Prosocial behaviors of young children related to parental childrearing attitudes

Thirty preschool children from 3 to 6 years of age whose parents had shown congruence or lack of congruence in their attitudes toward adult control were observed in their homes on three occasions. Prosocial behaviors of children were observed and parent attitudes were measured by a revised Parent as a Teacher Inventory. While the chi‐square was not significant, data show that 5 of the 6 children with the lowest percentages of prosocial behaviors had mothers with scores which represented a high need for adult control. Likewise, all eight of the children who exhibited the lowest level of prosocial behavior had fathers whose scores were all below the factor mean. There is a need for further investigation of the effects of congruence between parent attitudes, parent behavior and child behavior.     

Easier Said Than Done: What Parents Say They Do and What They Do During Children's Immunizations

In this study we evaluated the relation between parents' reports of their usual procedural behavior, their observed behavior, and children's coping and distress during immunization procedures. Fifty-five children, 4 to 6 years old, and their parents participated in the study. Prior to the children's immunizations, the parents provided reports of the therapeutic behaviors they typically engage in during their children's painful medical procedures. The immunization procedure was videotaped, and parent and child behaviors were later coded with the Child-Adult Medical Procedure Interaction Scale. Results indicated that parents overestimate the quantity of their therapeutic behaviors and that no relation exists between parents' reports of their behavior and their actual behavior during children's immunizations. Further, parents' reports of their behavior were unrelated to their children's distress or coping. However, parents' behaviors were significantly related to children's distress. These findings suggest that preoperative parent self-report is not a valid index of actual behavior during children's acute painful procedures. Therefore, parent behavior, rather than parent report, should be used to determine their need for training in how to help their children cope with painful medical treatments.     

父母接触CS2与子女智能发育的关系

目的研究父母怀孕前接触不同浓度CS2对子女智商发育的影响.方法应用WlSC-R对父母孕前接触CS2＞2 a 的61名儿童和39名对照组儿童进行智商测定,并计算平衡年龄、文化因素后的智商得分(VIQ,PIQ,FIQ)和因子(A,B,C因子)得分.结果不同浓度接触组与对照组比较,经单因素方差分析,智商和因子得分差异均有显著意义,其中高浓度组得分最低.将接触组儿童分成父亲接触组、母亲孕前接触组,并与对照组进行比较,3组智商和因子得分差异有非常显著意义,父亲接触组得分最低.经Dunnett分析表明,父亲接触组与母亲接触组及对照组比较,差异有显著性.母亲接触组与对照组比较,差异无显著性.相关分析表明,母亲和父亲文化水平、孕前工龄、生育年龄、新生儿出生体重与儿童智商得分有相关关系.多元逐步回归分析表明,只有父母亲文化水平、父亲接触工龄等进入回归方程. 结论父亲高浓度接触CS2将导致子女智力发育水平低下,父亲接触CS2其子女智商得分低于母亲孕前接触组,接触组儿童智力发育与父亲接触工龄有关,也与父母文化水平有关.     

困境家庭儿童亲社会行为影响因素、作用与边际效应分析

目的：探讨困境家庭儿童亲社会行为的影响因素、作用并进行边际效应分析，为家庭、政府、社会有针对性实施促进困境家庭儿童亲社会行为的干预措施提供实证依据。方法：利用“困境家庭儿童健康调查”（2018年）数据，基于社会生态学理论，使用列联分析和卡方检验考察困境家庭儿童和普通家庭儿童亲社会行为的差异；运用有序多分类logistic回归分析环境变量对儿童亲社会行为的影响，采用边际效应分析不同层面的环境因素对困境家庭儿童亲社会行为不同等级的影响。结果：困境家庭儿童更易产生较差的亲社会行为；其认知能力、监护人的养育行为与生活照料的缺失以及朋友质量等因素对亲社会行为的发展产生重要影响；就影响因素作用看，监护人与儿童的沟通情况和朋友质量会加大困境家庭儿童和普通家庭儿童亲社会行为的差异；就亲社会行为处于不同程度的边际效应看，学习成绩优秀、监护人为其提供较好生活照顾、监护人经常与其沟通的困境家庭儿童亲社会行为处于正常范围的概率显著提高，监护人在过去一年打过儿童、朋友质量差的困境家庭儿童亲社会行为处于临界值和异常范围的概率显著增加。结论：社会生态系统中儿童子系统、父母子系统、儿童环境子系统都在不同程度上作用于儿童特别是困境家庭儿童的亲社会行为，政策干预应当综合造成个体行为异质性的各种环境因素，重视困境家庭儿童的心理建设和社会化发展。     

