Academic Functioning Of Children Research Articles

Family disruption and academic functioning in urban, black youth

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine from an ecological perspective the relationships between multiple levels of family disruption and children's academic functioning in a sample of 390 urban, Black adolescents at age 14. Subjects in this cohort have been followed longitudinally since before their birth. Data from previous assessments at birth and age 7 years allowed for control of important correlates in this analyses. Examination of this unique sample, using multisource data collection procedures, provides important information about the many family disruptions among urban, low‐income families and the effects of these disruptions on academic outcomes. Results revealed several consistent findings, the most notable of which is that, when parents were married, adolescents demonstrated significantly higher grades, mediated through paternal involvement. Of all variables studied, the role of fathers in the lives of these adolescents was the most influential on academic outcomes. In this unique sample, even variables such as involvement with child protective services were not significantly related to outcomes after important control variables were factored into analyses. Results of this study have important implications for future research and for prevention and intervention efforts in urban, at‐risk samples. Emphasis is made for work in the school context, particularly for school psychologists. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Developing a model for resource room training for slow learners in normal schools.

Background:A significant number of children with scholastic backwardness in normal schools are slow learners. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an individualized education program (IEP) for slow learners, modeled on resource room training in normal schools.Materials and Methods:15 children with IQ in the 70–90 range were given individualized education for a period of 4 months. The children were divided into three equal groups and were given individualized training in reading, writing and mathematics for 5 hours a week in two sessions. The academic level of each child was rated before and after the training program by independent assessors.Results:After the training, 87% of children had improvement in either mathematics, reading or writing and 47% had improvement in all the three areas. The overall academic improvement was statistically significant.Conclusion:IEP will lead to improvement in academic functioning of children who are slow learners.

Enhancing Pediatric Mental Health Care: Strategies for Preparing a Primary Care Practice

In 2004, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Board of Directors formed the Task Force on Mental Health and charged it with developing strategies to improve the quality of child and adolescent mental health* services in primary care. The task force acknowledged early in its deliberations that enhancing the mental health care that pediatricians and other primary care clinicians† provide to children and adolescents will require systemic interventions at the national, state, and community levels to improve the financing of mental health care and access to mental health specialty resources. Systemic strategies toward achieving these improvements are the subject of other publications of the task force: “ Strategies for System Change in Children's Mental Health: A Chapter Action Kit ” (chapter action kit),1 “Improving Mental Health Services in Primary Care: Reducing Administrative and Financial Barriers to Access and Collaboration,”2 and “Enhancing Pediatric Mental Health Care: Strategies for Preparing a Community.”3 The task force also recognized that enhanced mental health practice will require competencies not currently achieved by many primary care clinicians; in the policy statement “The Future of Pediatrics: Mental Health Competencies for Pediatric Primary Care,”4 the task force collaborated with the AAP Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health to outline these competencies and propose strategies for achieving them. This report offers strategies for preparing the primary care practice itself for provision of enhanced mental health care services. The task force proposes incrementally applying chronic care principles to the care of children with mental health and substance abuse problems as primary care clinicians apply them to the care of children with chronic medical conditions such as asthma. Most primary care clinicians will find that significant gaps exist between their current practice and the proposed ideal. The task force offers guidance in … Address correspondence to Jane Meschan Foy, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157. E-mail: jmfoy{at}wfubmc.edu

Psychosocial Functioning in Youth With Barth Syndrome

This pilot study assessed the quality of life and psychosocial functioning of pediatric patients with Barth Syndrome. Thirty-four boys with Barth Syndrome and 22 healthy male controls were administered a measure of verbal ability and completed measures of quality of life, loneliness, perceived peer support, and sibling relationship quality. Parents completed measures of parental distress, parenting stress, child academic functioning, child adaptive behavior, and child emotional and behavioral functioning. Quality of life ratings were consistently lower in youth with Barth Syndrome relative to both healthy controls and a previously reported sample of youth with cardiac disease. Compared to healthy controls, children with Barth Syndrome were rated as having more internalizing and externalizing symptoms, social problems, loneliness, and lower independent functioning. Parents of boys with Barth Syndrome reported greater distress and parenting stress relative to healthy controls. In addition, parents reported a significant need for academic accommodations, given their son's illness and associated impairments. Boys with Barth Syndrome and their parents appear to be affected by the presence of the illness in numerous ways. Results suggest the need for interventions aimed at helping children and families cope with illness-related stressors to enhance quality of life and overall functioning.

