Gap In Children Research Articles

Spousal Agreement on Sex Preferences for Children and Gender Gaps in Children's Education

AbstractUsing data from 60 countries, we measure how much couples agree on sex preferences for children and whether differences in sex preferences are associated with gender gaps in children's education. Results show extensive disagreement in sex preferences for children, with husbands far more likely to want more sons but their wives more likely to prefer having equal numbers of boys and girls, wanting more daughters, or having no preference. India has the highest share of agreement on sex preferences (59 percent), and Niger has the lowest (32 percent). The association between couples’ sex preferences and gender gaps in education differs considerably by country. In some countries, girls have worse outcomes when their parents agree on son preference and better ones when parents agree on daughter/no preference. But there are numerous counter‐examples as well. Gender gaps in education appear more often when wives hold son preference but not their husbands than the reverse combination. Agreement on daughter/no preference is the only category that is systematically associated with better outcomes for girls relative to boys (although even here there are caveats). Balanced preference (wanting as many boys as girls) is an ambiguous category with heterogenous patterns in terms of educational gender gaps.

An Empirical Study of Gender Gap in Children's Financial Literacy

An Empirical Study of Gender Gap in Children's Financial Literacy

Bridging the Gap for Children With Compound Health Challenges: An Intervention Protocol.

Background: During the last decades, there is a major shift in the panorama of diseases in children and adolescents. More children are referred to the specialized health care services due to less specific symptoms and more complex health challenges. These children are particularly difficult to care for in a “single-disease” oriented system. Our objective was to develop an alternative and more holistic approach better tailored to the complex needs of these children.Method: The target patient population is children between 6 and 13 years with three or more referrals including both the pediatric department and the mental health services. Furthermore, to be included in the project, the child's actual complaints needed to be clinically considered as an unclear or compound condition in need of an alternative approach. This paper describes the process of developing an intervention where a complementary professional team meets the patient and his/her family altogether for 2.5 h. The consultation focus on clarifying the complex symptomatology and on problem solving. The bio-psycho-social model is applied, emphasizing the patient's story as told on the whiteboard. In the dynamic processes of development, piloting, evaluating, and adjusting the components, feed-back from the patients, their families, professional team members, and external team coaches is important.The professional teams include pediatricians, psychologists and physiotherapists. Achieving the transformation from a logistic oriented team where members act separately toward a real complementary team, seems to be a success factor.Discussion: Composing multi-disciplinary and complementary teams was an essential part of the re-designed intervention. Team interaction transforming the professionals from working as a logistic team to act as a complementary team, was one of the important requirements in the process. When re-designing the specialist health service, it is mandatory to anchor all changes among employees as well as the hospital leadership. In addition, it is important to include patient experiences in the process of improvement. Evaluation of long-term outcomes is needed to investigate possible benefits from the new intervention.Trial Registration: Transitioning Young Patients' Health Care Trajectories, NCT04652154. Registered December 3rd, 2020–Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04652154?term=NCT04652154&draw=2&rank=1.

Addressing Gaps in Children's Health Insurance Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Addressing Gaps in Children's Health Insurance Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Brecha de género en el conocimiento político infantil: influencia de las redes sociales y la socialización política

El conocimiento político es un determinante esencial de la participación política ciudadana. No obstante, múltiples estudios han señalado que existe una brecha en el conocimiento político de hombres y mujeres. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo ampliar la investigación de la brecha de género a los niños mexicanos como consecuencia de la socialización política (escolar y familiar) e incluyó como factor de interés el consumo de redes sociales. Se realizó una encuesta (n = 1539) entre abril y mayo 2017 a alumnos de quinto año (10-11 años) y sexto año (12-13 años) de primaria en el estado de Nuevo León (México). Los resultados indicaron que la brecha de género no es materialmente significativa a esta edad, pero ya hay indicios de lo que se observa en la adultez. Los análisis multivariados indicaron que la socialización política y el consumo de redes sociales contribuye de diferente manera al conocimiento político de ambos géneros. El entorno con conversación política mejora el conocimiento político de las niñas, mientras el consumo de información política vía redes sociales lo disminuye. Para ambos grupos, la socialización escolar no tiene ningún efecto a esta edad. Los resultados de este estudio contribuyen a la investigación sobre el conocimiento político en el contexto latinoamericano y reconoce la repercusión política en los años formativos de los ciudadanos. Se discuten implicaciones prácticas de la socialización política y de género, así como el uso de redes sociales en el desarrollo ciudadano de niños y niñas.

