HIV-negative children’s experiences and opinions towards parental HIV disclosure: a qualitative study in China

In HIV/AIDS research, few studies to date have evaluated ways to improve parental HIV disclosure practices using feedback from HIV-negative children who have recently experienced this event. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 children (aged 6–15) who were partially to fully aware of their parents’ HIV status in rural Guangxi, China. Of the 20 children, eight children who were of older age (11.38 years in average) endorsed parental HIV disclosure, five discouraged it and seven expressed uncertainty. Children’s different experiences and attitudes towards disclosure were seen to be associated with their family dynamics (especially the parent–child relationship), social support and care, experiences of stigma and discrimination, psychosocial suffering, comprehension of the disease and the children’s age. Our study contributes to building a child-centered comprehensive understanding for Chinese parental HIV disclosure. It is imperative that counselors and community advocates assess and help parents achieve optimal readiness preceding disclosure of their illness to their HIV-negative children.     

Attachment to Caregivers and Type 1 Diabetes in Children

Attachment is a behavioral and physiological system, which enables individual’s dynamic adaptation to its environment. Attachment develops in close interaction between an infant and his/her mother, plays an important role in the development of the infant’s brain, and influences the quality of interpersonal relationships throughout life.Security of attachment is believed to influence individual response to stress, exposing insecurely organized individuals to deregulated autonomic nervous system and exaggerated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity, which, in turn, produces increased and prolonged exposure to stress-hormones. Such stress responses may have considerable implications for the development of diverse health-risk conditions, such as insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia, shown by numerous studies.Although the mechanisms are not yet fully understood, there is compelling evidence highlighting the role of psychological stress in the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D). One of the possible contributing factors for the development of T1D may be the influence of attachment security on individual stress reactivity. Thus, the suggestion is that insecurely attached individuals are more prone to experience increased and prolonged influence of stress hormones and other mechanisms causing pancreatic beta-cell destruction.The present paper opens with a short overview of the field of attachment in children, the principal attachment classifications and their historic development, describes the influence of attachment security on individual stress-reactivity and the role of the latter in the development of T1D. Following is a review of recent literature on the attachment in patients with T1D with a conclusion of a proposed role of attachment organization in the etiology of T1D.     

Relation between active mediation,exposure to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,and US preschoolers’ social and emotional development

This study explored the relationship between active mediation, exposure to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and key indicators of preschoolers’ social and emotional development. One hundred and twenty-seven children aged 2–6 either watched or did not watch 10 episodes of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood over a two-week period. Results revealed that preschoolers who watched the program exhibited higher levels of empathy, self-efficacy, and emotion recognition when their regular TV-watching experiences are frequently accompanied by active mediation. This was especially true for younger preschoolers and preschoolers from low-income families. Implications for policy-makers, parents, producers of prosocial programming, and educators are discussed.     

平顶山市8岁学龄儿童患龋状况及影响因素分析

目的 了解平顶山市8岁学龄儿童龋病流行状况,探讨影响龋病发生发展的危险因素。 方法 参考“第三次全国口腔健康调查”的标准,采用分层整群抽样的方法,对1 762名适龄儿童进行口腔检查和问卷调查。 结果 平顶山市8岁学龄儿童患龋率84.68%,龋均4.79,城乡结合区域及农村儿童患龋率和龋均明显高于城市,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05);乳、恒牙患龋率分别为83.65%、25.77%;城乡类型(OR=22.42)、家庭收入(OR=10.21)、睡前是否有吃零食习惯(OR=8.01)、吃完零食是否刷牙(OR=6.00)、进食甜食频率(OR=8.28)、刷牙方法(OR=8.88)、家长是否检查刷牙效果(OR=9.15)是影响患龋率的因素。 结论 平顶山市农村及城乡结合区域儿童患龋率较高,应加强口腔健康教育和龋病预防控制工作。     

Does stroke impair academic achievement in children? The role of metacognition in math and spelling outcomes following pediatric stroke

Introduction: Current research suggests that pediatric stroke is associated with a reduction in intellectual functioning. However, less is known about academic achievement and the contribution of specific executive functions to math and literacy in this population. The current study investigates behavioral ratings of executive functioning and their relationship to math and spelling performance in children with a history of unilateral arterial ischemic stroke.

Method: Thirty-two pediatric patients with stroke (M_age = 9.5 ± 2.7 years) and 32 demographically equivalent, healthy controls were tested on standardized measures of arithmetic, spelling, and intelligence. Executive functioning data were collected via standardized parent questionnaire.

Results: Relative to controls, stroke participants demonstrated significantly poorer functioning in math, spelling, metacognition, and behavioral-regulation. Pencil and paper arithmetic was particularly challenging for the stroke group, with 40% of patients reaching levels of clinical impairment. Hierarchical regression in stroke participants further revealed that metacognition was a robust predictor of academic deficits. Stroke occurring in later childhood and affecting cortical and subcortical brain regions also presented as potential clinical risk factors.

Conclusions: Children with stroke were especially vulnerable to math achievement deficits. Metacognition made a substantial contribution to academic achievement abilities among stroke patients, and results underscore the importance of early metacognitive skills in the completion of schoolwork. Results also emphasize that pediatric stroke patients are a heterogeneous group with regard to functioning and that there is value in examining standard score distributions of clinical participant samples.     

儿童室管膜瘤的临床研究进展

室管膜瘤是一种原发于神经上皮的中枢神经系统肿瘤，病变累及脑和脊髓，多发于儿童。基因分型的新分类方法，为室管膜瘤的治疗和预后评估提供了更为可靠的依据。室管膜瘤对辅助治疗的敏感性低是造成患儿预后较差的重要原因之一。该文对近年来儿童室管膜瘤的分型、诊断、治疗策略等进行综述。