Children's Beliefs Research Articles

Percepcija poštivanju prava djeteta u obitelji kod mladih – prikaz empirijskog istraživanja

Ljudska prava su temeljni standardi koje država mora jamčiti i osigurati svakom pojedincu. Osim zadovoljavanja bioloških potreba ona uključuju i sve druge uvjete života koji svakom pojedincu omogućuju da u potpunosti razvije i rabi svoje potencijale te da zadovoljava svoje društvene potrebe. Ljudima je trebalo puno vremena da prihvate činjenicu kako se ljudska prava odnosena sva ljudska bića, bez iznimke. I dijete je ljudsko biće i kao takvo treba uživati sva prava kao i odrasla osoba; djeca ih ne moraju "posebno" zaslužiti, i ona im se ne moraju "posebno" dati. No s obzirom na tjelesnu i psihičku nezrelost nametnula se potreba isticanja posebnih prava djeteta na zaštitu koja proizlaze upravo iz te činjenice. Obitelj je bila i ostala primarna zajednica čija je zadaća osigurati optimalne uvjete za rast i razvoj djeteta. Otuda njena važnost i nezamjenjivost sa stajališta pojedinca, ali i sa stajališta čitave društvene zajednice. Naravno, iz toga proizlazi da je obiteljska uloga najvažnija i u dječjem oblikovanju stavova i uvjerenja o njihovim pravima. Da bi se razumjela ljudska prava, a time i osposobilo za bolji život, potrebno je obrazovanje za ljudska prava koje treba započeti od najranije dobi. U tome bi se trebalo krenuti od prava djeteta, s obzirom na to da su ta prava djeci i mladima bliža. Obrazovanje za ljudska prava, učenje je koje razvija znanje i vještine, kao i vrijednosti za ljudska prava. Samo osobe koje razumiju ljudska prava radit će na osiguranju i obrani svojih i tuđih ljudskih prava.Empirijski dio rada odnosi se na rezultate koji su dobiveni istraživanjem kako adolescenti procjenjuju poštivanje svojih prava u obitelji, i to na uzorku od 104 ispitanika polaznika Ekonomsko-birotehničke škole u Splitu. Ukupno gledajući, dobiveni su rezultati pokazali da su mladi zadovoljni razinom poštivanja njihovih prava u obitelji.

Children's trust in social workers: Scale development and relations to Children's engagement with social workers

AbstractThis research aimed to develop the children's trust in general social workers (CTGSW) scale. Psychometric properties, structural validity, construct, and concurrent validity of the scale were evaluated. Both linear and quadratic patterns between children's trust beliefs in social workers and their engagement with social workers were examined. A sample of 112 Italian vulnerable children (M = 11.4 years, SD = 1 month) were administered the Italian‐Children's Generalized Trust Beliefs scale, the CTGSW scale, and a measure of engagement with social workers. The CTGSW scale demonstrated the expected (a) structure validity; (b) acceptable psychometric properties; (c) construct validity by correlations with trust in significant others; and (d) concurrent validity by associations with children's engagement with social workers. Reliability and honesty bases of trust in social workers were associated with engagement with social workers. In comparison to the middle range, children who held very low trust in social workers demonstrated very low quality of relation with social workers. The pattern was asymmetrical. Children who held high trust beliefs in social workers demonstrated a modest decrease in quality of relation with social workers. The findings demonstrated validity and utility of the CTGSW and yielded support for the basis, domain, and target framework.

A systematic review of children's alcohol-related knowledge, attitudes and expectancies.

Understanding the nature of, and transitions in, young children's alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes is important to determining the age at which we should start educating children about alcohol and informing our understanding of the focus of such education. This paper aimed to explore current literature on the alcohol-related knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and expectancies of children aged 12years and under. Electronic databases were searched for papers published from January 2000-August 2016. Further papers were identified by a manual review of reference lists, and contacting corresponding authors of included papers. Papers that reported on children's knowledge or beliefs about alcohol, attitudes towards alcohol and/or expectancies regarding alcohol consumption were included. Seventeen cross-sectional, experimental or observational studies and seven longitudinal studies met the inclusion criteria. Data on key measures was tabulated. From a very young age children are aware of and able to identify alcohol, and have some knowledge of its effects; their attitudes become more positive with increasing age and these shifts appear to precede drinking initiation by some years. The small number of available studies, with different measures of knowledge, attitudes and expectancies, made assessment of bias unfeasible. Only three studies were published in the last five years. Children's knowledge of, and attitudes towards, alcohol form before they initiate alcohol use, and are likely acquired through observation. Alcohol-related education should commence before children begin drinking, and should encourage the delay of alcohol initiation, address social norms, and reduce positive expectancies.

