Social-emotional Development Of Young Children Research Articles

Recess time: Help or hindrance to the social-emotional development of young children?

ABSTRACT Recess is an important and unique component of the school day, and yet there is a relative paucity of research on its impact on young children. Moreover, recesses are often perceived negatively by educators because they can detract from academic instructional time and, depending on the kind of play and interactions between students, may also be times of social conflict and, in some cases, exclusion and bullying. This article examines several facets of recess and its importance: it outlines what students do at recess and the social processes that take place, as well as challenges specific to recess time, and its impact on social-emotional learning. It then reviews what constitutes a high-quality recess and synthesizes scholarship on the effectiveness of recess interventions around the world. The article evaluates whether recess is ultimately a help or a hindrance to young children’s social-emotional development, and concludes with both policy and practice recommendations for educators.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group-based intervention to improve social-emotional development of young children in poverty-stricken areas: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Social-emotional ability is key to the well-being and future success of children; however, disparities in social-emotional development during an individual's early age can last a lifetime, which is particularly evident among children living in poverty-stricken areas. We aimed to determine the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility of a group-based intervention called the Care Group on social-emotional development for families living in poverty-stricken counties. We conducted a cluster (township) randomized controlled trial (C-RCT) every two weeks from July 2019 to June 2020 in a poverty-stricken area located in Shanxi, China. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the implementation of the intervention in January 2020. The caregiver-child pairs in the intervention group participated in 12 group-based sessions with a structured curriculum and learning materials emphasizing nurturing ability and early childhood development. We applied a difference-in-differences (DID) model to estimate the intervention's impact. The analysis follows the intention-to-treat (ITT) principle. We used standard economic costing methods to estimate the cost of implementing the Care Group over the intervention period and adopted a societal perspective in the analysis. We included 322 eligible caregiver-child pairs in the baseline (intervention n = 136, control n = 186) and surveyed 258 pairs in the endline (intervention n = 117, control n = 141). Compared with the control group, children in the intervention group had significantly fewer social-emotional problems (adjusted mean difference of Z score = -0.374, 95% CI = -0.718, -0.030, P = 0.033) six months after intervention. In the first year, the annual cost of implementing Care Group was US$146.10 per child, reduced to US$47.20 per child in the second year due to the exclusion of non-recurrent costs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was US$390.60. Care Group is an effective approach for promoting children's social-emotional development in poverty-stricken areas at an affordable cost and with high feasibility for scale-up. Considering the planned per capita health expenditure of the Chinese government for 2022, we believe that the presented evidence makes a solid scientific and financial case for integrating the Care Group intervention into the basic public health services (BPHS) package. Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR): ChiCTR1900022894.

Evaluating A Local Community Collaborative Coalition: Utilizing the Wilder Collaborative Factors Inventory.

Community collaboration is a founding principle of the Early Success Coalition (ESC), a collaborative of over 74 agencies, engaging over 200 participants. The ESC aims to develop a comprehensive neighborhood young-child-wellness system model to better foster cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development of young children. The Wilder Collaborative Factors Inventory (WCFI) was used, as part of a participatory mixed-methods evaluation, to collect annual measures of collaboration. To reflect on lessons learned, resulting from 4 years of ESC WCFI data. ESC members completed the WCFI standardized survey tool, encompassing 40 questions grouped into 20 factors associated with successful collaboration, annually. Community collaborations are naturally slow to establish, with funding/staffing concerns standing out as primary fears within the membership. Participation in the ESC provided leadership, structure, and concrete goals, which bolstered local collaborative efforts. Overall, the WCFI is proposed as an insightful tool for evaluating community collaboratives.

Psychometric properties of the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) in two-year-old Ivorian and Ghanaian children

There is a lack of feasible and psychometrically sound instruments assessing social-emotional development in young children in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) in two West-African populations. We administered the BITSEA in an interview-based mode to 289 mothers from Côte d'Ivoire and 227 mothers from Ghana for assessing their two-year-old children. In confirmatory factor analyses of four possible underlying theoretical models, we found only minimal support for the validity of the Problem scale and no support for the validity of the Competence scale. Consequently, without adaptation and subsequent validation of the modified version we cannot recommend the use of the BITSEA in West-African countries.

