Prosocial development in middle childhood: A longitudinal study.

Examined change in prosocial moral judgment over a 7-year period; determined whether there are gender differences in the development of prosocial moral judgment; and examined the interrelations of moral judgment, affect (empathy), and behavior in middle childhood. Participants were two groups of children who have been followed for 5 and 7 years and two groups of children interviewed for the first time at either ages 9–10 or 11–22. Hedonistic reasoning decreased with age; simple needs-oriented moral judgments increased with age and then leveled off; most other more sophisticated types of reasoning increased in a linear fashion with age. Modes of reasoning that most explicitly reflect role taking or empathy increased in use with age for girls but not for boys. Empathy was positively related to needs-oriented judgments and to higher-level prosocial reasoning and was negatively related to hedonistic reasoning (depending on the age of the children). Empathy was positively related to donating at 11–22 years of age but not at 9–20 years of age. Relations between behavior and reasoning varied depending on the structure and costs of a specific behavior. The results are discussed in relation to theory and research concerning developmental change in moral reasoning and possible mediators of prosocial development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Economic disparities in middle childhood development: Does income matter?

A large literature has documented the influence of family economic resources on child development, yet income's effects in middle childhood have been understudied. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 3,551), the author examined the influence of family income in early and middle childhood on academic skills and behavior problems during middle childhood. Early childhood income had enduring effects on children's behavior problems and academic skills in middle childhood. Middle childhood income did not influence academic skills but did affect the development of behavior problems during middle childhood. Children from low-income households were particularly sensitive to the effects of family income. The quality of home environment during early and middle childhood explained a portion of the effects of income on academic skills and behavior problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The taking of adult roles in middle childhood.

The relationship of reaction to transgression of adolescents and reaction to transgression in their families when they were age 5 was investigated. The Ss are part of a follow-up study (7 years later) on patterns of child rearing (Sears et al., 1957). Imitation of attitudes towards transgression was strongest in Ss whose families were highly nurturant. Sex differences in modes of acquiring rule-enforcing attitudes were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquaintanceship in middle childhood.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acquaintanceship on school-age children's interactions. On the basis of Altman and Taylor's (1973) theory, four specific components were examined: (a) information exchange, (b) engagement in mutual activities, (c) negative evaluations of the other, and (d) efforts to direct the other's behavior. Forty dyads of acquainted and unacquainted, same-sex, third-grade children were observed interacting in an experimental laboratory. Unacquainted girls were found to engage in more information exchange than acquainted girls, but boys in the two conditions did not differ. Acquainted children showed some signs of engaging in mutual activities more often than unacquainted children. Negative evaluations (refusing to comply or expressing disapproval of the other) were made more often by children in the acquainted condition than by those in the unacquainted condition. Finally, the differences between the two conditions were usually found on self-report measures as well as on the measures of conversations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The normal development of the ovary in childhood

The development of the ovary during childhood has been evaluated in 52 organs obtained from autopsy of children who died in accidents or after a brief acute disease. The ovaries at all ages showed follicle growth. 93% of the organs were actively growing ovaries containing healthy and degenerating follicles in progressive stages of development with and without follicle fluid. Three ovaries showed follicle growth up to pre-antral stages. None of the 52 ovaries were quiescent in which follicle development was not in progress. It is therefore argued that the normal ovary in childhood shows follicle growth at all ages. The number and size of antral follicles increases after the age of 6 years coinciding with the progressive increase in FSH and oestrogen output in childhood.     

Sibling influences on gender development in middle childhood and early adolescence: A longitudinal study.

The development of gender role qualities (attitudes, personality, leisure activities) from middle childhood to early adolescence was studied to determine whether siblings' gender role qualities predicted those of their sisters and brothers. Participants were 198 firstborn and second-born siblings (Ms?=?10 years 9 months and 8 years 3 months, respectively, in Year 1) and their parents. Families were interviewed annually for 3 years. Firstborn siblings' qualities in Year 1 predicted second-born children's qualities in Year 3 when both parent and child qualities in Year 1 were controlled, a pattern consistent with a social learning model of sibling influence. Parental influence was more evident and sibling influence less evident in predicting firstborns' qualities; for firstborns, sibling influences suggested a de-identification process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical maturation and information-processing speed in middle childhood.

