A longitudinal study of reading development in dyslexic children.

The development of literacy skills was studied in 20 dyslexic children (7 years 7 months to 12 years 7 months). At Time 1, the dyslexic children performed worse on tests of reading, spelling, and phonological processing than chronological age-matched normal readers, but their performance was qualitatively similar to that of younger reading age-matched controls. The dyslexic children made poor progress over the following 2 years and, in comparison with reading age controls at Time 2, showed specific difficulties in nonword reading and repetition and made more dysphonetic spelling errors. The authors argue that this typical dyslexic profile becomes more defined with development and provides support for the theory that phonological deficits in dyslexia compromise the development of reading skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of word processing by first-grade children.

12 1st graders were tested 3 times during the school year on a word-reading task and on a task measuring the automaticity of their letter and word processing. Word-reading speed increased steadily during the year, and by the end of the year most of the Ss were able to extract meaning automatically from familiar printed words. The pattern of performance across tasks suggested that the ability to process letters automatically is acquired prior to the ability to read words rapidly and accurately. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social functioning and adjustment in Chinese children: A longitudinal study.

A sample of Chinese children in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, initially 8 and 10 years of age, participated in a 2-year longitudinal project. Information on social behavior and indexes of social and school adjustment was collected from multiple sources. Consistent with Western literature, sociability-leadership was associated with and predictive of indexes of adjustment. Aggression was associated with and predictive of indexes of maladjustment. Finally, inconsistent with the Western literature (e.g., K. H. Rubin & J. Asendorpf, 1993), shyness-sensitivity was positively and concurrently associated with peer acceptance, teacher-assessed competence, leadership, and academic achievement at ages 8 and 10 years in the Chinese children. However, as in the Western literature, shyness-sensitivity was positively correlated with peer rejection at age 12 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of noncustodial parents: Parents without children.

Reports the results of a 3-wave longitudinal study of a sizable, regionally representative sample of both noncustodial and custodial parents interviewed initially before their divorce was final. A model was tested that predicted the noncustodial parent's postdivorce contact with the child and the payment of child support from a series of factors related to a social exchange orientation. This orientation highlights the noncustodial parent's implicit calculation of the rewards vs the costs of continuing involvement and support of the child. It was found that noninvolvement was, in general, well-predicted, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, by the model. The most powerful factor in the model was the noncustodial parent's perception that he or she had some control over the child's upbringing. Among fully employed noncustodial parents who reported high perceived control, there was an excellent record of involvement and child support payment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-representations and socioemotional competence in young children: A 3-year longitudinal study.

In a longitudinal study, the connections between children's self-representations at age 5 and their self-perceptions, socioemotional competence according to the teacher, and peer acceptance at age 8 were examined. The sample consisted of 60 children (33 boys, 27 girls). Self-representations at age 5 were assessed by the Puppet Interview (J. Cassidy, 1988). Results generally revealed the expected connections between the positiveness of self at age 5 and self-perceptions and socioemotional functioning 3 years later. These findings support the predictive validity of the Puppet Interview. Moreover, they suggest that young children do possess at least a rudimentary sense of being generally worthy and lovable, which can be assessed by using adequate, age-appropriate interviews. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study assessing trauma symptoms in sexually abused children engaged in play therapy.

Children who have been sexually abused exhibit a variety of emotional, sexual, behavioral, and psychological problems. A great deal of interest has been generated in the use of play therapy as a clinical approach to intervention with sexually abused children. This study explores the effect of play therapy as a primary treatment modality with sexually abused children. The impact of specific traumatic symptoms and overall treatment is examined. Findings indicate that, overall, trauma symptom severity in children decreased after 6 months of play therapy. In addition, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and sexual distress scores indicated a significant decrease. Additional research is recommended to develop evaluative and systematic guidelines that will further validate the use of play therapy as an empirically supported assessment and treatment tool. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations of positive and negative affectivity to anxiety and depression in children: Evidence from a latent variable longitudinal study.

The tripartite model of anxiety and depression has been studied with adults; however, support is still emerging with children concerning measurement and relations between positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect and psychopathology. In this longitudinal study of 270 4th- to 11th-grade children (mean age=12.9 years, SD=2.23), confirmatory factor analysis supported a 2-factor orthogonal model of children's self-reported affect and revealed that the concurrent relations of NA and PA to anxiety and depression symptoms were consistent with the tripartite model. Structural equation modeling demonstrated moderate cross-time stability of trait PA and NA, consistent with a temperament view of these factors, as well as partial support for the role of NA and PA in the development of anxiety and depression symptoms in children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of literacy: A longitudinal study of children in first and second grade.

