Children In Finland Research Articles

Linking Formal Child Care Characteristics to Children\u2019s Socioemotional Well-Being: A Comparative Perspective

Most research on formal child care and children’s outcomes has focused on single countries. We, however, contend that policy context may moderate the association between formal child care characteristics and children’s socioemotional well-being. We examined this by comparing the Netherlands, Finland and the UK; three countries that differ regarding family policies. Of these three countries, Finland was recently ranked highest (ranked 1st) with regards to quality of child care in a recent analysis by the Economist, followed by the UK (ranked 3rd) and then the Netherlands (ranked 7th). We hypothesized that children who attend child-care settings in countries with higher-quality formal child-care provision would generally show better socioemotional outcomes. Data from the comparative ‘Families 24/7’ survey were used, including 990 parents with children aged 0–12. We distinguished between two age groups in our analysis. Results indicated that, compared to the UK, longer hours in formal care were less beneficial in the Netherlands. Furthermore, spending time in formal care during nonstandard hours was more harmful for children in Finland compared to the UK. Lastly, receiving care from multiple caregivers was more disruptive for British children than for Dutch children. No differences were found between Finland and the Netherlands.

Long-term impact of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination on invasive pneumococcal disease among children in Finland

BackgroundThe ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) was introduced into the Finnish National Vaccination Programme (NVP) in September 2010. The impact of PCV10 vaccination against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in vaccine-eligible children has been high. We evaluated the long-term impact of PCV10 vaccination against IPD in vaccine-eligible and older, unvaccinated children six years after PCV10 introduction with a special focus on cross-protection against PCV10-related serotypes (serotypes in the same serogroups as the PCV10 types). MethodsWe used data on IPD from the national, population-based surveillance. A target cohort of vaccine-eligible children (born June 2010 or later) was followed from 3 months of age until the end of 2016. For the indirect effect, another cohort of older PCV10-ineligible children was followed from 2012 through 2016. IPD rates were compared with those of season- and age-matched reference cohorts before NVP introduction. ResultsAmong vaccine-eligible children, the incidence of all IPD decreased by 79% (95% CI 74–83%). There was a statistically significant reduction in the incidence of 6A IPD, but for 19A, the reduction was non-significant and the incidence of 19A increased towards the end of the study period in the older vaccine-eligible children. The increase in non-PCV10 related serotypes was non-significant.In the unvaccinated older children, the incidence of all IPD decreased by 33% (95% CI 8–52%) compared to the reference cohort, and there was no impact on serotype 6A or 19A IPD. ConclusionOverall, the impact of PCV10 vaccination on IPD was high in vaccine-eligible children, with a major reduction in vaccine-type disease, and without notable replacement by other serotype groups. Our data suggest that PCV10 results in long-lasting direct cross-protection against 6A IPD. For 19A, no net reduction was observed six years after NVP introduction in the vaccine-eligible cohort. The indirect impact on IPD in unvaccinated children sustained.

Assessing Online Collaborative Problem Solving Among School Children in Finland: A Case Study Using ATC21S TM in a National Context

Online collaborative problem-solving tasks were piloted in five Finnish schools participating in the Assessment and Teaching of Twenty-first Century Skills (ATC21S TM ) project. Process stream data from online tasks were captured from 480 Finnish students who explored dyad problem spaces. The log file data were explored to identify indicative behaviours of collaborative problem solving (CPS), which were coded into a series of dichotomous indicators. The Rasch simple logistic model was used to analyse student performance across the social and cognitive dimensions of CPS. Analysis of the Finnish data indicated that the construct can be interpreted using a two-dimensional model, matching the findings of the total cohort of 4,078 students. Further analysis of the data provided evidence that gender has no statistical impact on Finnish students’ CPS abilities in the social or cognitive dimensions. Analysis of the differences in student abilities across grades within and between schools suggested that upper-year students had stronger CPS skills.

