Parents’ reactions to children’s stuttering and style of coping with stress

PurposeThe aim of the research was to determine: (a) how parents react to their child’s stuttering, (b) what stress coping strategies they utilise, as well as (c) whether stress coping style depends on parents’ reaction to their child’s stuttering.MethodsThe research involved 23 mothers and 23 fathers of children who stutter (CWS) at the age of three to six years old. The Reaction to Speech Disfluency Scale (RSDS), developed by the authors, was used in the research. To determine the parents’ coping the Coping Inventory in Stressful Situations (CISS) by N.S. Endler and D.A Parker was applied.ResultsThe strongest reactions are observed on the cognitive level. Stronger cognitive, emotional and behavioural reactions are observed in the mothers towards their disfluently speaking sons and in the fathers towards their daughters. Having analysed the profiles of coping styles, it can be noticed that the task-oriented coping is most frequently adapted by the fathers. The mothers most often use the avoidance-oriented coping. No relevant correlation was observed between the fathers’ coping style and their reactions to the child’s disfluent speech. As far as the mothers are concerned, it has been proved that an increase in behavioural reactions correlates with the avoidance-oriented coping.ConclusionThe cognitive reactions of the parents’ towards their child’s stuttering were most frequent, while the emotional ones were the least frequent. Confronted with a stressful situation, the fathers most often adapt the task-oriented coping, whereas the mothers use the avoidance-oriented coping. Educational objectives: the reader will be able to (1) learn what the key reactions of parents to their children’s stuttering are, (2) describe stuttering as a stress factor for the parents, (3) describe the factors which influence parents’ reactions to their child’s stuttering and their coping style.     

Gender differences in preschool children’s declared and behavioral compliance with pedestrian rules

The study examined gender differences in compliance with pedestrian rules among preschool children. Two groups of 5-year-old boys and girls containing a total of 162 children participated in the study. First, the children’s compliance was assessed during crossing and walking by observing their pedestrian behaviors. Then, each child was interviewed on pedestrian-danger appraisal, rule knowledge, rule compliance, and rule internalization. As hypothesized, the results showed that girls’ behaviors were more compliant than those of boys. However, boys were more compliant than girls in looking at the surrounding environment as they traveled and before crossing. Girls said they were more compliant with rules, had better knowledge of rules, and exhibited greater rule internalization than boys. Danger appraisals, however, were found to be comparable for boys and girls. Moreover, declared compliance was linked to behavioral compliance among girls but not among boys. These findings suggest that girls and boys have different motives for obeying safety rules. The results are discussed in regard to the origins of gender differences in traffic-rule compliance.     

How to bring the news … peak-end effects in children’s affective responses to peer assessments of their social behavior

The retrospective evaluation of an event tends to be based on how the experience felt during the most intense moment and the last moment. Two experiments tested whether this so-called peak-end effect influences how primary school students are affected by peer assessments. In both experiments, children (ages 7–12) assessed two classmates on their behaviour in school and then received two manipulated assessments. In Experiment 1 (N ?=?30), one assessment consisted of four negative ratings and the other of four negative ratings with an extra moderately negative rating added to the end. In Experiment 2 (N ?=?44), one assessment consisted of four positive ratings, and the other added an extra moderately positive rating to the end. Consistent with the peak-end effect, the extended assessment in Experiment 1 and the short assessment in Experiment 2 were remembered as more pleasant and less difficult to deal with, which shaped children’s peer assessment preferences and prospective choices of which assessment to repeat. These findings indicate that the process of peer assessment can be improved by ending the feedback with the most positive part of the assessment.     

Effect of television viewing on social–emotional competence of young Thai children

Exposure time, program content and cultural context may affect the impact of television (TV) on the social–emotional competence (SEC) of children. This study examined the effects of TV viewing on the SEC of Thai infants. The study was based on a Thai birth cohort study from which duration and content of TV viewing and data from the Modified Infant–Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment instrument at 1 and 3 years of age were available. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine whether scores below the 10th national percentile were associated with TV viewing duration. The relationship between viewing duration and SEC risk was quadratic rather than linear. Viewing duration of 30–120 min/day was associated with a decreased risk of low overall SEC compared to non-viewers after adjustments for confounding factors. However, the beneficial effect diminished when the duration exceeded 120 min/day. Viewing educational programs was associated with a risk reduction of having low overall SEC compared to non-educational programs. These results suggest that a short period of TV viewing may be beneficial for the SEC of Thai infants, especially if the programs are educational.     

Evaluating risk factors in relation to preschool social–emotional skills using a person-centred approach

Few studies have utilised a person-centred approach when it comes to understanding risk factors in young children. The present study uses this type of approach while examining risk factors in relation to social–emotional skills. Parent reports for 444 preschool-aged children disclosed each child's exposure to eight different risk factors, as well as their social–emotional abilities. A latent class analysis was utilised to examine subgroups of risk, rather than using a cumulative approach, to see whether specific risk factors differentiated participants. Subgroup differences in distal social–emotional skills were then examined. The subgroup with systemic, economic and parent stress risk factors showed the lowest social–emotional abilities, in comparison to subgroups with only systemic or a combination of systemic and economic risks. These results suggest that addressing parent stress may be particularly relevant when considering children's social–emotional development. Implications for interventions and clinical practice are discussed.     

