Effects on empathy and emotional intelligence of a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility programme in physical education (Efectos de un programa de Responsabilidad Personal y Social sobre la empatía y la inteligencia emocional en educación física)

In recent years, research has pointed to the value of positive youth development programmes through physical education. The influence of this type of programme, specifically the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility programme, on the empathy and emotional intelligence of students is a field to be explored. The study’s aims were: (1) to investigate the effects of a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility-based programme on empathy and perceived emotional intelligence in physical education; and (2) to compare the scores between lower-middle and upper-middle socioeconomic context schools. Participants were 210 students (ages 10-12). A quasi-experimental design with two analyses of covariance were completed. The programme improved the students’ feelings of sadness (p < .05). More pronounced improvements were found on the feelings of sadness (p = .016) in the lower-middle socioeconomic context group. The intervention was more effective on understanding feelings (p < .001) in the upper-middle context group. Improvements were found in emotional intelligence (p = .017), attention (p < .05) and repair (p < .026) factors in the lower-middle context group compared to the upper-middle context group. We found that the programme has been especially useful for improving emotional intelligence in depressed socioeconomic contexts. Resumen. En los últimos años, la investigación ha señalado el valor de los programas de desarrollo positivo adolescente a través de la educación física. La influencia de este tipo de programas, en concreto del programa de Enseñanza de la Responsabilidad Personal y Social, sobre la empatía y la inteligencia emocional de los alumnos es un campo por explorar. Los objetivos del estudio fueron: (1) investigar los efectos de un programa basado en el modelo de Enseñanza de Responsabilidad Personal y Social sobre la empatía y la inteligencia emocional percibida en educación física; y (2) comparar los resultados entre los colegios de contexto socioeconómico medio-bajo y medio-alto. Los participantes fueron 210 alumnos (de 10 a 12 años). Se realizó un diseño cuasi-experimental con dos análisis de covarianza. El programa mejoró los sentimientos de tristeza de los estudiantes (p <.05). Se encontraron mejoras más pronunciadas en los sentimientos de tristeza (p = .016) en el grupo de contexto socioeconómico medio-bajo. La intervención fue más efectiva en la comprensión de sentimientos (p <.001) en el grupo de contexto medio-alto. Se encontraron mejoras en los factores de inteligencia emocional (p = .017), atención (p <.05) y reparación (p <.026) en el grupo de contexto medio-bajo en comparación con el grupo de contexto medio-alto. Encontramos que el programa ha sido especialmente útil para mejorar la inteligencia emocional en contextos socioeconómicos vulnerables.

Investigating the Associations Between Child Autistic Symptoms, Socioeconomic Context, and Family Life: A Pilot Study

Objective: The day-to-day experience of families with an Autistic child may be shaped by both, child characteristics and available resources, which often are influenced by the socioeconomic context of the family. Using a socioecological approach, this study explored the quantitative associations between child autistic symptoms, family socioeconomic status, and family life.Methods: Data came from the Pediatric Autism Research Cohort—PARC Study (pilot). Parents of children with a recent diagnosis of autism completed a set of assessments, including the Autism Family Experience Questionnaire, Autism Impact Measure, and a Sociodemographic Questionnaire. A series of multiple, iterative linear regression models were constructed to ascertain quantitative associations between child autistic symptoms, socioeconomic context, and family life.Results: A total of 50 children (mean age: 76 months; SD: 9.5 months; and 84% male) with data on the variables of interest were included in the analysis. The frequency of child autistic symptoms was associated with family life outcomes (p = 0.02 and R2 = 24%). Once autistic symptom frequency, symptom impact, and sociodemographic variables were considered, parents of higher educational attainment reported worse family life outcomes compared to their lesser-educated counterparts. This cumulative regression model had considerable explanatory capability (p = 0.01, R2 = 40%).Conclusion: This study demonstrates the utility of using a socioecological approach to examine the dynamic interplay between child characteristics and family circumstances. Our findings suggest that family life for parents (of an autistic child) who have obtained higher education is reported (by the parents themselves) as less satisfactory compared to that of parents without higher education, once adjusted for the autistic symptom frequency of child, symptom impact, and income. These findings can inform the design and delivery of more family-centered care pathways during the years following a diagnosis of autism.

The Place of Psychiatric Rehabilitation in New Zealand Communities

<p>Supported Residential Care Facilities (SRCF's) play a distinctive role in the integration of mental health consumers within host communities. Despite the vast quantity of research on the sociological impacts of discrimination against mental health consumers, such as societal and self stigmatisation, little to no research is conducted on the effects that the built environment have upon mental health consumers in SRCF's in New Zealand post deinstitutionalisation. This study examines the 23 existing SRCF's within the Wellington region, examining their socioeconomic context, city planning context, physical environment context and the built typology of these facilities. Each of these research subjects are examined to identify and understand the implications they have on the integration of mental health consumers within their host communities at three scales; host community, location and facility design. The findings and insight drawn from sociological literature and empirical research are summarised within the design guideline and tested through a design based case study. The conclusions of this research can be summarised as follows: 1. It is desirable for host communities to be socioeconomically diverse with an appropriate level of public and mental health amenities 2. It is advantageous for SRCF's to be located within the 'inner edge context,' promoting a diverse urban context, socioeconomic context, diverse planning context and safe pedestrian access to public amenities. 3.The facility design of SRCF's should promote a 'recovery oriented practice,' achieved partially through context specific 'integration programs'. The majority of SRCF's within the research sample are located within residential suburbs. This research identifies that SRCF's and facilities alike must be located within the 'inner edge context'. The findings are of particular usefulness to Wellington's SRCF's yet are also helpful in understanding and improving the built environment of SRCF's within New Zealand communities.</p>

