quality would mediate the relation between parental and child psychopathology, and whether gender moderated these associations. Participants were emerging adults (N = 665) who reported on perceptions of their parents' and their own psychological problems as well as their parent-child relationship quality. Results indicated that the relation between parental internalizing problems and parent-child relationship quality was positive for males, and that mother-child relationship quality was related positively to psychological problems in males. This suggests that sons may grow closer to their parents (particularly their mother) who are exhibiting internalizing problems; in turn, this enmeshed relationship may facilitate transmission of psychopathology. Mediational paths were conditional upon gender, suggesting moderated mediation. Overall, the current study emphasizes that the complexities of parenting must be understood in the context of gender. Further, the mother-son dyad may particularly warrant further attention.

Links between Marital Quality, the Mother-Child Relationship and Child Behavior: A Multi-Level Modeling Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mark, Katharine M.; Pike, Alison

2017-01-01

We investigated the association between marital quality and child behavior, assessing mother-child relationship quality as a potential mediator. The sample included 78 mothers with two target children (mean ages = 9.82 and 12.05 years, respectively). Mothers reported on their children's behavior as well as their marital quality, while each child…

Quality in Family Child Care Networks: An Evaluation of All Our Kin Provider Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porter, Toni; Reiman, Kayla; Nelson, Christina; Sager, Jessica; Wagner, Janna

2016-01-01

This article presents findings from a quasi-experimental evaluation of quality with a sample of 28 family child care providers in the All Our Kin Family Child Care Network, a staffed family child care network which offers a range of services including relationship-based intensive consultation, and 20 family child care providers who had no…

Influence of Structural Features on Portuguese Toddler Child Care Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pessanha, Manuela; Aguiar, Cecilia; Bairrao, Joaquim

2007-01-01

Whereas child care quality has been extensively studied in the U.S., there is much less information about the quality of child care in other countries. With one of the highest maternal employment rates in Europe, it is important to examine child care in Portugal. Thirty toddler classrooms in child care centers were observed. The purpose of this…

Depression among Migrant and Left-Behind Children in China in Relation to the Quality of Parent-Child and Teacher-Child Relationships.

PubMed

Guo, Jing; Ren, Xuezhu; Wang, Xiaohua; Qu, Zhiyong; Zhou, Qianyun; Ran, Chun; Wang, Xia; Hu, Juan

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine rates of depression among migrant children (MC) and left-behind children (LBC) as compared to non-left-behind children (NLBC) and also to examine the relationship between depression among these children and the quality of their parent-child and teacher-child relationships. This study collected data from a large sample of 3,759 children aged from 8 to 17 years, including 824 who had been left behind by one parent (LBCO), 423 who had been left behind by both parents (LBCB), 568 MC and 1944 NLBC. Children's Depression Inventory-Short Form was used to measure child depression. Parent-Child Relationship Scale (PCRS) and Teacher-Child Relationship Scale (TCRS) were used to measure the quality of parent-child and teacher-child relationships, respectively. The results showed that the prevalence of depression was 10.5% among NLBC, 13.1% among LBCO, 16.1% among LBCB, and 20.1% among MC. Depression was related to parent-child relationship quality and teacher-child relationship quality. Negative parent-child relationship was more relevant to depression than negative teacher-child relationship among LBCB, while negative teacher-child relationship was the most correlated with depression among MC.

Depression among Migrant and Left-Behind Children in China in Relation to the Quality of Parent-Child and Teacher-Child Relationships

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaohua; Qu, Zhiyong; Zhou, Qianyun; Ran, Chun; Wang, Xia; Hu, Juan

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine rates of depression among migrant children (MC) and left-behind children (LBC) as compared to non-left-behind children (NLBC) and also to examine the relationship between depression among these children and the quality of their parent-child and teacher-child relationships. This study collected data from a large sample of 3,759 children aged from 8 to 17 years, including 824 who had been left behind by one parent (LBCO), 423 who had been left behind by both parents (LBCB), 568 MC and 1944 NLBC. Children’s Depression Inventory–Short Form was used to measure child depression. Parent-Child Relationship Scale (PCRS) and Teacher-Child Relationship Scale (TCRS) were used to measure the quality of parent-child and teacher-child relationships, respectively. The results showed that the prevalence of depression was 10.5% among NLBC, 13.1% among LBCO, 16.1% among LBCB, and 20.1% among MC. Depression was related to parent-child relationship quality and teacher-child relationship quality. Negative parent-child relationship was more relevant to depression than negative teacher-child relationship among LBCB, while negative teacher-child relationship was the most correlated with depression among MC. PMID:26719895

Cortisol Patterns at Home and Child Care: Afternoon Differences and Evening Recovery in Children Attending Very High Quality Full-Day Center-Based Child Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watamura, Sarah E.; Kryzer, Erin M.; Robertson, Steven S.

2008-01-01

Previous work has found that many young children show different patterns of production of the hormone cortisol, which is sensitive to stress and challenge, on days when they are at child care compared with days when they are at home. At home, preschool age children typically show a decreasing pattern of cortisol production across the day which is…

Is family planning an economic decision?

PubMed

Wunderink, S R

1995-09-01

This study examines economic models of household choice and the role of economic factors in determining the timing of births. A static economic model is presented and tested with data from the Netherlands. After the availability of contraceptives, the family size variable shifted from being an exogenous to an endogenous one, because births could be regulated. Costs of childbearing were construed to have maintenance costs for parents and society, attendance costs of care, and intangible costs such as anxiety or personal freedom. Benefits were intangible ones, such as joy and happiness; income; public benefits; and attendance benefits. Intangible benefits enlarged the utility of children, but maintenance costs diminished resources available for consumption. Child quality was a product of market goods purchased by parents and others and household labor. Household time allocation varied with child's age. Private responsibility for children varied by country. Quality of child care varied between countries and over time. Quality was dependent upon economies of scale, variable costs by the age of the child, variable time commitments by age of the child, and market substitutes for private child care. Higher income families spent more money but less time on children. It is pointed out that Becker's model explained number of children, but not timing of births. Postponement of birth was unlikely for those with a limited education, an unpleasant job, and low wages. When the advantages and disadvantages of having a baby were positive, spouses or single women with a high subjective preference were expected to bear a child as soon as possible. Government policy can affect the average family size by increasing or decreasing the financial and/or time burden of children. Postponement may be chosen based on long term analysis of a couple's future, the formation and use of capital, and/or high subjective time preference. Before and after first birth are different frames of reference for couples. Before the birth, the future may be vague. After the birth, life without a child becomes unimaginable.

Incorporating elements of social franchising in government health services improves the quality of infant and young child feeding counselling services at commune health centres in Vietnam.

PubMed

Nguyen, Phuong H; Kim, Sunny S; Keithly, Sarah C; Hajeebhoy, Nemat; Tran, Lan M; Ruel, Marie T; Rawat, Rahul; Menon, Purnima

2014-12-01

Although social franchising has been shown to enhance the quality of reproductive health services in developing countries, its effect on nutrition services remains unexamined. This study assessed the effects of incorporating elements of social franchising on shaping the quality of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) counselling facilities and services in Vietnam. Process-related data collected 12 months after the launch of the first franchises were used to compare randomly assigned Alive & Thrive-supported health facilities (AT-F, n = 20) with standard facilities (SF, n = 12) across three dimensions of service quality: 'structure', 'process' and 'outcome' that capture the quality of facilities, service delivery, and client perceptions and use, respectively. Data collection included facility assessments (n = 32), staff surveys (n = 96), counselling observations (n = 137), client exit interviews (n = 137) and in-depth interviews with mothers (n = 48). Structure: AT-F were more likely to have an unshared, well-equipped room for nutrition counselling than SF (65.0% vs 10.0%). Compared with SF providers, AT-F staff had better IYCF knowledge (mean score 9.9 vs 8.8, range 0-11 for breastfeeding; mean score 3.6 vs 3.2, range 0-4 for complementary feeding). AT-F providers also demonstrated significantly better interpersonal communication skills (score 9.6 vs 5.1, range 0-13) and offered more comprehensive counselling sessions. Overall utilization of franchises was low (10%). A higher proportion of pregnant women utilized franchise services (48.9%), compared with mothers with children 6-23.9 months (1.4%). There was no quantitative difference in client satisfaction with counselling services between AT-F and SF, but franchise users praised the AT-F for problem solving related to child feeding. Incorporating elements of social franchising significantly enhances the quality of IYCF counselling services within government primary healthcare facilities, particularly their structural and process attributes. Provided that service utilization is improved through demand generation, this model has the potential to impact IYCF practices and child nutrition. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2013; all rights reserved.

The Demand for Child Care Quality. An Hedonic Price Theory Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagy, Alison P.

1998-01-01

An implicit price for child care staff-to-child ratio was used to study demand for child care quality. Direct purchase-of-service contracts or vouchers, which subsidize only providers meeting state regulations, effectively lower implicit price and have little influence on the demand for quality. (Author/SK)

Parent Involvement in Child Care Settings: Conceptual and Measurement Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zellman, Gail L.; Perlman, Michal

2006-01-01

This paper discusses the conceptualization and measurement of Parent Child Care Involvement (PCCI) and questions whether PCCI should be included in high-stakes quality ratings. It presents data on several PCCI measures, including one used by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Parent Caregiver Relationship Scale…

When Directors Leave: The Causes and Consequences of Center Administrative Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitebook, Marcy; Sakai, Laura

2004-01-01

Policymakers and researchers have focused attention on the significant role that directors play in building and sustaining high-quality child care programs. However, there has been limited focus on director turnover and its implications for programs. This article summarizes findings from the longitudinal study, "Then and Now: Changes in Child Care…

Employers and Family Day Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Pat

This paper provides employers with critical information about family day care, the most widely used type of out-of-home care for infants and toddlers in the United States. Employers who are concerned about honoring parents' choice of child care, committed to high quality child care, and dedicated to using resources efficiently, will be pleasantly…

Transfer and Semantic Universals in the L2 Acquisition of the English Article System by Child L2 Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morales-Reyes, Alexandra; Soler, Inmaculada Gómez

2016-01-01

L2 learners' problems with English articles have been linked to learners' L1 and their access to universal semantic features (e.g., definiteness and specificity). Studies suggest that L2 adults rely on their L1 knowledge, while child L2 learners rely more on their access to semantic universals. The present study investigates whether child L2…

Differential Susceptibility to Long-Term Effects of Quality of Child Care on Externalizing Behavior in Adolescence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belsky, Jay; Pluess, Michael

2012-01-01

Much research on the quality of child care reveals it--in the case of low-quality child care--to be related to poorer child functioning, net of confounding factors, perhaps especially in the case of cognitive-linguistic performance. Recent work using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early…

Cultural considerations and child maltreatment: in search of universal principles.

PubMed

Kolhatkar, Gauri; Berkowitz, Carol

2014-10-01

Cultural diversity poses challenges within the health care setting, particularly regarding the question of how health professionals can resolve the tension between respecting cultural norms or child-rearing practices and the importance of determining what constitutes harm and child maltreatment. Cultural competency and respect for cultural diversity does not imply universal tolerance of all practices. The United Nations provides a standard of universal child rights, protecting them from harmful practices. Pediatric providers must respect cross-cultural differences while maintaining legal and ethical standards of safety and wellbeing for children, promoting evidence-based prevention of maltreatment, and advocating for child wellness across all cultures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pediatric Food Allergies and Psychosocial Functioning: Examining the Potential Moderating Roles of Maternal Distress and Overprotection.

PubMed

Chow, Candice; Pincus, Donna B; Comer, Jonathan S

2015-01-01

Identify factors associated with maternal perceptions of health-related quality of life (QoL) among youth with food allergies (FA), and identify maternal factors that may moderate relationships between FA-related challenges and child QoL. In all, 533 mothers of children with FA completed measures assessing characteristics of their child's FA, maternal perceptions of child QoL, maternal psychological distress, and maternal overprotection. FA severity, maternal psychological distress, and overprotection were significantly associated with maternal reports of poorer child functioning and/or poorer QoL among youth with FA. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed an FA severity by maternal distress interaction in the prediction of child FA-related anxiety; children of higher stress mothers showed a stronger link between auto-injector use and anxiety than children of lower stress mothers. When identifying youth with FA who are at risk for low QoL, it is important to assess history of FA-related challenges, parental psychological distress, and overprotection. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Does the use of the revised psychosocial assessment tool (PATrev) result in improved quality of life and reduced psychosocial risk in Canadian families with a child newly diagnosed with cancer?

PubMed

Barrera, M; Hancock, K; Rokeach, A; Atenafu, E; Cataudella, D; Punnett, A; Johnston, D; Cassidy, M; Zelcer, S; Silva, M; Jansen, P; Bartels, U; Nathan, P C; Shama, W; Greenberg, C

2014-02-01

Early psychosocial screening may guide interventions and ameliorate the adverse psychosocial effects of childhood cancer. The revised psychosocial assessment tool provides risk information - Universal (typical distress), Targeted (additional specific distress), and Clinical (severe distress) - about the child with cancer and his or her family. This pilot study investigated the benefits of providing a summary of family psychosocial risk information to the medical team treating the newly diagnosed child (Experimental Group, EG). We conducted a pilot randomized control trial with a sample of 67 parents, comparing the EG to the control group (CG) on parental perception of family psychosocial difficulties (revised psychosocial assessment tool risk levels), child behavior (behavior assessment scale for children-2), pediatric quality of life (PedsQL), and parental anxiety (state-anxiety scale of the state-trait anxiety inventory ), 2-4 weeks after diagnosis (Time 1) and 6 months later (Time 2). Compared to the CG, participants in the EG had significantly reduced targeted and clinical risk (p < 0.001), and improved pain related PedsQL at Time 2 (p < 0.05). Scores for PedsQL total and nearly all subscales improved over time in both groups (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). No changes in behavior scores were noted. Preliminary findings suggest that providing a summary of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool to the treating team shortly after diagnosis may help reduce family wide psychosocial risk 6 months later and improve quality of life related to pain for children who are undergoing treatment for cancer. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Trauma-related symptoms in neglected preschoolers and affective quality of mother-child communication.

PubMed

Milot, Tristan; St-Laurent, Diane; Ethier, Louise S; Provost, Marc A

2010-11-01

This study (a) assessed whether child neglect is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative symptoms in the preschool period and (b) examined the role of quality of mother-child affective communication in the development of trauma-related symptoms among neglected children. Participants were 33 neglected and 72 non-neglected preschoolers (mean age = 60 months). Neglected children were recruited from the Child Protection Agencies. Neglected and non-neglected children victims of other form of abuse were excluded from the study. Trauma symptoms were evaluated through mother and preschool teacher reports. Quality of mother-child affective communication was assessed in a lab visit during an unstructured task. According to teachers, neglected children displayed more PTSD and dissociative symptoms than non-neglected children. Quality of mother-child communication was lower in neglected dyads. Mother-child affective communication predicted teacher-reported child trauma symptomatology, over and above child neglect. Discussion focuses on the traumatic nature of child neglect and the underlying parent-child relational processes.

Narrative Structure and Emotional References in Parent-Child Reminiscing: Associations with Child Gender, Temperament, and the Quality of Parent-Child Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bost, Kelly K.; Choi, Eunsil; Wong, Maria S.

2010-01-01

The present research examined child gender, temperament, and the quality of parent-child interactions as predictors of narrative style and references to emotion during mother-child and father-child reminiscing. Although models predicting parents' narrative styles were non-significant, results revealed significant interactions between parental…

How Can Data Drive Policy and Practice in Child Welfare? Making the Link in Canada.

PubMed

Fallon, Barbara; Filippelli, Joanne; Black, Tara; Trocmé, Nico; Esposito, Tonino

2017-10-14

Formal university-child welfare partnerships offer a unique opportunity to begin to fill the gaps in the child welfare knowledge base and link child welfare services to the realities of practice. With resources from a knowledge mobilization grant, a formal partnership was developed between the University of Toronto, clinicians, policy analysts, and researchers from child welfare agencies across Ontario. The key objectives of the grant included: (1) enhancing the capacity of service providers to access and analyze child welfare data to inform service and policy decisions; (2) integrating clinical expertise in service and policy decisions; and (3) developing a joint research agenda addressing high-priority knowledge gaps. This partnership was an opportunity to advance the evidence base with respect to service provision in Ontario and to create a culture of knowledge and evidence that would eventually support more complex research initiatives. Administrative data was analyzed for this partnership through the Ontario Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (OCANDS)-the first child welfare data system in Ontario to track child welfare-involved children and their families. Child welfare agencies identified recurrence as an important priority and agency-driven analyses were subsequently conducted on OCANDS generated recurrence Service Performance Indicators (SPI's). Using an urgent versus chronic investigative taxonomy for analyses, findings revealed that the majority of cases did not recur within 12 months and cases identified as chronic needs are more likely to return to the attention of child welfare authorities. One of the key outcomes of the partnership - helping agencies to understand their administrative data is described, as are considerations for next steps for future partnerships and research.

Alternative Pathways in Family Child Care Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelton, Robyn E.; Talan, Teri N.; Bloom, Paula J.

2013-01-01

As research continues to underscore the positive impact high-quality early childhood programs have on young children, numerous states have implemented quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) to measure and improve the services young children receive across a wide range of early learning settings. These state systems range from two to five…

Gateway to Quality: Online Professional Development for Family Childcare Providers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durden, Tonia; Mincemoyer, Claudia; Crandall, Leslie; Alviz, Kit; Garcia, Aileen

2016-01-01

High-quality family childcare (FCC) can positively influence all areas of a child's growth and development. Thus, it is important to invest in efforts to increase quality, including providing professional development to enhance the skills of those caring for children in their homes. This study explores the characteristics of FCC providers who…

The Role of Staff in Quality Improvement in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sims, Margaret; Waniganayake, Manjula

2015-01-01

There is international recognition of the importance of high quality services for young children with a consensus that three pillars contribute to quality improvement: adult: child ratios, staff qualifications and group size. In Australia over the past 5 years, early childhood policy has attempted to drive improvements in early childhood service…

Women's Support, Women's Work: Child Care in an Era of Deficit Reduction, Devolution, Downsizing and Deregulation = Le soutien aux femmes, le travail des femmes et la garde d'enfants a l'ere de la reduction du deficit, du transfert des responsabilites, de la reduction de la taille de l'Etat et de la dereglementation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, Gillian; Friendly, Martha; Oloman, Mab

Among the multiplicity of objectives that high quality child care can meet is the pivotal goal of promoting equality for women. Child care has consequences for women both as mothers and as providers of care for other people's children. Thus, women have a powerful stake in child care policy. Canada has no national child care policy, and its child…

K-3 Policymakers' Guide to Action: Making the Early Years Count. Special Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atchison, Bruce; Diffey, Louisa; Workman, Emily

2016-01-01

High-quality early elementary years offer a critical opportunity for child development and academic learning for all children, regardless of their race, family-income level, or culture and home language. All students deserve access to high-quality teachers and leaders trained in how to effectively support their learning. They deserve to attend…

Predictors of mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security in at-risk families.

PubMed

De Falco, Simona; Emer, Alessandra; Martini, Laura; Rigo, Paola; Pruner, Sonia; Venuti, Paola

2014-01-01

Child healthy development is largely influenced by parent-child interaction and a secure parent-child attachment is predictively associated with positive outcomes in numerous domains of child development. However, the parent-child relationship can be affected by several psychosocial and socio-demographic risk factors that undermine its quality and in turn play a negative role in short and long term child psychological health. Prevention and intervention programs that support parenting skills in at-risk families can efficiently reduce the impact of risk factors on mother and child psychological health. This study examines predictors of mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security in a sample of first-time mothers with psychosocial and/or socio-demographic risk factors. Forty primiparous women satisfying specific risk criteria participated in a longitudinal study with their children from pregnancy until 18 month of child age. A multiple psychological and socioeconomic assessment was performed. The Emotional Availability Scales were used to measure the quality of emotional exchanges between mother and child at 12 months and the Attachment Q-Sort served as a measure of child attachment security at 18 months. Results highlight both the effect of specific single factors, considered at a continuous level, and the cumulative risk effect of different co-occurring factors, considered at binary level, on mother-child interaction quality and child attachment security. Implication for the selection of inclusion criteria of intervention programs that support parenting skills in at-risk families are discussed.

The Developmental Significance of Adolescent Romantic Relationships: Parent and Peer Predictors of Engagement and Quality at Age 15

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roisman, Glenn I.; Booth-LaForce, Cathryn; Cauffman, Elizabeth; Spieker, Susan

2009-01-01

From a longitudinal sample (n = 957; 49.9% male; 77.3% White/non-Hispanic) of participants studied from infancy through age 15, adolescents' depth of engagement in, and quality of romantic relationships were predicted from early and contemporaneous parent-child interactive quality and peer social competence. High quality maternal parenting and…

Quality and Impact of Centre-Based Early Childhood Education and Care. Research Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janta, Barbara; van Belle, Janna; Stewart, Katherine

2016-01-01

There is a strong association between the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) provision and the outcomes for children, with high quality ECEC being associated with better child outcomes later in life. This brief reviewed the broad range of indicators that have been linked to quality, with a focus on understanding how these…

Ethnic Differences in the Developmental Significance of Parentification

PubMed Central

Khafi, Tamar Y.; Yates, Tuppett M.; Luthar, Suniya S.

2014-01-01

Using an ecological framework, this 2-wave longitudinal study examined the effects of parentification on youth adjustment across the transition to adolescence in a high-risk, low-income sample of African American (58%) and European American (42%) mother-child dyads (T1 Mage = 10.17 years, T2 Mage = 14.89 years; 52.4% female). Children’s provision of family caregiving was moderately stable from early to late adolescence. Emotional and instrumental parentification evidenced distinct long-term effects on adolescents’ psychopathology and the quality of the parent-child relationship. Ethnicity moderated these relations. Emotional and instrumental parentification behaviors were associated with predominantly negative outcomes among European American youth in the form of increased externalizing behavior problems and decreased parent-child relationship quality, whereas emotional parentification was associated with positive outcomes among African American youth in the form of increased parent-child relationship quality, and instrumental parentification was neutral. These findings support a multidimensional view of parentification as a set of culturally-embedded phenomena whose effects can only be understood in consideration of the context in which they occur. PMID:24684188

Relating Child Care during Infancy to Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors in Toddlerhood: How Specific Features of Child Care Quality Matter Depending on a Child's Gender and Temperament

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lemay, Lise; Bigras, Nathalie; Bouchard, Caroline

2014-01-01

This study explored whether the relationships between specific features of child care quality and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in 24-month-old children are moderated by gender and temperament. Questionnaires were used to record children's gender and measure their temperament. Child care quality was observed with the "Échelles…

Mechanical ventilation for a child with quadriplegia.

PubMed

Novotny, William E; Perkin, Ronald M; Mukherjee, Debjani; Lantos, John D

2014-09-01

Parents generally have the right to make medical decisions for their children. This right can be challenged when the parents' decision seems to go against the child's interests. The toughest such decisions are for a child who will survive with physical and neurocognitive impairments. We discuss a case of a 5-year-old boy who suffered a spinal injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident and whose father requests discontinuation of life support. Many experts recommend a "trial of therapy" to clarify both prognosis and quality of life. The key ethical question, then, is not whether to postpone a decision to forego mechanical ventilation. Instead, the key question is how long to wait. Parents should be allowed time to see what life will be like for themselves and for their child. Most of the time, life turns out better than they might have imagined. Comments are provided by 2 pediatric intensivists, Drs William Novotny and Ronald Perkin of East Carolina University, and by a specialist in rehabilitation, Dr Debjani Mukherjee of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The quality of life among Sudanese children with epilepsy and their care givers

PubMed Central

Abbas, Zahia; Elseed, Maha A

2014-01-01

In the past few years, there has been a progressive increase in appreciation of the importance of quality of life (QOL) especially among patients with epilepsy. This issue had not been addressed in Sudanese children with epilepsy. We here aim to assess the quality of life in Sudanese children with epilepsy and their family care giver. This study was conducted in 2011 at the Epilepsy and Neurodisablity Out-patient Clinic at Saad Abualila University Hospital, Sudan. The study included 100 Children with epilepsy, and their care givers, whose age was between 6-18 years and had seizure for more than one year. The questionnaire used contains 27 questions; it was divided into four sections: impact of epilepsy and treatment, impact on the child development, impact on parents and impact on the family. For each question there were two dimensions: the frequency of the problem and the concerns that it causes. The total score ranges from 0 to 54. A combined total scale scores were calculated. The commonest concern regarding epilepsy was that the child may injure oneself, followed by that the child may stop breathing or develop brain damage or even die. The commonest concern regarding treatment was that medication may cause reduced alertness. The relevant mean scores in frequency and concern were 5.77 and 5.83 out of 10 respectively. In the child development domain, the commonest concern was that the child may become more moody and the related mean scores in frequency and concern were 9.36 and 9.32 out of 18. The commonest concern to parent was decreased ability for self care with relevant mean scores in frequency and concern of 3.14 and 3.16 out of 10. The commonest concern to the family was that the child needs to be more closely watched than other children. The mean scores here in frequency and concern were 5.37 and 5.44 out of 14. The group with epilepsy and associated co morbidities, longer seizure and treatment duration had consistently higher mean scores which were proved to significantly lower their QOL. There is a significant decline in the quality of life among Sudanese children with epilepsy and their family care giver. Psychosocial consultation, family support programs and health education for parent, teachers and publics about different aspects of epilepsy need to be addressed through mass media. PMID:27493390

Parent Diet Quality and Energy Intake Are Related to Child Diet Quality and Energy Intake

PubMed Central

Robson, Shannon M.; Couch, Sarah C.; Peugh, James L.; Glanz, Karen; Zhou, Chuan; Sallis, James F.; Saelens, Brian E.

2016-01-01

Background Parents' diets are believed to influence their children's diets. Previous studies have not adequately and simultaneously assessed the relation of parent and child total diet quality and energy intake. Objective To investigate if parent and child diet quality and energy intakes are related. Design A cross-sectional analysis using baseline dietary intake data from the Neighborhood Impact on Kids (NIK) study collected in 2007-2009. Participants/setting Parents and 6-12 year old children from households in King County (Seattle area), WA and San Diego County, CA, targeted by NIK were recruited. Eligible parent-child dyads (n=698) with two or three 24-hour dietary recalls were included in this secondary analysis. Main Outcome Measures Child diet quality (Healthy Eating Index-2010 [HEI-2010], Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension [DASH] score, and energy density (for food-only) and energy intake were derived from the dietary recalls using Nutrition Data Systems for Research. Statistical Analyses Performed Multiple linear regression models examined the relationship between parent diet quality and child diet quality, and the relationship between parent energy intake and child energy intake. In both analyses, we controlled for parent characteristics, child characteristics, household education and neighborhood type. Results Parent diet quality measures were significantly related to corresponding child diet quality measures: HEI-2010 (standardized beta [β] = 0.39, p<0.001); DASH score (β = 0.33, p<0.001); energy density (β = 0.32, p<0.001). Parent daily average energy intake (1763 ± 524 kilocalories) also was significantly related (β = 0.30, p<0.001) to child daily average energy intake (1751 ± 431 kilocalories). Conclusion Parent and child intakes were closely related across various metrics of diet quality and for energy intake. Mechanisms of influence are likely to be shared food environments, shared meals, and parent modeling. PMID:27050725

State/University Collaboration to Strengthen Children's Residential and Placement Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Larry; Hegar, Rebecca L.; Patton, Joy D.

