Children's Self Research Articles

Pain assessment in a children's A&E: a critical analysis.

In this particular children's A&E department it is evident that pain assessment is a high priority among the nursing staff. Pain is routinely assessed on every child during triage, so analgesia is given as soon as possible and children are not left suffering pain for an unnecessary length of time. However, because pain is not routinely reassessed it is often unknown whether the pain has been fully relieved. It appears that not all the resources available for assessing a child's pain are utilised, resulting in the possibility that not all aspects of a child's pain are assessed. Pain is assessed using the child's self reports or nurses' observations. It has been shown that these are not always appropriate and there is need to use a number of different tools for assessing a child's pain. There is also the need for a validated tool to assess pain in younger children. When referring back to McGrath and Unruh's (1987) definitions of pain measurement and pain assessment, it could be concluded that nurses in the children's A&E department measure pain, but, due to the lack of emphasis which is placed on the different aspects of pain and the limited range of tools which are used, they do not assess pain effectively. In order for pain assessment to be improved, nurses need to be made aware of the different aspects of pain and different tools which are available to assess them in children. This could be initiated by implementing the RCN (1999) guidelines for pain recognition and assessment in children.

Ratings of children’s self perception before and one year after transplantation: do children and their parents agree?

Ratings of children’s self perception before and one year after transplantation: do children and their parents agree?

Group Social Functioning and Individual Socioemotional and School Adjustment in Chinese Children

The study examined the relevancy of group social functioning to individual social, academic, and psychological adjustment. From a sample of elementary and high school students in China, 323 children were identified as group members. Information concerning social functioning, social preference, leadership, school-related competence and problems, academic achievement, and psychological adjustment including loneliness, depression, and perceived social competence was obtained from multiple sources. It was found that social functioning, including sociability, aggression, and shyness-inhibition, of group peers had unique contributions to individual social and school adjustment and adjustment problems, over and above the child's self social functioning. It also was found that the contributions of peer social functioning to individual school adjustment might depend on the child's social characteristics, and that the relations between child social functioning and socio-emotional adjustment might be moderated by group context.

Clinical management and genetics of gastrointestinal polyps in children.

Clinical management and genetics of gastrointestinal polyps in children.

Social group membership and perceptions of the self in Northern Irish children

Social disadvantage and minority group membership are believed to have an adverse effect on the development of the self-concept. However, the exact effects of such factors on children’s self-competence and self-esteem are still subject to debate, with some authors arguing that it is not until later in life that the adverse psychological effects of social disadvantage become apparent. This study therefore examined the relationship between gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and age on self-competence and self-esteem in childhood. Eight- to eleven-year-old children ( N = 689) completed the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985) and the results were analysed using MANOVA. Substantial gender differences in self-perceptions across several domains, including global self-esteem, were evident. The analysis also indicated that children of lower SES and from the Roman Catholic (minority) community in Northern Ireland had significantly less positive self-perceptions than middle SES and Protestant (majority group) children in a range of domains. These differences, however, were generally only evidenced at ages 10 and 11. Discussion of these results highlights the influence of group memberships on children’s social development, particularly at the preadolescent stage, and points to the need to consider the combined effects of psychosocial identities and socioeconomic background on the development of self-perceptions.

Child compliance/noncompliance and maternal contributors to internalization in maltreating and nonmaltreating dyads.

Moral development in maltreated and nonmaltreated children was examined by coding child compliance and noncompliance behaviors in a mother-child interaction during a cleanup situation that followed a semistructured free play. Features of child compliance/noncompliance involve a shift from reliance on external controls to internal mechanisms, thereby reflecting child internalization of the maternal agenda. Differences in maltreating versus comparison mothers' use of control strategies (power-assertive and inductive techniques) and their relations to child internalization were examined. Eighty-nine mother-child dyads participated; approximately half of the children (n = 46) had documented histories of maltreatment and the remaining children (n = 43) were nonmaltreated, demographically similar comparison children. Maltreated children were divided into two subgroups: physically abused and neglected. Compared with nonmaltreated children, abused children were found to exhibit less internalization, whereas neglected children displayed significantly more negative affect. No differences were found between groups for the maternal control strategies. However, maltreated and nonmaltreated groups differed in the maternal variables that predicted child internalization. A lower level of maternal negative affect was linked to child internalization in maltreated children, whereas a lower level of maternal joy predicted internalization for the comparison children. The findings suggest that maltreated children exhibit both behavioral and affective differences in their moral development, with differential effects based on the type of maltreatment. The clinical implications for maltreated children's self and moral development are discussed.

