Reducing Child Whining Through Self-Instructional Parent Training Materials

Parents used self-instructional booklets to decrease their children's (age4-8) whining. In each of 9 families, a multiple-baseline design across three problems, whining and two other was used. Parent data indicate mean improvement of 26% of the maximum possible from baseline means, with 8 of 9 children showing improvement. All parent final consumer ratings were positive. All interobserver reliabilities exceeded 80% agreement weighted for occurrence and nonoccurrence. Correlations for two sets of data between frequencies of whining estimated by parents twice an hour and percent of intervals recorded for whining from observer interval data for the hour produced median correlations of .62 and .51. Percent agreement between observer and parent data, both using interval recording at the same time, produced a median coefficient of agreement weighted for occurrence and non-occurrence of 59%. Results suggest that parents using self-instructional materials alone could reduce children's whining from levels originally considered excessive to levels parents considered acceptable.     

The Dental Subscale of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule: Predictive Value and Clinical Usefulness

This study reports on the predictive value and clinical usefulness of the Dutch parental version of the Dental Subscale of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS). Parents of 718 children (4–12 years) completed this CFSS-DS version before or during the child's visit. The dentist rated the child's dental fear during treatment on a 5-point Likert-type Scale from 1 (not afraid at all) to 5 (very afraid). Reliability analysis was performed, and correlation coefficients between the two measures were calculated. The reliability of the scale proved to be high (Cronbach's = .93) and significant correlation coefficients were found (r = .58 and r = .68, p < .01). The negative predictive value of the CFSS-DS was high (.96), whereas its positive predictive value was relatively low (0.41). It was concluded that the CFSS-DS might be of clinical value as a screening device of dental fear, whereas its predictive value of fearful behavior should not be overestimated.     

Spatial Training Improves Children's Mathematics Ability

We tested whether mental rotation training improved math performance in 6- to 8-year-olds. Children were pretested on a range of number and math skills. Then one group received a single session of mental rotation training using an object completion task that had previously improved spatial ability in children this age (Ehrlich, Levine, &; Goldin-Meadow, 2006 Ehrlich , S. , Levine , S. , &; Goldin-Meadow , S. ( 2006 ). The importance of gestures in children's spatial reasoning . Developmental Psychology , 42 , 1259 – 1268 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The remaining children completed crossword puzzles instead. Children's posttest scores revealed that those in the spatial training group improved significantly on calculation problems. In contrast, children in the control group did not improve on any math tasks. Further analyses revealed that the spatial training group's improvement was largely due to better performance on missing term problems (e.g., 4 + ____ = 11).     

9-11岁儿童对社会性害怕和内疚情绪的理解

社会性害怕和内疚都属于个体体验到的消极情绪,但这两种消极情绪对个体而言都有积极的社会意义,本研究采用临床访谈的方法,以9岁和11岁儿童为被试,探讨他们对内疚与社会性害怕这两种情绪的理解能力,结果发现,(1)随年龄的增长,9-11岁儿童对内疚情绪的理解能力不断提高,但儿童到了11岁仍然不能很好地理解内疚的第二、第三层次。(2)相对于模糊故事,在内疚故事中,儿童表现出更高的对内疚三个层次的理解。(3)两个年龄组的儿童都能很好地理解社会性害怕情绪。因而本研究认为,儿童对社会性害怕情绪的理解明显好于对内疚情绪的理解,且儿童对内疚的理解可能建立在对社会性害怕理解的基础上。     

Predicting Children's Recall of a Dental Procedure: Contributions of Stress,Preparation, and Dental History

We examined the extent to which three predictors of children's recall, selected on the basis of their theoretical significance, contributed to the prediction of children's recall for the details of dental operative procedures in a diverse sample of 28 children (54–140 months of age). Parents provided information regarding their children's dental histories and preparation for the dental visit. We obtained behavioral indices of stress from video recordings of the procedures and interviewed the children shortly after treatment to assess their memory. In a significant model predicting open‐ended recall, measures of prior dental experience and parent discussion emerged as unique predictors, although stress did not add to the prediction. The results attest to the importance of incorporating measures of individual differences in investigations of children's reports of their personal experiences. We discuss the importance of children's interpretations in understanding memory for stressful events.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effectiveness of Brief Parent Training for the Management of Children's Homework Problems