2011-01-01

This article presents a model of collaboration between a state child welfare licensing division and a public university to develop and administer online examinations for persons seeking licensure as administrators of residential child care facilities or child placing agencies. The exams assess knowledge of state standards and various practice…

Child Care Quality in Different State Policy Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rigby, Elizabeth; Ryan, Rebecca M.; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2007-01-01

Using data from the Child Care Supplement to the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we test associations between the quality of child care and state child care policies. These data, which include observations of child care and interviews with care providers and mothers for 777 children across 14 states, allow for comparisons across a…

Teacher-Child Relationship Quality: The Roles of Child Temperament and Teacher-Child Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudasill, Kathleen Moritz; Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E.

2009-01-01

Young children's relationships with teachers predict social and academic success. This study examines contributions of child temperament (shyness, effortful control) and gender to teacher-child relationship quality both directly and indirectly through the frequency of teacher-child interactions in the classroom. Using an NICHD SECCYD sample of 819…

The relationship between parental overprotection and health-related quality of life in pediatric cancer: the mediating role of perceived child vulnerability.

PubMed

Hullmann, Stephanie E; Wolfe-Christensen, Cortney; Meyer, William H; McNall-Knapp, Rene Y; Mullins, Larry L

2010-11-01

The current study sought to examine the relation of parental overprotection and perceived child vulnerability to parent-reported health-related quality of life in parents of children with cancer. Parents (N = 89) of children who had been diagnosed with cancer completed measures of parental overprotection, perceived child vulnerability, and parent-proxy report of health-related quality of life. After controlling for theoretically relevant covariates, parental overprotection and perceived child vulnerability were both found to be significantly related to child health-related quality of life. Additional analyses revealed that perceived child vulnerability mediated the relationship between overprotective parenting behaviors and the child's health-related quality of life. The findings highlight the need to assess for these discrete parenting variables in parents of children with cancer and to develop interventions to target parental perceptions of vulnerability.

Creating Highly Qualified Teachers: Maximizing University Resources to Provide Professional Development in Rural Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mollenkopf, Dawn L.

2009-01-01

The "highly qualified teacher" requirement of No Child Left Behind has put pressure on rural school districts to recruit and retain highly qualified regular and special education teachers. If necessary, they may utilize uncertified, rural teachers with provisional certification; however, these teachers may find completing the necessary…

Quality of Early Maternal–Child Relationship and Risk of Adolescent Obesity

PubMed Central

Gooze, Rachel A.; Lemeshow, Stanley; Whitaker, Robert C.

2012-01-01

Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine whether obesity in adolescence is related to the quality of the early maternal–child relationship. Methods: We analyzed data from 977 of 1364 participants in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Child attachment security and maternal sensitivity were assessed by observing mother–child interaction at 15, 24, and 36 months of age. A maternal–child relationship quality score was constructed as the number of times across the 3 ages that the child was either insecurely attached or experienced low maternal sensitivity. Adolescent obesity was defined as a measured BMI ≥95th percentile at age 15 years. Results: Poor-quality maternal–child relationships (score: ≥3) were experienced by 24.7% of children compared with 22.0% who, at all 3 ages, were neither insecurely attached nor exposed to low maternal sensitivity (score: 0). The prevalence of adolescent obesity was 26.1%, 15.5%, 12.1%, and 13.0% for those with risk scores of ≥3, 2, 1, and 0, respectively. After adjustment for gender and birth weight, the odds (95% confidence interval) of adolescent obesity was 2.45 (1.49–4.04) times higher in those with the poorest quality early maternal–child relationships (score: ≥3) compared with those with the highest quality (score: 0). Low maternal sensitivity was more strongly associated with obesity than insecure attachment. Conclusions: Poor quality of the early maternal–child relationship was associated with a higher prevalence of adolescent obesity. Interventions aimed at improving the quality of maternal–child interactions should consider assessing effects on children’s weight and examining potential mechanisms involving stress response and emotion regulation. PMID:22201144

Quality of early maternal-child relationship and risk of adolescent obesity.

PubMed

Anderson, Sarah E; Gooze, Rachel A; Lemeshow, Stanley; Whitaker, Robert C

2012-01-01

The goal of this study was to determine whether obesity in adolescence is related to the quality of the early maternal-child relationship. We analyzed data from 977 of 1364 participants in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Child attachment security and maternal sensitivity were assessed by observing mother-child interaction at 15, 24, and 36 months of age. A maternal-child relationship quality score was constructed as the number of times across the 3 ages that the child was either insecurely attached or experienced low maternal sensitivity. Adolescent obesity was defined as a measured BMI ≥95th percentile at age 15 years. Poor-quality maternal-child relationships (score: ≥3) were experienced by 24.7% of children compared with 22.0% who, at all 3 ages, were neither insecurely attached nor exposed to low maternal sensitivity (score: 0). The prevalence of adolescent obesity was 26.1%, 15.5%, 12.1%, and 13.0% for those with risk scores of ≥3, 2, 1, and 0, respectively. After adjustment for gender and birth weight, the odds (95% confidence interval) of adolescent obesity was 2.45 (1.49-4.04) times higher in those with the poorest quality early maternal-child relationships (score: ≥3) compared with those with the highest quality (score: 0). Low maternal sensitivity was more strongly associated with obesity than insecure attachment. Poor quality of the early maternal-child relationship was associated with a higher prevalence of adolescent obesity. Interventions aimed at improving the quality of maternal-child interactions should consider assessing effects on children's weight and examining potential mechanisms involving stress response and emotion regulation.

Evidence into practice: evaluating a child-centred intervention for diabetes medicine management The EPIC Project

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background There is a lack of high quality, child-centred and effective health information to support development of self-care practices and expertise in children with acute and long-term conditions. In type 1 diabetes, clinical guidelines indicate that high-quality, child-centred information underpins achievement of optimal glycaemic control with the aim of minimising acute readmissions and reducing the risk of complications in later life. This paper describes the development of a range of child-centred diabetes information resources and outlines the study design and protocol for a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the information resources in routine practice. The aim of the diabetes information intervention is to improve children and young people's quality of life by increasing self-efficacy in managing their type 1 diabetes. Methods/Design We used published evidence, undertook qualitative research and consulted with children, young people and key stakeholders to design and produce a range of child-centred, age-appropriate children's diabetes diaries, carbohydrate recording sheets, and assembled child-centred, age-appropriate diabetes information packs containing published information in a folder that can be personalized by children and young people with pens and stickers. Resources have been designed for children/young people 6-10; 11-15; and 16-18 years. To evaluate the information resources, we designed a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and implementation in routine practice of individually tailored, age-appropriate diabetes diaries and information packs for children and young people age 6-18years, compared with currently available standard practice. Children and young people will be stratified by gender, length of time since diagnosis (< 2years and > 2years) and age (6-10; 11-15; and 16-18 years). The following data will be collected at baseline, 3 and 6 months: PedsQL (generic, diabetes and parent versions), and EQ-5 D (parent and child); NHS resource use and process data (questionnaire and interview). Baseline and subsequent HbA1c measurements, blood glucose meter use, readings and insulin dose will be taken from routine test results and hand-held records when attending routine 3-4 monthly clinic visits. The primary outcome measure is diabetes self-efficacy and quality-of-life (Diabetes PedsQL). Secondary outcomes include: HbA1c, generic quality of life, routinely collected NHS/child-held data, costs, service use, acceptability and utility. Trial Registration ISRCTN17551624. PMID:20875112

Rights in the Workplace: A Guide for Child Care Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Christine; Stoken, Amy; Fritts, Jonathan; Magar, Michele; Bellm, Dan; Shukla, Renu; Vardell, Rosemarie; Wayne, Claudia; Whitebook, Marcy

Research on child care quality and experience in the field shows that the quality of working conditions are linked to a caregiver's ability to provide quality care. Noting that legal rights that generally apply to most child care teachers are not upheld in every workplace, this guide provides information on federal legal rights of child care…

Partners in Quality: Infrastructure = Partenaires pour la qualite: Infrastructure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaiser, Barbara; Rasminsky, Judy Sklar

Partners in Quality is a research and development project sponsored by the Canadian Child Care Federation and its affiliates to explore how child care providers, parents, and other partners can work together to support and improve quality in child care. This booklet, in both English and French, is the third in a series to support child care…

Child Care in Rhode Island: Caring for Infants and Pre-School Children. Issue Brief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrington, Ann-Marie, Ed.; Walsh, Catherine Boisvert, Ed.; Bryant, Elizabeth Burke, Ed.

1997-01-01

This report of the Rhode Island Kids Count organization details the state's infant and preschool child care, components of quality care, and state policies to increase the supply of quality care. The report begins with a discussion of the importance of providing good quality child care to enhance healthy child development, especially brain…

The Mutual Effect of Marital Quality and Parenting Stress on Child and Parent Depressive Symptoms in Families of Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder

PubMed Central

Lin, Xiuyun; Zhang, Yulin; Chi, Peilian; Ding, Wan; Heath, Melissa A.; Fang, Xiaoyi; Xu, Shousen

2017-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mutual relationships between dyadic level (i.e., marital quality and parenting stress) and individual level factors (i.e., children and parental depressive symptoms) in families of children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Specifically, we explored whether marital interaction (marital quality) was associated with symptoms of child depression through parent-child interaction (parenting stress) and parent depressive symptoms. We also explored whether parent-child interaction was associated with symptoms of parent depression through marital interaction and child depressive symptoms. This study was conducted with 256 parent-child dyads, consisting of children with ODD and one of each child's parents. Participants were recruited from 14 primary schools located in northern, eastern, and southwestern China. Results revealed that marital quality predicted symptoms of child depression through the parenting stress, but not parent depressive symptoms; and parenting stress predicted symptoms of parent depression through marital quality, but not through child depressive symptoms. Also, parenting stress significantly and directly predicted parent depressive symptoms. We concluded in families of children with ODD, the association of marital interaction and parent-child interaction on both symptoms of parent and child depression highlighted the mutual effects of the couple subsystem and the parent-child subsystem. Furthermore, in regard to parental and child depressive symptoms, implications for intervention are provided. PMID:29104548

The Mutual Effect of Marital Quality and Parenting Stress on Child and Parent Depressive Symptoms in Families of Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

PubMed

Lin, Xiuyun; Zhang, Yulin; Chi, Peilian; Ding, Wan; Heath, Melissa A; Fang, Xiaoyi; Xu, Shousen

2017-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mutual relationships between dyadic level (i.e., marital quality and parenting stress) and individual level factors (i.e., children and parental depressive symptoms) in families of children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Specifically, we explored whether marital interaction (marital quality) was associated with symptoms of child depression through parent-child interaction (parenting stress) and parent depressive symptoms. We also explored whether parent-child interaction was associated with symptoms of parent depression through marital interaction and child depressive symptoms. This study was conducted with 256 parent-child dyads, consisting of children with ODD and one of each child's parents. Participants were recruited from 14 primary schools located in northern, eastern, and southwestern China. Results revealed that marital quality predicted symptoms of child depression through the parenting stress, but not parent depressive symptoms; and parenting stress predicted symptoms of parent depression through marital quality, but not through child depressive symptoms. Also, parenting stress significantly and directly predicted parent depressive symptoms. We concluded in families of children with ODD, the association of marital interaction and parent-child interaction on both symptoms of parent and child depression highlighted the mutual effects of the couple subsystem and the parent-child subsystem. Furthermore, in regard to parental and child depressive symptoms, implications for intervention are provided.

What Factors Influence States' Capacity to Report Children's Health Care Quality Measures? A Multiple-Case Study.

PubMed

Christensen, Anna L; Petersen, Dana M; Burton, Rachel A; Forsberg, Vanessa C; Devers, Kelly J

2017-01-01

Objectives The objective of this study was to describe factors that influence the ability of state Medicaid agencies to report the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) core set of children's health care quality measures (Child Core Set). Methods We conducted a multiple-case study of four high-performing states participating in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) Quality Demonstration Grant Program: Illinois, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Oregon. Cases were purposively selected for their diverse measurement approaches and used data from 2010 to 2015, including 154 interviews, semiannual grant progress reports, and annual public reports on Child Core Set measures. We followed Yin's multiple-case study methodology to describe how and why each state increased the number of measures reported to CMS. Results All four states increased the number of Child Core Set measures reported to CMS during the grant period. Each took a different approach to reporting, depending on the available technical, organizational, and behavioral inputs in the state. Reporting capacity was influenced by a state's Medicaid data availability, ability to link to other state data systems, past experience with quality measurement, staff time and technical expertise, and demand for the measures. These factors were enhanced by CHIPRA Quality Demonstration grant funding and other federal capacity building activities, as hypothesized in our conceptual framework. These and other states have made progress reporting the Child Core Set since 2010. Conclusion With financial support and investment in state data systems and organizational factors, states can overcome challenges to reporting most of the Child Core Set measures.

Quantity and Quality of Caregivers' Linguistic Input to 18-Month and 3-Year-Old Children Who Are Hard of Hearing.

PubMed

Ambrose, Sophie E; Walker, Elizabeth A; Unflat-Berry, Lauren M; Oleson, Jacob J; Moeller, Mary Pat

2015-01-01

The primary objective of this study was to examine the quantity and quality of caregiver talk directed to children who are hard of hearing (CHH) compared with children with normal hearing (CNH). For the CHH only, the study explored how caregiver input changed as a function of child age (18 months versus 3 years), which child and family factors contributed to variance in caregiver linguistic input at 18 months and 3 years, and how caregiver talk at 18 months related to child language outcomes at 3 years. Participants were 59 CNH and 156 children with bilateral, mild-to-severe hearing loss. When children were approximately 18 months and/or 3 years of age, caregivers and children participated in a 5-min semistructured, conversational interaction. Interactions were transcribed and coded for two features of caregiver input representing quantity (number of total utterances and number of total words) and four features representing quality (number of different words, mean length of utterance in morphemes, proportion of utterances that were high level, and proportion of utterances that were directing). In addition, at the 18-month visit, parents completed a standardized questionnaire regarding their child's communication development. At the 3-year visit, a clinician administered a standardized language measure. At the 18-month visit, the CHH were exposed to a greater proportion of directing utterances than the CNH. At the 3-year visit, there were significant differences between the CNH and CHH for number of total words and all four of the quality variables, with the CHH being exposed to fewer words and lower quality input. Caregivers generally provided higher quality input to CHH at the 3-year visit compared with the 18-month visit. At the 18-month visit, quantity variables, but not quality variables, were related to several child and family factors. At the 3-year visit, the variable most strongly related to caregiver input was child language. Longitudinal analyses indicated that quality, but not quantity, of caregiver linguistic input at 18 months was related to child language abilities at 3 years, with directing utterances accounting for significant unique variance in child language outcomes. Although caregivers of CHH increased their use of quality features of linguistic input over time, the differences when compared with CNH suggest that some caregivers may need additional support to provide their children with optimal language learning environments. This is particularly important given the relationships that were identified between quality features of caregivers' linguistic input and children's language abilities. Family supports should include a focus on developing a style that is conversational eliciting as opposed to directive.

Using Relationships as a Tool: Early Childhood Educators' Perspectives of the Child-Caregiver Relationship in a Childcare Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brebner, Chris; Hammond, Lauren; Schaumloffel, Nicole; Lind, Christopher

2015-01-01

Children's early years are critical for development and many children access out-of-home care during this time. Services offering high-quality childcare afford an opportunity to impact positively on children's development, including acquisition of communication skills. A strong, responsive relationship between child and carer is important in…

Designing Day Care: A Resource Manual for Development of Child Care Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Jacquelyn O.

Compiled to promote the development of high quality, affordable, and accessible day care programs in West Tennessee, this manual helps prospective child caregivers decide which kind of day care to operate and describes start-up steps and program operation. Section 1 focuses on five basic questions of potential caregivers: (1) Which type of child…

The Impact of the Developmental Training Model on Staff Development in Air Force Child Development Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bird, Candace Maria Edmonds

2010-01-01

In an effort to standardize training delivery and to individualize staff development based on observation and reflective practice, the Air Force implemented the Developmental Training Model (DTM) in its Child Development Programs. The goal of the Developmental Training Model is to enhance high quality programs through improvements in the training…

Time Spent in Child Care: How and Why Does It Affect Social Development?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huston, Aletha C.; Bobbitt, Kaeley C.; Bentley, Alison

2015-01-01

Children who experience early and extensive child care, especially center-based care, are rated by teachers as having more externalizing behavior problems than are other children. This association is reduced, but not eliminated, when care is of high quality, and it varies by socioeconomic disadvantage and the type of behavior assessed. We examine…

The Impact of Child Care Subsidy Use on Child Care Quality

PubMed Central

Ryan, Rebecca M.; Johnson, Anna; Rigby, Elizabeth; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2010-01-01

In 2008, the federal government allotted $7 billion in child care subsidies to low-income families through the state-administered Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), now the government’s largest child care program (US DHHS, 2008). Although subsidies reduce costs for families and facilitate parental employment, it is unclear how they impact the quality of care families purchase. This study investigates the impact of government subsidization on parents’ selection of child care quality using multivariate regression and propensity score matching approaches to account for differential selection into subsidy receipt and care arrangements. Data were drawn from the Child Care Supplement to the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (CCS-FFCWS), conducted in 2002 and 2003 in 14 of the 20 FFCWS cities when focal children were 3 years old (N = 456). Our results indicate that families who used subsidies chose higher quality care than comparable mothers who did not use subsidies, but only because subsidy recipients were more likely to use center-based care. Subgroup analyses revealed that families using subsidies purchased higher-quality home-based care but lower-quality center-based care than comparable non-recipients. Findings suggest that child care subsidies may serve as more than a work support for low-income families by enhancing the quality of nonmaternal care children experience but that this effect is largely attributable to recipients’ using formal child care arrangements (versus kith and kin care) more often than non-recipients. PMID:21874092

Governance matters: an ecological association between governance and child mortality.

PubMed

Lin, Ro-Ting; Chien, Lung-Chang; Chen, Ya-Mei; Chan, Chang-Chuan

2014-09-01

Governance of a country may have widespread effects on the health of its population, yet little is known about the effect of governance on child mortality in a country that is undergoing urbanization, economic development, and disease control. We obtained indicators of six dimensions of governance (perceptions of voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption) and national under-5 mortality rates for 149 countries between 1996 and 2010. We applied a semi-parametric generalized additive mixed model to examine associations after controlling for the effects of development factors (urbanization level and economy), disease control factors (hygienic conditions and vaccination rates), health expenditures, air quality, and time. Governance, development, and disease control showed clear inverse relations with the under-5 mortality rate (p<0.001). Per unit increases in governance, development, and disease control factors, the child mortality rate had a 0.901-, 0.823-, and 0.922-fold decrease, respectively, at fixed levels of the other two factors. In the effort to reduce the global under-5 mortality rate, addressing a country's need for better governance is as important as improvements in development and disease control. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Agreement between children aged 5-6 years and their mothers in rating child oral health-related quality of life.

PubMed

Abanto, Jenny; Tsakos, Georgios; Paiva, Saul Martins; Raggio, Daniela Prócida; Celiberti, Paula; Bönecker, Marcelo

2014-09-01

Studies have assessed parent-child agreement on ratings of school-aged children's OHRQoL. There are, however, no studies on children younger than 7 years of age. The aim was to assess the agreement between children aged 5-6 years and their mothers regarding child's oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). In this cross-sectional study, a total of 298 mother-child pairs (MCP), seeking the pediatric dental screening at the Dental School, University of São Paulo, completed the Brazilian version of the Scale of Oral Health Outcomes for 5-year-old children (SOHO-5), validated for children aged 5-6 years in Brazil. Agreement between total and items' scores was assessed using comparison and correlation analyses, by comparing the mean directional differences and by computing the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values, respectively. The mean directional difference in the total scores was 0.13 (CI 95% -0.076; 0.338) and therefore not significant for MCP. The mean absolute difference for MCP was 1.26, representing 11% of the maximum possible score. The ICC for total score was 0.84 (CI 95% 0.798; 0.867) for MCP. Mothers do rate their young children's OHRQoL similarly to children's self-reports. When assessing OHRQoL of children aged 5-6 years, mothers may be reliable proxies for their young children. © 2013 BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Perceived Parent-Child Relational Qualities and Parental Behavioral and Psychological Control in Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shek, Daniel T. L.

2006-01-01

Chinese secondary school students (N = 3,017) were asked to respond to instruments measuring their perceived parent-child relational qualities (parental trust of the child, child's trust of parents, child's readiness to communicate with parents, and child's satisfaction with parental control), parental behavioral control (including indicators of…

Media consumption and sleep quality in early childhood: results from the Ulm SPATZ Health Study.

PubMed

Genuneit, Jon; Brockmann, Pablo E; Schlarb, Angelika A; Rothenbacher, Dietrich

2018-05-01

Media use is increasingly becoming common in preschoolers and starting before the age of three years. While several studies have documented the effects of screen time on sleep duration in this age group, investigations including sleep quality are scarce and mainly cross-sectional. Moreover, they are limited by investigating sleep across broader age ranges or in older preschoolers, which may blur early effects and the ideal time for intervention. The current study analyzed data from the Ulm SPATZ Health Study, a birth cohort study in which 1006 live newborns were recruited from the general population shortly after delivery at the University Medical Center Ulm, Southern Germany, from April 2012 to May 2013. Longitudinal data on child sleep were parent reported on the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) at ages two and three years. Child media consumption was assessed at three years of age with different questions on electronic media and books. Statistical analyses included Kruskal-Wallis tests and multivariable linear and logistic regression models. Electronic media consumption had a moderate prevalence and dose, and prevalence of never using books appeared to be high (39%). The preliminary results indicated strong statistically significant inverse cross-sectional associations between electronic media consumption and overall sleep quality and, using longitudinal data, with worsening indicators of bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety, and daytime sleepiness. This was the first larger-scale study to comprehensively investigate the effects of electronic media consumption and book reading on all CSHQ items in three-year-olds. Considering the risk of chronification, preventive efforts (eg, by effective sleep-oriented training programs) already seem necessary in early life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spillover between Marital Quality and Parent-child Relationship Quality: Parental Depressive Symptoms as Moderators

PubMed Central

Kouros, Chrystyna D.; Papp, Lauren M.; Goeke-Morey, Marcie C.; Cummings, E. Mark

2015-01-01

Using a daily diary method, this study examined concurrent and time-lagged relations between marital and parent-child relationship qualities, providing a test of the spillover and compensatory hypotheses. Additionally, this study tested both mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms as moderators of these daily linkages. Participants were 203 families, in which mothers and fathers completed daily diaries for 15 days. At the end of each reporting day, parents independently rated the emotional quality of their relationship with their spouse and with their child that day. Controlling for global levels of marital satisfaction, marital conflict, and parenting, a positive association was found between mothers’ and fathers’ daily ratings of marital quality and their ratings of parent-child relationship quality, supporting the spillover hypothesis. When considering time-lagged relations, support was found for the compensatory hypothesis for mothers: lower levels of marital quality were related to increases in mother-child relationship quality from one day to the next. Further, both maternal and paternal depressive symptoms moderated the link between marital quality and the other parent’s relationship quality with their child. Whereas maternal depressive symptoms strengthened spillover relations for fathers on the next day, paternal depression was related to less spillover for mothers on the same day. Alternative models did not find evidence for parent-child relationship quality as a predictor of changes in marital quality on the next day. The findings underscore the importance of the quality of the marital relationship for predicting the quality of other family relationships. PMID:24821519

Associations between parenting, media use, cumulative risk, and children's executive functioning.

PubMed

Linebarger, Deborah L; Barr, Rachel; Lapierre, Matthew A; Piotrowski, Jessica T

2014-01-01

This study was designed to examine how parenting style, media exposure, and cumulative risk were associated with executive functioning (EF) during early childhood. A nationally representative group of US parents/caregivers (N = 1156) with 1 child between 2 and 8 years participated in a telephone survey. Parents were asked to report on their child's exposure to television, music, and book reading through a 24-hour time diary. Parents also reported a host of demographic and parenting variables as well as questions on their child's EF. Separate multiple regressions for preschool (2-5 years) and school-aged (6-8 years) children grouped by cumulative risk were conducted. Parenting style moderated the risks of exposure to background television on EF for high-risk preschool-age children. Educational TV exposure served as a buffer for high-risk school-aged children. Cumulative risk, age, and parenting quality interacted with a number of the exposure effects. The study showed a complex pattern of associations between cumulative risk, parenting, and media exposure with EF during early childhood. Consistent with the American Academy of Pediatrics, these findings support the recommendation that background television should be turned off when a child is in the room and suggest that exposure to high-quality content across multiple media platforms may be beneficial.

Reaching the Children: Universal Child Immunization by 1990. Development Education Kit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Children's Fund, New York, NY. United States Committee.

The goal of the Universal Child Immunization Program, adopted by the World Health Organization in 1977, is to inoculate by 1990, every child in the world against measles, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and polio. By 1987, nearly 80 countries had undertaken or were planning immunization programs. These diseases, combined with…

Time for a Tune-Up: Comprehensive Curriculum Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyers, Lisa H.

2005-01-01

How important is a high-quality curriculum? A school without a quality curriculum is like a car without an engine--neither goes anywhere. One responsibility of a school administrator is to ensure that quality curriculum is designed, adopted, and implemented. The No Child Left Behind act (NCLB) has focused the attention of an entire nation on the…

Getting Teacher Assessment Right: What Policymakers Can Learn from Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinchey, Patricia H.

2010-01-01

It is well established that teacher quality makes a difference in student learning. Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind in 2002, staffing every classroom with a high-quality teacher has been an official national priority. That goal entails an implicit requirement to assess teacher and teaching quality more rigorously than has been the…

FATHER-CHILD PLAY DURING THE PRESCHOOL YEARS AND CHILD INTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS: BETWEEN ROBUSTNESS AND VULNERABILITY.

PubMed

Ahnert, Lieselotte; Teufl, Lukas; Ruiz, Nina; Piskernik, Bernhard; Supper, Barbara; Remiorz, Silke; Gesing, Alexander; Nowacki, Katja

2017-11-01

Play observations with a total of 400 toddlers and preschoolers were videotaped and rated for Intensity and Quality of play with their parents. Parents were asked about perceived stress and personality characteristics (Big 5). Child's motor, cognitive skills, temperament, and internalizing behaviors were assessed. Study 1 investigated the robustness of play across child age and gender, and examined differences between fathers and mothers. Study 2 explored the vulnerability of play with fathers of children born preterm (PT-fathers) and fathers who had experienced adverse childhoods (AC-fathers). Study 3 investigated child internalizing behaviors. Intensity of play was maintained almost independently of child age and gender. It was similar for AC- and PT-fathers, and similar to maternal Intensity. In contrast, paternal Quality of play was higher with boys and independent of fathers' personality and perceived parenting stress whereas maternal Quality of play was higher with girls and linked to mothers' perceived parenting competence, acceptability of the child, and neuroticism. AC-fathers scored significantly low on Quality, as did PT-fathers, but the Quality of their play became better with growing child age, birth weight, and cognitive (but not motor and temperament) scores. Finally, child internalizing behaviors were negatively related to paternal Quality of play. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Child Reactivity Moderates the Over-Time Association between Mother-Child Conflict Quality and Externalizing Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Jackie A.

