Children's Inventory Research Articles

Stop Consonant Production in Children with Cleft Palate After Palatoplasty.

: The current study examined stop consonant production in children with cleft lip and/or palate (CP ± L) 2-6 months following palatal surgery. : Prospective comparative study. : Multisite institutional. : Participants included 113 children with repaired CP ± L (mean age = 16 months) who were participating in the multicenter CORNET study. Parents of participants were asked to record approximately two hours of their child's vocalizations/words at home using a Language ENvironmental Analysis (LENATM) recorder. Four ten-minute audio-recorded samples of vocalizations were extracted from the original recording for each participant and analyzed for presence of oral stop consonants. A minimum of 100 vocalizations were required for analysis. : Preliminary findings indicate that at least one oral stop was evident in the consonant inventory for 95 of the 113 children (84%) at the time of their post-surgery 16-month recording, and 80 of these children (71%) were producing two or more different stops. Approximately 50% of the children (57/113) produced the three voiced stops, and eight of the children (7%) were producing all six stop consonants. : The findings of this study suggest that the majority of children with repaired CP ± L from English-speaking homes are producing oral stops within six months following palatal surgery. Similar to same-age children without CL ± P, voiced stops were more frequently evident in the children's inventories than voiceless stops. In contrast to findings of previous reports suggesting place of articulation differences, a somewhat comparable percentage of children in this study produced voiced bilabial, alveolar, and velar stops.

Utility of self- and parent-reported suicidal ideation in early childhood: Prediction of suicidal ideation and psychopathology in adolescence.

The rates of suicide in youth have increased dramatically, leading to increased interest in routinely screening youth for suicidality. However, data on suicidal ideation (SI) in younger children are sparse, especially with brief self-report measures that can easily be used for screening non-referred samples. We evaluated a community sample of 497 6-year-old children and their parents and followed them into adolescence. SI was assessed via child self-report at ages 6 and 9 using an item from the Children's Depression Inventory, and via parent-report at age 6 using an item from the Early Childhood Inventory. Child psychopathology and functioning were assessed via semi-structured interviews every 3 years from age 6 through 15. Child endorsement of SI at age 6 did not predict later psychopathology or functioning. Child endorsement of SI at age 9 was associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) diagnoses across the adolescent follow-up assessments. Parent endorsement of child SI predicted an increased likelihood of later SI and non-suicidal self-injury, a higher rate of DBD and externalizing symptoms, and poorer global functioning in adolescence. Our results support recommendations against administering SI screening measures to children under the age of 10.

The Efficacy of Virtual Reality Game Preparation for Children Scheduled for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Procedures (IMAGINE): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundIt is known that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures generate fear and anxiety. Children may become restless during scanning, which results in movement artifacts requiring the MRI procedure to be repeated with sedation. Few studies seem to have looked at the effect of immersive virtual reality (IVR) on anxiety in children scheduled for MRI scans and how to identify which children are more responsive.ObjectiveThe aims of this study are 3-fold: develop an algorithm of predictability based on biofeedback, address feasibility and acceptability of preprocedural IVR game preparation for anxiety management during MRI procedures, and examine the efficacy of IVR game preparation compared with usual care for the management of procedural anxiety during MRI scans.MethodsThis study will have 2 phases. We will first conduct a field test with 10 participants aged 7 to 17 years to develop a predictive algorithm for biofeedback solution and to address the feasibility and acceptability of the research. After the field test, a randomized controlled trial will be completed using a parallel design with 2 groups: an experimental group (preprocedural IVR game preparation) and a usual care group (standard care as per the radiology department’s protocol) in an equal ratio of 49 participants per group for 98 participants. Recruitment will be carried out at a hospital in Quebec, Canada. The experimental group will receive a preprocedural IVR game preparation (IMAGINE) that offers an immersive simulation of the MRI scan. Participants will complete a questionnaire to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and incidence of side effects related to the intervention and the biofeedback device. Data collected will include sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as well as measures of procedure-related anxiety with the French-Canadian version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (score 1-3) and the Children’s Fear Scale (score 0-4). Physiological signs will be noted and include heart rate, skin conductance, hand temperature, and muscle tension. Measures of the level of satisfaction of health care professionals, parents, and participants will also be collected. Analyses will be carried out according to the intention-to-treat principle, with a Cronbach α significance level of .05.ResultsAs of May 10, 2022, no participant was enrolled in the clinical trial. The data collection time frame is projected to be between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications.ConclusionsOur study provides an alternative method for anxiety management to better prepare patients for an awake MRI procedure. The biofeedback will help predict which children are more responsive to this type of intervention. This study will guide future medical practice by providing evidence-based knowledge on a nonpharmacological therapeutic modality for anxiety management in children scheduled for an MRI scan.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04988516; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04988516International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/30616

Efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy on aggressive behavior in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and emotion dysregulation: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is frequently associated with emotional dysregulation (ED). ED is characterized by excessive and inappropriate emotional reactions compared to social norms, uncontrolled and rapid shifts in emotion, and attention focused on emotional stimuli. Few studies have evaluated non-pharmacological interventions to improve ED in children with ADHD. The current randomized controlled trial assesses the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention compared with a theater-based intervention (TBI) in children with ADHD and ED.MethodsSixty-eight 7- to 13-year-old children with ADHD and ED will be recruited and randomly assigned to the CBT or TBI group. CBT aims to reduce ED by teaching anger management strategies. TBI seeks to reduce ED by improving emotion understanding and expression through mimics and movement. In both groups, children participate in 15 1-h sessions, and parents participate in 8 sessions of a parent management program. The primary outcome measure is the change in the “Aggression” sub-score of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Secondary outcome measures include overall impairment (Children’s Global Assessment Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), personality profile (Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children), executive function (Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function), quality of life (Kidscreen-27), parental stress (Parenting Stress Index, 4th edition), parental depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II), and impact of child disorders on the quality of the family life (Parental Quality of Life and Developmental Disorder).DiscussionChildren with ADHD and ED are at risk of functional impairment and poor outcomes and have specific therapeutic needs. This randomized controlled trial wants to assess non-pharmacological treatment options for this population.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov. NCT03176108. Registered on June 5, 2017.

Comparison of different scales for the evaluation of anxiety and compliance with anesthetic induction in children undergoing scheduled major outpatient surgery

IntroductionAnxiety in children triggered by a scheduled surgical intervention is a major issue due to its frequency and consequences. Preoperative anxiety is associated with increased patient fear and agitation on anesthetic induction. The aim of this study is to compare three preoperative anxiety scales for children undergoing elective outpatient surgery, and to correlate each of these tools with the degree of patient compliance on induction, as assessed by the Induction Compliance Checklist (ICC).MethodsAn observational prospective study was performed on a cohort of children with ages between 2 and 16 years old, scheduled for outpatient surgery. Anxiety was assessed upon arrival to the hospital (M0), during transfer to the surgical unit (M1), and in the operating room during anesthetic induction (M2). Anxiety in the parents (measured with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI) and in the children (measured with the Spence Anxiety Scale-Pediatric, SCAS-P, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Children, STAIC, and Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, m-YPAS) was assessed. Compliance with anesthetic induction was assessed with ICC.ResultsThe study included 76 patients (72.4% male, median age 7.9 years). Anxiety scores (m-YPAS) increased as the moment of surgery approached, being greater at the entrance to the surgical unit (M0 = 26.1 ± 9.5; M1 = 31.8 ± 18.1; M2 = 33.5 ± 21.1). A strong correlation was found between ICC scale and m-YPAS at M1 (0.738) and M2 timepoints (0.794), but not with the rest of scales at M0.ConclusionsStandard anxiety assessment scales do not predict the quality of anesthetic induction. m-YPAS scale can detect increasing anxiety in children as they approach the surgical procedure and this correlates strongly with a worse anesthetic induction, defined by higher score on ICC scale.

