Teacher Reports Of Behavior Research Articles

Longitudinal investigation of executive function development employing task-based, teacher reports, and fNIRS multimethodology in 4- to 5-year-old children.

Increased focus on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and the use and accessibility of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) have advanced knowledge on the interconnected nature of neural substrates underlying executive function (EF) development in adults and clinical populations. Less is known about the relationship between rsFC and developmental changes in EF during preschool years in typically developing children, a gap the present study addresses employing task-based assessment, teacher reports, and fNIRS multimethodology. This preregistered study contributes to our understanding of the neural basis of EF development longitudinally with 41 children ages 4-5. Changes in prefrontal cortex (PFC) rsFC utilizing fNIRS, EF measured with a common task-based assessment (Day-Night task), and teacher reports of behavior (BRIEF-P) were monitored over multiple timepoints: Initial Assessment, 72 h follow-up, 1 Month Follow-up, and 4 Month Follow-up. Measures of rsFC were strongly correlated 72h apart, providing evidence of high rsFC measurement reliability using fNIRS with preschool-aged children. PFC rsFC was positively correlated with performance on task-based and report-based EF assessments. Children's PFC functional connectivity at rest uniquely predicted later EF, controlling for verbal IQ, age, and sex. Functional connectivity at rest using fNIRS may potentially show the rapid changes in EF development in young children, not only neurophysiologically, but also as a correlate of task-based EF performance and ecologically-relevant teacher reports of EF in a classroom context.

Disruptive Behavior in Siblings Discordant for Exposure to Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy: A Multi-rater Approach.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy (SDP) is associated with disruptive behavior. However, there is debate whether the SDP-disruptive behavior association is a potentially causal pathway or rather a spurious effect confounded by shared genetic and environmental factors. The Missouri Mothers and Their Children Study is a sibling comparison study that includes families (n = 173) selected for sibling pairs (aged 7-16 years) discordant for SDP. Critically, the sibling comparison design is used to disentangle the effects of SDP from familial confounds on disruptive behavior. An SDP severity score was created for each child using a combination of SDP indicators (timing, duration, and amount of SDP). Multiple informants (parents and teachers) reported on disruptive behavior (i.e., DSM-IV semi-structured interview, the Child Behavior Checklist, and Teacher Report Form). The variability in disruptive behavior was primarily a function of within-family differences (66%-100%). Consistent with prior genetically informed approaches, the SDP-disruptive behavior association was primarily explained by familial confounds (genetic and environmental). However, when using a multi-rater approach (parents and teachers), results suggest a potentially causal effect of SDP on disruptive behavior (b = 0.09, SE = 0.04, p = 0.03). The potentially causal effect of SDP remained significant in sensitivity analyses. These findings suggest that familial confounding likely plays a complex role in the SDP-disruptive behavior association when examining both parent and teacher reports of behavior. Importantly, the current study highlights the importance of multiple raters, reflecting a more comprehensive measure of complex behaviors (e.g., disruptive behavior) to examine the teratogenic effects of SDP. Our study provides additional evidence that controlling for genetic and family factors is essential when examining the effect of SDP on later behavioral problems, as it explains a portion of the association between SDP and later behavioral problems. However, we found a significant association between SDP and disruptive behavior when using a multi-rater approach that capitalizes on both parent and teacher report, suggesting that parent and teacher ratings capture a unique perspective that is important to consider when examining SDP-behavior associations.

An Analysis of Response Shifts in Teacher Reports Associated with the Use of a Universal School-Based Intervention to Reduce Externalising Behaviour

School-based psychosocial interventions are a widely used approach to prevent or reduce externalising behaviour. However, evaluating the effects of such interventions is complicated by the fact that the interventions may not only change the target behaviour, but also the way that informants report on that behaviour. For example, teachers may become more aware of bullying behaviour after delivering lessons on the topic, resulting in increased teacher reports of the behaviour. In this study, we used multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate whether teachers exposed to the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) intervention changed the way they reported on child externalising behaviour. Using data from the z-proso study (802 participants; 51% male; 69 teachers), teacher reports of aggressive behaviour, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and non-aggressive conduct disorder symptoms were compared pre- and post- intervention and across the intervention and control conditions. There was no evidence that teacher reporting was affected by exposure to the intervention. This helps bolster the interpretation of intervention effects as reflecting changes in child behaviour, rather than in the manner of informant reporting.