Development of Self and Empathy in Early Infancy

It is widely accepted that an essential process in the normal development of infants is their growing capacity to relate to others. Empathy is a unique form of relating to others. It is present at birth and gradually develops during infancy, through childhood, and into adolescence. Infants exhibit various behavioral forms of empathic concern toward others in distress. Empathic responses grow both in frequency and complexity during the first two years of life. Theoretical perspectives on empathy development propose that empathy responses are largely dependent on the development of sense of self. Several empirical explorations have established a correlation between self and empathy development during the first years of life. Understanding the relationship between development of sense of self and that of empathy is crucial not only for broadening our currently somewhat limited knowledge base regarding typical development in these areas, but also for our understanding atypical development. Autistic children are observed to have a general deficit in development of empathic capacity as well as great difficulty in developing both physical and representational sense of self. Specific interventions to enhance development of both sense of self and empathic responses in infants and young children who show deficits in these areas are proposed. These interventions were formulated based on empirical studies of infants' development of self-concept and empathic concern.

Social, emotional, and behavioral functioning of children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

To investigate the hypothesis that children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) would have more social and emotional problems than case-control classmates. Using a case-control design, children with JRA (n = 74), ages 8-14, were compared with case-control classmates (n = 74). Peer relationships, emotional well-being, and behavior, based on peer-, teacher-, parent-, and self-report scores on common measures, were compared using analysis of variance. Relative to case-control classmates, children with JRA were similar on all measures of social functioning and behavior. Mothers reported more internalizing symptoms in the child with JRA, but child self reports and father reports showed no differences. Scores on all standardized measures were in the normal range for both the JRA and the case-control groups. Children with JRA were remarkably similar to case-control children on measures of social functioning, emotional well-being, and behavior. These findings are not supportive of disability/stress models of chronic illness in childhood and suggest considerable psychological hardiness among children with JRA.

The Influence of Peers on Children's Socialization to Gender Roles

As children move through childhood, there are many environmental influences on their socialization to adult roles. These influences include parents, school, the media, and peers. Peer relationships play an important role in the development of a child's self concept and have a strong impact on how children view the roles of males and females in our society. The perpetuation of gender biases and stereotypes often is begun in the home and then further reinforced by the peer group. This overview of literature dealing with the influence of peers on children's gender role socialization suggests that strict adherence to traditional gender roles, while limiting to children, is strongly encouraged by the peer group and is reinforced by parents, schools, and the media.

Filial therapy with Native Americans on the Flathead Reservation.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of the 10-week filial therapy model as an intervention for Native American parents and their children residing on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Filial therapy is an approach used by play therapists to train parents to be therapeutic agents with their own children. Parents are taught basic child-centered play therapy skills and practice those skills during weekly play sessions with their children. The purpose of this study was to determine if filial therapy is effective in: 1) increasing parental acceptance of Native Americans residing on the Flathead Reservation of their children; 2) reducing the stress level of those parents; 3) improving empathic behaviors of those parents toward their children; 4) changing the play behaviors of children with their parents who participated in the training; and, 5) enhancing the self-concept of those children. The experimental group parents (N=11) received 10 weekly 2-hour filial therapy training sessions and participated in weekly 30-minute play sessions with one of their children. The control group (N=10) received no treatment during the 10 weeks. All adult participants completed the Porter Parental Acceptance Scale and the Parenting Stress Index. Child participants completed the Joseph Pre-school and Primary Self Concept Screening Test. Parent and child participants were videotaped playing together in 20-minute videotaped play sessions before and after the training to measure empathic behavior in parent-child interactions and desirable play behaviors in children. Analyses of Covariance revealed that the Native American parents in the experimental group significantly increased their level of empathy in their interactions with their children. Experimental group children significantly increased their level of desirable play behaviors with their parents. Although parental acceptance, parental stress, and children's self concept did not improve significantly, all measures indicated positive trends. In addition, this study gives rise to questions regarding the suitability of current self concept measurement instruments for Native American children and possible cultural differences in parent stress and parental acceptance.