The Impact of Prosocial Television News on Children’s Prosocial Behavior: An Experimental Study in the Netherlands

The aim of this experimental study was to examine whether prosocial behavior in television news affects children’s prosocial intentions and behaviors. In this study, 372 Dutch children (9–13 years old) participated. Children in the experimental condition were exposed to prosocial news showing children organizing a fundraising action for UNICEF. In the control condition, children were exposed to news about UNICEF in which no prosocial behavior was included. Afterwards, children were given the opportunity to donate to UNICEF, which served as an index of prosocial behavior. Prosocial intentions were captured using paper-and-pencil questionnaires. Regression analysis demonstrated that, while controlling for important confounders, children exposed to prosocial news were significantly more willing to help with setting up a project for UNICEF and donated more to UNICEF compared to children who did not watch prosocial news. These findings highlight that prosocial television can function as a tool for positive social change among children.     

The Relationship Between Classroom Quality and Ratings of the Social Functioning of Head Start Children

Classroom quality throughout three Head Start programs in the southeastern United States was monitored. A random sample of classrooms was selected to represent high and low quality classrooms in urban and rural settings. Parents and teachers rated the social behaviors of 328 children who were nested within 40 classrooms. Maternal depression was associated with parent reports of fewer positive social behaviors and more problem behaviors. Parent-reported home violence was associated with fewer disruptive behaviors as reported by the teacher. Higher quality classrooms tended to have lower scores on a parent-reported measure of children's problem behaviors. Teachers who interacted less positively with children tended to rate the children in their classrooms as more compliant. The teacher's ability to individualize instruction tended to moderate the association between the child's age and prosocial behaviors while also moderating the association between maternal depression and parents' reports of their children's problem behaviors.     

唐山市部分学龄儿童营养教育效果评价

目的 对学龄儿童开展营养教育的效果和途径进行评价。方法 在2所小学整群抽取学生1226名，按班级随机分为单纯学生教育组，学生与家长教育组和对照组，进行3个月不同形式的营养教育；采用问卷和膳食调查的方法，分析营养教育后学生营养知识，态度，行为和膳食结构的变化。结果 两教育组学生接受营养教育后，营养知识得分与对照组比较显提高，学生和家长教育组学生饮食行为的改善更为明显。结论 学校营养教育结合家长的参与是改善学生营养行为的有效途径。但需针对不同年龄段学生施以有效的教育。     

The Relationship Between Classroom Quality and Ratings of the Social Functioning of Head Start Children

Classroom quality throughout three Head Start programs in the southeastern United States was monitored. A random sample of classrooms was selected to represent high and low quality classrooms in urban and rural settings. Parents and teachers rated the social behaviors of 328 children who were nested within 40 classrooms. Maternal depression was associated with parent reports of fewer positive social behaviors and more problem behaviors. Parent-reported home violence was associated with fewer disruptive behaviors as reported by the teacher. Higher quality classrooms tended to have lower scores on a parent-reported measure of children's problem behaviors. Teachers who interacted less positively with children tended to rate the children in their classrooms as more compliant. The teacher's ability to individualize instruction tended to moderate the association between the child's age and prosocial behaviors while also moderating the association between maternal depression and parents' reports of their children's problem behaviors.     

The Relationship Between the Sexual Attitudes of Parents and their College Daughters'' or Sons'' Sexual Attitudes and Sexual Behavior

This study determined if three selected sexual attitudes of parents were related to similar sexual attitudes of their college daughters or sons and to five sexual behaviors. Only never married, college freshmen (N = 83) with both parents participating were utilized. A self-report questionnaire was administered to students at a large midwestern university and distributed to and returned from parents by mail. The Pearson product-moment correlation and the stepwise and multiple regressions were used to test four hypotheses. Mothers' sexual attitudes had a stronger relationship than fathers' attitudes with offspring sexual attitudes and behaviors, particularly for daughters. Generally, mothers with the most positive attitudes toward sexual-self had daughters who were more responsive relative to personal sexual expression (masturbation frequency and orgasmic experience), but who were not any more involved heterosexually (frequency of coitus and number of coital partners). Fathers' sexual attitudes had little relationship to offspring sexual attitudes and behavior. None of the male students' sexual behaviors were related strongly to parent sexual attitudes. Implications for school and parent sexuality education programs are briefly discussed.     

