Children's Perceptions Research Articles

Efficacy of administering a sugar-free flavor before dental injections on pain perception in children: A split-mouth randomized crossover clinical trial.

Sweet taste administration before dental injections helps to control associated pain in children. To evaluate the efficacy of using a sugar-free flavor on pain perception during dental injections. Children (n = 84) aged 4-9 (mean 6.71 ± 1.55) years who required buccal infiltration bilaterally participated in this split-mouth randomized crossover study. On the test side (flavor visit), infiltration injections were applied after receiving a sugar-free flavor. On the control side (no flavor visit), sterile water was administered. Demographic characteristics, body mass index (BMI), and sweet taste preference (STP) were recorded. Pain perception during injection was measured using heart rate (HR), sound, eyes, and motor (SEM) scale, and Wong-Baker Faces pain scale (WBFPS). Most children had healthy weight (72.6%) and equal STP (32.1%). In the test side, mean HR during injection, HR differences before and during injection, and SEM scores were significantly lower (p < .001, for all). There was no significant difference in the WBFPS between both visits. Flavor had a significant effect on pain reduction (p = .001 for HR, p = .000 for SEM), whereas age, gender, BMI, STP, and treatment side did not. Treatment sequence had a significant effect on total SEM scores (p = .021); children who received the flavor during their first visit had lower SEM scores. Using a sugar-free flavor before dental injections helps in reducing associated pain in children.

STS and science education: the impact of geology workshops on children's perception in Paraguay

STS and science education: the impact of geology workshops on children's perception in Paraguay

Developing Participatory Methods to Include Young Children's Voices in Research.

This clinical tutorial draws on a case study to demonstrate how researchers can design studies that access the voices of even the youngest children. The case study explored young children's perceptions of reading at a time when government policy directs that reading should be taught through a systematic synthetic phonics "first and fast" approach and assessed using the phonics screening check. This collective case study, set within a single primary school, used a range of tools designed within a listening framework, to explore the views of seven 5- to 6-year-old children. By reflecting carefully on the methodology used in this study, this article demonstrates how children can be skilled and insightful participants in research provided they are given activities that allow them to engage, respond, and communicate in ways appropriate for their age. This tutorial has implications for all those interested in conducting participatory research with young children.

Cultural Perceptions of Language Development in a Population Sample of 54-Month-Old Children From Aotearoa New Zealand.

There is a dearth of information on cultural perceptions of children's language development for ethnic minorities in New Zealand to guide service provision. The current study explored differences across ethnicities in mothers' report of language concern and child language scores within a complex cultural, social, educational, and political context. Data from the antenatal and 54-month waves of Growing Up in New Zealand were utilized. At the 54-month wave interviews, 5,053 mothers were asked if language concerns had been raised and to rate their child's main language proficiency along with other measures. Logistic regression models (including influencing variables) indicated Chinese, Indian, and other Asian mothers were less likely to report language concern, whereas Māori, Pacific, other Asian, and Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African children were more likely to score low on the language measure. Higher maternal education was associated with higher child main language scores, but not with language concerns. Child multilingualism was not associated with low language scores, and these mothers were less likely to raise concern. This study demonstrated differences by ethnicity in mothers' language concern and child main language scores, which are likely to affect access to speech-language pathology services, as these typically rely on parent concern being expressed. Cultural bias in the language measure may also be present. Further research is needed to ask ethnic communities their views on culturally appropriate ways to identify children with communication needs and to develop culturally safe services.

Contextual factors experienced by mothers of children with special needs

Background: Caring for children with special needs places a burden on caregivers. The challenges experienced can be conceptualised as personal and environmental, as per the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Framework (ICF).Objectives: Supported the caregiver experiences when caring for children with special needs and to conceptualise these needs in relation to the personal and environmental factors set out in the ICF.Method: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted, using purposive and snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data, which were then analysed thematically.Results: A total of six themes arose from the data. Two of these were related to personal factors: unemployment and caregiving, and marital uncertainty. The other four themes were related to environmental factors: family and caregiving factors, educational factors, health-systems challenges and perceptions of children with special needs.Conclusion: Caregivers of children with special needs experienced personal challenges, which resulted in feelings of isolation from family and society. They also faced environmental challenges in sectors such as education and health.Clinical implications: The management of children with special needs should include interventions within their environments to assist caregivers with their tasks. This could contribute to improved quality of life for both the caregivers and their children.

