scholarly journals Most Chinese Preschool Teachers Value Guided Play Over Free Play: Latent Profiles and Associated Predictors

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunyi Lin ◽  
Yutong Liao ◽  
Manli Xue ◽  
Yeshe Colliver
Keyword(s):  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Preschool Teachers ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Early Academics ◽  
Guided Play

Longitudinal research suggests that optimal long-term outcomes are achieved when early childhood education and care (ECEC) balance free with guided play. A prerequisite for this achievement is that ECEC teachers value both equally. This study examines preschool teachers’ play beliefs profile and explores its association with teachers’ backgrounds (e.g., teaching experience, education level) in a sample of 674 Chinese teachers in Fujian, China. Participants completed an adapted form of the Parent Play Belief Scale, the Chinese Teacher Play Beliefs Scale (CTPBS), to report their beliefs regarding young children’s play and early academics. Latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed 91% of teachers exhibited high Academics over Guided Play (AGP) and low Free Play and Socio-Emotional Skills Support (FPSSS), whereas only 9% were high in both factors. Teachers with a decade or more teaching experience were more likely to belong to the high AGP and low FPSES profile. The findings indicate that the majority of Chinese ECEC teachers value guiding play to academic skills more than they do facilitating free play for socio-emotional skills. Professional development focused on balancing guided with free play may be necessary for the majority of Chinese ECEC teachers to catch up with the zeitgeist of contemporary international research and policy on intentional teaching in play.

Profiles of Substance Use in Adolescents With Severe Obesity

2020 ◽  
pp. 0044118X2096838
Author(s):  
Jennifer N. Becnel ◽  
Zachary Giano ◽  
Amanda L. Williams ◽  
Michael J. Merten
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Severe Obesity ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptomology ◽  
Obese Youth ◽  
Severely Obese ◽  
Using Data

A growing body of literature suggests that youth with severe obesity are engaging in substance use. The purpose of the present study was to examine profiles of substance use among adolescents with severe obesity and examine how these profiles are associated with depressive symptomology using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. The sample included 597 girls and 626 boys who self-reported height and weight and alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and illicit substance use. Latent profile analysis revealed four distinct groups ranging from non-users to polysubstance users with non-users reporting the highest depressive symptoms. These results suggest those with severe obesity might be using substances to self-medicate to treat poor mental health; however, longitudinal research is necessary to examine pathways to substance use among severely obese youth.

scholarly journals Attitudes toward Using and Teaching Confidence Intervals: A Latent Profile Analysis on Elementary Statistics Instructors

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Hyung Won Kim ◽  
Woo Jin Kim ◽  
Aaron Thomas Wilson ◽  
Ho Kyoung Ko
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Teacher Characteristics ◽  
Attitudes Toward Teaching ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Elementary Statistics ◽  
Degree Level ◽  
Latent Profile

The use of confidence intervals (CIs) for making a statistical inference is gaining popularity in research communities. To evaluate college statistics instructors’ readiness to teach CIs, this study explores their attitudes toward teaching CIs in elementary statistics courses, and toward using CIs in inferential statistics. Data were collected with a survey that classifies instructors’ attitudes on the basis of three previously established pedagogical components: affective, cognitive, and behavioral. Based on the survey responses from 270 participants, we created three profiles (subgroups) via latent profile analysis, and identified each profile’s pattern of attitudes toward CIs and common characteristics of the instructors that fit each profile. In addition, we compared the profiles across groupings created by six variables: gender, academic background, statistics teaching experience, subject preference, degree level, and desire to improve teaching. The results of the latent profile analysis support three profiles within the population of statistics instructors, and the results of the comparative analysis of teacher characteristics indicate that the six variables are moderate to strong predictors of the grouping of the sample into three profiles.

Identifying Suicide Typologies Among Trauma-Exposed Veterans

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 288-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Bounoua ◽  
Jasmeet P. Hayes ◽  
Naomi Sadeh
Keyword(s):  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Risky Behaviors ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Research Priority ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
And Behaviors

Abstract. Background: Suicide among veterans has increased in recent years, making the identification of those at greatest risk for self-injurious behavior a high research priority. Aims: We investigated whether affective impulsivity and risky behaviors distinguished typologies of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in a sample of trauma-exposed veterans. Method: A total of 95 trauma-exposed veterans (ages 21–55; 87% men) completed self-report measures of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors, impulsivity, and clinical symptoms. Results: A latent profile analysis produced three classes that differed in suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI): A low class that reported little to no self-injurious thoughts or behaviors; a self-injurious thoughts (ST) class that endorsed high levels of ideation but no self-harm behaviors; and a self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (STaB) class that reported ideation, suicide attempts and NSSI. Membership in the STaB class was associated with greater affective impulsivity, disinhibition, and distress/arousal than the other two classes. Limitations: Limitations include an overrepresentation of males in our sample, the cross-sectional nature of the data, and reliance on self-report measures. Conclusion: Findings point to affective impulsivity and risky behaviors as important characteristics of veterans who engage in self-injurious behaviors.

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