Lessons learned from an early intervention violence prevention program in Medellín, Colombia]

OBJECTIVE: To describe the components and development of the Early Prevention of Violence Program in the city of Medellín, Colombia, and to evaluate the results of its first phase, three years after implementation. METHODS: A before (2001) and after (2004) study of four variables--direct aggression, indirect aggression, prosocial behavior, and scholastic achievement--was conducted among a convenience sample of 339 program participants and their families. RESULTS: Several program benefits were noted. Decreases in both direct and indirect aggression were observed, though the latter was reduced only in girls and in those over 12 years old. Prosocial behavior increased among children of all ages and both genders, including those who exhibited low levels of prosocial behavior in 2001. In addition, improved school performance was seen in the group as a whole. Results may have been affected by some changes to the prevention program's implementation and by the dangerous nature of the neighborhood, which limited the home visits. CONCLUSIONS: The program seems to be an effective intervention for highly aggressive children, among whom a decline in direct aggression was observed. It also offers preventive benefits, as evidenced by the rise of prosocial behaviors in less aggressive children.     

Effectiveness of early intervention for children prenatally exposed to cocaine: moderating effects of low birth weight on behavioral outcomes

This study examined the moderating effect of low birth weight on the effectiveness of an early intervention program to improve cognitive, language and behavioral outcomes for children prenatally exposed to cocaine. Participants included 293 primarily minority, low SES children who were enrolled in the intervention during their first year and assessed at 36 months. Main effects for intervention and birth weight in the hypothesized direction were found for cognitive, receptive and expressive language ability, and for problem behaviors. There were also significant interaction effects between intervention and birth weight on problem behaviors and prosocial behavior, such that there was an intervention effect on problem behaviors and prosocial behavior for children with low birth weight, but not for children with normal birth weight. These results suggest that, among prenatally cocaine‐exposed children, those who have low birth weight may benefit more from intervention than those with normal birth weight.     

Father's occupational group and daily smoking during adolescence: patterns and predictors

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the relationship among father's occupational group, daily smoking, and smoking determinants in a cohort of New Zealand adolescents. METHODS: The longitudinal Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study provided information on adolescents' self-reported smoking behavior and potential predictors of smoking, such as social and material factors, personality characteristics, educational achievement, and individual attitudes and beliefs regarding smoking. Longitudinal logistic generalized estimating equation analyses were used. RESULTS: Adolescents whose fathers were classified in the lowest-status occupational group were twice as likely as those whose fathers occupied the highest-status occupational group to be daily smokers. This high risk of daily smoking among the adolescents from the lowest occupational group was largely predicted by their lower intelligence scores and by the higher prevalence of smoking among fathers and friends. CONCLUSIONS: To prevent socioeconomic differences in smoking, school-based interventions should seek to prevent smoking uptake among adolescents, particularly those of lower socioeconomic status. Programs need to provide positive, nonsmoking role models consonant with the culture and norms of lower-socioeconomic-status groups. Adolescents need to acquire resistance skills and protective behaviors against social pressure and influences.     

Kindergarten children's knowledge and perceptions of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs

Kindergarten children's knowledge and perceptions of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATODs) were assessed and the congruence between parent ATOD use and children's knowledge of ATODs was examined. Data were collected during the pre-intervention phase of an ATOD prevention trial with 5- and 6-year-old children and their parents. Three elementary schools were randomly selected from a population of 15 high-risk elementary schools in Lexington, Ky., (n = 126 parent-child dyads). Children were interviewed about their knowledge, feelings, and attitudes toward ATODs using the Child Drug Awareness Inventory. Parents self-reported ATOD use. Almost all (95%) kindergarten children recognized cigarettes; 56% correctly identified alcoholic beverages; and 17% recognized at least one illicit drug. Minority children were almost four times more likely to recognize illicit drugs than were non-minority children. Children's knowledge of ATODs was not correlated with the parents' reported drug use. ATOD prevention programs for young children merit greater emphasis.     