Peak Flow Feedback Intervention Improves Under-Perception of Airflow Limitation in Pediatric Asthma: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Under-perception of asthma symptoms is associated with poor asthma outcomes. We assessed the effects of a behavioral intervention for improving perception of airflow limitation and asthma outcomes. A two-arm randomized controlled trial compared peak expiratory flow (PEF) feedback versus supportive counseling. Latino and Black adolescents with asthma ages 10-17 years old and caregivers were recruited from hospitals in the Bronx, NY. PEF feedback sessions reviewed accuracy of PEF guesses and medication adherence data, and targeted behavior change using motivational interviewing and problem-solving skills training. Supportive counseling received emotional support related to asthma. Both groups received 3 sessions across 6 weeks. All participants were blinded to PEF while guessing PEF during pre-intervention, 1, 6, and 12-month follow-up. Children in PEF feedback saw actual PEF after guesses were locked in during the 6-week intervention. Participants and assessors were blinded to group assignment. The primary outcome was under-perception of airflow limitation (divergence between actual PEF and guesses) on home spirometers. Secondary outcomes included daily PEF and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), inhaled corticosteroid adherence measured by electronic monitors, Asthma Control Test, and emergency healthcare use for asthma. The sample comprised 354 children (M = 13.2±2.2 years; 62% Latino, 38% Black) and caregivers. PEF feedback (N = 153 analyzed) demonstrated greater improvements at 1-month follow-up on under-perception of airflow limitation (difference-in-differences, -12.64; 95% CI, -17.54 to -7.74), % personal best PEF (9.89; 95% CI, 7.13 to 12.65), % predicted FEV1 (4.93; 95% CI, 0.95 to 8.90) and ICS adherence (16.02; 95% CI, 7.15 to 24.89) compared with supportive counseling (N = 152 analyzed). At 12-month follow-up PEF feedback maintained improvements on under-perception of airflow limitation (-13.87; 95% CI, -19.03 to -8.71), higher PEF (14.23; 95% CI, 11.37 to 17.08) and %FEV1 (5.62; 95% CI, 1.56 to 9.67), and had smaller declines in ICS adherence (17.51; 95% CI, 7.12 to 27.89) versus pre-intervention than supportive counseling. No between-group differences existed for asthma control or healthcare use. The efficacy and sustainability of PEF feedback was established in improving children's perception of airflow limitation, pulmonary function, and medication adherence. Clinical trial registration available at www. gov, ID: NCT02702687.

Evaluation of the measurement properties of the parental perceptions of children's exposure to tobacco smoke instrument translated and adapted to the Brazilian context.

Given the need to measure parents' perceptions of their children's exposure to tobacco smoke, the Parental Perceptions of Children's Exposure to Tobacco Smoke (PPE) instrument was developed and validated in Hebrew and later translated into English and Portuguese. The PPE has already been translated and adapted to the Brazilian context but a more robust sample is necessary to investigate the measurement properties. Thus, this study evaluated the measurement properties of the Brazilian version of the PPE instrument. Reliability and validity study were conducted with 161 parents with children up to 18 years of age. Perception of parental smoking status was investigated using analysis of variance. The instrument showed excellent reliability (Cronbach α = 0.92 and intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.91). The exploratory factor analysis identified 4 factors with a total accumulated variance of 71.6%. Confirmatory factor analysis validated this structure with 4 factors. It was necessary to exclude a question that presented low commonality. Analysis of variance demonstrated that nonsmoking and former smoking parents have similar scores, although they are higher than those of current smokers. Our findings provide evidence that the PPE version translated and adapted for the Brazilian context is a reliable and valid instrument. Thus, it can help us understand how parents cope with exposure to tobacco smoke.