Do metacognitions mediate the path from reading deficits to internalization and externalization behaviours in Pakistani adolescents?

ABSTRACT The present research examines the mediating role of metacognition in the relationship between RD and internalization and externalization in a normative sample of Pakistani adolescents. The participants were 210 adolescents ranging from 11 to 17 years. The data were collected using a Metacognitions index of the Behavioral Rating Inventory and two internalization and externalization indexes of the Personality Inventory for Children. A series of regression analyses were conducted to examine metacognition’s mediating role in the relationship between reading deficits and internalization and externalization. The findings illustrate that meta-cognition significantly mediated the relationship between reading deficits and internalization and externalization in adolescents. The current findings have implications for clinicians, school psychologists, and policymakers for the early identification and intervention of reading deficits to reduce and manage the occurrence of adolescents’ internalization and externalization behaviors.

The Mediator Role of Sport Competence and Physical Condition in the Motivational Climate and Personal-Social Responsibility in Physical Education

This study aimed to separately examine the mediator role of two different variables in the relationship between perceived motivational climate and personal-social responsibility in physical education lessons. A total of 406 students ( Mage = 12.91, SD = 1.01), 217 girls ( Mage = 12.88, SD = 1.03) and 189 boys ( Mage = 12.93, SD = 0.99), from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades attended the study. In the research, the Learning and Performance Orientations in Physical Education Classes Questionnaire, the Personal-Social Responsibility Questionnaire, and Physical Self-Perception Inventory for Children (physical condition and sport competence) were used. To realize the purpose of the research, the measurement models were first tested using the structural equation model; next, multiple regression analysis applications were made. Mediation analysis was carried out separately for the “learning and performance climate dimensions” for the perceived motivational climate questionnaire. For this purpose, the mediating effect of physical condition and sport competence in the relationship between each perceived motivational climate dimension and personal-social responsibility, was examined. In the analyzes, it was found that neither learning nor performance dimensions of perceived motivational climate had any mediating effect on the relationship between personal-social responsibility. However, the perceived learning climate could moderately predict personal-social responsibility whereas the perceived performance climate could not. As a result, it can be said that the most important effect on personal- social responsibility in physical education lessons belongs to “the student learning orientation” factor which belongs only to the perceived learning climate. Since the student’s sport competence or physical condition is not effective in influencing personal-social responsibility, it has become necessary for physical education teachers to make efforts to create a learning-oriented climate that is associated with positive outcomes.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of a Nepali version of the Dutch Participation and Activity Inventory for Children and Youth (PAI - CY) with visual impairment

BackgroundVisual impairment is an important cause of disability in children. There is a lack of information on rehabilitation needs and low vision support services for children with visual impairment in Nepal. This is a pilot study designed to translate, culturally adapt and pre-test the Dutch version of the Participation and Activity Inventory for Children and Youth (PAI-CY) with visual impairment aged 7–17 years to develop a Nepali version.Questionnaires (PAI-CY versions for 7–12 and 13–17 years) were translated using standardized methods and were culturally adapted by a panel of experts. They were pretested to evaluate comprehensibility and relevance among six children with visual impairment and blindness. Finally, participants completed a questionnaire evaluation form.ResultsThe translation and cultural adaptation process resulted in the adaptation of nine items to make them suitable for Nepali culture. Most children had comprehensibility problems with some specific items because of vocabulary, sentence structure and the composition of items. Most of the children were satisfied with the questionnaires.ConclusionThe study resulted in the development of a Nepali version of the PAI-CY. We worked with a small group of content experts and a small but representative sample of children which allowed us to use rigorous translation procedures to address language and cultural differences. A population based study has been planned to investigate the psychometric properties of these questionnaires.

Use of Audiobooks as an Environmental Distractor to Decrease State Anxiety in Children Waiting in the Pediatric Emergency Department: A Pilot and Feasibility Study.