2015-01-01

Constructive parent-child conflict interactions that teach children to problem-solve and negotiate can enhance children's social adjustment. This paper identifies constructive and destructive qualities of mother-child conflict and explores whether child temperament moderated associations with changes in externalizing problems over time. One…

High-Quality Traineeships: Identifying What Works. A National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation Program Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Erica; Comyn, Paul; Kemmis, Roslin Brennan; Smith, Andy

2009-01-01

This study explores the common features of high-quality traineeships using case studies from the cleaning, child care, construction, retail, finance and insurance, and meat processing areas. The research identifies a range of policy measures that could improve both the practice and image of traineeships. A good practice guide has also been…

Listening to parents: The role of symptom perception in pediatric palliative home care.

PubMed

Vollenbroich, René; Borasio, Gian Domenico; Duroux, Ayda; Grasser, Monika; Brandstätter, Monika; Führer, Monika

2016-02-01

This study analyzes symptom perception by parents and healthcare professionals and the quality of symptom management in a pediatric palliative home care setting and identifies which factors contribute to a high quality of palliative and end-of-life care for children. In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, parents were surveyed at the earliest three months after their child's death. All children were cared for by a specialized home pediatric palliative care team that provides a 24/7 medical on-call service. Questionnaires assessed symptom prevalence and intensity during the child's last month of life as perceived by parents, symptom perception, and treatment by medical staff. The responses were correlated with essential palliative care outcome measures (e.g., satisfaction with the care provided, quality-of-life of affected children and parents, and peacefulness of the dying phase). Thirty-eight parent dyads participated (return rate 84%; 35% oncological disorders). According to parental report, dyspnea (61%) and pain (58%) were the dominant symptoms with an overall high symptom load (83%). Pain, agitation, and seizures could be treated more successfully than other symptoms. Successful symptom perception was achieved in most cases and predicted the quality of symptom treatment (R 2, 0.612). Concordant assessment of symptom severity between parents and healthcare professionals (HCPs) improved the satisfaction with the care provided (p = 0.037) as well as the parental quality-of-life (p = 0.041). Even in cases with unsuccessful symptom control, parents were very satisfied with the SHPPC team's care (median 10; numeric rating scale 0-10) and rated the child's death as highly peaceful (median 9). Significance of the results: The quality and the concordance of symptom perception between parents and HCPs essentially influence parental quality-of-life as well as parental satisfaction and constitute a predictive factor for the quality of symptom treatment and palliative care.

Quality Improvement in University Counseling Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maffini, Cara S.; Toth, Paul L.

2017-01-01

University Counseling Centers (UCCs) experience high clinical demands and severe client presentations leaving counselors with limited time and resources to evaluate delivery of services. In this article, we present clinician-friendly quality improvement (QI) strategies used at a large Midwestern university and provide recommendations for…

Child Health Care Services in Austria.

PubMed

Kerbl, Reinhold; Ziniel, Georg; Winkler, Petra; Habl, Claudia; Püspök, Rudolf; Waldhauser, Franz

2016-10-01

We describe child health care in Austria, a small country in Central Europe with a population of about 9 million inhabitants of whom approximately 1.7 million are children and adolescents under the age of 20 years. For children and adolescents, few health care indicators are available. Pediatric and adolescent health provision, such as overall health provision, follows a complex system with responsibilities shared by the Ministry of Health, 19 social insurance funds, provinces, and other key players. Several institutions are affiliated with or cooperate with the Ministry of Health to assure quality control. The Austrian public health care system is financed through a combination of income-based social insurance payments and taxes. Pediatric primary health care in Austria involves the services of general pediatricians and general practitioners. Secondary care is mostly provided by the 43 children's hospitals; tertiary care is (particularly) provided in 4 state university hospitals and 1 private university hospital. The training program of residents takes 6 years and is completed by a final examination. Every year, this training program is completed by about 60 residents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Profile Approach to Child Care Quality, Quantity, and Type of Setting: Parent Selection of Infant Child Care Arrangements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sosinsky, Laura Stout; Kim, Se-Kang

2013-01-01

Building on prior variable-oriented research which demonstrates the independence of the associations of child care quality, quantity, and type of setting with family factors and child outcomes, the current study identifies four profiles of child care dimensions from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Profiles accounted for…

Parent Experiences with State Child Care Subsidy Systems and Their Perceptions of Choice and Quality in Care Selected

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raikes, Helen; Torquati, Julia; Wang, Cixin; Shjegstad, Brinn

2012-01-01

Research Findings: This study investigated parents' experiences using Child Care and Development Fund and other state-dispersed child care subsidies, reasons for choosing their current child care program, and perceptions of the quality of child care received from their current program. A telephone survey of 659 parents receiving child care…

Attributes of quality programs in universities in developing countries: Case studies of two private universities in Ecuador and beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uriguen, Monica I.

This study sought to identify the key attributes of high-quality programs with an eye toward helping developing countries such as Ecuador advance program quality. The dissertation is divided into five chapters: (1) introduction to high-quality programs; (2) literature review of attributes of high-quality programs; (3) grounded theory method (including interviews with 60 individuals) used to identify program attributes that enhance student learning; (4) findings; and (5) conclusions and recommendations. Following are the five clusters and thirteen attributes of high-quality programs that I identified: Cluster One: Highly Qualified Participants: (1) Highly Qualified Faculty, and (2) Highly Qualified Students; Cluster Two: Learning-Centered Cultures: (3) Shared Program Direction Focused on Learning, (4) Real-World Learning Experiences, (5) Reading-Centered Culture, and (6) Supportive and Risk-Taking Environment; Cluster Three: Interactive Teaching and Learning: (7) Integrative learning: Theory with Practice, Self with Subject, and (8) Exclusive Tutoring and Mentoring; Cluster Four: Connected Program Requirements: (9) Planned Breadth and Depth Course Work, and (10) Tangible Products; and Cluster Five: Adequate Resources: (11) Support for Students, (12) Support for Faculty, and (13) Support for Campus Infrastructure. The study was guided by Haworth and Conrad's (1997) "Engagement Theory of High-Quality Programs." Eleven of the attributes of high-quality programs are closely connected to Haworth and Conrad's theory and the other two attributes---real-world learning experiences and a reading-centered culture---make the signature theoretical contributions of the study. Real-world learning experiences encourage the active involvement of stakeholders in designing curricula with real-world learning experiences. The second attribute---a reading-centered culture---has never before been identified in the literature. There are four key differences between Haworth and Conrad's theory and the theory developed in this study. This study identified four attributes that are highly important in Ecuador and, possibly, other developing countries: highly-qualified faculty, highly-qualified students, reading-centered cultures, and real-world learning experiences. If Latin American universities implement the recommendations proposed in the study, particularly Ecuadorian universities, there is a foundation for envisioning a better future for Ecuadorian universities.

Universalism under siege? Exploring the association between targeting, child benefits and child poverty across 26 countries.

PubMed

Van Lancker, Wim; Van Mechelen, Natascha

2015-03-01

The long-standing wisdom that universally designed benefits outperform targeted benefits in terms of poverty reduction has come under siege. Recent empirical studies tend to find that targeting is not necessarily associated anymore with lower levels of poverty reduction. In this study, we investigate for a broad set of European countries (1) the relationship between child benefits and child poverty reduction; (2) whether a universal or targeted approach is more effective in reducing child poverty; and (3) the causal mechanisms explaining the link between (1) and (2). In doing so, we take into account the general characteristics of the child benefit system, the size of the redistributive budget and the generosity of benefit levels. In contrast to previous studies, we construct an indicator of targeting that captures the design instead of the outcomes of child benefit systems. We find that targeting towards lower incomes is associated with higher levels of child poverty reduction, conditional on the direction of targeting and the characteristics of the benefit system. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Access to Quality Early Childhood Care and Education. Background Paper for the Quality Child Care Think Tank. Draft.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandon, Richard N.; Smith, Diana

This background paper discusses the current system of child care finance in Washington State and analyzes options for improvement. It describes prominent characteristics of the early childhood care and education system, findings relating program quality to staff/child ratios and staff educational levels, characteristics of quality, parent…

Quality of Child Care Using the Environment Rating Scales: A Meta-Analysis of International Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vermeer, Harriet J.; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Cárcamo, Rodrigo A.; Harrison, Linda J.

2016-01-01

The current study provides a systematic examination of child care quality around the globe, using the Environment Rating Scales (ERS). Additional goals of this study are to examine associations between ERS process quality and structural features (group size, caregiver-child ratio) that underpin quality and between ERS and more proximal aspects of…

Daily Hassles, Mother-child Relationship, and Behavior Problems in Muslim Arab American Adolescents in Immigrant Families

PubMed Central

Aroian, Karen J.; Templin, Thomas N.; Hough, Edythe S.

2016-01-01

Objective This longitudinal study examines reciprocal and dynamic relations among daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems and whether the relations differed by socio-demographic variables. Methods Three waves of data about adolescent daily hassles, quality of the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems were collected from 454 Arab Muslim adolescents and their immigrant mothers over a three-year period. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine reciprocal relations among the study variables. Results Relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems were reciprocal, with a poor mother-child relationship contributing to greater behavior problems and behavior problems contributing to a decline in the quality of the mother-child relationship. Relations involving daily hassles were unidirectional: A better mother-child relationship contributed to fewer daily hassles and behavior problems contributed to more daily hassles but daily hassles did not contribute to more behavior problems. Father’s education was the only socio-demographic variable that was significant: Adolescents with more highly educated fathers had a better mother-child relationship and fewer behavioral problems. Conclusions Findings suggest that Arab American Muslim adolescents with behavior problems are differentially exposed to daily hassles but daily hassles are not the best point of intervention. Bidirectional relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems suggest intervening to improve the mother-child relationship and manage symptoms of adolescent behavior problems. PMID:27055003

Daily hassles, mother-child relationship, and behavior problems in Muslim Arab American adolescents in immigrant families.

PubMed

Aroian, Karen J; Templin, Thomas N; Hough, Edythe S

2016-10-01

This longitudinal study examines reciprocal and dynamic relations among daily hassles, the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems and whether the relations differed by sociodemographic variables. Three waves of data about adolescent daily hassles, quality of the mother-child relationship, and adolescent behavior problems were collected from 454 Arab Muslim adolescents and their immigrant mothers over a 3-year period. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine reciprocal relations among the study variables. Relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems were reciprocal, with a poor mother-child relationship contributing to greater behavior problems and behavior problems contributing to a decline in the quality of the mother-child relationship. Relations involving daily hassles were unidirectional: A better mother-child relationship contributed to fewer daily hassles and behavior problems contributed to more daily hassles but daily hassles did not contribute to more behavior problems. Father's education was the only sociodemographic variable that was significant: Adolescents with more highly educated fathers had a better mother-child relationship and fewer behavioral problems. Findings suggest that Arab American Muslim adolescents with behavior problems are differentially exposed to daily hassles but daily hassles are not the best point of intervention. Bidirectional relations between the mother-child relationship and adolescent behavior problems suggest intervening to improve the mother-child relationship and manage symptoms of adolescent behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Family Child Care Programs within the Military System of Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevens, Carolyn S.

2011-01-01

Military families face challenges not found in other work environments. Shifting work schedules that are often longer than the typical 8-hour day, as well as the ever-present possibility of being deployed anywhere in the world on a moment's notice, require a child care system that is flexible but maintains high-quality standards. The U.S.…

"Every Child Ready": Exposure to a Comprehensive Instructional Model Improves Students' Growth Trajectories in Multiple Early Learning Domains

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Abby G.; Curby, Timothy W.; Brown, Chavaughn A.; Truong, Felicia R.

2017-01-01

The current study investigates the impact of Every Child Ready (ECR), a comprehensive instructional model that includes: "What to teach, how to teach and how to know instruction is effective." The ECR instructional model is designed to provide high quality instruction to children via a play-based, thematic curriculum. Participants…

Race/Ethnicity and the Start of Child Care: A Multi-Level Analysis of Factors Influencing First Child Care Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fram, Maryah Stella; Kim, Jinseok

2008-01-01

Early childhood education and care experiences play an important role in children's development and school readiness with, in general, sustained exposure to high quality, center-based care leading to positive outcomes. Hispanic parents have been shown to be less likely than others to place their children in center-based care, particularly when…

Toddlers' and Preschoolers' Experience in Family Day Care: Age Differences and Behavioral Correlates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kryzer, Erin M.; Kovan, Nikki; Phillips, Deborah A.; Domagall, Lindsey A.; Gunnar, Megan R.

2007-01-01

One hundred and twelve children, 56 toddlers and 56 preschoolers, were observed in their family child care settings to determine whether toddlers cared for in settings that also included preschoolers were, relative to the preschoolers, receiving more or less high-quality care and/or whether their functioning at child care appeared to be more or…

"Is My Child Developing Normally?": A Critical Review of Web-Based Resources for Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Nia; Mughal, Sabena; Blair, Mitch

2008-01-01

Early detection of developmental problems improves outcomes for parents and children. Parents want to be involved in assessment and need high-quality, accurate, and reliable data on child development to help monitor progress and inform decisions on referral. The aim of this paper is to review which websites are readily accessible to parents on…

Irie Classroom Toolbox: a study protocol for a cluster-randomised trial of a universal violence prevention programme in Jamaican preschools.

PubMed

Baker-Henningham, Helen; Vera-Hernández, Marcos; Alderman, Harold; Walker, Susan

2016-05-10

We aim to determine the effectiveness of a school-based violence prevention programme implemented in Jamaican preschools, on reducing the levels of aggression among children at school, and violence against children by teachers. This is a 2-arm, single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled trial with parallel assignment. Clusters are 76 preschools in Kingston, and all teachers and classrooms in the selected schools are included in the study. In addition, a random sample of up to 12 children in the 4-year-old classes have been selected for evaluation of child-level outcomes. The intervention involves training teachers in classroom behaviour management and in strategies to promote children's social-emotional competence. Training is delivered through five full-day workshops, monthly in-class coaching over 2 school terms, and weekly text messages. The primary outcome measures are: (1) observed levels of child aggression and (2) observed violence against children by teachers. Secondary outcomes include observations of the levels of children's prosocial behaviour and the quality of the classroom environment, teachers' reports of their mental health, teacher-reported child mental health, direct tests of children's self-regulation and child attendance. If this intervention were effective at improving the caregiving environment of young children in school, this would have significant implications for the prevention of child mental health problems, and prevention of violence against children in low and middle-income countries where services are often limited. The intervention is integrated into the school system and involves training existing staff, and thus, represents an appropriate strategy for large-scale implementation and benefits at the population level. Ethical consent for the study was given by the School of Psychology Ethics and Research Committee, Bangor University (ref: 2014-14167), and by the University of the West Indies Ethics Committee (ref: ECP 50,14/15). ISRCTN11968472; Pre-results. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Does the home environment and the sex of the child modify the adverse effects of prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos on child working memory?

PubMed Central

Horton, Megan K.; Kahn, Linda G.; Perera, Frederica; Barr, Dana Boyd; Rauh, Virginia

2013-01-01

Prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF), an organophosphorus insecticide, has long been associated with delayed neurocognitive development and most recently with decrements in working memory at age 7. In the current paper, we expanded the previous work on CPF to investigate how additional biological and social environmental factors might create or explain differential neurodevelopmental susceptibility, focusing on main and moderating effects of the quality of the home environment (HOME) and child sex. We evaluate how the quality of the home environment (specifically, parental nurturance and environmental stimulation) and child sex interact with the adverse effects of prenatal CPF exposure on working memory at child age 7 years. We did not observe a remediating effect of a high quality home environment (either parental nurturance or environmental stimulation) on the adverse effects of prenatal CPF exposure on working memory. However, we detected a borderline significant interaction between prenatal exposure to CPF and child sex (B (95% CI) for interaction term = −1.714 (−3.753 to 0.326)) suggesting males experience a greater decrement in working memory than females following prenatal CPF exposure. In addition, we detected a borderline interaction between parental nurturance and child sex (B (95% CI) for interaction term = 1.490 (−0.518 to 3.499)) suggesting that, in terms of working memory, males benefit more from a nurturing environment than females. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation into factors that may inform an intervention strategy to reduce or reverse the cognitive deficits resulting from prenatal CPF exposure. PMID:22824009

Educated parent as a key member of rehabilitation team.

PubMed

Mikelić, Valentina Matijević; Bartolović, Jelena; Kosicek, Tena; Crnković, Maja

2011-12-01

Involvement of children with minor motor impairments in early intervention programs is becoming a positive trend. Rehabilitation of young children is usually performed in family environment with continuous monitoring by a team of experts including a physiatrist, speech therapist, psychologist, and rehabilitator. For this reason, it is important to educate parents in proper procedures designed to encourage the child's global and language development. Parental competence in encouraging the child's language development and providing home learning environment is associated with the level of parental education. We performed a retrospective analysis of data on 50 children aged 1-3 years, hospitalized during 2010 at Department of Pediatric Rehabilitation, University Department of Rheumatology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center in Zagreb. The aim was to determine the percentage of children included in an early intervention program according to the level of parental education and to assess the impact of the program on the children's language development. The results showed a higher percentage of parents to have high school education and a smaller percentage of parents to have university degree. These data indicated the need of educational programs for parents on the procedures of encouraging child development, including language development.

Promoting equity to achieve maternal and child health.

PubMed

Thomsen, Sarah; Hoa, Dinh Thi Phuong; Målqvist, Mats; Sanneving, Linda; Saxena, Deepak; Tana, Susilowati; Yuan, Beibei; Byass, Peter

2011-11-01

Maternal and child mortality rates, the targets for two of the eight Millennium Development Goals, remain unacceptably high in many countries. Some countries have made significant advances in reducing deaths in pregnancy, childbirth, and childhood at the national level. However, on a sub-national basis most countries show wide disparities in health indices which are not necessarily reflected in national figures. This is a sign of inequitable access to and provision of health services. Yet there has been little attention to health equity in relation to the Millennium Development Goals. Instead, countries have focused on achieving national targets. This has led to an emphasis on utilitarian, as opposed to universalist, approaches to public health, which we discuss here. We recommend a policy of "proportionate universalism". In this approach, universal health care and a universal social policy are the ultimate goal, but in the interim actions are carried out with intensities proportionate to disadvantage. We also briefly describe an initiative that aims to promote evidence-based policy and interventions that will reduce inequity in access to maternal and child health care in China, India, Indonesia and Viet Nam. Copyright © 2011 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early problem behavior among children from low-income, mother-headed families: a multiple risk perspective.

PubMed

Olson, Sheryl L; Ceballo, Rosario; Park, Curie

2002-12-01

Examined proximal and contextual factors most strongly related to externalizing behavior among young children growing up in low-income, mother-headed families. Participants were 50 low-income single mothers and their preschool-age children who were visited twice in the home setting. Measures of proximal (low levels of supportive parenting, high levels of punitive disciplinary practices, low levels of maternal emotional well-being) and contextual (low maternal support, high levels of family stress) risk were assessed in relation to maternal reports of child externalizing behavior and an index of negative child behavior during a clean-up task. Child defiance during the clean-up task was highly associated with punitive maternal control in the same situation but had no other direct correlates. However, multiple risk factors representing both proximal and contextual variables were associated with variations in children's behavior problem scores. Mothers of children with high behavior problem scores reported lower feelings of self-efficacy in handling child care and emotional stressors, more frequent use of punitive child disciplinary practices, and lower feelings of satisfaction with the quality of their supportive resources than others. Maternal self-evaluations of coping efficacy mediated the relation between perceived support and child behavior problems, suggesting that constructs of personal control are important to represent in future studies of highly stressed parents.

Development and psychometric evaluation of a psychosocial quality-of-life questionnaire for individuals with autism and related developmental disorders.

PubMed

Markowitz, Leslie A; Reyes, Charina; Embacher, Rebecca A; Speer, Leslie L; Roizen, Nancy; Frazier, Thomas W

2016-10-01

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Child and Family Quality of Life scale, a measure of psychosocial quality of life in those with autism and related developmental disorders. Parents of 212 children suspected of autism spectrum disorder completed the Child and Family Quality of Life prior to a diagnostic evaluation. Results indicated that the Child and Family Quality of Life measured six unique quality-of-life constructs (child, family/caregiver, financial, external support, partner relationship, and coping), had good reliability across score ranges and exhibited expected patterns of convergent validity. Caregivers of autism spectrum disorder-affected children reported reduced family quality of life prior to the time of diagnosis relative to caregivers of children with other developmental disabilities. The Child and Family Quality of Life is a brief, reliable measure for assessing psychosocial quality of life in families affected by developmental disability. This study is the first to demonstrate impairments in family quality of life early in the developmental course of autism spectrum disorder, prior to formal diagnosis. In addition to traditional child-focused intervention strategies, families with autism spectrum disorder-affected children require early, broad intervention strategies that positively impact the whole family. © The Author(s) 2015.

The Level of High-Order Thinking and Its Relation to Quality of Life among Students at Ajloun University College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al Rabadi, Wail Minwer; Salem, Rifqa Khleif

2018-01-01

The study was designed to identify the effect of high-order thinking on the quality of life among Ajloun University students. The study used the associative method. The randomly selected sample consisted of 147 students from Ajloun University College. The study used two tools: The two measures were applied to the sample of the current study after…

Who Cares? Child Care Teachers and the Quality of Care in America. Final Report, National Child Care Staffing Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitebook, Marcy; And Others

The National Child Care Staffing Study (NCCSS) was designed to explore how child care teaching staff and their working conditions affect the caliber of center-based child care. Four major policy questions were addressed: (1) Who teaches in America's child care centers? (2) What do they contribute to the quality of care provided? (3) Do centers…

Is there a difference between child self-ratings and parent proxy-ratings of the quality of life of children with a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? A systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Galloway, Helen; Newman, Emily

2017-03-01

There are contemporary indicators that parent proxy-ratings and child self-ratings of a child's quality of life (QoL) are not interchangeable. This review examines dual informant studies to assess parent-child agreement on the QoL of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. A systematic search of four major databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases) was completed, and related peer-reviewed journals were hand-searched. Studies which reported quantitative QoL ratings for matched parent and child dyads were screened in accordance with relevant inclusion and exclusion criteria. Key findings were extracted from thirteen relevant studies, which were rated for conformity to the recommendations of an adapted version of the STROBE statement guidelines for observational studies. In the majority of studies reviewed, children rated their QoL more highly than their parents. There was some evidence for greater agreement on the physical health domain than psychosocial domains.

Oxytocin and Parent-Child Interaction in the Development of Empathy among Children at Risk for Autism

PubMed Central

McDonald, Nicole M.; Baker, Jason K.; Messinger, Daniel S.

2016-01-01

This longitudinal study investigated whether variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and early parent-child interactions predicted later empathic behavior in 84 toddlers at high or low familial risk for ASD. Two well-studied OXTR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs53576 and rs2254298, were examined. Parent-child interaction was measured at 15 and 18 months of age during free play sessions. Empathy was measured at 24 and 30 months using a response to parental distress paradigm. While there was no direct association between parent-child interaction quality or OXTR and empathy, rs53576 moderated the relation between interaction quality and empathy. Results suggest that the interplay between OXTR and early parent-child interactions predicts individual differences in empathy in children at varying risk for atypical social development. Findings are consonant with a differential susceptibility model in which an OXTR variant may increase the social salience of interaction processes for specific allele carriers. These results increase our understanding of predictors of empathy development in young children with a wide range of social outcomes. PMID:26998571

Improving Family Engagement: The Organizational Context and Its Influence on Partnering with Parents in Formal Child Care Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglass, Anne

2011-01-01

Family engagement is widely considered a key component of high-quality early care and education (ECE). While most efforts to improve the quality of family engagement focus on teacher training, strong evidence from health care research suggests that the organizational context is a critical determinant of the quality of client-professional…

Assessing the Quality of Portuguese Child Care Programs for Toddlers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barros, Silvia; Aguiar, Cecilia

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the quality of toddler child care classrooms in the district of Porto, in the north of Portugal. One hundred and sixty classrooms for children between 1 and 3 years of age participated in this study. Results suggested the existence of poor average quality and absence of good-quality classrooms. Child-adult…

Siblings exposed to intimate partner violence: linking sibling relationship quality & child adjustment problems.

PubMed

Piotrowski, Caroline C; Tailor, Ketan; Cormier, Damien C

2014-01-01

Although the majority of families that experience intimate partner violence (IPV) have more than one child, most research to date has focused upon a single child within these families. A significant body of research has indicated siblings play an important role in children's adjustment and well-being. To address this gap, the three main goals of the present study were to compare the adjustment of older and younger siblings exposed to IPV, to describe and compare the quality of these sibling relationships from multiple perspectives, and to investigate how sibling adjustment and relationship quality influence children's adjustment. Forty-seven sibling pairs and their mothers were recruited from the community. Mothers self-reported on their violent experiences using the Conflict Tactics Scale, and also estimated the length of time their children were exposed to IPV. Mothers and children completed assessments of child adjustment and the quality of sibling relationships. Observers also assessed the quality of sibling interaction. Results indicated that adjustment between siblings was highly inter-related. On average, mothers reported sibling relationships as less positive but also as less hostile than did siblings themselves. Higher levels of sibling hostility, lower levels of sibling warmth and higher levels of disengagement each significantly predicted child adjustment; however, these effects were predicated upon the adjustment of the other sibling. The sibling relationships of children exposed to IPV made a difference in their individual adjustment, and their adjustment issues influenced how they feel about and interacted with their sibling. Sibling hostility played a stronger role in adjustment issues than sibling warmth. The nature of sibling influences and the direction of future research were discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Making Pre-Kindergarten Work for Low-Income Working Families. CLASP Child Care and Early Education Series. Policy Paper No. 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schumacher, Rachel; Hamm, Katie; Ewen, Danielle

2007-01-01

A growing number of state leaders believe that it is essential to expand high-quality early learning and development opportunities for all young children before they reach kindergarten. A key component of this strategy is providing access to voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, especially for low-income children. Over the last few…

Social Victimization Trajectories From Middle Childhood Through Late Adolescence

PubMed Central

Rosen, Lisa H.; Beron, Kurt J.; Underwood, Marion K.

2016-01-01

Social victimization refers to being targeted by behaviors intended to harm one’s social status or relationships (Underwood, 2003), including malicious gossip, friendship manipulation, and social exclusion (both verbal and non-verbal). The current study examined social victimization experiences longitudinally from middle childhood through late adolescence. Participants (N = 273, 139 females) reported on their social victimization experiences in grades 4–11 (ages 9 to 16 years). Using mixture (group-based) modeling, four social victimization trajectories were identified: low, medium decreasing, medium increasing, and elevated. High parent-child relationship quality decreased the odds of being in the elevated group compared to the low group; however, parent-child relationship quality was no longer a significant predictor when emotional dysfunction was added to the model. Higher emotional dysfunction and male gender increased the odds of being in the elevated group and medium increaser group relative to the low group even after controlling for parent-child relationship quality. Implications for intervention and future research directions are discussed. PMID:28408789

Biobehavioral Factors in Child Health Outcomes: The Roles of Maternal Stress, Maternal-Child Engagement, Salivary Cortisol, and Salivary Testosterone.

