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Miller P, Elliott LE, Podvysotska T, Ptak C, Duong S, Fox D, Coulanges L, Libertus M, Bachman HJ, Votruba-Drzal E. Toddler home math environment: Triangulating multi-method assessments in a U.S. Sample. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1105569. [PMID: 36895738 PMCID: PMC9989257 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1105569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Current research has documented the home math environment (HME) of preschoolers and kindergarteners. Very few studies, however, have explored the number and spatial activities in which parents engage with children during their toddler years. Methods This study examined the HME of 157 toddlers using several methodologies, including surveys, time diaries, and observations of math talk. Further, it examined correlations within and across data sources to identify areas of convergence and triangulation, and correlated HME measures with measures of toddlers' number and spatial skills. Results Findings showed that, in general, uses of different types of math activities, including both number and spatial, were intercorrelated within method. Across methods, there was high intercorrelation between the frequency of math activities reported on parent surveys and the diversity of types of math activities endorsed in time diary interviews. Parent math talk gleaned from semi-structured interviews functioned as a separate aspect of the HME; different types of math talk shared few intercorrelations with engagement in math activities as reported in either surveys or time diaries. Finally, several HME measures positively correlated with toddlers' math skills. Discussion Given extant research demonstrating that both math activities and math talk predict children's math skills, our results stress the need for multimethod studies that differentiate among these HME opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Portia Miller
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | | | - Tamara Podvysotska
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Chelsea Ptak
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Shirley Duong
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Danielle Fox
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Linsah Coulanges
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology in Education, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Melissa Libertus
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Heather J. Bachman
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology in Education, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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Volodina A, Weinert S, Washbrook E, Waldfogel J, Kwon SJ, Wang Y, Perinetti Casoni V. Explaining gaps by parental education in children’s early language and social outcomes at age 3–4 years: evidence from harmonised data from three countries. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03754-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractChild outcomes vary by family’s socioeconomic status (SES). Research on explanatory factors underlying early SES-related disparities has mainly focused on specific child outcomes (e.g., language skills) and selected influencing factors in single countries often with a focus on individual differences but not explicitly on early SES-related gaps. This study uses harmonised data from longitudinal large-scale studies conducted in the United Kingdom, United States, and Germany to examine parental education-related gaps in early child language and social skills. Twelve theoretically proposed family-, child-, and childcare-related factors were systematically evaluated as explanatory factors. In all countries, parental education-related gaps were particularly pronounced for early child language compared to social skills. In the decomposition analyses, the home learning environment was the only measure that significantly explained gaps in all child outcomes across all countries. Early centre-based care attendance, family income, and maternal age at childbirth contributed to gaps in child outcomes with the specific pattern of results varying across outcomes and countries. Maternal depressive feelings significantly contributed only to explaining gaps in children’s social skills. Thus, while some mechanisms found to underpin early parental education-related gaps can be generalized from single-country, single-domain studies, others are outcome- and context-specific.
