Childhood Years Research Articles

Humanitarians' ethics: the role of face-to-face experiences in humanitarian aid workers' motivation.

This paper analyses the significance of specific ethical experiences for humanitarian aid workers' motivation. Following Emmanuel Levinas's understanding of ethics as arising from intersubjective face-to-face encounters, the study illuminates the experiential origins of the humanitarian commitment by analysing James Orbinski's memoir entitled An Imperfect Offering: Dispatches from the Medical Frontline. Orbinski, a former International Council President at Médecins Sans Frontières, was directly involved in humanitarian responses to several major crises during the 1990s, including those in Somalia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, and what was then Zaire. This paper explores three formative experiences from Orbinski's childhood and teenage years to analyse the personal ethics of humanitarian aid workers and to illuminate the intersection of the personal and professional level of humanitarian aid work. Illustrating that Orbinski's humanitarian commitment is a surrendering to the other's call, the paper argues for stronger inclusion of aid workers' lives and experiences to achieve a comprehensive understanding of humanitarian work.

The prevalence of and potential risk factors for Developmental Language Disorder at 10 years in the Raine Study.

This study sought to determine the prevalence of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in Australian school-aged children and associated potential risk factors for DLD at 10 years. This study used a cross-sectional design to estimate the prevalence of DLD in Generation 2 of the prospective Raine Study. Participants included 1626 children aged 10 years with available language data. Primary outcomes included variables matching diagnostic criteria for DLD. Associations of other potential prenatal and environmental variables were analysed as secondary outcomes. The prevalence of DLD in this sample was 6.4% (n=104) at 10 years. This sub-cohort comprised 33.7% (n=35) with expressive language deficits, 20.2% (n=21) with receptive language deficits, and 46.2% (n=48) with receptive-expressive deficits. No significant difference in sex distribution was observed (52.9% male, p =0.799). Children who were exposed to smoke in utero at 18 weeks gestation were at increased risk of DLD at 10 years (OR= 2.56, CI = 1.23-5.35, p =0.012). DLD is a relatively prevalent condition in Australian children, even when assessed in middle childhood years. These findings can inform future research priorities, and public health and educational policy which account for the associations with potential risk factors.

Self-employment and Motherhood: Labor Market Outcomes of Self-employment in Early Childhood Years

Self-employment and Motherhood: Labor Market Outcomes of Self-employment in Early Childhood Years

The physical home environment and sleep: What matters most for sleep in early childhood.

The physical home environment is thought to play a crucial role in facilitating healthy sleep in young children. However, relatively little is known about how various features of the physical home environment are associated with sleep in early childhood, and some of the recommendations clinicians make for improving child sleep environments are based on limited research evidence. The present study examined how observer and parent descriptions of the child's physical home environment were associated with child sleep, measured using actigraphy and parent's reports, across a year in early childhood. The study used a machine learning approach (elastic net regression) to specify which aspects of the physical home environment were most important for predicting five aspects of child sleep, sleep duration, sleep variability, sleep timing, sleep activity, and latency to fall asleep. The study included 546 toddlers (265 females) recruited at 30 months of age and reassessed at 36 and 42 months of age. Poorer quality physical home environments were associated with later sleep schedules, more variable sleep schedules, shorter sleep durations, and more parent-reported sleep problems in young children. The most important environmental predictors of sleep were room sharing with an adult, bed sharing, and quality of both the child's sleep space and the wider home environment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Measures of accommodative function in secondary school year 9 and year 13: a 4-year longitudinal study.

