Parent training of toddlers in day care in low-income urban communities.

The authors tested a 12-week parent training program with parents (n=208) and teachers (n=77) of 2-3-year-olds in day care centers serving low-income families of color in Chicago. Eleven centers were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) parent and teacher training (PT + TT), (b) parent training (PT), (c) teacher training (TT), and (d) waiting list control (C). After controlling for parent stress, PT and PT + TT parents reported higher self-efficacy and less coercive discipline and were observed to have more positive behaviors than C and TT parents. Among toddlers in high-risk behavior problem groups, toddlers in the experimental conditions showed greater improvement than controls. Most effects were retained 1 year later. Benefits were greatest when parents directly received training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time in day care and social participation of young children.

The relation between time in day care and social behavior of preschool children was investigated at three child-care centers varying in location, populations served, and program characteristics. Child age and sex were held constant statistically in assessing relations between time in care and social participation. Day-care experience was related to increased social participation and, especially, to increased associative interaction with peers and decreased unoccupied and onlooker behaviors, in both a large community day-care center and a small university center. In the latter, time in care was also positively related to amount of constructive play activity shown by children. In another center, there were minimal relations between time in day care and either positive or negative behaviors toward peers. Implications of these differential findings for future research on day care are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A picture book reading intervention in day care and home for children from low-income families.

The effects of an interactive book reading program were assessed with children from low-income families who attended subsidized day-care centers in New York. The children entered the program with language development in standard English vocabulary and expression that was about 10 mo behind chronological age on standardized tests. Children were pretested and assigned randomly within classrooms to 1 of 3 conditions: (1) a school plus home condition in which the children were read to by their teachers and their parents, (2) a school condition in which children were read to only by teachers, and (3) a control condition in which children engaged in play activities under the supervision of their teachers. Training of adult readers was based on a self-instructional video. The intervention lasted for 6 wks, at which point children were posttested on several standardized measures of language ability that had been used as pretests. These assessments were repeated at a 6 mo follow-up. Educationally and statistically significant effects of the reading intervention were obtained at posttest and follow-up on measures of expressive vocabulary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure to drug trafficking among urban, low-income African American children and adolescents

The American Society of Clinical Pathologists surveyed 136 laboratories actively engaged in performing clinical flow cytometric testing to determine the demographics of these laboratories, the credentials of the personnel involved with testing, the volume and types of tests performed, and how data are analyzed and interpreted. These results are reported with commentary based on previous surveys and recommended practice guidelines.     

Observation in day care centers for children and infants: reflection on the team role of the psychologist

This work tempts to emphasize the relation between the quality of the reception of the young child and the shared observation work done by the team. It also tries to define the psychologist's contribution.     

Mental health service use among young children receiving pediatric primary care

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors associated with mental health service use among young children. METHOD: Five hundred ten preschool children aged 2 through 5 years were enrolled through 68 primary care physicians, with 388 (76% of the original sample) participating in a second wave of data collection, 12 to 40 months later. Consensus DSM-III-R diagnoses were assigned using best-estimate procedures. The test battery included the Child Behavior Checklist, a developmental evaluation, the Rochester Adaptive Behavior Inventory, and a videotaped play session (preschool children) or structured interviews (older children). At wave 2, mothers completed a survey of mental health services their child had received. RESULTS: In logistic regression models, older children, children with a wave 1 DSM-III-R diagnosis, children with more total behavior problems and family conflict, and children receiving a pediatric referral were more likely to receive mental health services. Among children with a DSM-III-R diagnosis, more mental health services were received by children who were older, white, more impaired, experiencing more family conflict, and referred by a pediatrician. CONCLUSIONS: Young children with more impairment and family conflict are more likely to enter into treatment. Services among young children of different races with diagnoses are not equally distributed. Pediatric referral is an important predictor of service use.     

Differential calculation abilities in young children from middle- and low-income families.

Examined the performance of 42 middle- and 42 low-income kindergarten children on arithmetic calculations presented in a nonverbal format as well as in 3 different verbal formats. On the nonverbal task, the child was shown an initial set of disks, which was then hidden with a cover. The set was transformed by adding or removing disks. After the transformation, the child's task was to construct an array of disks that contained the same number of disks as in the final hidden set. A significant interaction between income level and task format was obtained. Although middle-income children performed better than low-income children on each of the verbal calculation tasks, the 2 income groups did not differ in performance on the nonverbal calculation task. The findings suggest that the nonverbal task format is less sensitive to socioeconomic variation than are the verbal task formats. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of private speech among low-income Appalachian children.

Observed the occurrence of 9 subtypes of private speech (e.g., self-guidance and expression of affect) among 36 low-income 5–10 yr old Appalachian children in the school environment. Narratives of Ss' behavior were recorded and coded. Findings support L. Vygotsky's (1962) viewpoint in that most private speech appeared to serve a cognitively self-guiding function. Subtypes showed developmental trends predicted by Vygotsky's theory, resembled those found by L. Kohlberg et al (1968), and showed generally positive relationships with social speech. Private speech increased under conditions of cognitively demanding tasks and adult absence. The suggestion by Kohlberg claiming that private speech is functionally unitary and that the subtypes emerge in a hierarchically related sequence was not supported. Ss were slower in rate but not different in form of development as compared with previously studied middle-class children. Boys developed more slowly than did girls, a finding related to Appalachian cultural sex roles. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of aggressive behaviors: a longitudinal study in senior day care centers

Aggressive behaviors place elderly persons and their caregivers at risk. This study examines longitudinally the predictors of aggressive behaviors based on staff and family members' ratings of 200 community-dwelling participants from senior day care centers. The main difference between physically and verbally aggressive behaviors was found to be the role of physical and mental health. Cognitive impairment and poor quality of relationship were the main predictors of physically aggressive behaviors. Verbally aggressive behaviors were predicted mainly by depressed affect, low quality of relationships, and poor physical health. These results validate and expand prior cross-sectional research on the correlates of aggression in other populations, and guide in the development of interventions.     

