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<p>Arterial stiffness is a natural and inevitable process for an ageing artery. In adults and school-aged children, increased stiffness of the central arteries is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD risk factors. Arterial stiffness, and its relationship with adiposity and physical activity (PA), has not been studied in preschool-aged children (3-5 years) despite the high prevalence of obesity and inactivity in this age group. Ninety-eight healthy preschoolers (4.4 ± 0.9 years; 50% boys) participated in this thesis, completing baseline and follow up assessments 12.5 ± 1.1 months apart. Whole-body PWV (carotid to dorsalis pedis; m/s) was used to assess arterial stiffness, body mass index percentile (BMI%ile) was a surrogate measure of adiposity, and PA levels (total, TPA; moderate-to-vigorous, MVPA) were quantified objectively with accelerometers and expressed as a percent of wear time. In our cohort, PWV increased significantly from baseline (4.3 m/s) to follow up (4.8 m/s; p< .001). PWV also tracked fair-to-moderately well (κ=0.25, r=0.37) with no sex differences (χ²=.485, p=.785). Girls had a higher BMI%ile than boys, and the prevalence of overweight/obese preschoolers increased from 18.8% to 21.3% over the 1-year period. Boys were more active than girls and engaged in more MVPA. 75% of preschoolers at baseline, and 70% at follow up, met the current PA guidelines (3-hrs of TPA/day). PWV was not related to BMI%ile or PA at baseline; however, it was weakly related to TPA (r=-0.28, p=.013) and MVPA (r=-0.25, p=.024) at follow up. Furthermore, longitudinal and cross-sectional regression models of sex, age, BMI%ile and TPA or MVPA could not predict PWV. Our findings indicate that adiposity and PA do not influence arterial stiffness in healthy 3 to 5 year old children. Nevertheless, maintaining a healthy body composition and engaging in regular PA has other health benefits and should be encouraged.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

The development of executive function in young children is currently a central topic in developmental science. Despite great interest in this area, empirical research examining the influence of social interaction on children's executive functioning is still scarce. The present study aims to fill this gap by addressing how aspects of current and preceding social interactions affect preschool children's executive function performance. In the first phase of the experiment four- and five-year-old children completed an activity either individually or in collaboration with an experimenter. Following this manipulation, children completed a series of executive function tasks. The first task was a motor contagion task in which children moved a stylus on a graphics tablet while viewing a background video of another person producing congruent or incongruent movements. Children also completed a go/no-go task, a two-choice spatial compatibility task (i.e., a Simon task), and two joint go/no-go tasks in which they essentially shared a Simon task with an experimenter. The main finding from the motor contagion task was that children who collaborated with an experimenter in the first part of the study were more susceptible to interference from observing incongruent movements produced by their partner from the collaborative activity compared to observing the same movements produced by an experimenter who merely observed the collaboration. In addition, for children in both conditions, the results of the go/no-go and Simon tasks indicated the presence of a joint Simon effect. Specifically, a significant spatial compatibility effect was observed in the Simon task and the first time children completed the joint go/no-go task with an experimenter. Importantly, there was no spatial compatibility effect when children completed an individual go/no-go task. No differences were found for the joint Simon effect related to the social manipulation. The findings are discussed in relation to their implications for our understanding of social influences on children's developing executive abilities. / Psychology

M.S.

The relationship of meal planners' nutrition attitudes and knowledge to their fat and fiber intakes and to the intakes of 2-5 year-old children in their households were examined using data from USDA's 1989-91 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) and corresponding Diet and Health Knowledge Survey (DHKS). Selected households (N=478) provided 24-hour diet recalls. Data on meal planners' attitudes and knowledge were used to create variables that represented the constructs of a modified Health Belief Model. The relationships of these variables to the percent of calories from fat and to fiber density of foods consumed at home and of total food consumed by meal planners and children were analyzed using multiple regression. Several of the attitude-knowledge variables were significantly related to meal planners' fat and fiber intakes. The variables did not have a significantly different relationship with children's intakes, except for taste which was inversely related to children's fiber intakes. Although the relationship of meal planners' attitudes and knowledge was not significantly different with children's intakes than with meal planners' intakes, the constructs were not significantly related either, except for knowledge which was significantly related to less at-home fat consumption by children. Results indicate weak support for the gatekeeper theory; meal planners' nutrition knowledge and attitudes appear more operational in their diets than in the diets of their young children. / Master of Science

Opinion of specialists in child psychology, plus casual observation, leads to the belief that play is one of the chief ways by which a child learns how to live with others and with himself. / Master of Science

Preschool Attainment Record Attainment Quotients and Category scores were compared to determine whether there were significant differences between the way parents and teachers evaluate 5-year-old children. The subjects were 20 Head Start and 20 middle-income children as well as their mothers, fathers, and teachers. A total of 120 Preschool Attainment Record interviews were collected, 40 with teachers and 80 with parents. Attainment Quotients and Category scores were calculated by computer. A repeated measurement design was used to test for significant differences in Attainment Quotient and Intellectual, Social, and Physical Category scores. No significant differences were found for mothers', fathers', and teachers' Attainment Quotients. There was a significant difference between parents' and teachers' ratings for Intellectual and Social Category scores for lower-income boys. Attainment Quotient means were grouped and analyzed for differences in ratings within and between the five preschool centers used in the study. Attainment Quotient means were highest in the two middle-income centers. Attainment Quotient means were also compared for first and later-born children. No significant difference existed between ratings by mothers, fathers, and teachers. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of how children learn when they are engaged in child initiated, teacher guided activities. Specifically, children's learning processes were documented and interpreted based on how they use their multiple intelligences. Multiple Intelligences refers to Howard Gardner's model of multiple intelligences and his view of how children have many cognitive strengths. Ethnographic methodologies were used to observe, document, and interpret children's behaviors and interactions in the classroom. Seven children were chosen to be focused on for this study out of 15 participants in one preschool classroom at a university Child Development Laboratory setting. The researcher has been the head teacher for these 7 children for two years, which allowed the researcher to gain a better understanding of children's different intelligences and different ways of learning. After collecting and analyzing the data, the researcher found that the children's propensities for learning remained fairly consistent over the course of two years. It became evident that the role of the teacher is very important, as the teacher must be an intimate observer and listener of the children. Teachers and educators should be in constant communication with parents and each other about the child's growth and development and tendencies for learning. By providing children with learning opportunities for the child to use their cognitive strengths, teachers are motivating children and encouraging them to learn. If children see that they can succeed, they may continuously have the motivation to learn. / Master of Science