Many studies have shown that adopted children show higher levels of psychological adjustment than children living in institutions. However, there is little research comparing the behaviour and cognitive abilities of adopted and institution-reared children in Latin America, despite the large number of children living in institutional care. The aim of this thesis was to examine differences in the socio-emotional and cognitive functioning of adopted and institution-reared children in Chile, and to identify factors associated with the psychological adjustment and cognitive ability of adopted children. Data were obtained from 52 adopted children and their parents, and a comparison group of 50 children living in institutions. All adoptions were national and the children were aged between 4-9 years. Children’s psychological problems and attachment difficulties were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Relationship Problems Questionnaire, respectively, completed by adoptive parents or caregivers and teachers. Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III). The Structured Child Assessment of Relationships in Families was used to assess children’s perceptions of family relationships. Adoptive mothers and fathers were individually administered a standardised interview designed to assess parenting quality and questionnaire assessments of anxiety, depression, marital quality and parenting stress. Observational assessments of mother-child interaction were also carried out. Adopted children showed significantly higher levels of socio-emotional and cognitive functioning than institution-reared children, with the majority of adopted children scoring within the normal range and the majority of institutionalised children showed clinical levels of emotional and behavioural problems. The mean IQ score of adopted children was 23 points higher than that of the institutionalised group. Factors associated with more positive outcomes among the adopted children were a younger age at adoption and lower levels of maternal and paternal stress. Although a selection effect cannot be ruled out, with higher functioning children more likely to be adopted, the results point to a beneficial effect of adoption on the psychological development and wellbeing of institutionalised children in Chile.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:16:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 766471 bytes, checksum: 1b0713b462bef3544c4c3aba084d089b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The studies on conceptions of parents and educators as to the childlike development characterize an important area of inquiry in Psychology of the Development. The conceptions of parents and educators are developed through their personal, social and cultural experiences which affect the adult-child interaction. Based on this premise, we tried to analyze the concepts that parents and educators have about childhood development, believing that these concepts, and/ or set of ideas that are shared among members of a community, are intended to organize the perception of parents and educators about how they understand the child; and these concepts in turn have motivational properties, which serve as targets, as interpretation of reality and understanding of childhood development, and also, the different forms how parents and educators will take care of the children. From a Vygotskiana proposal, the figure of the mediator has an important role in promoting childhood development, since it is through his way of thinking, conceiving and believing that the practices will be laid down; and consequently how to act with the children, directly influencing their development. The development does not occur linearly by itself but through evolutionary changes; and it can vary in terms of developments or setbacks, according to the environment where it occurs. This study aimed to analyze the views of mothers and educators of children who were four to twenty four months of age on childhood development. With specific objectives, conceptions of mothers and educators were established about childhood development; and also, if they are confluent and / or divergent. This is a descriptive-analytical study with a qualitative approach on the field research of three nurseries from a private network in João Pessoa City on Paraíba State, Brazil. As an instrument of investigation, a semi-structured interview was used with a social-demographic questionnaire; it was prepared by means of the objectives of the study besides other already fulfilled inquiries. Participating of the study were twenty mothers and twenty educators. The criterion for selection of participants was to be mothers of children from four to twenty four months of age, and for educators that specifically take care of those children. The choice of this age group was due to the importance of the early