Transmission of ideas about love: Filial piety, love attitudes, and romantic satisfaction

AbstractThis study examined the relations between filial piety, attitudes about romantic relationships (love attitudes), and satisfaction in romantic relationships in the Chinese cultural context. The following research questions were investigated: How are adult children's filial piety beliefs connected to their love attitudes, and how do these contribute to their satisfaction in romantic relationships? A total of 412 college students in Taiwan who were currently involved or had been involved in romantic relationships participated in the study. Structural equation modeling showed that filial piety contributes to satisfaction in romantic relationships through the mediating effects of love attitudes. The findings advance our understanding of filial piety and its implications for young adults' romantic relationships.

Adolescent Agentic Orientations: Contemporaneous Family Influence, Parental Biography and Intergenerational Development.

Agentic orientations developed in adolescence have been linked to better health, well-being, and achievements in the years following. This study examines longitudinal parental influences on the development of adolescent children's agentic orientations, captured by the core constructs of mastery beliefs and generalized life expectations. Drawing on multigenerational panel data from the United States (1991-2011), the study examines contemporaneous family factors, but also how parental biographies (their own transition to adulthood) and parents' own adolescent agentic orientations influence their adolescent children. Study adolescents were 46% male, 52% white, and 15.6 years old on average. The findings indicate that parents' early orientations and experiences in the transition to adulthood have little effect on their children's mastery beliefs, but that parents' generalized life expectations (in adolescence) and having married before having the child were associated with their children's more optimistic life expectations. Contemporaneous family income and optimistic expectations among parents-as-adolescents were somewhat substitutable as positive influences on adolescents' optimistic life expectations. The findings contribute to our understanding of intergenerational and over-time influences on these key adolescent orientations.

Parental beliefs about portion size, not children's own beliefs, predict child BMI.

SummaryBackgroundIncreases in portion size are thought by many to promote obesity in children. However, this relationship remains unclear. Here, we explore the extent to which a child's BMI is predicted both by parental beliefs about their child's ideal and maximum portion size and/or by the child's own beliefs.MethodsParent–child (5–11 years) dyads (N = 217) were recruited from a randomized controlled trial (n = 69) and an interactive science centre (n = 148). For a range of main meals, parents estimated their child's ‘ideal’ and ‘maximum tolerated’ portions. Children completed the same tasks.ResultsAn association was found between parents' beliefs about their child's ideal (β = .34, p < .001) and maximum tolerated (β = .30, p < .001) portions, and their child's BMI. By contrast, children's self‐reported ideal (β = .02, p = .718) and maximum tolerated (β = −.09, p = .214) portions did not predict their BMI. With increasing child BMI, parents' estimations aligned more closely with their child's own selected portions.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that when a parent selects a smaller portion for their child than their child self‐selects, then the child is less likely to be obese. Therefore, public health measures to prevent obesity might include instructions to parents on appropriate portions for young children.

Naturally-occurring changes in social-cognitive factors modify change in physical activity during early adolescence.

PurposeTo determine whether naturally-occurring changes in children’s motives and beliefs are associated with the steep decline in physical activity observed from childhood to early adolescence.MethodsLatent growth modeling was applied in longitudinal tests of social-cognitive influences, and their interactions, on physical activity in a large cohort of boys and girls evaluated annually between 5th and 7th grades.ResultsMeasurement equivalence of motives and beliefs was confirmed between boys and girls. After adjustment for gender and maturity differences, physical activity declined less in children who reported the least decreases in self-efficacy for overcoming barriers to activity and perceived parental support. Physical activity also declined less in students who persistently felt they had more parental and friend support for activity compared to those who reported the largest decrease in support from friends. After further adjustment for race, the decline in physical activity was less in those who had the largest decrease in perceived barriers and maintained a favorable perception of their neighborhood environment. Changes in enjoyment and social motives were unrelated to change in physical activity.ConclusionUsing an objective measure of physical activity, we confirm that naturally-occurring changes in children’s beliefs about barriers to physical activity and their ability to overcome them, as well as perceptions of their neighborhood environment and social support, are concurrent with age-related declines in children’s physical activity. The longitudinal findings confirm these putative social-cognitive mediators as plausible, interacting targets of interventions designed to mitigate the marked decline in physical activity that occurs during the transition between elementary and middle schools.

