Young children’s character strengths and emotional well-being: Development of the Character Strengths Inventory for Early Childhood (CSI-EC)

Abstract

The Character Strengths Inventory for Early Childhood (CSI-EC) is a parent report inventory that was developed to measure pre-school children’s character strengths consistent with the VIA Classification of Strengths and Virtues. The inventory consists of 96 items that measure 24 character strengths. The CSI-EC was administered to 2274 parents of children aged 3–6 in two large samples from Israel. Parents also completed questionnaires assessing their child’s emotional and behavioral problems and emotional well-being. Principal component analyses and confirmatory factor analyses of the CSI-EC supported 24 primary character strengths factors and four second-order factors. Children’s transcendence, intellectual and interpersonal strengths were positively associated with children’s emotional well-being, and children’s temperance and interpersonal strengths were negatively associated with socio-emotional difficulties. The findings are discussed in terms of future research and practical implication.     

The effects of father absence on children's achievement motivation,ego-strength,and locus-of-control orientation: A five-year longitudinal assessment

Predictions of reductions in children's achievement motivation, educational aspirations and interpersonal orientation due to early and prolonged father absence were investigated. To test these predictions, 120 father-present and 120 father-absent male and female children (aged 10 years) were assessed on measures of achievement motivation and related interpersonal orientation scales. A five-year longitudinal follow-up of 85 father-absent and 85 father-present subjects was carried out to assess subjects' later development. A multivariate analysis using a repeated measures design showed that father-absent subjects, compared to father-present subjects, declined in achievement motivation dimensions of competitiveness, desire for mastery, perseverance and willingness to endure negative consequences. They showed a corresponding increase in negative ego-strength dimensions of social alienation and self-centredness. The results indicated that father-absent boys and girls changed differently in psychosocial dimensions over time and father absence had more adverse effects on boys than girls. Educational and developmental implications of the longitudinal analysis are discussed.     

The Association Between Gender,Ethnicity, and Suicidality Among Vocational Students in Israel

Gender and ethnicity are significant factors when evaluating suicidal risk, especially among ethnically diverse populations. In the current study we explored the association between gender, ethnicity, and suicide ideation and attempts among Arab and Jewish vocational education and training high school students in Israel. Students (N = 3,554) completed a self‐report survey evaluating suicide ideation and attempts, depression, anxiety, somatization, and sense of belonging. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling indicated that female Arab adolescents had elevated levels of suicide ideation, higher rates of suicide attempts, and greater psychological distress than Arab males and Jewish students. Furthermore, female Arab adolescents were found to be more susceptible to suicide ideation when depression levels were high. These results are discussed in the context of the double‐jeopardy Arab young women face, as members of a minority ethnic group in Israel and their status as women within the patriarchal Arab culture.     

Crawling in and out of sleep

The goal of the study was to examine the link between motor attainments and sleep–wake regulation by comparing the sleep characteristics of infants who are crawling with the sleep of same‐age infants who have not yet acquired the locomotion milestone. The participants were 59 healthy 8‐month‐old infants with no developmental delays, who were recruited through well‐baby clinics and childcare centers. The measurements included objective sleep recordings (actigraphy), sleep questionnaire, and motor milestones checklist. The main finding was that the sleep of crawlers was more fragmented in comparison to the sleep of pre‐crawlers. While the findings of this report give support to the hypothesized link between sleep regulation and motor development, more studies are needed to clarify why crawling might provide a marker of nightwaking. In discussing the results, it is proposed that the association between fragmented sleep and crawling could be related to maturational, constitutional, and relational factors. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.