years of life for childhood development. All interviews were taped, transcribed and analyzed from the standpoint of the thematic-categorical content proposed by Bardin, with categories that were defined later. The results revealed that mothers and teachers had similar notions of childhood development in some respects, but we could perceive that the testimonies of the educators had more elements in relation to the meanings attributed to childhood development. This research has good applicability to support programs in educational policies and suggests that there must be studies comparing public and private nurseries. / Os estudos sobre concepções de pais e educadores a respeito do desenvolvimento infantil caracterizam uma importante área de pesquisa em Psicologia do Desenvolvimento. As concepções dos pais e educadores são desenvolvidas através de suas experiências pessoais, sociais e culturais, influenciando a interação adulto-criança. Com base nessa premissa, procurou-se analisar as concepções que os pais e os educadores têm a respeito do desenvolvimento infantil, acreditando que estas concepções, e/ou conjunto de idéias, que são compartilhadas entre os membros de uma comunidade, têm o objetivo de organizar a percepção dos pais e educadores a respeito da forma como os mesmos compreendem a criança. As concepções por sua vez possuem propriedades motivacionais, as quais funcionam como metas, interpretação da realidade, e compreensão do desenvolvimento infantil, e ainda, formas de como os pais e educadores cuidarão de seus filhos. A partir de uma proposta vigotskiana, a figura do mediador tem um papel relevante na promoção do desenvolvimento infantil, haja vista que é através do seu modo de pensar, conceber, acreditar, que se estabelecerão as práticas e consequentemente a forma de agir com as crianças, influenciando diretamente no seu desenvolvimento. Por si, o desenvolvimento não acontece de forma linear, mas sim por meio de alterações evolutiva, podendo variar em termos de avanços ou retrocessos, conforme o ambiente onde ocorre. O presente estudo teve como objetivo geral analisar as concepções das mães e das educadoras de crianças de 04 - 24 meses de idade sobre o desenvolvimento infantil. Como objetivos específicos foram verificadas as concepções das mães e das educadoras sobre desenvolvimento infantil e também se as mesmas são confluentes e ou divergentes. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo-analítico, numa abordagem qualitativa, tendo como campo de investigação três berçários da rede privada da cidade de João Pessoa, na Paraíba. Como instrumento foi utilizado uma entrevista semi-estruturada, com questionário sócio-demográfico, elaborada mediante os objetivos do estudo além de outras pesquisas já realizadas. Participaram do estudo 20 mães e 20 educadoras. O critério para escolha das participantes foi o de serem mães de crianças na faixa etária de quatro a vinte quatro meses, e para as educadoras, de que cuidassem especificamente dessas mesmas crianças. A escolha das crianças nessa faixa etária aconteceu devido à importância que tem os primeiros anos de vida para o desenvolvimento infantil. Todas as entrevistas foram gravadas, transcritas e analisadas a partir da análise de conteúdo categorial temática proposta por Bardin, com categorias que foram definidas a posteriori. Os resultados encontrados revelaram que mães e educadoras apresentaram concepções semelhantes do desenvolvimento infantil em alguns aspectos, porém foi possível perceber que as falas das educadoras apresentaram mais elementos no que se refere aos significados atribuídos ao desenvolvimento infantil. Esta pesquisa tem boa aplicabilidade para subsidiar ações em políticas educativas e sugere que haja estudos comparativos entre berçários particulares e públicos.

A gestação é um período de transição que faz parte do processo normal do desenvolvimento humano. Há grandes transformações, não só no organismo da mulher, mas quanto ao seu bem-estar, alterando seu psiquismo. Depressão é um transtorno mental relativamente comum durante a gravidez, associado a diversos fatores de risco. Os sintomas da depressão são frequentemente confundidos com as oscilações de humor normais da gravidez. A ocorrência de depressão em gestantes pode incorrer em consequências no desenvolvimento da criança. