Greek Cypriot Children Research Articles

Preliminary Validation of the Children's Auditory Performance Scale (CHAPS) and the Auditory Processing Domain Questionnaire (APDQ) in Greek Cypriot Children.

Identification of auditory processing disorders is achieved using questionnaires along with linguistic, non-linguistic, and auditory processing tests. Notably, the questionnaires "Children's Auditory Performance Scale" (CHAPS) and "Auditory Processing Domain Questionnaire" (APDQ) are widely recognized and used. The current study investigated the psychometric properties of the CHAPS and APDQ in Greek Cypriot children. The CHAPS and APDQ questionnaires were completed by parents of 40 Greek Cypriot children, 16 typically developing (TD) children, and 24 children with a history of Speech Sound Disorders (SSDs). There were significant differences between the two groups on both questionnaires. Cronbach's alpha was calculated at α = 0.922 for the CHAPS total score and α = 0.926 for the APDQ total score. The Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) analysis provided a cut-off point equal to -0.30 (AUC 0.849, p < 0.001) for CHAPS and a cut-off point equal to 90.00 (AUC 0.820, p < 0.001) for APDQ. Significant positive Spearman ρ correlations were observed between the CHAPS and APDQ (ρ = 0.639, p = 0.001). The CHAPS and APDQ can identify distinct auditory processing characteristics between in children with SSDs and TD children.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Greek Cypriot Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale

Introduction: Assessing pediatric feeding disorders (PFD) is essential for a child’s development to prevent severe consequences. The assessment procedures for PFD may include parents’ questionnaires such as the Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH-FS). The aim of this study was the cross-cultural adaptation of the MCH-FS to the Greek language. Methods: One hundred parents of Greek Cypriot children with PFD (clinical group) and 100 parents of healthy Greek Cypriot children (control group) aged 6 months to 16 years old participated in the study and completed the MCH-FS. World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines were implemented for translation and cultural adaptation. Results: The internal consistency was excellent, α = 0.85 (ICC: 0.817–0.891). Content validity was significant (S-CVI = 1) with an agreement equal to 14. A strong and significant correlation of MCH-FS was computed according to principal component analysis (14 items ranging between −0.6 and 0.7). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin factor analysis was equal to 0.91 with substantial correlations (Bartlett’s test = 0.001, 654,804). The MCH-FS cut-off point between the two groups was 38.00 (AUC: 0.901 [95% CI: 0.859–0.942], p U = 992.00, p p Conclusion: The MCH-FS had good psychometric properties in its current form in Greek. It is suggested that the MCH-FS can be used as a valid tool for children with PFD in the Greek Cypriot population.

Exploring the Ages and Stages Questionnaire – 3 psychometric properties in Greek-Cypriot males and females during toddlerhood and preschool years: Preliminary findings

BackgroundThe Ages and Stages Questionnaire – Third version (ASQ-3) is one of the most commonly used developmental screening tests. Despite its availability in many languages, there is no evidence of its psychometric properties in the Greek language. AimsThe present study aims to adapt the ASQ-3 in the Greek language and examine its internal consistency, test-retest reliability and factor structure on a preliminary basis among Greek-Cypriot children aged nine to 66 months. Study designCross-sectional observational study. ParticipantsA total of 303 questionnaires were completed for boys and girls representing two age categories, namely Toddlerhood (9–33 months) and Preschool (36–60 months). ResultsThe domains with the highest internal consistency (with Cronbach alpha ranging from 0.71 to 0.88) are Communication and Gross Motor in the Toddlerhood age group for both genders and Fine Motor for preschool boys. Regarding test-retest reliability, repeated mothers’ completion of the questionnaire showed high and positive correlations in almost all domains. Exploratory factor analyses support the five-factor solution for questionnaires completed for toddler boys. In regards to risk determination based on sample's cut-offs, over 70% of children are within the expectations for their age range. ConclusionsOverall, results support the reliability and dimensionality of the ASQ-3 in Greek with improved psychometric properties shown for toddler boys. Future research should aim to extend on the current data and continue the validation of the tool so it can be used with more confidence in Greek-speaking populations.

Physiological reactivity to fear moderates the relation between parenting distress with conduct and prosocial behaviors.