Caregivers’ emotional competence and behavioral responsiveness as correlates of early childcare workers’ relationships with children in their care

In the current study, we examined associations among early childcare workers’ emotional competence, observed responsiveness, comfort with socioemotional teaching practices, and the quality of their relationships with children in their care. The participants were 100 early childcare workers (72 center-based Early Head Start teachers and 28 family childcare providers). Results showed that caregivers’ emotion regulation ability was positively associated with caregiver–child relational closeness. Understanding and regulation of emotion were both positively associated with childcare workers’ comfort with socioemotional teaching practices. Their observed responsiveness was positively related to relational closeness and negatively related to relational conflict. Findings are consistent with aspects of the prosocial classroom model, which asserts that educators high in emotional and social competence tend to adopt childcare practices that result in supportive relationships with children. Results provide insight into whether childcare workers’ responsiveness to young children and their perceived socioemotional teaching practices provide a pathway between emotional competence and the quality of caregiver–child relationships.     

Altruistic values in children’s spirituality: a study of children’s responses to the terror attacks in Oslo and on Utøya and issues of education

In reactions to the terror attacks in Oslo and on Utøya on July 22, 2011, belief in an open society, hope and altruism played an important part. This has led to research on the role of such values in Norwegian democracy. The present study explores messages given by children right after the event, using an approach based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s philosophy of dialogue. Several issues of educational significance are discussed: the meaning of ritual in children’s thinking, coping with offending, death, and understanding children’s spiritual and religious thinking when confronted with a critical event. It is argued that hope and altruism seem to be natural parts of children’s spirituality, but these values are not self-evident in a society. This is a challenge to education.     

It’s a matter of time (perspectives): shifting valence responses to emotional ambiguity

Our stage in life has profound influences on our emotions. A well-established age-related positivity effect is putatively related to time perspectives—older adults have a limited time perspective and a greater motivation to experience positivity than young adults. Ambiguous emotions (e.g., surprised expressions) have both a positive and negative meaning, offering a highly relevant model for examining this developmental trend. Indeed, there are stable, trait-like individual differences in valence bias, or the tendency to interpret surprise as positive or negative, with a developmental trend toward positivity (older adults are more positive than young adults, who are more positive than children). However, little research has determined the extent to which the bias can be shifted. In three experiments, we found that ambiguity ratings were sensitive to time perspectives, even within a population of college students, and that this effect is relatively long-lasting. Results extend socioemotional selectivity theory and demonstrate that our life stage may have profound effects on otherwise stable emotional responses.     

An adult model of preschool children’s speech memory

In previous work, it has been demonstrated that phonetic similarity among the items in a spoken list interferes with recall much more in school-aged children than in preschool children. The basis of this developmental change, however, is unclear. In the present study we examined the possibility that a developmental increase in the use of covert verbal rehearsal accounts for the change in the effects of phonetic similarity. Adults who recalled lists of spoken words during articulatory suppression tasks that blocked covert rehearsal were found to display patterns of recall that resembled those ordinarily found in 5-year-old children. The specific aspects of rehearsal responsible for these effects also were investigated.     

How semantic category modulates preschool children’s visual memory

The dynamic interplay between perception and memory has been explored in preschool children by presenting filtered stimuli regarding animals and artifacts. The identification of filtered images was markedly influenced by both prior exposure and the semantic nature of the stimuli. The identification of animals required less physical information than artifacts did. Our results corroborate the notion that the human attention system evolves to reliably develop definite category-specific selection criteria by which living entities are monitored in different ways.     

Spaces of spiritual citizenship: children’s relational and emotional encounters with the everyday school environment

This article addresses the issue of children’s spiritual, relational and emotional encounters with the primary school environment, with reference to concepts and theories from both education studies and human geography. Drawing on mixed-method qualitative research in two case study institutions, the article examines pupils’ photographed ‘special places’ and the embodied spiritual practices that occurred within everyday informal spaces around the school environments. The significance of adult power and children’s spiritual agency is explored in the analysis, emphasising the potentially political nature of spiritual practices and processes. In so doing, the implications for spiritual citizenship are addressed as part of the current wider interest in children’s rights and participation in school ethos and decision-making.     

Some cognitive and social correlates of children’s fluency in riddle-telling

Cognitive and social correlates of riddle-telling were investigated in a matched-pairs design. Fluent riddle-tellers from two age groups (six to eight years and eight to eleven years) were matched with their peers who told few riddles or none at all. The children’s cognitive abilities were measured on nine verbal and four nonverbal tasks, and their social adjustment estimated by teacher reports and sociometric tests. Riddle-tellers in the younger age group were further advanced cognitively and less well-adjusted socially than their peers who did not know any riddles. Only cognitive correlates of riddle-telling were found for children in the older age group. The results suggest the need for future investigations of riddle-telling to consider both cognitive and social factors and to expect different patterns of correlates according to children’s degree of experience in riddle-telling.     