The impact of a museum-based hazard education program on students, teachers and parents

Museum-based disaster education programs have the potential to offer hands-on and interactive activities unavailable in schools. In our study, we provide promising new insight into the effectiveness of increasing knowledge and disaster preparedness behaviours in students, teachers, and parents after attending a museum education program. Students from nine primary schools (n=432) attended a disaster education program at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and were assigned to one of four treatments or a control group. Three of the treatments groups received “bridging” objects for household disaster preparedness – a fill-in disaster plan, plastic putty or steel brackets - to take home and implement with their families. Pre and post-program questionnaires were administered to students, teachers, and parents. The study found that the museum education program significantly increased student knowledge of disaster preparedness compared to the control group (F4382=7.657, p<0.001), and had a positive impact on teacher and parent knowledge and behaviour. The results of this study suggest that providing the students a bridging object and instructions they can use themselves at home, even in a limited manner, may help build children's self-efficacy beliefs and skills for preparedness. Implementing a museum-based earthquake education program for schools may increase school and household discussion about disaster preparedness and instigate actions towards preparedness that will ultimately protect lives and property.

Harm beliefs and coping expectancies in youth with specific phobias

Catastrophic beliefs and lowered coping expectancies are often present in individuals with specific phobias (SPs). The current study examined these beliefs and expectancies in 251 youth who received One Session Treatment for one of the three most common types of SP in youth (animals, natural environment, and situational). We compared the children's subjective beliefs to objective ratings of the likelihood of occurrence and the dangerousness of the feared events. Results revealed pre-treatment differences in the youths' beliefs across phobia types and age. Specifically, children with animal phobias rated their beliefs as more likely to occur than did children with environmental and situational phobias. In addition, older children rated their beliefs as more dangerous than younger children. However, regardless of phobia type or child age, the beliefs improved following treatment. Changes in catastrophic beliefs and coping expectancies were related to changes in clinical severity following treatment but not 6-months following treatment. Moreover, at pre-treatment, children viewed their beliefs as significantly more catastrophic and likely to occur than did independent coders of these beliefs; however, these differences were no longer evident following treatment. Clinical implications are discussed, highlighting how changes in beliefs and expectancies might be associated with treatment outcomes.

Ethno-Racial Differences in Children's Attitudes and Beliefs About Violence.

One in 15 children in the United States are exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) each year. Although much is known about the adverse effects of witnessing IPV on children, little attention has been given to the impact of IPV on children of diverse ethno-racial backgrounds. In particular, the association between IPV and children's attitudes and beliefs about violence across different ethno-racial populations remains to be explored. One hundred ninety children between the ages of 4 and 12 years of varying ethno-racial backgrounds who had witnessed recent IPV were interviewed regarding their attitudes and beliefs about IPV. Results show that younger children and White, Black, and Biracial children exhibited more deleterious attitudes and beliefs about violence after exposure to IPV than did older and Latina or Latino children. These findings may indicate the need for more tailored intervention programs that target the specific maladaptive beliefs expressed by children of various demographic groups.

A Bayesian Framework for False Belief Reasoning in Children: A Rational Integration of Theory-Theory and Simulation Theory.

Two apparently contrasting theories have been proposed to account for the development of children's theory of mind (ToM): theory-theory and simulation theory. We present a Bayesian framework that rationally integrates both theories for false belief reasoning. This framework exploits two internal models for predicting the belief states of others: one of self and one of others. These internal models are responsible for simulation-based and theory-based reasoning, respectively. The framework further takes into account empirical studies of a developmental ToM scale (e.g., Wellman and Liu, 2004): developmental progressions of various mental state understandings leading up to false belief understanding. By representing the internal models and their interactions as a causal Bayesian network, we formalize the model of children's false belief reasoning as probabilistic computations on the Bayesian network. This model probabilistically weighs and combines the two internal models and predicts children's false belief ability as a multiplicative effect of their early-developed abilities to understand the mental concepts of diverse beliefs and knowledge access. Specifically, the model predicts that children's proportion of correct responses on a false belief task can be closely approximated as the product of their proportions correct on the diverse belief and knowledge access tasks. To validate this prediction, we illustrate that our model provides good fits to a variety of ToM scale data for preschool children. We discuss the implications and extensions of our model for a deeper understanding of developmental progressions of children's ToM abilities.