The Network Structure of Childhood Psychopathology in International Adoptees

International adoptees are at an increased risk of emotional and behavioral problems, especially those who are adopted at an older age. We took a new approach in our study of the network structure and predictability of emotional and behavioral problems in internationally adopted children in Finland. Our sample was from the on-going adoption study and comprised 778 internationally adopted children (387 boys and 391 girls, mean age 10.5 (SD 3.4) years). Networks were estimated using Gaussian graphical models and lasso regularization for all the children, and separately for those who were adopted at different ages. The results showed that anxiety/depressive symptoms, social problems, and aggressiveness were the most central symptom domains. Somatic symptoms were the least central and had the weakest effect on the other domains. Similarly, aggressiveness, social problems, and attention problems were high in terms of predictability (73–65%), whereas internalizing problems were relatively low (28–56%). There were clear but local age-group differences in network structure, symptom centrality, and predictability. According to our findings, network models provide important additional information about the centrality and predictability of specific symptom domains, and thus may facilitate targeted interventions among international adoptees.

Loneliness and subjective health complaints among school-aged children.

The first aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of loneliness and subjective health complaints (SHCs) among school-aged children in Finland. The second aim was to analyse to what extent perceived loneliness explains any variance in SHCs among school-aged children. A representative sample of 5925 Finnish children and adolescents from grades 5 ( Mage=11.8 years), 7 ( Mage=13.8) and 9 ( Mage=15.8) completed the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the prevalence of health complaints and loneliness. Structural equation modelling was used to test how strongly loneliness was associated with SHCs. The prevalence of loneliness and SHCs was higher among girls and increased with age. Loneliness was a significant predictor of health complaints, especially of psychological symptoms among girls and among ninth grade students. The findings indicate that loneliness is a major risk to the health and well-being of school-aged children. The strong association between loneliness and SHCs highlights the importance of active preventive actions to reduce loneliness.

Mothers’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Dietary Behaviour and Physical Activity of Preschool Children

Background Obesity constitutes a crucial health issue during preschool period and has an impact on children regardless their ethnic backgrounds. The purpose of the study was to examine the self-efficacy perceptions of mothers and potential differences and correlations with dietary behaviour and physical activity of their preschool children in Finland. Materials and Methods: The sample for this study consisted of 154 mothers from nine private nurseries who lived in greater Helsinki and have Finnish or other nationality. There were 7 categories of geographical regions from which mothers came from, according to the nationality they declared. For the data collection the Parental Self-Efficacy Questionnaire was used, which evaluates the self-efficacy of parents regarding the dietary behaviour and physical activity of their children. Results: The age range of the children was between 3 up to 6 years of age (Mean=5.08 + 0.96), while the age range of mothers was between 25 up to 54 years of age (Mean=37.7+ 4.85). Positive correlations were found between maternal self-efficacy and children’s physical activity as well as between maternal self-efficacy and dietary behaviour. As it occurs from the analysis of the results from Pearson correlations: dietary behaviour had a positive correlation with physical activity r=0.583, p Conclusion: Despite the non-statistically significant differences on these two factors, the results also showed high mean score values on maternal self-efficacy so in physical activity, as in dietary behaviour. Mothers who living in the same country which offers well structured guidelines about integrating nutrition and physical activity to help prevent lifestyle related diseases, possibly explains the fact that there are no differences related to ethnicity.

Intergenerational transmission of cultural capital in Finland

Cultural resources and assets inherited from one’s family of origin can be an important source of social inequality. In Finland, research on the intergenerational transmission of cultural capital is very limited. To fill this gap, we ask whether there is an association between the cultural capital of parents and that of their children in Finland and, if so, how significant it is. We useda two-fold operationalization of cultural capital for respondents and their parents comprising educational attainment (institutionalized cultural capital) and interestedness or participation in highbrow culture (embodied cultural capital). Our multinomial logistic regression analysis of nationally representative survey data from 2007 (N=1,279) showed close links between respondents’ cultural capital and that of their parents. Respondents’ educational attainment was strongly influenced by their parents’ education level but not their cultural interestedness; in contrast, respondents’ cultural participation was influenced by both their parents’ education and cultural interestedness.