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de verificar se filhos de mães deprimidas apresentam diferença no índice de Apgar, peso, altura e sinais de retração, comparados àqueles cujas mães não sofreram de depressão. Para isso, foram avaliadas quarenta díades mãe-bebê utilizando os seguintes instrumentos: Escala de Avaliação de Depressão de Hamilton, Índice de Apgar e Escala de Avaliação da Reação de Retração no Bebê. Os resultados dos dois grupos (mães deprimidas e não deprimidas) foram comparados estatisticamente. Todas as mães foram submetidas aos instrumentos acima relacionados de maneira padronizada. Não foram observadas diferenças entre os índices de Apgar , peso ou altura. No entanto, observou-se uma tendência de diferença entre filhos de mães deprimidas e não deprimidas quanto aos sinais de retração. Concluiu-se que crianças filhas de mães deprimidas não apresentaram alterações em grande parte das categorias avaliadas durante os primeiros seis meses de vida, observando-se uma tendência a manifestarem maior freqüência de sinais de retração, dado que justifica a avaliação de uma amostra maior. / Pregnancy is a transition period which is natural to the process of human development. There are major transformations, not only physiological, but also in the well being of women which alters their psyche. Depression is a relatively common mental disorder that can be associated with several risk factors. The symptoms of depression are frequently mistaken for mood swings which are common during pregnancy. The presence of depression can lead to consequences in the development of the child. The objective of this paper is to verify if children from depressed mothers present differences in Apgar scores, weight, height and signs of distress when compared to children whose mothers did not suffer from depression. In order to do so, forty mother-baby dyads were evaluated using the following tests: Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Apgar scores and The Baby Alarm Distress Scale. The results from both groups (depressed mothers and non-depressed mothers) were compared statistically. All the mothers were subjected to the tests listed above in a standardized manner. There were no differences observed in the Apgar scores, weight or height, however a tendency was observed in the difference between children from depressed mothers and non-depressed mothers when analyzed for signs of distress. It was concluded that children from depressed mothers do not present changes in most of the evaluated categories for the first six months, observing that there is a tendency for children to present signs of distress more frequently, data which justifies the evaluation of a bigger sample of patients.

A pedido do Ministério da Saúde foi desenvolvido e validado um protocolo de Indicadores Clínicos de Risco para o Desenvolvimento Infantil (IRDIs) com poder de detecção de riscos para problemas de desenvolvimento em bebês de 0 a 18 meses. Tal pesquisa configurou-se como um Projeto Temático da FAPESP no período 2004-2008. Com a finalidade de realizar o desfecho clínico, um novo instrumento de avaliação foi criado, a Avaliação Psicanalítica aos 3 anos (AP3). A fim de dar continuidade à pesquisa, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo fazer um estudo exploratório que sirva de base para futuro estudo de associação entre resultados obtidos em IRDI e AP3 com os obtidos para qualidade de vida e condição sintomática em idades posteriores. Buscou-se verificar em que medida resultados referentes a condições psíquicas e de desenvolvimento obtidos com a aplicação do IRDI e da AP3 associam-se com resultados referentes à qualidade de vida e à condição sintomática da criança aos seis anos, obtidos com Autoquestionnaire Qualité de Vie Enfant Imagé AUQUEI, Child Health Questionnaire CHQ e Child Behavioral Checklist CBCL; para responder a tal pergunta de pesquisa, utilizou-se um método estatístico. Além disso, buscou-se verificar em que medida aspectos singulares de quatro casos avaliados apresentaram manifestações de tendência; para responder a tal pergunta de pesquisa, utilizou-se um método de discussão de caso. A amostra foi composta por 46 crianças distribuídas em três centros de saúde de São Paulo. Os resultados indicaram que tanto o IRDI como a AP3 não se associaram à avaliação de qualidade de vida obtida com o uso do AUQUEI, sendo consistentes com outros estudos realizados com tal instrumento. No entanto, a associação estatisticamente significativa encontrada entre resultados obtidos no IRDI e no CHQ mostrou maior capacidade do IRDI para predizer qualidade de vida relacionada ao índice psicossocial do que ao índice físico do mesmo instrumento. A associação entre AP3 e CHQ apontou resultados significativos para os índices físico e psicossocial. Em relação à associação realizada entre IRDI e CBCL, os resultados apontaram que não há evidências de que seja significativa. Quanto à relação entre AP3 e CBCL, foi observado que há uma associação considerável entre ambos, embora não estatisticamente significativa. Os resultados apontaram para associações consideráveis entre variáveis que justificam futuros estudos com maiores unidades amostrais. Foi possível questionar o uso da noção de qualidade de vida, bem como a metodologia utilizada para investigá-la. Para efeitos de conclusão, tem-se uma pesquisa que, a partir da psicanálise, buscou um diálogo com outras áreas do saber em especial, a medicina