Objectives: Anxiety and anticipatory stressors are commonly experienced by children visiting the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED), but little research exists that addresses the efficacy of interventions to decrease this stress. This one-sample pretest-postest pilot study gathered preliminary data on the feasibility and effectiveness of utilizing audiobooks to reduce fear and state anxiety in children in the PED.Methods: Participants were 131 children in kindergarten through 8th grade (M = 9.4 years, 54% female), triaged urgent or emergent, presenting to the PED. Participants self-reported fear (Children's Fear Scale) and state anxiety (modified State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children; mSTAIC) before and after listening to an age-appropriate audiobook (two options). Data regarding patient experience were also collected. Paired samples t-test was used to examine pre–post intervention changes in fear and state anxiety.Results: Significant, albeit small, improvements in fear and the mSTAIC states of nervous, calm, happy, and relaxed were found after use of the audiobook (Cohen's dz = 0.22–0.35). Small, yet significant correlations were found between child age/grade level and improvements in fear and in the mSTAIC states of scared and relaxed, suggesting that the audiobook was more beneficial for older participants. Over 60% of participants liked the audiobook content “a lot” as well as enjoyed listening to the audiobook “a lot.” Without prompting, 15% of participants requested to listen to an additional audiobook.Conclusions: Listening to an audiobook is feasible and could be effective in decreasing fear and state anxiety for children during a waiting period in the PED. The technology is low-cost, simple, and portable. The results of this study should be interpreted with prudence due to the lack of a control group and results that, although significant, were modest based on effect size conventions; future studies should explore the impact of audiobooks on patient stress with an expanded sample size and control group.

La actividad artística como regulador de los procesos de ansiedad y agresividad en niños

Existen investigaciones y publicaciones que indican que la danza es una buena herramienta para ayudar a los niños a regular sus niveles de estrés y a reducir su nivel de ansiedad. Objetivo: El objetivo de esta investigación, es el de evaluar comparativamente el efecto de la práctica regular de danza en el control del estrés y la disminución de la ansiedad en niños. Materiales y método: Estudio de corte experimental de tipo longitudinal, con muestra no probabilística intencional de 146 niños, 50 niños del grupo experimental que asistieron al programa de danza, 50 niños que practicaban actividad física regular y 46 niños sedentarios. Se aplicaron los cuestionarios CAS, STAIC y el Inventario de Estrés Cotidiano Infantil (IECI). Resultados: El grupo de danza tuvo el mayor descenso en niveles de estrés y ansiedad. El grupo con ejercicio físico deportivo mostró una tendencia marcada a permanecer constante. En el grupo control de niños sedentarios, sin ningún tratamiento, se halló una notable inclinación hacia el aumento de los niveles de estrés. Los resultados confirman que el estrés puede disminuir con la práctica regular de danza. El ejercicio físico deportivo también reduce, pero sin la misma estabilidad en los resultados ya que, en algunos casos individuales, aumenta los niveles de ansiedad y estrés.

INVESTIGATION OF THE CORRELATION BETWEEN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS LEVEL AND LISTENING-MONITORING STRATEGIES

The aim of this study is to determine the correlation between secondary school students' metacognitive awareness levels and frequency of listening / monitoring strategies. In the study, correlational survey model has been employed. The sample of the study consists of 406 secondary school students from 4 schools determined by criterion sampling method in the 2018-2019 academic year. The Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Children (Jr. MAI) - A and B Forms and The Usage Frequency Scale of Listening/Monitoring Strategies in Secondary School Students have been used as data collection tools. Percentage, frequency, arithmetic mean, correlation analysis, t test, two-way ANOVA analysis have been used. As a result of the research, it has been found out that the frequency of using secondary school students' listening / monitoring strategies is high, and there is a positive correlation between metacognitive awareness level and listening / monitoring strategies. Furthermore, it has been concluded that there is a significant correlation between the metacognitive awareness levels of the secondary school students and the frequency of using listening / monitoring strategies in terms of grade level, there is a positive correlation in favor of female students in terms of gender variable. According to the results of two-way ANOVA, it has been concluded that there is no significant difference depending on the common effect in problem situations involving gender and class variables.
 
