EARLY INITIATION OF TELEVISION VIEWING: DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN DEVELOPMENTAL FUNCTIONING?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of television (TV) exposure and the home environment on developmental functioning in young children. METHODOLOGY: A total of 230 school-going children (5-9 yrs) studying in a private school in a north Indian city were recruited. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess the number of screens that children had access to, content viewed on TV, daily TV consumption, co-viewing habits, parents' perceptions about the negative and positive effects of TV use. The Mohite home environment inventory assessed the quality of the home environment. The main outcome measure was the child's overall developmental functioning which was measured by the Developmental Prole 3 (DP 3). RESULTS: The majority (77%) of the children watched TV for 1-2 h/day and the prevalence of TV ≥2 h/day was 20%. A little more than one-fth of the parents (21.9%) reported that their child had regularly started to view the TV screen by age 2. Signicant differences were found between the early initiation of TV (24months) group of children and the later initiated group (>24months) on the DP 3 sub-domains and the general developmental quotient (GDQ) (t=2.64, P=.009). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the number of children in the family, socio-economic status, age at initiation of TV viewing, and home environment explained 14.3% of the variance in the GDQ score (F=10.46, P=.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Early initiation of digital media is associated with poorer developmental outcomes. Pediatricians have a critical role in providing anticipatory guidance to parents regarding inculcating healthy digital screen viewing habits.

Roma Youth

This chapter highlights the importance of integrating research on positive youth development processes in the most disadvantaged youth groups. The authors focused on Roma youth, representing a prototypical low-status minority group. The first part of the chapter examines the demographics and the socially, politically, and ideologically challenging contexts in which Roma young people are embedded, taking into account the case of Italy, one European country with high anti-Roma sentiments. The second part summarizes the literature that deals with social-psychological factors underlying the developmental functioning and optimal well-being of Roma youth in spite of adversity. The third part focuses on the understudied issue of intervention strategies for oppressed populations like Roma and highlights not only the developmental research that provides guidance to the design of effective positive youth development program, but also the significant knowledge produced by persons who have close familiarity with the Roma youth condition and daily encounters to observe and test empirically positive processes of change. The conclusion suggests implications for future research and interventions as well as for current social policy to promote positive development globally, even in the most stigmatized youth.

Abstract P035: Early Neurodevelopment Related Variables And Cardiovascular Health: Findings From The Multidimensional Assessment Of Preschoolers Study

Background: Cardiovascular health (CVH) declines with age starting in early childhood. Neurodevelopmental health (NDH) measures, such as executive function, in early childhood have been associated with subsequent behavioral and lifestyle outcomes; however, little is known about the association of NDH measures in early life with CVH during childhood. Objective: To assess the association of preschool NDH with CVH in later childhood/early adolescence. Methods: Among participants from the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschoolers Study (MAPS), we defined 3 neurodevelopment domains at baseline (ages 3-7 years): executive functioning, developmental functioning, and emotion and behavior regulation (each as a z-score of its component surveys and direct assessment). At the tween follow-up wave (ages 9-14 years), MAPS participants completed a CVH examination including assessment of physical activity, diet, blood pressure, and BMI defined as favorable vs unfavorable CVH metrics according to AHA recommendations. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association of each NDH domain with favorable/unfavorable CVH metrics at follow up. Models were adjusted for age, race, gender, and poverty. Results: We included 229 SES-diverse children (46.2% boys; 52% living in poverty at baseline; mean baseline age 4.7 yr; mean follow-up age: 11.3 yr). At follow-up, there were 179 (78.2%) children with favorable CVH and 50 (21.8%) children with unfavorable CVH. Better performance on all 3 NDH domains at baseline was demonstrated among children with favorable CVH at follow-up compared to those with unfavorable CVH, with mean z-score of 0.04 among those with favorable CVH compared to -0.15 among those with unfavorable CVH for executive functioning (p<0.001), 0.02 compared to -0.07 for developmental functioning (p=0.004), and 0.02 compared to -0.06 for emotion and behavior regulation (p=0.027). After adjustment, associations between executive functioning, developmental functioning, and emotion/behavior regulation and favorable CVH were attenuated to non-significance {OR (95% CI): 1.21 (0.80-1.81), 1.03 (0.64-1.67), 1.08 (0.73-1.59), respectively}. Conclusions: These findings suggest a possible association between neurodevelopmental domains and CVH, although findings were not significant after adjustment. The heterogeneity of the sample may have obscured effects and the moderating role of the environment may elucidate explanatory pathways. More research with larger sample sizes is needed to better understand the impact of early-life NDH with adolescent CVH.