Because developmental increases in processing speed may have a maturational basis, individual differences in physical maturation were hypothesized to be associated with information-processing speed. Physical maturity was estimated for 134 9- and 10-yr-olds using relative stature (RS), the percentage of estimated adult height each had attained. 30 children in the most mature RS quartile and 30 in the least mature quartile completed 3 reaction time (RT) tasks used by S. Hale (see record 1990-27919-001). There was an overall tendency for early maturers to be faster than late maturers, although this maturity effect was primarily the result of a significant effect for boys. The early maturers' faster processing times may be specific to boys or to a specific range of physical maturities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement of two social competence aspects in middle childhood.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 34(1) of Developmental Psychology (see record 2009-22882-001). On page 825, Method section, 4th paragraph, line 2, the sentence incorrectly reads, "The county sample consisted of 423 children (M =8 years 5 months, SD =3 years 3 months), constituting 71% of a randomly selected sample of children born in 1986 and living in a county in the middle of Sweden." The correct standard deviation in age in the county sample is 3 months.] The psychometric properties of a rating measure for parents and teachers for social competence, conceptualized as social skills and behaviors, were studied. The rating measure was constructed from factor analyses on 4 samples of school-age children. Factor analyses identified 2 moderately correlated competence aspects, valid for both sexes and for children from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The first factor, Prosocial Orientation, captured a style promoting positive social interactions; the second factor, Social Initiative, described initiative as opposed to withdrawal in social situations. Scales based on the 2 factors showed reliability in internal consistency and stability across 1 year, validity in interrater agreement concurrently and across 1 year, correspondence with observed peer behavior, and the capacity to discriminate between children of different peer status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

论水钢信息化建设与发展

介绍了水钢信息化的发展方向、实施步骤和工作思路,详细论述了实施信息化的建设。     

The development of self-conceptions from childhood to adolescence.

Studied self-concept development from childhood to adolescence from a cognitive-structural perspective. The responses of 136 males and 126 females from Grades 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 to the question "Who am I?", and to the Twenty Statements Test were analyzed by means of a 30-category scoring system. Results indicate that between childhood and adolescence, there was a significant increase in self-conceptions categorized as follows: occupational role; existential, individuating; ideological and belief references; sense of self-determination; sense of unity; interpersonal style; and psychic style. A significant decrease occurred for self-conceptions based on (a) territoriality, citizenship; (b) possessions, resources; and (c) physical self, body image. Curvilinear age changes were found for the use of the categories sex; name; kinship role; membership in an abstract category; and judgments, tastes, likes. The results for self-concept development are in general agreement with H. Werner's (1957) notion that cognitive development proceeds from a concrete to an abstract mode of representation. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Embryo donation families: A follow-up in middle childhood.

Couples who conceive using donated embryos rear a child to whom they are genetically unrelated. It has been suggested that this may have negative consequences for parenting and child development. Findings are presented of the 2nd phase of an exploratory study of families with a child conceived through embryo donation. Seventeen embryo donation families with a 5- to 9-year-old child were compared with 24 adoptive families and 28 in vitro fertilization families. The quality of the mother's parenting and the child's social and emotional development were assessed using standardized interviews and questionnaires administered to mothers and teachers. Embryo donation children were not at increased risk of psychological problems during middle childhood, and the families were generally functioning well. However, higher emotional overinvolvement of embryo donation parents was found, along with more reluctance to disclose the method of family creation. These preliminary findings are discussed in terms of implications regarding the importance of genetic and gestational relationships between parents and children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic association between atopy and behavioral symptoms in middle childhood

The relationship of atopic and behavioral symptoms in a community sample of 66 monozygotic and 141 dizygotic twin pairs, ages 4-11 years, was investigated via mother report questionnaires. Within-person correlation between atopic symptoms and Child Behavior Checklist internalizing symptoms (CBCL-INT) was .21 (p < .001) for the total sample. Cross-correlations between atopy and CBCL-INT were .26 for monozygotic and .04 for dizygotic twins. A common and specific factor model applied to the data revealed that the cross-correlation between atopy and CBCL-INT was mainly due to genetic influences (77% of the covariance). This study supports the hypothesis that there is a shared genetic risk for atopy and internalizing symptoms.     

