scholarly journals Testing Children’s Mentalizing in Middle Childhood: Adopting the Child and Adolescent Reflective Functioning Scale with Clinical and Community Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiola Bizzi ◽  
Simone Charpentier-Mora ◽  
Donatella Cavanna ◽  
Jessica L. Borelli ◽  
Karin Ensink
Keyword(s):  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Reflective Functioning ◽  
Clinical Group ◽  
Community Group ◽  
New Era ◽  
Verbal Comprehension Index ◽  
Italian Children

AbstractBeginning with Ensink’s seminal study (2015), the field entered a new era in which we were able to measure mentalizing in school-aged children. The goal of this work is to continue developing the state of the research within this tradition by exploring the psychometric properties of the Child Reflective Functioning Scale (CRFS) - a measure applied to the Child Attachment Interview and designed to assess RF during middle childhood - within both clinical and normative groups, and to examine if it differentiates between both groups. Participants were 159 Italian children (age range 8–12 years, Mage = 10.66, SD =1.83; 57% males) divided into two groups: 71 children with emotional-behavioral problems (‘clinical group’) and 88 children without emotional-behavioral problems (‘community group’). Demographic data and Verbal Comprehension Index were collected. A two-factor model of CRFS (self- and other-focused RF) was confirmed in both groups, revealing that these intrapersonal and interpersonal indicators of children’s RF are important domains of mentalizing abilities in middle childhood. The results revealed adequate inter-rater reliability of the CRFS. Controlling for the effect of potentially confounding demographic variables, significant differences on CRFS scales between clinical and community groups were found. The clinical group showed lower levels of CRFS scores than normative group, but importantly, the self-focused RF score uniquely predicted clinical/community status. Taken together, the findings showed that the CRFS is a reliable and validity measure for assessing RF in middle childhood with clinical and normative groups, contributing important information to the scientific literature on mentalizing in middle childhood.

Factorial Structure of the SCAS and Its Relationship With the SDQ

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Di Riso ◽  
Daphne Chessa ◽  
Andrea Bobbio ◽  
Adriana Lis
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Factorial Structure ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Culturally Based ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Italian Children

The factorial structure of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS; Spence, 1997 ) was examined in a community sample of 1,397 Italian children from 8 to 10 years old. Sex and age differences as regards anxiety symptoms were also analyzed. The convergent validity of the SCAS was explored through correlations with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997 ). The use of confirmatory factor analysis supported the six correlated factor model of the SCAS with only minor differences compared to the original work by Spence (1997 ), and it was therefore named SCAS-it. Modifications to the original SCAS were supported by methodologically, theoretically, and culturally based arguments. The internal consistency of the SCAS-it was acceptable. Females displayed significantly higher levels of anxiety symptoms than males, while age differences were nonsignificant. Positive correlations were found between the SCAS-it and selected subscales of the SDQ. The results support the SCAS model, with few exceptions that do not threaten the utility of Spence’s tool.

scholarly journals Coping Strategies by University Students in Response to COVID-19: Differences between Community and Clinical Groups

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2499
Author(s):  
Víctor-María López-Ramos ◽  
Benito León-del-Barco ◽  
Santiago Mendo-Lázaro ◽  
María-Isabel Polo-del-Río
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Clinical Group ◽  
Cognitive Avoidance ◽  
Coping Response ◽  
Community Group

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic had severe consequences on the health and well-being of millions of people. Different studies try to identify the main effects that the crisis and several lockdowns have had on the citizens’ mental health. This research analyses the coping strategies generated by students from a community group and a clinical group in response to this crisis, using the Coping Responses Inventory—Adult Form (CRI-A) by Moos with a sample of 1074 students of Universidad de Extremadura. Multivariate analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis have been carried out, revealing, amongst other things, a greater predisposition of the clinical sample towards factors such as seeking guidance and support, cognitive avoidance or emotional discharge. Results show that students with prior mental health problems perform an unhealthy coping response based on avoidance strategies. This group of students suffers a double source of distress and anxiety, one derived from their prior psychopathologic problems and the stress of the lockdown and another one originating from an inefficient coping response, which makes coping strategies raise levels of distress and anxiety.