Promoting Developmental Potential in Early Childhood: A Global Framework for Health and Education

In the early years of life, children’s interactions with the physical and social environment- including families, schools and communities—play a defining role in developmental trajectories with long-term implications for their health, well-being and earning potential as they become adults. Importantly, failing to reach their developmental potential contributes to global cycles of poverty, inequality, and social exclusion. Guided by a rights-based approach, this narrative review synthesizes selected studies and global initiatives promoting early child development and proposes a universal intervention framework of child-environment interactions to optimize children’s developmental functioning and trajectories.

Attainment of smiling and walking in infancy associates with developmental delays at school entry in moderately-late preterm children: a community-based cohort study

Background Moderately-late preterm (MLP) children (gestational age [GA] 32–36 weeks) are followed-up within community services, which often use developmental milestones as indicators of delay. We aimed to examine associations of parental report of smiling-age and walking-age with developmental delay upon school entry for MLP and full-term children. Methods This study regards a community-based cohort study, including 1241 children. Parent-reported smiling-age (n = 514) and walking-age (n = 1210) were recorded in preventive child healthcare. To determine developmental delay at school entry (at age 4) we used the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) total and domain scores. We assessed the association of smiling-age and walking-age with dichotomized ASQ-scores, using logistic regression analyses. Results For MLP children, each week later corrected smiling-age was associated with a relative increased likelihood of delays of 31, 43, 36 and 35% in the personal-social, problem-solving, gross motor and general developmental functioning, respectively. Each month later corrected walking-age was associated with a relative increased likelihood of delays of 10, 15 and 13% in the personal-social, gross motor and general developmental functioning, respectively. All corrected smiling-ages and walking-ages were within normal full-term ranges. For full-term children, we only found that later walking-age was associated with delays in the personal-social and gross motor domains. Conclusions Smiling-age and walking-age are associated with developmental delay in several domains for MLP and full-term children. Professionals could use these milestones to identify children that may benefit from closer monitoring of their development. Trial registration Clinical Trial Registry name and registration number: controlled-trials.com, ISRCTN80622320.

A systematic review of caregiver–child physiological synchrony across systems: Associations with behavior and child functioning

Extensive research has established a positive association between caregiver-child behavioral synchrony and child developmental functioning. Burgeoning research examining physiological synchrony has yet to elucidate its impact for children’s developing self-regulation. The objectives of this systematic review were to: 1) determine whether there is evidence that caregiver-child physiological synchrony promotes positive child development, 2) examine developmental differences in physiological synchrony and its correlates, and 3) explore whether context, risk, and/or stress influence patterns of synchrony. Sixty-nine studies met the following criteria on PubMed and PsycINFO: 1) peer-reviewed empirical articles in English that 2) examine autonomic, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical, and/or central nervous system activity 3) for caregivers and children 4) in response to a task and 5) directly examine the association between caregiver and child physiology. Findings varied based on developmental period and current behavioral context. Functional differences may exist across physiological systems and contexts. Synchrony may have different developmental consequences for dyads with and without certain risk factors. Few studies examine physiological synchrony across multiple systems or contexts, nor do they measure child characteristics associated with synchrony. Statistical and methodological challenges impede interpretation. Findings generally support the idea that physiological synchrony may support children’s developing self-regulation. Longitudinal research is needed to examine child developmental outcomes over time.

Relationships between UBE3A and SNORD116 expression and features of autism in chromosome 15 imprinting disorders

Chromosome 15 (C15) imprinting disorders including Prader–Willi (PWS), Angelman (AS) and chromosome 15 duplication (Dup15q) syndromes are severe neurodevelopmental disorders caused by abnormal expression of genes from the 15q11–q13 region, associated with abnormal DNA methylation and/or copy number changes. This study compared changes in mRNA levels of UBE3A and SNORD116 located within the 15q11–q13 region between these disorders and their subtypes and related these to the clinical phenotypes. The study cohort included 58 participants affected with a C15 imprinting disorder (PWS = 27, AS = 21, Dup15q = 10) and 20 typically developing controls. Semi-quantitative analysis of mRNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was performed using reverse transcription droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for UBE3A and SNORD116 normalised to a panel of internal control genes determined using the geNorm approach. Participants completed an intellectual/developmental functioning assessment and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2nd Edition. The Dup15q group was the only condition with significantly increased UBE3A mRNA levels when compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Both the AS and Dup15q groups also had significantly elevated SNORD116 mRNA levels compared to controls (AS: p < 0.0001; Dup15q: p = 0.002). Both UBE3A and SNORD116 mRNA levels were positively correlated with all developmental functioning scores in the deletion AS group (p < 0.001), and autism features (p < 0.001) in the non-deletion PWS group. The findings suggest presence of novel interactions between expression of UBE3A and SNORD116 in PBMCs and brain specific processes underlying motor and language impairments and autism features in these disorders.