PurposeTo characterize accommodative function in secondary school children in year 9 and year 13 and assess the possible relationship between daily working conditions (number of near work hours and distances) and accommodation variables related to accommodative excess.MethodsThis was a prospective study. Participants were 43 subjects who were first examined in year 9 and then again when they were in year 13. The accommodation variables measured in each session were as follows: accommodation amplitude (AA), accommodative response (AR), monocular and binocular accommodation flexibility (MAF and BAF), negative relative accommodation (NRA), and positive relative accommodation (PRA). Other data recorded were the number of hours spent working at near vision tasks and the distances used for these tasks. Participants were classified as those with accommodation variables within the normal range (NA) and those with variables suggesting accommodative excess (AE).ResultsSeveral accommodative function variables were below normative values in both year 9 and year 13. The number of subjects classified as having AE went from 27.9% in year 9 to 58.1% in year 13 according to AR (p < 0.005) and from 23.3 to 46.5% according to MAF (p = 0.024). More near work was reported in year 13 (44.6 h/week) than year 9 (32.7 h/week) (p < 0.001). It emerged that subjects in year 13 spent more hours working at near if they had AE than if they were assigned to the NA group. No differences were detected in near work distances used by subjects in the NA and AE groups in both years.ConclusionsIn both school years, values outside the norm were detected in several accommodative function measures. Also, devoting more hours to near work was linked to a greater extent of accommodative excess. We would therefore recommend regular accommodative function assessment in secondary school children.

Effect of elimination diets on the functioning of children with autism in the opinion of parents

Introduction. The autism spectrum disorder is more and more common in the world and is diagnosed in the early years of childhood. This disorder is impossible to cure, so parents are increasingly looking for the best therapies for their children. The most popular are the use of elimination diets, including gluten-free and casein-free diet. Material and methods. The study was conducted on a group of 95 people: 68 women and 27 men. The Cole index was used to assess the nutritional status of children with ASD. Taking into account the interpretation, it can be concluded that almost half of children with ASD have a normal nutritional status.There are 65 children with ASD who have complaints of impaired gastrointestinal function, the most common symptoms are gas, constipation, bloating and abdominal pain. Results. The most common and popular of the alternative treatment support methods for a child with ASD used by parents are elimination diets. Among the most commonly used can be a diet that is either casein-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, or a diet with elimination of specific ingredients. In our study, we found that there is a significant relationship between the use of an appropriate nutritional strategy and improved digestive functioning in a child with ASD. Conclusions. Based on the results, it was concluded that there is a significant correlation between the use of a gluten-free diet and / or a non-dairy diet, and the improvement in the functioning of the digestive system, quality of life and behavior of children with autism. According to the subjective opinion of parents, a gluten-free and dairy-free diet improves the quality of life and behavior of a child with ASD.

Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme About Prevention of Child Abuse Among the Parents of Under 5-Year Children Coming in Pediatric O.P.D. of Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun

Child abuse is a kind of domestic violence that involves all forms of physical, emotional and sexual maltreatment and negligence of children. Child abuse is a global problem with serious lifelong consequences. Child abuse is a significant global problem with a serious impact on the victims throughout their lives. The study aimed at finding out the effectiveness of structured educational intervention on knowledge of parents of under 5 years children regarding prevention of child abuse Method: The research design was pre-experimental, one group pre-test, post-test design. Data were collected using non probability, convenient sampling method to assess the effectiveness of 30 parents of under 5 children regarding prevention of child abuse by level of knowledge score. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire through interview technique They were analyzed and interpreted by using descriptive and inferential statistics at level of significance 0.05. Result: The study revealed that Pre-test analysis knowledge score in prevention of child abuse was found inadequate in 86.7% of respondent with mean score 10.17 and standard deviation of 2.214, adequate knowledge score was found in 56.7% of respondent with mean score18.90 and standard deviation of 1.900 in post-test. So, it is clearly indicated that there was increase the level of knowledge after structure teaching program me. Conclusion: There is a significant difference between the level of knowledge among parents of under 5 years children regarding prevention of child abuse before and after structured teaching programme Keywords: Assess, Parents, Effectiveness, Knowledge

Effects of a Sleep Health Education Program for Children and Parents on Child Sleep Duration and Difficulties