PubMed

Clowtis, Licia M; Kang, Duck-Hee; Padhye, Nikhil S; Rozmus, Cathy; Barratt, Michelle S

2016-01-01

Exposure to high levels of maternal stress and ineffective maternal-child engagement (MC-E) may adversely affect child health-related outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of maternal stress and MC-E on maternal and child biological responses (salivary cortisol and testosterone) and child health outcome in mother-child dyads of preschool children (3-5.9 years) in a low socioeconomic setting. Observational and biobehavioral data were collected from 50 mother-child dyads in a preschool setting. Assessments included maternal stress with the Perceived Stress Scale, child health outcomes with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and MC-E with videotaped mother-child interactions and scored with the Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale. Morning and evening saliva samples were collected from mother and child for biological assays. Maternal stress was negatively correlated with MC-E (r = -.32, p < .05) and child health outcome (r = -.33, p < .05). Lower levels of MC-E predicted higher morning cortisol (p = .02) and higher morning and bedtime testosterone levels in children (p = .03 and p = .04, respectively). Child biological responses did not predict child health outcome. Maternal stress and MC-E during mother-child interactions play a significant role in the regulation of child stress physiology and child health outcome. Elevated cortisol and testosterone related to high maternal stress and low MC-E may increase the child's vulnerability to negative health outcomes-if sustained. More biobehavioral research is needed to understand how parent-child interactions affect child development and health outcomes in early childhood.

Child Care Assistance Spending and Participation in 2012: A Record Low

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Hannah; Schmit, Stephanie

2014-01-01

Child care subsidies help make quality child care affordable for low-income parents, allowing them to attend work or school to support their families while ensuring their children's healthy development. Access to quality child care is also proven to strengthen families' economic security. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the…

"My Teacher Helps Me": Assessing Teacher-Child Relationships from the Child's Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Kelley Mayer

2016-01-01

The current study is one of the first to investigate children's perceptions of quality in teacher-child relationships using a narrative measure. It is also one of the first studies to investigate how the child's report is associated with the teacher's report and with an observer's report of quality in teacher-child interactions. Participants…

The Nonprofit Advantage: Producing Quality in Thick and Thin Child Care Markets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cleveland, Gordon; Krashinsky, Michael

2009-01-01

Nonprofit child care centers are frequently observed to produce child care which is, on average, of higher quality than care provided in commercial child care centers. In part, this nonprofit advantage is due to different input choices made by nonprofit centers--lower child--staff ratios, better-educated staff and directors, higher rates of…

The State of State Prekindergarten Standards in 2003.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neuman, Susan B.; Roskos, Kathleen; Vukelich, Carol; Clements, Douglas

Currently, an increasing number of states support school readiness programs, recognizing that high quality early childhood education positively affects all children's success in school and the quality of their future. Recent federal initiatives, including Good Start Grow Smart, the revised guidance for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)…

Arts Education and the Whole Child

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Hal

2009-01-01

For years, professional journals have published articles that communicate the importance of high-quality arts education programs. This article talks about how educators can use quality arts programs to contribute to the intellectual, physical, and emotional well-being of learners. The author also discusses what principals can do to advance arts…

Predicting Friendship Quality in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Typical Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauminger, Nirit; Solomon, Marjorie; Rogers, Sally J.

2010-01-01

The role played by social relationship variables (attachment security; mother-child relationship qualities) and social-cognitive capacities (theory of mind) was examined in both observed friendship behaviors and in children's descriptions of friendships (age 8-12) with high functioning children with autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) (n = 44) and…

Evaluating Maternal and Child Health and Leadership Competencies of Emerging MCH Leaders: The MCHC/RISE-UP Experience.

PubMed

Belcher, Harolyn M E; Stone, Jacqueline D; McFadden, Jenese A; Hemmingson, Tyler A; Kreutzer, Cary; Harris, Lisa G; Wheeler, Barbara Y; Van Osdel, Joanne; Avila, Margaret; Yorker, Beatrice; Hoffman, Beth R; Turner-Musa, Jocelyn O

2015-12-01

This study examines maternal and child health core competencies and leadership characteristics of undergraduate students following participation in the Maternal and Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement-Undergraduate Program (MCHC/RISE-UP). MCHC/RISE-UP is a 10-week public health leadership program designed to promote diversity in public health workforce through mentored research, community engagement and advocacy, and clinical experiences for undergraduate students. The MCHC/RISE-UP is a national consortium of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities including, (1) Kennedy Krieger Institute (Kennedy Krieger, lead institution) partnering with Morgan State University, a Historically Black University, (2) the University of South Dakota partnering with Tribal Serving Institutions; and (3) the University of Southern California Children's Hospital-Los Angeles and their partner institution, California State University Los Angeles, a Hispanic Serving Institution. Eighty-four junior and senior undergraduates and recent baccalaureate degree students who participated in the MCHC/RISE-UP worked on 48 maternal and child health projects. Following the MCHC/RISE-UP, students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all maternal and child health core competencies. Transformational leadership characteristics also increased (mean increase 9.4, 95% CI 7.2-11.8; p < 0.001). At closing interview, over twice as many students endorsed a public health career goal compared to program admission (17.9 vs. 57.7%; p = 0.022). Multi-institutional collaborative public health leadership programs may extend the reach and recruitment of diverse students into the maternal and child health field. Experiential, didactic, and mentored learning opportunities may enhance student integration of maternal and child health competencies and transformational leadership characteristics.

Babies on Campus: Service to Infants and Families among Competing Priorities in University Child Care Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMullen, Mary Benson; Lash, Martha

2012-01-01

University early childhood programs attempt to balance a traditional tri-part mission: service to children and families; professional development of caregivers/teachers, clinicians, and researchers; and research on child development, learning, and/or education. Increasingly, infants receive care and education on university campuses, yet little is…

Implications of parent-child relationships for emerging adults' subjective feelings about adulthood.

PubMed

Lindell, Anna K; Campione-Barr, Nicole; Killoren, Sarah E

2017-10-01

Little is known about the role of parents in promoting their children's successful transition to adulthood, particularly for college students who may maintain stronger ties to parents than other emerging adults. The present study therefore investigated longitudinal implications of parent-child relationship qualities during emerging adults' first year of college for their feelings about the upcoming transition to adulthood 3 years later, as well as implications of 3 types of parental control (behavioral control, psychological control, helicopter parenting) for these associations. Multilevel models indicated that emerging adults who reported less negativity in their relationships with mothers and fathers felt more like adults 3 years later compared with emerging adults with low-quality relationships, while high levels of psychological control and helicopter parenting had detrimental implications for their vocational identity development and perceived competence regarding their transition to adulthood. However, nuanced interactions between parent-child relationship quality and parental control indicated that behavioral control had positive implications for outcomes if it occurred within the context of high-quality relationships, or when utilized with sons. The present study highlights the complex role that parents may play during college students' transition to adulthood, and future work should continue to examine ways that clinicians can incorporate parents as a potential resource for promoting emerging adults' successful transition to adulthood and the workforce. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Improving the quality of child anthropometry: Manual anthropometry in the Body Imaging for Nutritional Assessment Study (BINA).

PubMed

Conkle, Joel; Ramakrishnan, Usha; Flores-Ayala, Rafael; Suchdev, Parminder S; Martorell, Reynaldo

2017-01-01

Anthropometric data collected in clinics and surveys are often inaccurate and unreliable due to measurement error. The Body Imaging for Nutritional Assessment Study (BINA) evaluated the ability of 3D imaging to correctly measure stature, head circumference (HC) and arm circumference (MUAC) for children under five years of age. This paper describes the protocol for and the quality of manual anthropometric measurements in BINA, a study conducted in 2016-17 in Atlanta, USA. Quality was evaluated by examining digit preference, biological plausibility of z-scores, z-score standard deviations, and reliability. We calculated z-scores and analyzed plausibility based on the 2006 WHO Child Growth Standards (CGS). For reliability, we calculated intra- and inter-observer Technical Error of Measurement (TEM) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). We found low digit preference; 99.6% of z-scores were biologically plausible, with z-score standard deviations ranging from 0.92 to 1.07. Total TEM was 0.40 for stature, 0.28 for HC, and 0.25 for MUAC in centimeters. ICC ranged from 0.99 to 1.00. The quality of manual measurements in BINA was high and similar to that of the anthropometric data used to develop the WHO CGS. We attributed high quality to vigorous training, motivated and competent field staff, reduction of non-measurement error through the use of technology, and reduction of measurement error through adequate monitoring and supervision. Our anthropometry measurement protocol, which builds on and improves upon the protocol used for the WHO CGS, can be used to improve anthropometric data quality. The discussion illustrates the need to standardize anthropometric data quality assessment, and we conclude that BINA can provide a valuable evaluation of 3D imaging for child anthropometry because there is comparison to gold-standard, manual measurements.

Quality Details: A Close-Up Look at Child Care Program Strengths and Weaknesses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cryer, Debby; Phillipsen, Leslie

1997-01-01

Examined quality of infant/toddler and preschool child care centers. Found that although overall program quality was mediocre at best, accredited programs scored better than nonaccredited programs. Preschool classrooms needed improvements in cultural awareness, child privacy, and furnishings for relaxation. For infant/toddler programs,…

Differential Susceptibility to Parenting and Quality Child Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pluess, Michael; Belsky, Jay

2010-01-01

Research on differential susceptibility to rearing suggests that infants with difficult temperaments are disproportionately affected by parenting and child care quality, but a major U.S. child care study raises questions as to whether quality of care influences social adjustment. One thousand three hundred sixty-four American children from…

Adoptive and Nonadoptive Mother–Child Behavioral Interaction: A Comparative Study at 4 Years of Age

PubMed Central

Suwalsky, Joan T. D.; Padilla, Christina M.; Yuen, Cynthia X.; Horn, E. Parham; Bradley, Alexandra L.; Putnick, Diane L.; Bornstein, Marc H.

2016-01-01

Comparable samples of low-risk adopted and nonadopted children and mothers were observed during 3 tasks at age 4 years. Quality of mother-child interactions, child level of functioning in 4 domains, and maternal parenting satisfaction and social support were assessed. Adopted children were as competent as nonadopted children on measures of developmental functioning. Both groups of mothers expressed high satisfaction and support as parents. However, ratings of child, maternal, and dyadic behavior when interacting were all lower for adoptive dyads than for nonadoptive dyads, and adoptive dyads with boys accounted for the maternal and dyadic group differences. PMID:27134518

Partners in Quality: Tools for Practitioners in Child Care Settings. Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, Guide to Self-Reflection = Partenaires pour la qualite: Outils pour les intervenantes des divers milieux de garde d'enfants. Normes de pratique, Code de deontologie, Guide d'introspection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, Gillian

Partners in Quality is a research and development project sponsored by the Canadian Child Care Federation and its affiliates to explore how child care providers, parents, and other partners can work together to support and improve quality in child care. This booklet, in both English and French, supplements a series to support child care providers…

Play in the Sandpit: A University and a Child-Care Center Collaborate in Facilitated-Action Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarrett, Olga; French-Lee, Stacey; Bulunuz, Nermin; Bulunuz, Mizrap

2010-01-01

Sand play commonly occupies children at preschools, child-development centers, and school and park playgrounds. The authors review the research on sand play and present a small study on outdoor sand play conducted at a university-based, child-development center using a method they call "facilitated-action research." This study had four…

Preschools for Science: The Child Study Centre at the University of British Columbia, 1960-1997

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Penney; Gleason, Mona; Petrina, Stephen

2012-01-01

The development of the Child Study Centre (CSC) at University of British Columbia (UBC) provides a unique perspective on the complex and often contradictory relationship between child study and preschool education in postwar Canada. In this article, the authors detail the development and eventual closure of the CSC at UBC, focusing on the uneasy…

Innovation in Business Education: Developing a High Quality Online MBA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roe, C. William; Toma, Alfred G.; Yallapragada, RamMohan R.

2015-01-01

Online degree programs were probably pioneered by for-profit universities such as University of Phoenix. Many online degree programs were initially considered low quality academic programs compared to traditional programs. Therefore, many public and private universities were slow to adopt the online programs. However, gradually more and more…

Improving household air, drinking water and hygiene in rural Peru: a community-randomized-controlled trial of an integrated environmental home-based intervention package to improve child health.

PubMed

Hartinger, S M; Lanata, C F; Hattendorf, J; Verastegui, H; Gil, A I; Wolf, J; Mäusezahl, D

2016-12-01

Diarrhoea and acute lower respiratory infections are leading causes of childhood morbidity and mortality, which can be prevented by simple low-cost interventions. Integrated strategies can provide additional benefits by addressing multiple health burdens simultaneously. We conducted a community-randomized-controlled trial in 51 rural communities in Peru to evaluate whether an environmental home-based intervention package, consisting of improved solid-fuel stoves, kitchen sinks, solar disinfection of drinking water and hygiene promotion, reduces lower respiratory infections, diarrhoeal disease and improves growth in children younger than 36 months. The attention control group received an early child stimulation programme. We recorded 24 647 child-days of observation from 250 households in the intervention and 253 in the attention control group during 12-month follow-up. Mean diarrhoea incidence was 2.8 episodes per child-year in the intervention compared with 3.1 episodes in the control arm. This corresponds to a relative rate of 0.78 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.58-1.05] for diarrhoea incidence and an odds ratio of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.47-1.06) for diarrhoea prevalence. No effects on acute lower respiratory infections or children's growth rates were observed. Combined home-based environmental interventions slightly reduced childhood diarrhoea, but the confidence interval included unity. Effects on growth and respiratory outcomes were not observed, despite high user compliance of the interventions. The absent effect on respiratory health might be due to insufficient household air quality improvements of the improved stoves and additional time needed to achieve attitudinal and behaviour change when providing composite interventions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association

Family Income, Parent Education, and Perceived Constraints as Predictors of Observed Program Quality and Parent Rated Program Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torquati, Julia C.; Raikes, Helen H.; Huddleston-Casas, Catherine A.; Bovaird, James A.; Harris, Beatrice A.

2011-01-01

Observed child care quality and parent perceptions of child care quality received by children in poor (below Federal Poverty Line, FPL), low-income (between FPL and 200% of FPL), and non-low-income families were examined. Observations were completed in 359 center- and home-based child care programs in four Midwestern states and surveys were…

Child Care Effects in Context: Quality, Stability, and Multiplicity in Nonmaternal Child Care Arrangements during the First 15 Months of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tran, Henry; Weinraub, Marsha

2006-01-01

Main and interactive effects of child care quality, stability, and multiplicity on infants' attachment security, language comprehension, language production, and cognitive development at 15 months were examined using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care. Thirty-nine percent of the…

Psychosocial adjustment and mental health in former child soldiers--systematic review of the literature and recommendations for future research.

PubMed

Betancourt, Theresa S; Borisova, Ivelina; Williams, Timothy P; Meyers-Ohki, Sarah E; Rubin-Smith, Julia E; Annan, Jeannie; Kohrt, Brandon A

2013-01-01

This article reviews the available quantitative research on psychosocial adjustment and mental health among children (age <18 years) associated with armed forces and armed groups (CAAFAG)--commonly referred to as child soldiers. PRISMA standards for systematic reviews were used to search PubMed, PsycInfo, JSTOR, and Sociological Abstracts in February 2012 for all articles on former child soldiers and CAAFAG. Twenty-one quantitative studies from 10 countries were analyzed for author, year of publication, journal, objectives, design, selection population, setting, instruments, prevalence estimates, and associations with war experiences. Opinion pieces, editorials, and qualitative studies were deemed beyond the scope of this study. Quality of evidence was rated according to the systematic assessment of quality in observational research (SAQOR). According to SAQOR criteria, among the available published studies, eight studies were of high quality, four were of moderate quality, and the remaining nine were of low quality. Common limitations were lack of validated mental health measures, unclear methodology including undefined sampling approaches, and failure to report missing data. Only five studies included a comparison group of youth not involved with armed forces/armed groups, and only five studies assessed mental health at more than one point in time. Across studies, a number of risk and protective factors were associated with postconflict psychosocial adjustment and social reintegration in CAAFAG. Abduction, age of conscription, exposure to violence, gender, and community stigma were associated with increased internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. Family acceptance, social support, and educational/economic opportunities were associated with improved psychosocial adjustment. Research on the social reintegration and psychosocial adjustment of former child soldiers is nascent. A number of gaps in the available literature warrant future study. Recommendations to bolster the evidence base on psychosocial adjustment in former child soldiers and other war-affected youth include more studies comprising longitudinal study designs, and validated cross-cultural instruments for assessing mental health, as well as more integrated community-based approaches to study design and research monitoring. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2012 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

The Age of Entry into High-Quality Preschool, Child and Family Factors, and Developmental Outcomes in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zupancic, Maja; Kavcic, Tina

2006-01-01

Three blocks of factors were considered as predictors of four year old children's (N = 286) personality, non-verbal intelligence and social behaviour in preschool: (a) personality characteristics at time 1 (T1) when the participants were three years old; (b) parental education and parenting practices measured at T1; and (c) age of child's entry to…

Unfinished Business: Continued Investment in Child Care and Early Education Is Critical to Business and America's Future. Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Committee for Economic Development, 2012

2012-01-01

Business leaders have an acute understanding of the importance of a well-educated workforce to support a strong economy, keep America competitive globally, and ensure a vibrant democracy. Right now 20 percent of the American labor force is functionally illiterate or innumerate. High-quality child care and early education builds a strong foundation…

Evaluation Summary of the Expanding Opportunities Interagency Inclusion Initiative: Increasing and Enhancing Access, Participation and Supports for All Children in High Quality Inclusive Programs and Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC), 2011

2011-01-01

This paper describes the impetus for creating the Expanding Opportunities Interagency Inclusion Initiative and achievements to date in identifying and implementing effective and efficient inclusion strategies in the participating states. In March 2004, the Child Care Bureau (CCB) (renamed the Office of Child Care) and the Administration on…

Perinatal depression and child development: exploring the economic consequences from a South London cohort.

PubMed

Bauer, A; Pawlby, S; Plant, D T; King, D; Pariante, C M; Knapp, M

2015-01-01

Depression in mothers during pregnancy and in the postnatal period has been recognized to have wide-ranging adverse impacts on offspring. Our study examines some of the outcomes and long-term economic implications experienced by offspring who have been exposed to perinatal depression. We analysed the effects of perinatal depression on child development outcomes of children at ages 11 and 16 years from the community-based South London Child Development Study. Economic consequences were attached to those outcomes through simple decision-analytic techniques, building on evidence from studies of epidemiology, health-related quality of life, public sector costs and employment. The economic analysis takes a life-course perspective from the viewpoints of the public sector, individual and society. Additional risks that children exposed to perinatal depression develop emotional, behavioural or cognitive problems ranged from 5% to 21%. In addition, there was a high risk (24%) that children would have special educational needs. We present results in the form of cost consequences attached to adverse child outcomes. For each child exposed to perinatal depression, public sector costs exceeded £3030, costs due to reduced earnings were £1400 and health-related quality of life loss was valued at £3760. Action to prevent or treat mothers' depression during pregnancy and after birth is likely to reduce public sector costs, increase earnings and improve quality of life for children who were exposed to the condition.

Child abuse in Chandigarh, India, and its implications.

PubMed

Sharma, B R; Gupta, Manisha

2004-10-01

Few abuses of human rights are so universally condemned but at the same time so universally practiced as child abuse. Over the centuries, children have been subjected to physical, sexual and emotional abuse as well as neglect. By any objective measures, this issue should rank high on the global agenda but in practice it is surrounded by a wall of silence and perpetuated by ignorance. Child sexual abuse is a dark reality that routinely inflicts our daily lives but in a majority of cases it goes unnoticed and unreported on account of the innocence of the victim, stigma attached to the act, callousness and insensitivity of the investigating and the law enforcement agencies, etc. A child who has been sexually abused is traumatized for life but it is only much later in life when the emotional and psychological trauma aggravates that such people seek medical help. There is an urgent need to take up the problem as a larger social issue where the society has a responsibility to help the victims overcome their trauma and move on with life as normally as possible. We report a retrospective review of children (age<16 years) referred for medicolegal examination, an autopsy in Chandigarh, India, between 2000 and 2003.

The Impact of Divorce on Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thiessen, Irmgard

1993-01-01

The degree of emotional trauma that children may face during or after their parents' divorce is related to the personality profiles of both parents; quality of parent-child bonding; quality of parent-child attachment; parenting styles; and resilience of the child. Courts and child care workers should look more closely at parent personality…

Biases in Quality Attribution to Mother-Child and Caregiver-Child Interaction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shpancer, Noam; Britner, Preston A.

1995-01-01

Examined the possible existence, direction, and nature of subconscious, cognitive biases in participants' quality attributions to maternal and nonmaternal child-care interactions, the relationship of such biases to subject's background, and their attitudes toward child care and maternal employment. Potential explanations for the biases and the…

Semi-automated ontology generation within OBO-Edit.

PubMed

Wächter, Thomas; Schroeder, Michael

2010-06-15

Ontologies and taxonomies have proven highly beneficial for biocuration. The Open Biomedical Ontology (OBO) Foundry alone lists over 90 ontologies mainly built with OBO-Edit. Creating and maintaining such ontologies is a labour-intensive, difficult, manual process. Automating parts of it is of great importance for the further development of ontologies and for biocuration. We have developed the Dresden Ontology Generator for Directed Acyclic Graphs (DOG4DAG), a system which supports the creation and extension of OBO ontologies by semi-automatically generating terms, definitions and parent-child relations from text in PubMed, the web and PDF repositories. DOG4DAG is seamlessly integrated into OBO-Edit. It generates terms by identifying statistically significant noun phrases in text. For definitions and parent-child relations it employs pattern-based web searches. We systematically evaluate each generation step using manually validated benchmarks. The term generation leads to high-quality terms also found in manually created ontologies. Up to 78% of definitions are valid and up to 54% of child-ancestor relations can be retrieved. There is no other validated system that achieves comparable results. By combining the prediction of high-quality terms, definitions and parent-child relations with the ontology editor OBO-Edit we contribute a thoroughly validated tool for all OBO ontology engineers. DOG4DAG is available within OBO-Edit 2.1 at http://www.oboedit.org. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Parental Marital Quality, Parental Divorce, and Relations with Parents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Booth, Alan; Amato, Paul R.

1994-01-01

Examined data from 419 parents and their adult children to assess impact of parental marital quality and divorce while child is residing with parents on parent-child relations 12 years later. Low marital quality and divorce appeared to have independent effects on adult child-parent relations. Fathers' relationships suffered more than mothers';…

Partners in Quality: Facilitator's Guide = Partenaires Pour la Qualite.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckman, Sandra

Partners in Quality is a research and development project sponsored by the Canadian Child Care Federation and its affiliates to explore how child care providers, parents, and other partners can work together to support and improve quality in child care. This facilitator's guide is designed to help facilitators prepare and deliver workshops based…

Assuring Quality in Large-Scale Online Course Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parscal, Tina; Riemer, Deborah

2010-01-01

Student demand for online education requires colleges and universities to rapidly expand the number of courses and programs offered online while maintaining high quality. This paper outlines two universities respective processes to assure quality in large-scale online programs that integrate instructional design, eBook custom publishing, Quality…

Helping Children through Crisis: A Special Report from the Editors of the Brown University Child Behavior and Development Letter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipsitt, Lewis P., Ed.

Noting that today's children face many dangers such as depression (in some cases leading to suicide), child abuse, eating disorders, accidents, alcohol and other drug abuse, and AIDS, this report, drawn from past issues of The Brown University Child Behavior and Development Letter, presents some of the most interesting and useful findings on these…

Responding to families with complex needs: a national survey of child and family health nurses.

PubMed

Rossiter, Chris; Schmied, Virginia; Kemp, Lynn; Fowler, Cathrine; Kruske, Sue; Homer, Caroline S E

2017-02-01

The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which Australian child and family health nurses work with families with complex needs and how their practice responds to the needs of these families. Many families with young children face challenges to their parenting capacity, potentially placing their children at risk of poorer developmental outcomes. Nurses increasingly work with families with mental health problems, trauma histories and/or substance dependence. Universal child health services must respond effectively to these challenges, to address health inequalities and to promote the best outcomes for all children and families. The descriptive study used cross-sectional data from the first national survey of child and family health nurses in Australia, conducted during 2011. Survey data reported how often, where and how child and family health nurses worked with families with complex needs and their confidence in nursing tasks. Many, but not all, of the 679 respondents saw families with complex needs in their regular weekly caseload. Child and family health nurses with diverse and complex caseloads reported using varied approaches to support their clients. They often undertook additional professional development and leadership roles compared with nurses who reported less complex caseloads. Most respondents reported high levels of professional confidence. For health services providing universal support and early intervention for families at risk, the findings underscore the importance of appropriate education, training and support for child and family health professionals. The findings can inform the organization and delivery of services for families in Australia and internationally. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Relationships with mother, teacher, and peers: unique and joint effects on young children's self-concept.

PubMed

Verschueren, Karine; Doumen, Sarah; Buyse, Evelien

2012-01-01

This study tested the unique and joint effects of three significant relationships in young children's social lives, namely their relationships with mother, teacher, and peers, on three dimensions of self-concept (general, academic, and social). A sample of 113 children participated. Mother-child attachment quality was observed in preschool. In first grade, teacher ratings of teacher-child relationship quality, peer ratings of peer acceptance, and child reports of self-concept were administered. The results revealed domain-specific links between social relationships and self-concept dimensions. Specifically, academic self-concept related to teacher-child relationship quality, social self-concept to peer acceptance, and general self-concept to the quality of attachment to mother. Moreover, an indirect effect was revealed of earlier mother-child attachment quality on the academic dimension of self through its effect on current adult-child relationships in school. This way, the study uncovered the pathways through which significant social relationships shape the formation of young children's self-concept.

Why Does a Universal Anti-Bullying Program Not Help All Children? Explaining Persistent Victimization During an Intervention.

PubMed

Kaufman, Tessa M L; Kretschmer, Tina; Huitsing, Gijs; Veenstra, René

2018-04-30

Although anti-bullying interventions are often effective, some children continue to be victimized. To increase knowledge of potential factors that might impede children's benefiting from an anti-bullying intervention, we examined potential reasons for individual differences in victimization trajectories during a group-based anti-bullying intervention. Data stem from a five-wave survey among 9122 children (7-12 years old; grades 2-5) who participated in the KiVa anti-bullying intervention (n = 6142) or were in control schools (n = 2980 children). Three trajectories were found in the intervention sample, representing children who experienced stable high, decreasing, or stable low/no victimization. A two-trajectory model of high and low trajectories represented the control sample best. Multinomial regressions on the intervention sample showed that children who experienced particularly high levels of peer rejection, internalizing problems, and lower quality parent-child relationships decreased less in victimization; thus these characteristics appeared to contribute to persistent victimization. The results call for tailored strategies in interventions aiming to reduce victimization for more children.

