Child's Environment Research Articles

The vulture in the room

ABSTRACT This case study explores the story of Eva, a 37-year-old woman who has embarked on a journey of psychotherapy to navigate the complexities of her past traumas and their manifestations in her present inability to set boundaries and assert her needs. The narrative unfolds through the intersubjective therapeutic relationship with a novice therapist who is also grappling with personal issues of competence and parallel dynamics of past abuse. The case illuminates the complexities of Eva’s life, from her violent childhood and oppressive family environment that demanded success at all costs to her traumatic experiences in academia and romantic relationships. Through the lens of intersubjective-systems theory and focusing on Brandchaft’s systems of pathological accommodation, the paper explores the patient’s struggle with self-cohesion and the internalized need to accommodate others to maintain a sense of security and attachment. The therapeutic encounter, characterized by a twinship in trauma becomes a site of transformation in which both patient and therapist navigate their vulnerabilities and strengths. The turning point in therapy occurs when the therapist inadvertently assumes the role of an authoritative figure, prompting Eva to express her own experience assertively.

The Effect of Integrated Turkish and Science Activities in Pre-School Education on Children's Environmental Perception

The Effect of Integrated Turkish and Science Activities in Pre-School Education on Children's Environmental Perception

The Effectof Integrated Turkish and Science Activities in Pre-School Education on Children's Environmental Perception

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of integrated Turkish and science activities in the preschool period on children's environmental perception. Materials and Methods: In the qualitative dimension of the mixed method, a phenomenological design was employed, while in the quantitative dimension, a quasi-experimental design was used. Thestudy conductedwith 20 children.In the experimental procedure, children in both the experimental and control groups were asked to draw an environment picture, and one-on-one interviews were conducted with the children regarding their drawings. The drawings were evaluated using DAET-R and were attempted to be transformed into qualitative form with yellow and blue color tones. Findings: In the final tests, experimental groups’ figures increased in the drawings. It was found that the final test drawings of the children in the experimental group were related to the illustrated books used in the integrated activities. Key Points: As a result of the study, it was determined that the change in environmental perception of the children in the experimental group, where integrated Turkish and science activities developed with illustrated children's books were applied, progressed more prominently compared to the children in the control group.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN TREATED FOR BRAIN TUMOR AND HEALTHY SIBLINGS OF CANCER PATIENTS (A PILOT STUDY)

Introduction. In families with such a child his/her siblings often live, whose development will be affected by the current stressful situation for all family members. Siblings of cancer patients appear to be a psychological vulnerable group, as they have low self-esteem, fear of death and loneliness, anxiety, anger. The study aimed to assess the level of physical development (PD) of children, treated for brain tumors, and siblings of childhood cancer survivors, in relation to stressful circumstances of living in a family with an oncological relative. Material and methods. The study involved children aged 6 to 17 years who had completed treatment for a brain tumor (BT), as well as siblings of children with various cancer types. We measured 27 boys and 36 girls with BT, the sample of siblings included 26 boys and 31 girls. To assess the compliance of the level of PD of children of both groups with age standards, for each child of a given gender and age a centile corridor was determined by body length (BL) and BMI, and individual values of signs were ranked in Z-points, using WHO standards. A detailed questionnaire was conducted to assess some characteristics of a child's family environment. Statistics analysis was performed with Statistica 12 software package. Results. For a group of children with BT, a significant shift in the distribution of PD scores along body length and BMI towards low values was found, for a group of siblings, the opposite picture was obtained – the distribution of body length and BMI scores shifted to the higher values. It has been shown that higher developmental scores in body length are significantly more common in children who are older siblings in relation to patients with BT. Conclusion. Thus, brain tumor treatment affects not only the physical development of a child, but is a factor contributing to the growth processes of the body of siblings of children with BT. Siblings of cancer patients represent a special group of children, which indicates the need to take into account the special needs of all their family members in the process of treatment and rehabilitation, as well as the incorrectness of using siblings as a control group in scientific research.

Longitudinal trajectories of brain development from infancy to school age and their relationship to literacy development.

