Social Status Of Children Research Articles

Sociaal-maatschappelijke gevolgen en kwaliteit van leven in Nederland bij kinderen en jongvolwassenen opgegroeid met een chronische aandoening

In this paper studies conducted in the Netherlands on quality of life and social status of children and young adults who have grown up with a chronic disease are summarized. Only for 21 diseases studies could be found. Growing up with a chronic disease has negative consequences in terms of social functioning, schooling and intellectual functioning. Problems in quality of life domains are reported for children with congenital heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, spina bifida and for children with end-stage renal disease. Little is known about predictive factors such as medical determinants, personality or family factors which are related to the later functioning. Research with a psychological-theoretical background in this area should be promoted, also to contribute to the development of necessary interventions for these children and young adults.

Social Background and Parent's Health: Their Impact on Health Status in Adulthood

This paper's main objective is to explore the hypothesis of an intergenerational transmission of health inequalities. We try to understand and measure the impact of both social background and parents' health on health status in adulthood by disentangling its direct effect and its indirect one. The Survey on Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) offers a unique occasion to test this hypothesis for France as for the first time various general health indicators in adulthood and parents' social status are gathered together. We explain health status in adulthood as measured by self-assessed health, according to both the health and the social family background, using ordered Logit models as well as tests of stochastic dominance. The social family background relies on parents' respective socioeconomic status whereas parents' health is measured with their real or estimated age at death as regard to their life expectancy at birth. We show that beyond its relation with current social conditions, health status in adulthood is influenced by both social background and parents' health. Health status in adulthood is directly explained by the mother' social status and both parent's health status whereas the influence of father's social status goes through its strong correlation with children's social status. These results emphasize strong links between social conditions in childhood and health status in adulthood in France, coming from both pathways and latency models. Moreover, a third association between parents' health and child's health in adulthood is observed. The gradient in health status according to which wealthier people have better health and live longer is observed in adulthood but has antecedents in childhood. Although previous works exhibit inequalities of opportunity in income in France (Lefranc et al., 2004), this study highlights results concerning the existence of inequalities of opportunity in health which have never been analysed. This result is appealing from a normative point of view since parents' social status as well as parent's health are independent of individual's responsibility.

The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Teacher Preference on the Relations between Students' Social Behaviors and Peer Acceptance

Tested on a sample of 1,365 Hong Kong primary school students from five grades, teacher preference or the extent to which the classroom teacher likes a child in the class was found to both mediate and, to a lesser extent, moderate the relations between children's social behaviors and peer acceptance across age groups. The mediating effect suggests that peer acceptance responds not only to the behavior of a student but also to how much the classroom teacher likes or dislikes the student. The moderating effect suggests that the associations between student social behaviors and peer acceptance differ as functions of teacher preference. The mediating teacher preference was stronger with younger children, whereas a stronger moderating teacher preference was found for the older children. These findings confirm the supposition that three social processes involving the teacher, children, and peers contribute to children's social status and relations in the classroom.

Attitude towards Artwork in the Israeli Kindergarten and the Reproduction of Social Status

This research analyzes the attitude of teachers, children, and parents toward artwork in Israeli kindergartens and the role this attitude plays in the reproduction theory of social status. This micro-ethnographic field research was carried out in two kindergartens. The teacher and the majority of parents of Kindergarten A concurred with the authoritative approach to art, focusing on standardization, which defines the teacher's role as evaluator, demonstrator, and conveyer of proper working habits and techniques. The teacher and parents of Kindergarten B concurred with the creative approach, focusing on self-expression, originality, imagination, and curiosity, and on the individual, encouraging and advising at the child's request. Both approaches are reflected in the children's interviews, if in somewhat different balance. In the socialization and acculturation processes, the educational system succeeded in creating a set of values that were shared by parents, children, and educators, according to the children's specific social status. The acquiescence of all concerned on how to impart artwork activities reinforces the existing social structure. This research is unique in its examination of the social aspect of artwork done in kindergartens, in light of the fact that the educational literature regards artwork as individualistic in nature, and fostering personal expression.

