Reference centiles based on year-to-year changes for a longitudinal evaluation of motor performance in children and adolescents

Objectives The aim was to evaluate the longitudinal course of motor skills development in children with a view to improve the understanding of intra-individual variance. Previous publications have been based on cross-sectional data or analyzed longitudinal studies in a cross-sectional manner. Design Longitudinal. Year-to-year change. Methods The present study is based on motor function data collected in the LIFE Child study (Germany). The participants (6 to 17 years) completed parts of the motor tests according to the standard of the German Motor Performance Test 6–18 (DMT). For a total of 1653 participants, 4616 motor tests with an annual interval in the period 2011 to 2019 were included in the evaluation. Results We were able to produce gender and age-specific change centiles for the test items standing long jump, jumping sideways, push-ups, stand and reach and balancing walking backwards. Each set of centiles revealed a range of variability in motor development in children and adolescents, with distinct progressive patterns in the different test items and different genders. The supplied tables offer an indication of expected year-to-year change for each test item depending on age and gender. Depending on the test item and the mean age, a deterioration in test results after a one-year interval was observed, despite cross-sectional centiles showing an upward trend. Conclusion We present a user-friendly tool as a way to assess individual dynamic changes in motor development of children and adolescents. In combination with the well-known cross-sectional centiles as baseline, this can be helpful for the scientific evaluation of motor skills tests and can also be used in school settings.

Three Good Things

Let us consider some good things that have happened before the year 2021 concludes: 1) On February 1, 2021, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced that the autism spectrum disorders may be caused by defects in the mitochondria of brain cells of the eye. The research continues. 2) In the year 2021, many people have adopted the term “on the spectrum” to refer to the many brain dysfunctions that can and cannot be named and diagnosed yet. 3) Yale University Child Study Center and The Jim Henson Institute have invited many experts from many fields of study together to discover what happens when spectrum and non-spectrum children and adults look at puppets. What are they looking at? What do they see? Why don't we already know what they see? Are we looking at the important things? The chapter will explore these questions and specifically learning and the impact of puppets further.

Accessibility, Self-Advocacy, and Self-Efficacy of Students With Disabilities in the 21st Century University

Few studies have addressed the challenging transition that occurs when students with disabilities graduate from the K-12 system and enter the world of higher education. Once in college, students with disabilities no longer have, among other federally-mandated supports, a child-study team to represent them, and thus must develop strong self-advocacy and self-efficacy skills in order to receive the accommodations and modifications they need to succeed academically. This chapter discusses the issues facing students with disabilities during this transition, details the services and support offered by colleges to guide students with disabilities, and shares recommended best practices for instructional strategies higher education can employ to ensure that these students flourish in the classroom and as self-assured, independent adults in society.

Association between Children’s Engagement in Community Cultural Activities and Their Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from A-CHILD Study

Social learning experiences developed through engagement in community cultural activities can affect a child’s development. Few studies have examined how children’s engagement in community activities is related to their mental health. This study aimed to examine associations between children’s participation in community cultural activities and their mental health. We targeted all sixth-grade children in all 69 primary schools in Adachi City, Tokyo, using the Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study (n = 4391). Parents answered the validated Japanese version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to assess child mental health, the child’s engagement in community cultural activities. The community activity in which children most frequently participated was local festivals. Participating in local festivals was significantly associated with lower behavioral difficulties (β = −0.49, SE = 0.17, p = 0.005) and higher prosocial behaviors (β = 0.25, SE = 0.07, p < 0.001) after adjusting for demographic variables, family social capital, and parent-child interactions. These results highlight the importance of children’s engagement in community cultural activities for their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Cross Section Study to Assess Factor Affecting the Work Life Balance of the Female Healthcare Professionals in the Private Hospitals of Vadodara – India

Purpose of the Research: work life balance is an important phenomenon concerning a lot of working employees. Females form a major proportion of the workforce in the healthcare industry and the policies should focus on their well being for a stress free environment. There has been a vast amount of research carried out focussing on this topic. However, there has been limited research concerning the work life balance of female healthcare professionals working in hospitals. Therefore, this study aims to assess the factor affecting the work life balance of the female healthcare professionals working in hospitals of Vadodara district (India). Methodology: The data collection tool is a structured close ended questionnaire where in the respondents were asked to choose their option pertaining to various parameters of work life balance on a five point Likert scale. The collected from 335 female healthcare professionals working in seven private hospitals of Vadodara (India). The data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 23. The statistical test used was Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney test at 95% confidence level. Major Results: There were 87 female doctors and 248 nurses in the study. Among the 335 respondents, 210 female healthcare professionals had 3-4 family size having the highest frequency, 297 female’s respondents were married, and 38 were single. The study showed that there was no difference in the work life balance of the females with respect to the family size because of cooking, child study, and other individual female’s responsibilities. Because of their marital status, there is a statistically significant difference in the work life balance of female healthcare professional. Conclusions: For the employers the work life balance is an important human resource area of concern; hence, this study highlights an important issue to address for better satisfaction and content of the female healthcare professionals.