The Best Possible Start: Perspectives of Parents of Children With or at High Risk for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Abstract Date Presented 03/28/20 This qualitative study explored the converging and diverging needs of biological and adoptive parents raising young children with or at risk for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Findings from this study advocate for early interventions that prioritize and promote social-emotional development of young children, are family-centered, and provide concrete assistance for family circumstances and parent well-being. Primary Author and Speaker: Misty Pruner Contributing Authors: Tracy Jirikowic, Kathryn Yorkston, Heather Carmichael Olson

The relationship between dog ownership, dog play, family dog walking, and pre-schooler social-emotional development: findings from the PLAYCE observational study.

Regular physical activity provides children with health and developmental benefits. This study investigated if active play and walking with the family dog was associated with better social-emotional development in young children. We surveyed 1646 parents to ascertain if families with pre-schoolers owned a dog, and the frequency per week their child went on family dog walks or actively played with their dog. The parent-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to measure children's social-emotional development. Children from dog-owning households had reduced likelihood of conduct problems (odds ratio (OR) = 0.70; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.54, 0.90), peer problems (OR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.79), and total difficulties (OR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.99) and increased likelihood of prosocial behavior (OR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.68) compared with children without a dog. Within dog-owning households, family dog walking at least once/week (OR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.08) and active play with the family dog three or more times/week (OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.59) increased the likelihood of prosocial behaviors. Family dog walking at least once/week also reduced the likelihood of total difficulties (OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.96). Our findings highlight the possible physical activity and social-emotional developmental benefits of family dog ownership for pre-schoolers, and that these benefits may present in early childhood. Young children from dog-owning families had lower peer problems and conduct problems, and higher prosocial behaviors than children from non-dog-owning families. Children of dog-owning families who walked or played with their dog more often also had better prosocial behaviors. Positive social-emotional development was associated with dog ownership, family dog walking, and dog play in young children. Highlights that the social-emotional benefits of owning a dog may begin early in childhood. Due to the high level of pet ownership in households with children, these findings suggest having a dog and interacting with it through play and walking may be important mechanisms for facilitating young children's social-emotional development.

The Role of Quality ECE in Facilitating Mental Health and Well-Being in Children

This article explores trends and statistics specific to the mental health status of children from both the Canadian and the global contexts to inform a conversation on the environmental conditions and experiences that impact the mental health of young children. The research described here focused on the intersection between mental health and early child education (ECE), along with the educational and professional development experiences of early childhood educators, in an attempt to identify mitigating factors that can ensure social-emotional development in children. The article argues that while ECE can help the social-emotional development of young children, there needs to be a focus on ensuring quality of experience with explicit social-emotional learning outcomes, delivered by highly educated professionals. It concludes with a call to focus on the mental health of young children, early child educators, and the critical importance of healthy relationships in the lives of these children.

Does ‘Animal Fun’ improve aiming and catching, and balance skills in young children?

AimThe Animal Fun program, a universal early intervention program that aims to promote the motor skills and social-emotional development of young children, has shown to improve overall motor proficiency and social and behavioural outcomes. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the program’s impact on children’s aiming and catching, and balance skills. MethodsA cluster randomised control trial was employed, with six intervention and six control (following normal curriculum) schools. A total sample of 511 children (257 boys and 254 girls), aged 4–6 years presented at pre-test. Children were tested across three time points, pre-test, post intervention (six months later) and follow-up (18 months after pre-test), using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 Aiming and Catching, and Balance tasks. The study also tested for potential moderators including pre-test motor proficiency, age, gender, and cognitive performance. ResultsParticipation in Animal Fun improved children’s one leg balance at post-test and follow-up compared to control children, regardless of pre-test motor proficiency, age, gender, or pre-test cognitive performance. Participation in Animal Fun also improved throwing skills for those children with poorer motor proficiency compared to the controls with poorer motor performance. Interestingly, it was found that the control group’s catching skills improved more than the intervention group at follow up. ConclusionsThe study provides some promising results regarding the efficacy of the Animal Fun program in improving one-leg balance for all children, and throwing skills for those children with poorer motor proficiency, while also suggesting potential confounding factors, such as maturational issues and other individual factors (e.g., a child’s participation in extracurricular activity).