Children's Emotionality and Social Status: A Meta‐analytic Review

AbstractOver the last 15 years, the role of emotions in children's peer relations has received greader attention. The purpose of the meta‐analytic review was to determine the magnitude of the relation between negative emotionality (NE) and positive emotionality (PE) and social status. Based on 54 independent samples, the overall effect size for the relation between children's NE and social status was in the moderate‐to‐small range, and this effect size was similar across all types of NE (i.e., general measures of NE, anger, fear and sadness). Based on 10 independent samples, the overall effect size for the relation between children's PE and social status was in the small range. We found that the assessment method for anger significantly moderated the relation between anger and social status, and the context in which PE was observed significantly moderated the relation between PE and social status. This article concludes with a set of recommendations for the next generation of research on children's emotional and social competence.

Involving Children and Young People in Research on Domestic Violence and Housing

This article argues that a lack of research on domestic violence which engages with children and young people has led to a paucity of effective service provision for such young people. Methodological issues and ethical concerns involved in conducting research on sensitive topics such as domestic violence, together with presumptions relating to the social status of children in society, have limited the amount of empirical research which engages with this vulnerable group. The article discusses such issues in light of the experience of conducting a 12‐month child‐focused project. The importance of ascertaining children's views is demonstrated through new and important housing‐related findings that were identified by the young people interviewed during this project.

L’invention de l’enfance : modalités institutionnelles et support idéologique

Today's social status of children is the result of social, economic and cultural changes that have characterized western societies all through the 19th century. The establishment of this particular status came during a movement of general differentiation that affects all the practices of delinquents. The present analysis solely concerns the United States and in particular examines the emergence of three institutions intended exclusively for child care : reform school or refuge, family placement and compulsory school attendance.

Socialization and Behavioral Problems of Elementary School Pupils with Developmental Coordination Disorder

The present study examined the role of the developmental coordination disorder in 154 children's socialization and the expression of deviant behaviors in the context of Greek primary education. For assessment of their motor coordination, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children of Henderson and Sugden was used. The peer nomination method (sociogram) was used for the estimation of children's social status, and the expression of deviant behaviors was assessed via Conners' Teacher Questionnaire. Analyses showed that developmental coordination disorder was associated with poor socialization and the expression of deviant behaviors. These findings support the development of educational programs to include children with poor motor coordination.