The Information Gap for Children and Young People with Acquired Brain Injury

ABSTRACT Statement of Purpose: This study explored the information requirements of children/youth with an acquired brain injury. Methods: An online survey (n = 16), focus group (n = 5) and in-depth semi-structured interviews (n = 3) elicited the views of 24 children/youth with ABI. A priori thematic coding was used to analyze the data. Results: Five themes emerged: stage and age, school, friendship and peers, delivery methods and information content. The desired information changes over time depending on age and time since the injury. Children/youth want their friends and teachers to access information on brain injury. Children/youth want information delivered through a range of channels, including videos (featuring genuine case studies), apps and board games. Children/youth wanted information specific to their injury, information on brain injury more generally, and practical strategies for overcoming problems. Conclusions: Children/youth with ABI were able to express views about their information needs, which change over time and include a range of channels.

Socioeconomic, Ethnic, Racial, and Gender Gaps in Children's Social/Behavioral Skills: Do They Grow Faster in School or out?

Children's social and behavioral skills vary considerably by socioeconomic status (SES), race and/or ethnicity, and gender, yet it is unclear to what degree these differences are due to school or nonschool factors. We observe how gaps in social and behavioral skills change during school and nonschool (summer) periods from the start of kindergarten entry until the end of second grade in a recent and nationally representative sample of more than 16,000 children (the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010-11). We find that large gaps in social and behavioral skills exist at the start of kindergarten entry, and these gaps favor high-SES, white, and female children. Over the next three years, we observed that the gaps grow no faster when school is in than when school is out. In the case of social and behavioral skills, it appears that schools neither exacerbate inequality nor reduce it.

PREVENTIVE COMMUNICATIVE WORK WITH TALE IN CHILDREN FROM PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE TO REDUCE AGGRESSION

Prevention of aggression is carried out by reading the children from the professor of a story of a preventive nature. The tale is selected to analyze children's illustrating examples and lessons for their similar problematic situations in which they have fallen. The discussion about the relationship of the characters in the fairy tale, namely in a preventive way, relates to the speech, gestures and behavior of the characters. It is the principle of communication in which there is an exchange of information between two and more persons and the broad philosophical-anthropological notion of "form of intercourse", of action and process, which results in the observation of certain results, namely an expression of the view that the relationship between children and the analysis of the behavior of the characters in the particular tale can lead to the adequate decoding of cognitive behavioral signals in intercourse as a desire for mutual understanding and interaction. Thus, in practice, students learn to rely correctly on behavioral and communicative signals in the process of intercourse feedback. Consequently, at the level of primary prevention of aggression, their aggressive responses will be significantly reduced in a similar context of a problematic situation, exemplified in the chosen story. The preventive discussion is based on previously prepared criteria and indicators which subsequently provide the opportunity to show both children adequate approaches to communication, and to distinguish specifically the children's gaps in intercourse, prompting them to aggressive behavior. Consequently, the experimental study dissociates the following term: "cognitive dismoderate intercourse", namely the incorrect decoding of behavioral signals, is a major socio-pedagogical problem that accompanies aggressive behavior in children. However, cognitive dismoderate intercourse (intercourse where there is no adequate understanding of the current situation due to the inappropriate refraction of "cognition" in the intercourse process) is dictated by a misunderstanding between the communicating individuals and leads to disharmony in their relationships, which besides alienates one another but stops the adequacy of their reactions in problematic situations. In this way, the only way for children to get out of the problematic situation remains the aggressive reaction. There is a cognitive preventive interaction between the awareness of the problematic situation leading to aggression through an objective analysis of the real situation.

The Bilingual Gap in Children's Language and Emotional Development

In this paper we examine whether – conditional on other family inputs – bilingual children achieve different outcomes in language and emotional development. Our data come from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) which allows us to analyze children's language and emotional development in depth. We relax the usual assumption that the production function underpinning child development is not itself a function of the age of the child and estimate the bilingual gap in children's language and emotional development as a cumulative process that depends on current and past endowments of cognitive and non-cognitive capacity. We find that the language development of bilingual children is not significantly different to that of their monolingual peers; however, there is evidence of a positive effect of bilingualism on emotional development.

