Child Development Indicators Research Articles

Associations between the built environment and emotional, social and physical indicators of early child development across high and low socioeconomic neighbourhoods

Emerging evidence indicates that the built environment influences early child development. Access to, and the quality of, built environment features vary with the socioeconomic status (SES) of neighbourhoods. It has not yet been established whether the association between built environment features and early child development varies by neighbourhood SES. We sought to identify built environment features associated with neighbourhood-level variations in the early child development domains of physical health and wellbeing, social competence, and emotional maturity, and how these associations differ among high and low SES neighbourhoods where child development patterns follow expected outcomes ("on-diagonal" neighbourhoods) and where child development patterns differ from expected outcomes ("off-diagonal" neighbourhoods). This cross-sectional study analysed data from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) for children residing in 3839 neighbourhoods in the Perth and Peel metropolitan areas of Western Australia. Children's AEDC scores were aggregated at the area-level and merged with Geographic Information Systems derived measures of neighbourhood residential density, parks, walkability, community facilities and public transport. Multivariate logistic regressions modelled the odds of low and high SES neighbourhoods having a higher proportion of children developmentally "on-track" (scores in the 26th to 100th percentile of the AEDC) or "not on-track" (scores in the bottom 25th percentile of the AEDC) for each built environment feature. In high SES neighbourhoods, better development across all three domains was associated with greater residential density and improved access to parks, public transport, learning, childcare and health services. Conversely, in low SES neighbourhoods, greater residential density was associated with better physical, but poorer social and emotional development; increased traffic and street connectivity were associated with poorer physical and emotional development; shorter distances to parks, learning, childcare and health services were associated with poorer physical and emotional development; and more services and public transport stops were associated with poorer emotional development. The mixed findings in low SES neighbourhoods suggest that positive associations with built environment features seen in one domain of early child development may be negative in other domains. The reasons for the mixed findings in low SES neighbourhoods are likely multifactorial and may include parental neighbourhood perceptions, as well as quality and usage of built environment features. These findings can be used to inform state and local governments to establish child-friendly town planning and urban design features. Further research is needed to confirm the interplay between SES, early child development, the built environment and other unmeasured factors to better inform public health policy.

Effect of maternal weight gain during pregnancy and gestational hypertension on birth weight of the baby

Background: Birth weight is not only an indicator of child growth and development but also valuable indicator of maternal health, nutrition and quality of life. Many maternal factors have been postulated to determine the birth weight of the baby like maternal age, weight, height, education, parity, antenatal care, maternal habits like smoking, sex of the baby and maternal comorbidities like hypertension.Methods: This study was conducted in Kempegowda institute of medical sciences Bangalore during the period of December 2019 to June 2021.All babies born with weight <2.5 kg weight were included in the study irrespective of gestational age. Mothers were divided into 3 categories based on weight gained during pregnancy into less than 10 kg, 10 to 15 kg and more than 15 kg weight gain. Low birth weight babies included in the study were categorized based on weight gain of the mother and presence of various maternal comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes, anemia, hypothyroidism.Results: Analysis showed that among 150 low birth weight babies 110 babies were born to mothers with weight gain less than 10 kg (73.3%), 37 (24.7%) babies were born to mothers with weight gain 10-15 kg and 3 (2%) babies were born to mothers with weight gain more than 15 kg. We also found that among all mothers of low-birth-weight babies 33.7% mothers did not have any comorbidities and gestational hypertension was found in 20.7% of mothers showing it as important risk factor for low-birth-weight babies.Conclusions: Our study shows adequate maternal weight gain during pregnancy independently influences birth weight of the baby. Thus, mother’s nutritional care should be appropriate to maintain adequate weight gain. Among all maternal comorbidities gestational hypertension is a major risk factor for low-birth-weight babies.