Comparison of the child and parent forms of the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns in the assessment of children's eating-disordered behaviors

OBJECTIVE: The assessment of eating-disordered behaviors in middle childhood is challenging. Frequently, both child and parents are queried about the child's eating behavior. However, no direct comparisons between parent and child reports of child eating disturbance have been published. We compared results from the adolescent and parent versions of the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP-A and QEWP-P, respectively) in a nontreatment sample of overweight and normal weight children. METHOD: The QEWP-A and QEWP-P were administered to 142 overweight (body mass index [BMI] > or = 85th percentile) and 121 normal weight (BMI 15th-84th percentile) children, age 9.7 +/- 1.9 years, recruited from the community. RESULTS: The QEWP-A and QEWP-P showed good agreement for the absence of eating-disordered behavior but were not concordant in terms of the number or type of binge eating, overeating episodes, or compensatory weight control behaviors in the past 6 months. Children categorized by their own reports (QEWP-A) as engaging in no overeating, simple overeating, or binge eating behaviors did not differ significantly in body composition or in eating and general psychopathology. Children categorized according to their parents' reports (QEWP-P) as engaging in binge eating had significantly greater body adiposity, eating-disordered cognitions, body dissatisfaction, and parent-reported problems (all ps <.001) than children engaging in no overeating or simple overeating according to the QEWP-P. DISCUSSION: Child and parent reports of eating behaviors are not concordant regarding the presence of binge eating or compensatory behaviors. Further investigation of the utility of these questionnaires is needed before either can serve as a surrogate for a clinical interview.     

Nutrition Education Intervention to Improve Nutrition-Related Knowledge,Attitudes, and Behaviors for Hispanic Children

This study was performed to assess the effect of a nutrition education intervention on the nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of Hispanic children, ages 6–10 years, in a local after-school program. The intervention included seven weekly lessons that lasted an average of 30 minutes each. Pre- and post-tests were used to evaluate the program. There was a statistically significant difference, p < .04, observed for the intervention group (n = 7) between the pre- and posttest scores for knowledge. In addition, the posttest scores for the intervention group were significantly higher, p < .04, than for the control group (n = 3). Changes in nutrition-related attitudes and behavior were not significant. The only measure that showed significant improvement was knowledge about the differences between healthy and unhealthy food choices after the intervention, which is crucial in the development of healthy behaviors.     

Prosocial Behaviors of Handicapped and Typical Peers In An Integrated Preschool

This Study explores initiations of prosocial actions by mainstreamed handicapped and normal preschoolers to discover:

1. which preschool activity setting was more conducive to prosocial interactions.
2. which specific prosocial bids were more likely to occur in which setting.
3. whether frequency of prosocial behaviors was related to directionality, since typical children are reported to choose interactions with typical rather than atypical peers preferentially.
4. what proportion of prosocial behaviors were child initiated rather than teacher directed.

Six types of prosocial bids were recorded for 10 typical and 5 special (4 autistic, 1 multiply handicapped) children (mean age 4-4 years) in 4 activity settings (80 total minutes per child). Setting had a significant effect. Most of the 210 prosocial bids occurred during free play, many during structured play and gym, and the fewest during teacher-directed structured circle time. Sharing, cooperating and helping were the most frequent prosocial behaviors. Sympathy and praise were rare; no nurturing was observed.

No directionality preferences were found. Typical children initiated twice as many prosocial bids (X=20) as atypical peers (X=10-2). Taking into account the expected probabilities for interactions given the significantly different prosocial activity levels for each group and the different numbers of children per group, no preferences or “prejudices” were found.

Contact alone with typical children does not build interpersonal skills of atypical children. Teachers and therapists must specifically model and facilitate prosocial skills.     

