Influence of verbal and nonverbal references to print on preschoolers' visual attention to print during storybook reading

How much do preschool children look at print within storybooks when adults read to them? This study sought to answer this question as well as to examine the effects of adult verbal and nonverbal references to print on children's visual attention to print during storybook reading. Forty-four preschool-aged children participated in this study designed to determine the amount of visual attention children paid to print in 4 planned variations of storybook reading. Children's visual attention to print was examined when adults commented and questioned about print (verbal print condition) or pointed to and tracked the print (nonverbal print condition), relative to 2 comparison conditions (verbatim reading and verbal picture conditions). Results showed that children rarely look at print, with about 5%-6% of their fixations allocated to print in verbatim and verbal picture reading conditions. However, preschoolers' visual attention to print increases significantly when adults verbally and nonverbally reference print; both reading styles exerted similar effects. The authors conclude that explicit referencing of print is 1 way to increase young children's contacts with print during shared storybook reading.     

Blossoming Child,Mourning Parent: A Qualitative Study of Trans Children and Their Parents Navigating Transition

Journal of Child and Family Studies - An increasing number of jurisdictions now facilitate transitions for trans and non-binary youth (TNBY), allowing them to legally change their name and gender...     

Sport team identification and willingness to consider anonymous acts of hostile aggression

Previous research indicated that a sizeable minority of individuals report a willingness to consider engaging in anonymous acts of instrumental aggression directed toward players and coaches of a rival team. Individuals with a high degree of identification with their favorite team were particularly likely to consider such acts. The current investigation was designed to extend this research by examining the likelihood that individuals would consider engaging in hostile anonymous aggression. It was expected that highly identified persons would be particularly likely to consider these acts, even though the acts would not provide a competitive advantage for their team. Data collected from 175 university students confirmed the expectations. In addition, the results indicated that males were more likely than females to report a willingness to consider the hostile aggressive acts and that participants were more likely to report a willingness to engage in less destructive acts (e.g., tripping an opposing player or coach) than more destructive acts (e.g., murdering an opposing player or coach). Aggr. Behav. 29:406–413, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Habituation and dishabituation during object play in kennel-housed dogs

Domestic dogs are reported to show intense but transient neophilia towards novel objects. Here, we examine habituation and dishabituation to manipulable objects by kennel-housed dogs. Labrador retrievers (N?=?16) were repeatedly presented with one toy for successive 30-s periods until interaction ceased. At this point (habituation), a different toy was presented that contrasted with the first in both colour and odour (since the dog’s saliva would have accumulated on the first), colour alone, or odour alone. No effect of the type of contrast was detected in the number of presentations to habituation, the difference in duration of interaction between the first presentation of the first toy and the presentation of the second toy (recovery), or the duration of interaction with the second toy (dishabituation). Varying the time interval between successive presentations of the first toy up to habituation between 10?s and 10?min had no effect on the number of presentations to habituation, nor did it alter the extent of dishabituation. Varying the delay from habituation to presentation of the second toy, between 10?s and 15?min, affected neither the recovery nor the dishabituation. Overall, the study indicates that loss of interest in the object during object-orientated play in this species is due to habituation to the overall stimulus properties of the toy rather than to any single sensory modality and is also atypical in its insensitivity to the interval between presentations.     

Adaptation and Acculturation: Experiences of Internationally Educated Social Workers

Transnational mobility of internationally educated social workers has been on the rise for the past 20 years, with little empirical study regarding their experiences of professional adaptation. This paper contextualises and presents data from a study with 15 social workers who undertook their professional education outside Canada and have migrated to Canada within the past 10 years, regarding their professional acculturation and adaptation. The analysis focuses on elements that facilitated and mitigated their professional acculturation and the resulting adaptations participants have experienced in their practice in the Canadian context. The paper's discussion outlines the importance of a stronger grounding in professional values of social work in order to facilitate professional acculturation and adaptation of internationally educated social workers.     