Understanding and attenuating pandemic-related disruptions: a plan to reduce inequalities in child development

The Secretary General of the United Nations described the impact of COVID-19-related school closures as a “generational catastrophe.” What will be the legacy of the 2020–2021 pandemic-related disruptions in 5, 10, 20 years from now, as regards education and well-being of children and youth? Addressing the disproportionate impact on those growing up in socio-economically disadvantaged areas or on those with pre-existing learning challenges is key to sustainable recovery. This commentary builds on the four literature reviews presented in this Special Section on a Pandemic Recovery Plan for Children and proposes strategies to understand and attenuate the impact of pandemic-related lockdown measures. Importantly, we need a monitoring strategy to assess indicators of child development in three areas of functioning: education and learning, health, and well-being (or mental health). Surveillance needs to begin in the critical prenatal period (with prenatal care to expectant parents), and extend to the end of formal high school/college education. Based on child development indicators, a stepped strategy for intervention, ranging from all-encompassing population-based health and education promotion initiatives to targeted prevention programs and targeted remedial/therapeutic interventions, can be offered. As proposed in the UN plan for recovery, ensuring healthy present and future generations involves a concerted and intensive intersectoral effort from the education, health, psychosocial services, and scientific communities.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ГРУДНОГО ВСКАРМЛИВАНИЯ НА АНТРОПОМЕТРИЧЕСКИЕ ПОКАЗАТЕЛИ И ГОРМОНАЛЬНЫЙ СТАТУС КРУПНОВЕСНЫХ И МАЛОВЕСНЫХ ДЕТЕЙ В ДИНАМИКЕ ПЕРВЫХ ДВУХ ЛЕТ ЖИЗНИ

The most important regulators of the rate of growth and physical development in children are rational nutrition and hormones. The aim is to evaluate the effect of breastfeeding on the anthropometric parameters and hormonal profile of large and small for gestational age children in the dynamics of the first two years of life. 280 full-term newborns were examined with dynamic follow-up during 2 years of life. The main group 1 (Gr1) ‒ 110 large for gestational age, Gr2 ‒ 95 small for gestational age, the control group ‒ 72 with indicators corresponding to the gestational age. The dynamics of anthropometric indicators, the nature of feeding, nutritional and hormonal status were analyzed, taking into account body weight at birth. It has been established that infants with low birth weight during the first year of life are significantly less likely to receive exclusively breast milk. The proportion of children who received exclusive breastfeeding in the neonatal period is lower than in the control group (p=0.002). Correlations between the duration of breastfeeding and indicators of physical development and adipokines status in newborns and young children have been established. Three-month-old low birth weight infants treated with breast milk substitutes showed a higher level of IGF-1 (p=0.047) and a lower concentration of adiponectin (p=0.045) in blood serum. In large for gestational age infants, a higher content of IGF-1 (p=0.029) and insulin (p=0.015) was established. The revealed features of anthropometric and hormonal status substantiate the importance of providing conditions for long-term breastfeeding, continuity in the provision of medical care to small and large for gestational age babies, and educational work with parents.

Physical development and its relationship to the metabolic activity of the intestinal microbiota in young children

Introduction. The metabolic activity of the intestinal microbiota is an important indicator of the functioning of the digestive tract, one of the main functions of which is the absorption of nutrients.The aim of the study was to analyze the content of short chain fatty acids in feces and assess their relationship with the indicators of physical development in children 3 years of age.Materials and methods. A prospective cohort study was conducted in 89 children 3rd year of life. The 1st observation group included children of the I and II health groups, the children of the 2nd group underwent surgical treatment on the intestine in the first months of life, the children of the3rd group are with atopic dermatitis. FD assessment was carried out in accordance with WHO recommendations (2017) the spectrum of FGC in feces was determined by gas-liquid chromatography.Results. It was determined the features of the rates of FD in healthy children, children with a history of intestinal resection and children with atopy in relation to the indicators of metabolic activity of the intestinal microbiota. The percentile distribution of the values of FGC in feces and their comparative assessment in the observation groups are given.Discussion. The content of FGM in feces has differences depending on the health status of children of the 3rd year of life. Different level of FGC shows a close relationship with the indicators of FD. Conclusions. A decrease in growth rates (body length SD: from -1 to -2) was revealed at low values (<25%) of the amount of acids, with an increase in propionate (25%) in feces. Reduced nutrition (body weight SD: from -1 to -2) it was associated with low values of the sum of isoacids and AI(-) (<25%); by 3rd year of life, the risk of low nutrition decreased in 4 times with high values (75%) of the sum of acids in feces (OR=4.33[1.09-17.71]). The multidirectionality of the content of fecal matter in young children and their influence on the indicators of FD emphasizes the versatility of the functions of the intestinal microbiota, which has a local and systemic effect on the human body.