Tested a model of early literacy acquisition regarding the interrelation of word recognition, spelling, reading comprehension, and writing skills, using longitudinal data collected from 80 children who passed from 1st through 2nd grades. Incoming characteristics (i.e., ethnicity, IQ, oral language) and the rate at which each S progressed through his or her reading books were examined in relation to growth in phonemic awareness, spelling/sound knowledge, and lexical knowledge. The impact of these factors on development in word recognition and spelling was explored, along with the relation of word recognition and listening comprehension to reading comprehension, and the relation of spelling and ideation to story writing. It was hypothesized that poor reading achievement in minority students would be partially attributable to poorer phonemic awareness of school English due to dialect, 2nd language, and cultural differences. Results support the hypothesis, suggesting the strong importance of phonemic awareness in literacy acquisition. The relation between word recognition and spelling was strong due to reliance on similar sources of knowledge. The relation between reading comprehension and writing appeared less strong, suggesting that the generation of ideas involved in story production is not isomorphic to the processes involved in reading comprehension. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Respiratory-syncytial-virus infections, reinfections and immunity. A prospective, longitudinal study in young children

To better understand acquired immunity to respiratory-syncytial-virus infections, we analyzed data from a 10-year study of respiratory illness in normal children who were followed longitudinally from early infancy. Immunity was measured in terms of failure to become infected or reduction in severity of clinical illness upon reinfection. Outbreaks of infections occurred seven times over the 10-year-period. During epidemics the attack rate for first infection was 98 per cent. The rate for second infections (75 per cent) was modestly reduced (P less than 0.001); that for third infections was 65 per cent. Age and history of infection both influenced illness. Immunity induced by a single infection had no demonstrable effect on illness associated with reinfection one year later; however, a considerable reduction in severity occurred with the third infection. These observations suggest that amelioration of illness--rather than prevention of infection--may be a realistic goal for immunoprophylaxis.     

After-school activities and the development of low-income urban children: A longitudinal study.

After-school activities of 194 African American and White children from low-income households were studied from 3rd to 5th grade to determine relations with (a) child, family, and contextual variables and (b) children's adjustment over time. Girls were more likely to engage in academic activities and socializing, whereas boys were more likely to play coached sports. Children who attended after-school programs spent more time on academic and extracurricular activities, whereas children in informal care settings spent more time watching TV and hanging out. Evidence of transactional relations between after-school activities and child adjustment was found. Time spent in activities between 3rd and 5th grades was related to children's adjustment in 5th grade. In addition, child adjustment measured in 3rd grade was associated with time in different activities in 5th grade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive-motivational characteristics and academic achievement of learning disabled children: A longitudinal study.

Academic self-concept, academic locus of control, and achievement expectations were investigated over a 2-year period for 78 children identified as learning disabled (LD) and 71 non learning disabled, normally achieving children (NLD). The LD children had no remedial program for their learning problems and had not been classified by the schools as LD. The data were collected while the sample was in junior high school. Five schools participated in the project. The results indicated that in comparison with NLD students, the LD children had lower self-perceptions of ability, showed signs of learned helplessness, and reported lower achievement expectations. These differences were well established at the start of Year 1 of the project and remained consistent through to the end of Year 2. The hypothesis that LD children not receiving remedial help would develop increasingly negative affective characteristics was therefore not supported. Correlation and regression data show that academic self-concept scores were the single best predictor of achievement levels. I suggest that negative school-related attitudes develop early in the school lives of LD children and remain negative but consistent through high school. Some consequences for future learning and remedial programming are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of social participation in preschool children: Solitary and parallel play reexamined.

Reports longitudinal observations made over a 9-mo period of the social participation of 48 preschool children. Group play increased and solitary play decreased during the period, while parallel play did not vary much in overall occurrence. Some 2-yr-olds went through successive stages of predominantly solitary, then parallel, then group play, but many others did not. Some 3- and 4-yr-olds alternated between periods of predominantly group play and periods of predominantly solitary play. Results are discussed in relation to the relative maturity of solitary and parallel play and the usefulness of a social participation index at this age range. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of ego development.

Using the Washington University Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development, 32 lower-class and lower-middle-class 12th graders (Group A) who had been given the test by A. Blasi (1971) as 6th graders were retested. The relationship between ego development and vocational attitudes and plans was also examined using a vocational choice questionnaire and the Career Maturity Inventory (CMI). To increase sample size, an additional 23 12th graders (Group B) were also administered the 3 measures. Results of statistical analyses show an increase at the .0005 level between 6th and 12th grades. Among Group A, sex differences at both grade levels were not significant; however, among Group B, girls had significantly higher ego levels than boys. In addition, ego development was significantly related to vocational maturity but not to reasons for vocational choices. Ego levels for 6th and 12th graders were significantly lower than those of middle- and upper-class Ss of comparable ages tested in other studies, suggesting a significant relation between ego development and socioeconomic status. Results are seen as evidence for the developmental nature of the ego, and support the sequentiality hypothesis, which suggests that stages follow in an invariant order. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of friendship development.