Doorbreek angst en dwang bij je kind

Ouderschap bij angstige kinderen en adolescenten betekent constante uitdagingen: “wanneer moeten ouders kinderen helpen angstwekkende situaties te vermijden, en wanneer moeten ze hen aanmoedigen hun angsten onder ogen te zien?” “Hoe kunnen ouders zelfstandigheid bevorderen?” “ Wat te doen wanneer de angst van het kind het hele gezinsleven overneemt? “ Doorbreek Angst en Dwang bij je kind is het enige boek dat een volledig oudergericht behandelprogramma biedt. Ouders zullen leren hoe ze de angst van hun kinderen kunnen verlichten door de manier te veranderen waarop ze zelf reageren op de symptomen van hun kinderen. Ouders hoeven zich niet bezig te houden met het gedrag van hun kinderen. In plaats daarvan wordt aan ouders getoond hoe ze hun eigen aanpassingsgedrag aan de angst van hun kind (waardoor angst kan floreren) kunnen vervangen door andere, meer ondersteunende reacties, gericht op acceptatie van de moeilijkheden en vertrouwen Dit boek biedt duidelijke richtlijnen en praktische suggesties. Van het begrijpen van de angst en OCD van het kind tot het leren praten met een angstig kind, het vermijden van veelvoorkomende valstrikken en -kuilen (zoals bijvoorbeeld overdreven beschermend of juist te veeleisend zijn) tot het opsporen van de manieren waarop ouders het angstige gedrag van een kind mogelijk hebben gefaciliteerd. Het boek bevat werkbladen om de beschreven suggesties in daden om te zetten. Ook is het voor professionals een handig instrument. Eli R. Lebowitz, PhD, bestudeert en behandelt angst bij kinderen en adolescenten aan de Yale School of Medicine Child Study Centre.

Differential Effects of Multiple Dimensions of Poverty on Child Behavioral Problems: Results from the A-CHILD Study

The differential effects of low income and material deprivation—in particular, deprivation related to child educational needs—have not been well examined. This study aimed to examine the effects of low income and life-related and child-related deprivation on child behavioral problems. This study used data from first-grade students who participated in the Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study in 2015, 2017, and 2019 (N = 12,367) in Japan. Material deprivation was divided into life-related deprivation (i.e., lack of items for a living) and child-related deprivation (i.e., lack of children’s books, etc.), and low income was assessed via annual household income. We assessed child behavioral problems and prosocial behavior using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. One in ten children belonged to low-income families, 15.4% of children experienced life-related deprivation, and 5.4% of children experienced child-related deprivation. While life- and child-related deprivation had significant adverse effects on behavioral problems, they had no association with prosocial behavior. The effects of low income were mediated by parental psychological distress (45.0% of the total effect) and the number of consulting sources (20.8%) on behavioral problems. The effects of life-related and child-related deprivation were mediated by parental psychological distress (29.2–35.0%) and the number of consulting sources (6.4–6.9%) on behavioral problems. Life-related and child-related deprivation, but not low income, are important for child mental health.

Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Time Spent Playing Video Games in Adolescents: Results from A-CHILD Study

Background: Excessive time spent playing video games is associated with adverse health outcomes in adolescents. Although poor child–parent relationship and social relations with peers are considered as possible predictors, little is known as to whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with time spent playing video games. The aim is to examine the association between ACEs and time spent playing video games in adolescents. Methods: We used pooled data from the Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study in 2016 and 2018, which is a population-based cross-sectional study in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan (N = 6799, 4th, 6th, and 8th-grade students). Adolescents answered questionnaires examining the time spent playing video games, per day, on weekdays (“less than 1 h”, “less than 3 h”, and “more than 3 h”) and ACEs (eight types). Results: The results of the ordinal logistic regression analysis showed a positive association between ACE total score and time spent playing video games after adjusting for covariates (1 ACE: OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10–1.48; 2 ACEs: OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.06–1.48; 3 + ACEs: OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.14–1.82, p for trend < 0.001). Regarding each type of ACE, the experiences of single parenthood, parental history of psychiatric disorders, and peer isolation were independently positively associated with time spent playing video games. Conclusions: Health policy to address ACEs might be important to shorten the time spent playing video games.