Association between community noise and children’s cognitive and behavioral development: A prospective cohort study

BackgroundNoise exposure has been associated with adverse cognitive and behavioral outcomes in children, but evidence on longitudinal associations between community noise and child development in low- and middle-income countries is rare. We investigated associations between community noise and behavioral and cognitive development in preschool children in São Paulo. MethodsWe linked child development data from the São Paulo Western Region Birth Cohort with average (Lden) and night-time (Lnight) community noise exposure at children's home, estimated by means of a land use regression model using various predictors (roads, schools, greenness, residential and informal settlements). Outcomes were the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Regional Project on Child Development Indicators (PRIDI) at 3 years of age and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) at 6 years of age. We investigated the relationship between noise exposure and development using cross-sectional and longitudinal regression models. ResultsData from 3385 children at 3 years of age and 1546 children at 6 years of age were analysed. Mean Lden and Lnight levels were 70.3 dB and 61.2 dB, respectively. In cross-sectional analyses a 10 dB increase of Lden above 70 dB was associated with a 32% increase in the odds of borderline or abnormal SDQ total difficulties score (OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.04; 1.68) and 0.72 standard deviation (SD) increase in the CBCL total problems z-score (95% CI: 0.55; 0.88). No cross-sectional association was found for cognitive development. In longitudinal analyses, each 10 dB increase was associated with a 0.52 SD increase in behavioral problems (95% CI: 0.28; 0.77) and a 0.27 SD decrease in cognition (95%-CI: 0.55; 0.00). Results for Lnight above 60 dB were similar. DiscussionOur findings suggest that community noise exposure above Lden of 70 dB and Lnight of 60 dB may impair behavioral and cognitive development of preschool children.

Validation of the Infant and Young Child Development (IYCD) Indicators in Three Countries: Brazil, Malawi and Pakistan.

Background: The early childhood years provide an important window of opportunity to build strong foundations for future development. One impediment to global progress is a lack of population-based measurement tools to provide reliable estimates of developmental status. We aimed to field test and validate a newly created tool for this purpose. Methods: We assessed attainment of 121 Infant and Young Child Development (IYCD) items in 269 children aged 0–3 from Pakistan, Malawi and Brazil alongside socioeconomic status (SES), maternal educational, Family Care Indicators and anthropometry. Children born premature, malnourished or with neurodevelopmental problems were excluded. We assessed inter-rater and test-retest reliability as well as understandability of items. Each item was analyzed using logistic regression taking SES, anthropometry, gender and FCI as covariates. Consensus choice of final items depended on developmental trajectory, age of attainment, invariance, reliability and acceptability between countries. Results: The IYCD has 100 developmental items (40 gross/fine motor, 30 expressive/receptive language/cognitive, 20 socio-emotional and 10 behavior). Items were acceptable, performed well in cognitive testing, had good developmental trajectories and high reliability across countries. Development for Age (DAZ) scores showed very good known-groups validity. Conclusions: The IYCD is a simple-to-use caregiver report tool enabling population level assessment of child development for children aged 0–3 years which performs well across three countries on three continents to provide reliable estimates of young children’s developmental status.

Efficacy of home visits by public health providers for high-risk pregnant women in Egypt

Background: Home visits programs aim to improve care management for high-risk pregnant women. Birth outcomes, such as preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW), and small for gestational age (SGA), are crucial indicators of child development and health. The present study evaluates the efficacy of home visits by public health providers for high-risk pregnant women in Egypt to prevent adverse pregnancy outcome.Methods: This is a cohort study using administrative data collected in obstetrics department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University. All women with high risk pregnancy were followed by home visits by public health providers.Results: Birth outcomes were documented and evaluated. Women from the home-visit group had a heavier birth weight 2752.85±286.571, longer gestational age 38.36±1.257, less LBW infants 52 (18.6%), less preterm birth 22 (7.9%), and less SGA infants 27 (9.6%) compared to participants who did not receive the home-visit program.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that home visits by public health nurses for high-risk pregnant women in Egypt might be effective in preventing preterm birth, but not SGA. This study adds to the evidence of the effectiveness of population-based home-visit programs as a public healthcare measure.