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a combined parent manual group training program for the management of children's homework problems. Parents of 13 children who were experiencing significantly more homework problems than their grade-school peers were assigned to either a treatment or wait-list control group. Training consisted of 3 weekly, 1-½ hour group meetings wherein behavioral techniques outlined in the parent manuaI were discussed and practiced via modeling, behavior rehearsal, and completion of home assignments. In comparison to the 7 waitlist parents, the 6 treatment parents repotted significantly fewer homework difficulties at post-treatment as measured by scores on the Homework Problem Checklist and the Learning Disability scale of the LouisviIle Behavior Check List. The control group parents increased the frequency of criticisms to their children during the waiting period. When the control group was subsequently treated, no significant gains were reported, however, training was conducted during the last four weeks of school. Scores on Homework Problem Checklists re-administered at a 6-month follow-up indicated maintenance of positive behavior change over time for the treatment group.     

Developmental Intergroup Theory: Explaining and Reducing Children's Social Stereotyping and Prejudice

ABSTRACT— Social stereotyping and prejudice are intriguing phenomena from the standpoint of theory and, in addition, constitute pressing societal problems. Because stereotyping and prejudice emerge in early childhood, developmental research on causal mechanisms is critical for understanding and controlling stereotyping and prejudice. Such work forms the basis of a new theoretical model, developmental intergroup theory (DIT), which addresses the causal ingredients of stereotyping and prejudice. The work suggests that biases may be largely under environmental control and thus might be shaped via educational, social, and legal policies.     

Reducing Children's Susceptibility to Commercials: Mechanisms of Factual and Evaluative Advertising Interventions

The aim of this study was to investigate how factual and evaluative interventions modify the effects of television advertising among children in early and middle childhood. First, a conceptual model of advertising intervention was developed, and then this model was experimentally tested drawing on a sample of 5- to 10-year-old children (N = 206). Structural equation modeling analysis confirmed that factual intervention reduced children's susceptibility to commercials by stimulating their advertising knowledge and skepticism, and evaluative intervention reduced children's susceptibility by influencing their attitudes toward commercials negatively. For children older than 6, both factual and evaluative interventions were successful in modifying the effects of advertising, whereas the younger children had difficulty processing any type of intervention.     

Reducing Parent Distress and Increasing Parent Coping-Promoting Behavior During Children's Medical Procedure

The study investigated whether involving parents in their child's cognitive-behavioral intervention would effectively reduce parent distress during their child's medical procedure. Parents participating with their 3- to 7-year-old children prior to a voiding cystourethrogram were randomly assigned to an intervention (N = 20) or a standard care (N = 20) condition. The intervention included provision of information, coping skills training, and parent coaching. Parents participating in the intervention had a significant reduction in anxiety following the intervention relative to parents in standard care. Trained parents displayed fewer distress-promoting and more coping-promoting behaviors during the procedure, even though parents in both conditions reported similar levels of anxiety during the procedure. Involving parents in children's interventions is crucial to reduce parent distress and prepare parents to assist their child during the medical procedure.     

Adaptation of the Children's Friendship Training Program for Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

ABSTRACT

Previous research attests to the marked impairments in social functioning exhibited by children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), suggesting that such children are in need of social skills intervention. Recently, an existing evidence-based manualized behavioral treatment for improving children's friendships was implemented and demonstrated to be effective with children aged 6–12, diagnosed with FASD. In the present report, we describe methods for adapting this behavioral intervention in line with the specific cognitive and behavioral deficits seen in children with FASD and other developmental disabilities to enhance treatment efficacy.     