Family Correlates of False Belief Understanding in Early Childhood: A Meta-Analysis.

This meta-analysis seeks to integrate findings from 25years of research on family correlates of young children's false belief understanding (FBU). Using data from 93 studies of 3- to 7-year-old children, we examined the correlations between FBU and four of the most widely studied family factors: parental socioeconomic status, number of siblings, parental mental-state talk, and mind-mindedness. FBU exhibited modest associations with each family variable and these associations held even when individual differences in verbal ability were taken into account. Moderator analyses revealed key child-related factors (e.g., age, gender) as well as methodological factors that amplified or attenuated the relations between FBU and each family variable. Crucially, available longitudinal data highlight the importance of family factors in the development of FBU.

'I like computers but my favourite is playing outside with my friends': young children's beliefs about computers

This exploratory study investigated young children's beliefs and opinions about computers by actively involving children in the research project. Fifty two children, four to six years old, were asked a set of questions about their favourite activities and their opinions on computer use before and after a seven month computer intervention implemented by the researcher and two more teachers. Results are differentiated in terms of intervention and non-intervention group and children's computer access at home and at school. Findings suggest that young children like using computers very much but not more than other popular activities. More positive opinions and attitudes for children in the intervention group and less positive attitudes for children who used computers only at home were identified. Implications for further research and for both teachers and parents are highlighted.

Breakfast barriers and opportunities for children living in a Dutch disadvantaged neighbourhood

The objective of this study was to explore parents', children's, and experts' beliefs and experiences about breakfast motivation, opportunity, and ability and elicit their thoughts on effective interventions to encourage healthy breakfast consumption. The setting was a disadvantaged neighbourhood in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Focus groups with mothers and children and semi-structured individual interviews with experts were conducted. Interview guides were developed based on the motivation, opportunity, and ability consumer psychology model. Thirty-two mothers of primary school children participated in five group discussions, eight focus groups were conducted with 44 children, and nine experts participated in interviews. Data from expert interviews and group discussions were coded and thematically analysed. The following themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) generally high motivation to have breakfast, (2) improved performance at school is key motivator, (3) limited time hinders breakfast, and (4) lack of nutritional knowledge about high quality breakfast. Experts mentioned lack of effort, knowledge, and time; financial constraints; and environmental issues (food availability) as barriers to breakfasting healthily. Several ways to encourage healthy breakfasting habits were identified: (1) involvement of both children and parents, (2) role models inspiring change, and (3) interactive educational approaches. Experts perceived more problems and challenges in achieving healthy breakfast habits than did mothers and children. Lack of opportunity (according to the children and experts) and ability (according to the experts) were identified, although the motivation to eat a healthy breakfast was present. Predominant barriers are lack of time and nutritional knowledge. Overall, findings suggest educational and social marketing approaches as interventions to encourage healthy breakfast consumption.

Young children’s views concerning distribution of clean-up duties in the classroom: Responsibility and self-interest

The preschool setting offers many opportunities to promote development of responsibility in young children. Clean-up routines may support children’s distributional judgments, and reveal their sense of responsibility about classroom duties. Although there is a large number of studies regarding children’s views about resource distribution, children’s distribution of work or duties focusing on household chores is a topic that is much less examined. The present study examines Greek children's beliefs about distribution of clean-up duties using an interview protocol with a series of picture prompts developed and used in Japan. Thirty five-year old children took part in the study. Data showed that the participant children hold certain ideas concerning clean-up distribution providing judgments that are comprehensible and uniform, especially when referring to situations without the influence of contextual factors. After the ‘players’ responsibility norm’, prosocial patterns of reasoning constituted the second, in terms of frequency, type of response to justify children’s views about clean-up distribution.

Adults' Explanations for Intimate Partner Violence During Childhood and Associated Effects.

Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is known to challenge children's optimal development. This study sought to associate participants' beliefs about IPV held during childhood with their adjustment as adults, and to compare their beliefs from childhood to their beliefs in early adulthood. A nationally representative sample of 703 Swedish young adults reported on their past and present beliefs about the causes of their parents' IPV. Standardized measures assessed their mental health (anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress symptoms) and the quality of their relationships as adults. The most common explanations for IPV were that the perpetrator suffered from physical or mental illness, had relationship problems, or was distressed. Participants were less likely to blame themselves for IPV or to believe that the perpetrator was cruel when they were adults, compared to their reports of themselves as children. Women were more likely to attribute mental or physical illness as the cause of the perpetrator's IPV. Childhood beliefs that the perpetrator was debilitated (from mental illness or substance abuse) and cruel (took pleasure in violence and/or despised the child) were associated with greater mental health problems and poorer relationship quality in adulthood. Evaluation of children's harmful beliefs about IPV could be useful in adapting intervention services aimed at ameliorating negative personal causal attributions.

Healthy eating beliefs and intentions of mothers and their adult children: An intergenerational transmission perspective.

This study examined the possible intergenerational transmission of eating beliefs and intentions between 60 mothers and their adult children. Maternal restrictive feeding practices were correlated with mothers' own healthy eating attitudes and subjective norms, and with their adult children's subjective norms. Mothers' beliefs and intentions were correlated with their adult children. Adult children's intentions to eat healthily were predicted by their attitudes and perceived behavioural control, and also by their mothers' intentions and perceived behavioural control. Mothers' own beliefs and intentions may be involved in shaping their children's beliefs and intentions into adulthood but their child feeding practices may have less of an influence.

Pediatric Pain Beliefs Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties ofthe Short Form.

Cognitive appraisals inform and shape individuals' pain experiences. As researchers examine mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral interventions for chronic pain, psychometrically sound measures based in cognitive theory are needed to directly assess pain beliefs. The Pain Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ), a 32-item self-report measure informed by coping and appraisal theory, was designedto assess children's pain threat appraisals, problem-focused pain coping efficacy, and emotion-focused pain coping efficacy. The present study aimed to: 1) create a short form of the PBQ, and 2) evaluate the psychometric properties of the reduced measure in a large database of pediatricpatients with functional abdominal pain (n=871). Item reduction analyses identified an 18-item short form of the PBQ (PBQ-SF) that exhibited psychometric properties similar to the original measure. All 3 subscales of the PBQ-SF exhibited strong internal consistency (α levels ranged from .79to .80) and adequate test-retest reliability at 2weeks. Evidence for construct validity was provided by examining patterns of partial correlations for each subscale. The PBQ-SF represents a valid and reliable measure for evaluating children's pain beliefs. Future studies should investigate the treatment sensitivity of the PBQ-SF to evaluate its appropriateness for use in clinical trials. This article presents the psychometric properties of a reduced 18-item version of a measure used to assess children's pain beliefs in a large sample of children with functional abdominal pain. This measure could help identify processes and individual differences underlying children's responsesto psychological treatments for chronic pain.

Models of health: Exploring memorable messages received from parents about diet and exercise

As obesity is an increasingly vital health issue in the United States, this study aims to understand the memorable messages about diet and exercise received from parents throughout adolescence. Previous research suggests that parental messages continue to influence children's beliefs, behaviors, and development long after they have left home. This study utilizes a qualitative research design to explore health-related memorable messages shared in 12 focus groups including 77 women ages 20–57. A myriad of memorable messages and modeled behaviors was reported representing three parenting styles: parental critic, parental professor, and parental protector. Results suggest that memorable messages are associated with parenting styles and family environment may influence message interpretation. Theoretical and practical implications for scholars and health educators are discussed along with directions for future research.

The Process of Self-Discovery: Learned Helplessness, Self-Efficacy, and Endogenous Overoptimism

I study the origin of people's beliefs about their own abilities, emphasizing the feedback loop between beliefs, effort, and outcomes. Consistent with the modern understanding of depression, I show that agents who are either more pessimistic about their own talent or less sure of their own talent are more prone to low-effort traps. I also show that a principal (such as a parent or manager) does not want an agent (such as a child or employee) to hold beliefs about his own talent that match the principal's beliefs; instead, the principal would like to make the agent overoptimistic and overly uncertain. These results are consistent with empirical findings from the psychology literature about the origin and evolution of children's beliefs, about the importance of self-efficacy beliefs for performance, and about the prevalence of overconfidence.