Reading is one of the most complex skills that we utilize daily, and it involves the early development and interaction of various lower-level subskills, including phonological processing and oral language. These subskills recruit brain structures, which begin to develop long before the skill manifests and exhibit rapid development during infancy. However, how longitudinal trajectories of early brain development in these structures supports long-term acquisition of literacy subskills and subsequent reading is unclear. Children underwent structural and diffusion MRI scanning at multiple timepoints between infancy and second grade and were tested for literacy subskills in preschool and decoding and word reading in early elementary school. We developed and implemented a reproducible pipeline to generate longitudinal trajectories of early brain development to examine associations between these trajectories and literacy (sub)skills. Furthermore, we examined whether familial risk of reading difficulty and a child's home literacy environment, two common literacy-related covariates, influenced those trajectories. Results showed that individual differences in curve features (e.g., intercepts and slopes) for longitudinal trajectories of volumetric, surface-based, and white matter organization measures in left-hemispheric reading-related regions and tracts were linked directly to phonological processing and indirectly to second-grade decoding and word reading skills via phonological processing. Altogether, these findings suggest that the brain bases of phonological processing, previously identified as the strongest behavioral predictor of reading and decoding skills, may already begin to develop early in infancy but undergo further refinement between birth and preschool. The present study underscores the importance of considering academic skill acquisition from the very beginning of life.

A. 먼로, A. 프루의 단편에 나타난 혐오

By analyzing the two modern short stories—Alice Munro’s “Child’s Play” and Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain”—this paper aims to show that violent expression of disgust at home and in society is not an instinctive reaction, but something that is learned from the community. To make the case, this paper examines and cites Martha Nussbaum’s theory of disgust. Nussbaum delves into the feeling of ‘disgust’, arguing that emotion is not instinctive, but is the result of the action of thinking based on belief and understanding, and she categorizes the feeling of disgust into “primary disgust” and “projective disgust”. This study analyzes the process in “Child’s Play” whereby the protagonist unknowingly embodies disgust from the surrounding environment in childhood. Projective disgust is not only distinguishable from instinctive disgust, which is inherited genetically, but also works as a mechanism for solidarity and exclusion in groups. This paper also examines the ways in which disgust in “Brokeback Mountain” is transmitted and maintained through violence, preserves existing ideologies, and controls the life of the protagonist especially his fear of being an object of disgust.

Standardizing play in the century of the car: the building information cards as shapers of the ideal urban childhood in Finland in the 1960s and 1970s

ABSTRACT Children’s playgrounds became part of the urban planning and evolution of Western cities at the turn of 19th and early 20th centuries. The overall objective was to improve urban children’s well-being and enhance safety by channelling play activities away from city streets towards designated play spaces. This article zooms in on the process of creating recommendations, norms and standards related to playgrounds. The subject under scrutiny is the standardization of childhood in Finland during the 1960s and 1970s, a period characterized by the most intense phases of urbanization, the establishment of welfare state institutions and the evolution of legislation pertaining to children's play spaces as well as vigorous discussions concerning children's environments. These planning discussions, norms and standards have had far-reaching consequences. They are not only prominently evident in today's Finnish cities but have also significantly influenced our contemporary perception of children's place within urban contexts. This study brings a social history approach to the academic discussion of the role of standardization in urban planning. Simultaneously, it examines the development of the increasingly standardized urban childhood in Finland in the 1960s and 1970s and asks what kind of childhood this standardization aimed to promote.

Pengaruh Media Bulletin Board Terhadap Kemampuan Sains Anak Terkait Kelestarian Alam Dan Lingkungan Hidup Di Taman Kanak-Kanak Qatrinnada Kota Padang

The aim of this research is to determine the effect of bulletin board media on children's science abilities in Qatrinnada Kindergarten, Padang City. and data analysis techniques using the normality test. The research results show that this value is significant for the experimental class and the control class. and is stated to be normally distributed, then the variance of the N-gain data for the experimental class and control class is the same or homogeneous. The results of data analysis show that the average pre-test score for the experimental class is 21.3 and post-test is 26.0, while the average pre-test score for the control class is 22.1 and post-test 22.8 based on hypothesis testing. . shows a sig (2-tailed) value of 0.00 < 0.05 and the effect size test value d= 1,2 is included in the strong category. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a significant influence of bulletin board media on science skills related to preserving nature and the environment in early childhood at Qatrinnada Kindergarten Padang.

Perkembangan Kemampuan Bahasa Reseptif Anak Usia 4-5 Tahun Melalui Penerapan Metode Read Aloud

Receptive language ability needs to be considered in early childhood, so that listening to understand the language that children hear. This study aims to describe the application of the read-aloud method in TK Islam El-Fash, South Tangerang City, its role in children's receptive language development of children aged 4-5 years. This research uses qualitative, with descriptive research methods, with 5 research participants. The data collection techniques used observation, interviews, and documentation. The result indicates the application of the read-aloud method with the teacher's consideration in choosing picture storybooks based on picture storybooks that are chosen to have fewer words, more pictures, and story content adapted to the conditions and the child's immediate environment, child involvement choosing story ideas. There are supporting factors, training that teachers have received, the availability of library space, and children's reading books. The inhibiting factors are if at the beginning of the school year, conditioning motivation is needed so that children are orderly when the teacher applies the read-aloud method and the need for a quality reading book collection. The impact of applying the read-aloud method can develop children's receptive language skills.