Screen Exposure During Daily Routines and a Young Child's Risk for Having Social-Emotional Delay.

This cross-sectional study assessed associations between social-emotional development in young children and their number of daily routines involving an electronic screen. We hypothesized children with poor social-emotional development have a significant portion of daily routines occurring with a screen. Two hundred and ten female caregivers of typically developing children 12 to 36 months old completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ: SE) and a media diary. Caregivers completed the diary for 1 day around 10 daily routines (Waking Up, Diapering/Toileting, Dressing, Breakfast, Lunch, Naptime, Playtime, Dinner, Bath, and Bedtime). Median number of daily routines occurring with a screen for children at risk and not at risk for social-emotional delay (as defined by the ASQ: SE) was 7 versus 5. Children at risk for social-emotional delay were 5.8 times more likely to have ≥5 routines occurring with a screen as compared to children not at risk for delay (χ12 = 9.28, N = 210, P = .002; 95% confidence interval = 1.66-20.39).

Maternal psychological distress and appraisal of parenting experience predict social-emotional development of Kenyan infants

ABSTRACTThis study investigated whether higher maternal psychological distress, lower provision of psychosocial stimulation and a negative appraisal of parenting experience were associated with lower cognitive, motor, social-emotional and adaptive behaviour development in children under 3 years of age in Kenya. A cross-sectional design was used, with 81 caregiver–child dyads recruited through convenience sampling. The mean age of these infants was 8.5 months (SD = 5.6 months, range 23 days to 25.5 months). Higher maternal psychological distress was associated with lower social-emotional development, but not cognitive, motor and adaptive development of a child. Psychosocial stimulation provided by mothers was not related to any developmental outcomes. Maternal psychological distress and appraisal of parenting experience were significant, unique predictors of child social-emotional development. Findings suggest that interventions designed to promote social-emotional development of young children in Kenya should target maternal mental health and enhance confidence and experience of parenting.

Set for Success: Building a Strong Foundation for School Readiness Based on the Social-Emotional Development of Young Children

Set for Success: Building a Strong Foundation for School Readiness Based on the Social-Emotional Development of Young Children

Parenting Latino Toddlers and Preschoolers

Parenting practices contribute significantly to the social-emotional development of young children. There is limited literature that addresses the role of culture in parenting, particularly among Latino families who have very young children with significant behavior problems. The current study compared the parenting practices of 30 low-income Latino mothers whose young children had been referred for mental health services for their behavior problems with a similar group of 30 mothers of children without behavior problems. Results showed that mothers in the clinical sample nurtured their children less often and used more frequent verbal and corporal punishment as discipline than the nonclinical sample. The clinical sample also had a significantly higher incidence of mental health problems in their families. Results also showed the significant toll that raising young children with challenging behaviors takes on their mothers. The implications of these findings for the early identification of these children are discussed.

Young children of affectively ill parents: a longitudinal study of psychosocial development.

The course of social-emotional development of young children of affectively ill and well parents was assessed. The families were classified by mother's diagnosis: bipolar illness (N = 22), unipolar depression (N = 41), and normal (N = 37). Father's diagnosis also was obtained. Pairs of siblings were studied; the younger was between 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 years and the older between 5 and 8 years when the study began. They were seen again 3 years later. Psychiatric assessment and mother's report were used to evaluate children's disruptive behavior, anxiety, and depressive characteristics. The frequency of problem-level behavior changed over time in relation to mother's diagnosis. By middle and late childhood, significantly more children of affectively ill than well mothers had depressive and disruptive problems and multiple behavior problems. Offspring of unipolar mothers developed problems earlier and both siblings were more likely to have behavior problems.