Mobile lives, immutable facts: family reunification of children in Finland

ABSTRACTThe right to family has been confirmed by myriad human rights covenants and it forms an acknowledged part of migration policies. Yet family reunification has become an increasingly contested issue, something reflected in a recent restrictive turn in migration policies throughout Europe. Policy reforms speak of a growing polarity between, on the one hand, adherence to the ‘best interest of the child’ and family life, and on the other, suspicion of fraud. This article examines these tensions via exploration of family reunification procedures in Finland, particularly applications sponsored by minors, thereby drawing attention to the notion of ‘the anchor child’. Drawing on decisions by the Administrative Court of Helsinki as well as interviews with experts and the people concerned, the writers discuss how these polarities are managed in practice, centring their analysis on a quest for truth that deploys various methods, particularly DNA analysis and oral hearings. Ultimately the article highlights an intrinsic paradox in family reunification policies that incorporates the aspiration to produce facts amounting to ‘immutable mobiles’ (Latour, Bruno. 1986. ‘Visualization and cognition: Thinking with the eyes and hands.’ Knowledge and Society 6 (6): 1–40.) and the evident weight of contingent temporalities.

Brain event-related potentials to phoneme contrasts and their correlation to reading skills in school-age children

Development of reading skills has been shown to be tightly linked to phonological processing skills and to some extent to speech perception abilities. Although speech perception is also known to play a role in reading development, it is not clear which processes underlie this connection. Using event-related potentials (ERPs) we investigated the speech processing mechanisms for common and uncommon sound contrasts (/ba/-/da/-/ga/ and /ata/-/at: a/) with respect to the native language of school-age children in Finland and the US. In addition, a comprehensive behavioral test battery of reading and phonological processing was administered. ERPs revealed that the children could discriminate between the speech sound contrasts (place of articulation and phoneme length) regardless of their native language. No differences emerged between the Finnish and US children in their change detection responses. The brain responses to the phoneme length contrast, however, correlated robustly with reading scores in the US children, with larger responses being linked to poorer reading skills. Finnish children also showed correlations between the reading and phonological measures and ERP responses, but the pattern of results was not as clear as for the US children. The results indicate that speech perception is linked to reading skills and this link is more robust for uncommon speech sound contrasts.

Child and family‐related predictors of psychological outcomes in children adopted from abroad; what is the role of caregiver time?

International adoptees need to cope with stressful transitions and to develop secure attachment with their caregivers at the same time. Although most children adopted from abroad adjust fine, they are at increased risk of psychological problems. We investigated whether both child and family-related factors are associated with later psychological problems and whether the length of time spent at home after adoption before daycare moderates these associations among internationally adopted children in Finland (FinAdo, Finnish Adoption Study). The sample consisted of 1,265 children (708 girls, 557 boys) who arrived in Finland before they started school (mean age 2 years at arrival). Later behavioral problems were measured using the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL). According to our results, male gender, older age, child's early clinical symptoms (problems of sensory processing) and single parenthood were associated with later behavioral problems measured by CBCL scores. Longer stay at home before the start of daycare or school modified these results. Longer stay at home was associated with less later behavioral externalizing problems in girls but not in boys compared to those who spent a shorter time at home.

Health literacy and participation in sports club activities among adolescents.

The aim of this research was to compare the levels of perceived health literacy among adolescents who do or do not participate in sports club activities. Organized sport club activities reach a high proportion of adolescents, and have the potential to contribute to the development of their health literacy. The cross-sectional data on health literacy among school children in Finland (aged 13 and 15, n=3852) were measured, as a part of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study, using the Health Literacy for School-aged Children (HLSAC) instrument. Sports club participation and its association with health literacy were examined in relation to age, gender, family affluence, school achievement, and physical activity. The statistical analyses included cross-tabulation and the multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analyses. Perceived health literacy was higher among adolescents who participated in sports club activities. This conclusion was valid for boys and girls, for both age groups, among those who were physically active 6-7 days a week, had at least moderate school achievement, and those who belonged to the middle or high affluence families. From the health literacy perspective, participation in sports club activities was especially beneficial for those having low or moderate school achievement level. The sports club setting may work towards equalizing health literacy differences related to school achievement. However, the clubs should ensure that access is available to as many adolescents as possible; by this means they may spread beneficial influences, supporting the development of health literacy among broader population groups.