Speech development in selected theoretical and research concepts and the child's (family) environment

Speech development in selected theoretical and research concepts and the child's (family) environment

El pediatra de Atención Primaria y la rinitis alérgica

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an inflammation of the nasal mucosa after exposure to an allergen in previously sensitized people. Characteristic symptoms include nasal itching, rhinorrhea, sneezing and nasal congestion, which may be accompanied by otic, pharyngeal and ocular symptoms (allergic rhinoconjunctivitis). AR has a great impact on quality of life and is considered undertreated and underdiagnosed. Dust mites and grass pollens are the most important allergens. The diagnosis is made through a detailed medical history that includes exposure to environmental triggers and the child's environment at the family, school, leisure and pet levels. It is advisable to perform an allergy study to identify allergic triggers, especially in case of persistent rhinitis. Treatment is based on the identification and elimination of specific allergens, when possible, and the use of stepwise medications that reduce symptoms. Nasal corticosteroids (NC) are part of the first line of treatment, their use being unavoidable in moderate-severe AR. When there is no adequate response to the initial treatment, combining antihistamine (AH) is indicated. Intranasal AH are more effective in improving nasal congestion than oral AH and have a faster onset of action than oral AH and NC, and are part of the first line of treatment in seasonal AR and intermittent AR. Immunotherapy will be used in selected patients who do not respond to other treatments.

The education-health gradient: Revisiting the role of socio-emotional skills

Is the education-health gradient inflated because both education and health are associated with unobserved socio-emotional skills? We find that the gradient in health behaviors and outcomes is reduced by about 15 to 50% from accounting for fine-grained personality facets and up to another 50% from Locus of Control. Traditional aggregated Big-Five scales, however, have a much smaller contribution to the gradient. We use sibling-fixed effects to net out the contribution from genes and shared childhood environment, decomposing the gradient into its components with an order-invariant method. We rely on a large survey (N = 28,261) linked to high-quality Danish administrative registers with information on parental background and objectively measured diagnoses and care use. Accounting for Locus of Control yields the strongest gradient reduction in self-rated health status and objective diagnoses (30%–50%), and in health behaviors the most important factor is Extraversion, a skill that has been shown to be malleable in interventions.

Youth mental health in a Canadian community sample during COVID-19: Exploring the role of perceived sense of belonging.

Research has linked broad societal changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic and poorer mental health in young people. There remains a pressing need for studies examining the factors that are associated with better mental health and well-being. The current study addresses this gap using a community-based survey called the Waterloo Region Youth Impact Survey. It was designed in partnership with local youth and the Canadian Index of Well-Being in accordance with United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund guidelines. Using a convenience sampling methodology, this survey was developed to explore the domains, rates, and correlates of well-being and mental health among youth during the pandemic (N = 297). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify dimensions related to children's social environment (friends, school, family), sense of belonging, mental health, and well-being. Subsequently, a mediation model was tested. The relationship between children's environments and mental health and well-being operated via perceived sense of belonging. Findings shed light on patterns of youth mental health and well-being during the pandemic, illustrating the role of belonging as a promotive factor with public health relevance.

Lower Childhood Socioeconomic Status Is Associated with Greater Neural Responses to Ambient Auditory Changes in Adulthood.

Humans' early life experience varies by socioeconomic status (SES), raising the question of how this difference is reflected in the adult brain. An important aspect of brain function is the ability to detect salient ambient changes while focusing on a task. Here, we ask whether subjective social status during childhood is reflected by the way young adults' brain detecting changes in irrelevant information. In two studies (total n = 58), we examine electrical brain responses in the frontocentral region to a series of auditory tones, consisting of standard stimuli (80%) and deviant stimuli (20%) interspersed randomly, while participants were engaged in various visual tasks. Both studies showed stronger automatic change detection indexed by MMN in lower SES individuals, regardless of the unattended sound's feature, attended emotional content, or study type. Moreover, we observed a larger MMN in lower-SES participants, although they did not show differences in brain and behavior responses to the attended task. Lower-SES people also did not involuntarily orient more attention to sound changes (i.e., deviant stimuli), as indexed by the P3a. The study indicates that individuals with lower subjective social status may have an increased ability to automatically detect changes in their environment, which may suggest their adaptation to their childhood environments.