Socioeconomic, Racial, and Gender Gaps in Children's Social/Behavioral Skills: Do They Grow Faster in School or Out?

Children’s social and behavioral skills differ considerably by socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, and gender, yet it is unclear to what degree these differences are due to school or non-school factors. We observe how gaps in social and behavioral skills change during school and non-school periods from the start of kindergarten entry until the end of second grade in a recent and nationally representative sample of over 16,000 children (the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study — Kindergarten Cohort of 2010-11). We find that large gaps in social and behavioral skills exist at the start of kindergarten entry, and these gaps favor high-SES, white, and female children. But over the next three years the gaps grow no faster when school is in than when school is out. As evidence from school year-summer comparisons mounts, the notion that schools are a pernicious institution exacerbating inequality is increasingly difficult to maintain. In the case of social and behavioral skills, it appears that schools neither exacerbate inequality nor reduce it.

How Can We Explain the Gender Gap in Children’s Political Knowledge?

The gender gap is one of the main puzzles explored in research on political knowledge. Studies on children have shown that this phenomenon takes root in childhood. Girls score lower than boys on knowledge tests, despite cultural developments promoting greater gender equality. How can the gender gap in children’s political knowledge be explained? This article examines the leading explanations for the gender gap found in the literature in light of the results of an original empirical study conducted with French children in primary school. It suggests that the gender gap in children’s political knowledge does not mainly result from either specific social inequalities or methodological bias, although the study does find that question-answering behavior differs between boys and girls. Rather, the gender gap appears to primarily result from socialization. Children progressively develop different perceptions of politics according to their gender, as well as different approaches to knowledge tests.

Caregivers' health literacy and gaps in children's Medicaid enrollment: findings from the Carolina Oral Health Literacy Study.

Background and ObjectivesRecent evidence supports a link between caregivers’ health literacy and their children’s health and use of health services. Disruptions in children’s health insurance coverage have been linked to poor health care and outcomes. We examined young children’s Medicaid enrollment patterns in a well-characterized cohort of child/caregivers dyads and investigated the association of caregivers’ low health literacy with the incidence of enrollment gaps.MethodsWe relied upon Medicaid enrollment data for 1208 children (mean age = 19 months) enrolled in the Carolina Oral Health Literacy project during 2008–09. The median follow-up was 25 months. Health literacy was measured using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). Analyses relied on descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate methods based on Poisson modeling.FindingsOne-third of children experienced one or more enrollment gaps; most were short in duration (median = 5 months). The risk of gaps was inversely associated with caregivers’ age, with a 2% relative risk decrease for each added year. Low health literacy was associated with a modestly elevated risk increase [Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) = 1.17 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88–1.57)] for enrollment disruptions; however, this estimate was substantially elevated among caregivers with less than a high school education [IRR = 1.52 (95% CI 0.99–2.35); homogeneity p<0.2].ConclusionsOur findings provide initial support for a possible role of caregivers’ health literacy as a determinant of children’s Medicaid enrollment gaps. Although the association between health literacy and enrollment gaps was not confirmed statistically, we found that it was markedly stronger among caregivers with low educational attainment. This population, as well as young caregivers, may be the most vulnerable to the negative effects of low health literacy.

Fertility Decline, Girls’ Well-being, and Gender Gaps in Children’s Well-being in Poor Countries

The influences of recent dramatic declines in fertility on girls' and boys' well-being in poorer countries are understudied. In panels of 67-75 poorer countries, using 152-185 Demographic and Health Surveys spanning 1985-2008, we examined how declining total fertility and women's increasing median age at first birth were associated with changes in girls' well-being and gender gaps in children's well-being, as reflected in their survival, nutrition, and access to preventive healthcare. In adjusted random-effects models, these changes in fertility were associated with gains in girls' survival at ages 1-4 years, vaccination coverage at ages 12-23 months, and nutrition at 0-36 months (for women's later first childbearing). Declining total fertility was associated with similar gains for boys and girls with respect to vaccination coverage but intensified gender gaps in mortality at ages 1-4 years and malnutrition at ages 0-36 months, especially in higher-son-preference populations. Later increases in women's median age at first birth-reflecting more equitable gender norms-were associated with declines in these gaps. Promoting equitable investments in children through family planning programs in higher-fertility societies is warranted.