The Place of Psychiatric Rehabilitation in New Zealand Communities

<p>Supported Residential Care Facilities (SRCF's) play a distinctive role in the integration of mental health consumers within host communities. Despite the vast quantity of research on the sociological impacts of discrimination against mental health consumers, such as societal and self stigmatisation, little to no research is conducted on the effects that the built environment have upon mental health consumers in SRCF's in New Zealand post deinstitutionalisation. This study examines the 23 existing SRCF's within the Wellington region, examining their socioeconomic context, city planning context, physical environment context and the built typology of these facilities. Each of these research subjects are examined to identify and understand the implications they have on the integration of mental health consumers within their host communities at three scales; host community, location and facility design. The findings and insight drawn from sociological literature and empirical research are summarised within the design guideline and tested through a design based case study. The conclusions of this research can be summarised as follows: 1. It is desirable for host communities to be socioeconomically diverse with an appropriate level of public and mental health amenities 2. It is advantageous for SRCF's to be located within the 'inner edge context,' promoting a diverse urban context, socioeconomic context, diverse planning context and safe pedestrian access to public amenities. 3.The facility design of SRCF's should promote a 'recovery oriented practice,' achieved partially through context specific 'integration programs'. The majority of SRCF's within the research sample are located within residential suburbs. This research identifies that SRCF's and facilities alike must be located within the 'inner edge context'. The findings are of particular usefulness to Wellington's SRCF's yet are also helpful in understanding and improving the built environment of SRCF's within New Zealand communities.</p>

Self-regulated learning, academic achievement and socioeconomic context at the end of primary school

The increase of inequalities and the learning crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic has forced to review the role of education in the attainment of skills to learn throughout life. The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence of the academic achievement on selfregulation strategies (forethought, inhibition and volitional inhibition), considering the socioeconomical context at the end of elementary school. The SRL strategies are assessed, from the perspective of students and teachers, triangulating measurement in different tasks. 67 students in their last year of primary education participated. The SRL measures were compared using robust tests considering high and low academic achievement and low and medium socioeconomic context (robust version of Welch’s test for two groups, Yuen’s test, and two-way ANOVA based on trimmed means and Winsorized variances). The academic achievement affects and significantly predicts the forethought strategy. In the low socioeconomical context, the students with a high academic achievement maximize their SRL. The modulating role of the school experience in self-regulation is discussed.

Trans-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of Interactions Between Genetics and Early-Life Socioeconomic Context on Memory Performance and Decline in Older Americans

Background Later-life cognitive function is influenced by genetics as well as early- and later-life socioeconomic context. However, few studies have examined the interaction between genetics and early childhood factors. Methods Using gene-based tests (interaction sequence kernel association test [iSKAT]/iSKAT optimal unified test), we examined whether common and/or rare exonic variants in 39 gene regions previously associated with cognitive performance, dementia, and related traits had an interaction with childhood socioeconomic context (parental education and financial strain) on memory performance or decline in European ancestry (EA, N = 10 468) and African ancestry (AA, N = 2 252) participants from the Health and Retirement Study. Results Of the 39 genes, 22 in EA and 19 in AA had nominally significant interactions with at least one childhood socioeconomic measure on memory performance and/or decline; however, all but one (father’s education by solute carrier family 24 member 4 [SLC24A4] in AA) were not significant after multiple testing correction (false discovery rate [FDR] &lt; .05). In trans-ethnic meta-analysis, 2 genes interacted with childhood socioeconomic context (FDR &lt; .05): mother’s education by membrane-spanning 4-domains A4A (MS4A4A) on memory performance, and father’s education by SLC24A4 on memory decline. Both interactions remained significant (p &lt; .05) after adjusting for respondent’s own educational attainment, apolipoprotein-ε4 allele (APOE ε4) status, lifestyle factors, body mass index, and comorbidities. For both interactions in EA and AA, the genetic effect was stronger in participants with low parental education. Conclusions Examination of common and rare variants in genes discovered through genome-wide association studies shows that childhood context may interact with key gene regions to jointly impact later-life memory function and decline. Genetic effects may be more salient for those with lower childhood socioeconomic status.

Sustainability of a Multi-Component Education Program (ABC of Healthy Eating) after Three Months and Nine Months: The Socioeconomic Context in Improving Nutrition Knowledge in Polish Teenagers

The study aimed to evaluate the sustainability of a multi-component education (ABC-HEat) program related to healthy nutrition and lifestyle after three months and nine months and to assess the socioeconomic context in improving teenage nutrition knowledge. The study was designed as a clustered, controlled, education-based intervention. A sample was chosen and allocated into either an educated group (under intervention) or a control group (outside of intervention). The study covered 464 11–12-year-old students (educated/control 319/145). In the educated group, data were collected three times: before education, after three months and after nine months to measure the short- and the long-term effects of education, respectively. In the control group, data were collected in parallel. Changes in nutrition knowledge score (NKS, points) by sex, residence, family affluence scale (FAS) were the main outcome measures. The increase in the NKS was significantly higher in the educated group than in the control group—three months after education on average by 1.4 to 2.7 points (all p < 0.001) in the total sample and all subgroups, and nine months after education in rural residents by 2.2 points (p < 0.001) and in the total sample by 0.4 (p < 0.05). In the educated group, the chance of no increase in the NKS was higher in urban than rural residents after three months and nine months (adjusted odds ratios [OR] and 95% Confidence Intervals [95% CI]: 3.63, 1.80–7.31 and 2.99, 1.60–5.59, respectively, both p < 0.001) using the increase in the NKS by ≥4 points as a reference. The multi-component education program improved the nutrition knowledge of teenagers in the short term regardless of socioeconomic variables, but in the long term this effect was visible only in rural residents. It suggests that a special path of nutrition education addressed to urban teens may be required.