e a saúde pública a fim de apontar indícios de quando há tendências de problemas no desenvolvimento psíquico infantil com impacto para a qualidade de vida / At the request of the Ministry of Health was developed and validated a protocol of Clinical Risk Indicators for Child Development (CRICD) Indicadores Clínicos de Risco para o Desenvolvimento Infantil (IRDI\'s) with power to detect risk for developmental problems in babies from 0 to 18 months. This research was configured as FAPESP Thematic Project along 2004-2008. In order to accomplish the clinical outcome, a new evaluation instrument was created, the Psychoanalytical Evaluation at the age of 3 (PE3) Avaliação Psicanalítica aos 3 anos (AP3). To continue the research, this work aimed to make an exploratory study sarving as a basis for future study of association between the results obtained in IRDI and AP3 with those obtained for quality of life and symptomatic condition at later ages. We attempted to ascertain to what extent the results for psychic conditions and development achieved through applied IRDI and AP3 are associated with the results for quality of life and symptomatic condition of children to six years. It later was obtained with Autoquestionnaire Qualité de Vie Enfant Image - AUQUEI, Child Health Questionnaire - CHQ and Child Behavioral Checklist CBCL. To answer this subject matter, we used a statistical method. In addition, we attempted to ascertain to what extent the unique aspects of four cases evaluated showed manifestations of the trend. To answer this second subject matter, we used a method of case discussion. The sample consisted of 46 children divided into three health centers of Sao Paulo. The results indicated that both IRDI and AP3 were not associated with assessing quality of life obtained with the use of AUQUEI. It was consistent with other studies accomplished with this instrument. However, the significant association found between results obtained in IRDI and CHQ showed greater capacity of IRDI to predict quality of life in terms psychosocial score. The same association showed less capacity of IRDI to predict quality of life physical score. The association between AP3 and CHQ showed significant results for physical and psychosocial scores. Association made between IRDI and CBCL indicated that there was no evidence of significance. Regarding the relationship between AP3 and CBCL, there was a considerable association between them, although not statistically significant. Results showed a significant association between the variables that justify future studies with larger sampling units. It was possible to question the use of the quality of life concept as well as the methodology used to investigate it. In conclusion, from psychoanalysis we sought a dialogue with other disciplines - especially medicine and public health. We sought also to point out problems trends for childrens psychic development with an impact on quality of life

O aprendizado é a base do comportamento motor humano. Através dele habilidades são adquiridas e aperfeiçoadas com o treino, permitindo uma melhor interação com o meio. Em casos de lesão do sistema nervoso isto se torna ainda mais importante, já que muitas das funções são perdidas e devem ser reaprendidas dentro de um novo contexto. Sendo assim, estudos sobre a aprendizagem podem contribuir muito com a prática clínica, permitindo um aprimoramento dos programas de reabilitação. Apesar do grande interesse nessa área, pouco ainda se sabe sobre esse processo, especialmente durante o desenvolvimento, no qual diferenças estruturais e funcionais (especialmente relacionadas a funções cognitivas) são encontradas. Por ser a aprendizado resultado de modificações nas conexões entre diferentes estruturas cerebrais, e por estas alcançarem a maturidade apenas na segunda década de vida, é plausível supor-se que existam diferenças neste processo entre adultos e crianças. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar se há diferenças no processo de aprendizagem motora entre crianças de 09 e 10 anos e adultos, e assim identificar possíveis aspectos sensoriais, motores e cognitivos que estariam contribuindo para essa diferença. Para tanto foi comparado o desempenho, em ternos de velocidade, entre 20 crianças com idade entre 9 e 10 anos (9.6+0.50) e 20 adultos jovens (26.7+3.77) em uma tarefa de oposição de dedos. Foi considerada a capacidade de realizar movimentos independentemente da ordem e de executá-los numa seqüência específica, a qual foi submetida a treinamento (4 blocos de 600 movimentos cada). Cada grupo foi dividido em duas condições de treinamento: com e sem visão, a fim de avaliarmos o quanto informações perceptuais influenciam no processo. Foram realizadas avaliações antes e após o treinamento, além de reavaliações semanais até 28 dias depois do 6 treinamento. Comparamos ainda o desempenho entre a seqüência