Euro-American Children Research Articles

Children’s Thinking about HIV/AIDS Causality, Prevention, and Social Interaction

Guided by both a Piagetian and a naive theories perspective on disease concepts, this study examined children’s thinking about HIV/AIDS, with special attention to its development, coherence, and sociocultural correlates. It examined age differences among Mexican-American and Euro-American children aged 8 to 13 (N = 158) in both Piagetian level of causal understanding (independent of correctness) and the causal knowledge central to an intuitive theory of AIDS (knowledge of risk behaviors and of the viral disease agent). It explored theoretical coherence in terms of implications of causal understanding and causal knowledge for knowledge of how to prevent AIDS and willingness to interact with people who have it. As predicted, scores on all measures increased significantly with age, and causal knowledge of risk factors exceeded knowledge of corresponding prevention rules. In multiple regression analyses, causal knowledge of both risk factors and the viral disease agent predicted knowledge of prevention and willingness to interact, even with age and other measures controlled. Prevention knowledge predicted willingness to interact even better, whereas the Piagetian measure of casual understanding did not predict either prevention knowledge or willingness to interact. Ethnic group differences were not evident but parent education was related to greater viral knowledge and willingness to interact. The results suggest a good deal of coherence in children’s thinking about this disease while also suggesting the desirability of making explicit the implications of critical causal information about an unfamiliar disease for preventing the disease without stigmatizing those who have it.

Childhood intelligence and early tooth wear patterns

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between early dental wear patterns and preschool IQ (Intelligence Quotient, by Stanford–Binet) of the child to illuminate the historic relationship of mental queries and bruxism.Methods: The dental study participants were 864 Euro-American preschool and school children whose IQs were tested for school maturity purposes at the age of 4 years, followed by dental data in a cross-sectional manner at the mean age of 7.8 years. Worn dentitions were classified as “symmetric” or “right-” and “left-sided,” based on the faceting of the teeth.Results: In general, the relationships of tooth wear and intelligence were scarce, reflecting social background factors. Statistically significant results between asymmetric wear and gender groups suggest that direction of jaw function has a role in the regulation of processes responsible for individual mental performance in childhood.Discussion: Increased left-side tooth wear and early advantage in the intelligence test in girls is intriguing due to the fact that they reach maturity earlier than boys in verbal articulation, controlled in most cases by the limited area on the left side of the brain.

Ethnic Variations of Pathways Linking Socioeconomic Status, Parenting, and Preacademic Skills in a Nationally Representative Sample

Research Findings: Grounded in the investment model and informed by the integrative theory of the study of minority children, this study used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort data set, a nationally representative sample of young children, to investigate whether the association between socioeconomic status (family income and maternal education) and children's preacademic skills (receptive language, expressive language, literacy, numeracy skills) as mediated by parenting (learning materials, language stimulation, and outside activities) varies across Euro-American, African American, Hispanic, and Asian children. Results indicated that in general, language stimulation and outside activities were the most consistent mediators for Euro-Americans, learning materials was the most consistent mediator for African Americans, learning materials and language stimulation were the most consistent mediators for Hispanics, and learning materials and outside activities were the most consistent mediators for Asians. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that how certain parenting behaviors are interpreted may vary by cultural context and thus how such parenting behaviors mediate the associations between socioeconomic status and preacademic skills outcomes may vary by cultural group as well. Thus, these findings have important implications for both future research and public policy. These results add to the growing literature demonstrating the necessity to consider parenting through the perspective of the majority culture not only when conducting research but also when providing programs for families from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