 <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0740/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Commentary on "Measurement Properties of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory-Children and Adolescents for Children and Adolescents Postconcussion".

Commentary on "Measurement Properties of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory-Children and Adolescents for Children and Adolescents Postconcussion".

Disordered Eating Attitudes and Behaviors in Maltreated Children and Adolescents Receiving Forensic Assessment in a Child Advocacy Center

ABSTRACT Previous studies have indicated that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and other forms of child maltreatment (CM), as well as their subsequent posttraumatic symptoms, are significant risk factors for the development of disordered eating behaviors and attitudes and eating disorders (EDs). However, there are no known reports of CM based on forensic interview and assessment that have been linked to disordered eating behaviors and attitudes, or eating disorders (EDs), especially in children and adolescents. We, therefore, examined the hypothesis that ED-related symptoms would be significantly associated with trauma-related symptoms in children with reported maltreatment. Girls (n = 179, 11.9 ± 2.4 years) and boys (n = 99, 11.7 ± 2.8 years) referred for forensic assessment of alleged maltreatment completed the Kids’ Eating Disorders Survey, the Eating Disorders Inventory for Children (EDI-C), the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children, and the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale, among others. Significant positive correlations between most EDI-C subscale scores and most TSC-C subscale scores (PTSD, dissociation, anxiety, depression, sexual concerns) were found (p ≤.001) in the total sample and girls alone. Participants with credible, substantiated disclosures had significantly higher scores on several ED-related measures than those with non-credible, non-substantiated disclosures. Linear regression analysis indicated that PTSD and dissociative symptoms were significant predictors of EDI-C scores in those with substantiated disclosures (p ≤.001). Findings support the hypothesis that ED-related symptoms are significantly linked to authenticated CM.

First stage psychometric testing of a new instrument for adolescents with visual impairment: the Participation and Activity Inventory for Children and Youth (PAI-CY) 13\u201317\u2009years

BackgroundTo assess participation of children with visual impairment, the Participation and Activity Inventory for Children and Youth (PAI-CY) was recently developed. This study assessed some initial psychometric properties of the PAI-CY 13–17 years version, and investigated its feasibility.MethodsAdolescents with visual impairment and their parents (n = 72 dyads) completed the self-report and proxy-report version of the 58-item PAI-CY, an evaluation form and several questionnaires measuring related constructs. Item deletion was informed by item responses, inter-item correlations, test-retest reliability, adolescent-parent agreement and participants’ feedback. Known-group validity and concurrent validity with related questionnaires were investigated for the final item-set.ResultsTwelve items had > 20% missing values, whereas 39 items showed floor effects. Eight item pairs showed high inter-item correlations. Test-retest reliability was acceptable for most items (kappa ≥0.4). Evaluation forms showed that over 90% of respondents was neutral to very positive regarding several feasibility aspects such as administration time and comprehensiveness. Adolescent-parent agreement was mostly low. These results informed the deletion of three items. Known-group validity seemed adequate since PAI-CY scores were significantly worse for participants with comorbidity compared to those without. A trend towards worse scores for participants with more severe visual impairment was also observed. Correlations between the PAI-CY and related questionnaires confirmed concurrent validity.ConclusionsInitial psychometric properties of the PAI-CY 13–17 were acceptable, although more work is needed to assess other psychometric properties, such as the underlying construct. Following implementation in low vision care to assess participation needs, enabling larger samples, acceptability of the PAI-CY 13–17 to end-users should be carefully monitored, especially if alterations are made based on the current study.

