Czech Children Research Articles

The Impact of the War Conflicts on Residential Childcare: A Survey into Czech Children's Homes

The Impact of the War Conflicts on Residential Childcare: A Survey into Czech Children's Homes

235 Diagnostic Qualities of the Short Form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency for Low Motor Competence

Abstract Purpose The Bruninks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, 2nd Edition (BOT 2) diagnostic tool with 53 test tasks is used for objective assessment of motor proficiency with regard to the diagnosis of motor deficits in motor control. The normative criteria are initially validated on the US population ages 4 - 21. An adaptation for the European setting exists for German-speaking countries ages 4 - 14. There are short versions of the BOT 2 with self-selected items for screening purposes. The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic quality of a German short version of BOT 2 for low motor competence and for the risk of developmental coordination disorder. Methods The motor competence level in n = 637 Czech children aged 6.0-11.0 years (46.6% girls) was evaluated using Total motor composite and subcategories of fine and gross motor skills: Fine manual control, Manual coordination, Body coordination and Strength and agility. We used the following variables to describe the diagnostic validity: Sensitivity, Specificity, Accuracy, Positive and Negative Predictive Values, the Receiver Operating Characteristic, and the Area Under the Curve. Results The short version of the BOT 2 shows a sensitivity for low motor competence of 77%, specificity of 86% and validity of 83%. For the risk of developmental coordination disorder, sensitivity is 77%, specificity is 94%, and validity is 93%. However, there is a lower positive predictive value of 49%. Conclusions The German short version of BOT 2 is an alternative test to the BOT 2 complete form, which is a suitable diagnostic tool for assessing low motor competence, including the diagnosis of risk for DCD. Overall, the BOT 2 short form provides a lower Total motor composite score than the BOT 2 complete form and places significantly more children in the well-below-average category. This is reflected in the low predictive value of a positive test. Funding Source This work was supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic under Grant TA ČR Éta 3 TL03000221.

Impact of the War in Ukraine on the Ability of Children to Recognize Basic Emotions.

This study assessed emotion recognition skills in school-age children in wartime conditions in Ukraine. An online survey based on the concept of basic emotions was administrated to a sample of 419 schoolchildren from Ukraine and a control group of 310 schoolchildren from the Czech Republic, aged 8 to 12. There is no difference in judging the intensity of anger and fear by Ukrainian children, compared with the control group. There is no evidence that the emotions of anger, fear, and sadness were better recognized in the Ukrainian group. Children from Ukraine were better at recognizing positive emotions than Czech children. Increased risks of threats and wartime experience do not impair the accuracy of identification of emotions like fear or the assessment of intensity of basic emotions by children who experience war in Ukraine. Still, it is important to continue studying the long-term consequences of military conflicts in order to deepen the understanding of their impact on human mental functioning.

Children's odor pleasantness ratings may not differ according to pubertal status: Preliminary results from a sample of 11–14-year-old Czech children

Puberty tends to be viewed as a “turning point” in hedonic perception of body odor (BO)-related smells. The pubertal stage, a potential proxy for the underlying physiological changes, may contribute to variation in odor hedonic perception. Other potential modulators of odor hedonics are general semantic knowledge about odors (which also tends to be subsumed under the term “age”) and perceived odor intensity. The present cross-sectional study examined differences in hedonic odor perception across puberty in 205 Czech children aged 11–14 (89 boys). We investigated whether children differ in the hedonic appraisal of BO-related (16-androstenes and castoreum control), but also food and non-food odors according to their pubertal (penis/breast and pubic hair) development and general semantic knowledge about odors (operationalized as odor identification), controlling for age and perceived odor intensity. As a subsidiary aim, we examined variation in odor identification. We asked the children to self-stage themselves using drawings depicting Tanner's penis/breast and pubic hair stages of pubertal development, estimated their general semantic knowledge about odors with a Sniffin’ Sticks identification test, and obtained their pleasantness and intensity ratings of body odor-related, food, a non-food smells. We found that the participants’ ratings of the 16-androstenes and those of the perceptually similar odor of castoreum differed according to perceived intensity and, in the latter case, in boys vs. girls as well, but there were no influences of pubertal status or odor identification on the perceived pleasantness. Similarly, hedonic appraisal of non-food (but not food) odors was only influenced by perceived intensity. Regarding odor identification, differences between boys and girls were limited to younger children and did not become more marked throughout puberty. Perceived pleasantness of odors, irrespective of whether they are associated with body smells, food, or other, does not appear to vary across puberty, and boys and girls seem to achieve similar levels of semantic odor knowledge as they grow up.

A Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Czech Version of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire: The Content Validity Part.

The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) is a widely used parent questionnaire for screening motor coordination disorders in children aged 5-15 years. Despite increasing motor difficulties in children, a validated version is lacking in Central Europe. In addition, previous studies pointed out that several DCDQ items were shown to be problematic in different cultural environments. We found that the majority of these studies did not assess the item's content validity approach for keeping the semantic form and linguistic intelligibility of the original items. Therefore, this study aimed to translate the DCDQ, determine the content validity of items, and adapt the DCDQ for Czech children aged 6-10 years, where the identification of motor difficulties is crucial. Back-translation was employed, and face validity was consulted with linguistic experts and occupational therapists. A sample of 25 bilingual parents and practitioners evaluated the translated version, with content validity assessed using the Content Validity Ratio coefficient (CVR). Initial CVR scores ranged from 0.6 to 1.0. Lower scores were found for items 14 and 15, which were shown to be problematic in previous studies. The reason for the lower content validity in these items was due to double negation. Following linguistic modifications, the CVR values improved (range: 0.87-1.0), indicating content and semantic stability. Our findings underscore the importance of considering content validity and language specificity, including issues like double negation, during cross-cultural questionnaire validation to mitigate potential psychometric concerns in the future. The adapted Czech version exhibits significant content validity, thereby warranting further validation of its psychometric properties.

Informal education for boys only? The theme of gender in the work of Jaroslav Foglar

Abstract The paper deals with the work of the Czech children’s author Jaroslav Foglar from a gender perspective, reflecting on two themes in particular: the absence of heroines; and his understanding of boys’ reciprocity and friendship with the adoration of physicality. The impetus for this analysis was data from a questionnaire survey, the aim of which was to determine which aspects of Jaroslav Foglar’s work are most appreciated by readers and which they think apply to real life. The quantitative analysis of the data (n=1174) did not reveal any statistically significant differences in the men’s and women’s responses; however, the qualitative analysis of the open-ended statements is illustrative of the underrepresentation of girls among literary heroes. The diverse ways in which Foglar’s work captures friendships between boys allow even today’s readers to expand their perceptions of masculinity beyond traditionally defined boundaries.

The association between maternal prenatal vitamin B12 intake and child cognitive development

Abstract Background Nutrient deficiencies in diet during pregnancy may have an adverse effect on the development of offspring. The association between prenatal vitamin B12 intake and cognitive functioning in children is unclear. Therefore, we examined such association in Czech children. Methods Czech part of European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood is a population-based prospective longitudinal birth cohort study of pregnant women and their children enrolled in 1991-1992. Dietary data was measured at 32 weeks of gestation using 145 items self-reported food frequency questionnaire. Parents reported on their child's speech and language development at 18 months, 3, 5, and 7 years of age (outcomes ranging from n = 1891 to n = 2362), from which single scores for vocabulary, language, early communication, understanding, and intelligibility were calculated. Higher scores indicate better speech and language development. Data were analysed using multiple ordinal and logistic regression models. Results Higher prenatal vitamin B12 intake was associated with higher speech and language test scores in fully adjusted models. Children of mothers with higher B12 intake had increased likelihood of higher scores in vocabulary (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01; 1.11), language (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01; 1.10), early communication (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01; 1.11) and understanding (OR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04; 1.14) at 18 months of age. Furthermore, they were more likely to get maximum points in the intelligibility test at age 3 (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02; 1.14) opposed to children of mothers with lower B12 intake. There were no associations at 5 and 7 years. Conclusions We found consistent and significant associations between prenatal vitamin B12 intake and early speech and language development. The results suggest that a diet during pregnancy low in vitamin B12 may negatively affect children's cognitive development. Thus, a healthy pregnancy diet with sufficient vitamin B12 should be promoted. Key messages • A diet low in vitamin B12 during pregnancy may have negative effects on the cognitive development of offspring, according to a longitudinal birth cohort study. • Adequate prenatal vitamin B12 intake is important for cognitive development, particularly speech and language development.

