No description available.

Syftet med föreliggande undersökning var att studera sambandet mel¬lan hundars ålder och deras inlärnings- respektive problemlösnings¬förmåga. Undersökningen genomför¬des på 17 hundar med ett ålders¬spann på 12 -123 månader. Hun¬darna genomförde en inlärningsövning och en problemlösnings¬övning. Det visade sig finnas en svag icke sig¬nifikans tendens att de yngre hundarna hade ett lägre antal träningstill¬fällen. En slutsats som kan dras från detta är att det krävs ett stort stickprov för att få fram reliabla resultat gällande yngre och äldre hun¬dars inlärningsförmåga.

To constantly add to our understanding of child development, a valid, comprehensive, well-researched measure is needed. The recent revision and standardisation of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales - Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) has necessitated investigations into its psychometric properties. This measure is used to identify developmental delays in children and critical decisions may be made, hence it is imperative that this measure be deemed both reliable and valid. This study aimed to contribute to the broader restandardisation project and focussed on gathering qualitative and quantitative construct-related validity evidence for one of the six Subscales of the GMDS-ER, namely the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale (Subscale D). An exploratory descriptive method using a triangulation approach was used to explore the construct-related validity evidence of the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale. A non-random purposively selected sample of 6 experts, who had worked at least 10 years with children assessing and evaluating the domain of eye-hand coordination, participated in a facet analysis to identify the underlying dimensions tapped by the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale. The sample for the quantitative aspects of this study, the empirical validation of the construct model, was collected as part of the broader restandardisation and represented a stratified sample of 1026 children between the ages 24 months and 96 months from across the United Kingdom and Eire. Three measures, namely a biographical questionnaire, the GMDS-ER and a construct evaluation form were used to gather the qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data was analysed by means of a facet analysis and literature control which included examining other tests or subtests that tapped eye-hand coordination skills. The quantitative data was analysed by means of exploratory common factor analysis using oblique (DQUART) rotation in order to verify the qualitatively identified construct model by specifying a one-factor solution for each underlying construct. While literature suggests that eye-hand coordination is multidimensional in nature the facet analysis revealed that the tasks tapped by Subscale D were not tapping complex skills aside from eye-hand coordination. The facet analysis thus revealed that all the items tap the eye-hand coordination of fine motor tasks and that these items could be grouped into two categories, using writing utensils and object manipulation. The results from the factor analysis confirmed that the items on Subscale D have one underlying construct and further exploration confirmed that these items could in fact be grouped into two categories. The coefficients of congruence for SES and gender were satisfactory and thus the construct model was validated across these groups as well. The study has provided extensive qualitative and quantitative evidence for the construct-related validity of the Eye and Hand Coordination Subscale of the GMDS-ER, thus validating its use as a sound measure of eye-hand coordination development in children aged 2 to 8 years. The content coverage however, seemed to indicate that the tasks required do not adequately cover all the facets of eye-hand coordination and some of these item types are tapped by the other Subscales in the measure. Hence, should the Subscale be used as an independent assessment of eye-hand coordination, the eye-hand coordination development of the child would have a narrow focus. In addition, in reviewing the variety of tasks in the two sections for the older and younger child, the researcher noted that while section III tapped a variety of skills, section IV only focused on skills associated with drawing, copying and writing. A review of the age appropriateness of the items and the item analysis results from the revision seemed to indicate that some of the items assessing the older child may need to be revised. Further, the researcher suggested that the revision should consider adding additional dimensions to the tasks assessed. Overall, it is the researcher‟s opinion that this Subscale was not given adequate attention during the revision process and should future revisions occur, the recommendations from this study should be considered.