Caregivers’ Health Literacy and Gaps in Children’s Medicaid Enrollment: Findings from the Carolina Oral Health Literacy Study

Caregivers’ Health Literacy and Gaps in Children’s Medicaid Enrollment: Findings from the Carolina Oral Health Literacy Study

Closing the Research to Practice Gap in Children’s Mental Health: Structures, Solutions, and Strategies

Failure to apply research on effective interventions spans all areas of medicine, including children's mental health services. This article examines the policy, structural, and economic problems in which this gap originates. We identify four steps to close this gap. First, the field should develop scientific measures of the research-practice gap. Second, payors should link incentives to outcomes-based performance measures. Third, providers and others should develop improved understanding and application of effective dissemination and business models. Fourth, efforts to link EBP to clinical practice should span patient/consumers, providers, practices, plans, and purchasers. The paper discusses each of these in turn and relates them to fundamental problems of service delivery.

Gaps in Children's Health Insurance: Magnitude, Consequences, Barriers and Implications for Policy and Research

This paper considers the affect of health insurance on children in the United States. Four topics are addressed. First, estimates of the number of children with no insurance or discontinuous coverage are presented. Second, consequences of being uninsured or having gaps in health insurance are considered. Third, a summary of barriers to increasing the extent and continuity of children's health insurance is outlined. Fourth, implications for policy and research are briefly discussed. It has been well established that heath care in the United States is not the main determinant of health status of the population (McGinnis and Foege, 1993). As a nation, we spend by far more than any other country, yet our population has worse health status as measured by numerous indicators among the 30 developed countries comprising the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (Schroeder, 2007). This is due, in part, to determinants of health status that are not addressed by the health care system such as genetic predispositions and, more importantly, lifestyle choices (e.g., diet, physical activity, tobacco, alcohol and drug use, sexual practices, among others), and environmental and social factors (e.g., poverty, employment, housing, socially disintegrated communities, etc.). The ways in which the U.S. health care system is structured and the kinds of health care services that are emphasized (e.g., tertiary care versus primary and secondary prevention), further limit the extent to which health care contributes to health promotion and disease prevention. Nevertheless, availability and accessibility to consistent and high quality health care does influence the health status of the U.S. population, particularly for those at increased risk of various health problems and those with special health care needs (Hoffman and Paradise, 2008), both of which disproportionately affect poor and minority youth. Indeed, universal health insurance coverage for the elderly may explain, at least in part, why one measure of health status for which the U.S. ranks higher than many nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is life expectancy among those over 65 years of age (Schroeder, 2007). This paper considers the affect of health insurance on children in the United States. Four topics are addressed. First, estimates of the number of children with no insurance or discontinuous coverage are presented. Second, consequences of being uninsured or having gaps in health insurance are considered. Third, a summary of barriers to increasing the extent and continuity of children's health insurance is outlined. Fourth, implications for policy and research are briefly discussed.

Closing One Child's Gap

Closing One Child's Gap

Closing the Gap in Children's Quality Measures: A Collaborative Model

The need for measures of the quality of healthcare provided to children and adolescents is well documented. However, children have been underrepresented in national healthcare quality measurement and reporting efforts. The Pediatric Data Quality Systems (Pedi-QS) Collaborative is addressing this gap. Two consensus measure sets and an assessment of nursing-sensitive indicators in pediatric care have been produced through the collaborative. The framework and measure set development process are described. Lessons learned from applying the process are summarized, and future directions are suggested. Voluntary collaborative efforts are vital for advancing children's measures, and national support and funding are also needed.

Examining the Gender Gap in Children’s Attitudes Toward Politics

In the 2004 presidential election, a majority of men (54%) voted to reelect George W. Bush, but a minority of women (48%) supported Bush at the polls. The gender gap was also evident in races for the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate in 2004. In addition, there is a persistent and significant difference in policy preferences and political priorities among men and women. Taken together, the evidence clearly indicates that men and women currently view politics in the United States differently. What factors help explain these differences? In the present study, we examined whether boys and girls view politics differently. We interviewed eighth-grade students from six middle schools in Maricopa County, AZ in the spring of 2003 and 2004. Our results indicate that the gender gap in policy and partisanship is established early, before children reach adulthood. This suggests that the persistent gender gap in adult views about politics is rooted, at least partially, in gender differences during childhood socialization.

Surgeon General Decries Large Gaps In Children’s Mental Health System

Surgeon General Decries Large Gaps In Children’s Mental Health System