This study investigated whether the associations between parental distress with conduct problems (CPs) and prosocial behaviors (PBs) are moderated by children's skin conductance (SC) and heart rate (HR) reactivity to fear. Participants were 147 Greek-Cypriot children (Mage =7.30, 44.2% girls), selected from a larger screening sample (data were collected from 2015 to 2018). Longitudinal associations suggested that children with high HR reactivity to fear were more likely to display PB, whereas those with low SC reactivity were more likely to engage in CP behaviors. In contrast, interaction effects suggested that children high on SC reactivity to fear were more susceptible to the effects of parental distress, as indicated by their higher vulnerability to engage in CP (cross-sectionally) behaviors and their lower scores on PB (cross-sectionally and longitudinally).

Parenting Practices, Victimization, and Negative Affectivity in Child Internalizing Symptoms: Moderated-Mediation Models

Separate lines of research have linked negative parenting practices, victimization, and negative affectivity - separately - with internalizing symptoms in children. However, no previous studies have connected these lines of research to examine internalizing pathology in children. The current study tested complex moderated-mediation models to investigate the respective effects of victimization and negative affectivity on the relationship between parenting practices and internalizing symptoms. Greek-Cypriot children (N = 374) and their parents took part in the study. The children completed the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire, the Negative Affect Scale for Children, and the Parental Bonding Instrument. Their parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist – Parent Report (CBCL). Moderated-mediation models highlighted that negative affectivity moderates the mediating effect of victimization on the relationship between parenting practices and internalizing symptoms. The research findings contribute to the existing literature and advance our understanding of children’s internalizing symptoms development. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Screen time behaviour in a sample of 11- to 12-year-old Greek-Cypriot children: A cross-sectional study of parental and child reports.

Objective:This cross-sectional study examined the association between parental and child-reported correlates and children’s screen time.Methods:Children (N = 154) and their parents completed questionnaires examining correlates of screen time. Children recorded the time they devoted to screen-based and study-related sedentary activities and wore a pedometer for 6 days (four weekdays and two weekend days). Parents also provided information relating to the time their children devoted to screen time.Results:Children reported significantly higher time watching television and playing electronic games as well as higher total screen time during the weekend compared to weekdays. On the contrary, they reported significantly lower time doing homework and recorded significantly lower steps during the weekend compared to weekdays. The scale ‘Parent-child Television Viewing’ yielded significant associations with both parent and child-reported total screen time and television watching. Associations ranged from r = 0.193, p < 0.05 to r = 0.599, p < 0.001. The scales ‘Child Screen Time with Friends’ and ‘Friends’ Norms for Screen Time’ demonstrated significant associations with child-reported electronic games and total screen time, and with parent-reported electronic games and computer use. Associations ranged from r = 0.180, p < 0.05 to r = 0.478, p < 0.001. Variance explained for total screen time at the multivariate level ranged from 8% to 37% with the scale ‘Parent-child Television Viewing’ having significant associations with both parent and child-reported weekday total screen time.Conclusions:Obtaining data from both parents and children may provide further understanding of screen time behaviour. While parental factors appear to be consistently associated with children’s total screen time, studies may consider focusing more on parents to reduce time spent watching television, and more on friends to limit time spent in electronic games.

What Cypriot Children Think about the Concept of Peace

Cyprus is a Mediterranean island inhabited by two communities with a common culture, although they speak different languages. Since 1974, efforts to reconcile these two communities, living apart from each other in different parts of the island, have become more important in recent years and efforts have been made to ensure a lasting solution on the island. Within the scope of these efforts, non-governmental organizations in Cyprus are also carrying out various studies with the support of the European Union. This is one of those studies, which was carried out with the support of the Grow Civil Program. The purpose of this study is to examine the metaphors of the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot children created about the concept of peace. The study group consists of 23 children, aged between six and ten. Children were given a form written in Turkish and Greek languages with an expression on it as Peace is like........ because and they were asked to fill in the gaps. The obtained data were analyzed and reported by the content analysis method. Results indicate that the metaphors produced by Turkish Cypriot children are related to emotions, behaviors and individuals, while the Greek Cypriots’ are related to space, aesthetic perception, and individuals. While politicians are seeking for a permanent solution on the island, non-governmental organizations and activists have been organizing various activities to increase mutual trust between the two communities. It is thought that this study will contribute to the bi-communal studies in Cyprus. Article visualizations:

Come Explore with me the Literary Treasures of Cyprus and Greece: A Short Introduction to Greek and Greek-Cypriot Children's Literatures

Come Explore with me the Literary Treasures of Cyprus and Greece: A Short Introduction to Greek and Greek-Cypriot Children's Literatures

Interview with Antri Antoniou, a Prolific Young Writer from Cyprus

Interview with Antri Antoniou, a Prolific Young Writer from Cyprus Demetra Charalambous (bio) Antri Antoniou was born in Cyprus in 1980. She is a University of Cyprus graduate and works as a teacher in public elementary schools. Antri has made a spectacular entrance into the world of children's and young adult literature, in Cyprus and in Greece, and has rightfully gained an important place among Greek authors. A prolific writer, since her first publication in 2012, she has already published seven books—five of which have been recognized with awards and honors. Antri's writing has brought a breath of fresh air to Greek-Cypriot children's literature, in relation to both style and content. In 2017, she was selected by Aarhus 39—a competitive part of the International Children's Literature Hay Festival, Aarhus, that engages the top European authors under the age of forty. The following interview sheds light on different aspects of Antri's successful and even more promising writing career. How did you come to be an author? Was it a childhood dream? It was indeed. One of my first memories is my attempt to write fairytales at the age of six. And I did not just write fairytales. I kept telling people that when I grow up I'd become a writer. I don't really know where it came from, but it was a need that I felt early on and throughout all the stages of my life. Literature has always been a constant value for me. I read and wrote a lot—poetry, short stories, articles, plays. I don't remember ever being as much interested or more excited about anything else compared to writing. Click for larger view View full resolution Did you face any challenges as a young author in a small country with a limited reading audience? At first, I didn't know anyone in the field of children's literature, and no one knew me. That changed gradually. I am now friends with quite a few other authors. And becoming a member of the Cyprus Board on Books for Young people (CYBBY) has been quite beneficial for me. However, I still feel cutoff from what takes place in the wider cultural scene in Greece. Athens, as the Greek capital, is culturally [End Page 67] innovative and favors new ideas and young authors. For those of us who live and work far away from Athens, things are substantially more difficult... How hard was it to get your career started? For several years, all my efforts were focused on writing short texts for very young readers. I was trapped in my conviction that this was what I did best, which was wrong. I was writing mediocre stories. It was during an evening in December of 2010 that I wrote, without any prior planning, the first chapter of Mpeladomagnitis (Trouble Magnet), which would become my first published book. In the following five months, I completed this 30,000-word text and mailed it to Psychogios Publications. Shortly after, I received the first ever acceptance of a manuscript of mine. Click for larger view View full resolution How easy and how soon did your next books come? My second book, Pinelopi (Penelope), was swiftly and easily published. It was in bookstores just one year after the publication of my first book. After that, though, a failed third attempt for publication made me stay away from writing for quite some time... That is, until I realized how empty my life felt without it. So I started writing again. Writing more and better, experimenting, studying, working hard. And fortunately, my hard work brought results: Contracts with four big publishing houses in Greece, literary awards, and an unexpected European distinction. I think no matter how many more rejected manuscripts I have in the future, I will definitely continue to write. Writing brings balance into my life. [End Page 68] Tell us some more about your books, their style, themes, content... All of my books are contemporary realistic novels, addressed to middle-school children (nine to twelve years old) or teenagers. They often deal with social issues, such as friendship, self-confidence, obesity, sibling relations, adolescence...

Longitudinal Contributions of Phonemic Awareness to Reading Greek Beyond Estimation of Verbal Ability and Morphological Awareness

ABSTRACTThis longitudinal study considers the contributions of language awareness to children’s learning to read and spell. The aim of the study was to examine whether the connection between phonemic awareness and literacy in Greek is constant over time even when appropriate controls are taken into account. I examined this hypothesis with Greek Cypriot children (N = 404) ages 6 to 10. Results showed that after an interval of 8 months and even after I controlled for the estimation of verbal ability and morphological awareness, phonemic awareness predicted children’s performance in reading. Phonemic awareness predicted spelling only after I controlled for the estimation of verbal ability. In terms of the need to establish more general theories about phonemic awareness and literacy, this study contributes the long-term relation between phonemic awareness and literacy in Greek. In practice, this study contributes valid measures for assessing phonemic and morphological awareness in Greek.