Clinical-genetic analysis of selected genes involved in the development of the human skeleton in 128 Czech patients with suspected congenital skeletal abnormalities

BackgroundCongenital skeletal abnormalities are a heterogeneous group of diseases most commonly associated with small or disproportionate growth, cranial and facial dysmorphisms, delayed bone maturation, etc. Nonetheless, no detailed genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with specific genetic variants is readily available. Ergo, this study focuses on the analysis of patient phenotypes with candidate variants in genes involved in bone growth as detected by molecular genetic analysis. MethodsIn this study we used molecular genetic methods to analyse the ACAN, COL2A1, FGFR3, IGFALS, IGF1, IGF1R, GHR, NPR2, STAT5B and SHOX genes in 128 Czech children with suspected congenital skeletal abnormalities. Pathogenic variants and variants of unclear clinical significance were identified and we compared their frequency in this study cohort to the European non-Finnish population. Furthermore, a prediction tool was utilised to determine their possible impact on the final protein. All clinical patient data was obtained during pre-test genetic counselling. ResultsPathogenic variants were identified in the FGFR3, GHR, COL2A1 and SHOX genes in a total of six patients. Furthermore, we identified 23 variants with unclear clinical significance and high allelic frequency in this cohort of patients with skeletal abnormalities. Five of them have not yet been reported in the scientific literature. ConclusionCongenital skeletal abnormalities may lead to a number of musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular problems. Knowledge of specific pathogenic variants may help us in therapeutic procedures.

The Goldilocks Day for healthy adiposity measures among children and adolescents.

The optimal balance of time spent on daily movement behaviors ("The Goldilocks Day") associated with childhood obesity remains unknown. To estimate the optimal durations of sleep, sedentary behavior (SB), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MPVA) associated with excess adiposity in a paediatric population. Accelerometer-measured 24-h movement behaviors were obtained from 659 Czech children and adolescents (8-18-year-olds). Adiposity indicators were body mass index z-score, fat mass percentage, fat-free mass index, and visceral adipose tissue. Excess adiposity was defined as exceeding the 85th percentile for an adiposity indicator. Compositional regression analyses were used investigate the associations between movement behaviors and adiposity indicators and estimating "The Goldilocks Day." The movement behavior composition was associated with visceral adipose tissue (Fdf1 = 3,df2 = 317 = 3.672, p = 0.013) and fat mass percentage (Fdf1 = 3,df2 = 289 = 2.733, p = 0.044) among children and adolescents. The Goldilocks Day consisted of 8.5 h of sleep, 10.8 h of SB, 3.9 h of LPA, and 0.8 h of MVPA among children and 7.5 h of sleep, 12.4 h of SB, 3.6 h of LPA, and 0.5 h of MVPA among adolescents. Optimizing the time spent sleeping, and in sedentary and physical activities appears to be important in the prevention of excess adiposity.

Physical Activity Level and Quality of Life of Children Treated for Malignancy, Depending on Their Place of Residence: Poland vs. the Czech Republic: An Observational Study.

This study aimed to assess the level of physical activity (PA) and quality of life of cancer-treated children, depending on their place of residence (Poland vs. the Czech Republic, where incidence and mortality rates of childhood malignancies are similar). A total of 68 school-age children (7-18 years) undergoing oncological treatment were included in this study. This study used the quality of life questionnaire (KIDSCREEN-10) and the HBSC questionnaire. This study showed statistically significant differences in the level of PA between Polish and Czech children. In Poland, 93.75% of children exhibited no weekly physical effort at the level of moderate to vigorous PA. In the Czech Republic, 69.44% of children engaged in PA lasting at least 60 min per day, or at least 1 day weekly. Physically active children engaging in more frequent effort, at least 60 min daily, reported higher physical performance (rho = 0.41), higher energy levels (rho = 0.41), and less mood disturbance (rho = -0.31). Children with good relationships with parents were more likely to engage in submaximal PA and spend less time on stationary games. Our study showed that an appropriate level of PA improves well-being and quality of life. It is crucial to promote attractive PA programs tailored for cancer-treated children.

O.4.3-3 Optimising time-use data to determine the optimal balance between 24-hour movement behaviours for the prevention of childhood obesity

Abstract Purpose This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the associations between 24-hour movement behaviours and adiposity and to determine optimal durations for sleep, sedentary behaviour (SB), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MPVA) for preventing childhood obesity. Methods The study involved 659 Czech children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years, whose 24-hour movement behaviours were measured using wrist-worn accelerometers. Data on sleep duration and time spent in SB, LPA, and MPVA were derived from raw acceleration data recorded for seven consecutive days. Healthy adiposity status was defined as any value of the adiposity indicator below the 85th percentile. The study employed compositional regression analysis to investigate the association between movement behaviour composition and adiposity. An 'optimal day' was defined as the compositional mean of all compositions that were associated with a healthy adiposity status. Results We found a significant association between the composition of movement behaviours and visceral adipose tissue (F = 3.672, p = 0.013) in children and the percentage of fat mass (F = 2.733, p = 0.044) in adolescents. The optimal durations of movement behaviours differed across various age groups. For children, the optimal balance of movement behaviours consisted of 8.5 hours of sleep, 10.8 hours of SB, 3.9 hours of LPA, and 0.8 hours of MVPA. For adolescents, the 'optimal day' consisted of 7.5 hours of sleep, 12.4 hours of SB, 3.5 hours of LPA and 0.5 hours of MVPA. Conclusions It seems crucial to optimise the duration of sleep, SB, and physical activity of varying intensities to prevent excess adiposity. Additionally, age-specific variations should be considered while suggesting the most appropriate durations for 24-hour movement behaviours to prevent childhood obesity. Funding source This research was funded by research grants from the Czech Science Foundation (18-09188S and 22-02392S).