Dimension- and context-specific expression of preschoolers' disruptive behaviors associated with prenatal tobacco exposure

ObjectivePrecise phenotypic characterization of prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE)–related disruptive behavior (DB) that integrates nuanced measures of both exposures and outcomes is optimal for elucidating underlying mechanisms. Using this approach, our goals were to identify dimensions of DB most sensitive to PTE prior to school entry and assess contextual variation in these dimensions. MethodsA community obstetric sample of N = 369 women (79.2% lifetime smokers; 70.2% pregnancy smokers) from two Midwestern cities were assessed for PTE using cotinine-calibrated interview-based reports at 16, 28, and 40 weeks of gestation. A subset of n = 244 who completed observational assessments with their 5-year-old children in a subsequent preschool follow-up study constitute the analytic sample. Using two developmentally-meaningful dimensions previously associated with emergent clinical risk for DB—irritability and noncompliance—we assessed children with 2 parent-report scales: the Multidimensional Assessment Profile of Disruptive Behavior (MAP-DB) and the Early Childhood Inventory (ECI). We also assessed children by direct observation across 3 interactional contexts with the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule (DB-DOS). We used generalized linear models to examine between-child variability across behavioral dimensions, and mixed effects models to examine directly observed within-child variability by interactional context. ResultsIncreasing PTE predicted increasing impairment in preschoolers' modulation of negative affect (irritability), but not negative behavior (noncompliance) across reported (MAP-DB) and observed (DB-DOS) dimensional measures. Moreover, children's PTE-related irritability was more pronounced when observed with parents than with the examiner. The ECI did not detect PTE-related irritability nor noncompliance. ConclusionsNuanced, dimension- and context-specific characterization of PTE-related DB described can optimize early identification of at-risk children.

Estado y rasgo de ansiedad en escolares y adolescentes colombianos con y sin desórdenes gastrointestinales funcionales

Introducción: la fisiopatología de los desórdenes gastrointestinales funcionales (DGF) incluye un eje intestino-cerebro alterado.
 Objetivo: determinar la prevalencia y posibles asociaciones de ansiedad en niños con DGF.
 Metodología: estudio de prevalencia realizado en ciudades colombianas en niños entre 8 y 18 años a quienes se les identificaron DGF según los Criterios de Roma III y ansiedad por medio del State Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Se incluyeron variables sociodemográficas y familiares. El análisis estadístico incluyó medidas de tendencia central, análisis uni- y multivariados, y regresión logística, teniendo en cuenta una p < 0,05 como significativa.
 Resultados: se incluyeron 1496 niños, 12,7 ± 2,1 años, 50,5 % niñas, 79,9 % con ansiedad transitoria y 51,5 % con tendencia a experimentar estados de ansiedad. Hubo predominio para el estado-ansiedad en adolescentes masculinos y para el rasgo-ansiedad en adolescentes femeninas con algún DGF. Los posibles factores de riesgo fueron la edad y el sexo para estado-ansiedad, y la edad, el sexo y los DGF para el rasgo-ansiedad.
 Conclusiones: cerca de la mitad de los niños tuvo tendencia a presentar estados de ansiedad, con predominio de las adolescentes femeninas y con factores de riesgo como la edad, el sexo y tener algún DGF.

The German-Language Short Form of the Big Five Inventory for Children and Adolescents – Other-Rating Version (BFI-K KJ-F)

Abstract. The other-rating version of the Big Five Inventory for Children and Adolescents (BFI-K KJ-F) serves to record the five basic personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism and Openness to Experience via reference persons and it is an addition to the German-language self-assessment questionnaire for children and adolescents (BFI-K KJ; Kupper, Krampen, Rammstedt, & Rohrmann, 2019 ). To determine the psychometric characteristics of the questionnaire comprising 26 items, personality assessments of 258 reference persons (predominantly parents) of 9–16-year-old children and adolescents ( M = 11.66, SD = 2.04; 52% girls) are available. The reliability of the method could be substantiated by internal consistency analyses (Cronbach’s α = .70–.86 and McDonald’s ω = .71–.86, respectively) and a retest analysis ( rp,tt = .74–.90). The five-factor structure was supported by an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The analyses of age and gender, which were in conformity with literature, as well as the comparison of self- and other-rating, which predominantly showed moderate to high accordance, also speak in favor of validity. The other-rating version of the BFI-K KJ proves to be reliable and valid as well as economic.