The child's autobiographical self: A developmental linguistic investigation

This is an interdisciplinary discussion bringing grammar to bear on questions of self and identity in children. It reports on a developmental study of the autobiographical narratives of a group of five, eight and twelve year old children. The narratives are analysed based on a form of variation analysis which looks at both the grammatical and the discursive shape of the stories. This paper is a summary of some aspects of what distinguishes the autobiographical self of a 5-year-old from an 8- or 12-year-old as it relates to modality and tense. Overall, it forms part of a wider exploration of grammar as implicated in the construction of self and the special role played by the concept of modality in this process.

Governing families with young children through discipline

The Western Australian Community Child Health Service (CCHS) has problematised aspects of parental conduct and sought to transform parent/child interaction in order to produce a specific kind of person: responsible, self-disciplined, caring. As a consequence, management strategies that harness parents' and children's self- regulating capacities rather than corporal punishment are promoted as the more appropriate means to discipline young children. However, the prevailing child health position, informed by medical and psychological expertise and grounded empirically, is contested from within and outside its ranks. Prominence is given to accounts of disciplining practices produced by interviewing several parents, Pentecostal believers and nurses. The analysis presented brings to the fore contradictions, inconsistencies and oppositions that emerge when the CCHS, a governmental practice, is operationalised.

A Two-Year Follow-Up Evaluation of a Preventive Intervention for Young Children of Divorce

This study reports the results of a two-year follow-up evaluation of a school-based, preventive intervention for kindergarten and first-grade children whose parents were separated or divorced. Group support and social competence enhancement were central components of the 12-session intervention, tailored to the developmental qualities of kindergarten and first-grade children. Multiple measures were used to assess the home and school adjustment of children in three conditions: Program Ss (Es) N = 34, Divorce Controls DCs) N = 15, and a Non-Divorced Comparison group (NDCs) N = 28. Teacher ratings (blind to condition), parent interviews, child self report and school health data showed that program children had less anxiety and fewer classroom adjustment problems and visits to the school health office than divorce controls. Limitations of the study and its implications for future research and policy are discussed.

Lifting Daddy Floating

Lifting Daddy Floating R. Erica Doyle (bio) Cave Canem: A Special Section My mother left us with the mandate not to move him. The car gone he was calling my name. Daughter Daughter while I pretended to be in the basement. When the parent calls and the call is an infant the child must run, listen, or go. I went to his room stood in the dim blue of the doorway. A hospital bed like a large loaf stood in place of my parent’s mattress, the refuge of my child self escaping dreams, our trampoline. Floating there he lay, a skeleton in diapers bark hands and branch arms reaching. Lift me, nuh. Whispering, eyes stars. Lift me, nuh. Dead thing without will [child] I fetched the wheelchair, put it by the bed. I bent only body to him, sent self scattered to the unplace to become instrument. He kicked back the sheets to bare ulcerated legs, skin fragile, seeping cracking pig’s flesh. The bending to him was moment ever my head beneath his chin arms beneath his arms around the jutting ribs inches to the chair a gulf we fought within. I could not get him right, he did not fit the biting metal tore a thigh to pus something in my side snapped and did not go back. His moans were winds my lungs hard glass. When he finally sat in the chair, eyes closed. When I wheeled him to the dining room. [End Page 984] When I lit the contraband Winston. When he exhaled blue smoke definite breath. When I felt the twisted of my back. When I carried the largest man I have ever known. The child is egg become sun. R. Erica Doyle R. Erica Doyle is a writer, teacher, and performer of Trinidadian descent who has published in Sinister Wisdom, Blithe House Quarterly, and in chapbooks (gathering, blood to the surface and debris). Copyright © 2000 Charles H. Rowell

