Resilience Coping in Preschool Children: The Role of Emotional Ability, Age, and Gender

Emotional impact of watching bullfighting shows in Spanish and Portuguese children: Affect, coping and aggressive behavior

Being exposed to bullfighting during childhood generates a growing social debate, that stirs up both opposing and supporting arguments that confront cultural transmission with the protection of childhood. This study seeks to analyze how viewing bullfighting shows affects the emotional well-being of Spanish and Portuguese children. Children who had watched bullfighting shows were compared to others who had never watched them. For the accomplishment of this study, 128 children took part, of which 84 were Portuguese and 44 were Spanish. Overall, 86 children had watched bullfighting shows and 42 had not. The scores related to problem-focused coping, positive affect, active resolution, and seeking information and guidance were significantly higher in those children who had watched bullfighting shows. No significant differences were found related to nationality. The cognitive interpretation of this real and/or audiovisual content and the need to continue studying this practice is under discussion.

Coping with the Stress through Individual and Contextual Resilient Factors in Primary School Settings

Children face school stress as students through all educational stages. A negative association between resilience and stress has been demonstrated by many authors, but most of these studies have been carried out in higher educational stages. So, the aim of the present study is, on the one hand, to find out the level of stress of primary school children and also the types of stressful situations in school settings, and on the other hand, to analyze the effect of individual and contextually resilient factors on their level of school stress. The study involved 427 children between 6 and 12 years of age, who were administered the IECI school stress scale and the RES-PRIM Resilience questionnaire for children. Descriptive analyses, correlations, and regression analyses were performed on the data. Results showed an average level of school stress, with the most stressful situations being: participating in too many activities, concentration problems, and nervousness when being asked by the teacher in class. Predictive analysis showed that part of the school stress could be explained by both individual factors (self-esteem, introspection, future purpose, and social skills) and resilient contextual factors (teacher support, parental support, and peer support). It is concluded that it is necessary to pay more attention to the transitions between different educational stages with programs that reinforce academic information and encourage the development of individual resilient skills, stressing the importance of the role of teachers, peers, and parents as support groups.

Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral Symptomatology in Children during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Children's and Parents' Alexithymia

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected the psychophysical wellbeing of children worldwide. Alexithymia, a personality trait involving difficulties in identifying and expressing feelings represents a vulnerability factor for stress-related disorders. Under pandemic stress exposure, we aimed to investigate the role of parents' and children's alexithymia in the psychophysical symptomatology shown by children and to evaluate possible differences according to age, gender and history of COVID-19 infections. The perception of parents and children about the impact of the pandemic on children's emotional, social and physiological wellbeing was also explored. Sixty-five familial triads were surveyed in the period from March to May 2022: children (n = 33 males; mean age = 9.53, sd = 1.55), mothers (mean age = 44.12; sd = 6.10) and fathers (mean age = 47.10; sd = 7.8). Both parental and children's alexithymia scores were significantly associated with somatic and externalizing symptomatology in children. Self-reported anger and externally oriented thinking scores were higher in younger children (age 8-9.9 years) than in older ones (10-12 years). Girls scored higher than boys in somatic complaints, as reported by parents. No difference emerged between children affected/not affected by COVID-19. Notably, children reported a greater negative impact of the pandemic on their emotional and psychosocial well-being than their parents. The findings emphasize the role of alexithymia in the occurrence of psychophysical symptoms in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduced parental awareness of the emotional burden imposed by the pandemic on children indicates the need to better consider how epidemics affect children's mental health and to develop adequate preventive strategies to support them in these exceptional times.

Effectiveness of the ELLA Training for the Promotion of Emotional and Social Competences in Lithuanian Preschool Children

By developing the emotional and social competences of children of preschool age, one can expect the prevention of emotional and behavioral problems and a better social and academic adaptation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the ELLA training for the promotion of emotional and social competences in 3-6-year-old children in preschool education institutions in Lithuania. In total, 140 children aged 3-6 years participated in the quasi-experimental study, of which 86 children were assigned to the experimental group and 54 were assigned to the control group. Children of the experimental group were given a modified program-the ELLA training for the promotion of emotional and social competences. Children's emotional and social competences were assessed before and after the program. The EMK 3-6 inventory (germ. Inventar zur Erfassung Emotionaler Kompetenzen bei Drei-bis Sechsjährigen, EMK 3-6) was used to conduct a questionnaire survey of teachers and to carry out an individual assessment performed by psychologists in order to assess the children's competences. The ELLA training significantly improved children's emotional and social competences. Based on the teachers' assessment, the children's self-regulation abilities improved, and based on the children's individual assessment conducted by psychologists, the application of the program resulted in the improvement of the children's primary emotions, secondary emotions, and prosocial behavior competences.

Evaluating the agreement between children and their parents on dental pain in children using the self-reported method

BACKGROUND

Having preschool children evaluate their dental pain can provide an additional insight into pain diagnoses and improve patient-centered care. This study aimed to evaluate the agreement between self-reported dental pain by preschoolers and their parents' report (proxy measure).

DESIGN

This cross-sectional study was conducted with children aged 4 to 6 years, and with one of their parents. Dental pain was reported using the Simplified Faces Pain Scale (S-FPS) and administered before the dental consultation. Dental pain was assessed using closed-ended questions, and a three-face scale was used to determine pain severity. The kappa and weighted kappa tests were used to evaluate the agreement between the children's self-report and their parents' report.

RESULTS

A total of 198 child-parent dyads participated. Current child dental pain was reported by 44.4% of the children and 36.9% of the parents. Severe pain was reported most frequently between children (17.1%) and parents (16.2%). The agreement on the severity of dental pain ranged from substantial (children aged 6 years and parents: weighted kappa = 0.372) to moderate (4-year-olds: 0.412; 5-year-olds: 0.453).

CONCLUSION

Children and parents agreed on the child's dental pain. The use of the S-FPS among younger children appears valid and feasible for assessing dental pain.