Post Covid-19 pandemic analysis offline classes versus online classes: Conflicts in early childhood education in Indonesia during the Covid-19 pandemic

Early childhood education in Indonesia is an area that parents are beginning to show interest in for preparing their children to progress to the next stage of education. The learning process involves selfdevelopment, cognitive training, emotional training, psychomotor training, and social interaction training, fostering independence in children during their playtime. Early childhood education differs from other levels as it emphasizes play while still incorporating learning. However, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2019 has significantly impacted early childhood education, leading to the implementation of online classes. This change has affected not only students, who are in an age group susceptible to the disease, but also young children who may struggle to grasp the meaning of the Covid19 virus, unlike adults. Research objectives: a. To analyze early childhood responses to online learning. b. To investigate the impact of online teaching and learning activities on early childhood education in Indonesia. Utilizing qualitative research methods, this study is described through descriptive analysis based on a literature review and an examination of social phenomena. Children experience psychological shock when transitioning to home-based learning, missing the presence of teachers and friends, resulting in boredom and a lack of motivation to complete assignments. This psychological impact extends to parents, particularly mothers, who now have the responsibility of teaching their children at home, a role previously handled by teachers at school. Online classes are considered the optimal solution to curb the spread of Covid-19 in early childhood environments. The conflict between online and offline classes in the realm of early childhood education forms the basis of this research article.

Effects of Food Depictions in Entertainment Media on Children's Unhealthy Food Preferences: Content Analysis Linked With Panel Data.

Entertainment media content is often mentioned as one of the roots of children's unhealthy food consumption. This might be due to the high quantity of unhealthy foods presented in children's media environments. However, less is known about the role of the centrality of food placement, that is, whether foods are interacted with, consumed, verbally mentioned, or appear unobtrusively. We also lack longitudinal research measuring both children's unhealthy and healthy food consumption behaviors as outcomes. The aim is to connect content analytical data based on children's actual media diet with panel data in order to explain children's food preferences. Moreover, this study not only focuses on the amount of healthy and unhealthy foods children are exposed to, but also on how these foods are presented (ie, centrally or not). Furthermore, we looked at the question of how parental coviewing can diminish (or enhance) the effects of unhealthy (or healthy) food depictions, and we measured healthy and unhealthy consumption as dependent variables. We conducted a 2-wave panel study with children and one of their parents (of 2250 parents contacted, 829 responded, for a response rate of 36.84%; 648 valid cases, ie, parent-child pairs, were used for analysis), with 6 months between the 2 panel waves. We linked the 2-wave panel data for the children and their parents to content analytical data for movies (n=113) and TV series (n=134; 3 randomly chosen episodes per TV series were used) that children were exposed to over the course of 6 months. There was no significant relationship between exposure to unhealthy food presentation and unhealthy (b=0.008; P=.07) or healthy (b=-0.003; P=.57) food consumption over time. Also, healthy food presentation was unrelated to unhealthy (b=0.009; P=.18) or healthy (b=0.000; P=.99) food consumption over time. However, there was a significant, positive interaction between unhealthy food presentation and presentation centrality on unhealthy food consumption (b=0.000; P=.03), suggesting that the effects of unhealthy food presentation rise with increasing levels of centrality. There was no interaction between unhealthy food presentation and presentation centrality on the consumption of healthy foods (b=0.000; P=.10). Also, exposure to healthy food presentation interacted with centrality (b=-0.001; P=.003). That is, when a healthy product was presented at maximum centrality, it led to less unhealthy food consumption in children. Coviewing did not interact with exposure to unhealthy foods when explaining unhealthy (b=0.003; P=.08) or healthy (b=-0.001; P=.70) food consumption. We conclude that simply presenting more healthy foods is not sufficient to combat children's unhealthy food preferences. Further regulations may be necessary with respect to representations of unhealthy foods in children's media.

Medication and procedural abortions before 13 weeks gestation and risk of psychiatric disorders