Perfluorooctanoate Exposure in a Highly Exposed Community and Parent and Teacher Reports of Behaviour in 6–12‐Year‐Old Children

In toxicology studies, perfluorinated compounds affect fetal growth, development, viability, and postnatal growth. There are limited epidemiologic studies on child development. We recruited and evaluated 321 children who participated in the C8 Health Project, a 2005-06 survey in a mid-Ohio Valley community highly exposed to perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) through contaminated drinking water. We examined associations between measured childhood PFOA serum concentration and mother and teacher reports of executive function (Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like behaviour (Conner's ADHD Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV Scales), and behavioural problems (Behaviour Assessment System for Children) assessed 3 to 4 years later at ages 6-12 years. Overall, neither reports from mothers nor teachers provided clear associations between exposure and child behaviour. Mother reports, however, did suggest favourable associations between exposure and behaviour among boys and adverse associations among girls. On the composite scale from the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (n = 318), PFOA exposure had a favourable association among boys (highest vs. lowest quartile β = -6.39; 95% confidence interval [CI] -11.43, -1.35) and an adverse association among girls (highest vs. lowest quartile β = 4.42; 95% CI -0.03, 8.87; interaction P = 0.01). Teacher reports (n = 189) replicated some, but not all of the sex interactions observed in mothers' reports. Aggregate results did not suggest adverse effects of PFOA on behaviour, but sex-specific results raise the possibility of differing patterns by sex. Results are not consistent between mothers' and teachers' reports. Effect modification by sex may warrant further investigation.

Mexican Parenting Questionnaire (MPQ)

The present study was conducted in four phases and constructed a self-report parenting instrument for use with Mexican immigrant mothers of children aged 6 to 10. The 14-item measure was based on semistructured qualitative interviews with Mexican immigrant mothers ( N = 10), was refined by a focus group of Mexican immigrant mothers ( N = 5), and was then completed by a larger sample of Mexican immigrant mothers ( N = 168). Children’s socioemotional and behavioral competence was examined on a subset of children ( N = 30) from family drawings and teacher reports of behavior. Items of the parenting instrument pertained to one of three general parenting constructs: Warmth, Monitoring, and Discipline. Using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and respecification procedures, the three models were found to be a good fit with the data. Subscales consisted of moderate levels of internal consistency and predicted several children’s behaviors.

Quality of Life and Behavioural Adjustment in Childhood Hydrocephalus

The aim of the paper is to describe parent and teacher reported behavioural outcomes and quality of life in childhood hydrocephalus, and to consider the implications for future service planning. A community sample of 235 school-aged children with hydrocephalus (5-16 years) were identified via a database of service users, held by the Scottish Spina Bifida Association. Parent and teacher reports of behaviour on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and parent reports of quality of life on the Paediatric Quality-of-Life Generic Core (PedsQL Core) and Paediatric Quality-of-Life Fatigue (PedsQL Fatigue) were obtained, as were reports of service use and satisfaction. In total, 35% (n = 76) of parents and 86% (n = 47) of teachers who were contacted participated in the study. Parents reported behavioural difficulties in 57% and teachers in 33% of children. Quality of life was significantly reduced in comparison to published norms. Children whose parents reported unmet needs had poorer psychosocial outcomes, but families rarely accessed appropriate specialist services. In conclusion, hydrocephalus is associated with high rates of behaviour problems and markedly reduced quality of life. It is important to increase professional awareness of psychological need in this chronic neurological condition, and to increase access to appropriate psychosocial services.

Executive functioning and theory of mind in children clinically referred for attention and behavior problems

The present study examined the interrelations of the theory of mind (ToM), executive functioning, and social problems in children referred to an outpatient clinic for attention and behavior problems. ToM tasks consisted of mistaken identity and contents tasks, two versions of unintended transfer tasks, and an emotional false-belief task. Attention problems were assessed using parent and teacher reports of behavior and child omission errors on the Continuous Performance Test (CPT). Auditory working memory was assessed using two subtests of the Woodcock–Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery—Revised. Impulsivity was assessed using parent and teacher reports of behavior, the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS), commission errors on the CPT, and Luria's Hand Game (LHG). Controlling for age, language, and socioeconomic status (SES), ToM was significantly related to aggregate scores for attention problems, memory, impulsivity, and an overall executive functioning aggregate of all three components. In addition, parent and teacher ratings of social problems were negatively related to both ToM and overall executive functioning. Executive functioning and ToM may be indicators of metacognitive deficits that underlie social problems in clinical samples of children with disruptive behavior and attention problems.

Mother and teacher reports of behaviour and perceived self-competence of children with hydrocephalus.

The present study was designed to explore the social and behavioural functioning of children with hydrocephalus. The sample comprised 14 children with hydrocephalus (without spina bifida) and 14 controls with no history of neurological impairment matched for age and gender. Children were asked to report on their self-perceptions of academic and physical competence and on peer and maternal acceptance. In addition, mothers and teachers provided reports of the behavioural adjustment of both groups and mothers completed a questionnaire measuring locus of control orientation. Mothers of children with hydrocephalus also responded to a series of open-ended questions, their thoughts and feelings about the experience of having a child with hydrocephalus. Analyses of the data revealed that there was no difference in the self-perceptions of the two groups of children, although there was a trend for children with hydrocephalus to rate themselves as being lower in physical competence. There was a clear association between the presence of hydrocephalus and behaviour problems, with evidence of internalising and externalising problems being evident in the reports of both mothers and teachers, although the extent of agreement between the two informants was low. Maternal locus of control was related to behaviour problems in children with hydrocephalus, with a more external orientation being related to more behaviour problems. It is suggested that future researchers need to 1) focus on children's behaviour in context, 2) solicit data from a range of informants and 3) consider the complex transactions between biological and psychological factors to gain a fuller understanding of how hydrocephalus shapes children's development.