Risk taking in young hispanic children

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine risk taking and daring behavior in preschool-age Hispanic children. The study sought to describe aspects of children's personality, behavior, and culture that may inform us of their propensity to take risks that lead to injuries. Method: Forty-five children (4 to 5 years of age) and their parents, drawn from a primary care practice, participated in the study. Instruments completed by the families included the Acculturation Scale, Child Shyness Report, Injury Report and the Injury Behavior Checklist. Children were interviewed about risk taking and daring behavior using a projective technique (Child Sensation Seeking Profile). Results: These children, irrespective of gender and socioeconomic status, reported similar rates of daring and risk-taking behavior. Injury behaviors were not predicted by personality profiles of shyness or the child's self report of risk taking and daring behavior. Actual injuries increased with higher levels of acculturation, but children's injury behaviors reported by parents were low in comparison with other populations. Discrepancies were observed between parental perception and report of children's injury behavior and children's expressed preferences in some domains of daring and risky behavior. Discussion: Primary care providers must consider ethnic differences in rates and causes of injury when developing interventions and injury prevention programs. PNPs can use these findings to better meet the health promotion goals of Healthy Children 2000.

Associations between mother–child interaction and children's later self and mother feature knowledge

Associations between mother–child interaction at 12 months and children's feature knowledge of self and mother at 20 months were investigated in 81 dyads. Mother–Child interaction was assessed by scales adapted from the Parent Child Early Relational Assessment (1985). Self- and mother knowledge were assessed by Self- and Mother Feature Knowledge Scales. Associations were found between mother–child interaction and later self- and mother feature knowledge. Maternal behavior characterized by positive affect and sensitive responsiveness and child behavior characterized by positive affect, responsiveness, and balanced attention between mother and environment were related to a more complex knowledge of self and mother. On sensorimotor items children knew more about self than about mother while on representational items children knew more about mother than about self. The findings support the view that more harmonious interactions are related to more complex self- and mother feature knowledge.

Associations between mother-child interaction and children's later self and mother feature knowledge

Associations between mother–child interaction at 12 months and children's feature knowledge of self and mother at 20 months were investigated in 81 dyads. Mother–Child interaction was assessed by scales adapted from the Parent Child Early Relational Assessment (1985). Self- and mother knowledge were assessed by Self- and Mother Feature Knowledge Scales. Associations were found between mother–child interaction and later self- and mother feature knowledge. Maternal behavior characterized by positive affect and sensitive responsiveness and child behavior characterized by positive affect, responsiveness, and balanced attention between mother and environment were related to a more complex knowledge of self and mother. On sensorimotor items children knew more about self than about mother while on representational items children knew more about mother than about self. The findings support the view that more harmonious interactions are related to more complex self- and mother feature knowledge.

Higher maternal age at birth was associated with increased self sufficiency of children at age 27 to 33 years

Hardy JB, Shapiro S, Astone NM ,et al. Adolescent childbearing revisited: the age of inner-city mothers at delivery is a determinant of their children's self-sufficiency at age 27 to 33....

Gender and self in children's autobiographical narratives

In this study, we examined relations among gender, self-concept and children's autobiographical narratives. Twenty-two white middle-class children 8 years of age (50% female) were administered the Children's Self-View Questionnaire (CSVQ). In addition, children were asked to recall a specific experience associated with each of the nine self-concept dimensions assessed by the CSVQ, including Achievement, Alienation, and Social Closeness. Consistent with previous research with adults, girl's autobiographical narratives were longer, more coherent and more detailed than were boys' narratives. Girls were also more likely to place their autobiographical narratives in a social context, to refer to more affiliative themes, and to mention more people and more emotions than were boys. In all these ways, girls' narratives were more socially contexted and relational than were those of boys. However, no relations were found between specific dimensions of self-understanding and children's autobiographical narratives. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Adolescent Issues in Renal Treatment

Everyone who helps to care for a growing and developing child has the potential to impact the future. Families provide the greatest influence and bear the major responsibility, but physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, teachers, camp counselors, and others who work with children make a direct contribution toward the development of the child's self image and image of the world around them. At no other time in an individual's life do other people have such awesome power and responsibility. Families and caregivers working together on behalf of a child may be likened to an extended family; their combined efforts are needed to help promote the resilience that children need to cope with serious chronic illness.