Profiles of school adaptation: Social, behavioral and academic functioning in sexually abused girls

Objectives The short-term outcomes of child sexual abuse (CSA) on academic, behavioral and social adaptation at school were examined in order to: (1) document the proportion of sexually abused (SA) girls struggling in school and define the nature of their difficulties, (2) explore whether different profiles of school adaptation could be identified, and (3) examine the different constellations of contextual, personal, and familial correlates of abuse for each profile. Method The sample consisted of 100 French-speaking mother-daughter dyads. Girls (aged 7–12, M = 8.64) were administered cognitive functioning tests and completed self-report measures to assess symptomatology, perception of abuse, and support provided. Mothers and teachers completed questionnaires to assess child's emotional, social, behavioral, and academic functioning in school. Results Descriptive analyses showed that a substantial number of girls (54%) presented clinical school adaptation difficulties in at least one of the three domains evaluated. Cluster analysis revealed four distinctive school functioning profiles: (1) academic-specific, (2) acting out/withdrawn, (3) polyclinical, and (4) resilient. These were distinguished by degree of school functioning difficulties and number of domains affected. The profiles were further discriminated by elements of the CSA experience and contextual, familial, and personal factors. The number of spheres of functioning affected was proportional to the number of risk factors to which girls were exposed. Discussion Results suggest the need for a systematic and thorough assessment of SA child functioning at school and may guide mental health professionals in providing differential treatment on the basis of the emerged typology. Practice implications Sexually abused children demonstrate a wide variability of responses, rendering the elaboration of a “one size fits all” treatment rather difficult. The emerged typology underscores the complex heterogeneity of school adjustment profiles and suggest that secondary effects of abuse on child's level of school functioning require specific assessment and close monitoring. This study raises practical questions as to whether such secondary effects could best be addressed as a primary treatment objective, or in addition to a trauma-focused approach, or as the sole treatment objective.

Children’s Attachment to Parents and Their Academic Functioning: Sleep Disruptions as Moderators of Effects

We investigated the amount and quality of children's sleep as a moderator of relations between attachment to parents and child academic functioning. Data were from a sample of 166 third graders in the Southeastern USA. Children reported on the security of their attachments to both mothers and fathers, and standard assessments of academic achievement were obtained from schools. Children completed questionnaire measures of subjective sleep problems and their sleep was assessed objectively via actigraphs worn for seven consecutive nights. Attachment insecurity was associated with lower math achievement for children with objective sleep problems (lower quantity and efficiency). Findings suggest that better sleep ameliorates the risk for academic performance difficulties associated with insecure attachments to parents, and functions as a protective factor in this context.