Children’s Representations of Music, Musical Identities, and Musical Engagement: Content and Socio-Demographic Influences

2021 ◽  
pp. 002242942110650
Author(s):  
Giulia Ripani
Keyword(s):  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Social Representations ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Large City ◽  
Primary Students ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Musical Engagement ◽  
Insight Into

Using the Theory of Social Representations as a theoretical and methodological framework, the purpose of this study was to describe children’s representations of music, musical identities, and musical engagement across middle childhood. Participants were primary students aged 8 to 11 ( N = 132) from four schools in a large city in the Southeastern United States. Previous studies have documented that projective techniques (linguistic associations with textual stimuli) can access latent dimensions of thinking. Accordingly, linguistic associations with the textual stimuli “music,” “music and me,” music at school,” and “music outside school” were used to gain insight into children’s representations of music, musical identities, and musical engagement. Participants were also asked to provide socio-demographic data that might influence their responses. The Correspondences Analysis technique was used to reconstruct representational fields associated with the stimuli. For each stimulus, a three-factor extraction identified hidden dimensions in children’s linguistic responses and summarized the links between contextual variables and children’s representations. Major findings suggest that children at increasingly younger ages express preferences and construct their own representations of music and musical identities.

Maternal differential treatment of siblings and children's behavioral problems: A longitudinal study

1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley McGuire ◽  
Judy Dunn ◽  
Robert Plomin
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Externalizing Problems ◽  
Differential Treatment ◽  
Children's Adjustment ◽  
Differential Attention ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Older Siblings

AbstractResearchers have examined links between maternal differential treatment of siblings and children's adjustment; however, little is known about the longitudinal nature of these associations. The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal differential treatment of the siblings, direct parenting of older siblings, and older siblings' behavior problems across middle childhood. Eighty-two families were interviewed twice in their homes when the siblings averaged 4.7 and 7.7 years of age and, again when they averaged 7.9 and 10.5 years of age. Mothers completed questionnaires about parenting and older siblings' adjustment during the summer after the older siblings' 7th and 11th birthdays. Teachers completed questionnaires about the older siblings' adjustment and returned them through the mail. There was significant stability in the mothers' reports of differential treatment and significant associations between mothers' reports of maternal differential discipline and differential attention and mothers' and teachers' reports of older siblings' externalizing problems across time. Direct parenting measures were not correlated with differential treatment or older siblings' behavior problems across time.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Factor Structure of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire in Chinese Adolescents

2018 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 2366-2395
Author(s):  
Tianpeng Ye ◽  
Naixue Cui ◽  
Wen Yang ◽  
Jianghong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Chinese Adolescents ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Distinct Factor ◽  
Adolescent Stress

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Adolescent Stress Questionnaire ( ASQ-CN) in a sample of Chinese middle school students ( N = 420; 52.14% boys and 47.86% girls). Iterated principal factor analysis and multiple-group principal components cluster analysis supported a six-factor model with 42 items out of 58 items in the ASQ-CN. The internal consistency was from .82 to .90. Girls reported lower stress levels in one subscale, Stress of romantic relationship, whereas no gender differences were found in the other five subscales. Compared with other studies of the ASQ in Westernized countries, the ASQ-CN showed a distinct factor structure that may be explained by cross-cultural differences. Scales constructed from factor analysis related negatively to measures of mindfulness and positively to a measure of behavioral problems, suggesting that they were valid for Chinese adolescent stress. The study did not support a higher order construct of the ASQ-CN. Altogether, our findings suggest that the ASQ-CN is adequate for assessing stressors in Chinese adolescents.

scholarly journals Anxiety Assessment: Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Burns Anxiety Inventory

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Ortuño-Sierra ◽  
Lorena Rodríguez ◽  
Martin Debbané ◽  
Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero
Keyword(s):  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Spanish Version ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Clinical Group ◽  
Fit Indices ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
And Control ◽  
Three Factor

AbstractThe main purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Burns Anxiety Inventory (Burns-A: Burns, 1993). The sample consisted of 417 participants, 387 (29.71% male) healthy participants (control group: M = 35.5 years; SD = 8.40) and 30 (36.66% female) patients (clinical group: M = 35.8 years; SD = 12.94). The internal consistency evaluated through Cronbach’ Alpha was 0.95 for the Total Score in both subsamples. The test-retest reliability (two weeks) for Total Score was 0.86 (F = 13.2, p ≤ .001) for the non-clinical subsample, and 0.95 (F = 36.5, p ≤ .001) for the clinical subsample. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the initial three-factor model. However, modifications to the initial three-factor model improved the goodness-of-fit indices. Results showed statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the Burns-A between the clinical and control groups. This study supports the Spanish version of the Burns-A as a brief and useful tool for the screening of anxiety symptoms in adult populations. Future studies should investigate measurement invariance across cultures.

scholarly journals Three pathways from anger dysregulation to lower social status among chinese boys

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-204
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Charles Matthew Stapleton ◽  
Yeh Hsueh ◽  
Robert Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Social Withdrawal ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Overt Aggression ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social Challenge ◽  
Peer Nominations