Preschool-aged children often lack sufficient sleep and experience sleep difficulties. A consistent bedtime routine, falling asleep alone, and other sleep practices reduce difficulties and increase sleep duration. To evaluate the effects of a preschool-based sleep health literacy program on children's sleep duration and difficulties and on parent sleep knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and beliefs 9 and 12 months after the program. This stepped-wedge cluster randomized clinical trial was implemented across the 2018-2019 school year. Head Start preschool personnel delivered interventions and collected outcomes data at baseline and 4 follow-ups. Seven Head Start agencies across New York State were randomized to implement interventions in either fall 2018 or winter and spring 2019. Outcomes were ascertained at 9- and 12-month follow-up. From March 19 through September 28, 2018, Head Start staff recruited (a) English- or Spanish-speaking parents (b) of children 3 years of age on or about September 2018 (c) who planned to remain at the site through the school year. Altogether, 519 parent-child (aged 3 years) dyads completed baseline and (any) follow-up data. A 2-week classroom curriculum for children, a 1-hour parent workshop, and 1-on-1 parent discussions at home or school. Outcomes were the pre- vs postintervention differences measured at baseline and 9-month follow-up for parent-reported child school-night sleep duration per sleep logs, mild or moderate sleep difficulties per a validated questionnaire, and the total and domain scores for parent sleep knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and beliefs. A modified intention-to-treat analysis excluding participants with only baseline data was used. The mean (SD) age at enrollment of 519 children was 2.7 (0.1) years, 264 (50.9%) were girls, 196 (37.8%) lived in Spanish-speaking households, and 5 (0.9%) identified as Alaskan Native or American Indian, 17 (3.2%) as Asian American or Pacific Islander, 57 (10.8%) as Black, 199 (37.8%) as White, and 63 (12.0%) as other. Mean sleep durations increased nonsignificantly from baseline by 5.6 minutes (95% CI, -2.3 to 13.6 minutes; P = .17) at 9-month follow-up and by 6.8 minutes (95% CI, 0.2-13.7 minutes; P = .06) at 12-month follow-up. There was a slight improvement in parental knowledge (1.13 unit increase from baseline; 95% CI, 0.13-2.12 units), but no significant outcomes for parent sleep attitudes (0.16 unit increase from baseline; 95% CI, -0.46 to 0.77 units), self-efficacy (-0.13 unit decrease from baseline; 95% CI, -1.02 to 0.76 units) and beliefs (-0.20 unit decrease from baseline; 95% CI, -0.56 to 0.16 units). Intervention effects for child sleep difficulties were not significant (odds ratio, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.62-2.09). Fewer than 1 in 4 parents accurately perceived their child's sleep difficulty at 12 months. The findings of this large pragmatic, stepped-wedge cluster randomized clinical trial, albeit largely negative, may have implications for the sustained impact, focus, and potential population-level effects of sleep education programs. Future research should evaluate the effects of more recurrent programming that emphasizes recognition of sleep problems and whether small increments of sleep across months and years in early childhood have meaningful effects. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03556462.

Vasovagal syncope triggered by recent moderate weight loss?

In adults, the onset of vasovagal syncope is often unexplained. We wished to explore if moderate weight loss triggers the onset of vasovagal syncope (VVS). A retrospective case-control study comparing demographic characteristic, syncope symptoms, and tilt-table results of patients who had recently lost weight (n=57), with randomly selected weight-stable patients (n=73), and controls, patients without syncope (n=24). VVS was diagnosed in 480 out of 1,209 clinic patients of whom 57 (11.9%) reported moderate weight loss. The mean (SD) reported weight loss was 11.5 (7) kg over 18.7 (13) months. Age and gender did not differ between groups: in the weight loss, weight stable, and control groups the mean age was 44.8, 45.2, and 44 years respectively; and proportion female 60%, 64%, and 54%. Body weight, mass index and calculated blood volume at presentation were also similar in the different groups. Weight loss preceded or coincided the onset of syncope in 80% of patients; the length of time over which weight loss occurred was associated with the length of time of syncope symptoms, product moment correlation coefficient 0.45, p=0.001. Syncope in childhood and teenage years was less frequent in the weight loss group compared to the weight stable group: 37% vs 53%. After 10 minutes of head-up tilt, stroke volume was preserved in both syncope groups compared to controls; percentage of baseline mean (SD) in the weight loss, weight stable, and control groups: 71(18), 69(10), and 61 (11) respectively; despite lower blood pressure in the weight loss groups with mean (SD) 90 (14) mmHg, 93 (13) and 103 (14) respectively. Some patients have onset of VVS within a few months of weight loss resulting in earlier presentation to clinic. The physiological mechanism for this is uncertain.