Cognitive Function Following Stem Cell Transplant in Childhood

Source: Phipps S, Rai SN, Leung WH, et al. Cognitive and academic consequences of stem-cell transplantation in children. J Clin Oncol. 2008; 26(12):2027–2033; doi: 10.1200/JCO.2007.13.6135Investigators from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital sought to prospectively describe cognitive and academic outcomes in survivors after pediatric hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (SCT).All patients undergoing SCT were eligible for the study, except for those with brain tumors or those for whom English was not their primary language. Patients were administered a battery of neurocognitive tests before transplant and then one, three, and five years later.From 1991 to 1999, 268 patients were enrolled. Of these, 158 who were alive one year after SCT and completed at least one posttransplant assessment comprised the study cohort. Prior to SCT the estimated IQ for the study population was low (93.7).There was a nonsignificant decline of less than two IQ points in study children, with no significant change in achievement tests over the five years following transplant. Age at SCT was not associated with neurocognitive outcome at five years posttransplant.Clinically insignificant declines in IQ were seen for patients transplanted from unrelated donors, those undergoing total body irradiation, and in those with graft versus host disease. Significant differences in outcomes were seen in children from different socioeconomic status (SES) groups, with a 20 IQ point difference between those in the highest and those in the lowest SES groups (P<.001). Dramatic differences in achievement test scores were also seen between the highest and lowest SES groups at all time points measured.The authors conclude that SCT entails minimal risk of late cognitive and academic sequelae and that SES is a much stronger predictor of poor neurocognitive outcome than medical variables. Additional research is necessary to help clinicians identify high-risk patients who may require closer surveillance of neurocognitive function.Dr. Villella has disclosed no financial relationship relevant to this commentary. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device.The findings in this study are good news for pediatric transplant specialists who can now confidently inform families of children undergoing SCT that the risk of neurocognitive sequelae is minimal.This study is noteworthy because it provides prospective data on a large number of patients over the longest follow-up period yet reported. Previous studies evaluating neurocognitive outcomes have been limited by retrospective designs, small sample size, and short durations of follow-up.Several studies, including an earlier report with this same cohort, have shown age <3 years at the time of transplant to be a prominent risk factor for cognitive decline.1 Although age was not found to be a statistically significant predictor in this most recent report, several important observations should be noted.A moderate decline in IQ was seen in patients less than six years old at testing at one year. These patients, though, showed either a plateauing of IQ (for those <3 years old) or a recovery of IQ (for patients 3–5 years old at SCT) at three and five years posttransplant. Complicating these findings is the fact that the youngest subset of patients required at least one change in IQ measurement scales as they aged during the study.The investigators compared data for the subset with no change in IQ scales to the entire cohort and no significant differences were noted. Still, the investigators admitted that an artificial influence of changes in test instrumentation could not be ruled out.Although the findings regarding SES are striking, they should not be surprising. SES is well documented as the most important determinant of cognitive and academic functioning in children.2 Additionally, pretransplant cognitive functioning has previously been shown to be the best predictor of posttransplant cognitive functioning.3Given the findings of this study, close monitoring of neurocognitive functioning following SCT for all pediatric patients appears unnecessary.

Teachers' and School Children's Stereotypic Perception of the Child of Divorce: 20 Years Later

ABSTRACT This is a replica of a study carried out in 1988. Its main objective is to reexamine after 20 years how teachers' and 8th-grade students' evaluations of a child's academic, social, and emotional functioning are affected by the knowledge that the child's parents are divorced. One hundred and twenty junior high school students and 115 female teachers watched a specially produced film of a child engaged in various activities. The child's gender and family structure were experimentally manipulated. The main results show that whereas in the earlier study both teachers and the students rated the child of divorce more negatively than the child of an intact family, in this study this was true only for the teachers. These and other results are discussed in the context of cultural attitudes, the more extensive contact teachers have with children of divorce, and the risk that they and their students become trapped in the Pygmalion cycle.

Brief Report: Intellectual and Academic Functioning in Pediatric Chronic Kidney Disease

Examine the intellectual and academic functioning in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Using a cross-sectional design, children with CKD (n = 30) were compared to matched controls (n = 41) on measures of intelligence, achievement, and rates of learning disabilities (LD) variously defined. Children with CKD were at higher risk for grade retention (p < .001) and absenteeism (p < .01), and evidenced mild impairments on measures of intelligence (p < .001), math (p < .01), reading (p < .05), and satisfied criteria for a low achievement definition of LD (p < .01) more frequently than control group participants. Renal function was a significant predictor (p < .02) of intellectual and academic scores in the CKD group. Educational and psychosocial supports are critical for children with CKD, and it may be important to monitor their cognitive functioning and academic progress over time.

Positive Peer Relationships and Risk of Victimization in Chinese and South Korean Children's Peer Groups

AbstractThis study examined the moderating role of positive peer relationships in the relation between behavioral or academic risk factors and victimization in Asian children's peer groups. We recruited 296 children (161 boys, 135 girls) from Tianjin, China (mean age of 11.5 years) and 122 children (66 boys, 56 girls) from Seoul, South Korea (approximate mean age of 11 years). The children's behavioral, academic and social functioning were assessed with a multi‐informant approach. Their behavioral and academic vulnerabilities were associated with their victimization by peers. However, these effects were mitigated for children who were able to establish positive relationships with their peers. Taken together, our findings highlight the potential buffering role of peer relationships in the cultural contexts examined.