During middle childhood, Chinese boys are particularly at risk to develop both externalizing (e.g., overt aggression) and internalizing behavioral problems (e.g., social withdrawal). A possible contributor to these problems is that boys cannot regulate their anger very well. Inability to manage anger may cause a particular social challenge for Chinese boys. Open expression of anger may be prohibited by prevailing Chinese cultural norms, because it emphasizes individuality over harmony. But anger is a socially disengaging emotion which works against social harmony. This situation requires Chinese boys to manage and express anger appropriately in social interactions. Based on the hierarchical model of social relationships and the three trends of human interactions, this study examined three pathways—aggression, social withdrawal, and sociability-leadership—that lead from Chinese boys’ anger dysregulation to their lower social status among peers at school. Participants of this study were 267 boys in Grades 3-6 from an elementary school in urban China. A self-report questionnaire of anger dysregulation was used to evaluate how often Chinese boys express their anger in dysregulated ways (e.g., attacking things or people). Peer nominations were used to measure children’s overt aggression (moving against peers), social withdrawal (moving away from peers), and sociability-leadership (moving toward peers). Social status was assessed by a sociometric measure which evaluates the degree to which children were liked by their classmates. Results showed that boys’ anger dysregulation was negatively associated with their social status. Moreover, aggression, social withdrawal, and social skills fully mediated this association. This study enriches our understanding of the mechanisms linking anger dysregulation to lower social status and provides practical implications to help Chinese boys improve social and emotional functioning in middle childhood.

scholarly journals Latent Class Analysis of Mental Health in Middle Childhood: Evidence for the Dual-Factor Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 786-800
Author(s):  
Kimberly J. Petersen ◽  
Neil Humphrey ◽  
Pamela Qualter
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Latent Class Analysis ◽  
Conduct Problems ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Emotional Symptoms

Abstract Mental health is complex, comprising both mental distress and well-being. This study used latent class analysis to identify common combinations of mental distress and well-being (‘mental health classes’) among schoolchildren aged 8–9 years (N = 3340). Thirteen items, measuring a range of conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and subjective well-being, were included in the analysis. Four mental health classes were identified: (1) complete mental health (n = 1895, 57%), (2) vulnerable (n = 434, 13%), (3) emotional symptoms but content (n = 606, 18%), and (4) conduct problems but content (n = 404, 12%). The classes were reliably identified across different datasets, and for males and females. Differential relations with covariates indicated that mental health classes were distinct and externally valid. The results supported the dual-factor model of mental health, suggesting that mental distress and subjective well-being are separate continua. Three of the four possible combinations of high and low distress and subjective well-being posited by the dual-factor model were found using this inductive statistical method. Importantly, our analysis also revealed two ‘symptomatic but content’ groups, differentiated by symptom domain (internalising/externalising). The covariate analyses between mental health classes and sociodemographic factors, prior academic attainment, school connectedness, and peer support, indicated that there are nuanced relations between those variables and particular constellations of mental distress and well-being. As one of the few dual-factor studies to focus on middle childhood, the current study adds important new evidence that contributes to our understanding of the complexities of mental health among schoolchildren.

Processing Speed Mediates Executive Function Difficulties in Very Preterm Children in Middle Childhood

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Mulder ◽  
Nicola J. Pitchford ◽  
Neil Marlow
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Very Preterm ◽  
Attention Tasks ◽  
Basic Functions ◽  
Attention Difficulties

AbstractExecutive function and attention difficulties are reported in very preterm (VPT) children at school entry, but it is unclear if these remain at later ages and/or if these difficulties are mediated by more basic functions, such as processing speed. Processing speed has been shown to underlie academic and behavioral problems in VPT children in middle childhood (Mulder, Pitchford, & Marlow, 2010, 2011), so may also underpin executive function and attention difficulties. We investigated this by comparing VPT (gestational age <31 weeks; N = 56) to term children (N = 22) aged 9–10 years on a comprehensive battery of executive function and attention tasks from the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (Manly, Robertson, Anderson, & Nimmo-Smith, 1999) and NEPSY (Korkman, Kirk, & Kemp, 1998). Selective and sustained attention, inhibition, working memory, shifting, verbal fluency, planning, and processing speed were examined. Group differences favoring term children were shown on most executive function tasks (i.e., inhibition, working memory, verbal fluency, and shifting), all of which were mediated by slow processing speed in the VPT group, except response inhibition. Seemingly, processing speed is an important determinant underpinning many neuropsychological deficits seen in VPT children in middle childhood. (JINS, 2011, 17, 445–454)

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