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Habbash AS, Qatomah A, Al-Doban R, Asiri R. Parental knowledge of children's developmental milestones in Aseer, Saudi Arabia. J Family Med Prim Care 2022; 11:5093-5102. [PMID: 36505638 PMCID: PMC9730944 DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_2029_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Revised: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Better parental knowledge about developmental milestones of children is linked to better parent-child interaction. Only a handful of surveys have been conducted to evaluate parental knowledge of developme ntal milestones in Arabic-speaking countries. Materials and Methods The study is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based observational investigation using a simple random sampling scheme. The sampling frame consisted of all parents attending the family medicine services during the period of conduct of the study. Poisson regression modelling techniques were used to analyse the adjusted effect of sociodemographic factors on knowledge score. Results Three hundred and seventy-five parents agreed to be included in the study. Only 29 (7.7%) had an excellent knowledge level. Poor knowledge was found among 141 (37.6%) participants. Also, 180 (48%) participants were found to have an acceptable level of knowledge. Mothers achieved acceptable knowledge of developmental milestones better than fathers, and better knowledge was found in less-crowded houses. Physical developmental milestones were known by 304 (81.1%) participants, followed by cognitive development milestones (n = 78, 20.8%), social development milestones (n = 47, 12.5%) and emotional development milestones (n = 85, 22.7%). The internet was the most used source (n = 83, 22.1%). The most avoided sources were educational workshops (n = 230, 61.3%), followed by doctors (n = 159, 42.4%) and social media (n = 130, 34.7%). Conclusions We confirmed in this work that parental knowledge of children's developmental milestones is suboptimum among Saudi parents. Use of the internet and avoidance of healthcare professionals is a source of concern. Care is required for children coming from overcrowded homes in terms of their developmental progress. Focus should be on educating parents about the social and emotional developmental milestones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asma Saad Habbash
- Family and Community Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia,Address for correspondence: Dr. Asma Saad Habbash, Family and Community Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. E-mail:
| | - Aishah Qatomah
- School of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rehab Al-Doban
- School of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
| | - Raghad Asiri
- School of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
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Zhu Z, Jiao D, Li X, Zhu Y, Kim C, Ajmal A, Matsumoto M, Tanaka E, Tomisaki E, Watanabe T, Sawada Y, Anme T. Measurement invariance and country difference in children's social skills development: Evidence from Japanese and Chinese samples. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 42:1-12. [PMID: 35531072 PMCID: PMC9061028 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03171-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The diversity of child social skills development is not well detected among Asian countries. Culturally validated assessments are needed for practitioners to evaluate child social skills. This study tested the measurement invariance of the Social Skill Scale (SSS) across Japanese and Chinese samples and explored country differences in child social skills development. The SSS utilizes a widely used factor structure (assertion, self-control, and cooperation subdomains) and has established Japanese and Chinese versions. We conducted investigations with an identical process and materials with different language versions, collecting data from 931 Japanese kindergarten children (Mage = 4.35, SDage = 1.07; 53.6% boys) and from 1130 Chinese kindergarten children (Mage = 4.47, SDage = 1.00; 52.3% boys). We used multiple confirmatory factor analysis to test measurement invariance of the SSS and established the validity, reliability, and scalar measurement invariance for the first-order factor structure of the SSS across the two country samples. We also examined country differences on the associations between demographics, parenting practice, and child social skills development. We found that, compared to the Chinese sample, cooperation skills significantly increased more with age among the Japanese sample. However, spanking was negatively related to self-control skills development in both countries. Our findings contribute to the demonstration of the diversity of child social skills development and have important implications for assessing and developing child social skills using culture-specific strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhu Zhu
- School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8577 Japan
- Faculty of Preschool and Special Education, Xuzhou Kindergarten Teachers College, Xuzhou, 221004 China
| | - Dandan Jiao
- School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8577 Japan
| | - Xiang Li
- School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8577 Japan
| | - Yantong Zhu
- School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8577 Japan
| | - Cunyoen Kim
- School of Education Science, Leshan Normal University, Leshan, 614000 China
| | - Ammara Ajmal
- Department of Anesthesia, Sandeman Provincial Hospital, Quetta, 87300 Pakistan
| | - Munenori Matsumoto
- School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8577 Japan
| | - Emiko Tanaka
- Faculty of Nursing, Musashino University, Tokyo, 202-8585 Japan
| | - Etsuko Tomisaki
- Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, Keio University, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
| | - Taeko Watanabe
- Faculty of Nursing, Shukutoku University, Chiba, 260-8701 Japan
| | - Yuko Sawada
- Faculty of Health Medicine, Morinomiya University of Medical Sciences, Osaka, 559-8611 Japan
| | - Tokie Anme
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennoudai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577 Japan
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Law J, Tamayo N, Mckean C, Rush R. The Role of Social and Emotional Adjustment in Mediating the Relationship Between Early Experiences and Different Language Outcomes. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:654213. [PMID: 34925078 PMCID: PMC8674943 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.654213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Studies have highlighted the relationship between early childhood experiences and later language and communication skills on the one hand and social and emotional adjustment on the other. Less is known about this relationship between different types of early experiences and their relationship to different communication skills over time. Equally important is the extent to which the child's behaviour is related to later outcomes affecting the relationship between the child's environment and aspects of their communication development. Method: Drawing on data from 5,000 children in Growing Up in Scotland, a representative sample of children born in 2003. This paper looks are the differential relationships between home learning environment (HLE) (reads books/storeys, engages in painting or drawing, reads nursery rhymes and teaches letter/shapes and parental mental health (PMH) (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) in the first year of life and both structural language skills ("Listening Comprehension" and "Expressive Vocabulary" subtests of The Wechsler Individual Achievement Tests) and pragmatic competence (The Children's Communication Checklist) at 11 years and explores the extent to which they are mediated by social and emotional adjustment at school entry. Results: PMH was associated with pragmatics but not listening comprehension or vocabulary. By contrast HLE was associated with all three measures of communication. In the final mediated model social and emotional adjustment mediated the relationship between PMH and all three measures of communication. The mediation was statistically significant for the relationship between HLE and both pragmatics and listening comprehension but not for expressive vocabulary. The results are discussed in terms of the relationships concerned and what they tell us about the potential for targeted early interventions. Conclusions: The mediating role of socio-emotional adjustment at school entry points to the need for careful monitoring of children's social and emotional development in primary and middle childhood. Services and policy aimed at improving child outcomes through improving home learning environments must work hand in hand with those responsible for offering support for the mental health, social-emotional adjustment and wellbeing of parents and children from birth and into the school years.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Law
- School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Nathalie Tamayo
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Cristina Mckean
- School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Rush
- Finn Coral Statistical Services, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Ebert S, Lehrl S, Weinert S. Differential Effects of the Home Language and Literacy Environment on Child Language and Theory of Mind and Their Relation to Socioeconomic Background. Front Psychol 2020; 11:555654. [PMID: 33192809 PMCID: PMC7658343 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.555654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we examined differential effects of facets of the home language and literacy environment that are known to be relevant to either language development (i.e., quantity and quality of language and literacy stimulation at home) or theory of mind (ToM) development (i.e., parental mental state language), on both children's language skills and their ToM understanding. Moreover, we investigated whether these relations are particularly relevant for children from homes with low socioeconomic status (SES) and whether they account for SES-related disparities in child language skills and ToM understanding. Using longitudinal data of a sample of 224 monolingual German preschool children (assessment of language skills at age 4;6 and 5;6 and ToM at age 5;6), we analyzed the effects of three facets of the home language and literacy environment on later child language and ToM understanding. These facets were book exposure as a measure for quantity of language and literacy stimulation at home, quality of verbal interaction, and parental mental state language assessed between ages 3 and 4. Path analyses showed that book exposure is related to both later ToM understanding and language skills at age 5;6 years; yet, this effect is mediated by earlier language skills at age 4;6 years. Furthermore, book exposure partly mediated the association between SES and language skills and, via earlier language skills at age 4;6, also the relation between SES and ToM. When focusing on children from lower SES families, book exposure and quality of verbal stimulation predicted children's later language skills at age 4;6. Book exposure also predicted change in language skills between age 4;6 and age 5;6. Further, book exposure proved to be significantly associated with children's ToM understanding at age 5;6 via the relation with language skills at 4;6 years. In addition, parental mental state language predicted children's ToM understanding at age 5;6 years. Our findings provide new evidence on how different facets of the home language and literacy environment are related to ToM and language development and their interrelation as well as their SES-related disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Ebert
- Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Simone Lehrl
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
| | - Sabine Weinert
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
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