Science-Based Advances in the Social Domain of Learning Disabilities

love to make them laugh because I can see that they are not only enjoying the lessons but also taking a role in them. (Christina Webb, winner of the 2005 Rodel Teacher Initiative, as cited in Young, 2004) Over the past 20 years, teachers have been under continuous pressure to increase students' academic achievement gains. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the latest effort in the 20+-year-old school reform movement, is a federal mandate that demands in part that school districts implement science-based instructional strategies to ensure that children meet the standards set forth in content curricula. Science-based interventions in the social domain are notably absent. This omission is unfortunate. Children's social status significantly impacts their participation in the reciprocal teaching-learning process. Many horror stories have detailed the adverse outcomes of ignoring the school's social milieu, from the tragedy at Columbine High School to the many students with learning disabilities who spend their school years depressed and lonely (cf., Margalit & Al-Yagon, 1994). Although schools define their mission and are evaluated based on students' academic achievement, the reality is that the mental and social health of classrooms impacts everyone's learning. This should not be the case, for multiple reasons. First, a comprehensive systematic body of research, established under the auspices of the Chicago Institute for Children with Learning Disabilities and replicated numerous times, demonstrated that children with learning disabilities are at high risk for experiencing social problems. This research established the need for educators to factor social relationships into curriculum and instruction design. Second, an impressive body of science also has accumulated, demonstrating that effective social interventions combine teaching adaptive social behaviors with effective teaching strategies. This combination produces greater learning gains than effective teaching strategies alone (cf., Borkowski, 1992; Schunk, 1984). First grade-teacher Christina Webb integrated several of these strategies (e.g., induced positive affect, feedback and contingent praise) into her daily routines. Unfortunately, the newspaper profile fails to mention the science that supports her strategies. SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM IN LEARNING DISABILITIES The research we did at the Chicago Institute for Learning Disabilities produced consistent results detailing the types of social skills problems that students with learning disabilities were likely to experience (cf., Bryan & Bryan, 1983; Donahue, Pearl, & Bryan, 1983). Our efforts, replicated by other researchers across the past 30+ years, established time and again that students with learning disabilities are at risk for social problems across age (preschool through adulthood), race, settings (rural-urban), raters (parents, teachers, peers, self), and countries (United States, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa). Estimates consistently indicate that 38%-75% of the 2,800,000 students with learning disabilities in the United States have social problems (Baum, Duffelmeyer, & Greenlan, 2001; Kavale & Forness, 1995). Nonetheless, children's social skills and relationships receive a low priority among teachers and school districts. The social skills that teachers rate as essential for school success are compliance behaviors that affect classroom management (Kerr & Zigmond, 1986; Lane, Pierson, & Givner, 2004). What is important is that the child follows directions, cooperates with peers, and has self-control; that is, does what the teacher wants when she wants it, without disturbing anyone else. Although teachers may endorse strategies that promote cooperative learning and motivation, teachers do not use the motivating strategies they endorse. Pressure to increase standardized test scores increases teachers' reluctance to spend time on activities that are not tested by mandated standardized achievement tests. …

The relations of effortful control and ego control to children's resiliency and social functioning.

The relations of effortful control and ego control to children's (mean age = 137 months) resiliency, social status, and social competence were examined concurrently (Time 3) and over time. Adults reported on the constructs, and a behavioral measure of persistence was obtained. At Time 3, resiliency mediated the unique relations of both effortful and reactive control to social status, and effortful control directly predicted socially appropriate behavior. Negative emotionality moderated the relations of ego and effortful control to socially appropriate behavior. When levels of the variables 2 years prior were accounted for, all relations held at Time 3 except that effortful control did not predict resiliency (even though it was the stronger predictor at Time 3) and ego control directly predicted socially appropriate behavior.

How do Young Adults Remember their Childhood Social Status? A Retrospective Analysis of Peer-Rejection in Childhood and Adolescence, and Protective Factors Predictive of its Remission

In this retrospective study we investigated possible protective factors involved in the remission of childhood peer-rejection by investigation of how adults remember their childhood social status. This study aimed: (a) to investigate whether most children do, indeed, achieve improved social status in late adolescence or early adulthood, (b) whether this is true also for children experiencing peer-rejection in childhood, (c) to investigate potential protective factors which may predict improved status, and (d) to investigate the subjective recall of social status. We developed an index of social rejection, based on recalled severity of rejection and its duration. Respondents (n = 940) were also asked about the presence or absence of a series of potential protective factors during three periods in their lives: elementary school, secondary school, and post-secondary (compulsory military or national service). Most respondents, who reported poor social status during childhood, also reported a marked improvement in that status in late adolescence. Factors most common for respondents who underwent an improvement in social status are examined for respondents who self-reported both peer-acceptance and peer-rejection during childhood or adolescence. Respondents who reported severe peer-rejection were able to rely on fewer protective factors than their more accepted peers. The data, similar to previous research, stresses the need to focus on the salutary potential in the rejected child’s family. Implications for practice in working with peer-rejected children are presented.

Free school meals and children's social and nutritional status in Trinidad and Tobago.