Parents’ understandings and practices regarding play and learning

ABSTRACT Parents of young children are often unaware of the general importance of play in children’s development and their own roles in children’s play. Lack of leisure, lack of space, the COVID-19 pandemic, Early Childhood Centre teacher communication and use of media and digital toys for children, have affected and reduced children’s free play. Drawing on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development as an underpinning theoretical framework, this paper explores the contestations of play and learning using parents’ voices. The study used open-ended qualitative questionnaires to extract parents’ feedback on their understanding and practices of play with 3–4-year-old children. The researchers used convenient purposive sampling and selected 6 parents of young children from middle-income families in Pretoria, South Africa. In a time of schoolification of the early childhood years, the findings highlight that although parents believed that play was essential, they set up structured learning environments for their 3–4-year-old children at home. The study accentuated the importance of parent intervention programmes so that parents are aware of how to engage in play with their children appropriately, and what the appropriate adult roles for extending and enhancing play are.

‘A quintessentially English designer’ from Durban: Victor Stiebel’s South African Childhood (1968)

Victor Stiebel (1907–76), in his obituary in The Times, was described as a well known and highly esteemed British couturier. Yet, for the first eighteen years of his life, Stiebel lived unremarkably in Durban, South Africa, with his middle-class colonial family. In an article written by a fashion historian who appraised his importance within the British fashion industry, Stiebel is described as the quintessential English designer. How did this ‘Englishness’ develop and what evidence do we see of this quality in his autobiography South African Childhood () that covers his childhood years? The leap from Durban to London and his subsequent career as a court dressmaker and couturier, plus designer for Hollywood stars including Vivien Leigh and Katherine Hepburn, is vast, but it is one that Stiebel eagerly made. The bridge, this article argues, is the very ‘Englishness’ that Stiebel encountered in his home and the colonial society of Durban in the Edwardian era in which he grew up. Life in the colonies concentrated this quality in its settlers probably because of their distance from the metropole rather than their proximity. This article sets out to examine what form this ‘Englishness’ took in Stiebel’s life and work, evident visually in his dress designs according to fashion historians, but also, from a literary historian’s point of view, in his autobiographical writing and written correspondence, particularly that with the actress Vivien Leigh.

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Breastfeeding initiation and duration and acute otitis media among children less than two years of age in Jordan: results from a case–control study

BackgroundAcute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common infectious diseases that affects children. Breastfeeding has been linked to a lower risk of AOM in the first three years of childhood. The aim of this study was to identify the association between exclusive breastfeeding and the development of acute otitis media (AOM) and investigate the influence of breastfeeding duration on the presence of AOM.MethodsIn a retrospective case–control study, a sample of 98 children (cases) who were diagnosed with AOM and 98 children (controls) who were not diagnosed with AOM and were younger than two years old were selected from the Jordan University Hospital. Medical records were used to identify children with AOM. For both the case and control groups, the children’s mothers completed a self-administered questionnaire about factors linked to the incidence of AOM.The type of feeding and the duration of breastfeeding were assessed using a validated questionnaire.ResultsThe data indicated that among children who developed AOM, 23.5%were artificiallyfed, while 22.4% and 13.3% were exclusively breastfed for 3 months and 6 months, respectively. Approximately 70.7% of the children without AOM were exclusively breastfed for 6 months, compared with only 29.3% of the children without AOM who were exclusively breastfed for 3 months.Logistic regression revealed that nonexclusive breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for 3 months, and exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months were protective factors against AOM (OR = 0.23, 0.18, and 0.25, respectively; P < 0.05). A short duration of exclusive breastfeeding was considered a risk factor for the development of AOM (OR = 1.7, P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe escalation of AOM is tightly connected to the early introduction of formula feeding in the first six months of life. Breastfeeding had a protective impact on the occurrence of AOM. Understanding factors that are associated with the occurrence of AOM in children may support the role of public health institutions and primary health care in the prevention and reduction of AOM episodes and the need for national health strategies to promote breastfeeding.