Parents' perception of children's behaviors, self-compassion, and parenting stress: Actor-partner interdependence model.

This study explores how self-compassion mediates the relations between parents' perceptions of children's behaviors and parenting stress, as well as interactions between parents. We conducted a longitudinal actor-partner interdependence mediation model and assessed parents' perceptions of children's behaviors, self-compassion, and parenting stress. A total of 656 pairs of parents (fathers' Mage = 34.96 years, SDage = 5.62; mothers' Mage = 33.13 years, SDage = 5.77) participated in the study. Results revealed that parents' perceptions of children's problem behavior affected their own parenting stress through their self-compassion. Additionally, parents' perceptions of children's prosocial behavior directly influenced their own parenting stress and also affected it through self-compassion in both parents. Parents' perceptions of children's problem behavior directly influenced their partner's parenting stress and also indirectly through their own self-compassion. Similarly, parents' perceptions of children's prosocial behavior affected their partner's parenting stress via self-compassion in both parents. The findings highlighted the importance of parents recognizing and valuing their children's positive behaviors, thereby fostering a constructive "child effect" that improved the dynamics of the parental subsystem. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding the interactions that children and young people have with their natural and built environments: A survey to identify targets for active travel behaviour change in Wales.

Active travel offers many societal benefits, including improving people's mental and physical health and minimising our impacts on the environment. Increasing active travel is particularly important amongst children and young people (CYP), who are building habits which they will carry into adulthood. Studies on active travel amongst CYP are limited, however, with most research focusing on adult participants or on adult perceptions of children. This study sought to understand CYP's interactions with the built and natural environment-and therefore their access to active travel-through the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour (COM-B) model. With a stakeholder group representing local government, youth organisations and active travel organisations, we co-created two bilingual questionnaires-one for young people aged 12-16 years living in Wales and the other for parents of young people aged 12-16 years living in Wales. Both questionnaires collected information on behaviour and perceived capability, opportunity and motivation of CYP to engage with their natural and built environments. The questionnaires included a discrete choice experiment (DCE), which proposed a series of binary choice questions indicating preferences based on landscape, journey time and type of travel. A total of 124 questionnaires (38 young people and 86 parents) were returned for analysis. These data indicate that CYP's time spent outdoors is not dependent upon geography (rural/urban/suburban), season, or school holidays. There was a significant difference in capability, opportunity and motivation between parents and CYP, with parents over-estimating the psychological capability of CYP to engage outdoors. The preference data indicate that active travel is the favoured mode of transport, with both CYP and parents stating that they would increase travel time in order to travel actively. While this response is not consistent with respondent's day-to-day travel choices, it suggests that the limitations to active travel may be psychological capability and automatic motivation, rather than a lack of opportunity.

The Depiction of Childhood in English Fairy Tales and Folklore

This article explores the depiction of childhood in English fairy tales and folklore, analyzing key aspects and symbolism associated with the image of the child. The study examines how cultural perceptions of childhood, upbringing, and the social role of the child are conveyed through fairy tale plots and characters. It identifies the main archetypes and motifs present in English folklore and their influence on the perception of childhood in the English-speaking world. The article also discusses the significance of these motifs in shaping national identity and instilling values in the younger generation.

The who, when, and why of pacifier use.