Validation of motor, cognitive, language, and socio-emotional subscales using the Caregiver Reported Early Development Instruments: An application of multidimensional item factor analysis

The Caregiver Reported Early Development Instruments (CREDI) are assessments tools for measuring the development of children under age three in global contexts. The present study describes the construction and psychometric properties of the motor, cognitive, language, and socio-emotional subscales from the CREDI’s long form. Multidimensional item factor analysis was employed, allowing indicators of child development to simultaneously load onto multiple factors representing distinct developmental domains. A total of 14,113 caregiver reports representing 17 low-, middle-, and high-income countries were analyzed. Criterion-related validity of the constructed subscales was tested in a subset of participants using data from previously established instruments, anthropometric data, and a measure of child stimulation. We also report internal-consistency reliability and test–retest reliability statistics. Results from our analysis suggest that the CREDI subscales display adequate reliability for population-level measurement, as well as evidence of validity.

Correlation of neuropsychological indicators of child development with speech: Empirical research underpinning the National Children’s Health Prevention Programme

Background/Aim. Psychophysiological disorders and speech pathology is one of the priority public health problems in the Republic of Serbia. A child?s growth and development proceed in a particular sequence and course, depending on individual physiological capacities, quality of neuromuscular structures, and stimuli, which can be significantly affected by the environment. The development of speech from birth to the adult age is a result of the interaction of neurocognitive factors that contribute to the gradual attainment of phonological presentation and motor control abilities. The aim of the study was to examine the connection between manipulative manual dexterity, oral praxis, and lateralization with the development and speech in children and their potential for the development of prevention programs. Methods. The sample included 60 children from Belgrade of both sexes, aged between 5.5 and 7 years. Of these, 30 made up the experimental group ? children with deviations in speech development (articulation disorders), and 30 made up the control group ? typically developing children from the general population. The instruments used were the Manipulative Manual Dexterity Test (Lafayette), Oral Praxis Test, and part of the Test for assessing lateralization (auditory, visual, and functional). Results. The hand grip development level was statistically significantly different between the experimental and the control group (?2 = 21.40, df = 3, p < 0.01). The presence of associated involuntary movements statistically significantly differed between the experimental and the control group examinees (?2 = 10.58, df = 1, p < 0.01). Oral praxis statistically significantly differed between the experimental and the control group (t = 2.01, p < 0.05). Visual laterality statistically significantly differed (?2 = 7.56, p < 0.05) between the observed groups. When all predictors were taken into account, significant contribution to the explanation of the existence of speech pathology (articulation disorders) was given by the variables: Visual lateralization [odd ratio (OR) = 0.38; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.179?0.832; p = 0.015] and the level of hand grip development (OR = 0.23; 95% CI = 0.082?0.699; p = 0.009). Conclusion. The hand grip development level and visual laterality are worse in children with speech (articulation) impairment and developmental deviations. These indicators of child development should be used as a guide in designing the national programs for developmental assessment and prevention in the child healthcare system.

N’KaNa-my dream: Community action towards the holistic child development in India

Every child has a right to dream for their future. Children are vulnerable and face challenges in accessing their rights, including but not limited to joyful family and community life; quality health, education, and career facilitation; and an understanding of their ecosystem. Innovations in holistic child development are essential and require child-centered and right-based approaches in the welfare system. There is a need for a customized and personalized approach to bridge the gap in the child development process and to help children explore and enjoy their rights and realize their full potential as rights-holders in society.To address this need, Trust for Youth and Child Leadership (TYCL) initiated N’KaNa, a holistic mentorship program for children living in difficult circumstances, such as institutional care and vulnerable communities such as slums and Dalit and tribal villages of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu regions of India.N'KaNa aims to build brother/sister relationships between needy children and local pre-assessed and pre-selected professional mentors. The program relationships include a mentee (child), a mentor (professional), and a student volunteer.Mentorship progress is tracked through a mobile application.This paper has been developed based on the impact measurement of the N’KaNa project. The researchers adopted a decolonizing research methodology to theorize a postcolonial indigenous way of conducting research and applied a triangulation strategy to qualitativeresearch approaches. Focused life story interviews with children ofN’KaNa assessed holistic child development indicators such as education, health, relationships with friends and family, community support, safe environment, and personal hygiene. Triangular feedback and child mentorship tracker data was used to cross-validate the qualitative data. The study found that the children's lived experiences highly influenced their career goals and that the program helps them track their progress systematically. The research also observed positive indicators of change in children's education, health, family safety, community environment, attitude, and behavior. This paper captures the model of the N’KaNa project, a participatory holistic child development process, its outcomes, challenges, and lessons learned from the process and recommendations for key stakeholders of the child welfare system in India.