Maternal sensitivity in responding during play and children’s pre-mathematical skills: a longitudinal study from infancy to preschool age

This longitudinal study explored how mothers’ sensitivity in responding to their child’s cognitive and emotional needs in infancy and toddlerhood predicts children’s pre-mathematical skills at early preschool age. The sample consisted of 65 mother–child dyads (N = 130 individuals) videotaped during joint play at ages 1;0 and 2;0. The children’s pre-mathematical skills were tested at age 3;0. The path analyses showed that, in infancy, mothers’ autonomy support and scaffolding are more strongly related than emotional support to children’s later performance on spatial and numerical tasks. The findings are discussed in relation to how maternal sensitivity in responding fosters children’s pre-mathematical development in an optimal way.     

Parents’ perceptions of children’s executive functions across different cities

Culture is thought to strongly influence the development of executive functions (EF), such that ethnic groups with similar cultural origins are generally assumed to exhibit comparable levels of EF performance. However, other characteristics, such as urbanization and Westernization, may also affect EF performance in societies comprising different ethnic groups, even if the ethnic groups share a similar cultural origin. The present study aimed to compare the perceptions of parents in three cities [China–Shenzhen (ZH group), China–Hong Kong (HK group), and Singapore (SG group)] regarding the EF performances of their children, all of whom share the same genetic and cultural (i.e., Chinese) origin. The study recruited 95 children aged 5–6 years (ZH group = 32; HK group = 32; SG group = 31). Their parents were invited to complete the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The ZH group had significantly lower BRIEF scores compared to both the HK and SG groups. However, the BRIEF scores of the HK and SG groups only differed significantly in terms of the Organization of Materials domain. The results suggest city-related differences in parents’ perceptions of their children’s EF performances, despite their similar genetic and cultural backgrounds. We additionally discuss further interpretations of our results and the limitations of this study.     

Parents’ Beliefs about Children’s Emotions and Parents’ Emotion-Related Conversations with Their Children

The goals of the current study were to describe parents’ emotion socialization patterns and to assess relations between parents’ emotion-related beliefs and socialization behaviors during conversations with their children. Participants were 125 parents and their 9- and 10-year-old children from three ethnic groups in the southeastern United States. Parents reported beliefs about children’s emotions. Parents and children were videotaped playing a board game to evoke emotion-related conversations, which were then coded for parents’ labeling, teaching, and encouragement of emotion. Parents used less labeling and teaching for positive than negative emotions, and greater encouragement for positive than negative emotions. Parents with stronger beliefs about the value of positive emotions engaged in less labeling of positive emotions, less teaching of all emotions, and less encouragement of negative emotions. Parents with stronger beliefs about the value of negative emotions engaged in more encouragement of negative emotions. Parents with stronger beliefs that all emotions are dangerous engaged in less labeling of negative emotions. The results of this study have potential clinical implications in helping clients to understand the foundational structures of their behaviors and how both beliefs and behaviors are distinct, yet interrelated constructs.     

Parents of children with Down Syndrome: Do resilience and social support matter to their experience of carer stress?

The study investigated personal resilience influences on the relationship between social support and parenting-stress among parents of children with Down syndrome (DS) in a Nigerian sample. One hundred and ninety three parent-carers of children with DS participated in the study (mothers?=?59%; mean age?=?46.47, age range?=?21 to 67, SD?=?10.42). The parent-carers responded to the measures of parenting-stress, perceived social support, and resilience. The result of the moderated multiple linear regression showed that parents with high social support and resilience have lower level of parenting-stress. Higher personal resilience significantly moderated the relationship between social support and parenting-stress so that parent-carers with low level of social support and higher personal resilience had lower level of parenting-stress. Resilience and social support oriented therapy appears to have efficacy for helping parent-carers of children with DS to manage their stress arising from raising such children.     

Role of medial prefrontal cortex in representing one’s own subjective emotional responses: A preliminary study

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been implicated in attending to one’s own emotional states, but the role of emotional valence in this context is not understood. We examined valence-specific BOLD activity in a previously validated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm. Ten healthy subjects viewed emotional pictures and categorized their experience as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. All three categories activated a common region within mPFC. Subtraction of neutral from pleasant or unpleasant conditions instead revealed ventromedial PFC (vmPFC), suggesting that this region represents emotional valence. During exteroceptive attention, greater mPFC responses were observed in response to emotional relative to neutral stimuli, consistent with studies implicating mPFC in the top-down modulation of emotion-biased attention. These findings may help to integrate the two proposed roles of mPFC in emotional representation and top-down modulation of subcortical structures.