Post-traumatic growth among school counselors during the Covid19 pandemic: The role of mindfulness and transforming power of suffering

Bu araştırmanın amacı COVID-19 salgın döneminde okul psikolojik danışmanlarında bilinçli farkındalık ile acının dönüştürücü gücünün travma sonrası büyümenin anlamlı yordayıcıları olup olmadığını ortaya koymaktır. Ayrıca okul psikolojik danışmanlarının travma sonrası büyüme puanlarının çocukluk döneminde travma yaşama durumu ve hizmet yılına göre farklılaşıp farklılaşmadığı incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu araştırmacıların hazırladığı online ölçek formlarını dolduran Türkiye’nin yedi coğrafi bölgesinde görev yapan 415 okul psikolojik danışmanı oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın verileri Acının Dönüştürücü Gücü, Travma Sonrası Büyüme ve Bilinçli Farkındalık Ölçekleri ile araştırmacılar tarafından hazırlanan katılımcı bilgi formu aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Araştırma verileri COVID-19 salgınının en yoğun hissedildiği dönemde çevrimiçi platformlardan elde edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçları çoklu regresyon analizi, pearson korelasyon analizi, kruskal wallis testi ve bağımsız örneklemler için kullanılan t testi ile elde edilmiştir. Araştırmanın bulguları incelendiğinde okul psikolojik danışmanlarının bilinçli farkındalık puanlarının travma sonrası büyümeyi anlamlı düzeyde yordamadığı ancak acının dönüştürücü gücü puanlarının travma sonrası büyümenin üçte ikisini yordadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. İlave olarak okul psikolojik danışmanlarının travma sonrası büyümelerinin çocukluk travmasına sahip olma durumuna ve hizmet yılına göre anlamlı düzeyde farklılaştığı tespit edilmiştir.

‘Equitable to the extent possible’. The impact of the social-health crisis on the development of coparenting in first-time parental couples.

ABSTRACT The birth of the first child is a period of transformation and adjustments for the whole family system which results in dynamics that influence its development and tend to remain stable during the child's first years of life. The present study sought to identify the impact of the social and health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction of coparenting in first-time parental couples. To determine the evolution of the dynamics of caregiving tasks, we employed a qualitative and longitudinal methodology in our study of 12 heterosexual couples of legal age who co-resided in Santiago de Chile. The main impact of the social-health crisis was the novel opportunity for the triad to spend the first year of life of the baby in the same space, which is interpreted positively by the parental couple. Even though there persist some traditional representations and beliefs that portray mothers as experts in upbringing, the pandemic context has made it possible to problematize this view, in a process that can be interpreted as a transition toward equitableness.

Alert sign and symptoms for the early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis: analysis of patients followed by a tertiary pediatric hospital

BackgroundIntercepting earlier suspected TB (Tuberculosis) cases clinically is necessary to reduce TB incidence, so we described signs and symptoms of retrospective cases of pulmonary TB and tried to evaluate which could be early warning signs.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective descriptive study of pulmonary TB cases in children in years 2005–2017; in years 2018–2020 we conducted a cohort prospective study enrolling patients < 18 years accessed to Emergency Department (ED) with signs/symptoms suggestive of pulmonary TB.ResultsIn the retrospective analysis, 226 patients with pulmonary TB were studied. The most frequently described items were contact history (53.5%) and having parents from countries at risk (60.2%). Cough was referred in 49.5% of patients at onset, fever in 46%; these symptoms were persistent (lasting ≥ 10 days) in about 20%. Lymphadenopathy is described in 15.9%. The prospective study enrolled 85 patients of whom 14 (16.5%) were confirmed to be TB patients and 71 (83.5%) were non-TB cases. Lymphadenopathy and contact history were the most correlated variables. Fever and cough lasting ≥ 10 days were less frequently described in TB cases compared to non-TB patients (p < 0.05).ConclusionsIn low TB endemic countries, pulmonary TB at onset is characterized by different symptoms, i.e. persistent fever and cough are less described, while more relevant are contact history and lymphadenopathy. It was not possible to create a score because signs/symptoms usually suggestive of pulmonary TB (considered in the questionnaire) were not significant risk factors in our reality, a low TB country.