Performing registers and registering performance: Young children's linguistic practices during play in the Greek Cypriot context

The current paper explores language use among a group of preschool Greek Cypriot children during their play time at home. Based on theories of performance and register-formation the paper draws on ethnographic data in order to investigate the way Standard Modern Greek and the Cypriot Greek are used in children's micro-interactions. The methodology adopted was case study research of a network of five children for a period of eighteen months and the main data collection techniques were participant and non-participant observation of the children during their play activities, with audio recordings and rich field notes. Data analysis indicated that the two varieties were used in a dynamic way by the children to form collaborations during play time, to enact social roles, to reflect cultural values and ultimately to contribute through their performances in register (re)formation.

The hyphen in between: children’s intersectional understandings of national identities

This paper examines how children are able to think intersectionally in a context of imagined nationalist discourses and geographies that shape children’s understandings of hyphenated and ethnic identifications. We draw on data from three different field studies we have carried out during the last two decades in a divided Cyprus which examine how Greek-Cypriot children categorize and understand the labels ‘Greek’, ‘Turkish’ and ‘Cypriot’ and their hyphenated versions (i.e. ‘Greek-Cypriot’ and ‘Turkish-Cypriot’). Through its focus on children’s intersectional identities, our paper illustrates how children’s ability to border cross on the island allow for more nuanced understandings of both ‘self’ and ‘other’. The paper situates children’s emerging intersectional identities within the geographic realities of political and territorial division on the island. We argue that the dimension of ‘generation’ is an important intersectional addition to the concepts of gender and race. The paper shows that children’s spatial engagements during their visits to the ‘other side’ gave rise to a new, more intersectional understanding of themselves and others.

Reducing Turkish Cypriot children’s prejudice toward Greek Cypriots: Vicarious and extended intergroup contact through storytelling

Two studies investigated the effectiveness of intergroup contact in Turkish Cypriot children with the aim of improving attitudes, intentions, and trust toward Greek Cypriots. In the first study, we found that positive contact and positive family storytelling were associated with more positive outgroup attitudes and intended outgroup behavior in a group of 6- to 12-year-old Turkish Cypriots. We followed this up in Study 2 by using a vicarious intergroup contact intervention technique. Turkish Cypriot children aged 6–11 years took part in a 3-week intervention involving reading stories of solidarity between Turkish and Greek Cypriot children. Results showed that the intervention worked to improve outgroup attitudes, intended behavior, and outgroup trust. These findings suggest that indirect contact techniques such as extended contact and vicarious intergroup contact can be used as prejudice-reduction tools in intractable conflict zones, most in need of such interventions.

Object clitics in Cypriot Greek children with SLI

This study investigates the production and placement of direct object clitic pronouns in children with specific language impairment (SLI). A total of 38 bilectal children were divided into four groups: two groups of children with SLI and two groups of age-matched typically developing children; 5-year-olds in the younger and 7-year-olds in the older groups. The goals of the study were (i) to investigate whether object clitics could serve as a clinical marker for Cypriot Greek-speaking children with SLI, (ii) to explore whether there are any quantitative and/or qualitative differences between typical language development and SLI, and (iii) to determine possible differences between the age groups. The design of the experiment aimed to shed some light on the question whether children with SLI exhibit difficulties with clitic production in the context assessed. The results reported here do not support the cross-linguistic finding that clitic production could serve as a clinical marker for SLI in Cypriot Greek. However, what seems to be at stake is clitic (mis)placement, and the findings provide some evidence that there is more than meets the eye concerning the theoretical discussion around the use of clitics in Greek Cypriot children's language development.