A Test of Mastery versus Coping Modeling in the Reduction of Children's Dental Fears

This study compared mastery and coping models in the reduction of relatively high fear and tear-related behaviors of children undergoing dental treatment. Boys and girls, ranging form 4-to-12 years of age and reporting high dental fears, were grouped according to previous dental experience (none vs. previous experience). The children were exposed to one of three experimental conditions: a coping model slide-and-audiotape presentation, a mastery model presentation, or a no-slide presentation condition. Subjects' reported levels of dental fear and general anxiety were reassessed following the experimental manipulation. Additionally, subjects' disruptive behaviors were tallied during the subsequent dental treatment. No differences on the dependent measures were found due to exposure to a model, model type, or level of previous dental experience. Combined with other studies, the present results raise critical questions regarding the efficacy of mastery versus coping modeling as well as for the theoretical distinction of the two modeling types.     

The Moderating Effects of Children's Fear and Activity Level on Relations Between Parenting Practices and Childhood Symptomatology

Parenting practices have been previously linked to childhood symptomatology. However, little consideration has been given to the potential effect of individual differences within the child on this relation. The current study assessed the moderating effects of children's activity level and fear on relations between parenting practices and childhood aggression and depressive symptoms using a sample of 64 fourth-, and fifth-grade boys. The findings showed that poorly monitored active boys and fearful boys who were exposed to harsh discipline exhibited high levels of aggression. Boys characterized by high fear who were exposed to harsh discipline or whose parents were extremely overinvolved showed elevated levels of depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that integrating children's individual differences with parenting models enhances our understanding of the etiology of childhood symptomatology. The intervention implications of such an integration are discussed.     

The Facilitation of Children's Social Interaction by a Picture-Cue Training Program

A social-interaction training procedure employing picture cues (photographs of play materials in their settings), prompts, and reinforcement was investigated to determine its effcct on subject-peer and subject-teacher interaction. The picture cues were designed to facilitate social interaction between three socially deficient language-delayed 4- to 6-year-old children and their respective classroom peers. One target child was deaf, one was unusually aggressive, and one was an elective mute. The picture-cue technique was designed to minimize reacher involvement: it allowed onc child to invite another to interact by displaying a picture of the interaction desired. Despite the children's differences, appropriate social interaction increased dramatically over each child's bascline rate during the Picture-Cue Conditions, required less tcacher time than traditionaI prompting procedures, and increased the functional aspect of naturally maintaining contingencies. This result may have been influenced by prompting procedures used in earlier conditions. The results indicate that picture cues facilitate communication and allow independent social interaction, and thus are functional and efficient mediating devices.     

Efficacy of a Brief Relaxation Training Intervention for Pediatric Recurrent Abdominal Pain

This study is a preliminary investigation of the efficacy of a brief intervention for recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) via a multiple baseline across subjects design. The intervention consisted of a single 1-hour session including psychoeducation and coaching of breathing retraining; the length, duration, and content of the intervention were designed with a goal of maximum portability to primary-care settings. Five children with recurrent abdominal pain participated in this study, 1 of whom served as a pilot participant. Children received the intervention at 1-week intervals. Parent and child reports of each child's abdominal pain, general somatic complaints, functional disability, and anxiety were collected throughout the study. All children participated in a 3-month follow-up session. Results indicated that this brief intervention was successful in lessening abdominal pain, as demonstrated by decreased Abdominal Pain Index (API) scores in two children and decreased abdominal pain following breathing retraining practice in all children. The intervention was also successful in decreasing some children's general somatic symptoms. Functional disability and anxiety symptoms remained consistent for all children throughout the study, which may be due to low levels of these symptoms pretreatment. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

How Mothers' Parenting Styles Affect Their Children's Sexual Efficacy and Experience

The relations among mothers' parenting styles and adolescents' sexual self-efficacy and sexual experience were examined in a sample of 253 British adolescent-mother pairs. Also explored was whether adolescents' self-efficacy would be positively or negatively related to their sexual experience. Mothers' parenting styles were expected to influence children's locus of control, based on the theory that mothers who are involved with their children and mothers who stress independence contribute to the development of an internal locus of control in their children, increasing the children's feelings of sexual self-efficacy. Structural equation modeling was used to test a longitudinal model. The results support the assumption that maternal involvement leads to higher levels of self-efficacy, whereas maternal control was associated with lower levels of self-efficacy. Sexual self-efficacy was associated with higher levels of sexual experience. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.