Knowledge,attitudes, beliefs,and behaviors of parents and healthcare providers before and after implementation of a universal rotavirus vaccination program

ObjectiveIn Canada, rotavirus vaccine is recommended for all infants, but not all provinces/territories have publicly funded programs. We compared public and healthcare provider (HCP) knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in a province with a public health nurse-delivered, publicly funded rotavirus vaccination program to a province with a publicly funded, physician-delivered program. A third province with no vaccination program acted as a control.DesignInformation about knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of parents whose children were eligible for the universal program and healthcare providers responsible for administering the vaccine were collected through the use of two validated surveys distributed in public health clinics, physicians’ offices, and via e-mail. Early and postvaccine-program survey results were compared.ResultsA total of 722 early implementation and 709 postimplementation parent surveys and 180 early and 141 postimplementation HCP surveys were analyzed. HCP and public attitudes toward rotavirus vaccination were generally positive and didn’t change over time. More parents postprogram were aware of the NACI recommendation and the vaccination program and reported that their healthcare provider discussed rotavirus infection and vaccine with them. Prior to the program across all sites, more physicians than nurses were aware of the national recommendation regarding rotavirus vaccine. In the postprogram survey, however, more nurses were aware of the national recommendation and their provincial universal rotavirus vaccination program. Nurses had higher knowledge scores than physicians in the postprogram survey (p < 0.001). Parents of young infants were also more knowledgeable about rotavirus and rotavirus vaccine in the two areas where universal programs were in place (p < 0.001).ConclusionsImplementation of a universal rotavirus vaccination program was associated with an increase in knowledge and more positive attitudes toward rotavirus vaccine amongst parents of eligible infants. Nurses involved in a public health-delivered vaccination program were more knowledgeable and had more positive attitudes toward the vaccine than physicians in a jurisdiction where vaccine was physician-delivered.     

福建进城务工者学龄前子女行为问题现状

了解进城务工者学龄前子女的行为问题,为培养该群体儿童的健全人格提供参考.方法 采取整群抽样的方法选取福建省福州、厦门、漳州、莆田456名幼儿,使用自制一般情况调查表与长处和困难问卷(家长版)对其家长进行问卷调查.结果 研究组和对照组行为问题的检出率分别为22.6%和15.7%,差异无统计学意义(x2=3.530,P>0.05);研究组的多动注意不能得分高于对照组,亲社会行为得分低于对照组(t值分别为-2.117,2.512,P值均<0.05);研究组男童和5~6岁儿童行为问题严重于对照组(P值均<0.05);父母关系、父母教养态度、父亲管教类型和家庭人均月收入等因素进入回归方程(P值均<0.05),对儿童行为问题有较好的预测作用.结论 进城务工者学龄前子女的行为问题不容忽视,家庭因素能预测子女的行为问题.改变家长的教养观点,优化民办园的管理和教育理念,改善进城务工者群体的发展状况可促进子女教育干预的效果.     

Effect of Problem-Solving Instruction and Health Locus of Control on the Management of Childhood Asthma

This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of problem-solving instruction (PSI) and the moderating effect of health locus of control (HLOC) on asthma morbidity in children under age 15 Twenty-one children and their accompanying parent received the routine asthma education 21 received the routroe education plus PSI Children of PSI parents with low internal HLOC scores had a significantly greater improvement in asthma control than chlidren of PSI parents with high internal HLOC scores and of control children whose parents had low internal HLOC scores These findings suggest investigating educational programs designed to be compatible with individual HLOC orientation.     

Mothers Who Do and Do Not Intend to Discuss Sexual Health With Their Young Adolescents

This study distinguished two groups of mothers who have not communicated with their young adolescents about sexual health based on their intentions of having these discussions. We also compared these 2 groups to mothers who have had such communications. Overall, 29% of mothers had engaged in sexual discussions with their adolescent in some detail (active group), 22% intended to do so in the next 6 months (intender group), and 49% did not intend to do so in the next 6 months (nonintender group). Higher scores on variables consistent with the integrative model of behavioral prediction (parent knowledge, comfort, attitudes, perceptions of social norms, and self‐efficacy for sexual communication) differentiated the 3 groups: The active group had the highest scores, the nonintender group had the lowest scores, and the scores of the intender group fell in between. Group membership varied by sexual topic. Suggestions for enhancing parent‐adolescent sexual communication are discussed.