Relation of early socialization experiences to aggression in middle childhood.

A follow-up study (7 years after) on the Ss in the original investigation on patterns of child rearing (Sears et al., 1957). Parental attitude towards child rearing and attitudes towards aggression when S was 5 were related to patterns of aggressive behavior and attitudes toward agression expressed by Ss at age 12. The manner of expressing aggression was seen to be a function of sex of the child and specific familial attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term outcome of tympanoplasty in chronic suppurative middle ear infection in childhood

Controversy continues regarding tympanoplasty for central perforations due to chronic otitis media in children. Between 1972 and 1988, 144 children (160 cases) were operated on for central perforations after chronic otitis media and were managed at the ENT Hospital of the University of the Saarland, Homburg/Saar. Eighty-seven of these children were evaluable for this study. Post-operative follow-up was more than 5 years in 94% of the cases. The tympanic membrane was closed in 90% of the cases at follow-up examination. The age of the patient did not influence the success rate. Social hearing was improved from 49% before operation to 86% after operation and at follow-up. At follow-up, air-bone gaps were closed to within 10 dB in 67% of the cases, within 20 dB for 88% and within 30 dB for 96%. These very good and stable results show that an early operation can be recommended for children with chronic otitis media to prevent further damage to the middle ear.     

Sibling conflict in middle childhood predicts children's adjustment in early adolescence.

Associations between sibling conflict in middle childhood and psychological adjustment in early adolescence were studied in a sample of 80 boys and 56 girls. Parents and children provided self-report data about family relationships and children's adjustment. Parents' hostility to children was assessed from videotaped interactions. Results showed that sibling conflict at Time 1 predicted increases in children's anxiety, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior 2 years later. Moreover, earlier sibling conflict at Time 1 accounted for unique variance in young adolescents' Time 2 anxiety, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior above and beyond the variance explained by earlier maternal hostility and marital conflict. Children's adjustment at Time 1 did not predict sibling conflict at Time 2. Results highlight the unique significance of the earlier sibling relationship for young adolescents' psychological adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mediation of reward-induced motivation decrements in early and middle childhood: A template matching approach.

Under certain circumstances, children's intrinsic motivation (IM) to engage in an activity may be undermined as a consequence of being induced to engage in that activity in return for tangible rewards. The present study with 25 females and 20 males (4–10 yrs) attempted to identify the process(es) mediating this effect during early and middle childhood, by simultaneously testing 5 hypotheses that may plausibly be advanced to account for it. The possibility that different mediators may be operative at different age levels was also examined. IM was assessed before and after an offer and delivery of reward contingent on task engagement. Independently, predictions (templates) were derived from each hypothesis regarding the personality characteristics of an S predicted to exhibit the greatest reward-induced decrement IM. Individual differences in Ss' personalities were assessed on the California Child Q-Sorts, which were then matched with each template to predict motivation decrement. Among males, 2 hypothesized mediators in which the perception of personal control is central accounted for significant portions of the variance in motivation decrement. None of the hypotheses were supported among females. Some developmental changes in mediation were also found and discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orbital development after enucleation in early childhood

We studied the prevalence of dementing disorders in a rural municipality of Japan (Hanazono-mura), using a door-to-door two-phase design. In phase 1, the Hasegawa's Dementia Scale-Revised was applied as a screening test to all subjects aged 65 years and older (n = 201). Among subjects screened positive, 17 were diagnosed with dementia in phase 2. The prevalence (cases/100 aged 65 years and older) was 8.5 for all types of dementia, 3.5 for Alzheimer's disease, 3.0 for vascular dementia, and 2.0 for other dementia (including mixed dementia). The prevalence of dementia was slightly but consistently higher in men than women at all ages. The overall prevalence was higher in women for Alzheimer's disease and in men for vascular dementia.