Vliv restrikcí spojených s onemocněním covid-19 na prevalenci nadváhy a obezity u českých dětí

Vliv restrikcí spojených s onemocněním covid-19 na prevalenci nadváhy a obezity u českých dětí

Factor Validity and Generic Reliability of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire in the Czech Population.

The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) is widely used as a brief parent questionnaire designed to screen for motor coordination in children, aged 5 to 15 years. There is no validated version of the DCDQ for the Central Europe, which could help for first catch of children with motor difficulties, whose amount has been seriously raised. In addition, the World Health Organization recommends the cross-cultural validation of existing instruments, for Loir costs and time consuming, and the availability of instruments in several languages enables therapists to use validated tools with non-English speaking clients. The aim of this study was to validate the DCDQ in the Czech culture in a population of Czech parents whose children were aged six to ten. Using data from 651 Czech parents of children (six to ten years; 7.8 ± 0.8 years), confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were used. The goodness-of-fit indices CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, and RMSEA = 0.08 supported the original three-factor model of the DCDQ. In addition, the factor loadings of each question discovered in Czech DCDQ were non-significantly different from the original DCDQ. Furthermore, we also found strong between factor correlation; general coordination and control movement r = 0.87 probably measure the same underlying construct. Even though this is in conformity with original DCDQ structure, we suggest that responses in these two DCDQ factors might have violated the local independency and, therefore, could bias the final score. The generic reliability of the individual factors was acceptable and ranged from McDonald ω 0.83-0.88. Results from this study suggest that cross-validated version of the original DCDQ can be considered as sufficiently valid and reliable clinical screening tool for children who have coordination challenges for Czech children aged six to ten.

Sugar-sweetened beverages and childhood abnormal adiposity in the Czech Republic - narrative literature review.

In Czech children, the burden related to the high body-mass index is rising. In the last three decades, Western eating patterns have influenced Czech children's diet, including the high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. This narrative review aims to evaluate evidence of the trend of sugar-sweetened beverages consumption in Czech children and its impact on the prevalence of childhood abnormal adiposity. A comprehensive literature review in MEDLINE (PubMed) and a hand search using references in identified articles were performed. The inclusion criteria were population-based studies of randomly selected samples of children from 0 to 18 years old, data involving the Czech population, published from 1990 to 2021. The results were organized into three sections - childhood abnormal adiposity, SSBs consumption, and the association between SSBs consumption and abnormal adiposity. The studies showed a significant increase in abnormal adiposity in both genders and all age categories. The highest prevalence of abnormal adiposity was observed in boys and younger children. On the contrary, sugar-sweetened beverages showed a significant decline in daily consumption among Czech children of both genders and all age categories. No results were found for consequences of abnormal adiposity concerning sugar-sweetened beverages consumption. Findings from this review could serve public health experts to detect the areas of a gap in research and establish potential interventions in vulnerable groups. Observation of potential obesogenic contributors - including sugar-sweetened beverages - should be an integral part of effective action against the obesity pandemic.

Needs of Children With Incarcerated Parents in Their Own Voice

Even though Czech social policy cites child protection as one of its main priorities, there continue to be groups of children whose needs remain unnoticed. As many as forty thousand Czech children with at least one incarcerated parent have failed to gain public attention, find no support in the national legislative framework, and are only slowly attracting the attention of helping professionals. Guided by our research question—“What are the needs of children whose parent leaves the household due to incarceration?”—we describe the individual needs of children of incarcerated parents in their own voices through phenomenological optics. These needs, recorded via individual interviews and focus groups, contextualized using the theoretical methodology of the capability approach, which serves as the framework for assessing the relationship between the stated needs of these children and their overall well-being.

Jana Šrámková (nejen) pro děti

The study reflects on the work of contemporary Czech children's literature writer, belonging to the younger middle generation, Jana Šrámková. It focuses especially on her latest prose Fánek hvězdoplavec. The study tries to identify characteristic features of the author's poetics, the key motifs of her works and the relationship to the child reader. All this is situated within the context of author's work for adults.