Social and familial consequences of pacifier use remain poorly understood. The present study attempts to shed more light on the characteristics of parents using pacifiers with their infants and to explore how pacifier use affects perceptions of infant emotionality, maternal stress, and parental efficacy. The study sample consisted of 428 mothers (range: 17-49 years) of infants (0-36 months) who completed a comprehensive questionnaire assessing infant and parent characteristics as well as parenting practices and pacifier use. We compared attitudes toward pacifiers, parenting stress, children's levels of reactivity and self-regulation, and maternal efficacy among Pacifier Users, Never-Users, and families that Tried-Pacifiers. The reported results reveal benefits of pacifier use for the family relationships, namely reduced parenting stress (p = 0.018), better parent-child dynamics (p < 0.001), and more positive perceptions of child's affectivity (p = 0.006), which are all important aspects of infant development. Our findings highlight developmental benefits of pacifier use, a practice that is known to have both positive and negative long-term consequences for healthy child development. It is, therefore, important for health professionals to have discussions about the pros and cons of pacifier use with parents. The study provides novel insights into how and why mothers use pacifiers and into the psychological consequences of this practice. We found pacifier use is associated with less maternal stress, better mother-child dynamics, and more positive perceptions of child's affectivity. Our findings document developmental benefits of pacifier use adding a new perspective to the debate on pacifiers. Doctors, health visitors, pediatric nurses, and midwives may consider this evidence when advising parents on pacifier use.

Vocal Emotion Perception in Children Using Cochlear Implant.

The significance of emotional prosody in social communication is well-established, yet research on emotion perception among cochlear implant (CI) users is less extensive. This study aims to explore vocal emotion perception in children using CI and bimodal hearing devices and compare them with their normal hearing (NH) peers. The study involved children aged 4-10 years with unilateral CI and contralateral hearing aid (HA), matched with NH peers by gender and listening age. Children were selected using snowball sampling for the CI group and purposive sampling for the NH group. Vocal emotion perception was assessed for semantically neutral sentences in "happy," "sad," and "angry" emotions using a 3 alternate forced choice test. The NH group demonstrated significantly superior emotion perception (P=.002) compared to the CI group. Both groups accurately identified the "happy" emotion. However, the NH group had higher scores for the "angry" emotion compared to the "sad" emotion, while the CI group showed better scores for "sad" than "angry" emotion. Bimodal hearing devices improved recognition of "sad"and "angry" emotions, with a decrease in confusion percentages. The unbiased hit (Hu) value provided more substantial insight than the hit score. Bimodal hearing devices enhance the perception of "sad" and "angry" vocal emotions compared to using a CI alone, likely due to the HA providing the temporal fine structure cues, thereby better representing fundamental frequency variations. Children with unilateral CI benefit significantly in the perception of emotions by using a HA in the contralateral ear, aiding in better socio-emotional development.

Participatory Design of an Embodied Mixed Reality Experience Aimed to Assessing Individual and Collaborative Behaviors of Children

This study is part of a broader project exploring the integration of Mixed Reality (MR) in fostering prosocial behaviors among children, particularly focusing on interpersonal synchrony (IPS) and its impact on collaboration. IPS, the coordination of rhythmic movements among individuals, has been associated with improved group cohesion and prosocial behaviors, such as collaboration. Traditional assessments of prosociality typically involve structured play activities for dyads, making them difficult to adapt to other settings. To address these limitations, this research aims to design a flexible embodied MR experience that allows children to choose between collaborative or individual engagement, reflecting the natural dynamics of children's play interactions. For this purpose, we conducted an embodied participatory design (PD) and usability study with 50 children aged 8-10 years. We provide a detailed account on how the PD process was orchestrated and an evaluation of user-system interaction, children's perceptions of play modes, and experience satisfaction. The results show how the MR experience, codesigned with children, supports a free play environment, allowing children to choose their preferred play mode. This study highlights the potential of MR in psychological research and child development, providing a new avenue for assessing individual and collaborative behaviors in larger groups of children.

ONTOLOGICAL DEFINITION OF CHILDHOOD: FROM THE PLURALISM OF IMAGES OF CHILDHOOD TO THE UNIVERSAL CONCEPT OF CHILDHOOD

It is not always clear why, but under normal conditions, most adults evaluate childhood as, albeit a short life study, but full of instructive and attractive meaning. Perhaps this perception of childhood plays the role of one of the essential motives for creating a “normal” adulthood. From this ontological position, the “child” does not disappear safely and completely into the world of “grown-up men”. “Childhood” is valuable in itself not only for itself, but it is the reputation of the entire human civilization, which, however, managed at certain periods of its history to fall into “infanticide” and cause the “disappearance of childhood”...