Effects of mothers' perceptions of children's competence: The moderating role of mothers' theories of competence.

There is much evidence that parents' perceptions of children's competence affect the development of children's academic functioning. In the current research, the possibility that this is moderated by parents' theories about the stability of competence was examined. In a 2-wave, 1-year study of 126 children (9 to 12 years old) and their mothers, children's academic functioning (i.e., grades, perceptions of competence, attributions for performance, and mastery orientation) and affective functioning (i.e., self-esteem and depressive symptoms) were examined. Among mothers with relatively high entity theories, their perceptions acted as self-fulfilling prophecies foreshadowing children's academic and affective functioning over time. However, among mothers with relatively low entity theories, mothers' perceptions did not predict children's academic and affective functioning.

Experimental Restriction of Sleep Opportunity in Children: Effects on Teacher Ratings

To determine the effects of experimental restriction of sleep opportunity on teacher ratings of academic performance and behavior in healthy normal children. Home-based, within-subjects design in which participants followed 3 week-long sleep schedules-Baseline (self-selected), Optimized, and Restricted-while attending school, with order of conditions counter-balanced (Optimized and Restricted). Seventy-four children (39 boys; aged 6 to 12 years, mean = 10) screened for medical and psychological health. Teachers masked to assigned hours of sleep completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires at the end of each study condition. Questionnaire items were selected from several published measures. Summary scores included Academic Problems, Hyperactive-Impulsive Behaviors, Internalizing, Oppositional-Aggressive, Sleepiness, Total Attention Problems, and Mean Severity of Attention Problems. Main effects of sleep condition were found forAcademic Problems, Sleepiness, Total Attention Problems, and Mean Severity of Attention Problems. Restricting sleep increased ratings of Academic Problems (medium effect) relative to both Baseline (P < .01, eta(p)2 = .11) and Optimized (P < .05, eta(p)2 = .10) conditions and increased the Mean Severity of Attention Problems (medium effect) relative to Baseline (P < .01, eta(p)2 = .12). These findings provide experimental support for widely held beliefs about the importance of sufficient time-in-bed for academic functioning in children. Reducing sleep opportunity had a direct effect on academic performance, as rated by teachers, even among healthy students with no history of behavioral problems or academic difficulty. Findings also support insufficient sleep as a direct source of variability in the manifestation of attention problems but not hyperactivity.

Functioning of Israeli group-homes alumni: Exploring gender differences and in-care correlates

This follow-up study examined the current functioning of young adult alumni of a large network of group-homes in Israel. Our aim was to identify factors explaining their current functioning and explore gender differences. Background and in-care experiences were gathered on 143 alumni (64 men and 79 women). One hundred nine of those alumni (51 men and 58 women) agreed to be interviewed. Despite their disadvantaged background prior to entering care, alumni functioned adequately and were in good health. Girls seem to have more positive in-care experiences than boys. A child's academic functioning while in care was a positive predictor for alumni current functioning status. Our study identifies areas of concern such as alumni relative low educational level, and suggests directions for future interventions and longitudinal studies.

Factors associated with academic achievement in children with recent-onset seizures