Real-Time Social Robot’s Responses to Undesired Interactions Between Children and their Surroundings

Aggression in children is frequent during the early years of childhood. Among children with psychiatric disorders in general, and autism in particular, challenging behaviours and aggression rates are higher. These can take on different forms, such as hitting, kicking, and throwing objects. Social robots that are able to detect undesirable interactions within its surroundings can be used to target such behaviours. In this study, we evaluate the performance of five machine learning techniques in characterizing five possible undesired interactions between a child and a social robot. We examine the effects of adding different combinations of raw data and extracted features acquired from two sensors on the performance and speed of prediction. Additionally, we evaluate the performance of the best developed model with children. Machine learning algorithms experiments showed that XGBoost achieved the best performance across all metrics (e.g., accuracy of 90%) and provided fast predictions (i.e., 0.004 s) for the test samples. Experiments with features showed that acceleration data were the most contributing factor on the prediction compared to gyroscope data and that combined data of raw and extracted features provided a better overall performance. Testing the best model with data acquired from children performing interactions with toys produced a promising performance for the shake and throw behaviours. The findings of this work can be used by social robot developers to address undesirable interactions in their robotic designs.

Genetics of early-life head circumference and genetic correlations with neurological, psychiatric and cognitive outcomes

BackgroundHead circumference is associated with intelligence and tracks from childhood into adulthood.MethodsWe performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis and follow-up of head circumference in a total of 29,192 participants between 6 and 30 months of age.ResultsSeven loci reached genome-wide significance in the combined discovery and replication analysis of which three loci near ARFGEF2, MYCL1, and TOP1, were novel. We observed positive genetic correlations for early-life head circumference with adult intracranial volume, years of schooling, childhood and adult intelligence, but not with adult psychiatric, neurological, or personality-related phenotypes.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that the biological processes underlying early-life head circumference overlap largely with those of adult head circumference. The associations of early-life head circumference with cognitive outcomes across the life course are partly explained by genetics.

Determinants of Developmental Delay in the First 5 Years of Children

Developmental delay is quite common in children, but the detection of this disorder is still low. About 52.9 million children younger than five years were diagnosed with developmental delays worldwide. This study aimed to analyze the determinant of developmental delay in the first five years of children in Indonesia.

Evaluation of the “Three Steps in Screening for Dyslexia” Assessment Protocol Designed for New Zealand Teachers

Traditionally, the New Zealand Ministry of Education opposed the recognition of dyslexia. However, since 2007, the Ministry of Education’s position has started to change, evidenced by the development of a working definition. In 2021 the Ministry of Education released Three Steps in Screening for Dyslexia (TSSD), an assessment protocol designed to support teachers to screen for dyslexia. The current research evaluated the TSSD with a sample of 209 children in Years 4 to 6 (8–10 years-of-age) from New Zealand. The research investigated whether children could be accurately classified using tests from the TSSD, whether the three-step protocol described in the TSSD was a valid assessment approach, and what effect operationalising the term average at different cut-off points had on dyslexia screening. Children were classified using two cluster analyses. The first analysis was based on tests from the Woodcock Johnson IV and the second analysis was based on tests from the TSSD. Subsequent analyses investigated specific aspects of the TSSD protocol, including its sequential design and the placement of cut-off points. Results revealed a number of limitations to the TSSD approach. The authors discuss three changes that could be made to improve the validity and reliability of the TSSD, including a broader assessment of the decoding and language comprehension constructs; directing teachers to assess both decoding and language comprehension, irrespective of a child’s language comprehension ability; and placing a greater emphasis on discrepancy bands over cut-off points.