treinada e uma seqüência controle, para verificarmos se haveria generalização do aprendizado. Os resultados analisados, por meio da Análise Multivariada para medidas repetidas, demonstraram que ambos os grupos beneficiaram-se do treinamento, com melhora do desempenho para seqüência treinada que se manteve até 28 dias após o treino, evidenciando o aprendizado da tarefa. No entanto, apesar de crianças serem capazes de realizar movimentos de oposição de dedos na mesma velocidade do que os adultos, apresentam prejuízo ao realizá-los numa ordem específica, o que poderia ser explicado por diferenças na formação de modelos internos de movimento mais do que na capacidade de execução da tarefa. Esta hipótese pôde ser confirmada pelas diferenças encontradas na capacidade de generalização do aprendizado, onde crianças apresentaram prejuízo em relação aos adultos. O treinamento com e sem visão não influenciou significativamente no desempenho desta tarefa tanto para adultos quanto para crianças, embora possam existir diferenças na utilização dessa informação para o processo de aprendizagem. Nossos resultados podem ser explicados por diferenças na capacidade de construção e consolidação de modelos internos de movimento, processo no qual a cognição exerce papel fundamental. Na prática clínica, especialmente com crianças, isto levaria a uma maior valorização dos aspectos cognitivos da tarefa, mais do puramente a realização do treinamento motor. / The learning process is the base of the human behavior motor. By means of its abilities are acquired and improved by the training, allowing a better interaction with the half. In brain lesion cases this even becomes important, since many functions are conceded and should be relearned inside a new context. Being this way, studies on the learning can contribute a lot for the practice practises, allowing the rehabilitation programs refinement. In spite of the great interest in this area, little still knows about that process, especially during the development, in which structural and functional differences (especially related the cognitive functions) are found. Considering the learning as the result of modifications in the connections between different cerebral structures, and for these reach the maturity just in the life Monday decade, is plausible to suppose that there are differences in this process between adults and children. Being this way, the goal of this study was to investigate there are differences in the process of motive learning between children of 9 and 10 years and adult, and this way, identify possible sensory aspects, motors and cognitive that would be contributing for these possible differences.To reach such goal was compared the performance, by speed, come in 20 children with age between 9 and 10 years (9.6+0.50) and 20 young adults (26.7+3.77) in a fingers opposition task. It was considered the capacity of accomplishing actions regardless of the order and of executing them in a specific sequence, trained by means of 4 blocks of 600 movements, performed in an unique session. Each group was divided into two training terms: With and without vision, in order to evaluate the how much visual information influence in the process. They were performed evaluations before and after the training, besides weekly revaluations up to 28 days after the training. Still compared the performance between trained sequence and a sequence control, to 8 verify there would be learning generalization. The analyzed results, by means of ANOVA for repeated measures, demonstrated that both groups they benefited of the training, with performance improvement for trained sequence that was kept up to 28 days after the training, evidencing task learning consolidation. However, it verified that the training effect on the ability to speed up of opposition of independent fingers of an order specifies is the same between adults and children, in contrast with the training effect on the ability to speed up of the fingers opposition actions inside an order pre-established, where children they present significantly prejudiced in comparison to adults, particularly the ones that trained without vision. These differences could be explained by deficiencies in the action internal models formation more than in the task execution capacity. This hypothesis could be confirmed by the differences found in the learning generalization capacity, where children presented prejudice regarding the adults. This way, the differences in the learning process between adults and children found in the current study can be explained by differences in the capacity of movement internal models construction and consolidation, process in which the cognition exercises fundamental role. In the clinical practice, especially with children, this would carry to a task cognitive aspects larger valorization, more of the purely the training motor accomplishment.

