Birth rank as a determinant of academic achievement:results from a European survey of primary school children

ABSTRACT

The present study investigates the relationship between birth rank and academic achievement of children in a cross-country study to examine whether firstborn children perform better in primary school than later-born children when controlling for individual, social and parental characteristics. Data were drawn from the School Children Mental Health in Europe (SCMHE) study, which included samples from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania and Turkey (n = 7,518). Children’s academic performance in reading and mathematics was evaluated by teachers and parents reported sociodemographic variables including birth rank and parental attitudes. Controlling for individual, sociodemographic variables and parental attitudes in multinomial regressions, first- or second-born children displayed greater performance in mathematics and in reading as compared to children whose birth rank was third or above. Children from large families, especially when they are not first- or second-born appear to be at greater risk for academic difficulties and should benefit from targeted prevention efforts.     

Self‐control in a Prisoner's Dilemma game: the role of trial spacing and an interfering task

Self‐control was studied in an iterated one‐player Prisoner's Dilemma game in which students' choices affected the payoff matrix on the next trial. The frequency of self‐control responses (choice of the smaller payoff now, but with the more generous payoff matrix more likely on the next trial) and defection responses (choice of the larger payoff now, but with the less generous payoff matrix more likely on the next trial) were measured. In Experiment 1, players achieved a criterion of five consecutive self‐control responses more quickly as a positive function of trial spacing, the presence between trials of a discriminative stimulus associated with the upcoming payoff matrix, and the probability that the self‐control or defection response would be reciprocated by the computer. Experiment 2 replicated the effect of trial spacing except when there was an interfering task during the interval, suggesting that trial spacing permits better appreciation of the contingencies. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is Segmental Trunk Control Related to Gross Motor Performance in Healthy Preterm and Full-Term Infants?

Abstract

The authors’ aim was to verify the correlation between segmental trunk control and gross motor performance in healthy preterm (PT) and full-term (FT) infants aged 6 and 7?months and to verify if there are differences between groups. All infants were assessed at 6 and 7?months by means of Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo) to identify the exact level of segmental trunk control and Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) to measure gross motor performance. A significant correlation between segmental trunk control and gross motor performance was found in healthy PT infants at 7?months and FT infants at 6?months. PT infants showed a delay on segmental trunk control at 6 and 7?months and in supported standing posture at 6?months compared with FT infants. Segmental trunk control and gross motor performance showed an important relationship in healthy PT and FT infants, mainly in sitting posture.