Communication Patterns in Preschool Education Institutions – Practical Examples

PubMed Central

Radic-Hozo, Endica

2014-01-01

Introduction: Proper communication in pre-school institutions for education is undeniable importance to the development of the child, as evidenced by numerous studies. After the child's birth follows the most complex phase in its early phases - preschool education. Only high-quality, synergistic relationship triad: parent-child-educator and the modern postulates of preschool child education, warrants successful preschool child education. Methods and materials: Description, with examples from daily practice in a large institution for preschool education, marked were the critical points on the complex way in child education, many pitfalls encountered by both parents and educators. Considered are the errors in communication with the proposed solution to avoid the same in practice. Conclusion: Proper, daily communication in the preschool institution for education, within a relationship between parent-child-educator, mutual consultation, respect, acceptance, facilitation, resulting in successful common goal - the proper education and socialization of children in institutions for preschool education. PMID:25568636

Teasing Apart the Child Care Conundrum: A Factorial Survey Analysis of Perceptions of Child Care Quality, Fair Market Price and Willingness to Pay by Low-Income, African American Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shlay, Anne B.; Tran, Henry; Weinraub, Marsha; Harmon, Michelle

2005-01-01

Child care quality plays a crucial role in children's social and cognitive development. While child care quality is a critical issue for all children, it matters more for low-income children. Policy makers have increased the emphasis on allowing parents, not government, to make decisions about the type of care they want for their children. Yet…

Community-Level Sanitation Coverage More Strongly Associated with Child Growth and Household Drinking Water Quality than Access to a Private Toilet in Rural Mali.

PubMed

Harris, Michael; Alzua, Maria Laura; Osbert, Nicolas; Pickering, Amy

2017-06-20

Sanitation access can provide positive externalities; for example, safe disposal of feces by one household prevents disease transmission to households nearby. However, little empirical evidence exists to characterize the potential health benefits from sanitation externalities. This study investigated the effect of community sanitation coverage versus individual household sanitation access on child health and drinking water quality. Using a census of 121 villages in rural Mali, we analyzed the association of community latrine coverage (defined by a 200 m radius surrounding a household) and individual household latrine ownership with child growth and household stored water quality. Child height-for-age had a significant and positive linear relationship with community latrine coverage, while child weight-for-age and household water quality had nonlinear relationships that leveled off above 60% coverage (p < 0.01; generalized additive models). Child growth and water quality were not associated with individual household latrine ownership. The relationship between community latrine coverage and child height was strongest among households without a latrine; for these households, each 10% increase in latrine coverage was associated with a 0.031 (p-value = 0.040) increase in height-for-age z-score. In this study, the level of sanitation access of surrounding households was more important than private latrine access for protecting water quality and child health.

Community-Level Sanitation Coverage More Strongly Associated with Child Growth and Household Drinking Water Quality than Access to a Private Toilet in Rural Mali

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Sanitation access can provide positive externalities; for example, safe disposal of feces by one household prevents disease transmission to households nearby. However, little empirical evidence exists to characterize the potential health benefits from sanitation externalities. This study investigated the effect of community sanitation coverage versus individual household sanitation access on child health and drinking water quality. Using a census of 121 villages in rural Mali, we analyzed the association of community latrine coverage (defined by a 200 m radius surrounding a household) and individual household latrine ownership with child growth and household stored water quality. Child height-for-age had a significant and positive linear relationship with community latrine coverage, while child weight-for-age and household water quality had nonlinear relationships that leveled off above 60% coverage (p < 0.01; generalized additive models). Child growth and water quality were not associated with individual household latrine ownership. The relationship between community latrine coverage and child height was strongest among households without a latrine; for these households, each 10% increase in latrine coverage was associated with a 0.031 (p-value = 0.040) increase in height-for-age z-score. In this study, the level of sanitation access of surrounding households was more important than private latrine access for protecting water quality and child health. PMID:28514143

Impact of nurses clothing on anxiety of hospitalised children.

PubMed

Roohafza, Hamidreza; Pirnia, Afsaneh; Sadeghi, Masoumeh; Toghianifar, Nafiseh; Talaei, Mohammad; Ashrafi, Mahmood

2009-07-01

To investigate anxiety levels in two groups of children exposed to nurses with white vs. coloured clothing in a university hospital in Iran. Hospitalisation causes anxiety in children and it is documented that nurses have an important role in alleviating children's distress and anxiety. Nurses characteristics, including their clothing is a factor that affects quality of care through child-nurse relationship. Clinical trial. Children (n = 92) aged 7-15 years old hospitalised for 3-5 days in paediatric surgery ward were exposed to nurses in white or coloured clothing. Children's anxiety was assessed on admission and at discharge using Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Children exposed to white nursing uniforms showed higher anxiety levels compared with children exposed to coloured nursing clothing (p < or = 0.05). Besides coloured nursing clothing, female sex, age >11 years old (guidance school) and living in families with more than four members were predictors of lower global anxiety scores. Providing a child-friendly environment through colourful nursing clothing can promote nurses' relationship with hospitalised children. This can satisfy children's expectations of the nursing care and alleviates the need for meeting ideals of nursing care through wearing a white nursing uniform provided that standards of nursing care are favoured. Using colourful nursing clothing in paediatric wards reduces anxiety as a psychological parameter which delays improvement and provides a child-friendly environment that helps promotion of quality of nursing care.

Change in Child Behaviour Concerns Associated with Childcare Quality Features among a Sample of Low-Income Latino Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartman, Suzanne; Manfra, Louis

2016-01-01

This study explored the relation between childcare quality (staff-child ratio and staff-child interactions) and behavioural development between the beginning and the end of the childcare year among a sample of 44 low-income Latino four-year-olds in 14 childcare programmes. Neither staff-child ratio nor staff-child interactions were related to…

Does the home environment and the sex of the child modify the adverse effects of prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos on child working memory?

PubMed

Horton, Megan K; Kahn, Linda G; Perera, Frederica; Barr, Dana Boyd; Rauh, Virginia

2012-01-01

Prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF), an organophosphorus insecticide, has long been associated with delayed neurocognitive development and most recently with decrements in working memory at age 7. In the current paper, we expanded the previous work on CPF to investigate how additional biological and social environmental factors might create or explain differential neurodevelopmental susceptibility, focusing on main and moderating effects of the quality of the home environment (HOME) and child sex. We evaluate how the quality of the home environment (specifically, parental nurturance and environmental stimulation) and child sex interact with the adverse effects of prenatal CPF exposure on working memory at child age 7years. We did not observe a remediating effect of a high quality home environment (either parental nurturance or environmental stimulation) on the adverse effects of prenatal CPF exposure on working memory. However, we detected a borderline significant interaction between prenatal exposure to CPF and child sex (B (95% CI) for interaction term=-1.714 (-3.753 to 0.326)) suggesting males experience a greater decrement in working memory than females following prenatal CPF exposure. In addition, we detected a borderline interaction between parental nurturance and child sex (B (95% CI) for interaction term=1.490 (-0.518 to 3.499)) suggesting that, in terms of working memory, males benefit more from a nurturing environment than females. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation into factors that may inform an intervention strategy to reduce or reverse the cognitive deficits resulting from prenatal CPF exposure. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigating social functioning after early mild TBI: the quality of parent-child interactions.

PubMed

Lalonde, Gabrielle; Bernier, Annie; Beaudoin, Cindy; Gravel, Jocelyn; Beauchamp, Miriam H

2018-03-01

The young brain is particularly vulnerable to injury due to inherent physiological and developmental factors, and even mild forms of traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can sometimes result in cognitive and behavioural difficulties. Despite the high prevalence of paediatric mTBI, little is known of its impact on children's social functioning. Parent-child relationships represent the centre of young children's social environments and are therefore ideal contexts for studying the potential effects of mTBI on children's social functioning. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of parent-child interactions after mTBI using observational assessment methods and parental report. The sample included 130 children (18-60 months at recruitment) divided into three groups: children with uncomplicated mTBI (n = 47), children with orthopaedic injury (OI, n = 27), and non-injured children (NI, n = 56). The quality of parent-child interactions was assessed 6 months post-injury using the Mutually Responsive Orientation (MRO) scale, an observational measure which focuses on the dyadic nature of parent-child exchanges, and the Parental Stress Index questionnaire (Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction (PCDI) domain). Significant differences with medium effect sizes were found between the mTBI group and the NI group on the MRO, but not between the OI group and the other two groups. PCDI scores did not differ across groups, suggesting that observational measures may be more sensitive to changes in parent-child interactions after TBI. The current findings have implications for children's post-injury social development and highlight the importance of monitoring social outcomes even after minor head injuries. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of a Measure of Staff/Child Interaction Quality (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System) in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings and Child Outcomes.

PubMed

Perlman, Michal; Falenchuk, Olesya; Fletcher, Brooke; McMullen, Evelyn; Beyene, Joseph; Shah, Prakesh S

2016-01-01

The quality of staff/child interactions as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) programs is thought to be important for children's outcomes. The CLASS is made of three domains that assess Emotional Support, Classroom Organization and Instructional Support. It is a relatively new measure that is being used increasingly for research, quality monitoring/accountability and other applied purposes. Our objective was to evaluate the association between the CLASS and child outcomes. Searches of Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, websites of large datasets and reference sections of all retrieved articles were conducted up to July 3, 2015. Studies that measured association between the CLASS and child outcomes for preschool-aged children who attended ECEC programs were included after screening by two independent reviewers. Searches and data extraction were conducted by two independent reviewers. Thirty-five studies were systematically reviewed of which 19 provided data for meta-analyses. Most studies had moderate to high risk of bias. Of the 14 meta-analyses we conducted, associations between Classroom Organization and Pencil Tapping and between Instructional Support and SSRS Social Skills were significant with pooled correlations of .06 and .09 respectively. All associations were in the expected direction. In the systematic review, significant correlations were reported mainly from one large dataset. Substantial heterogeneity in use of the CLASS, its dimensions, child outcomes and statistical measures was identified. Greater consistency in study methodology is urgently needed. Given the multitude of factors that impact child development it is encouraging that our analyses revealed some, although small, associations between the CLASS and children's outcomes.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of a Measure of Staff/Child Interaction Quality (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System) in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings and Child Outcomes

PubMed Central

Perlman, Michal; Falenchuk, Olesya; Fletcher, Brooke; McMullen, Evelyn; Beyene, Joseph; Shah, Prakesh S.

2016-01-01

The quality of staff/child interactions as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) programs is thought to be important for children’s outcomes. The CLASS is made of three domains that assess Emotional Support, Classroom Organization and Instructional Support. It is a relatively new measure that is being used increasingly for research, quality monitoring/accountability and other applied purposes. Our objective was to evaluate the association between the CLASS and child outcomes. Searches of Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, websites of large datasets and reference sections of all retrieved articles were conducted up to July 3, 2015. Studies that measured association between the CLASS and child outcomes for preschool-aged children who attended ECEC programs were included after screening by two independent reviewers. Searches and data extraction were conducted by two independent reviewers. Thirty-five studies were systematically reviewed of which 19 provided data for meta-analyses. Most studies had moderate to high risk of bias. Of the 14 meta-analyses we conducted, associations between Classroom Organization and Pencil Tapping and between Instructional Support and SSRS Social Skills were significant with pooled correlations of .06 and .09 respectively. All associations were in the expected direction. In the systematic review, significant correlations were reported mainly from one large dataset. Substantial heterogeneity in use of the CLASS, its dimensions, child outcomes and statistical measures was identified. Greater consistency in study methodology is urgently needed. Given the multitude of factors that impact child development it is encouraging that our analyses revealed some, although small, associations between the CLASS and children’s outcomes. PMID:28036333

Education Fever and the East Asian Fertility Puzzle: A case study of low fertility in South Korea

PubMed Central

Anderson, Thomas; Kohler, Hans-Peter

2014-01-01

Fertility throughout East Asia has fallen rapidly over the last five decades and is now below the replacement rate of 2.1 in every country in the region. Using South Korea as a case study, we argue that East Asia's ultra-low fertility rates can be partially explained by the steadfast parental drive to have competitive and successful children. Parents throughout the region invest large amounts of time and money to ensure that their children are able to enter prestigious universities and obtain top jobs. Accordingly, childrearing has become so expensive that the average couple cannot afford to have more than just one or two children. The trend of high parental investment in child education, also known as ‘education fever’, exemplifies the notion of ‘quality over quantity’ and is an important contributing factor to understanding low-fertility in East Asia. PMID:24883076

Improving the Climate for Graduate Education at a Major Research University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipschutz, Susan S.

1988-01-01

The graduate school at the University of Michigan (UM) is seeking to identify the characteristics of a high quality graduate education, taking into account various aspects of quality that are susceptible to numerical analysis as well as those that are not. Contemporary research universities are composed of many autonomous spheres (undergraduate…

Decline in the Quality of Family Relationships Predicts Escalation in Children’s Internalizing Symptoms from Middle to Late Childhood

PubMed Central

Kochanska, Grazyna

2015-01-01

An integration of family systems perspectives with developmental psychopathology provides a framework for examining the complex interplay between family processes and developmental trajectories of child psychopathology over time. In a community sample of 98 families, we investigated the evolution of family relationships, across multiple subsystems of the family (i.e., interparental, mother-child, father-child), and the impact of these changing family dynamics on developmental trajectories of child internalizing symptoms over 6 years, from preschool age to pre-adolescence. Parent–child relationship quality was observed during lengthy sessions, consisting of multiple naturalistic, carefully scripted contexts. Each parent completed reports about interparental relationship satisfaction and child internalizing symptoms. To the extent that mothers experienced a steeper decline in interparental relationship satisfaction over time, children developed internalizing symptoms at a faster rate. Further, symptoms escalated at a faster rate to the extent that negative mother-child relationship quality increased (more negative affect expressed by both mother and child, greater maternal power assertion) and positive mother-child relationship quality decreased (less positive affect expressed by both mother and child, less warmth and positive reciprocity). Time-lagged growth curve analyses established temporal precedence such that decline in family relationships preceded escalation in child internalizing symptoms. Results suggest that family dysfunction, across multiple subsystems, represents a driving force in the progression of child internalizing symptoms. PMID:25790794

Decline in the Quality of Family Relationships Predicts Escalation in Children's Internalizing Symptoms from Middle to Late Childhood.

PubMed

Brock, Rebecca L; Kochanska, Grazyna

2015-10-01

An integration of family systems perspectives with developmental psychopathology provides a framework for examining the complex interplay between family processes and developmental trajectories of child psychopathology over time. In a community sample of 98 families, we investigated the evolution of family relationships, across multiple subsystems of the family (i.e., interparental, mother-child, father-child), and the impact of these changing family dynamics on developmental trajectories of child internalizing symptoms over 6 years, from preschool age to pre-adolescence. Parent-child relationship quality was observed during lengthy sessions, consisting of multiple naturalistic, carefully scripted contexts. Each parent completed reports about interparental relationship satisfaction and child internalizing symptoms. To the extent that mothers experienced a steeper decline in interparental relationship satisfaction over time, children developed internalizing symptoms at a faster rate. Further, symptoms escalated at a faster rate to the extent that negative mother-child relationship quality increased (more negative affect expressed by both mother and child, greater maternal power assertion) and positive mother-child relationship quality decreased (less positive affect expressed by both mother and child, less warmth and positive reciprocity). Time-lagged growth curve analyses established temporal precedence such that decline in family relationships preceded escalation in child internalizing symptoms. Results suggest that family dysfunction, across multiple subsystems, represents a driving force in the progression of child internalizing symptoms.

Moving up. Fordham Sponsorship Accountability Report, 2011-12

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 2012

2012-01-01

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute is the nation's leader in advancing educational excellence for every child through quality research, analysis, and commentary, as well as on-the-ground action and advocacy in Ohio. The institute advances: (1) High standards for schools, students and educators; (2) Quality education options for families; (3) A more…

Modeling Family Adaptation to Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raspa, Melissa; Bailey, Donald, Jr.; Bann, Carla; Bishop, Ellen

2014-01-01

Using data from a survey of 1,099 families who have a child with Fragile X syndrome, we examined adaptation across 7 dimensions of family life: parenting knowledge, social support, social life, financial impact, well-being, quality of life, and overall impact. Results illustrate that although families report a high quality of life, they struggle…

Assessing the Quality of Early Years Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Glenda; Gardner, John

2005-01-01

This article describes a means of evaluating early years classrooms from the perspective of the child's experience. Nine key themes, such as motivation and independence, are identified as representing significant aspects of a high-quality environment for learning. The manner in which these manifest themselves in relation to the three elements of…

Dewey: A Panacea for the 'Schoolification' Epidemic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ring, Emer; O'Sullivan, Lisha

2018-01-01

High quality early years' education is associated with providing a child-centred curriculum based on a knowledge of how young children learn. The global 'schoolification epidemic' has led to an increasing focus on prescribed curricula and presents as a serious threat to the quality of children's early years' experiences. Findings from research in…

Measuring the Quality of Early Childhood Programs--Guidelines for Effective Evaluation Tools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epstein, Ann S.

2000-01-01

Summarizes what High/Scope discovered to be the critical characteristics of a comprehensive and valid measure of early childhood program quality. Provides suggestions for how the tool can be used, and highlights with examples. Asserts that the guidelines effectively assess efforts of child development, staff development, and soundness of…

Improving Teacher Quality: Lessons from America's "No Child Left Behind"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Emma; Gorard, Stephen

2007-01-01

How developed countries train, recruit and retain their schoolteachers is an area of considerable interest in education today. In this paper we consider how the US is addressing the issue of teacher quality by holding schools and school districts accountable for ensuring that all teachers of core subjects are "highly qualified" by the…

Center Size and Center Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helburn, Suzanne; Morris, John

1996-01-01

Examined the impact of child care center size on cost, quality, and profits per child. Examined centers ranging from 40 to 80 children and found total cost and revenue per child were similar for small, medium, and large centers. Found profits per child were highest in large centers and that there was no relationship between center quality and…

Boys, Girls, and "Two Cultures" of Child Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winer, Abby C.; Phillips, Deborah A.

2012-01-01

This study examined differences in the quality of child care experienced by toddler boys and girls. Boys were more likely to be in lower-quality child care than girls, assessed with both setting-level measures and observations of caregiver-child interaction. A possible explanatory mechanism for the gender differences is suggested by evidence that…

Parental Decision Making about Technology and Quality in Child Care Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Katherine K.; Vittrup, Brigitte; Leveridge, Tinney

2013-01-01

Background: This study investigated parental decision making about non-parental child care programs based on the technological and quality components of the program, both child-focused and parent-focused. Child-focused variables related to children's access to technology such as computers, educational television programming, and the internet.…

Quality assessment of dental health services provided at the Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University.

PubMed

Hassan, Ali H; Amer, Hala A; Maghrabi, Abdulhamaid A

2005-01-01

The objectives of this research were to assess the quality of dental services delivered in King Abdulaziz University and highlight the necessary recommendations that would improve it. The methods used were live photographs illustrating the structure of dental services of the faculty presented in the clinic buildings, waiting places, equipments, instruments and supplies, as well as the comfort and privacy. Review of official records of the faculty for the number, qualifications and training of the dental staff and auxiliary personnel, as well as the process of care (starting from patient registration until completion of treatment). Records also demonstrated the access and utilization of services delivered in the various departments, the quality of these services and of infection control measures and procedures. The results revealed the high quality of services delivered through evaluating the structure and process of care in the university dental clinics. Dental services of King Abdulaziz University conform to high quality standards, with implementation of some changes for improvement and development.

Role of health insurance in financing vaccinations for children and adolescents in the United States.

PubMed

Shen, Angela K; Hunsaker, John; Gazmararian, Julie A; Lindley, Megan C; Birkhead, Guthrie S

2009-12-01

The goal was to elicit perspectives of selected health insurance plan medical or quality improvement directors regarding factors related to coverage and reimbursement and perceptions of financing as a barrier to child and adolescent immunization. Medical or quality improvement directors from 20 plans selected by America's Health Insurance Plans were invited to complete an online survey in July 2007. Respondents who agreed to follow-up interviews were invited to participate in telephone interviews conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff members in August 2007. Fifteen plans (representing >67 million enrollees) responded to the online survey. All respondents covered all Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices-recommended child and adolescent vaccines in all or most products. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations were the most commonly cited criteria for coverage decisions (86.7%) and coverage modifications (100%). Factors affecting reimbursement that were cited most often were manufacturer's vaccine price (80%) and physician feedback (53.3%). In follow-up interviews with 10 self-selected respondents, manufacturer's price (7 of 10 plans) and physician feedback (4 of 10 plans) were identified as the most-important factors affecting reimbursement. Respondents said that reimbursement delays were most commonly attributable to providers' claim submission errors or patient ineligibility. Some respondents thought that vaccine financing was a barrier (4 of 10 plans) or somewhat a barrier (2 of 10 plans) to providing immunizations; others (4 of 10 plans) did not. Although these data suggest that health insurance coverage for recommended vaccines is high, coverage is not universal across all products offered.

Parent illness appraisals, parent adjustment, and parent-reported child quality of life in pediatric cancer.

PubMed

Mullins, Larry L; Cushing, Christopher C; Suorsa, Kristina I; Tackett, Alayna P; Molzon, Elizabeth S; Mayes, Sunnye; McNall-Knapp, Rene; Mullins, Alexandria J; Gamwell, Kaitlyn L; Chaney, John M

2016-08-01

Psychosocial distress is a salient construct experienced by families of children with newly diagnosed cancer, but little is known about parental appraisal of the child's illness and the subsequent impact this may have on child and parent functioning. The goal of the present study was to examine the interrelationships among multiple parent illness appraisals, parent adjustment outcomes, and parent-reported child quality of life in parents of children diagnosed with cancer. Parents completed measures of illness appraisal (illness uncertainty and attitude toward illness), parent adjustment (general distress, posttraumatic stress, parenting stress), and child quality of life (general and cancer-related). Path analysis revealed direct effects for parent illness uncertainty and illness attitudes on all 3 measures of parent adjustment. Illness uncertainty, but not illness attitudes, demonstrated a direct effect on parent-reported child general quality of life; parenting stress had direct effects on general and cancer-related quality of life. Exploratory analyses indicated that parent illness uncertainty and illness attitudes conferred indirect effects on parent-reported general and cancer-related quality of life through parenting stress. Negative parent illness appraisals appear to have adverse impacts on parents' psychosocial functioning and have implications for the well-being of their child with cancer.

The Quest for Quality: How YoungStar Is Affecting Child Care in Milwaukee County

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mueller, Betsy; Peterangelo, Joe; Henken, Rob

2016-01-01

The State of Wisconsin's YoungStar system was created by the Legislature and Governor in 2010 to "drive quality improvement in child care throughout the state." YoungStar uses a five-star system to rate child care providers based on several measures of quality, including staff education levels, learning environment, business methods, and…

Lessons Learned from Home Visiting with Home-Based Child Care Providers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCabe, Lisa A.; Peterson, Shira M.; Baker, Amy C.; Dumka, Marsha; Brach, Mary Jo; Webb, Diana

2011-01-01

Caring for Quality and Partners in Family Child Care are home visiting programs designed to improve the quality of home-based child care. This article describes the experiences of two different home visitors to demonstrate how programs such as these can help providers improve the overall quality of care, increase children's development, and lead…

Quality of Life of Caregivers of Children with Autism in Qatar

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kheir, Nadir; Ghoneim, Ola; Sandridge, Amy L.; Al-Ismail, Muna; Hayder, Sara; Al-Rawi, Fadhila

2012-01-01

Introduction: Caring for a child diagnosed with autism could affect the quality of life of the caregiver in various different ways. No previous research has assessed the quality of lives of caregivers of children with autism in Qatar. Methods: Caregivers of a child with autism between 3 and 17 years old were recruited from child rehabilitation…

Caring and Learning Environments: Quality in Regulated Family Child Care across Canada. You Bet I Care!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, Gillian; Lero, Donna S.; Goelman, Hillel; Tougas, Jocelyne; LaGrange, Annette

Canadian experts in diverse fields as well as people concerned about social justice and cohesion have identified quality child care as a crucial component in addressing a variety of broad societal goals. This study explored the relationships between quality in Canadian family child care homes and: provider characteristics and attitudes about…

The Relationship between Quality of Pre-School Child Care Institutions and Teachers' Teaching Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Õun, Tiia; Tuul, Maire; Tera, Signe; Sagen, Kelli; Mägi, Helena

2018-01-01

Various factors of the quality of preschool child care institutions influence the development of children and their future success in school. The activities of preschool child care institutions in Estonia are based on the national curriculum. Several indicators of structural quality have been determined on the national level. The aim of the…

Parenting the Premature Infant: Balancing Vulnerability and Quality of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eiser, C.; Eiser, J. R.; Mayhew, A. G.; Gibson, A. T.

2005-01-01

Background: Relationships between child quality of life (QOL), maternal well-being and parenting were explored in a questionnaire study. Method: Mothers of 126 full-term (FT) and 91 pre-term (PT) infants during the child's second year of life completed measures of their own and the child's quality of life and behavioural difficulties. We developed…

Vermont STep Ahead Recognition System: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of Vermont's STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for All Child Care Programs;…

The National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services: A Program Description

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins-Camargo, Crystal; Ensign, Karl; Flaherty, Chris

2008-01-01

Quality improvement centers were created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau beginning in 2001 to promote knowledge development through an innovative approach to applied collaborative research in child welfare. The National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services was funded to…

Parental depressive symptoms and marital intimacy at 4.5 years: joint contributions to mother-child and father-child interaction at 6.5 years.

PubMed

Engle, Jennifer M; McElwain, Nancy L

2013-12-01

Using data from a subset of 606 families who participated in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we assessed emotional intimacy in the marriage as a buffer of the negative effects of parental depression on the quality of parent-child interaction. Maternal and paternal depressive symptoms and perceptions of emotional intimacy in the marriage were assessed via self-reports when children were 4.5 years old, and parental sensitive scaffolding and child task orientation were observed during mother-child and father-child interaction tasks at 4.5 years and again at 6.5 years. Path analyses indicated that marital intimacy moderated the longitudinal association between parental depressive symptoms and parent-child interaction, controlling for parent or child behavior at 4.5 years. The pattern of this interaction, however, differed for mothers and fathers. Paternal depressive symptoms predicted less child task orientation with fathers when marital intimacy was low and more child task orientation when marital intimacy was high. In contrast, maternal depressive symptoms predicted less sensitive scaffolding by mothers and less child task orientation with mothers when mothers reported moderate to high levels of marital intimacy. Results are discussed with respect to the buffering role of marital intimacy for children of depressed fathers and compensatory processes that may unfold for depressed mothers. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Differential trajectories of alcohol-related behaviors across the first year of college by parenting profiles

PubMed Central

Abar, Caitlin C.; Turrisi, Robert J.; Mallett, Kimberly A.

2015-01-01

This study examined the extent to which profiles of perceived parenting are associated with trajectories of alcohol-related behaviors across the first year of college. Method Participants were surveyed five times from the summer prior to college to the fall of the second year. A total 285 college students were enrolled from the incoming classes of consecutive cohorts of students at a large, public university in the Northeastern U.S. At baseline, participants provided information on their parents’ alcohol-related behaviors (e.g., parental modeling of use; perceived approval of underage use) and parenting characteristics (e.g., parental monitoring; parent-child relationship quality). Students also reported on their personal alcohol-related behaviors at each time point. Results Latent profile analysis was used to identify four subgroups based on the set of parenting characteristics: High Quality (14%) – highest parent-teen relationship quality; High Monitoring (31%) – highest parental monitoring and knowledge; Low Involvement (30%) – poor relationship quality, little monitoring and communication; and Pro-Alcohol (21%) – highest parental modeling and approval. Students were then assigned to profiles, and their alcohol-related behaviors were examined longitudinally using latent growth curve modeling. In general, students in the Pro-Alcohol profile displayed the highest baseline levels of typical weekend drinking, heavy episodic drinking, and peak BAC, in addition to showing steeper increases in typical weekend drinking across the first year of college. Discussion Results support the notion that parental behaviors remain relevant across the first year of college. Differential alcohol-related behaviors across parenting profiles highlight the potential for tailored college intervention. PMID:23915366

Prevalence Rate and Demographic and Clinical Correlates of Child Sexual Abuse Among New Psychiatric Outpatients in a City in Northern Alberta.