Developments in the acquisition of Wh-interrogatives in Cypriot Greek

This cross-sectional study investigates the acquisition of the interpretation of syntactic and semantic aspects ofwh-questions by Cypriot Greek-speaking children aged 4 to 9 years. Two experimental tools were employed, a question–picture-matching task examining the comprehension of D-linked and non-D-linked questions for subject and object, and a question-after-picture task examining the comprehension of the notion of exhaustivity in single and multiplewh-questions. The results from these experiments are interpreted in light of current theoretical advances and cross-linguistic comparisons. The apparent discrepancies found in the development of Greek Cypriot children’s comprehension ofwh-questions and exhaustivity are put in perspective with their particular linguistic environment – diglossia, in which children grow up with two varieties, Cypriot Greek and Standard Modern Greek. Keywords: bilectalism; D(iscourse)-linking; first language acquisition; multiple wh-questions; single wh-questions

The relation between morphological awareness and reading and spelling in Greek: a longitudinal study

The aim of this longitudinal study is to examine the contribution of morphological awareness to the prediction of reading and spelling in Greek. The target group (N = 404) consisted of children, aged 6–9 years at the start of the project, who learn literacy in Cyprus. Because there are no standardized measures of morphological awareness for Greek Cypriot children, morphological awareness measures were developed and validated. A concurrent analysis of the first wave of data collection showed that morphological awareness made a unique contribution to the prediction of reading and spelling in Greek. The longitudinal analyses showed that morphological awareness predicted performance in reading eight months later, even after partialling out grade level, verbal intelligence, phonological awareness and initial scores in reading and spelling. This study makes theoretical, empirical and practical educational contributions. It shows the long term and specific relation of morphological awareness with reading in Greek and establishes the plausibility of a causal link between morphological awareness and reading, which must be tested in further research using intervention methods. In practice, this study contributes valid measures for assessing morphological awareness in Greek as well as a new measure of spelling skill.

The Predictive Nature of Age and Gender in the Verbal Fluency Test in the Greek Cypriot Children: Normative Data

Objective: The Children’s Verbal Fluency test (VF) is a neuropsychological test that measures executive function, vocabulary storage, and speed of mental processing. It has been increasingly used in the assessment of children in neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Batten disease, frontal lobe epilepsy, cerebellar tumor, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia. However, there is a paucity of studies presenting normative data. The aim of the present study was to provide normative data for the children’s verbal fluency test in the Cypriot population and to test the criterion validity of the children’s VF in children with ADHD. Method: A total of 749 native Cypriot children aged 7-16 years, recruited from various public schools across the island, took part in the study. Exclusion criteria involved the existence of neurological, psychiatric, cardiological and metabolic diseases and native language other than Greek. Results: Age but not gender was found to be an important factor for the interpretation of scores in the verbal fluency variables. Older children produced more words in both, semantic and phonemic fluency test compared to younger children. Also, the test seemed to discriminate the clinical group of children exhibiting ADHD in semantic verbal fluency as compared to pair-matched controls. Conclusions: Children’s verbal fluency test is a promising tool for the measurement of executive function in the Cypriot population. Further research is needed in children diagnosed with various neurological and psychiatric diseases in order to estimate the validity of the children’s verbal fluency in other clinical populations.

Can Vocabulary Size Predict Narrative Abilities in Children with SLI

Correlating expressive vocabulary skills with narrative microstructure measures such as morphosyntactic skills revealed that both are powerful tools to assess language-impaired children. However, for expressive vocabulary to have a predictive value on narrative performance, younger children with SLI should be investigated. Our results lend support to a unified model of SLI (Rice 2003) revealing that both expressive vocabulary and narrative re-tell microstructure are delayed in school-aged Greek Cypriot children with SLI compared to their typically developing peers.

Being One and More than One: Greek Cypriot Children and Ethnic Identity in the Flow of Everyday Life

Being One and More than One: Greek Cypriot Children and Ethnic Identity in the Flow of Everyday Life

The ‘europeanisation’ of othering: children using ‘Europe’ to construct ‘others’ in Cyprus

The accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union in 2004 was anticipated to be a ‘catalytic’ factor in developments towards a solution of the Cyprus problem at the political level. Within education, it was also seen as an opportunity for addressing diversity in a historically ethnocentric educational system through the introduction of a European dimension. Against this background, this article explores Greek-Cypriot children’s discourses about national others by drawing upon two sets of data collected in two studies of roughly seven years apart. Despite the different theoretical and methodological approaches of the two studies, and despite the temporal distance between them (almost three and a half years before and after Cyprus’s EU accession respectively), the concept of ‘Europe’ was mobilised by children in highly similar ways to distinguish, evaluate and hierarchise various others and to re-produce ethnic, racial, and Eurocentric stereotypes against national outgroups and their immigrant classmates from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds