早期儿童气质对学龄期儿童行为问题的预测效果初探

【目的】探讨早期儿童气质对学龄期儿童行为问题的预测作用,为儿童气质及儿童行为问题的临床咨询与指导提供参考。【方法】孕母满32周进入研究队列,采用Carey儿童气质问卷、家庭环境量表分别在婴儿期、学龄前期、学龄期评价儿童气质及其家庭环境,并使用CBCL儿童行为问题量表对学龄期儿童行为问题进行评价。【结果】1)逐步多元回归分析发现,婴儿期气质"节律性"、学前期气质"反应强度"、母亲年龄、8岁时家庭"父母情绪"、2岁时家庭"父母参与"与学龄期儿童行为问题有显著联系,共同解释56.6%的学龄期儿童行为问题。2)婴儿期阶段,气质"节律性"和"情绪性"、1岁家庭环境"总分"、母亲年龄预测学龄儿童行为问题,可以解释学龄期儿童行为问题的33%;学前期,气质"反应强度"、母亲年龄和3岁时家庭"父母参与"可以预测学龄儿童行为问题,解释学龄期儿童行为问题的34.3%;学龄期时,气质"适应性"、"坚持性"、母亲年龄和家庭"教育材料"与学龄行为问题有密切联系,可解释学龄期儿童行为问题的38.4%。儿童早期气质特点联合家庭环境("父母参与"、"父母情绪"和"教育材料")、母亲年龄以及儿童性别等因素对学龄期儿童行为问题具有较显著的预测作用。【结论】为减少儿童行为问题的发生,应及早对高龄母亲、家庭养育环境不良、具有消极气质特点的男童采取积极干预。     

Low vision: mobility and independence training for the early years child

It is generally acknowledged that a child’s primary caregiver acts as a spring board to independence. By encouraging the child to explore their world, parents and guardians are instrumental in developing the child’s sense of self‐esteem, self‐worth and sociability. Less fortunate, however, are the increasing numbers of young children born with a visual impairment. Lacking visual cues, the child with a visual impairment requires specialist training to develop mobility and independent living skills. The primary aim of this paper is to outline the advantages mobility training has for young children. It also seeks to explore issues pertinent to the availability and extent of this training.     

Low vision: mobility and independence training for the early years child

It is generally acknowledged that a child's primary caregiver acts as a spring board to independence. By encouraging the child to explore their world, parents and guardians are instrumental in developing the child's sense of self-esteem, self-worth and sociability. Less fortunate, however, are the increasing numbers of young children born with a visual impairment. Lacking visual cues, the child with a visual impairment requires specialist training to develop mobility and independent living skills. The primary aim of this paper is to outline the advantages mobility training has for young children. It also seeks to explore issues pertinent to the availability and extent of this training.     

Maternal general health and children's cognitive development and behaviour in the early years: findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

Background Mothers often experience physical and psychological difficulties during the post‐natal period and these may continue through the early years of raising children and have negative effects on engagement and caregiving. Pathways between maternal depression, parental engagement and caregiving and children's subsequent development have been described in longitudinal studies; yet, less is known about how other aspects of maternal health may influence children's development. Methods A longitudinal analysis within the Millennium Cohort Study was conducted including 7906 families from England. Maternal general health and psychological well‐being were assessed when their children were 9 months and 3 years old, socio‐demographic characteristics were assessed at 9 months, and engagement and caregiving were assessed at 3 years. These were examined as predictors of children's learning and development and behaviour at age 5. Results There are clear associations between maternal general health and children's development with regard to both learning and development and behaviour. These effects are reduced if psychological distress is taken into account; yet, maternal general health maintains importance as a predictor for children's subsequent development. There is evidence of an association via engagement and caregiving which links maternal health to children's development and evidence of the influence of underlying socio‐demographic disadvantage. Conclusion General maternal health as well as psychological well‐being during the early years of raising children may be influential for children's development. This study suggests the need for a broader recognition of maternal health as well as psychological well‐being as a foundation for family well‐being, and speaks to support for mothers in maintaining engagement and caregiving for their children during periods of ill health.     

Associations of subjectively and objectively measured sedentary behavior and physical activity with cognitive development in the early years

PurposeTo examine the associations of subjectively and objectively measured sedentary behavior and physical activity with cognitive development in a sample of 30–59 month olds.MethodsCross-sectional findings are based on 100 early years children (43.4 ± 9.4 months; 53% female) from Edmonton, Canada that were part of the Physical Activity and Cognition in Early Childhood (PACE) study. Sedentary time and physical activity (light-intensity, moderate- to vigorous-intensity, total) were objectively measured with an accelerometer. Sedentary behavior (television, video/computer games, screen time) and physical activity (organized, non-organized, total) were also subjectively measured with a parental questionnaire. Vocabulary was measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition, working memory was measured with the Nebraska Barnyard task, and response inhibition was measured with the Fish-Shark Go/No-Go task. Correlations and linear regression were used to examine associations.ResultsTotal subjective physical activity (r = 0.31; p = 0.018) and non-organized physical activity (r = 0.27; p = 0.035) were significantly positively correlated with vocabulary. Conversely, television viewing (r = −0.21; p = 0.046) was significantly negatively correlated with vocabulary. These significant associations remained in linear regression models after adjusting for age. Objectively measured sedentary time and physical activity were not significantly associated with any cognitive development measure and no sedentary behavior or physical activity measure was associated with working memory or response inhibition.ConclusionsTelevision viewing may be detrimental and physical activity, especially non-organized, may be beneficial for vocabulary in early years children. Future research with larger sample sizes and longitudinal and experimental study designs are needed to confirm these findings and determine the mechanisms.     

五省(市)城市社区儿童母亲的早期发展促进行为情况

【目的】 探索儿童早期发展促进在我国社区开展的有效模式，最终促进儿童早期心理和智能发展。【方法】 采用自编问卷对项目进行前后的1994名和1717名干预对象(儿童母亲)进行调查，并对调查结果用SPSS软件进行分析。【结果】 项目开展前调查显示在与婴儿沟通、认知刺激、教育方法方面约有1／4的母亲不知道正确做法；在整体评价了儿童早期发展促进行为后，显示近1／3的母亲育儿行为得分很低，说明母亲育儿行为仍有不少是错误的。经过项目3年的干预后，项目地区母亲不仅大多数在与婴儿沟通、认知刺激、教育方法方面知道正确的方法，并且将其应用到实际的育儿行动中。【结论】 项目前后母亲的育儿行为得到很大改善，说明项目的开展取得了良好效果，只要在原有儿童保健的基础上，针对性添加一些项目内容就能使儿童的早期教育得到很好促进。     

Relationship between the neighbourhood built environment and early child development

The relationship between features of the neighbourhood built environment and early child development was investigated using area-level data from the Australian Early Development Census. Overall 9.0% of children were developmentally vulnerable on the Physical Health and Well-being domain, 8.1% on the Social Competence domain and 8.1% on the Emotional Maturity domain. After adjustment for socio-demographic factors, Local Communities with the highest quintile of home yard space had significantly lower odds of developmental vulnerability on the Emotional Maturity domain. Residing in a Local Community with fewer main roads was associated with a decrease in the proportion of children developmentally vulnerable on the Social Competence domain. Overall, sociodemographic factors were more important than aspects of the neighbourhood physical environment for explaining variation between Local Communities in the developmental vulnerability of children.     

Breast-feeding and cognitive development in the first seven years of life

The relationship between breast-feeding practices and childhood intelligence and language development at ages 3, 5 and 7 years was examined in a birth cohort of New Zealand children. The results showed that even when a number of control factors including maternal intelligence, maternal education, maternal training in child rearing, childhood experiences, family socio-economic status, birth weight and gestational age were taken into account, there was a tendency for breast-fed children to have slightly higher test scores than bottle-fed infants. On average, breast-fed children scored approximately two points higher on scales with a standard deviation of 10 than bottle-fed infants when all control factors were taken into account. It was concluded that breast-feeding may be associated with very small improvements in intelligence and language development or, alternatively, that the differences may have been due to the effects of other confounding factors not entered into the analysis.     

Breastfeeding and cognitive development in the first 2 years of life

The relationship between breastfeeding and cognitive development in the first 2 years of life was examined in a cohort of children being followed in a study of risk factors in development. A significant difference between bottlefed children, children breastfed less than or equal to 4 months and those breastfed greater than 4 months was found on the Mental Development Index of the Bayley Scales at ages 1 and 2 years, favoring the breastfed children. At age 6 months, the direction of the relationship was the same but did not reach significance. Supplementary regression analyses examining the strength of the relationship between duration of breastfeeding and cognitive development similarly showed a small but significant relationship between duration of breastfeeding and scores on the Bayley at 1 and 2 years. Alternative explanations for the results are discussed.     

早期干预对早产儿早期认知发展的影响研究

【目的】评价早期干预对早产儿早期神经心理和视觉系统发育的影响,为开展系统的早产儿早期干预提供临床依据。【方法】对干预组早产儿进行定期随访并实施早期干预;于矫正6月龄时对随访≥3次的干预组早产儿、常规随访的未干预组早产儿进行贝莉婴儿发育量表-II(BSID-II)和闪光视觉诱发电位(flash visual evoked potentials,FVEP)测试。【结果】两组早产儿BSID-II测试结果显示,干预组的MDI值、PDI值比未干预组早产儿分别高出9.12分和6.35分,差异有显著的统计学意义;两组早产儿FVEP测试显示:干预组FVEP的P1波潜伏期较未干预组早产儿缩短,差异有统计学意义(P0.05),N1波、N2波潜伏期和N1P1振幅两组间差异无统计学意义。【结论】有效的早期干预可以促进早产儿早期认知功能和视觉系统的发育;将BSID-II和FVEP相结合的评价,能从认知行为表达和脑电生理两方面更客观而全面地评价早产儿的发育状态;有待于进一步探索早期干预实施对儿童认知发展的远期影响。     