PubMed

Agyapong, Vincent I O; Juhás, Michal; Ritchie, Amanda; Ogunsina, Olurotimi; Ambrosano, Lorella; Corbett, Sandra

2017-01-01

The prevalence rate for child sexual abuse among new psychiatric outpatients in Fort McMurray was 20.7%. With an odds ratio for sex of 3.30, female patients are about 3 times more likely to report a history of child sexual abuse compared with male patients when controlling for other factors. Similarly, patients with at most high school education and those with previous contact with psychiatric services were about 2 times more likely to report a history of child sexual abuse compared to the patients with college or university education or no previous contact with psychiatric services, respectively. Similarly, patients with histories of substance abuse and patients with family histories of mental illness had higher likelihoods of reporting histories of child sexual abuse compared to patients without histories of substance abuse or family histories of mental illness, respectively. Our findings suggest that victims of child sexual abuse are an at-risk population in need of ongoing mental health and educational support.

Incest and Child Sexual Abuse

PubMed Central

Collins, James L.; Hamlin, Willie T.; Minor, Marie A.; Knasel, Ann Lowe

1982-01-01

Child sexual abuse was examined nationally and in the Washington, DC and Howard University Hospital area. In an attempt to describe this widespread problem, two case histories are presented which reflect some of the typical characteristics of child sexual abuse cases seen at Howard University Hospital. Pertinent literature is reviewed citing the prevalence rates and the personality and environmental factors which may contribute to the sexual abuse of children in this country. Finally, the role of the physician in identifying and treating the physical and emotional effects of child abuse are discussed. PMID:7120485

County-Level Estimates of the Effects of a Universal Preschool Program in California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karoly, Lynn A.

2005-01-01

Growing interest in universal preschool education has prompted researchers to examine the potential costs and benefits of making high-quality preschool available for all children one or two years before kindergarten entry. The analysis reported in this document builds on a previous RAND study which estimated that a high-quality, one-year,…

Outcomes Linked to High-Quality Afterschool Programs: Longitudinal Findings from the Study of Promising Afterschool Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandell, Deborah Lowe; Reisner, Elizabeth R.; Pierce, Kim M.

2007-01-01

This study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Policy Studies Associates, Inc. finds that regular participation in high-quality afterschool programs is linked to significant gains in standardized test scores and work habits as well as reductions in behavior problems among disadvantaged…

Mother-child and father-child interaction with their 24-month-old children during feeding, considering paternal involvement and the child's temperament in a community sample.

PubMed

Cerniglia, Luca; Cimino, Silvia; Ballarotto, Giulia

2014-01-01

The article aims to study mother-child and father-child interactions with 24-month-old children during feeding, considering the possible influence of time spent by the parent with the child, the infantile temperament, and the parental psychological profile. The families were recruited from 12 preschools in Italy (N = 77 families). Through an observation of the feeding [Scala di Valutazione dell'Interazione Alimentare (SVIA - Feeding Scale; I. Chatoor et al., ; L. Lucarelli et al., )], self-reporting [Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R; L.R. Derogatis, ), and report-form questionnaires [Italian Questionnaires on Temperament (QUIT; G. Axia, )], and information provided by the parents about the amount of time spent with their children, results showed that the overall quality of father-child interactions during feeding is lower than that of mother-child interactions. Fathers showed higher psychological symptoms than did mothers. No associations were found between the fathers' psychopathological risk and the quality of interactions with their children during feeding. Mothers' psychopathological risks predicted less contingent exchanges interactions with their children during feeding. Children's temperaments significantly influence mother-child interactions, but no association exists between maternal involvement and the quality of interactions with their children. Paternal involvement predicts a better quality of father-infant interactions when associated with a child's higher scores on Social Orientation. The quality of parents' interactions with their children during feeding are impacted by different issues originating from the parent's psychological profile, the degree of involvement, and from the child's temperament. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Fair relationships and policies to support family day care educators' mental health: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Corr, Lara; Davis, Elise; Cook, Kay; Waters, Elizabeth; LaMontagne, Anthony D

2014-11-25

High quality child care is a population health investment that relies on the capacity of providers. The mental health and wellbeing of child care educators is fundamental to care quality and turnover, yet sector views on the relationship between working conditions and mental health and wellbeing are scarce. This paper examines child care educators' and sector key informants' perspectives on how working in family day care influences educator's mental health and wellbeing. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with Australian family day care educators (n = 16) and key informants (n = 18) comprised of representatives from family day care schemes, government and other relevant organisations regarding the relationship between working conditions and educator mental health. Thematic analysis referenced the assumptions and concepts of critical inquiry and used social exchange theory. Educators and key informants reported that educators' mental health was affected by the quality of their relationships with government, family day care schemes, and the parents and children using their services. These social relationships created and contributed to working conditions that were believed to promote or diminish educators' mental health. High quality relationships featured fair exchanges of educator work for key resources of social support and respect; adequate income; professional services; and information. Crucially, how exchanges influenced educator wellbeing was largely contingent on government policies that reflect the values and inequities present in society. Making policies and relationships between educators, government and family day care schemes fairer would contribute strongly to the protection and promotion of educator mental health and wellbeing, and in turn contribute to workforce stability and care quality.

Knowledge, attitude and practice towards child adoption amongst women attending infertility clinics in Lagos State, Nigeria

PubMed Central

Kofoworola, Odeyemi

2011-01-01

Abstract Background Child adoption is a recommended alternative form of infertility management. Infertility is of public health importance in Nigeria and many other developing nations. This is a result of its high prevalence and especially because of its serious social implications as the African society places a passionate premium on procreation in any family setting. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of child adoption amongst women attending infertility clinics in teaching hospitals in Lagos State and to determine the factors that influence their attitude and practice towards it. Method A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. Data were collected by using a structured questionnaire which was interviewer-administered. The study was conducted in the two teaching hospitals in Lagos State (LUTH [Lagos University Teaching Hospital] and LASUTH [Lagos State University Teaching Hospital]) from amongst 350 women attending the gynaecological clinics. All the patients under management for infertility at the gynaecology clinics during the period of the study were interviewed. Results Many respondents (85.7%) had heard of child adoption and 59.3% of them knew the correct meaning of the term. More than half of the respondents (68.3%) said that they could love an adopted child but less than half of them (33.7%) were willing to consider adoption. Only 13.9% has ever adopted a child. The major reason given for their unwillingness to adopt was their desire to have their own biological child. Factors that were favourable towards child adoption were Igbo tribe identity, an age above 40 years, duration of infertility above 15 years, and knowing the correct meaning of child adoption. Conclusion There is a poor attitude to adoption even amongst infertile couples. Interventions need to be implemented to educate the public on child adoption, to improve their attitude towards adoption and to make it more acceptable.

Sleep quality and temperament among university students: differential associations with nighttime sleep duration and sleep disruptions.

PubMed

Lukowski, Angela F; Milojevich, Helen M

2015-01-01

Sleep-temperament associations have not yet been examined among university students, despite awareness of the high incidence of sleep problems in this population. The present study was conducted (a) to examine whether sleep quality was associated with temperament among university-attending young adults and (b) to determine whether particular components of sleep quality were differentially associated with temperament. University students completed questionnaires designed to assess sleep quality and temperament. Poor sleep quality was associated with increased negative affect and orienting sensitivity as well as decreased effortful control; regression analyses revealed differential associations between components of nighttime sleep quality and temperament ratings. The presented study reveals conceptual continuity in sleep-temperament relations from infancy to young adulthood and highlights important avenues for future research.

Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS): investigating determinants of early child development and cognition.

PubMed

Donald, Kirsten A; Hoogenhout, Michelle; du Plooy, Christopher P; Wedderburn, Catherine J; Nhapi, Raymond T; Barnett, Whitney; Hoffman, Nadia; Malcolm-Smith, Susan; Zar, Heather J; Stein, Dan J

2018-01-01

There is growing awareness that psychosocial risk and resilience factors in early life play a key role in influencing later health. Most work has been done in high-income settings, rather than low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the majority of the global childhood population resides. The few studies with well-defined cohorts in LMICs have employed various methods and measures, making comparisons across studies challenging. This presentation describes the methodology for infant and child developmental measures used in the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), a multidisciplinary longitudinal birth cohort study in South Africa. We outline a multilevel approach combining a range of measures including parental reports, behaviour observations, clinician-administered scales and brain imaging. Using this approach, we aim at a longitudinal perspective of developmental, cognitive, socioemotional and neurophysiological outcomes in a birth cohort of children in an LMIC. The study was approved by the faculty of Health Sciences, Human Research Ethics Committee, University of Cape Town (401/2009), Stellenbosch University (N12/02/0002) and the Western Cape Provincial Health Research committee (2011RP45). Children in the DCHS develop in a context typical of many communities in South Africa and other LMICs. There is a critical need for research in LMICs to elucidate underlying factors that inform risk for, and resilience to, poor developmental outcomes in infants born into high-risk communities. Such work may inform effective intervention strategies appropriate to this context.

An experimental evaluation of theory-based mother and mother-child programs for children of divorce.

PubMed

Wolchik, S A; West, S G; Sandler, I N; Tein, J Y; Coatsworth, D; Lengua, L; Weiss, L; Anderson, E R; Greene, S M; Griffin, W A

2000-10-01

This study evaluated the efficacy of 2 theory-based preventive interventions for divorced families: a program for mothers and a dual component mother-child program. The mother program targeted mother-child relationship quality, discipline, interparental conflict, and the father-child relationship. The child program targeted active coping, avoidant coping, appraisals of divorce stressors, and mother-child relationship quality. Families with a 9- to 12-year-old child (N = 240) were randomly assigned to the mother, dual-component, or self-study program. Postintervention comparisons showed significant positive program effects of the mother program versus self-study condition on relationship quality, discipline, attitude toward father-child contact, and adjustment problems. For several outcomes, more positive effects occurred in families with poorer initial functioning. Program effects on externalizing problems were maintained at 6-month follow-up. A few additive effects of the dual-component program occurred for the putative mediators; none occurred for adjustment problems.

A Sociological Examination of the Child Care Auspice Debate. Occasional Paper No. 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friesen, Bruce

This report examines issues related to whether child care services are operated on a non-profit or for-profit basis, focusing on the use of public funds and child care quality in Canada. The report also presents the results of a study of child care quality at 14 non-profit and 36 for-profit child care centers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The study…

The Child Care Ecology Inventory: A Domain-Specific Measure of Home-Based Child Care Quality to Promote Social Competence for School Readiness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rusby, Julie C.; Jones, Laura Backen; Crowley, Ryann; Smolkowski, Keith

2013-01-01

This study investigates the reliability and validity of the Child Care Ecology Inventory (CCEI), a measure of the quality of family child care in the social domain. The CCEI focuses on research-based environmental features and caregiving practices for promoting positive social development in preschool-age children. A total of 198 family child care…

Double Jeopardy: Poorer Social-Emotional Outcomes for Children in the NICHD SECCYD Experiencing Home and Child-Care Environments that Confer Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watamura, Sarah Enos; Phillips, Deborah A.; Morrissey, Taryn W.; McCartney, Kathleen; Bub, Kristen

2011-01-01

Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network (NICHD SECCYD), the authors examined whether interactions between home and child-care quality affect children's social-emotional adjustment at 24, 36, and 54 months (N = 771). Triadic splits on quality of home and child care were used to…

Quantity-Quality and the One Child Policy: The Only-Child Disadvantage in School Enrollment in Rural China. NBER Working Paper No. 14973

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qian, Nancy

2009-01-01

Many believe that increasing the quantity of children will lead to a decrease in their quality. This paper exploits plausibly exogenous changes in family size caused by relaxations in China's One Child Policy to estimate the causal effect of family size on school enrollment of the first child. The results show that for one-child families, an…

A Study of the Experiences of Alternatively Certified Special Education Teachers Related to the Requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veale, Natasha W.

2010-01-01

A No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Title II audit found the state of North Carolina out of compliance with the definition of teacher quality for secondary special education teachers. The state specific Praxis exam and the Highly Objective, Uniform State Standard of Evaluation these teachers completed to earn certification to teach subject area…

Unfulfilled Promise: Ensuring High Quality Teachers for Our Nation's Students. No Child Left Behind: A Status Report from Southeastern Schools. Extensive Findings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southeast Center for Teaching Quality, 2004

2004-01-01

Since the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, much has been said and written about the law by a variety of education observers, practitioners, and policymakers from both sides of the political aisle. With support from the Ford, Rockefeller, and Z. Smith Reynolds foundations,…

[Nonnative guidelines for allocating human resources in child and adolescent psychiatry using average values under convergence conditions instead of price determination - analysis of the data of university hospitals in Germany concerning the costs of calculating day and minute values according to Psych-PV and PEPP-System].

PubMed

Barufka, Steffi; Heller, Michael; Prayon, Valeria; Fegert, Jörg M

2015-11-01

Despite substantial opposition in the practical field, based on an amendment to the Hospital Financing Act (KHG). the so-called PEPP-System was introduced in child and adolescent psychiatry as a new calculation model. The 2-year moratorium, combined with the rescheduling of the repeal of the psychiatry personnel regulation (Psych-PV) and a convergence phase, provided the German Federal Ministry of Health with additional time to enter a structured dialogue with professional associations. Especially the perspective concerning the regulatory framework is presently unclear. In light of this debate, this article provides calculations to illustrate the transformation of the previous personnel regulation into the PEPP-System by means of the data of §21 KHEntgG stemming from the 22 university hospitals of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy in Germany. In 2013 there was a total of 7,712 cases and 263,694 calculation days. In order to identify a necessary basic reimbursement value th1\\t would guarantee a constant quality of patient care, the authors utilize outcomes, cost structures, calculation days, and minute values for individual professional groups according to both systems (Psych-PV and PEPP) based on data from 2013 and the InEK' s analysis of the calculation datasets. The authors propose a normative agreement on the basic reimbursement value between 270 and 285 EUR. This takes into account the concentration phenomenon and the expansion of services that has occurred since the introduction of the Psych-PV system. Such a normative agreement on structural quality could provide a verifiable framework for the allocation of human resources corresponding to the previous regulations of Psych-PV.

Validation of the Child HCAHPS survey to measure pediatric inpatient experience of care in Flanders.

PubMed

Bruyneel, Luk; Coeckelberghs, Ellen; Buyse, Gunnar; Casteels, Kristina; Lommers, Barbara; Vandersmissen, Jo; Van Eldere, Johan; Van Geet, Chris; Vanhaecht, Kris

2017-07-01

The recently developed Child HCAHPS provides a standard to measure US hospitals' performance on pediatric inpatient experiences of care. We field-tested Child HCAHPS in Belgium to instigate international comparison. In the development stage, forward/backward translation was conducted and patients assessed content validity index as excellent. The draft Flemish Child HCAHPS included 63 items: 38 items for five topics hypothesized to be similar to those proposed in the US (communication with parent, communication with child, attention to safety and comfort, hospital environment, and global rating), 10 screeners, a 14-item demographic and descriptive section, and one open-ended item. A 6-week pilot test was subsequently performed in three pediatric wards (general ward, hematology and oncology ward, infant and toddler ward) at a JCI-accredited university hospital. An overall response rate of 90.99% (303/333) was achieved and was consistent across wards. Confirmatory factor analysis largely confirmed the configuration of the proposed composites. Composite and single-item measures related well to patients' global rating of the hospital. Interpretation of different patient experiences across types of wards merits further investigation. Child HCAHPS provides an opportunity for systematic and cross-national assessment of pediatric inpatient experiences. Sharing and implementing international best practices are the next logical step. What is Known: • Patient experience surveys are increasingly used to reflect on the quality, safety, and centeredness of patient care. • While adult inpatient experience surveys are routinely used across countries around the world, the measurement of pediatric inpatient experiences is a young field of research that is essential to reflect on family-centered care. What is New: • We demonstrate that the US-developed Child HCAHPS provides an opportunity for international benchmarking of pediatric inpatient experiences with care through parents and guardians. • Our study findings show considerable variation in experiences for types of pediatric services. Support to share good practices and launch quality improvement initiatives can be obtained by organizing regular two-way feedback sessions with clinicians to place the findings in context.

Little Evidence That Time in Child Care Causes Externalizing Problems During Early Childhood in Norway

PubMed Central

Zachrisson, Henrik Daae; Dearing, Eric; Lekhal, Ratib; Toppelberg, Claudio O.

2012-01-01

Associations between maternal reports of hours in child care and children’s externalizing problems at 18 and 36 months of age were examined in a population-based Norwegian sample (n = 75,271). Within a sociopolitical context of homogenously high-quality child care, there was little evidence that high quantity of care causes externalizing problems. Using conventional approaches to handling selection bias and listwise deletion for substantial attrition in this sample, more hours in care predicted higher problem levels, yet with small effect sizes. The finding, however, was not robust to using multiple imputation for missing values. Moreover, when sibling and individual fixed-effects models for handling selection bias were used, no relation between hours and problems was evident. PMID:23311645

Psychosocial health and quality of life among children with cardiac diagnoses: agreement and discrepancies between parent and child reports.

PubMed

Patel, Bhavika J; Lai, Lillian; Goldfield, Gary; Sananes, Renee; Longmuir, Patricia E

2017-05-01

Psychosocial health issues are common among children with cardiac diagnoses. Understanding parent and child perceptions is important because parents are the primary health information source. Significant discrepancies have been documented between parent/child quality-of-life data but have not been examined among psychosocial diagnostic instruments. This study examined agreement and discrepancies between parent and child reports of psychosocial health and quality of life in the paediatric cardiology population. Children (n=50, 6-14 years) with diagnoses of CHDs (n=38), arrhythmia (n=5), cardiomyopathy (n=4), or infectious disease affecting the heart (n=3) were enrolled, completing one or more outcome measures. Children and their parents completed self-reports and parent proxy reports of quality of life - Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory - and psychosocial health - Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children (Version 2). Patients also completed the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children. Associations (Pearson's correlations, Intraclass Correlation Coefficients) and differences (Student's t-tests) between parent proxy reports and child self-reports were evaluated. Moderate parent-child correlations were found for physical (R=0.33, p=0.03), school (R=0.43, p<0.01), social (R=0.36, p=0.02), and overall psychosocial (R=0.43, p<0.01) quality of life. Parent-child reports of externalising behaviour problems, for example aggression, were strongly correlated (R=0.70, p<0.01). No significant parent-child associations were found for emotional quality of life (R=0.25, p=0.10), internalising problems (R=0.17, p=0.56), personal adjustment/adaptation skills (R=0.23, p=0.42), or anxiety (R=0.07, p=0.72). Our data suggest that clinicians caring for paediatric cardiac patients should assess both parent and child perspectives, particularly in relation to domains such as anxiety and emotional quality of life, which are more difficult to observe.

Early Brain and Child Development: Connections to Early Education and Child Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romano, Judith T.

2013-01-01

The vast majority of young children spend time in settings outside of the home, and the nature of those settings directly impacts the child's health and development. The ecobiodevelopmental framework of early brain and child development serve as the backdrop for establishing quality. This article describes the use of quality rating systems,…

Are We at the Crossroads for Wisconsin Child Care? Policies in Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, 2016

2016-01-01

This report examines the conflicting public policies in child care and their implications. The policy analysis tracks the history of two major child care programs, the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program and the YoungStar Quality Rating and Improvement System. While YoungStar shows promising trends in improving the quality of early care…

Child Care Quality and Children's Cortisol in Basque Country and the Netherlands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vermeer, Harriet J.; Groeneveld, Marleen G.; Larrea, Inaki; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Barandiaran, Alexander; Linting, Marielle

2010-01-01

A cross-country comparison of children's cortisol levels at child care was performed in relation to their cortisol levels at home and the quality and quantity of child care they received. Participants were toddlers visiting child care centers in Spanish Basque Country (N = 60) and the Netherlands (N = 25) with substantial variation in structural…

Applying an Equity Lens to the Child Care Setting.

PubMed

Scott, Krista; Looby, Anna Ayers; Hipp, Janie Simms; Frost, Natasha

2017-03-01

In the current landscape, child care is increasingly being seen as a place for early education, and systems are largely bundling child care in the Early Care and Education sphere through funding and quality measures. As states define school readiness and quality, they often miss critical elements, such as equitable access to quality and cultural traditions. This article provides a summary of the various definitions and structures of child care. It also discusses how the current child care policy conversation can and ought to be infused with a framework grounded in the context of institutional racism and trauma. Models and examples will explore the differences between state government regulations, and how those differ than the regulation and structure of child care in Indian Country.

Child care under pressure: the quality of Dutch centers in 1995 and in 2001.

PubMed

Deynoot-Schaub, Mirjam J J M Gevers; Riksen-Walraven, J Marianne

2005-09-01

In 2001, the authors assessed the quality of care provided to children in 51 care groups from 39 child-care centers in The Netherlands using the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (T. Harms, D. Cryer, & R. M. Clifford, 1990) and compared the results with the quality of child care assessed in 1995 (M. H. van IJzendoorn, L. W. C. Tavecchio, G. J. Stams, M. J. E. Verhoeven, & E. J. Reiling, 1998). The overall quality and scale scores for language and learning activities were significantly lower in 2001 than in 1995. Child-care centers founded within the past 6 years (all nonsubsidized centers) scored considerably lower than did older, mostly subsidized, centers. The results are discussed from the perspective of changes in the socioeconomic and political context of child care.

Quality of Life as reported by school children and their parents: a cross-sectional survey

PubMed Central

Jozefiak, Thomas; Larsson, Bo; Wichstrøm, Lars; Mattejat, Fritz; Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike

2008-01-01

Background Comprehensive evidence exists regarding the discrepancy between children's reports and parents' by proxy reports on emotional and behavioural problems. However, little is yet known about factors influencing the extent to which child self- and parent by proxy reports differ in respect of child Quality of Life (QoL). The aim of the study was to investigate the degree of discrepancy between child and parent by proxy reports as measured by two different QoL instruments. Methods A representative Norwegian sample of 1997 school children aged 8–16 years, and their parents were studied using the Inventory of Life Quality (ILC) and the 'Kinder Lebensqualität Fragebogen' (KINDL). Child and parent reports were compared by t-test, and correlations were calculated by Pearson product moment coefficient. Psychometric aspects were examined in regard to both translated QoL instruments (internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficients). Results Parents evaluated the QoL of their children significantly more positively than did the children. Correlations between mother-child and father-child reports were significant (p < 0.01) and similar but low to moderate (r = 0.32; and r = 0.30, respectively, for the KINDL, and r = 0.30 and r = 0.26, respectively, for the ILC). Mother and father reports correlated moderately highly (r = 0.54 and r = 0.61 for the KINDL and ILC, respectively). No significant differences between correlations of mother-daughter/son and father-daughter/son pairs in regard to reported child QoL were observed on either of the two instruments. Conclusion In the present general population sample, parents reported higher child QoL than did their children. Concordance between child and parent by proxy report was low to moderate. The level of agreement between mothers and fathers in regard to their child's QoL was moderate. No significant impact of parent and child gender in regard to agreement in ratings of child QoL was found. Both the child and parent versions of the Norwegian translations of the KINDL and ILC can be used in surveys of community populations, but in regard to the self-report of 9–10 years old children, only the KINDL total QoL scale or the ILC are recommended. PMID:18489777

Associations of Perceived Sibling and Parent-Child Relationship Quality with Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: Comparing Indian and Dutch Early Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buist, Kirsten L.; Verhoeven, Marjolein; Hoksbergen, René; ter Laak, Jan; Watve, Sujala; Paranjpe, Analpa

2017-01-01

The aims of the present study were (a) to examine whether Dutch and Indian early adolescents differ concerning sibling and parent-child relationship quality and externalizing and internalizing problems, and (b) to compare the associations between sibling and parent-child relationship quality and externalizing and internalizing problems for Indian…

Child Health-Related Quality of Life and Parental Social Capital in Greece: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Dardiry, Giulia; Dimitrakaki, Christine; Tzavara, Chara; Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike; Tountas, Yannis

2012-01-01

In this paper, we examined dimensions of child health-related quality of life in Greece in relation to parental assessments of neighbourhood social capital and social support networks. For the analysis, two main measures were used: (1) child self-reported health-related quality of life in ten dimensions, as measured by the KIDSCREEN questionnaire;…

The Strengthening Families Initiative and Child Care Quality Improvement: How Strengthening Families Influenced Change in Child Care Programs in One State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglass, Anne; Klerman, Lorraine

2012-01-01

Research Findings: This study investigated how the Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education initiative in Illinois (SFI) influenced change in 4 child care programs. Findings indicate that SFI influenced quality improvements through 4 primary pathways: (a) Learning Networks, (b) the quality of training, (c) the engagement of program…

ASQ Program Observation Instrument: A Tool for Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Susan; And Others

ASQ (Assessing School-Aged Child Care Quality) is a system for determining the quality of school-age child care programs. The ASQ Program Observation Instrument is a ten-step, self assessment process to guide program improvement. This instrument does not work well in full-day programs that have a single focus, but works well in programs that offer…

Compendium of Quality Rating Systems and Evaluations: The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tout, Kathryn; Starr, Rebecca; Soli, Margaret; Moodie, Shannon; Kirby, Gretchen; Boller, Kimberly

2010-01-01

Quality Rating Systems (QRS) are currently operating, under development, or being piloted in over 25 states or local areas. As the QRS model becomes integrated into the landscape of child care and education service delivery, policy, and the decisions parents make about child care across the United States, there is an increasing need for…

The impact of child's severity on quality-of-life among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: the mediating role of optimism.

PubMed

Wisessathorn, Manika; Chanuantong, Tanasugarn; Fisher, Edwin B

2013-10-01

Investigate the impact of child severity and optimism on quality-of-life in parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Additionally, the role of optimism as mediator between child's severity and parental quality-of-life was also evaluated Three hundred three parents of children with ASD were recruited from the local autistic centers and schools in Bangkok, Thailand. A set of demographic information sheet, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), the Life Oriented Test-Revised (LOT-R), and the WHOQOL-BREF test were submitted for collecting parental information. Using Pearson Correlation, a significant negative association was found between child's severity and parental quality-of-life while optimism was found to correlate positively with parental outcomes. The finding from path-analysis confirmed that impairment of language and repetitive behavior of an ASD child associated with optimism that, in turn, predicted level of parental quality-of-life in all domains. The current findings assured a role of optimism as mediator between child's severity and parental quality-of-life. Implications for the development of intervention focused on enhancing parent's optimism were recommended.

The Impact of Regulations on the Supply and Quality of Care in Child Care Markets

PubMed Central

Joseph Hotz, V.; Xiao, Mo

2011-01-01

We examine the impact of state child care regulations on the supply and quality of care in child care markets. We exploit panel data on both individual establishments and local markets to control for state, time, and, where possible, establishment-specific fixed effects to mitigate the potential bias due to policy endogeneity. We find that the imposition of regulations reduces the number of center-based child care establishments, especially in lower income markets. However, such regulations increase the quality of services provided, especially in higher income areas. Thus, there are winners and losers from the regulation of child care services. PMID:24991060

Maternal stress and family quality of life in response to raising a child with autism: from preschool to adolescence.