Mothers’ perceptions of children’s emotional behaviour problems and parenting sense of competence: The mediating role of maternal meta-emotion philosophy

We investigated the relationship between mothers’ perceptions of their children’s emotional behaviour problems and their parenting sense of competence, as well as the mediating effect of maternal meta-emotion philosophy in this connection. Participants were 349 mothers of 4- to 17-year-old children (female children = 40.7%, mean age = 8.24 years, SD = 2.95 years). The mothers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy Scale, and the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale. Structural equation modelling and simple mediation analyses results showed that mothers’ perceptions of their children’s problem behaviours were linked to higher emotion dimissing and lower parenting sense of competence. Specifically, emotion dimissing mediated the relationship between children’s problem behaviours and parenting sense of competence by the mothers. Furthermore, mothers’ perceptions of their children’s prosocial behaviours were associated with both higher emotion coaching and parenting sense of competence. Emotion coaching mediated the relationship between children’s prosocial behaviours and parenting sense of competence for higher sense of competence by the mothers. Our findings suggest that mothers’ perceptions of children’s emotional behaviour problems may explain their parenting sense of competence through their parenting philosophy. By prioritising their maternal meta-emotion philosophy when dealing with their children’s emotional behaviour problems, mothers can enhance their parenting sense of competence.

“Why did she do that?”: Chinese children's preference for trait‐based explanations of behavior

AbstractThe current study addressed the extent to which Chinese children rely on situational characteristics to reason about the causes of valenced behavior (i.e., positive or negative). Specifically, one hundred fifteen 4‐ to 7‐year‐olds from Hangzhou, China, were asked to attribute a character's behavior toward a peer to either that character's traits (e.g., “nice”) or the situation (e.g., being tired and being happy). Across ages, children made trait attributions for both positive and negative behavior but were least likely to do so when information about the character's emotions was available, particularly in congruent valence conditions. In addition, children made an intentionality judgment about whether the character's behavior was accidental or intentional. Overall, children judged positive behavior as intentional but were unsystematic in their judgments of negative behavior. These findings highlight cross‐cultural similarities in children's personal perception and suggest connections between trait and mental state reasoning that may inform strategies for peer relationships.

Comparison of three management approaches for dental caries in primary molars: A two-year randomized clinical trial

Aimto compare two-year clinical success rates of caries management in children (Hall Technique HT, Nonrestorative caries treatment NRCT, Conventional restorations CR), and to evaluate pain perception, behaviour, technique acceptability by patients, parents and dentists. Methods122, 3–8–year-olds were enrolled in 2-year parallel group randomised controlled trial (CR, n = 52, HT, n = 35, NRCT, n = 35). Caries was recorded using Nyvad criteria to measure clinical success/ failure rates. Child's pain perception (Visual Analogue Scale of Faces), child behaviour (Frankl scale), parents’ and dentists’ treatment opinions (5-point Likert scale) were assessed. Statistical analysis included Chi-square, non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis, Bonferroni-corrected Mann-Whitney U tests (p < 0.05), absolute risk reduction (ARR) and number needed to treat (NNT). ResultsAfter two years, with 116 participants, clinical success rates were: CR=60.8 % (n = 31), HT=93.8 % (n = 30), NRCT=42.5 % (n = 14) (p < 0.001). Major/minor failure rates differed: CR=17.6 % (n = 9) / 21.6 % (n = 11); HT=6.2 % (n = 2)/ 0 %, NRCT=33.3 % (n = 11)/ 24.2 % (n = 8), (p < 0.05). When comparing HT to CR, ARR = 0.33; NNT= 3 (95 % CI 0.02 -0.58); NRCT to CR, - no observed benefit from NRCT. More than 70 % of children demonstrated “positive/definitely positive” behaviour during treatment. Pain intensity was “very low/low” in 92.3 % of cases for CR, 88.6 % for HT, and 77.1 % for NRCT . NRCT was “very easy” to perform for 82.9 % of participants, compared to 42.3 % for CR and 17.1 % for HT (p < 0.05). CR were reported to take longer than NRCT and HT (p < 0.05). ConclusionClinical success rates of HT were superior to CR and NRCT. All treatment techniques were well tolerated by children, CR was more time-consuming and HT – technically more difficult to perform. Clinical significancecaries management in primary molars can be successfully performed using minimal intervention, particularly, sealing in caries lesions with Hall technique. NRCT can prevent caries progression when adequate access to mechanical plaque disruption and fluoride is provided. However, occasional fluoride application, and uncontrolled toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste cannot replace restorative procedures.