Trends in incidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in children in the Czech Republic in the past 35 years.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in children globally represents a proportion of all cases of tuberculosis, reaching 20% according to published reports. Children are at a higher risk for disseminated TB and extrapulmonary forms. The most prevalent clinical presentations of EPTB in children worldwide are peripheral lymphadenitis and osteoarticular TB. Peritoneal, urogenital, or meningeal tuberculosis is less frequent, and their diagnosis is often difficult. The aim of the study was the determination of EPTB incidence in children in a low-prevalence region over 35 years. Descriptive retrospective study of the incidence of EPTB in children and adolescents (aged 0-18 years) in the Czech Republic in the years 1987-2021 as reported in the tuberculosis register. Total amount of EPTB cases was 95. The most prevalent form was extrathoracic lymph node TB. The median age was 10 years. Most patients (84%) were Czechs. None of them died. The ratio of pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB was 79.8% to 20.2%. The low incidence of EPTB in Czech children is congruent with a low incidence of TB in the Czech Republic. Our study confirms that the most frequent form of EPTB is peripheral lymph node TB. Our study did not prove a significant change in the trend of EPTB after the cessation of the mandatory Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination programme.

Language awareness as a prerequisite of literacy skills

Monitoring children’s language ability levels makes it possible to predict their school achievement and identify potential difficulties. Identifying literacy difficulties in terms of specific learning disabilities is an important topic for elementary school pupils. Today, there is a general consensus based on research evidence that the diagnostic battery of literacy skills should always include a test of language abilities, through which the prerequisites for individual reading skills and at-risk readers can be identified.
 A working group has created a diagnostic tool for language awareness that allows the morphological-syntactic (subtest A and B) and semantic (subtest C) language levels of Czech children of elementary school age to be assessed.
 Data analysis examines how individual language skills correspond to reading performance – decoding and reading comprehension in different reading modalities (oral and silent reading) and how they correspond to other prerequisites for reading, such as listening comprehension. The paper introduces a new diagnostic tool using a quantitative methodology. It is based on data from the research project Key Literacy Skills for Primary School Pupils – a diagnostic battery, in which 881 elementary grade pupils (Grade 1 – Grade 5) participated. The statistical parameters of the new tool are presented and the relations between the Language Awareness Test, decoding skills, and oral and silent reading comprehension are analysed.

Cultural Differences in the Construction of Gender: A Thematic Analysis of Gender Representations in American, Spanish, and Czech Children’s Literature

Abstract Children’s literature provides a critical method of socialization and familiarization with gender roles, providing examples, boundaries, and limitations for gender identity construction. While extensive research has been done on how children’s literature depicts both traditional and non-traditional gender roles, very little research has been published on the cultural differences between literary representations. The aim of the present paper is to describe the representations of social roles of men and women in American, Czech, and Spanish children’s books published between 2010 and 2020. Three best-selling children’s picture books from each year from each respective culture were selected and analyzed, culminating in a thematic analysis of ninety-nine books. Using inductive thematic analysis, the study found all three cultures to be conservative in their depictions of gender roles, with Czech books as the most likely to feature traditional gender roles. Spanish books are more, and American books are the most subversive in their depiction of gender roles, containing an increasing number of non-traditional elements over an examined time period.

The Czech Republic's 2022 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth: A rationale and comprehensive analysis

Background/ObjectiveThe second edition of the Czech Republic's Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth was released in 2022. This paper describes the development of the Report Card and presents a comprehensive summary of the main findings. MethodsThe multi-level search strategy was developed by the national expert panel to identify the available sources that provide data related to the physical activity of Czech children and adolescents. The data were used to assign grades to ten core and two additional indicators. ResultsA total of 28 sources provided data that allowed grades to be assigned to 11 out of the 12 indicators. Grade B was assigned to six indicators (School: B+, Community and Environment: B, Organized Sport and Physical Activity: B–, Active Transportation: B–, Family and Peers: B–, Sleep: B–), grade C to three indicators (Overall Physical Activity: C+, Active Play: C, Physical Literacy: C), and grade D to two indicators (Government: D+, Sedentary Behaviors: D). No grade for the “Physical Fitness” indicator could be assigned due to a lack of data collected in the reference period 2018–2019. ConclusionsAlthough the family, school, and built environment provided a variety of opportunities to be physically active, a high proportion of children and adolescents did not meet the current physical activity guideline and were exposed to excessive sedentary behavior. A multisectoral and multidisciplinary response is required to reduce the health and economic burden of physical inactivity and excessive sedentary behavior among Czech children and adolescents.