Peer Relationships and Play Behaviors of Children in Three Different Sized Classes Over a Four Month Period

Class size effects on children's social interaction with peers and teachers were studied. Studies show that large class sizes negatively influenced the quality of adult‐child interactions. However, based on previous studies, it is suspected that large class sizes may not negatively affect children's peer relationships. Subjects were 70 preschoolers and seven teachers in three 40, three 30, and one 20 sized classes in Korea. Early in a semester and at the end of the semester, sociometric interviews were done to identify peer relationships. Children's play behaviors and teachers’ behaviors were observed. Results showed that teachers’ behaviors did not significantly differ when their education and training backgrounds were similar. However, children in various sized classes showed differences in their relationship formations and play behaviors with peers across the semester. This study concludes class size affects children's peer networks, and the differences in play behavior may be related to the differences in peer relationships.     

Relationship Quality and Patient-Assessed Quality of Care in VA Primary Care Clinics: Development and Validation of the Work Relationships Scale

PURPOSE

Efforts to better understand the impact of clinic member relationships on care quality in primary care clinics have been limited by the absence of a validated instrument to assess these relationships. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale assessing relationships within primary care clinics.

METHODS

The Work Relationships Scale (WRS) was developed and administered as part of a survey of learning and relationships among 17 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care clinics. A Rasch partial-credit model and principal components analysis were used to evaluate item performance, select the final items for inclusion, and establish unidimensionality for the WRS. The WRS was then validated against semistructured clinic member interviews and VA Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients (SHEP) data.

RESULTS

Four hundred fifty-seven clinicians and staff completed the clinic survey, and 247 participated in semistructured interviews. WRS scores were significantly associated with clinic-level reporting for 2 SHEP variables: overall rating of personal doctor/nurse (r² =0.43, P <.01) and overall rating of health care (r²= 0.25, P <.05). Interview data describing relationship characteristics were consistent with variability in WRS scores across low-scoring and high-scoring clinics.

CONCLUSIONS

The WRS shows promising validity as a measure assessing the quality of relationships in primary care settings; moreover, primary care clinics with lower WRS scores received poorer patient quality ratings for both individual clinicians and overall health care. Relationships play an important role in shaping care delivery and should be assessed as part of efforts to improve patient care within primary care settings.     

Social Integration of Children with Emotional Disabilities and Nonhandicapped Peers in a School Setting

This article describes a study that explores the social integration of children with emotional disabilities in the educational setting. The results of the study suggest that the children with emotional disabilities benefited from their participation in the school setting. Furthermore, the able children participating in the study also benefited from their interaction with special needs children.     

Diet Quality Indices in the SUN Cohort: Observed Changes and Predictors of Changes in Scores Over a 10-Year Period

BackgroundDietary quality indices (DQI) are widely used in nutritional epidemiology. However, how they might change over time in a Mediterranean population is not well understood.ObjectiveTo evaluate within-participant longitudinal changes in scores for nine a priori–defined DQIs: Fat Quality Index (FQI), Carbohydrate Quality Index (CQI), Pro-vegetarian Dietary Pattern (PVG), Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS), Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay Diet (MIND), Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS) and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010) in the “Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra” (SUN) cohort, a well-known Mediterranean cohort of university graduates, and to identify baseline predictors of improvement in MEDAS and AHEI-2010 after 10 years of follow-up.DesignIn this longitudinal cohort study, DQI scores were calculated based on responses from a validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ).Participants/settingSpanish university graduates enrolled in the SUN cohort before March 2008, who completed the 10-year FFQ and reported total dietary intake at baseline and after 10 years of follow-up, included 2,244 men and 3,271 women, whose mean age at baseline was 36.3 years (standard deviation [SD], 10.7).Main outcome measuresMain outcome measures were within-participant longitudinal changes for FQI, CQI, PVG, MEDAS, MDS, DASH, MIND, PDQS, and AHEI-2010.Statistical analyses performedAdjusted logistic regression models were used to evaluate within-participant longitudinal changes and to identify baseline predictors of improvements ≥10% in MEDAS and AHEI-2010 scores after 10 years of follow-up.ResultsThe comparison of the nine scores of DQI calculated at baseline and after 10 years of follow-up showed an improvement in all DQI scores except for PDQS. The greatest changes in DQIs were found for MEDAS (from 6.2 to 7.2, +22.9%) and MDS (from 4.3 to 4.4, +15.4%). The strongest predictors at baseline for ≥10% improvements in MEDAS or AHEI-2010 scores varied across indices. Being female, ≥35 years old, and more physically active at baseline were associated with improvement, whereas snacking between meals was associated with <10% improvements in both indices.ConclusionsIn this cohort, the changes in nine a priori-defined DQI scores suggested modest improvements in diet quality, in which MEDAS and MDS scores showed the largest improvements. Additional longitudinal studies, especially intervention trials with long follow-up, are warranted to establish the most appropriate DQIs to assess long-term changes in diet quality in adult populations.     

The impact of ratio of children#shcaregiver on social interaction and activity pattern in a day care center

The impact of caregiver-child ratio on social interaction and activity pattern was studied in a day care center group. Two caregivers were observed one at a time for 12 hours in two different periods. The observer kept a running record, of social interactions and activities for subsequent coding into predetermined categories. The results of this study show that periods with higher caregiver-child ratio in a unit had a larger proportion of educational activities and a smaller proportion of basic care activities. More often the staff worked together with a small group of children.     

Relationships between young children in full-time day care and their caregivers: a qualitative study of parental and caregiver perspectives

We studied the quality of caregiver–child relationships from the perspectives of parents and caregivers of young children in full-time day care. The sample consisted of 41 parents of children aged two years or younger (22 boys and 19 girls) in day care, and 35 of their caregivers. Parents and caregivers were interviewed. Parents and caregivers appeared to have up-to-date knowledge about caregiver–child relationships and about their importance. However, in evaluating the quality of the relationship between the individual child and its caregivers, both parties appeared to be more positive in their judgements than previous research would suggest. Caregivers are even more positive in their evaluations than parents. Day-care centres lack concrete assessment tools that might also reveal negative aspects of the relationship between caregivers and young children.