BackgroundThe proportion of abortions provided by medication in the US and worldwide has increased greatly since FDA-approval of mifepristone in 2000. While existing research has shown that abortion does not increase risk of mental health problems, no population-based study has examined specifically whether a procedural or medication abortion increases risk of mental health disorders. ObjectiveThis study examined whether mental health disorders increased in the shorter and longer-term after a medication or procedural abortion. Study DesignUsing Danish population registers’ data, we conducted a prospective cohort study in which we included 72,424 females born in Denmark between 1980-2006, who were ages 12-38 during the study period and had a first first-trimester abortion before 13 weeks gestation in 2000-2018. Females with no previous psychiatric diagnoses were followed from one year before their abortion until their first psychiatric diagnosis, December 31, 2018, emigration from Demark, or death, whichever came first. Risk of any first psychiatric disorder was defined as a recorded psychiatric diagnosis at an in- or out-patient facility from the one year after to more than 5 years after a medication or procedural abortion relative to the year beforehand. Results were adjusted for calendar year, age, gestational age, partner status, prior mental and physical health, childbirth history, childhood environment, and parental mental health history. ResultsFemales having medication (n = 37,155) and procedural abortions (n = 35,269) had the same risk of any first psychiatric diagnosis in the year after their abortion relative to the year before their abortion (medication abortion adjusted incidence rate ratio [MaIRR] = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.93-1.12; procedural abortion adjusted incidence rate ratio [PaIRR] = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.86-1.02). Moreover, as more time from the abortion passed, the risk of a psychiatric diagnoses decreased relative to the year before their abortion for each abortion method (MaIRR 1-2 years after = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.80-0.98; PaIRR 1-2 years after = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.88-1.05; MaIRR 2-5 years after = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.71-0.84; PaIRR 2-5 years after = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.67-0.78; MaIRR 5+ years after = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.53-0.63; PaIRR 5+ years after = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.50-=0.58). ConclusionsBecause the risk of psychiatric diagnoses was the same in the year after relative to the year before a medication and procedural abortion and the risk did not increase as more time after the abortion increased, neither abortion method increased risk of mental health disorders in the shorter or longer-term.

부모의 학습지원과 지지적 학교환경이 초등학생의 학습태도에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purposes of this study were to specify variables related to convergence competency, and to ana-lyze the structural relationships among them. The purposes of this study were to specify variables related to con-vergence competency, and to analyze the structural relationships among them. Methods In this study, 1,145 children who responded to all related variables in the 12th and 13th data of the Korean Children's Panel were used as data. The structural equation model was analyzed to understand the struc-tural relationship between each variable, and the direct and indirect effects were verified through this. In addition, the mediating effect was verified using bootstrapping. Results There was no significant relationship between parents' learning support and elementary school students' learning attitude, and there was a positive relationship between the supportive school environment and learning attitude. Grit showed a complete mediating effect in the effect of parental learning support on learning attitude, and Grit showed a partial mediating effect in the effect of supportive school environment on learning attitude. Conclusions Parents' learning support and supportive environment had a positive effect on Grit, which improved the learning attitude. This study is expected to help parents, who are interested in their children's learning, support direction and school environment by examining the influence and path of parents‘, school variables and grit that can positively affect learning attitudes.

Prospective associations of prenatal stress with child behavior: Moderation by the early childhood caregiving environment.

Fetal exposure to prenatal stress can increase risk for psychopathology but postnatal caregiving may offset risk. This study tests whether maternal sensitivity and the home environment during early childhood modify associations of prenatal stress with offspring behavior in a sample of 127 mother-child pairs (n = 127). Mothers reported on perceived stress during pregnancy. Maternal sensitivity was rated by coders during a parent-child free play task when children were 4 years old. One year later, mothers reported on the home environment, child internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and children completed an assessment of inhibitory control. As hypothesized, the early childhood caregiving environment modified associations of prenatal stress with child behavior. Specifically, prenatal stress was associated with more internalizing behaviors at lower levels of maternal sensitivity and in home environments that were lower in emotional support and cognitive stimulation, but not at mean or higher levels. Furthermore, prenatal stress was associated with lower inhibitory control only at lower levels of maternal sensitivity, but not at higher levels. Maternal sensitivity and an emotionally supportive and cognitively stimulating home environment in early childhood may be important factors that mitigate risk for mental health problems among children exposed to prenatal stress.

Attuning to processes of affective sociomaterialisation: exploring subjectivity and identity in outdoor early childhood provision in Scotland, UK

ABSTRACT This paper examines the formation of children’s subjectivities, related to the metaphysical conditions of being and becoming a subject, within outdoor early childhood provision in Scotland. It applies a sociomaterial metaphysical framework to propose an alternative way of understanding how subjectivities come to form in early childhood environments, bringing together Spinozist monism in relation to Deleuze and Guattari’s concepts of assemblage and affect. Methodologically, an ethnographic approach inspired partly by the postqualitative field of scholarship is employed to gather data on children’s subjectivities at Wood Fire, a primarily outdoor early childhood setting. The data produced in this study affords an opportunity to understand the materiality and relationality of primarily outdoor early childhood provision through which subjectivities are in-formed. Thus, they demonstrate a more expanded understanding of how we, humans, are produced as individuals in specific encounters through processes of ‘affective sociomaterialisation’. Practically, this carries implications for how researchers might attune to the child’s sense of self on more expansive terms through processes of affective sociomaterialisation.