Assessment of psychological and speech development in early childhood

The article discusses and describes in detail topical problems of psychological and speech development of young children. The relevance of this issue is associated with an increase in the number of children with problems in the development of speech already in the first years of life. A brief overview of studies on the formation of functional systems and higher cortical functions in ontogenesis, as well as applied aspects of assessing the psychological and speech development of young children is presented. The authors of the article conducted an experimental study, the results of which showed a visible lag behind the age normative indicators of psychomotor and speech development in children of the test group. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the obtained data showed that the pathogenetic basis of the existing disorders was delayed maturation of brain structures and functions against the background of chronic maternal diseases, unfavorable course of pregnancy, general somatic weakening and neurological status.

Western Australian Child Development Atlas: Visualising Data on Child Health, Education and Well-Being

IntroductionThe WA Child Development Atlas (CDA) is a unique resource that generates geographic profiles of the development, health and well-being of WA children. The CDA has been developed at the Telethon Kids Institute with funding from the Ian Potter and Minderoo Foundations and in partnership with government agencies and service providers.
 Objectives and ApproachVisualisation of data within geographic boundaries helps to build a picture of ‘place’. This informs better decision making and underpins the development of evidence-based policy and service planning that acknowledges the differing needs of communities.
 The CDA is an online, interactive mapping tool that utilises geographic information system (GIS) technologies to identify spatial patterns in population-level child and youth development indicators. Data are sourced from core health, social, and linked administrative datasets, from 1990 onwards. Aggregated, de-identified data on children and young people (0-24 years) and their parents are mapped within geographic boundaries across WA.
 The CDA was piloted to ensure it is useful and relevant to a diversity of stakeholders. Extensive community consultation has been undertaken at all stages of the project. The CDA has been received favourably by consumers, government organisations, communities and researchers, with significant support for public launch.
 ResultsThe CDA is a freely available, confidential and secure resource. Features of the CDA include: it is online and interactive (no software is required), area profiles, downloadable charts, tables and summary statistics, map panning and zooming. The Atlas has been used to generate community profiles and empowers all the people of WA with enhanced knowledge and understanding of the development of children.
 Conclusion / ImplicationsThe CDA has built capacity to use spatial information, assisting agencies who make decisions relevant to child development and to facilitate cross-agency collaboration. It is an important and valuable resource utilising disparate data sources with significant public benefit.

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF 15–17-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN

Introduction. Differences between anthropometric indicators of physical development in children of different regions may be related to environmental factors, living conditions and health status. The use of informative assessments of the physical development of children and adolescents remains a matter of debate.Aim. To develop generalized assessment of the physical condition of children aged 15–17 years and to substantiate expediency of its use for the needs of preventive medicine.Methods. The study was conducted in accordance with the research plan of the Chair of Medical and Biological Fundamentals of Physical Culture and the interdepartmental Laboratory of Educational Hygiene and Age Physiology. The study involved 716 children aged 15-17 years who lived in Sumy. Anthropometric examination of children was performed with standard instruments according to a unified methodology. To determine the harmony and the level of physical development, sex and age regression scales were used, which allowed to take into account the relationship between anthropometric indicators. The method of integrated estimates was used to create a generalized indicator of physical condition.Results. In the group of people with harmonious physical development, adolescents aged 17 years (66.2±1.77%) predominate over similar groups of 15-year-old (60.37±1.84%) and 16-year-old (50.61±1.59%) children.More people with harmonious physical development were found among girls aged 15-16 years than among boys (p<0.05).Among adolescents with disharmonious physical development, adolescents with insufficient body weight predominate. There are age differences in the physical development of boys, among whom there is a higher percentage of people with disharmonious physical development with insufficient body weight among 16-year-old boys.Conclusion. For the quantitative characteristics of physical development, the technique of integrated assessment is used that allows defining its level on all set of anthropometric and functional indicators and can be used as an expert evaluation in therapeutic practice. The generalized indicator of physical condition characterizes the state of health of the surveyed contingent more adequately than the method of standard assessments. Key words: physical condition; adolescents; harmonious; disharmonious physical development

A Comparison of Children Born Preterm and Full-Term on the Autism Spectrum in a Prospective Community Sample.