At 3-wk intervals during their 1st term at the university, 53 female and 31 male freshmen completed questionnaires regarding their relationships with 2 same-sex individuals whom they had just met. Results showed that dyads that successfully developed into close friendships by the end of the fall school term differed behaviorally and attitudinally from dyads that did not progress. As the friendships developed, the intimacy level of dyadic interaction accounted for an increasing percentage of the variance in ratings of friendship intensity beyond that accounted for by the sheer quantity of interaction. Ratings of relationship benefits were consistently positively correlated with friendship intensity and increased as the relationship progressed. There were no differences in ratings of relationship costs between close and nonclose friends. Dyadic behavior patterns and attitude ratings at the end of the fall school term were good predictors of friendship status 3 mo later. Motivational and situational factors were also correlated with friendship outcomes. Sex differences were noted: Females engaged in more casual affection behaviors with their close than with their nonclose friends. Males engaged in little casual affection with their friends, regardless of their degree of closeness. Results replicate the major findings of R. B. Hays (1984). (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prosocial development: A longitudinal study.

Examined, using a longitudinal methodology, (1) the development of prosocial moral judgment and (2) the relation between prosocial moral judgment and both prohibition-oriented moral judgment and maternal childrearing practices. Three samples were tested: 33 82–99 mo olds were interviewed 3 times; 16 49–67 mo olds were interviewed twice; and 30 2nd graders were interviewed once. From preschool to elementary school years, needs-oriented (empathic) reasoning increased in frequency of use, whereas hedonistic reasoning decreased. Significant changes continued from the preschool years to 2nd grade, although change could be noted even before entry into school (over a 1-yr period from ages 4–5 to 5–6 yrs). The relation between level of prosocial reasoning and prohibition-oriented reasoning was low to moderate, depending on the measures that were intercorrelated. Level of reasoning was related to nonauthoritarian, nonpunitive maternal practices, but the role of empathic, supportive maternal practices appeared to change with age. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of phonological processing skills in children learning to read in a second language.

English-speaking children (N?=?122) in French immersion classes participated in a 1-year longitudinal study of the relation between phonological awareness and reading achievement in both languages. Participants were administered measures of word decoding and of phonological awareness in French and in English as well as measures of cognitive ability, speeded naming, and pseudoword repetition in English only. The relation of phonological awareness in French to reading achievement in each of the languages was equivalent to that in English. These relations remained significant after partialing out the influences of speeded naming and pseudoword repetition. Phonological awareness in both languages was specifically associated with 1-year increments in decoding skill in French. These findings support the transfer of phonological awareness skills across alphabetic languages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early predictors of biliteracy development in children in French immersion: A 4-year longitudinal study.

English language predictors of English and French reading development were investigated in a group of 140 children who were enrolled in French immersion programs. Children were first tested in kindergarten, and their reading achievement was tested yearly in both English and French from Grades 1 to 3, with word-level and passage-level measures that assessed accuracy as well as fluency. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine which English variables predicted Grade 3 outcomes and growth rates in English and French, and to determine the set of predictors that accounted for the most variance in outcomes and growth rates in English and French reading. The variables that predicted English reading development were consistent with studies of monolingual English children, even though participants were concurrently learning to read in French. Our findings provide evidence that at least some of the skills that play a role in learning to read are general cognitive and linguistic skills that transfer across languages. Phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, rapid automatized naming, and grammatical ability in English were able to predict reading ability in French. In contrast, English receptive vocabulary was a language-specific predictor. These findings demonstrate that first-language measures can be useful in the early identification of children at risk for difficulty in learning to read in a second language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of children’s performance on simple multiplication and division problems.

The authors investigated the performance on simple multiplication and division problems of 8-year-old children longitudinally to determine the developmental trajectories of both operations. Twice a year, during 2 consecutive school years, children performed a multiplication and division verification task and a number-matching task. All effects that were observed in multiplication performance (problem size, 5, and tie effect and Tie × Size interaction) were also observed in division performance. The developmental trajectories of these effects are described. The authors observed strong developmental parallels between both operations. These results are in line with strongly interconnected memory networks for multiplication and division facts, at least in young children. The results of the number-matching task showed that the interference effect developed differently for multiplication and division, indicating that automatic activation spreading from division operands to division answers is not at work in children of that age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological functioning among mothers of children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: A longitudinal study.

Mothers of children with newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) were assessed repeatedly over a period of 6 years in order to determine the psychological correlates of managing this chronic illness. Both maternal depression and overall emotional distress after the 1st year of the IDDM increased slightly with illness duration and were also influenced by other factors. Mothers' adjustment shortly after their children were diagnosed with IDDM was a strong predictor of their long-term emotional symptomatology. However, mothers' symptoms over time were not related to medical aspects of IDDM (i.e., the extent of the children's metabolic control, number of rehospitalizations, or their compliance with the medical regimen) and were also unrelated to the levels of depression or anxiety reported by their children. Mothers generally found it easier to cope with the IDDM the longer their children had the illness. However, the degree to which mothers perceived the IDDM to be bothersome or difficult to manage at any given point in time was associated with their overall levels of emotional distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)