Creating restorative corridors - Perceptual and physiological feedback of children on the audiovisual environment in primary school corridors

The corridor space of the primary school campus is frequently used for recess and relaxation by the students, which brings stress and emotional recovery from the intense academic work. How to integrate natural restorative environment into the corridor has attracted academic and practical attention. Based on Kaplan's theory of Restorative Environment, this study combined subjective evaluation with physiological feedback to explore the primary school children's perception and evaluation of corridor space, and proposed the effects of different audio-visual indicators. Based on a questionnaire survey of children's activities and restoration in two schools, the paper found the association between perceived restoration and high interaction behavior in the corridor, including floriculture and interacting with hands-on devices. The richness of amenities and colors in the corridor space had the highest correlation with children's restorative ratings, followed by interface openness and sky visibility. Natural soundscapes also had a strong correlation with children's auditory restorability. Subsequent virtual audition experiments validated above findings, suggesting the benefits of increased greenery, sky and natural sounds in reducing children's stress.

Nocebo Effect on Pain Perception and Attention with Children With and Without Attention Deficit And/Or Hyperactivity Disorder.

Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) has negative consequences for children. The effectiveness of medical interventions and educational outcomes are strongly influenced by expectations, which can be modulated by nocebo effects. The aims of this study were to compare the nocebo effect on pain perception and attention in children with and without ADHD as well as to characterize the associations of the nocebo effect with personal variables, such as anxiety, sleep, and pain catastrophizing. Data were collected from 30 children with and without ADHD. The nocebo effect was induced using an inactive pill, "increasing" pain perception and attention deficits. Experimental thermal pain was evoked using a thermode and recorded using a computerized visual analog scale. Attention abilities were measured with the Stop-Signal Task. We also used questionnaires to measure personal variables. When combining groups, the nocebo treatment led to comparable nocebo effects for pain (increased pain perception) and attention (increased time needed for inhibition). When comparing groups, the nocebo effect on pain perception was similar for children with and without ADHD. Inattention, learning problems, anxiety, and sleep problems were associated with the nocebo response for pain and attention. This exploratory study conducted in an experimental setting emphasizes the importance of managing children's expectations for pain perception and attention as well as the potentially deleterious impact of negative suggestions on elementary school children.

Development of hybrid active noise cancellation system for the children with autism spectrum disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder often experience auditory hyperreactivity, where they find certain sounds intolerable and may exhibit negative behaviours in response to noise. While noise-cancelling headphones are commonly used to address these behavioural issues, they primarily focus on reducing noise levels without considering the diverse auditory perceptions of children with autism. Aural perception and electroencephalography tests were conducted to design a noise-control function in headphones that cater to their individual needs. Autistic children with auditory hyperreactivity listened to sounds of various frequencies and amplitudes and their subjective responses were analyzed. The results were utilized to determine suitable noise-attenuation targets based on a function of mean aural perception ratings and noise levels. Using these findings, a hybrid active noise cancellation system was developed and validated. The results showed that frequencies of 250 Hz and 8 kHz were rated by the majority of the children with autism as most unpleasant. The aural perception response improved when children used headsets tailored to their specific aural perception characteristics.