Reading Ethnicity in Children's Literature

Reading Ethnicity in Children's Literature Karen Chandler (bio) Ethnic Literary Traditions in American Children's Literature, edited by Michelle Pagni Stewart and Yvonne Atkinson. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Ethnic Literary Traditions in American Children's Literature brings together criticism, interviews, and personal essays to explore culturally specific themes, subject matter, and forms in Native American, African American, Latina/o, and Asian American children's literature. Because distinct, culturally specific aesthetic traditions often inform this literature, it resonates more fully with adult texts from the same cultural matrix than with Euro-American children's literature. Not recognizing this distinction is common, according to editors Michelle Pagni Stewart and Yvonne Atkinson, resulting in interpretations and evaluations that depend more on Euro-American literary standards than the aesthetic traditions that actually shape many ethnic minority writers' work. Although texts by such writers certainly may bear the influence of Euro-American traditions, ignoring their "ethnic base" can obscure or displace the texts' motifs, themes, situations, and significance (5). This volume provides much-needed critical perspectives through which to apprehend the culturally specific forms, patterns, and themes in individual works of ethnic youth literature, such as Cynthia Leitich Smith's Rain Is Not My Indian Name, Angela Johnson's First Part Last, Tanuja Desai Hidier's Born Confused, and Rigoberto González's Antonio's Card / La Tarjeta de Antonio. The editors aim for the collection to serve as a springboard for reading, teaching, and writing about these and many other texts with greater sensitivity and insight. Of course, one could argue that delineating a gestalt or ethnic tradition can be reductive, excluding practices and beliefs that do not fit a conception of ethnic expression on which many scholars and nonprofessional readers agree. The case has been made in African American studies, for instance, that conceptions of African American literature that simply rely on black folk expression or representations of blackness are misleading, because they obscure the importance of other kinds of literature by African American writers (Carby 126-27; Jarrett, Introduction 2). Among these other works are Arna Bontemps's Black Thunder, Ann Petry's Country Place, Zora Neale Hurston's Seraph [End Page 289] on the Sewanee, and Toni Morrison's "Recitatif," whose narrative priorities either do not emphasize the experience of black characters or lack clear ties to black folk expression, such as spirituals or the blues. Even with this caveat, however, the fact remains that racial emphasis and a debt to oral culture are identifying qualities of much African American literature. And it may be that these qualities shape African American children's literature more than other black aesthetics do. Certainly, the essays in Ethnic Literary Traditions acknowledge the riches of ethnic writing in general and should inspire more attention to ways in which texts reflect or challenge particular aesthetic traditions. In promoting understanding of the distinct gestalt of each group under consideration, Stewart and Atkinson divide the collection into four sections, each focusing on traditions associated with a broadly defined ethnic group. Each section opens with a celebrated author's aesthetic statement, either in an interview or a personal essay, and proceeds with a critical overview of culturally specific children's and adult literature and criticism attuned to the ethnic nuances of key literary works. The collection closes with a useful bibliography of primary texts from each tradition, as well as literary criticism on ethnicity and literature in general and the four ethnic traditions in particular. Both editors and contributors are aware that in many respects the designations "Latina/o," "Asian American," "African American," and "Native American" are politically convenient ones that do not refer to homogeneous populations. Yet the contributors seek to delve deeply into issues relevant to particular groups (for instance, Chicano or Japanese American) within a larger ethnic category (Latina/o or Asian American). The first section, for instance, concerns literature by and about Native Americans, a group that is admittedly composed of many cultures and linguistic groups. As contributor P. Jane Hafen remarks in "Survival through Stories: An Introduction to Indian Literature," "Within each [of these American Indian cultures there] are complex social structures, adaptive techniques and origin stories which reflect the moral universe...

Talking about internal states in mother–child reminiscing influences children's self-representations: A cross-cultural study

This study examined the relation of mother–child discussions of internal states during reminiscing to the development of trait and evaluative self-representations in 131 European American and Chinese immigrant 3-year olds. Mothers and children discussed one positive and one negative event, and children were interviewed for self-descriptions. Euro-American mothers and children made more references to internal states and focused more on causal talk than did Chinese, and Euro-American children were more likely than Chinese children to describe their own traits and evaluative characteristics. Mothers’ and children's use of internal state language during reminiscing of the negative event uniquely predicted children's trait and evaluative self-representations, independent of culture. Explanations of internal states and conversing in the negative event context were particularly effective in predicting children's self-representations. Discussions of internal states further mediated cultural influences on children's self-representations. The findings provide new insight into the contribution of parent–child reminiscing to the development of self.

Associations Between the Repressive Adaptive Style and Self-Reported Hope in Mexican American and Euro-American Children

A large literature has examined the associations between Weinberger, Schwartz, and Davidson's (1979) repressive adaptive style (RAS) construct and various self-report measures of distress or unpleasant emotional states in adults and children. Fewer investigations have examined the role of RAS in self-reported positive psychology constructs. In this investigation, we used Weinberger et al.'s (1979) categorical typology to examine the associations between adaptive style and hope in Euro-American (n = 60) and Mexican American (n = 49) children (M age = 11.4 years) who were students at 1 of 3 parochial schools in a large Midwestern city. Partially supporting the hypotheses, a univariate 2 (ethnic group) × 2 (repressor group) analysis of variance indicated a significant main effect for adaptive style group but no significant main effect for ethnic group and no significant interaction effect. Results extend the literature on the associations between adaptive style and self-report instruments and indicate that (similar to self-reported measures of distress) self-reported hope may be subject to social desirability bias.

“Remember When You Got The Big, Big Bulldozer?” Mother–Child Reminiscing Over Time and Across Cultures

This study investigated the long–term contribution of maternal elaborative reminiscing to children's development of autobiographical memory ability in a cross–cultural context. Preschool–age children and their mothers from Chinese families in China, first–generation immigrant Chinese families in the U.S., and European American families participated. Mothers and children discussed shared past experiences three times at home, when children were 3, 3.5, and 4.5 years of age. Across all time points, Euro–American mothers used a more elaborative style than the mothers of both Chinese groups, and Euro–American children reported more memory information than their Chinese peers. Maternal elaborative reminiscing was positively associated with mothers' value orientation toward independence (relative to interdependence) and an autonomous self–construal. Regardless of culture, mothers' use of elaborations showed both concurrent and long–term effects on children's memory responding. Findings are discussed in light of ...

Ethnic and Sex Differences in Children's Depressive Symptoms

This study examined ethnic and sex differences in children's depressive symptoms, along with hypothesized mediators of those differences (academic achievement, peer acceptance), in a follow-up of African American (n = 179) and Euro-American (n = 462) children in Grades 3 to 5. African American boys reported more depressive symptoms than African American girls, and Euro-American boys and girls. Also, depressive symptoms of African American boys increased over time whereas depressive symptoms of the other groups decreased or remained stable. Academic and social competence deficits were associated with elevated levels of depressive symptoms across the school year, although only academic achievement scores emerged as a unique predictor of increases in depressive symptoms over time. Neither academic nor social competence mediated the Sex × ethnicity interaction in changes in children's depressive symptoms.

Recognition Accuracy and Reaction Time of Vocal Expressions of Emotion by African-American and Euro-American College Women

This study examined the relationship of racial group membership and vocal expressions of emotion. Recognition accuracy and reaction time were examined using the Diagnostic Assessment of Nonverbal Accuracy 2 Receptive Paralanguage subtests with 18 young Euro-American and African-American women. Participants listened to Euro-American children and adults speaking a neutral sentence, and identified the emotion as happy, sad, angry, or fearful. Analysis identified a significant effect for race on reaction time. Euro-American participants had faster mean RT than the African-American women for the recognition of vocal expression of emotion portrayed by Euro-Americans. However, no significant differences were found in mean accurate identification between the two groups. The finding of a significant difference in recognition RT but not in accuracy between the stimuli spoken by an adult and a child was unexpected. Both racial groups had faster mean RT in response to vocal expression of emotion by children.

Asian and Euro-American parents’ ethnotheories of play and learning: Effects on preschool children’s home routines and school behaviour

Asian and Euro-American parents of preschool-aged children were interviewed concerning their beliefs about the nature and purpose of play; they also completed two questionnaires and a diary of their children’s daily activities. The children’s teachers were interviewed and provided information about the behaviour of the children in preschool. The Euro-American parents were found to believe that play is an important vehicle for early development, while the Asian parents saw little developmental value in it. On the other hand, the Asian parents believed more strongly than the Euro-Americans in the importance of an early start in academic training for their children. These contrasting beliefs were instantiated in parental practices at home regarding the use of time and the provision of toys. At preschool, the Asian children were similar to the Euro-Americans on a standardised behavioural measure but they were described by their teachers as initially more academically advanced than the Euro-American children, and as showing different patterns of play and social interaction. The implications of these results for home–school relations and the design of early education programmes are discussed.

No evidence for ethnic and racial bias in the Tryout Edition of the Merrill-Palmer Scale-Revised.

This research examined a revised version of the Merrill-Palmer Scale, a test of childhood development, to assess the cultural validity of items, i.e., Differential Item Functioning. Archival data were used to determine the Differential Item Functioning of items for 245 African-American, Euro-American, and Hispanic children, ages 3-6 years. Subjects were gathered from all four regions of the United States. Potential bias was examined through the use of partial correlations. Statistical analyses suggest that the Tryout Edition of the Merrill-Palmer Scale-Revised was not systematically biased toward any of the three racial groups examined.

Ethnic and Sex Differences in Children's Depressive Symptoms: Mediating Effects of Perceived and Actual Competence

Examined ethnic and sex differences in depressive symptoms, along with hypothesized mediators of those differences (academic achievement, peer acceptance), for a sample of African American (n = 272) and Euro-American (n = 630) children in Grades 3 to 5. Group comparisons revealed a significant Ethnicity ×Sex interaction in depressive symptoms. African American boys reported more depressive symptoms than Euro-American boys, whereas African American and Euro-American girls reported comparable levels of depressive symptoms. Sex differences in depressive symptoms differed by ethnicity: Boys were more depressed than girls in the African American group whereas girls were more depressed than boys in the Euro-American group. The Ethnicity ×Sex interaction was mediated by academic achievement, but not peer acceptance. These findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying depressive symptoms in preadolescence and for developing interventions to prevent depression.

Thunderbirds, Thunder-beings, Thunder-voices: The Application of Traditional Knowledge and Children's Rights in Support of Aboriginal Children's Education

Our dead never forget this beautiful world that gave them being. They always love its winding rivers, its sacred mountains, and its sequestered vales, and they ever yearn in tenderest affection over the lonely-hearted living and often return to visit, guide and comfort them.... The white man will never be alone. Let him be just and deal kindly with my people for the dead are not powerless. Dead--did I say: There is no death, only a change of worlds. Chief Seattle, 1854 The title for this paper draws on the traditions of the Indigenous people of the northwest coast of North America, in particular Vancouver Island, ancestral home since time immemorial to the Kwagiulth, NuuChah-Nulth, and Coast Salish peoples. The Thunderbird speaks of transformation and change and is visually represented according to the artistic styles of each area. When the Thunderbird is in flight, the movement of the wings creates the sound of thunder and when it glances from side to side, lightning is emitted. Sometimes the presence of the Thunderbird creates fear within the community because of its great power to change the fabric of the community. The flight of the thunderbird brings change and renewal and is the most visible reminder that change is inevitable. It is the role of the traditionally trained elder to help young people and the community in general cope with change and understand the place of fear as one of the many ways to cope with change. The old people, by virtue of their training, are the direct links to the ancestors, particularly in the roles of guiding and comforting. Each area defines the way in which the Thunderbird, as agent of change, determines behavior within the family and the community. Each area validates the knowledge of the old people with regard to hereditary song and regalia use. Behavior in this context is determined by the application of specific rules and regulations applied during times of change such as birth, initiation, traditional namings, and the ultimate transformation, death. The following discussion seeks to combine the strengths of these traditional indigenous cultural supports for children with international children's rights treaties in helping to promote the right of all Aboriginal children in Canada to a meaningful education. [1] The global context for this discussion is the International Decade for the World's Indigenous Peoples, which runs from 1995 to 2004. The paper attempts to weave these two worldviews from the perspectives of a Euroamerican children's advocate/academic and a traditional Coast Salish protocol advisor, both of whom are dedicated to bridging the language of children's rights with an expression of traditional indigenous cultural values and educational practices supporting children. The flight of the Thunderbird, the mythological figure representing powerful spiritual vision, change, and transformation, is used to symbolize this process. The paper will examine a variety of issues relating to indigenous children's education. Special emphasis will be placed on devising new educational frameworks that are more responsive to the needs of indigenous children by applying the strengths of their traditional culture to the contemporary challenges of the modern world. In doing this, ways are suggested in which international treaties, in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (Ministry of Canadian Heritage 1992), can provide support for traditional indigenous values that promote children's healthy development and encourage young people's self esteem by stimulating their participation in civil society. The discussion also draws on the experiences of recent programs focusing on indigenous children's educational rights cohosted by the Institute for Child Rights and Development at the University of Victoria, in partnership with local Coast Salish and Kwagiulth communities situated on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Suggestions and lessons learned from these experiences are presented in the context of Aboriginal educational reform in Canada and the Americas. …

Population variation in children's behavioral symptomatology.

Previous anthropological studies identified significant interpopulation consistencies in the frequency and symptoms of adult depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Tests of the degree of variation of such behavioral phenomena across contemporary populations are significant for the study of human evolution because universality or near universality suggests specific evolved aspects of human behavior. The aim of this research was to provide a preliminary test of whether cross-cultural consistencies in symptomatology associated with some psychiatric conditions are observable in children as they are in adults. We tested for interpopulation variation in degrees (intensity and frequency) of anxiety, depression, withdrawal, and somatization symptomatology in normal samples of children. Psychometric ratings scales allowed assessment of characteristic symptomatology of each child in the different contexts of home and school. The study populations comprised 1,208 6-11-year-old children from the Paisa community in Antioquia, Colombia, and African-American, Euro-American, and Hispanic children in the United States. We found interpopulation consistencies in some aspects of child behavioral symptomatology, especially depression and withdrawal. Mean degrees of symptomatology and percentages of children with clinically significant levels of symptomatology were consistent for both across populations, in home and school contexts, and for both girls and boys. Anxiety and somatization displayed more cross-cultural variability in expression. These patterns are in accordance with current understandings of cross-cultural variability and universals of adult psychiatric symptomatology.

Factor structure and subtest differences on the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire in a Latino, African-American, Euro-American, and Asian preschool population.

This study examined the factor structure of the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire in a sample of African-American, Euro-American, Asian, and Hispanic children. The sample consisted of 304 children (141 boys, 163 girls) 3- and 4-yr.-old and enrolled in Head Start. A principal component analysis with a varimax rotation was conducted and two- and three-factor solutions were extracted. A two-factor solution produced a clear interpretive structure representing Fowler and Park's 1979 Aggressive-Hyperactive-Distractible and Anxious-Fearful factors. Even though a three-factor solution was statistically appropriate, extracting more than two factors yielded dimensions difficult to interpret. Examination of subscale differences among ethnic groups indicated significant group effect for ethnicity. Further examination showed that Euro-American children are rated significantly higher on the Anxious subtest than Latino, African-American, and Asian children, but there were no other subscale differences. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Mother and child perceptions of child anxiety: effects of race, health status, and stress

Objective: To replicate race-related differences in mother and child reports of child anxiety and to test whether these race-related differences occur in healthy and chronically ill children seen in stressful and nonstressful settings. Method: Using a 2 (Informant: Mother versus Child) 3 2 (Race: African versus Euro-American) 3 2 (Health Status: Healthy versus Chronically Ill) 3 2 (Setting: Medical/Dental Clinic versus Restaurant) design, we asked 167 (10- to 18-year-old) children and their mothers completed the State Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Results: African American children rated themselves as more anxious than Euro-American children. Mothers reported the opposite: African American mothers described their children as less anxious than EuroAmerican mothers described their children. For state anxiety, the Race 3 Informant interaction occurred only in the stressful (medical/dental clinic) setting. For trait anxiety, the Race 3 Informant interaction was found for chronically ill, but not healthy, children. Conclusions: Reports of child anxiety vary by informant, race, child health status, and setting.