Introduction: Previous research suggests children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD or “autism”) born extremely and very preterm face substantially delayed development than their peers born full-term. Further, children born preterm are proposed to show a unique behavioral phenotype, which may overlap with characteristics of autism, making it difficult to disentangle their clinical presentation. To clarify the presentation of autism in children born preterm, this study examined differences in key indicators of child development (expressive language, receptive language, fine motor, and visual reception) and characteristics of autism (social affect and repetitive, restricted behaviors).Materials and Methods: One fifty-eight children (136 full-term, twenty-two preterm) diagnosed with autism, aged 22–34 months, were identified prospectively using the Social Attention and Communication Surveillance tools during community-based, developmental surveillance checks in the second year of life. Those identified at “high likelihood” of an autism diagnosis were administered the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule.Results: The children born preterm and full-term did not differ significantly in their fine motor, visual reception, expressive language, or receptive language skills. No significant differences in social affect and repetitive and restrictive behavior traits were found.Discussion: The findings of this study differs from previous research where children diagnosed with autism born very or extremely preterm were developmentally delayed and had greater autistic traits than their term-born peers. These null findings may relate to the large proportion of children born moderate to late preterm in this sample. This study was unique in its use of a community-based, prospectively identified sample of children diagnosed with autism at an early age. It may be that children in these groups differ from clinic- and hospital-based samples, that potential differences emerge later in development, or that within the autism spectrum, children born preterm and full-term develop similarly. It was concluded that within the current sample, at 2 years of age, children diagnosed with autism born preterm are similar to their peers born full-term. Thus, when clinicians identify characteristics of autism in children born preterm, it is important to refer the child for a diagnostic assessment for autism.

Educational Environment and Indicators of Child Development

The article presents the author's approach to the interpretation of the concept of the educational environment of the school, based on the activity theory of A. N. Leontyev and on learning activity theory of D. B. Elkonin – V. V. Davydov. Significant features of two types of educational environments – the developing educational environment and the environment based on traditional educational content – are highlighted. A broad diagnostic research into the indicators of cognitive, social and personal development of students of these two types of educational environments was carried out. The study involved 2,304 students in the 5th and 9th grades from 24 schools.
 To assess cognitive development, data from two tests is used: CFT2 and the “Transposition” method (author A. Z. Zak). An original diagnostic procedure has been developed to distinguish the role of factors of biological maturation and the educational environment of a particular school in the process of cognitive development of students.
 Several sources were used to diagnose the social aspects of student development. This is a sociometric test, analysis of interactions in the system “students-teacher,” recorded in the course of observation at the lesson (based on the author's “scheme of lesson analysis” – authors I. M. Ulanovskaya, N. I. Polivanova, E. V. Vysotskaya) and content analysis of children's essays on the topic “My school.”
 Indicators of personal development of students were determined by the scale “self-assessment and level of aspiration” test and the test of school anxiety (A. Prihodjan).
 All data was subjected to statistical and qualitative analysis. The results obtained showed a high efficiency of the developing educational environment in the cognitive development of students. This is an expected result, since the programs used in developing educational environment are aimed at developing theoretical thinking based on the development of special educational content and appropriate forms of organization of the learning process.
 Our results showed that educational environment developing qualitatively changes the sociometric structure of the class, making it more psychologically comfortable for students, increases cognitive motivation and reduces educational anxiety, makes self-assessment and level of aspiration more differentiated.

Factors Associated with Self-regulation in a Nationally Representative Sample of Children Ages 3-5 Years: United States, 2016.

The aim of the present study was to describe self-regulation (the ability to influence or control one's thoughts or behavior in response to situational demands and social norms) in children ages 3-5years using a nationally representative sample and examine risk and protective factors to identify opportunities to support children and families. Using a cross-sectional design, we examined data from a parent-reported pilot measure of self-regulation from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). We compared U.S. children aged 3-5years who were described by parents as "on track" with self-regulation development with children who were not. In addition, we described how health care and developmental services, community, family, and child health and development factors are associated with children's self-regulation. The majority of children (4 of 5) were described by their parents to be developmentally on track with self-regulation. Compared to children described as not on track, children described as on track more often lived in financially and socially advantaged environments and less often experienced family adversity. They also had other positive health and development indicators, whether or not they were receiving developmental services. However, only half of children not on track received developmental surveillance, and only 1 in 4 children described as not on track received educational, mental health, or developmental services. The findings are a step towards using self-regulation as an indicator of healthy child development and as a potential strategy to identify groups of children who may need additional support.