PubMed

McStay, Rebecca L; Trembath, David; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2014-11-01

While the impact of raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is well documented, with mothers reporting higher levels of stress than mothers of children with other disabilities, positive maternal outcomes have also been identified. What remains unclear, however, is the role of child age on maternal outcomes. We sought to clarify the role of child age in maternal stress and family quality of life (FQoL) in mothers raising a child with ASD. Participants included 140 mothers of children aged 3-16 years grouped to represent four key stages of childhood (preschool, early school years, middle school, early high school). Using a cross-sectional design, mothers completed questionnaires assessing potential risk (e.g., child problem behaviour, symptom severity) and protective (e.g., family characteristics) factors attributed to maternal outcomes. The results revealed significant age related group differences in child internalising behaviour and ASD symptomatology between the early and middle school years. Lower levels of adaptive social behaviour in older age groups were also found. Although mothers of older children reported significantly less support from professionals than mothers of younger children, no significant age effects were found to contribute to maternal reports of stress or FQoL. The current findings support the view that mothers appear to demonstrate stable levels of stress and FQoL despite fluctuations in key child variables and a reduction in supports, across age, highlighting the ongoing nature of maternal needs and heightened levels of child symptomatology during adolescence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Imagine the Universe. 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Nicholas

1999-01-01

This CD-ROM contains compilations of three NASA Website pages from the Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The three sites on the CD-ROM are: (1) the Imagine the Universe!, (for ages 14 on up), which is dedicated to discussion of the Universe, what we know, how it is evolving and the kinds of objects and phenomena it contains; (2) StarChild: A learning center for young astronomers, (for ages 4-14), contains information about the Solar System, the Universe and space explorations; and (3) the Astronomy picture of the day, which offers a new astronomical image and caption for each calendar day.

Parent-child relationship quality and infantile amnesia in adults.

PubMed

Peterson, Carole; Nguyen, Duyen T K

2010-11-01

The first years of life are typically shrouded by infantile amnesia, but there is enormous variability between adults in how early and how much they can remember from this period. This study examined one possible factor affecting this variability: whether the perceived quality of parent-child relationships is associated with the number of early memories young adults can retrieve, and their age at the time of their first memory. We found such associations but they were qualified by parent gender. Mother-child relationships that were more affectively intense (greater social support but also more negative interchanges) were associated with recalling more early memories, although paternal companionship was most associated with how early an individual's first memory was. Affective tone of retrieved memories was also assessed, and a greater proportion of affectively positive memories (as well as fewer affectively neutral memories for males) was associated with high parental involvement in children's lives.

76 FR 30367 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-25

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Title: Measurement Development: Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions... child care settings, specifically the quality of caregiver-child interaction for infants and toddlers in...

76 FR 28989 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-19

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Title: Measurement Development: Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions... child care settings, specifically the quality of caregiver-child interaction for infants and toddlers in...

76 FR 12966 - Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-09

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Proposed Information Collection Activity; Comment Request Title: Measurement Development: Quality of Caregiver-Child... child care settings, specifically the quality of caregiver-child interaction for infants and toddlers in...

76 FR 31340 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-31

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Title: Measurement Development: Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions... child care settings, specifically the quality of caregiver[hyphen]child interaction for infants and...

Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System. Final rule.

PubMed

2016-06-02

This final rule replaces the Statewide and Tribal Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (S/TACWIS) rule with the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) rule. The rule also makes conforming amendments in rules in related requirements. This rule will assist title IV-E agencies in developing information management systems that leverage new innovations and technology in order to better serve children and families. More specifically, this final rule supports the use of cost-effective, innovative technologies to automate the collection of high-quality case management data and to promote its analysis, distribution, and use by workers, supervisors, administrators, researchers, and policy makers.

Editorial: Child psychology and psychiatry - using science to make a difference.

PubMed

Fearon, R M Pasco

2017-04-01

The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry has, I think it is fair to say, a special place in the hearts of scientists and scientist-practitioners working broadly in the field of developmental psychopathology. How would you put into words what it is we all love about the journal? Answers on a postcard please! For me, in addition to the high quality of the science, there is something unique about JCPP's open-minded, eclectic yet rigorous and methodologically pluralistic style that makes it stand out from the rest. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

CHILD CARE AVAILABILITY AND FIRST-BIRTH TIMING IN NORWAY*

PubMed Central

Rindfuss, Ronald R.; Guilkey, David; Morgan, S. Philip; Kravdal, Øystein; Guzzo, Karen Benjamin

2010-01-01

Both sociological and economic theories posit that widely available, high-quality, and affordable child care should have pronatalist effects. Yet to date, the empirical evidence has not consistently supported this hypothesis. We argue that this previous empirical work has been plagued by the inability to control for endogenous placement of day care centers and the possibility that people migrate to take advantage of the availability of child care facilities. Using Norwegian register data and a statistically defensible fixed-effects model, we find strong positive effects of day care availability on the transition to motherhood. PMID:17583309

Understanding Cortisol Reactivity across the Day at Child Care: The Potential Buffering Role of Secure Attachments to Caregivers

PubMed Central

Badanes, Lisa S.; Dmitrieva, Julia; Watamura, Sarah Enos

2011-01-01

Full-day center-based child care has been repeatedly associated with rising cortisol across the child care day. This study addressed the potential buffering role of attachment to mothers and lead teachers in 110 preschoolers while at child care. Using multi-level modeling and controlling for a number of child, family, and child care factors, children with more secure attachments to teachers were more likely to show falling cortisol across the child care day. Attachment to mothers interacted with child care quality, with buffering effects found for children with secure attachments attending higher quality child care. Implications for early childhood educators are discussed. PMID:22408288

Transportation Workforce Development: Sustaining and Expanding High School Outreach Programs and Multi-agency Partnerships

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-31

This project supported a multi-university/agency partnership between Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), and Texas A&M University (TAMU) that focuses on producing high-quality transportation professional...

Transportation Workforce Development : Sustaining and Expanding High School Outreach Programs and Multi-agency Partnerships

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-31

This project supported a multi-university/agency partnership between Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), and Texas A&M University (TAMU) that focuses on producing high-quality transportation professional...

Case series of child sexual abuse: Abia State University Teaching Hospital experience.

PubMed

Okoronkwo, N C; Ejike, O

2014-01-01

Child sexual abuse remains a serious infringement on the rights of the child. Though it appears to be viewed less seriously among adolescents, the consequences may be more severe and less obvious for the younger child. Age of the child appears notto be a deterrent. There is paucity of local data in the sub-region on this important social problem. The circumstance surrounding child sexual abuse in our environment needs to be reviewed. This study sets out to evaluate the characteristics of victims of child sexual abuse and to proffer solutions on how to stem the tide of the crime. To examine the characteristics of sexually abused children presenting to the paediatrics department of Abia State UniversityTeaching hospital, Aba. The case records of 10 consecutive cases of sexually abused children that presented to the Children Outpatient Department of Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH) Aba, from January to June 2006 were prospectively reviewed and the parents/child/abuser interviewed where possible. All the victims were females aged 3-11 yrs, while all the abusers were males 14-29 yrs. Both parties were of low socio-economic class. 50% of the victims reported the incident. Mental and psychological state of the perpetrators appears to be a factor. Physical injuries to the vulva-vaginal areas were common. This study shows that child sexual abuse may not be uncommon in our environment. The exact prevalence remains unknown.The perpetrators of child sexual abuse should be prosecuted as a deterrent and rehabilitated whenever possible.

Impact of Training and Education for Caregivers of Infants and Toddlers. Research-to-Policy Connections No. 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kreader, J. Lee; Ferguson, Daniel; Lawrence, Sharmila

2005-01-01

Training and education of infant and toddler caregivers is one important factor associated with the quality of child care they provide. In response to research showing that high-quality care supports positive development in young children, policymakers have established training and education requirements for licensed providers and launched…

Enhancing early child care quality and learning for toddlers at risk: the responsive early childhood program.

PubMed

Landry, Susan H; Zucker, Tricia A; Taylor, Heather B; Swank, Paul R; Williams, Jeffrey M; Assel, Michael; Crawford, April; Huang, Weihua; Clancy-Menchetti, Jeanine; Lonigan, Christopher J; Phillips, Beth M; Eisenberg, Nancy; Spinrad, Tracy L; de Villiers, Jill; de Villiers, Peter; Barnes, Marcia; Starkey, Prentice; Klein, Alice

2014-02-01

Despite reports of positive effects of high-quality child care, few experimental studies have examined the process of improving low-quality center-based care for toddler-age children. In this article, we report intervention effects on child care teachers' behaviors and children's social, emotional, behavioral, early literacy, language, and math outcomes as well as the teacher-child relationship. The intervention targeted the use of a set of responsive teacher practices, derived from attachment and sociocultural theories, and a comprehensive curriculum. Sixty-five childcare classrooms serving low-income 2- and 3-year-old children were randomized into 3 conditions: business-as-usual control, Responsive Early Childhood Curriculum (RECC), and RECC plus explicit social-emotional classroom activities (RECC+). Classroom observations showed greater gains for RECC and RECC+ teachers' responsive practices including helping children manage their behavior, establishing a predictable schedule, and use of cognitively stimulating activities (e.g., shared book reading) compared with controls; however, teacher behaviors did not differ for focal areas such as sensitivity and positive discipline supports. Child assessments demonstrated that children in the interventions outperformed controls in areas of social and emotional development, although children's performance in control and intervention groups was similar for cognitive skills (language, literacy, and math). Results support the positive impact of responsive teachers and environments providing appropriate support for toddlers' social and emotional development. Possible explanations for the absence of systematic differences in children's cognitive skills are considered, including implications for practice and future research targeting low-income toddlers.

Children's Food Allergies: Development of the Food Allergy Management and Adaptation Scale.

PubMed

Klinnert, Mary D; McQuaid, Elizabeth L; Fedele, David A; Faino, Anna; Strand, Matthew; Robinson, Jane; Atkins, Dan; Fleischer, David M; Hourihane, Jonathan O'B; Cohen, Sophia; Fransen, Hannah

2015-07-01

Develop a measure that evaluates effective pediatric food allergy (FA) management, child and parent FA anxiety, and integration of FA into family life. A semistructured family interview was developed to evaluate FA management using a pilot sample (n = 27). Rating scales evaluated eight dimensions of FA management (FAMComposite), child anxiety, parent anxiety, and overall balanced integration (BI). Families of children with IgE-mediated food allergies (n = 60, child age: 6-12) were recruited for interview and rating scale validation. FAMComposite was correlated with physician ratings for families' food avoidance and reaction response readiness. FA anxiety was correlated with general anxiety measures for children, but not parents. Parents' FA anxiety was correlated with expectations of negative outcomes from FA. Low BI was associated with poor quality of life and negative impact on family functioning. Preliminary analyses support Food Allergy Management and Adaptation Scale validity as a measure of family adaptation to pediatric FA. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Fostering the Quality of Teaching and Learning by Developing the "Neglected Half " of University Teachers' Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marentic Požarnik, Barica; Lavric, Andreja

2015-01-01

For too long, the quality of teaching and learning in universities has been undervalued in comparison to research. Current social, economic, ecological and other challenges require that more attention be given to measures to improve the situation. Academic staff should receive incentives, policy support and high-quality pedagogical training to…

Promoting High Quality Education at Small Private Universities: Leadership Challenges and Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngo, Kim Lien Thi

2010-01-01

The problem: The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics, roles, and contributions of non-profit, small private universities to the overall quality of higher education in the United States, as well as leadership challenges and strategies in promoting a total quality education at small private higher education institutions. …

Keep in Mind the Quality, Sir, when You Go with Width!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCormack, Silvia

2007-01-01

Australian universities need to maintain their high reputation for quality in order to attract and retain buyers of Australian education-related products. Learners are becoming increasingly discerning in terms of what they are buying and why they should buy it. Thus, quality is a critical issue for Australian university programs in general as well…

Permissive parental feeding behavior is associated with an increase in intake of low-nutrient-dense foods among American children living in rural communities.

PubMed

Hennessy, Erin; Hughes, Sheryl O; Goldberg, Jeanne P; Hyatt, Raymond R; Economos, Christina D

2012-01-01

Parents play an important role in shaping children's eating habits. Few studies have evaluated the influence of both parenting style and parenting practices on child outcomes such as dietary intake. During spring 2007, 99 parent-child dyads from four rural US areas participated in this cross-sectional study. Child food intake was reported during two interviewer-administered, parent-assisted 24-hour recalls. Diet quality was defined as the average number of low-nutrient-dense (LND) foods consumed. Validated questionnaires were used to assess parental feeding practices and feeding style. Pearson correlations identified relationships among child food intake, parental feeding style typologies, and covariates. Regression analyses were used to predict child diet quality. Sixty percent of children and 76% of parents were overweight or obese. A permissive feeding style, which is highly responsive to a child's requests and sets few demands on him or her, was the most common (n=37) parental feeding style. This feeding style was associated with child intake of LND foods (r=0.3; P<0.001) and moderated the relationship between parental feeding practices and child intake of LND foods. In the presence of a permissive feeding style, higher levels of monitoring were associated with child intake of LND foods (β=.69; P<0.05). Parental feeding style may alter the effectiveness of parental feeding practices on children's food intake. More research is needed to understand the parent-child feeding relationship in the context of parental feeding styles and practices. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving the Quality of Child Care. Hearing of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources on Examining Proposals To Improve the Quality of Child Care in the United States, Including the Proposed Creating Improved Delivery of Child Care: Affordable, Reliable, and Educational Act of 1997. United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress. First Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

These hearings transcripts present testimony on proposals to improve the quality of child care in the United States. Both oral and submitted written statements are included. Contributors are: Representative Peter Deutsch (Florida); Senator James M. Jeffords, committee chairman; Senator Mike Enzi (Wyoming); Senator Edward M. Kennedy…

Child sexual abuse and mandatory reporting intervention preservice content preferred by student teachers.

PubMed

Goldman, Juliette D G; Grimbeek, Peter

2014-01-01

The importance of preservice university teacher training about child sexual abuse and its mandatory reporting intervention is addressed in educational literature, although very little is known about student teachers' learning interests and preferences in this area. In this article, student teachers refer to students in university who are training to become teachers whose training includes teaching experiences in schools. This study examines the content about child sexual abuse and its intervention that student teachers believe they should learn. Results based on quantitative analyses show the relative importance of gender in determining responses to questions about university training and, to a lesser extent, the importance of a previous acquaintance with victims of sexual abuse, previous employment, and the length of the university course. Results based on qualitative data show that content knowledge preferred by elementary/primary and secondary school student teachers includes the teacher's role in mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse and signs, experiences, and responses to student disclosure. Student teachers prefer content examples of school professionals' responses and procedures after disclosure and prefer direct learning content from intervening school professionals. These outcomes could usefully guide teachers and educators who design intervention curricula on child sexual abuse for preservice teachers.

How Safe? The Status of State Efforts To Protect Children in Child Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Gina

Based on the view that strong state child care licensing policies can influence the quality of child care and thereby enhance children's health and development, this report examines the status of state efforts to improve the quality of child care programs. Almost all data were collected for a 1993 Parenting Magazine survey, and were verified by…

The Children of the Cost, Quality, and Outcomes Study Go to School. Technical Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peisner-Feinberg, Ellen. S.; Burchinal, Margaret R.; Clifford, Richard M.; Yazejian, Noreen; Culkin, Mary L.; Zelazo, Janice; Howes, Carollee; Byler, Patricia; Kagan, Sharon Lynn; Rustici, Jean

Since a substantial majority of preschoolers participate in some form of child care before coming to school, the Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers Study (CQO) was designed to examine the influence of typical center-based child care on children's development during their preschool years and as they move into formal elementary…

$1.2 Billion Investment Needed in 2017 to Implement CCDBG Reauthorization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Law and Social Policy, Inc. (CLASP), 2016

2016-01-01

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary source of federal funding for child care subsidies for low-income families and to improve child care quality for all children. Quality child care enables parents to work or go to school while providing children with safe and enriching environments where they can learn and thrive.…

Effects of child interview tactics on prospective jurors' decisions.

PubMed

Johnson, Jonni L; Shelley, Alexandra E

2014-01-01

Although decisions in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases are influenced by many factors (e.g., child age, juror gender), case and trial characteristics (e.g., interview quality) can strongly influence legal outcomes. In the present study, 319 prospective jurors read about a CSA investigation in which the alleged victim was interviewed at a child advocacy center (CAC) or traditional police setting. The prospective jurors then provided legally relevant ratings (e.g., child credibility, interview quality, defendant guilt). Structural equation modeling techniques revealed that child credibility predicted greater confidence in guilt decisions and also mediated all associations with such decisions. Having fewer negative prior opinions and rating the interview as of better quality were associated with higher child credibility ratings. Mitigating factors (e.g., interview quality), as opposed to proxy indicators (e.g., participant gender), better predicted CSA case outcomes. Similar associations across groups (e.g., CAC interviews did not make child victims more or less credible) permit a tentative conclusion that CACs do not positively or negatively affect decisions made in hypothetical CSA cases. Ideas for future studies examining factors influencing decisions in CSA cases are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quality of Parent-Child Relationship, Family Conflict, Peer Pressure, and Drinking Behaviors of Adolescents in an Asian Context: The Case of Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choo, Hyekyung; Shek, Daniel

2013-01-01

Analyzing data from a probability sample representative of secondary school students in Singapore (N = 1,599), this study examined the independent impact between the quality of mother-child relationship, the quality of father-child relationship and family conflict on the frequency of drinking and drunkenness, and whether each dyadic parent-child…

eRegistries: Electronic registries for maternal and child health.

PubMed

Frøen, J Frederik; Myhre, Sonja L; Frost, Michael J; Chou, Doris; Mehl, Garrett; Say, Lale; Cheng, Socheat; Fjeldheim, Ingvild; Friberg, Ingrid K; French, Steve; Jani, Jagrati V; Kaye, Jane; Lewis, John; Lunde, Ane; Mørkrid, Kjersti; Nankabirwa, Victoria; Nyanchoka, Linda; Stone, Hollie; Venkateswaran, Mahima; Wojcieszek, Aleena M; Temmerman, Marleen; Flenady, Vicki J

2016-01-19

The Global Roadmap for Health Measurement and Accountability sees integrated systems for health information as key to obtaining seamless, sustainable, and secure information exchanges at all levels of health systems. The Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescent's Health aims to achieve a continuum of quality of care with effective coverage of interventions. The WHO and World Bank recommend that countries focus on intervention coverage to monitor programs and progress for universal health coverage. Electronic health registries - eRegistries - represent integrated systems that secure a triple return on investments: First, effective single data collection for health workers to seamlessly follow individuals along the continuum of care and across disconnected cadres of care providers. Second, real-time public health surveillance and monitoring of intervention coverage, and third, feedback of information to individuals, care providers and the public for transparent accountability. This series on eRegistries presents frameworks and tools to facilitate the development and secure operation of eRegistries for maternal and child health. In this first paper of the eRegistries Series we have used WHO frameworks and taxonomy to map how eRegistries can support commonly used electronic and mobile applications to alleviate health systems constraints in maternal and child health. A web-based survey of public health officials in 64 low- and middle-income countries, and a systematic search of literature from 2005-2015, aimed to assess country capacities by the current status, quality and use of data in reproductive health registries. eRegistries can offer support for the 12 most commonly used electronic and mobile applications for health. Countries are implementing health registries in various forms, the majority in transition from paper-based data collection to electronic systems, but very few have eRegistries that can act as an integrating backbone for health information. More mature country capacity reflected by published health registry based research is emerging in settings reaching regional or national scale, increasingly with electronic solutions. 66 scientific publications were identified based on 32 registry systems in 23 countries over a period of 10 years; this reflects a challenging experience and capacity gap for delivering sustainable high quality registries. Registries are being developed and used in many high burden countries, but their potential benefits are far from realized as few countries have fully transitioned from paper-based health information to integrated electronic backbone systems. Free tools and frameworks exist to facilitate progress in health information for women and children.

Child welfare professionals' determination of when children's access or potential access to loaded firearms constitutes child neglect.

PubMed

Evans, Erin M; Jennissen, Charles A; Oral, Resmiye; Denning, Gerene M

2017-11-01

Pediatric deaths and injuries from access to firearms are a significant public health problem. No studies have examined how experts determine child neglect regarding firearm access in the home. Our study objectives were to identify factors that influenced pediatric experts' finding of firearm-related child neglect and to assess their attitudes toward child access prevention (CAP) laws. A survey was distributed to the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Child Abuse and Neglect members. Demographics, attitudes regarding CAP laws, and ages (up to 14 years old) at which experts deemed several scenarios as child neglect were determined. Scenarios tested potential versus actual loaded firearm access, presence or absence of a CAP law, and injury versus no injury when the firearm was accessed. One hundred ninety-three surveys were completed. Experts agreed (>95%) that CAP laws were important, even for children up to age 15 years. Although a high percentage considered potential access to a loaded firearm as child neglect, a CAP law significantly increased the percentage for each age. In addition, higher percentages of respondents from states with CAP laws than those without deemed potential access as child neglect for 12- and 14-year-olds. In contrast, if the child had accessed a loaded firearm, there were no significant differences in the high percentages that deemed the scenario as child neglect under any conditions, including with and without a CAP law. Although almost all child neglect experts considered potential and actual access to loaded firearms as child neglect, CAP laws increased the percentage for cases of potential access. Universal CAP laws may help ensure that determinations of child neglect are more consistent across states. The deterrent effect of potential child neglect findings may increase the number of parents securing firearms in ways that prevent child access and reduce firearm-related deaths and injuries. Epidemiologic study, level III.

Treating child and adolescent anxiety effectively: Overview of systematic reviews.

PubMed

Bennett, Kathryn; Manassis, Katharina; Duda, Stephanie; Bagnell, Alexa; Bernstein, Gail A; Garland, E Jane; Miller, Lynn D; Newton, Amanda; Thabane, Lehana; Wilansky, Pamela

2016-12-01

We conducted an overview of systematic reviews about child and adolescent anxiety treatment options (psychosocial; medication; combination; web/computer-based treatment) to support evidence informed decision-making. Three questions were addressed: (i) Is the treatment more effective than passive controls? (ii) Is there evidence that the treatment is superior to or non-inferior to (i.e., as good as) active controls? (iii) What is the quality of evidence for the treatment? Pre-specified inclusion criteria identified high quality systematic reviews (2000-2015) reporting treatment effects on anxiety diagnosis and symptom severity. Evidence quality (EQ) was rated using Oxford evidence levels [EQ1 (highest); EQ5 (lowest)]. Twenty-two of 39 eligible reviews were high quality (AMSTAR score≥3/5). CBT (individual or group, with or without parents) was more effective than passive controls (EQ1). CBT effects compared to active controls were mixed (EQ1). SSRI/SNRI were more effective than placebo (EQ1) but comparative effectiveness remains uncertain. EQ for combination therapy could not be determined. RCTs of web/computer-based interventions showed mixed results (EQ1). CBM/ABM was not more efficacious than active controls (EQ1). No other interventions could be rated. High quality RCTs support treatment with CBT and medication. Findings for combination and web/computer-based treatment are encouraging but further RCTs are required. Head-to-head comparisons of active treatment options are needed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Child Psychiatry Takes to the Streets: A Developmental Partnership between a University Institute and Children and Adolescents from the Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scivoletto, Sandra; da Silva, Thiago Fernando; Rosenheck, Robert Alan

2011-01-01

Objective: High levels of domestic violence, mental illness, and alienation from authorities are associated with high incidence of children/adolescents living on the streets in low and middle income countries. The Equilibrium Project (Programa Equilibrio) was created to facilitate social reintegration through a virtual partnership between an…

Divorced fathers' proximity and children's long-run outcomes: evidence from Norwegian registry data.

PubMed

Kalil, Ariel; Mogstad, Magne; Rege, Mari; Votruba, Mark

2011-08-01

This study examines the link between divorced nonresident fathers' proximity and children's long-run outcomes, using high-quality data from Norwegian population registers. We follow (from birth to young adulthood) each of 15,992 children born into married households in Norway in the years 1975-1979 whose parents divorced during his or her childhood. We observe the proximity of the child to his or her father in each year following the divorce and link proximity to educational and economic outcomes for the child in young adulthood, controlling for a wide range of observable characteristics of the parents and the child. Our results show that closer proximity to the father following a divorce has, on average, a modest negative association with offspring's outcomes in young adulthood. The negative associations are stronger among children of highly educated fathers. Complementary Norwegian survey data show that highly educated fathers report more post-divorce conflict with their ex-wives as well as more contact with their children (measured in terms of the number of nights that the child spends at the father's house). Consequently, the father's relocation to a more distant location following the divorce may shelter the child from disruptions in the structure of the child's life as they split time between households and/or from post-divorce interparental conflict.

Child Care Challenge. A Report of the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families. House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session. Committee Print.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families.

In 1991, the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families challenged members of the House of Representatives to seek out innovative, high quality child care programs in their districts. The programs were to serve as models for states and local jurisdictions or for employers and others in the public and private sectors who were trying to…

Meeting the Need for Child Care: Problems and Progress. Hearing before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations. House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, First Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U. S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Government Operations.

A hearing was held to identify problems and assess progress in the provision of affordable, high quality child care. Testimony concerned: (1) problems working parents have had in providing care for their young children; (2) day care initiatives and needs in California; (3) ways in which San Mateo County used its housing and community development…

A Welcome for Every Child--How France Achieves Quality in Child Care: Practical Ideas for the United States. The Report of the Child Care Study Panel of the French-American Foundation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Gail; Marx, Elisabeth

Seven principles underlying the impressive achievements of the French child care system are especially relevant to concerns and issues in the United States. First, the primary mission of child care is to help meet young children's integrated needs for education and care. Second, skilled staff is the key to program quality. Third, incentives and…

The Moderating Role of Dysfunctional Parent-Child Relationships on the Association Between Outward Anger Expression and Physical Health in Youth From Low-Income Families.

PubMed

Guenther, Kassie D; Van Dyk, Tori R; Kidwell, Katherine M; Nelson, Timothy D

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of outward anger expression on physical health outcomes (number of illnesses in the past year, 2-year medical service utilization, and health-related quality of life) while also expanding on previous research by assessing the moderating effect of parent-child dysfunction. An ethnically diverse sample of 125 children, ages 8 to 11 years, was recruited from a family medicine practice serving a low-income population. High levels of outward anger expression were related to a greater number of illnesses, greater medical service utilization, and lower health-related quality of life. Additionally, worse parent-child dysfunction exacerbated this relationship for a number of illnesses and medical service utilization. Results suggest that health care providers should consider the influence of environmental and familial factors on the physical health of children with anger. Recommendations for identifying at-risk youth and improving anger expression as well as parent-child relationships are provided. Copyright © 2016 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Virginia Star Quality Initiative: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of Virginia's Star Quality Initiative prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Indicators…

Illinois Quality Counts: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of Illinois' Quality Counts prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Indicators for Family…

Mississippi Quality Step System: QRS Profile. The Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS)Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Child Trends, 2010

2010-01-01

This paper presents a profile of Mississippi's Quality Step System prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Application…

The relationship between parental catastrophizing about child pain and distress in response to medical procedures in the context of childhood cancer treatment: a longitudinal analysis.