FACTOR STRUCTURE AND SUBTEST DIFFERENCES ON THE PRESCHOOL BEHAVIOR QUESTIONNAIRE IN A LATINO, AFRICAN-AMERICAN, EURO-AMERICAN, AND ASIAN PRESCHOOL POPULATION

This study examined the factor structure of the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire in a sample of African-American, Euro-American, Asian, and Hispanic children. The sample consisted of 304 children (141 boys, 163 girls) 3- and 4-yr.-old and enrolled in Head Start. A principal component analysis with a varimax rotation was conducted and two- and three-factor solutions were extracted. A two-factor solution produced a clear interpretive structure representing Fowler and Park's 1979 Aggressive-Hyperactive-Distractible and Anxious-Fearful factors. Even though a three-factor solution was statistically appropriate, extracting more than two factors yielded dimensions difficult to interpret. Examination of subscale differences among ethnic groups indicated significant group effect for ethnicity. Further examination showed that Euro-American children are rated significantly higher on the Anxious subtest than Latino, African-American, and Asian children, but there were no other subscale differences. Clinical and research implications ate discussed.

African-American and Euro-American Preschoolers with Intellectual Disabilities: Patterns of Play with Toys

The patterns of cognitive play of 28 African-American and Euro-American preschool children with intellectual disabilities are reported. Fourteen children representing each group, matched on developmental age and family variables, were observed playing independently at home. Categorical and sequential play behaviors were coded from videotapes using a 15-second partial interval coding procedure. The pattern of African-American children's play was more reflective of their developmental age than the pattern of Euro-American children's play for their developmental age. Between group effects emerged for only 1 of 15 dependent variables included in the analyses: length of single scheme sequence. The results highlight children's strengths and challenge commonly held stereotypes. Recommendations for future research are provided.

Erratum to: Conceptual change in astronomy: Models of the earth and of the day/night cycle in American-Indian children

The purpose of the present study was to examine the models of the earth and the day/night cycle formed by American-Indian children. Twenty-six Lakota/Dakota children in the first, third, and fifth grades were interviewed about the shape of the earth and the causes of the day/night cycle. The results indicated that the children used a small range of relatively well-defined models of the earth and the day/night cycle similar to those constructed by Euro-American children as well as by Indian, Greek and Samoan children investigated in previous studies. All these models are similar in that they agree with the presuppositions of a framework theory of physics that appear to constrain them. The Lakota/Dakota children, however showed a preference for a particular synthetic model of the earth, the hollow sphere, which comes closest to the description of the shape of the earth provided in Lakota mythology. In addition, the younger Lakota/Dakota children used some animistic-psychological explanations of the day/night cycle that were absent in our previous samples. We may therefore conclude that while the process of knowledge acquisition in astronomy follows a similar path in all children regardless of cultural variables, cultural cosmology influences both the specific models constructed as well as the modes of explanation provided for astronomical phenomena.

Cultural Differences in Early Mathematics Learning: A Comparison of Euro-American, Chinese-American, and Taiwan-Chinese Families

Forty second-generation Euro-American, and 40 Chinese-American children were drawn from well-educated two-parent families in the suburban Chicago area and 40 Chinese children were drawn from a similar population in Taipei, Taiwan (10 preschool girls, 10 preschool boys, 10 kindergarten girls, and 10 kindergarten boys in each group). Chinese-American and Taiwan-Chinese children outperformed Euro-American children on measures of mathematics, spatial relations, and numeral formation. Chinese-American parents gave more formal, direct mathematics instruction, structured their child’s time to a greater degree, and reported more encouragement for mathematics-related activities than did Euro-American parents. A path analysis using Eccles’ (1993) model of academic motivation showed that ethnicity, parents’ child-specific beliefs, and parents’ work-oriented practices directly predicted mathematics-related outcomes.