Understanding cellular disruptions during early embryo development that perturb viability and fetal development

An inability to regulate ionic and metabolic homeostasis is related to a reduction in the developmental capacity of the embryo. The early embryo soon after fertilisation and up until compaction appears to have a reduced capacity to regulate its homeostasis. The reduced ability to regulate homeostasis, such as intracellular pH and calcium levels, by the precompaction-stage embryo appears to impact on the ability to regulate mitochondrial function and maintain adequate levels of energy production. This reduction in ATP production causes a cascade of events leading to disrupted cellular function and, perhaps ultimately, disrupted epigenetic regulation and aberrant placental and fetal development. In contrast, after compaction the embryo takes on a more somatic cell-like physiology and is better able to regulate its physiology and therefore appears less vulnerable to stress. Therefore, for human IVF it would seem important for the establishment of healthy pregnancies that the embryos are maintained in systems that are designed to minimise homeostatic stress, particularly for the cleavage-stage embryos, as exposure to stress is likely to culminate in impaired embryo function.     

Fish intake during pregnancy and early cognitive development of offspring

BACKGROUND: Fish is a source of many nutrients that can be beneficial during pregnancy, as well as a source of neurotoxicant contaminants such as methylmercury. Previous investigations of fish intake in relation to neurodevelopment have focused on possible damage from contaminants, whereas potential benefits of fish consumption have been relatively unexplored METHODS: We evaluated the association between maternal fish intake during pregnancy and offspring's early development of language and communication skills in a cohort of 7421 British children born in 1991-1992. Fish intake by the mother and child was measured by questionnaire. The child's cognitive development was assessed using adaptations of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory at 15 months of age and the Denver Developmental Screening Test at 18 months of age. Mercury was measured in umbilical cord tissue for a subset of 1054 children RESULTS: Total mercury concentrations were low and were not associated with neurodevelopment. Fish intake by the mother during pregnancy, and by the infant postnatally, was associated with higher mean developmental scores. For example, the adjusted mean MacArthur comprehension score for children whose mothers consumed fish 4 or more times per week was 72 (95% confidence interval = 71-74), compared with 68 (66-71) among those whose mothers did not consume fish. CONCLUSIONS: When fish is not contaminated, moderate fish intake during pregnancy and infancy may benefit development.     

Determinants of early cognitive development: hierarchical analysis of a longitudinal study

The study describes the relationship between anthropometric status, socioeconomic conditions, and quality of home environment and child cognitive development in 320 children from 20 to 42 months of age, randomly selected from 20,000 households that represent the range of socioeconomic and environmental conditions in Salvador, Bahia, Northeast Brazil. The inclusion criterion was to be less than 42 months of age between January and July 1999. Child cognitive development was assessed using the Bayley Scales for Infant Development, and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory (HOME) was applied to assess quality of home environment. Anthropometric status was measured using the indicators weight/age and height/age ratios (z-scores), and socioeconomic data were collected through a standard questionnaire. Statistical analysis was conducted through univariate and hierarchical linear regression. Socioeconomic factors were found to have an indirect impact on early cognitive development mediated by the child's proximal environment factors, such as appropriate play materials and games available and school attendance. No independent association was seen between nutritional status and early cognitive development.     

Prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants and child development trajectories through 7 years

Background

Prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants such as mold, lead, pesticides, tobacco, and air pollutants has been suggested to impair cognitive development. Evidence is needed from longitudinal studies to understand their joint impact on child development across time.

Systematic review of sedentary behavior and cognitive development in early childhood

ObjectiveTo comprehensively review observational and experimental studies examining the relationship between sedentary behavior and cognitive development during early childhood (birth to 5 years).MethodElectronic databases were searched in July, 2014 and no limits were imposed on the search. Included studies had to be peer-reviewed, published, and meet the a priori determined population (apparently healthy children aged birth to 5 years), intervention (duration, types, and patterns of sedentary behavior), comparator (various durations, types, or patterns of sedentary behavior), and outcome (cognitive development) study criteria. Data extraction occurred in October and November 2014 and study quality and risk of bias were assessed in December 2014.ResultsA total of 37 studies, representing 14,487 participants from nine different countries were included. Thirty-one studies used observational study designs and six studies used experimental study designs. Across study designs, increased or higher screen time (most commonly assessed as television viewing (TV)), reading, child-specific TV content, and adult-specific TV content had detrimental (negative) associations with cognitive development outcomes for 38%, 0%, 8%, and 25% of associations reported, respectively, and beneficial (positive) associations with cognitive development outcomes for 6%, 60%, 13%, and 3% of associations reported, respectively. Ten studies were moderate quality and 27 studies were weak quality.ConclusionsThe type of sedentary behavior, such as TV versus reading, may have different impacts on cognitive development in early childhood. Future research with reliable and valid tools and adequate sample sizes that examine multiple cognitive domains (e.g., language, spatial cognition, executive function, memory) are needed.Registration no. CRD42014010004.