Observer Influences on Fathers and Mothers: An Experimental Manipulation of the Structure and Function of Parent – Infant Conversation

From studies over the past 20 years four contrasting hypotheses can be made about the nature of parent–infant communication: (1) mothers and fathers display similar skills to their infants and do not exert a differential influence on their development; (2) fathers are less sympathetic to their infants' level of development and therefore inadvertently stretch the child's development more than mothers; (3) both parents differentially socialize their sons' and daughters' early communicative skills; (4) any apparent differences between parents reflect their expectations about being observed. To examine these hypotheses together, this experiment records the communication of 10 mother–infant and 10 father–infant dyads in two conditions: when an observer was present or absent. The analysis revealed two patterns. Firstly, in keeping with most research on parent–child communication, mothers and fathers both simplified their speech to their infants in similar ways. Secondly, both the structure and function of parental communication showed differences between the two conditions and many of these differences were moderated by interactions between condition and sex of parent or child. The data thus provide more support for the first and fourth hypotheses cited above. It is suggested that analyses of parent–infant interaction should move away from simple assumptions about parental ‘influences’ upon children's development to consider the subtleties of different parental styles in different settings.     

Digging beneath the surface: Results from stage one of a qualitative analysis of factors influencing the well-being of trans youth in Quebec

ABSTRACT

Background: The literature on trans youth has been dominated by etiological studies interested in trans experience as a medical phenomenon. An emerging body of literature has begun to document that trans youth are a diverse, vulnerable, yet resilient population, and to investigate the role of various sites of support such as the family, peer groups, institutions, and community spaces in contributing to or impeding trans youth's well-being.

Method: This article presents the results of Stage One of interviews (n = 24) conducted for a Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) qualitative research project based in Quebec. It studies the factors that enhance trans youth's well-being as well as the factors of oppression that negatively affect it. This paper offers a brief overview of the anti-oppressive methodology used for this project, emphasizing how CBPAR was combined with Grounded Theory (GT) methods to encourage the direct involvement of communities and the translation of knowledge into action.

Results: We present preliminary categories emerging through the ongoing axial coding process. These categories address trans youth's experiences in and perceptions of various “sites”: 1) healthcare services both for gender-related and general care, 2) other institutional spaces, 3) the family and other social circles, and 4) community spaces.

Conclusion: While much of this study's results support existing evidence on trans youth's experiences, they also provide a more nuanced portrayal of the complex ways in which recognition, as well as non-, mis-, or mal-recognition, influence trans youth's well-being at different sites. We also argue that recognition itself must be considered through the lens of intersectionality.     

“I knew that I wasn’t cis,I knew that,but I didn’t know exactly”: Gender identity development,expression and affirmation in youth who access gender affirming medical care

Abstract

Background: Research about gender identity development is still in its infancy, especially among youth who experience gender dysphoria and are accessing gender-affirming medical care.

Aims: This article contributes to the literature on how gender identity and gender dysphoria is experienced, expressed and addressed by youth who have started, or are just about to start, a gender-affirming medical intervention.

Methods: The project draws from qualitative interviews with 36 trans children and youth of different ages and stages of puberty. The data were collected in three specialized Canadian clinics that offer gender-affirming care and they were analyzed through inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Two interlinked dimensions of the youth’s lives allow meaning-making of their gender identity: 1) internal or personal and 2) interactional or social processes. Careful analysis reveals three gender identity development pathways that may be taken by youth, from early questioning to the affirmation of their gender identity. A discussion of current models of gender identity development and their limitations concludes the article.     

‘If they didn’t support me,I most likely wouldn’t be here’: Transgender young people and their parents negotiating medical treatment in Australia

Abstract

Background: It is increasingly recognized that transgender young people require affirming medical care, however the provision of such care may be mitigated by the availability of services and the views of parents.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the views of Australian transgender young people (aged 11–17) and their parents with regards to medical treatment.

Methods: Ten qualitative interviews were conducted with parent-child dyads in two Australian states. Thematic analysis was undertaken on responses to interview questions related to family relationships, views about medical treatment (specifically hormone blockers and hormones), and the relationship between medical treatment and sense of self.

Results: Themes developed focused on the importance of strong supportive parent-child relationships, the meaning of and access to hormone blockers, and the meaning of and access to hormones.

Discussion: The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for clinical services, particularly in relation to supporting parents to be affirming of a transgender child, the need to prepare transgender young people and their parents for the passage of time in regards to medical treatment, and the need to focus on expectations in regards to sense of self in relation to medical treatment.