To evaluate the provision of free school meals in Trinidad and Tobago in relation to children's social and nutritional status. Cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of 66 government schools, including children in the admissions classes (aged 4 to 7 years) and classes for 'rising nines' (aged 7-10 years). Data included questionnaire details of free school meals and children's social background, and measurements of children's heights, weights and skinfold thicknesses. Of 6731 eligible children, data were analysed for 5688 (85%). There were 2386 (42%) children receiving free meals provided at school. At different schools the proportion of all children receiving free meals ranged from 20% to 100%, Receipt of free meals was associated with larger family size (one child, 32% received free meals; > or =6 children, 63%), lower paternal educational attainment (primary, 52% free; university, 30%), father's employment (employed, 39% free meals; unemployed >12 months, 59%) as well as maternal education and employment and household amenities. After adjusting for age, sex and ethnic group, children who received free meals were shorter (mean difference in height standard deviation score (SDS) -0.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.17 to -0.06), lighter (body mass index SDS -0.21, -0.28 to -0.14) and thinner (subscapular skinfold SDS -0.13, -0.18 to -0.09). Free school meals were widely available, with some targeting of provision to children with less favourable social and nutritional status. Greater universality would reduce inequity, but more stringent targeting and reduction of school-level variation would increase efficiency.

Sociodynamic relationships between children who stutter and their non-stuttering classmates.

Previous research has indicated that children who stutter are more likely to be bullied and to hold a lower social position than their peers who do not stutter. However, the majority of this research has used data from respondents who were in the educational system more than 20 years ago. The current policy on integration of children with severe disabilities into mainstream education and the increased awareness of bullying in schools would indicate that attitudes toward children who stutter might have changed in the intervening period. The study uses a sociometric scale (adapted from Coie, Dodge, & Coppotelli, 1982) to assess children who stutter in classroom groups with fluent peers. The peer relationships between 16 children who stutter and their classmates (403 children in total) were examined. Children who stutter were rejected significantly more often than were their peers and were significantly less likely to be popular. When compared to children who do not stutter, the children who stutter were less likely to be nominated as 'leaders' and were more likely to be nominated to the 'bullied' and 'seeks help' categories. The changes in integration policy and the implementation of anti-bullying policies in many schools appear to have made little impact on the social status of children who stutter. The incidence of bullying and rejection reported in this study has implications for schools and clinicians.

The effect of physical abuse on children's social and affective status: A model of cognitive and behavioral processes explaining the association

This study proposes a model explaining the association between physical abuse of children and children's social and affective status as one in which children's social expectations and behavior, developed within the context of abusive parenting, mediate current functioning in these two outcome domains. Subjects included one hundred 9 to 12-year-old physically abused children recruited from consecutive entries onto the New York State Register for Child Abuse for New York City and 100 case-matched classmate nonabused comparison children. Sociometric assessments were carried out in classrooms, interviews were conducted with the children and their parents, and teachers, parents, and classmates rated the children's behavior. Path analysis was utilized to test the conceptually derived models. Children's social expectations regarding peers, and two social behaviors--aggressive behavior and prosocial behavior--were found to mediate between abuse and positive and negative social status, as well as between abuse and positive and negative reciprocity. Social expectations and withdrawn behavior mediated between abuse and positive social status, but only where withdrawn behavior was a function of social expectations. Social expectations were generally found to mediate between abuse and internalizing problems. Negative social status (peer rejection) added to social expectations in producing internalizing problems. Identification of these mediating pathways can serve to guide secondary preventive intervention efforts so that they best address the problems abused children face in the absence of adequate parental and peer support as the children enter adolescence.

Sociometric status of child inpatients in clinical and normative peer groups: is peer status in a clinical setting a useful measure of adjustment?

This research examined whether peer sociometric status, a powerful indicator of social maladjustment and psychological risk in normative peer groups, is a meaningful indicator of adjustment when assessed in clinical settings. In Study 1, 92 child psychiatric inpatients participated in unit-based sociometric assessments. Depression, anxiety, hopelessness, self-esteem, and behavioral disturbance were also assessed. Overall, inpatient peer status was related to concurrent adjustment and contributed to increased maladjustment in the hospital setting over time. Study 2 evaluated the extent to which inpatient peer status is related to more traditional assessments of peer status using a smaller sample. Children's social status on the unit with inpatient peers was compared to their social status at school with school peers at the time of admission. Inpatient peer status was significantly related to school peer status and to teacher-rated adjustment in school. The value of collecting peer sociometric data in treatment settings as an indicator of concurrent adjustment and as a window into adjustment in other contexts is discussed.

Levels of cadmium, copper and iron in deciduous teeth of children living in Bahrain

Shed deciduous teeth were collected from children (n = 61) living in the island of the State of Bahrain. The teeth were analyzed for the toxic cadmium metal and for the biologically essential metals iron and copper. The mean concentrations of cadmium, iron and copper were 53.8 ng/g, 20.22 mug/g and 2.78 mug/g respectively. The data obtained showed no clear relation between the trace metal concentrations and the children's age, sex, social status or nationality. Teeth from the upper jaw were found to have higher metal concentrations than those obtained from the lower jaw.

Establishing networks for health promoting schools in South Africa.

South African schools were segregated by years of discriminatory practice. Apartheid policies adversely affected the health and social status of children in South Africa. The conceptual framework suggested by the health promoting schools movement was adopted in South Africa to address school health comprehensively. This approach provides a useful framework because it focuses not on the curriculum but on the school environment, community involvement, policy development, and appropriate health and social services. Currently, several initiatives in South Africa focus on developing networks of health promoting schools. Initiatives seen as a mechanism to address the historical inequities among children in South Africa are described.

Peer relations and school adjustment in ungraded primary children.

Researchers have reported a significant relationship between peer relations and school adjustment in same-age classrooms, but little is known about the contribution of peer relations to school adjustment in mixed-age classrooms. The present study investigated the contributions of peer acceptance, friendship, social status, and age relative to mixed-age classmates to children's attitudes toward school and to achievement in ungraded primary. Children's attitudes toward school were positively related to composite achievement scores. Achievement was predicted from demographic variables, children's attitudes, peer acceptance, and friendship status. With the effects of gender and race controlled, differences in school adjustment were related to both children's social status and whether they had friends.

Self-Concept and Social Acceptance in Multiracial African Schools: A Test of the Insulation, Subjective Culture, and Bicultural Competence Hypotheses

Self-concept and social acceptance were examined for a sample of 154 Black and 203 White Zimbabwean schoolchildren attending racially integrated schools. Marsh's Self-Description Question naire-1 and multiple measures of social acceptance were used. Although Black children had levels of global self-esteem compara ble with, or higher than, that of their White classmates, Black pupils taught by White teachers had significantly lower reading and academic self-esteem. Pupils in classes taught by Black teachers tended to choose for best friends peers in other classes significantly more than did pupils in classes taught by White teachers. Analysis by gender indicated that male pupils tended to have significantly higher physical ability, physical appearance, and math self-esteem and relatively higher levels of social participation than female students. Results partially supported the bicultural competence, subjective culture, and the insulation hypotheses on children's social status in multiracial school contexts.

The Influence of Social Context on Requests in Young Iranian Children

This study concerns the influence of social contexts on young children's communication. The aim was to show that, at a very young age, children take into account the conversational context and certain conventions governing social relations. Iranian children's request behaviours were analyzed in three situations: (a) the adult immediately complies (satisfaction), (b) the adult asks a clarification question (clarification), and (c) the adult refuses to comply (refusal). Two groups of 12 children aged 18 and 30 months were observed in day‐care centres during dyadic interaction with an Iranian adult. The verbal and nonverbal productions of the two groups were considered. The results showed that the children modified their behaviours in accordance with the adult's attitude. Comparison with a study conducted in France suggests that reformulations in the clarification situation are similar in the two cultures. The intercultural differences observed concern both overall request production and the characteristics of reformulations in the refusal situation. These specificities reflect the early influence of cultural values concerning the difference between the social status of children and adults.