Children with chronic epilepsy are more at risk for achievement problems than either children without seizures or children with other chronic disorders. Factors that lead to such problems in children with epilepsy, however, are not well understood. Exploring these factors is important because academic underachievement can lead to poor social outcomes and contribute to underemployment or unemployment in adulthood. This descriptive, cross-sectional study investigated a group of children who had been diagnosed with seizures approximately 12 months previously, providing the opportunity to describe relationships among family and child characteristics; parent, child, and teacher responses; and child academic achievement at the same point in time across the sample. Seventy-two children had standardized test total battery scores, 101 had a teacher's rating of performance, and 67 had scores for both. Data were analyzed using multivariable regression. Child adaptive competency and seizure severity were associated with higher teacher ratings of academic performance (beta=0.73, p<0.0001 and beta=2.38, p=0.0182, respectively). Child adaptive competency was associated with higher total battery scores (beta=0.73, p<0.0001). Contrary to findings in studies of children with chronic epilepsy, mean academic achievement in this sample of children with recent-onset seizures was in the average range; however, 25% of the children were at or below one standard deviation below the mean on the teacher's rating of performance and 10% on the total battery. It is therefore important for health professionals and educators to regularly assess the child's academic functioning and school performance to identify those at risk for problems. Health professionals and educators need to collaborate on assessment and interventions to help maximize child academic success.

Pharmacological Intervention Research for Academic Outcomes for Students with ADHD

This study reviews the status and trends of pharmacological intervention research focused on the academic functioning of children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Forty-two studies involving 1,668 participants were included in the review. Results indicated: (1) information on participants is limited; (2) relatively few studies have investigated the effects of psychotropic medications among adolescent populations; (3) the types of medications investigated are limited; (4) dependent measures are often lacking in sophistication (i.e., number of math problems correct); (5) treatments have been limited to short-term interventions; and (6) medication-type interventions resulted in a moderate beneficial effect across academic subject areas for children and adolescents with ADHD.

Victimization in the Peer Group and Children's Academic Functioning.

This short-term longitudinal investigation focused on associations between victimization in the peer group and academic functioning over a 1-year period. The authors used a multi-informant approach to assess peer victimization, symptoms of depression, and academic outcomes for 199 elementary schoolchildren (average age of 9.0 years; 105 boys, 94 girls). Frequent victimization by peers was associated with poor academic functioning (as indicated by grade point averages and achievement test scores) on both a concurrent and a predictive level. Additionally, the authors' analyses provided some evidence that peer group victimization predicts academic difficulties through the mediating influence of depressive symptoms. Taken together, these results highlight the potential negative impact of victimization by peers on children's academic functioning.

Relationship Between Home Literacy Environment and Reading Achievement in Children with Reading Disabilities

Past research has indicated that a significant relationship exists between young children's early home literacy environment and their reading-related skills. However, this relationship has rarely been investigated among older children with reading disabilities (RD). In the present study, the relationship between parent and child home literacy activities and children's academic functioning was investigated with a sample of 65 elementary-age children with RD. The results indicated that children's home literacy activities were not significantly related to any of their academic abilities, whereas parents' home literacy activities were significantly related to children's passage comprehension and spelling scores. However, relationships between home literacy environment and reading may be different for children with and without RD.

Socioemotional and Academic Adjustment Among Children with Learning Disorders

This study examined the role of attachment-based factors (children's attachment style, children's appraisal of teacher as a secure base, and teacher's feelings of closeness to child) in explaining differences in Israeli children's socioemotional adjustment (self-rated sense of coherence, loneliness) and academic functioning (teacher-rated). The sample comprised 98 children with learning disorders from general education classes in four public elementary schools and 107 typically developing children from the same classes. Significant intergroup differences emerged in socioemotional and academic adjustment as well as attachment-based factors. Moreover, attachment-based factors were significantly correlated with adjustment measures and significantly mediated the association between learning disorders and socioemotional adjustment. The findings are discussed in terms of the theoretical and practical implications rendered by children's experiences in close relationships on socioemotional adjustment among school-age children with learning disorders.

Community violence exposure and children's academic functioning.

This study reports a cross-sectional investigation of the link between community violence exposure and academic difficulties for 237 urban elementary school children (mean age of 9.5 years). Children completed a self-report inventory assessing exposure to community violence. Their achievement test scores and GPAs were obtained from school records, and other aspects of psychosocial adjustment were assessed with a multi-informant approach. Analyses indicated that community violence exposure was associated with poor academic performance. These relations appeared to be mediated by symptoms of depression and disruptive behavior and remained significant even after the prediction associated with bullying by peers was controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Community violence exposure and children's academic functioning.

Community violence exposure and children's academic functioning.