Doctor Legum - LLD / This study sets out to establish what is required of the South African government to comply with international human rights treaties and Constitutional obligations with respect to early childhood development (ECD) for children with disabilities. This requires clarification of the nature, scope and content of ECD and conceptual frameworks for child development and childhood disability are therefore presented. Early childhood is defined as the period from birth to four years of age. It is a period (by comparison to any other phase in the life course) of accelerated growth, during which brain development can be optimally promoted. It is at the same time a highly sensitive period when permanent damage caused by toxic stress can be averted. Early childhood is an opportunity for early intervention for children with disabilities, and is ideally suited for promoting social inclusion between children with disabilities and those without disabilities, particularly in early learning settings. By virtue of its potential to promote optimal development of young disadvantaged children in particular, ECD is not only a means of working towards equity, it has been recognised as a national investment. The content of ECD, drawing from the most recent publication of the South African Child Gauge (2013), is seen as comprising an ‘essential package’ of services, including nutrition, health, social services, caregiver support and early learning opportunities. The focus of this study is on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) all of which have provisions relating to the general context of children with disabilities as well as to the components of the ‘essential package’. In addition to the sector-related rights contained in these treaties, they impose general obligations on the State with respect to legislative and other measures which it must undertake. These are discussed together with the State obligations under the South African Constitution which provide not only for non-discrimination, dignity and equality, but also for specific socio-economic rights for children which create justiciable obligations for the State. Having established the obligations of the State under international law and the Constitution, there is analysis of current legislation and policies and the extent to which they are compliant. A brief description is given of the history of disability and ECD-related services during the apartheid era, and how these have shaped current provision. Attention is given to provisions of the Children’s Act for ECD, partial care and prevention, and early intervention, where there is a lack of a clear mandate for funding services. Further, while limited Social Security is provided to children with disabilities in the form of Care Dependency Grants, these are likely to reinforce a welfarist perspective unless viewed as part of a broader initiative for equalisation of opportunities and development of children with disabilities. In respect of the right to health, progress made in reducing maternal and child mortality rates is applauded, but the primary focus on preventive and curative care has ‘crowded out’ a comprehensive view of primary health care as also encompassing rehabilitative care. Further, mechanisms to ensure early identification and intervention for children with disabilities, through developmental screening and referral, need to be strengthened. In respect of the right to education, there has been limited attention given to children under the age of five years, including within the Inclusive Education Policy (White Paper 6). The study therefore concludes that there are various areas in which there is a lack of alignment between the State obligations under international law, and current legislation and policies. However, drawing on the CRPD in particular, and the current heightened political attention being given to ECD, evidenced by its inclusion in the National Development Plan, this study further concludes that there exists at present a tremendous opportunity to ensure the inclusion of children with disabilities such that they are able to enjoy all the benefits of ECD and thereby reach their full potential.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / In assessing government ECD policy, this thesis focuses on three areas; access, quality, and costs. The study draws on interviews with key stakeholders working within the ECD sector generally, and uses survey data from a case study of Brown's Farm area in Cape Town. The research found that, some ten years down the line, ECD provision is still mostly privately provided by the informal sector through community-based facilities. Both formal and informal ECD facilities are unevenly spatially distributed such that they do not yet reach the most vulnerable poor children, especially in rural areas and informal settlements.