The crc of Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers in Finland

According to the un Convention on the Right of a Child (crc), all children in Finland have the right to participate in decision-making concerning them. This article shows how the conceptualisation of childhood affects the implementation of the crc, especially Article 12 on participation, focusing on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Finland. Universalist notions of childhood and children’s participatory rights overlook the specific socio-historical realities in which these rights exist. Therefore, this article adopts an intersectional view, in which children are seen not as future adults or citizens but as current rights-holders, and acknowledges the complexity of children’s reality where ethnicity, gender and past experiences are interrelated with the conception of childhood. Based on participatory action research with 12 unaccompanied girls, this article shows that they have justified views on their rights during the asylum process, and that those views should be heard and acted upon.

Collaborating around Digital Tabletops

We present a study of children collaborating around interactive tabletops in three different countries: India, the United Kingdom and Finland. Our data highlights the key distinctive physical strategies used by children when performing collaborative tasks during this study. Children in India employ dynamic positioning with frequent physical contact and simultaneous object movement. Children in the UK tend to prefer static positioning with minimal physical contact and simultaneous object movement. Children in Finland use a mixture of dynamic and static positioning with minimal physical contact and object movement. Our findings indicate the importance of understanding collaboration strategies and behaviours when designing and deploying interactive tabletops in heterogeneous educational environments. We conclude with a discussion on how designers of tabletops for schools can provide opportunities for children in different countries to define and shape their own collaboration strategies for small group learning that take into account their different classroom practices.

Domesticating insurance, financializing family lives: the case of private health insurance for children in Finland

ABSTRACTThis article explores the domestication of a financial instrument that is much used in contemporary Finland, but that most of its users do not primarily think about in terms of being a financial instrument: the private health insurance for children. In Finland, all children are covered by social insurance and are entitled to free public health service with very low costs, if any. Yet, some 40 percent of families want to supplement this service with private products. Many fear that the popularity of the private health insurance for children contributes to a vicious circle that ends up weakening the legitimacy of, and the service given by, the public health sector; inequality in the face of health risks threatens to be aggravated, as well. Therefore, this financial instrument has become an object of political controversy. The main question of the article is: how do economic, political and moral valuations become intertwined in the domestication of insurance? The concept of ‘domestication’ is found helpful for analysing the pragmatics of valuation and for appreciating the dynamics and the heterogeneity of forces at play when financialization influences everyday life. The study argues that when financial instruments are appropriated they are also transformed; thus, they should not be viewed as homogeneous tools that have similar effects in all contexts of use. The main empirical materials studied are interviews with families with and without private health insurance policies for their children.

Appropriating a new language learning approach

The study focused on university students of English and their teachers appropriating an ecological perspective into language learning and teaching during a university course. The course involved designing and putting into practice an online language project for school children in Finland and Spain. The task was expected to pose challenges as the university students had no experience of the pedagogic approach applied. Two video-recorded wrap-up discussions and the students’ final reports were selected from the data resource for closer analysis. The qualitative analysis showed how the new/ecological approach was resemiotised through multimodal (inter)actions between the participants. Experiences of complexity were collaboratively negotiated through the metaphor of ‘chaos’, first as problematic, then normalised and even a desired part of language teaching. The study bears implications for language teacher education shedding light on changing understandings for pedagogical thinking.

Belonging and participation in liminality: Unaccompanied children in Finland and Sweden

This article investigates children’s participation and sense of belonging from the perspective of unaccompanied children, based on two qualitative research projects with unaccompanied children in Sweden and Finland. The results show that the unaccompanied children’s own understanding of their participation and belonging in different positions was fluid; for instance, the borders between childhood and adulthood, and striving for independence or wanting to be cared for by adults were flexible, allowing the children’s movement within and between the categories.