Since the introduction of the Griffiths Scales of Mental Development (Griffiths Scales) in the United Kingdom (1950) and South Africa (1977) they have become widely used and researched, both at a national and international level. Studies completed in South Africa have demonstrated the invaluable role the Griffiths Scales have fulfilled in the assessment of South African children of all cultural and socio-economic groups. However, research has indicated a need for the revision of the scales specifically relating to social and cultural factors that influence performance. The aim of this study was two-fold , namely: (i) to revise the 20 small pictures and the large picture of the Hearing and Speech Scale of the Griffiths Scales, making them more culturally relevant for the children of our contemporary world, and especially in South Africa; and (ii) to describe the performance of South African children, between 60 and 83 months of age, utilizing the revised pictures. For the qualitative component of the study a questionnaire pertaining to the small and large “Experimental pictures” was completed by the participants. The participants consisted of the executive committee members of the ARICD in the United Kingdom. Additionally 17 “expert “ Griffith's users and “lay-experts” working in early childhood development throughout South Africa, were included. Their responses were content analyzed and incorporated into the Experimental pictures. This resulted in the development of the Revised Griffiths pictures. The quantitative component of the study utilized two sample pools. Sample 1 (n=204) and Sample 2 (n=180) were comprised of pre-school children aged between 60 and 83 months. Sample 1 was utilized for the 20 small revised pictures and the large revised SA picture, while sample 2 was utilized for the 20 small revised pictures and the large revised United Kingdom/ European/Australian picture. Furthermore, both samples, consisted of children from all cultural, socio-economic, language, and gender groups. x The major findings of the present study were as follows: 1. Referring to sample 1, only the White and Indian pre-schoolers correctly identified a mean number of small pictures above that which was proposed by Griffiths (1960). The Coloured pre-schoolers almost identified Griffiths (1960) proposed number. 2. Referring to sample 2, all excepting the Black pre-schoolers correctly identified Griffiths’ (1960) proposed mean of small pictures. 3. All children from sample 1 and sample 2 were able to identify more stimuli from the large revised pictures, than was proposed by Griffiths (1960). 4. All four cultural groups from samples 1 and 2, elicited a mean number of descriptive words below Griffiths’ (1960) proposed criteria. 5. White pre-schoolers from sample 1 elicited a mean number of descriptive sentences above Griffiths’ (1960) proposed criteria. 6. White and Coloured pre-schoolers from sample 2 elicited a mean number of descriptive sentences above Griffiths’ (1960) proposed criteria. 7. All four cultural groups from sample 1 and sample 2, elicited a mean number of personal or possessive pronouns below Griffith's (1960) proposed criteria. 8. A general trend noted for the four cultural groups of both samples, was that the percentage of children who passed successive age-appropriate items, did not decrease stepwise as would be expected from the placement of items in order of difficulty. In view of the latter finding, it is recommended that for South African children the placement of the items for the small and large pictures of the Hearing and Speech Scale should be revised in terms of their order of difficulty. It is furthermore recommended that separate norms for South African children be established for the Hearing and Speech Scale

Child assessment has become imperative today as parents and teachers recognize the need for early diagnostic assessments to adequately cater for children’s’ diverse and growing needs so that children can benefit from services and attention in a psychological or educational setting. The Griffiths Mental Development Scales, an established and well-researched instrument is reported to be one of the most carefully designed measures of child development . Studies in various parts of the world have demonstrated that the Griffiths Scales are applicable to diverse populations and that they tap experiences that are common to different cultures. The recent revision and restandardisation of the Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) has necessitated investigations into its psychometric properties. In view of the important role that assessment measures play in the early identification of developmental delays, it is important that assessment measures are reliable and valid for their intended purpose(s). This study, which is part of a larger research project, attempted to explore and add further evidence of the construct validity of one of the six Subscales of the GMDS-ER, namely the Personal-Social Subscale (Subscale B). An exploratory-descriptive design using a triangulation approach was utilized to explore the construct validity of the Personal-Social Subscale. A nonprobability purposively selected sample of 18 experts working with children participated in the facet analysis to identify the constructs underlying Subscale B (the qualitative aspect of the study). The sample for the quantitative aspects of this study (i.e., the empirical validation of the identified constructs) was collected as part of the broader restandardisation and represented a stratified random sample of 1026 children between the ages of 3 and 8 years from across the United Kingdom and Eire. Three measures, namely a biographical questionnaire, the GMDS-ER and a construct evaluation form were used to gather the qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data was analysed by means of facet analysis and literature control. The quantitative data was analysed by using exploratory common factor analysis using oblique (DQUART) rotation to empirically verify the qualitatively identified construct model by specifying a onefactor solution for each underlying construct.

Despite the concept of twins and twinning being a highly explored area of research for many years, limited research has been conducted on the comparison of first and second born twin development. The nature of twins leads people to believe that twins will present with similar characteristics, however, this study explores the possibility that due to their ordinal position they could in fact present with differing characteristics and could differ developmentally. The early holistic development of a child influences the rest of their lives. Concerning twins, the development of individuality and self-knowledge is especially important. Theorists, such as Piaget (1950), propose that child development takes place in stages and that although the order in which children proceed through these stages is the same, the pace at which this takes place can vary. The necessity of monitoring the child’s journey through these stages highlights the value of child developmental assessment. This form of assessment needs to be holistic, needs to involve a multidisciplinary team of professionals and needs to utilize assessment measures that are valid, reliable, culture-fair and standardized. The Griffiths Mental Development Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) is one such measure. This study, focusing on twin development, aimed to contribute and provide valuable information to a larger research project that is currently under way aiming to increase the applicability of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales-Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) in the South African context. The primary aim of the study, however, was to explore and compare the performance of normal first born and second born twins, aged between 2 and 8 years 4 months old, on the GMDS-ER. The purpose of the study was to generate information on the relationship between first born twins’ general development and second born twins’ general development. An exploratory, descriptive quantitative design was used. Participants were selected through a combination of non-probability purposive, convenience and snowball sampling. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and dependent sample t-tests were employed to compare the General Quotients (GQ’s) of the first and second born twins in the sample. Results showed that no significant differences were found between the first and second born twins’ general development. Information generated from this study contributed to 1) child development research; 2) twin developmental research within a South African context; and 3) a greater group of studies on the GMDS-ER, currently underway in the United Kingdom and South Africa, aiming to contribute to the international credibility of this measure

No description available.

No description available.

This brief review focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of human lactation for the mental development of children. The review covers theree tapies: (1) Correlation between type of feeding and  performance  on  different  mental  tests  administered befare and after the first three years of postnatal life, (2) Prevention of nutritional deficiencies that have adverse effects on cognition and prevention of sequels from pre-term births and low birth weight; (3) Contamination of human milk.The purpose is to provide a representative view of these three tapies. Our evaluation of the publised data shows that the information does not allow for definitive conclusions, particularly in reference to the first and third tapie. The  strongest available evidences is found on studies of the effects of free fatty acids on cerebral growth and on longitudinal studies of pre-term children of low birth weight. In our impression it is necessary to evaluate carefully the recommendation of the World Health Organization regarding the benefits of lactation in those cases when drugs or enviromental minerals and chemicals  have contaminated human milk. / Esta reseña focaliza las ventajas y desventajas que ofrece la lactancia para el desarrollo mental del niño. Los estudios se refieren  a tres temas:  1) correlación entre tipo de alimentación y rendimiento en diversas pruebas de desarrollo mental  antes y después de los primeros tres años de vida;  2) prevención de deficiencias de nutrimentos que afectan adversamente el desarrollo del niño y prevención de secuelas en el desarrollo en niños  nacidos antes de termino y con bajo peso; y 3) contaminación de la leche de pecho por drogas y contaminantes ambientales.Se presenta una visión sobre los efectos del amamantamiento dentro los tres temas a tratar. Nuestra evaluación indica que los estudios no permiten llegar a conclusiones definitivas, particularmente en  el caso de los temas uno y tres. La mejor evidencia disponible se refiere al segundo tema; sobre todo en el caso de los efectos de los ácidos grasos en  el desarrollo del cerebro y aquellas provenientes de estudios longitudinales de niños que nacieron antes de termino y con muy bajo peso. En nuestra opinión es necesario  obrar con mucha cautela en la evaluación  de las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud sobre la lactancia  en  aquellos casos en los que la leche de pecho puede estar contaminada por drogas o por contaminantes ambientales.

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-05-15T12:12:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 annacostapintoribeiro.pdf: 919872 bytes, checksum: e3e89afcb365c0a93060ca3b443fbe54 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-05-22T15:19:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 annacostapintoribeiro.pdf: 919872 bytes, checksum: e3e89afcb365c0a93060ca3b443fbe54 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-22T15:19:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 annacostapintoribeiro.pdf: 919872 bytes, checksum: e3e89afcb365c0a93060ca3b443fbe54 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-28 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Entre os principais autores que investigaram o desenvolvimento psíquico precoce,partindo de um referencial psicanalítico,e formularam hipóteses para tentar esclarecer quais são os fatores relacionados ao surgimento de patologias mentais,podemos citar a pediatra e psiquiatra húngara Margaret Mahler (1897-1985). Suaprincipal contribuição para a psicanálise infantil foi a inovadora técnica de atendimento à criança pequena e sua extensa teoria sobre o desenvolvimento psíquico precoce, conhecida como a teoria da simbiose e separação-individuação. Mahler descreveu patologias decorrentes das vivências não satisfatórias nas fases iniciais do desenvolvimento, como a psicose autística e a psicose simbiótica,e caracterizou momentos de perturbaçõesnaturais e inerentes ao desenvolvimento emocional precoce, que podem,equivocadamente,ser interpretados como patologias. Apesar da grande contribuição que ela trouxe para a compreensão do desenvolvimento mental infantil, pouca atenção é dada ao seu pensamento teórico e clínico. O presente trabalho consiste em uma investigação teórico-conceitual, que tem como objetivo analisar os conceitos de “desenvolvimento normal”, “crises inerentes ao desenvolvimento” e “psicoses” na teoria de Margaret Mahler. Como suporte teórico, foram usados os três livros publicados pela autora e colaboradores: The PsychologicalBirthoftheHumanInfant(1975), InfantilePsychosisandEarlyContributions(1979), OnHumanSymbiosisandthe Vicissitudes ofIndividuation(1968), bem como suas publicações em forma de artigos e suas comunicações orais. / Among the main authors who investigated the early mental development from a psychoanalytic viewpoint, and elaborated hypotheses trying to clarify which factors are related to the emergence of mental illnesses, the Hungarian pediatrician and psychiatrist Margaret Mahler (1897-1985) should be mentioned. Her main contribution to child psychoanalysis was her innovative technique for the treatmente of young children and her extensive theory of early mental development, known as the symbiosis and separation-individuation theory. Mahler described pathologies resulting from unsatisfactory experiences in the early stages of development, such as autistic and symbiotic psychosis. She also described moments of disturbance that are natural and intrinsic to early emotional development and may incorrectly be perceived as mental pathologies. Despite her great contribution to the understanding of child mental development, little attention has been given to her theoretical and clinical thinking. This dissertation presents a theoretical-conceptual research, aiming to analyze the concepts of “normal development”, “crisis intrinsic to development” and “psychosis” in Margaret Mahler's theory. Content from the three books published by the author and contributors were used as theoretical support: The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant (1975), Infantile Psychosis and Early Contributions (1979), On Human Symbiosis and the Vicissitudes of Individuation (1968), as well as her published articles and lectures.