Associations between Pretend Play, Psychological Functioning and Coping Strategies in Pediatric Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Illness Study.

Children with chronic illnesses are called to undertake complicated processes of adjustment and re-organization in their daily lives; as a result, they could experience several internalizing problems. Symbolic play could be a useful way to cope with these difficulties. The main aim of this paper is to assess pretend play, coping, and psychological symptoms in three groups of school-aged children with pediatric chronic diseases. The study involved 44 Italian school-aged, chronically ill children: 16 with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), 12 with cystic fibrosis (CF), and 15 with Leukemia. All patients were assessed by the Affect in Play Scale–Brief version (APS-Br), and the Children’s Coping Strategies Checklist–Revision1 (CCSC-R1). Children with T1DM and CF also completed the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory for Children (SASI-C) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)–children’s version. Cohen’s d (effect size) was applied between clinical and normative samples, and it showed a more organized play (APS-BR), but a more negative affect tone, comfort, and frequency of affect expression. Comparing APS-BR and CCSC-R1 rates between the three groups, significant differences were found for all the APS-BR dimensions, except for tone, and for CCSC-R1 seeking understanding. Comparing SASI-C score between T1DM and CF, higher scores were found for children with CF. In the end, correlations between all dimensions highlighted several relationships between play, coping, and adjustment problems for children with T1DM, and relationship between affect play and all variables for children with CF. Symbolic play helps chronically ill children to express emotions; helping them, as well as clinicians, to understand the difficulties caused by chronic conditions, and to cope with them.

Development and Validation of the Chinese Inventory of Children’s Socioemotional Competence (CICSEC)

ABSTRACT Research findings This study explored the latent structure of socioemotional competence among Chinese kindergarten children in Hong Kong, China, developing and validating a culturally relevant, teacher-reported measure, the Chinese Inventory of Children’s Socioemotional Competence (CICSEC). Cross-sectional questionnaire data were collected on two samples of children from Hong Kong (N1 = 1,731; N2 = 475). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that, children’s socioemotional competence was best represented by a two-level, four-factor model, a model that was invariant across child gender and grade levels. Four first-level factors, cognitive control, emotion expressivity, empathy and prosocial behaviors, and emotion regulation, were identified, and they were subsumed under a second-level, overarching factor: socioemotional competence. CICSEC demonstrated many good psychometric properties: The entire scale and the four subscales exhibited excellent internal consistencies. Moreover, it demonstrated criterion validity by being correlated positively with school readiness and negatively with problem behaviors. It also demonstrated incremental validity by explaining unique variance in school readiness, above and beyond an existing measure of children’s socioemotional competence. Practice or policy: Findings pointed to the advantages of using culturally specific, locally derived measures in assessing socioemotional competence and understanding child adjustment.

Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Thought-Action Fusion-Child Version (TAFIC)

OBJECTIVE: The concept of thought-action fusion has long been recognized as a cognitive vulnerability factor for psyhopathology that given its clinical relevance and importance reliable assessment of this phenomenon seems to be essential. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Thought-Action Fusion Inventory for Children (TAFIC) among Turkish children and adolescents. METHODS: Five hundred and ninety-one subjects (mean age=14.16±2.08 years) participated in the study. Voluntered subjects completed the TAFIC, Magical Ideation Scale (MIS), Child Depression Inventory (CDI), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Revised–Child Self-Report (SCARED-R-CV), and Metacognitions Questionnaire for Children (MCQ-C). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the original four-factor structure excellently fit the data on the Turkish version of the TAFIC. Internal reliability of the instrument was acceptable to excellent, with Kuder-Richardson coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.89. The convergent validity of the TAFIC was adequate, with significant correlation coefficients with magical ideation, meta-cognitions, depression, and anxiety related emotional problems. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, we concluded that the Turkish version of the TAFIC has promising psychometric properties in assessing thought-action fusion among children and adolescents.