Sammanfattning   Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur föräldrar upplevde sitt föräldraskap fram tills barnet fyllde 18 år.   Metoden som användes var en kvalitativ ansats. Resultatet samlades in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Urvalsgruppen bestod av fyra föräldrar varav två mammor och två pappor i åldrarna 40-50 år, där föräldrarna varit sammanboende under barnets första 18 år. Respondenterna rekryterades via facebook i ett offentligt inlägg där de kunde anmäla sitt deltagande frivilligt. Intervjuerna spelades in med en smartphone och transkiberades sedan. Materialet analyserades ur ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv.   Resultatet visade att det bästa stödet i sitt föräldraskap fick de från sin partner, nära släkt, vänner och bekanta med barn i samma ålder. Majoriteten upplevde att de fick sämre stöd från skolan och saknade föräldrastöd från samhället. Respondenterna kände stress i form av tidsbrist samt av att konstant vara engagerad i barnets skolgång. Alla föräldrarna upplevde höga krav på sig själv och kände sig otillräckliga då de ville vara en så bra förälder som möjligt. Samtliga respondenter uppgav att de hade tappat/ eller saknat kontrollen som förälder någon gång. Gemensamt för alla föräldrarna i urvalsgruppen var att de ville uppfostra sina barn enligt en auktoritativ fostransstil.   Slutsatsen av studien visade att föräldrarna kände bristande föräldrastöd från samhället. De kände sig stressade på grund av tidsbrist samt otillräckliga som förälder med höga krav på sig själv. / Abstract   Title: Parenthood Challenges-An Interview Study   Course: Public Health C: Theory and method of application and degree. Bachelor Theses in Public Health, 15 hp.   Program: Health education program, Department of Occupational and Public Health Sciences, University of Gävle.   Author: Regina Krantz   The purpose of the study was to investigate how parents perceived their parenthood until their child received the age of 18.    The used method was a qualitative approach and the results were collected by using semi-structured interviews. The selection group consisted of four parents, two mothers and two fathers in the age between 40-50 years, and the parents were cohabitants during the first 18 years of their child. The respondents were recruited through facebook in a public post where they could voluntarily report their participation .  The interviews were recorded with a smartphone and then transcribed. The material was analyzed with a phenomenological perspective.   The results showed that the best support in their parenthood was received from their partner, close relatives, friends and acquaintances with children in the same age. The majority experienced poorer support from the school and lacked parent support from society. Respondents felt stress in terms of lack of time and constant involvement in their child's schooling. All the parents experienced high demands on themselves and felt insufficient as they wanted to be a good parent. All respondents stated that they had sometime lost/ missed control as a parent. Common to all the parents in the selection group was that they would raise their children according to an authoritative foster style.   The conclusion of the study showed that the parents felt lack of parental support from society. They felt stressed due to lack of time and insufficient as parents with high demands on themselves.

Although it is generally acknowledged that critical career-related concepts and attitudes are first formed in childhood, research has focused little attention on this developmental stage. Statements about children‘s career development as an integral dimension of human development date to the early 1950s, yet limited research has investigated this interrelationship. It is imperative to gain a greater understanding of childhood career development in order to better prepare children for their future. The overall purpose of this study is to explore the interrelationship of childhood development and childhood career development. An exploratory-descriptive quantitative research method was used. Thirty participants (all eight year-old girls from a middle class, English speaking background) were selected through non-probability purposive sampling. Data were gathered from the Griffiths Mental Development Scales – Extended Revised (GMDS-ER) and the Childhood Career Development Scale (CCDS) and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated a correlation, although not statistically significant, between childhood development and childhood career development, thus indicating a weak positive correlation between the two variables. Statistically significant relationships were established between certain subscales of the GMDS-ER and CCDS, namely Language and Exploration, Eye-Hand Co-ordination and Key Figures, and Practical Reasoning and Planning. The results from this study, although not conclusive, are groundbreaking in this neglected area of research as they indicate an interrelationship between childhood development and childhood career development. This research is an initial step in investigating this interrelationship and it is the hope of the researcher that it will stimulate further research in this area.

Although human beings continuously learn through their experiences and impressions, the most important years in determining all actions and decisions which will be made in life, are during childhood. In designing spaces for children, their perception of the built environment and interaction with their surroundings needs to be understood in terms of the influence that elements of architecture and the landscape have on their sensorial and motoric actions as well as social activities. FEEL + LEARN + HEAL, the subject of this dissertation, is a centre for childhood development and an ambulatory clinic, which will demonstrate how built environments enhance perceptual experience by means of sensory stimulation and healing environments. The study area is located on the urban edge, north east of Pretoria's Central Business District and forms a gateway into the city at a large intersection, where Boom, Soutpansberg, Dr. Savage and du Toit Street intersect. / Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Architecture / MArch(Prof) / Unrestricted