Development and validation of an instrument for monitoring child development indicators

ObjectiveTo create and validate an instrument for child development monitoring. MethodsMethodological study, based on the World Bank's proposition to monitor child development indicators in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The stages of the study included the following: development of an inventory of items for child development evaluation, based on open access instruments; content validation by a group of experts on the topic, using consensus techniques; selection of questions to describe children and their families; pre‐test of the instrument during the vaccination campaign in 2016 in three municipalities, and conducting cognitive interviews. ResultsA total of 431 items were sent for the evaluation of the specialists; 77 were initially excluded and the others were evaluated in‐person by the group, with 162 items covering the motor, cognitive, language, and socio‐emotional domains, distributed in ten age ranges. Questions about health, nutrition, early learning, protection and safety, and responsive care were also included. The instrument was applied by volunteer undergraduate students to 367 mothers of children under 5 years, showing good adherence of the caregivers. The time of application of the questionnaire was, on average, 20minutes. The cognitive interviews allowed the final adjustment of 19 items of the instrument for better understanding by the caregivers. ConclusionsThe instrument created and validated by experts fills a gap, as it allows a comprehensive evaluation of the development of children under 5 years at the population level, using a fast and inexpensive tool, and can be useful for monitoring indicators of development in Brazilian children in vaccination campaigns.

Early child development and caregiver subjective well-being in rural China

PurposeThis study aims to bridge the gaps in the existing literature by studying the links between children's development and the subjective well-being of the caregivers using first-hand data collected in rural China.Design/methodology/approachAlthough the broad array of literature has examined the effects of child development on the subjective well-being of caregivers, the relationship between early childhood development and caregiver subjective well-being has not been well-studied using sample families with potential developmental delay in rural China. Also, existing research has relied on maternal reports to evaluate the developmental status of children. The study used data collected from 32 townships in seven nationally designated poverty counties in the Qinling mountainous area in 2016. The authors measure child development using the social-emotional module of the Ages & Stages Questionnaire and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development–Third Edition.FindingsThe authors find that child development indicators are correlated with caregiver subjective well-being. In particular, social-emotional skills are positively associated with life evaluations and positive emotion. However, we do not find any significant correlation between child development and negative emotion or depression, anxiety and stress scores.Originality/valueThe value of this study is to report the indicators of child development in rural China and examines the correlation between child development and caregivers' subjective well-being.

What a drop can do? Measurements using newborn dried blood spots in child health research.

Collaborative efforts such as the Environmental influences of Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program in the United States have provided a tremendous opportunity to address important questions on environmental determinants of growth and development in children. Nonetheless, a majority of pediatric cohorts recruit children and their families after birth, which would limit their access to maternal or neonatal biospecimens for evaluation of perinatal exposures. Newborn screening programs have revolutionized early diagnosis of childhood diseases worldwide by using dried blood spots (DBS) obtained shortly after birth. Residual DBS are commonly archived for a variable period of time and can be used to measure biomarkers of exposures to environmental factors. We share our experience from two pediatric cohorts in New York State (NYS), which used archived newborn DBS to measure an arrays of organic contaminants, immune markers, and other proteins. The Upstate KIDS cohort (recruitment: 2008-2010, NYS) and the Starting Early Program (StEP) randomized controlled trial (recruitment: 2012-2014, New York City) obtained consent from parents to access their newborns’ archived DBS for secondary analysis of chemicals and biomarkers for research purposes. Both studies reported good-to-excellent consent rates among those contacted, confirming the feasibility of this resource for population-based research. We reliably quantified concentrations of organic contaminants (i.e., organochlorine pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and perfluoroalkyl substances), immune markers (i.e., cytokines and chemokines), and other proteins (brain-derived neurotrophic factor and adipokines) in archived DBS. We reported associations with indicators of growth and development in children. Findings regarding neonatal concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances varied between cohorts despite identical methodology of measurement, partly explained by differences in levels of exposure and sociodemographic characteristic of participants.Archived DBS can be a valuable resource in population-based studies and in low resource settings to address important questions on the diversity of environmental exposure and their implications for child health.