Effects of experimentally imposed noise on task performance of Black children attending day care centers near elevated subway trains.

Investigated whether an experimentally imposed 80 db (A) noise differentially affected the psychomotor, serial memory words and pictures, incidental memory, visual recall, paired associates, perceptual learning, and coding performance of 109 predominantly Black, low socioeconomic status (SES) 5-yr-old children attending daycare centers near and far from elevated subways. Ss were administered psychomotor tasks at the beginning and end of a noisy or quiet play condition and cognitive and perceptual tasks during a noisy or quiet test condition. Factorial analyses revealed that only psychomotor performance was significantly impaired by the 80 db (A) noise. A significant interaction between daycare center environmental noise level and test was found on the coding task, with Ss from relatively noisy daycare centers performing best under noisy test conditions and their counterparts under quiet conditions. Findings suggest that noise does not have a universal effect on children's performance, but the effects vary as a function of the nature of the task and previous exposure to noise. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic cleavage among young children.

"Ethnic cleavage among preschool children was studied using various test situations where choices of associates could be observed. It was found that ethnic cleavage does exist when choices are made significant to young children. The results are compared with other related findings and attempts are made to explain them theoretically." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child-rearing values of low-income, urban Puerto Rican mothers of preschool children.

To enhance clinicians' understanding of the child-rearing values Puerto Rican mothers consider important in parenting preschool-age children, the authors conducted focus groups, interviewed cultural consultants, and searched the literature. Eighty low-income, urban mainland Puerto Rican mothers with young children ranked in order of importance to them 13 child-rearing values that were presented. Mothers ranked honesty, respect, and responsibility most highly, followed by loyalty to family, affection, and sharing. They ranked values associated in the literature with Anglo culture (e.g., assertiveness, independence, and creativity) as being of lesser importance. Implications for therapy and educational interventions with parents and children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in achievement goals among young children

Developmental research has generally not found evidence of helpless responses to failure in young children; a prevailing view is that young children lack the cognitive prerequisite for helplessness. However, recent evidence suggests that even preschoolers are vulnerable to helplessness in some situations. In the present study with 4- and 5-year-olds, we tested a goal-confidence model that predicts achievement behavior during failure for older children. We first categorized preschoolers' orientations toward "learning" or "performance" goals based on their preference for a challenging or nonchallenging task. As for older children, goal orientation was independent of ability and predicted cognitions and emotions during failure. Further, consistent with the model, within a learning goal, children displayed the mastery-oriented pattern regardless of confidence level, whereas within a performance goal, children with low confidence were most susceptible to helplessness. These behavior patterns were found on a second task as well. Thus, our findings show that individual differences in achievement goals emerge very early.     

Viral gastroenteritis among young children in northern Jordan

Perforating and penetrating globe injuries secondary to peribulbar and retrobulbar anaesthesia are often complicated by vitreous haemorrhage and retinal detachment. We describe the effectiveness of primary silicone oil tamponade in the repair of three perforated globes secondary to local anaesthesia for ophthalmic surgery. Three patients with axial myopia had peribulbar and retrobulbar anaesthesia for extracapsular cataract extraction (two patients) and cryotherapy (one patient). All eyes sustained a vitreous haemorrhage obscuring the view to the fundus. Retinal detachments were detected by B-scan ultrasound. In all eyes, scleral buckling, pars plana vitrectomy and silicone oil tamponade were performed as a primary surgical procedure. All the patients had complete anatomic reposition. In two patients, after two years follow-up, visual acuity was between 6/12 to 6/36 with the retina attached and no proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). The third patient had blind painful eye and enucleation was performed. Primary use of silicone oil tamponade, in the management of perforated globe with retinal detachment due to local anaesthesia injection, is recommended.     

The social context of school satisfaction among urban, low-income, African-American students.

Nonacademic, contextual factors influencing school satisfaction among 129 low-income, urban, African-American, elementary-school students (aged 8–13 yrs) were examined. Path analysis was used to evaluate the role of classroom social climate, stress, social support, quality of family life, psychological distress, and academic self-concept in predicting school satisfaction, which is one indicator of positive subjective well-being. Results suggest that, of the variables considered, students' perception of a caring, supportive school community had the most substantive impact on their satisfaction with school. Implications for the school psychologists' prevention and intervention efforts with "at-risk" children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Loneliness among children and young adolescents.

Investigated differences in loneliness involving parents and peers and the relations between loneliness, choices of a "first comfort figure" (FCF), and social sensitivity as perceived by peers. 60 female and 52 male 5th graders, 97 female and 45 male 7th graders, and 66 female and 73 male 9th graders were given a loneliness scale and a sociometric measure of perceived social sensitivity. Results indicate that age differences in parent-related loneliness were marginally significant. Seventh graders seemed to have fewer loneliness experiences in their relationships with parents than 5th and 9th graders. Boys more frequently reported those feelings than girls. Ss who indicated both parents as their FCFs had the lowest scores for parent-related loneliness, whereas those who indicated friends as their FCFs had the highest scores for parent-related loneliness. With respect to peer-related loneliness, no age or sex differences were found. However, girls who chose both parents as their FCFs were more lonely than boys who did the same, and boys who chose their fathers as their FCFs mentioned more peer-related loneliness feelings than the girls who made this choice. Ss perceived as socially sensitive by their classmates less frequently mentioned peer-related loneliness feelings. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)