PubMed

Caes, Line; Goubert, Liesbet; Devos, Patricia; Verlooy, Joris; Benoit, Yves; Vervoort, Tine

2014-08-01

Children with leukemia frequently undergo invasive medical procedures, such as lumbar punctures (LPs) and bone marrow aspirations (BMAs). To date, cross-sectional evidence indicates that LP/BMA procedures continue to elicit distress over the course of treatment in children and parents. The current study used prospective analyses investigating in 28 children diagnosed with leukemia, the course of parental and child distress when confronted with consecutive LP/BMA procedures and potential moderation by catastrophic thinking. Parents' level of catastrophic thoughts was assessed before the first treatment-related LP/BMA, while child and parent distress was reported on after each LP/BMA procedure. Whereas parental distress decreased over time among low catastrophizing parents, LP/BMA procedures remained highly distressing for high catastrophizing parents. Child distress during LP/BMA procedures increased over time and was positively related with parental distress. These findings stress the importance of targeting child and parent distress as early as possible in treatment. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Teach, Watch, Learn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Alan

2017-01-01

Research shows that a child's healthy growth and development hinges on high-quality and consistent caregivers and teachers. This demands a stable, highly skilled, and qualified workforce. In response to the science, the federal Head Start program and a growing number of states now require early learning professionals, especially lead teachers, to…

Universal Child Immunization by 1990.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mandl, P. E., Ed.

1985-01-01

The present volume endeavors to highlight the deeper significance and broader implications for development theory, policy and practice of the realization of the movement toward universal child immunization by 1990 (UCI-1990). Simultaneously, the volume collects and analyzes the most significant findings and experiences of the movement since 1984.…

Quality of life, postnatal depression and baby gender.

PubMed

de Tychey, Claude; Briançon, Serge; Lighezzolo, Joëlle; Spitz, Elisabeth; Kabuth, Bernard; de Luigi, Valerie; Messembourg, Catherine; Girvan, Françoise; Rosati, Aurore; Thockler, Audrey; Vincent, Stephanie

2008-02-01

To study the impact of postnatal depression on the quality of life of young French mothers and to evaluate if the gender of their child influences this. Postnatal depression (PND) constitutes a major public health problem considering its high prevalence and consequences upon quality of life and parental skills. This research is a cross-sectional study during the postnatal period. This study was carried out during a two-month period. Data were collected by interview and questionnaires. The authors compared the prevalence rate of PND and life quality in a cohort of 181 women and measured the short-term impact of the child's birth. Postnatal depression strongly negatively influences all dimensions of life quality explored through the SF36, e.g. physical functioning (PF), physical Role (RP), bodily pain (BP), mental health (MH), emotional role (RE), social functioning (SF), vitality (VT), general health (GH), standardized physical component (PCS) and standardized mental component (MCS). The baby's gender (having a boy) also significantly reduces quality of life, irrespective of depressive state. There is a relationship between baby gender and PND. This research is the first to show that the birth of a boy reduces several dimensions of the mothers' quality of life. The importance of the impairment of quality of life in case of PND, as well as its effects on mother-child interaction, could justify prevention programs and early psychotherapeutic care. Further research needs to explore the effectiveness of programmes targeting the construction of parenting skills as a preventative measure against PND, especially for parents of boys.

Study protocol: evaluation of an online, father-inclusive, universal parenting intervention to reduce child externalising behaviours and improve parenting practices.

PubMed

Tully, Lucy A; Piotrowska, Patrycja J; Collins, Daniel A J; Mairet, Kathleen S; Hawes, David J; Kimonis, Eva R; Lenroot, Rhoshel K; Moul, Caroline; Anderson, Vicki; Frick, Paul J; Dadds, Mark R

2017-06-19

Parenting interventions that focus on enhancing the quality and consistency of parenting are effective for preventing and reducing externalising problems in children. There has been a recent shift towards online delivery of parenting interventions in order to increase their reach and impact on the population prevalence of child externalising problems. Parenting interventions have low rates of father participation yet research suggests that father involvement may be critical to the success of the intervention. Despite this, no online parenting interventions have been specifically developed to meet the needs and preferences of fathers, as well as mothers. This paper describes the protocol of a study examining the effectiveness of an online, father-inclusive parenting intervention called 'ParentWorks', which will be delivered as a universal intervention to Australian families. A single group clinical trial will be conducted to examine the effectiveness of ParentWorks for reducing child externalising problems and improving parenting, as well as to explore the impact of father engagement (in two-parent families) on child outcomes. Australian parents/caregivers with a child aged 2-16 years will be recruited. Participants will provide informed consent, complete pre-intervention measures and will then complete the intervention, which consists of five compulsory video modules and three optional modules. The primary outcomes for this study are changes in child externalising behaviour, positive and dysfunctional parenting practices and parental conflict, and the secondary outcome is changes in parental mental health. Demographic information, satisfaction with the intervention, and measures of parental engagement will also be collected. Questionnaire data will be collected at pre-intervention, post-intervention and three-month follow-up, as well as throughout the program. This paper describes the study protocol of a single group clinical trial of a national, online, father-inclusive parenting intervention. The results from this study could be used to inform public policy about providing support to parents of children with behaviour problems, and enhancing the engagement of fathers in parenting interventions. ACTRN12616001223426 , registered 05/09/2016.

The University of Hawaii/University of Indonesia collaboration to build and sustain a child psychiatric workforce.

PubMed

Guerrero, Anthony; Wiguna, Tjhin; McDermott, John

2014-04-01

The authors describe the University of Hawaii/University of Indonesia collaboration, which introduced the specialty of child psychiatry to Indonesia in the early 1970s via a specially designed program, based in Hawaii, for five jointly selected Indonesian psychiatrists. All five graduates remained in Indonesia to practice and establish their own training program, which has since trained all of the "newer generation," such that there are currently 40 child and adolescent psychiatrists in Indonesia. Since 2009, collaboration between the two institutions has been renewed and modernized through videoteleconferencing, jointly conducted with teaching sessions. The authors present this program as an example of a collaboration that developed the local workforce and that has utilized modern technology in international, bidirectionally beneficial education.

Teacher and child predictors of achieving IEP goals of children with autism.

PubMed

Ruble, Lisa; McGrew, John H

2013-12-01

It is encouraging that children with autism show a strong response to early intervention, yet more research is needed for understanding the variability in responsiveness to specialized programs. Treatment predictor variables from 47 teachers and children who were randomized to receive the COMPASS intervention (Ruble et al. in The collaborative model for promoting competence and success for students with ASD. Springer, New York, 2012a) were analyzed. Predictors evaluated against child IEP goal attainment included child, teacher, intervention practice, and implementation practice variables based on an implementation science framework (Dunst and Trivette in J Soc Sci 8:143-148, 2012). Findings revealed one child (engagement), one teacher (exhaustion), two intervention quality (IEP quality for targeted and not targeted elements), and no implementation quality variables accounted for variance in child outcomes when analyzed separately. When the four significant variables were compared against each other in a single regression analysis, IEP quality accounted for one quarter of the variance in child outcomes.

Teacher and Child Predictors of Achieving IEP Goals of Children with Autism

PubMed Central

Ruble, Lisa; McGrew, John H.

2013-01-01

It is encouraging that children with autism show a strong response to early intervention, yet more research is needed for understanding the variability in responsiveness to specialized programs. Treatment predictor variables from 47 teachers and children who were randomized to receive the COMPASS intervention (Ruble et al. in The collaborative model for promoting competence and success for students with ASD. Springer, New York, 2012a) were analyzed. Predictors evaluated against child IEP goal attainment included child, teacher, intervention practice, and implementation practice variables based on an implementation science framework (Dunst and Trivette in J Soc Sci 8:143–148, 2012). Findings revealed one child (engagement), one teacher (exhaustion), two intervention quality (IEP quality for targeted and not targeted elements), and no implementation quality variables accounted for variance in child outcomes when analyzed separately. When the four significant variables were compared against each other in a single regression analysis, IEP quality accounted for one quarter of the variance in child outcomes. PMID:23838728

Effect of production variables on microbiological removal in locally-produced ceramic filters for household water treatment.

PubMed

Lantagne, Daniele; Klarman, Molly; Mayer, Ally; Preston, Kelsey; Napotnik, Julie; Jellison, Kristen

2010-06-01

Diarrhoeal diseases cause an estimated 1.87 million child deaths per year. Point-of-use filtration using locally made ceramic filters improves microbiological quality of stored drinking water and prevents diarrhoeal disease. Scaling-up ceramic filtration is inhibited by lack of universal quality control standards. We investigated filter production variables to determine their affect on microbiological removal during 5-6 weeks of simulated normal use. Decreases in the clay:sawdust ratio and changes in the burnable decreased effectiveness of the filter. Method of silver application and shape of filter did not impact filter effectiveness. A maximum flow rate of 1.7 l(-hr) was established as a potential quality control measure for one particular filter to ensure 99% (2- log(10)) removal of total coliforms. Further research is indicated to determine additional production variables associated with filter effectiveness and develop standardized filter production procedures prior to scaling-up.

Quality of life of French Canadian parents raising a child with autism spectrum disorder and effects of psychosocial factors.

PubMed

Cappe, Émilie; Poirier, Nathalie; Sankey, Carol; Belzil, Andréa; Dionne, Carmen

2018-04-01

This study aimed to investigate the quality of life of parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder in Quebec. Seventy-seven participants completed a questionnaire with socio-biographic information and five self-assessed scales, to measure perceived stress, social support and control, coping strategies, and quality of life. Perception of their child's autonomy level, of the severity of the disorder, of the family's income, as well as changes in their professional or familial organization influenced parents' quality of life. Perceiving their situation as a threat predicted poor quality of life, whereas satisfaction of social support predicted good quality of life. In addition, parents who used problem solving and support-seeking coping strategies had a better relationship with their child, whereas those who used more emotion-centered coping strategies struggled. Lastly, parents who felt they had the power to contribute to their child's development were more satisfied and less disturbed. Beyond the parents' actual situation, our results underscore the importance of paying attention to their own perception of the situation in order to provide them with appropriate support.

Quality Disparities in Child Care for At-Risk Children: Comparing Head Start and Non-Head Start Settings

PubMed Central

Hillemeier, Marianne M.; Morgan, Paul L.; Farkas, George; Maczuga, Steven A.

2012-01-01

The study objectives are to describe child care type and quality experienced by developmentally at-risk children, examine quality differences between Head Start and non-Head Start settings, and identify factors associated with receiving higher-quality child care. Data are analyzed from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Birth Cohort, a prospective study of a nationally representative sample of US children born in 2001. The sample consisted of 7,500 children who were assessed at 48 months of age. The outcome of interest is child care quality, measured by the Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (center care) and the Family Day Care Rating Scale (family day care). Results of descriptive and multivariate regression analyses are presented. Less than one-third of poor children were in Head Start. Child care quality was higher in Head Start centers than other centers, particularly among poor children (4.75 vs. 4.28, p < 0.001), Hispanics (4.90 vs. 4.45, p < 0.001), and whites (4.89 vs. 4.51, p < 0.001). African Americans experienced the lowest quality care in both Head Start and non-Head Start centers. Quality disadvantage was associated with Head Start family care settings, especially for low birthweight children (2.04 in Head Start vs. 3.58 in non-Head Start, p < 0.001). Lower family day care quality was associated with less maternal education and African American and Hispanic ethnicity. Center-based Head Start provides higher quality child care for at-risk children, and expansion of these services will likely facilitate school readiness in these populations. Quality disadvantages in Head Start family day care settings are worrisome and warrant investigation. PMID:22392601

Improving nutrition in home child care: are food costs a barrier?

PubMed Central

Monsivais, Pablo; Johnson, Donna B

2015-01-01

Objective Child-care providers have a key role to play in promoting child nutrition, but the higher cost of nutritious foods may pose a barrier. The present study tested the hypothesis that higher nutritional quality of foods served was associated with higher food expenditures in child care homes participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Design In this cross-sectional study, nutritional quality of foods served to children and food expenditures were analysed based on 5 d menus and food shopping receipts. Nutritional quality was based on servings of whole grains, fresh whole fruits and vegetables, energy density (kJ/g) and mean nutrient adequacy (mean percentage of dietary reference intake) for seven nutrients of concern for child health. Food expenditures were calculated by linking receipt and menu data. Associations between food expenditures and menu quality were examined using bivariate statistics and multiple linear regression models. Setting USA in 2008–2009. Subjects Sixty child-care providers participating in CACFP in King County, Washington State. Results In bivariate analyses, higher daily food expenditures were associated with higher total food energy and higher nutritional quality of menus. Controlling for energy and other covariates, higher food expenditures were strongly and positively associated with number of portions of whole grains and fresh produce served (P = 0·001 and 0·005, respectively), with lower energy density and with higher mean nutrient adequacy of menus overall (P = 0·003 and 0·032, respectively). Conclusions The results indicate that improving the nutritional quality of foods in child care may require higher food spending. PMID:22014448

3 CFR 9059 - Proclamation 9059 of November 19, 2013. National Child's Day, 2013

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... all children—including high-quality preschool, strong education in key fields like math and science... healthier lives, and we are partnering with businesses, local governments, and non-profit organizations to...

Parents Pleased With Child Care Options and Quality. Research Brief, Volume 96, Number 4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Public Policy Forum, 2008

2008-01-01

A recent survey of 430 parents in southeastern Wisconsin finds the majority are satisfied with the quality of their child care arrangements and their options for child care. Most say they would not change anything about their child care arrangement if they had the chance, and nearly two-thirds report a willingness to pay more for their current…

Parent-Child Quality Time: Does Birth Order Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Joseph

2008-01-01

Using data from the American Time Use Survey, I find that a first-born child receives 20-30 more minutes of quality time each day with his or her parent than a second-born child of the same age from a similar family. The birth-order difference results from parents giving roughly equal time to each child at any point in time while the amount of…

Child Care in the Netherlands: Trends in Quality over the Years 1995-2005

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vermeer, Harriet J.; van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H.; de Kruif, Renee E. L.; Fukkink, Ruben G.; Tavecchio, Louis W. C.; Riksen-Walraven, J. Marianne; van Zeijl, Jantien

2008-01-01

The authors assessed the quality of child care in a representative national sample of 42 child-care centers in the Netherlands and compared it with the quality of care that researchers have found using similar samples in 1995 (M. H. van IJzendoorn, L. W. C. Tavecchio, G. J. J. M. Stams, M. J. E. Verhoeven, & E. J. Reiling, 1998) and 2001 (M.…

Otitis Media, the Quality of Child Care, and the Social/Communicative Behavior of Toddlers: A Replication and Extension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon-Feagans, Lynne; Manlove, Elizabeth E.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of otitis media (OM) and the quality of child care on the social and communicative behaviors of toddlers, using a cumulative risk framework that included moderation. The study followed 72 children who began child care in infancy. Both process and structural aspects of the quality of 11 child…

Bidirectional Links and Concurrent Development of Parent-Child Relationships and Boys’ Offending Behavior

PubMed Central

Keijsers, Loes; Loeber, Rolf; Branje, Susan; Meeus, Wim

2012-01-01

This study examined different types of longitudinal associations (i.e., directional links and overlapping developmental changes) between children’s delinquency and the quality of parent-child relationships from middle childhood to late adolescence. We used 10-wave interview data of 503 boys, their primary caregivers, and their teachers. Our first aim was to unravel the direction of effects between parent-child relationships and children’s offending. Cross-lagged panel models revealed bidirectional links over time between poorer quality parent-child relationships and boys’ offending across late childhood (age 7–10), early adolescence (age 10–13) and middle adolescence (age 13–16). Second, we examined the associations between mean changes in delinquency, on the one hand, and mean changes in relationship quality, on the other hand. Although parent-child relationships improved during childhood, their quality decreased in early adolescence and remained stable in middle adolescence. Delinquency increased only in middle adolescence. In 5 out of 6 models, the slope factors of relationship quality and offending were strongly correlated, indicating that stronger increases in delinquency were associated with stronger decreases in parent-child relationship quality across childhood, early adolescence, and middle adolescence. The discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of these two types of longitudinal associations. PMID:21842967

Health workers' views on quality of prevention of mother-to-child transmission and postnatal care for HIV-infected women and their children

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Thu Anh; Oosterhoff, Pauline; Pham, Yen Ngoc; Hardon, Anita; Wright, Pamela

2009-01-01

Background Prevention of mother-to-child transmission has been considered as not a simple intervention but a comprehensive set of interventions requiring capable health workers. Viet Nam's extensive health care system reaches the village level, but still HIV-infected mothers and children have received inadequate health care services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission. We report here the health workers' perceptions on factors that lead to their failure to give good quality prevention of mother-to-child transmission services. Methods Semistructured interviews with 53 health workers and unstructured observations in nine health facilities in Hanoi were conducted. Selection of respondents was based on their function, position and experience in the development or implementation of prevention of mother-to-child transmission policies/programmes. Results Factors that lead to health workers' failure to give good quality services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission include their own fear of HIV infection; lack of knowledge on HIV and counselling skills; or high workloads and lack of staff; unavailability of HIV testing at commune level; shortage of antiretroviral drugs; and lack of operational guidelines. A negative attitude during counselling and provision of care, treating in a separate area and avoidance of providing service at all were seen by health workers as the result of fear of being infected, as well as distrust towards almost all HIV-infected patients because of the prevailing association with antisocial behaviours. Additionally, the fragmentation of the health care system into specialized vertical pillars, including a vertical programme for HIV/AIDS, is a major obstacle to providing a continuum of care. Conclusion Many hospital staff were not being able to provide good care or were even unwilling to provide appropriate care for HIV-positive pregnant women The study suggests that the quality of prevention of mother-to-child transmission service could be enhanced by improving communication and other skills of health workers, providing them with greater support and enhancing their motivation. Reduction of workload would also be important. Development of a practical strategy is needed to strengthen and adapt the referral system to meet the needs of patients. PMID:19439094

Parent Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois Univ., Urbana. Child Development Lab.

This booklet contains information for parents whose children are enrolled in the Child Development Laboratory (CDL), a university-based preschool and child care program operated by the Department of Human and Community Development on the campus of the University of Illinois. The program provides half-day preschool for 2- to 4-year-old children and…

Domestic Violence Assessments in the Child Advocacy Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thackeray, Jonathan D.; Scribano, Philip V.; Rhoda, Dale

2010-01-01

Objective: This study was designed to identify the frequency, methods, and practices of universal assessments for domestic violence (DV) within child advocacy centers (CACs) and determine which factors are associated with CACs that conduct universal DV assessments. Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional, web-based survey distributed to…

Children's early child care and their mothers' later involvement with schools.

PubMed

Crosnoe, Robert; Augustine, Jennifer March; Huston, Aletha C

2012-01-01

Theory and policy highlight the role of child care in preparing children for the transition into school. Approaching this issue in a different way, this study investigated whether children's care experiences before this transition promoted their mothers' school involvement after it, with the hypothesized mechanism for this link being the cultivation of children's social and academic skills. Analyses of 1,352 children (1 month-6 years) and parents in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development revealed that mothers were more involved at their children's schools when children had prior histories of high-quality nonparental care. This pattern, which was fairly stable across levels of maternal education and employment, was mediated by children's academic skills and home environments. © 2012 The Authors. Child Development © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Relationships of Shared Decision Making with Parental Perceptions of Child Mental Health Functioning and Care

PubMed Central

Weller, Bridget; Titus, Courtney

2016-01-01

Experts encourage parents and practitioners to engage in shared decision making (SDM) to provide high quality child mental health care. However, little is known regarding SDM among families of children with common mental health conditions. The objectives of this study were to examine associations between parental report of SDM and parental perceptions of (a) receiving child mental health care and (b) child mental health functioning. We analyzed cross-sectional data on children with a common mental health condition (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional-defiant or conduct disorder, anxiety, or depression) from the 2009/2010 National Survey of Children with Special Healthcare Needs (N = 9,434). The primary independent variable was parent-reported SDM, and the dependent variables were parental perception of (a) their child receiving all needed mental health care (b) their children's impairment in school attendance and extracurricular activity participation, and (c) severity of their children's mental health condition. Multivariate logistic and multinomial regression analyses were conducted. Greater parent-reported SDM was associated with parental perceptions of receiving all needed child mental health care and children not having school or extracurricular impairment. Greater SDM was also associated with perceptions of children having a mild mental health condition compared to children having a moderate or severe condition. Findings provide a basis for future longitudinal and intervention studies to examine the benefit of SDM for improving parental perceptions of the quality of child mental health care and mental health functioning among children with common mental health conditions. PMID:25577238

Relationships of Shared Decision Making with Parental Perceptions of Child Mental Health Functioning and Care.

PubMed

Butler, Ashley M; Weller, Bridget; Titus, Courtney

2015-11-01

Experts encourage parents and practitioners to engage in shared decision making (SDM) to provide high quality child mental health care. However, little is known regarding SDM among families of children with common mental health conditions. The objectives of this study were to examine associations between parental report of SDM and parental perceptions of (a) receiving child mental health care and (b) child mental health functioning. We analyzed cross-sectional data on children with a common mental health condition (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional-defiant or conduct disorder, anxiety, or depression) from the 2009/2010 National Survey of Children with Special Healthcare Needs (N = 9,434). The primary independent variable was parent-reported SDM, and the dependent variables were parental perception of (a) their child receiving all needed mental health care (b) their children's impairment in school attendance and extracurricular activity participation, and (c) severity of their children's mental health condition. Multivariate logistic and multinomial regression analyses were conducted. Greater parent-reported SDM was associated with parental perceptions of receiving all needed child mental health care and children not having school or extracurricular impairment. Greater SDM was also associated with perceptions of children having a mild mental health condition compared to children having a moderate or severe condition. Findings provide a basis for future longitudinal and intervention studies to examine the benefit of SDM for improving parental perceptions of the quality of child mental health care and mental health functioning among children with common mental health conditions.

Teacher-Child Relationships and Children's Externalizing Behaviors in Head Start

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittaker, Jessica E. Vick; Jones Harden, Brenda

2010-01-01

This study explored the association between teacher-child relationship quality and Head Start children's externalizing behaviors. We also investigated the associations among teacher, student, and classroom characteristics and teacher-child relationship quality. Data were gathered from 100 Head Start children and their teachers. Teacher-child…

[Polish adaptation and validation of Health-Related Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire].

PubMed

Mathiak, Krystyna A; Karzel, Katarzyna; Mathiak, Klaus; Ostaszewski, Paweł; Luba, Małgorzata; Wolańczyk, Tomasz

2007-01-01

Epilepsy is a frequent chronic disease in children, having a strong impact on a child's psychosocial functioning. Effective therapy must take into account the wide range of physical, psychological and social needs of patients. The importance of assessing patients' quality of life is becoming increasingly acknowledged. In addition to providing better health care, it may reveal how the disease and its psychosocial outcome interact. Quality of life in epilepsy can be assessed most reliably by disease-specific measures. Health-Related Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy (QOLCE) is an English parental questionnaire for children aged between 4 and 18 years. It contains 87 questions that fall into five domains: physical function, emotional well-being, cognitive function, social function and behavioural function. The original scale has a well-grounded theoretical background and good psychometric properties. The aim of the study was to create a Polish version of QOLCE and evaluate its psychometric properties. Parents of 87 patients suffering from epilepsy were recruited in neurological clinics in the Warsaw area. Reliability was very high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97). The construct validity was confirmed by the correlation between subscales of QOLCE and the Child Behaviour Checklist, as well as selected clinical measures of child's health (duration of disease: r=-0.22, p=0.02; duration of treatment: r=-0.20, p=0.04; number of hospitalizations: r=-0.24, p=0.02). All the psychometric properties were similar to those of the original scale. A Polish scale examining the quality of life was created that takes into account a wide range of psychosocial problems. We confirmed very high reliability and good validity, and thus we recommend the inventory for both research on and clinical diagnostics of Polish children with epilepsy.

Improving the quality of child anthropometry: Manual anthropometry in the Body Imaging for Nutritional Assessment Study (BINA)

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Anthropometric data collected in clinics and surveys are often inaccurate and unreliable due to measurement error. The Body Imaging for Nutritional Assessment Study (BINA) evaluated the ability of 3D imaging to correctly measure stature, head circumference (HC) and arm circumference (MUAC) for children under five years of age. This paper describes the protocol for and the quality of manual anthropometric measurements in BINA, a study conducted in 2016–17 in Atlanta, USA. Quality was evaluated by examining digit preference, biological plausibility of z-scores, z-score standard deviations, and reliability. We calculated z-scores and analyzed plausibility based on the 2006 WHO Child Growth Standards (CGS). For reliability, we calculated intra- and inter-observer Technical Error of Measurement (TEM) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). We found low digit preference; 99.6% of z-scores were biologically plausible, with z-score standard deviations ranging from 0.92 to 1.07. Total TEM was 0.40 for stature, 0.28 for HC, and 0.25 for MUAC in centimeters. ICC ranged from 0.99 to 1.00. The quality of manual measurements in BINA was high and similar to that of the anthropometric data used to develop the WHO CGS. We attributed high quality to vigorous training, motivated and competent field staff, reduction of non-measurement error through the use of technology, and reduction of measurement error through adequate monitoring and supervision. Our anthropometry measurement protocol, which builds on and improves upon the protocol used for the WHO CGS, can be used to improve anthropometric data quality. The discussion illustrates the need to standardize anthropometric data quality assessment, and we conclude that BINA can provide a valuable evaluation of 3D imaging for child anthropometry because there is comparison to gold-standard, manual measurements. PMID:29240796

Caregivers' perception of oral health-related quality of life in a group of Nigerian children living with human immunodeficiency virus.

PubMed

Adeniyi, A A; Diaku-Akinwumi, I N; Ola, B A

2016-01-01

This study examined the caregivers' perception of the effect of dental conditions on general well-being and family life of a group of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected Nigerian children. A secondary aim was to investigate correlations between the children's sociodemographic and health-related variables and caregivers' global ratings of oral health and well-being. Study Design A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted among parents/caregivers of 95 HIV-positive children receiving care at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. The "Parental-Caregivers Perception Questionnaire" which included measures of global ratings of oral health and well-being as well as effects of oral health on domains of oral symptoms, functional limitations, emotional well-being, and family well-being/parental distress was used. Assessment was based on the child's oral health within the preceding 3 months of the study. The most affected subscale of the oral health-related quality of life was functional limitation followed by parental distress and then oral symptoms. Caregivers of older children were 2½ times more likely to view oral health as impacting their child's overall health (P = 0.034). Furthermore, caregivers of children who had not yet commenced antiretroviral therapy were 15% more likely to report oral symptoms (P = 0.024) and 11% were more likely to be distressed. Data entry, validation, and analysis were done using SPSS version 17.0. Findings were considered to be statistically significant when 95% confidence intervals were not overlapping. According to caregivers' perceptions, oral symptoms, functional limitations, and parental distress outweighed emotional well-being in impacting a child's oral health quality of life. Oral health programs to improve the knowledge of caregivers on the importance of oral health in HIV-positive children are necessary for improvement in overall quality of life.

FPG Child Development Institute

MedlinePlus

... Development, Teaching, and Learning The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute will partner with Zero to Three to ... Center October 6, 2017 More Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute The University of North Carolina at Chapel ...