Play Environments of Expatriate French Children and Native Children in Finland

Abstract In this article I compare the favorite play environments of expatriate French children and Finnish children (ages 6–10) living in the same Finnish town. I examine the children's use of the space around them and their choice of play environments. The data consist of about eighty drawings and texts by the children. The theoretical approach is cultural geography, especially children's geography. The interpretation draws from the concept of the cultural context of children's drawings and applies the content analysis of visual culture. The results emphasize the significance of the culturally related way of using the space and the view of children's affordance of their environment—their license to use it.

An acute gastroenteritis outbreak caused by GII.17 norovirus in Jiangsu Province, China.

Noroviruses are a common cause of acute gastroenteritis around the world; however, reports of outbreaks caused by GII.17 norovirus are rare. An outbreak caused by GII.17 norovirus in a senior high school in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China is reported here. An epidemiological investigation, pathogen detection, and case-control study were performed. Epidemiological data combined with the epidemic curve indicated that this outbreak was a point source type initially, followed by secondary transmission. The first case was identified as most likely the source of the outbreak. Risk analysis showed exposure to patients and sharing a communal water cooler to be associated with the spread of infection. Sequence analysis of GII-positive samples confirmed that the norovirus GII.17 variant was the etiological agent of this outbreak.

Antibiotic resistance in pathogens causing acute otitis media in Finnish children

IntroductionMicrobiology and susceptibility of middle ear pathogens in children change over time and antibiotic resistance is increasing globally. For the clinicians it is important to be up to date about the resistance situation when considering antibiotic treatment in acute otitis media (AOM). In this study we analysed the resistance profile of AOM pathogens in out-patient children in Finland. Methods and materialsA total of 41 culture positive middle ear fluid (MEF) samples were analysed for bacteria and the presence of antibiotic resistant strains. The samples were obtained from children aged six – 39 months who participated in the otitis media trial during one year period. ResultsThe most common pathogen was Haemophilus influenzae 17 (40%), followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae in 15 (35%) and Moraxella catarrhalis in 8 (19%). Other pathogens were detected in 3 (7%) of cases. Antibiotic resistance or diminished sensitivity was seen in 63% of the detected bacteria and 28% of pathogens produced beta-lactamase. ConclusionsAntibiotic resistant bacterial strains causing AOM have increased in Finland. Nevertheless, most of the pathogens (72%) were sensitive to amoxicillin, which is still recommended as the first line antibiotic in the treatment of AOM.

Differences in sedentary time and physical activity among mothers and children using a movement-to-music video program in the home environment: a pilot study.

Measured objectively, less than a quarter of adults and under half of preschool children in Finland meet the physical activity recommendations. Moreover, higher sedentary time among parents (such as watching television) is associated with higher sedentary time of their children. The study introduces an intervention based on reducing sedentary behavior among mothers and their children. It utilizes a combination of music and exercise via a motivation-targeting movement-to-music video program in the home environment. Data were collected in summer 2014 from Finland’s Pirkanmaa region. Each mother–child pair (n = 24, child age: 4–7 years) was assigned to the intervention and control group. Both groups used an accelerometer and completed physical activity diaries for two consecutive weeks (14 days) during waking hours. In addition, the intervention group was instructed to use the movement-to-music video program during the second week. Differences between groups were expected in analysis of sedentary time and physical activity between weeks 1 and 2. The parameters assessed were sedentary time (i.e., lying down or sitting), standing still, and time spent in physical activity. Less sedentary time was revealed in week 2 than in week 1 among both intervention group mothers (56.6 vs. 53.3 %) and for intervention group children (49.5 vs. 46.0 %). The opposite was true of control group mothers (52.1 vs. 52.4 %) and children (46.7 vs. 49.8 %). Within-group differences in mothers’ sedentary time correlated moderately with the children’s sedentary time (Spearman’s r = 0.56). All groups exhibited slightly more standing in the second week than in week 1. Both sets of intervention participants also engaged in more light physical activity in week 2, with the opposite evident for the two control sets. In all groups, except the control children, the proportion of moderate to vigorous physical activity was higher in the second week than the first. The use of music and video content together may yield added benefits in efforts to reduce sedentary behavior and increase physical activity among mothers and their children in the home environment.