In this study the risk factors for problem behaviour in childhood were investigated, and differences between ethnic minority and majority children were examined. The study had two main goals. Firstly, to examine the differences in problem behaviour between ethnic minority and majority children and to explore variation in children's adjustment within the Indian group according to parental acculturation style. Secondly, to identify the risk factors for problem behaviour and to investigate the manner by which they act together in putting children at risk. The sample consisted of 125 children between the ages of 7 and 9.6 (M=8.51, SD=.62) and their parents. Fifty-nine children were English (28 boys and 31 girls) and 66 were Indian (36 boys and 30 girls). Parents and teachers completed questionnaires regarding the children's problem behaviour. Both mothers and fathers provided reports of the children's temperament, their parenting style, their use of discipline, marital satisfaction, social support and job spillover. In addition, the children's IQ was assessed, and the children also reported about their own self-worth, their parents' behaviour, the sibling relationship, and friendship quality. Finally, parent-child mutuality and parenting behaviour were coded from a videotaped parent-child interaction task. Addressing the first goal, results indicated that Indian children exhibited more internalising problems than their English peers. Furthermore, within the Indian group, children of mothers who adopted a marginalisation style of acculturation, and whose parents spoke less of their Indian language, exhibited more problem behaviours. Addressing the second goal, results supported the cumulative model, indicating that the extent of risk, rather than the specific type of risk, influenced children's behaviour. For example, 47% of the variance of total problem behaviour was accounted for by the cumulative risk index. Support was also found for some mediation effects. Specifically, parenting was revealed as one of the main mediators between risk factors and problem behaviour. Finally, moderation effects were found only for a limited number of cases, suggesting that risk factors act more in an additive than interactive manner. The findings demonstrate the importance of considering multiple risk factors when studying children's problem behaviour, and illustrate the utility of the ecological model.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 1982. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

The Analysis of Self-Report Measures in Comparing the Physical Activity Patterns of English and Greek Children Educators and health professionals have expressed concern that the physical activity patterns of children have declined during the past decades and many researchers believe that the levels of activity have declined to such an extent to be detrimental to health. However, the research evidence is contradictory. This represents the starting point for the design of a self-report measure of physical activity (interview based questionnaire) comprising two fonns - a week-day and week-end fonnat - for use with English children but modified for use with children in Greece. The evaluation of the self-report measure involved a number of studies to establish its validity and reliability. The interview-based questionnaire involved estimates of children's time commitment to activity therefore to establish its reliability a number of studies were undertaken to ascertain the accuracy of their estimates. A scoring procedure based on intensity, frequency and accumulation of activity during a whole day was developed to establish an activity score to distinguish levels of activity. The study paralleled a similar investigation by Cale (1993) This was followed by investigation of a sample of Greek children aged 11 to 14 to establish their physical activity patterns. The data from this investigation was used to compare Greek children (n= 113) with a sample of English children (n = 199) from the East Midlands region (Cale, 1993). The findings of the Greek investigation revealed that the majority (58%) of the children were inactive and girls were less active than boys and activity levels declined with age. A similar pattern emerged when the results were compared with an English sample. The implications of the study have far reaching consequences for the health of young people in both countries and other international studies. The implications of these results are discussed and proposals for future research highlight the need for much larger scale studies in different popUlation and cultural groups using questionnaires to avoid the time consuming method of interviews. The research also highlights the need for more qualitative analysis to explore the reasons why some young people are less active than others.

Thesis (M.A,)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 101. Thesis director: Amelia Rutledge. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Aug. 27, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-100). Also issued in print.

Hösten 2016 genomförde vi en studie i en svensk grundskola i en årskurs 2 med syfte att kartlägga några elevers inställning till att lära sig det engelska språket och hur den inställningen påverkades av högläsning av engelsk barnlitteratur. Syftet var också att kartlägga om högläsning påverkade elevernas passiva ordförråd samt om eleverna använde någon form av språklig strategi vid mötet av okända ord under högläsningen.    De datainsamlingsmetoder som användes i studien var 71 strukturerade elevintervjuer, enkla observationer av tre undervisningstillfällen med högläsning av en ny engelskspråkig skönlitterär text vid varje och ett ordtest som genomfördes före och efter de tre undervisningstillfällena.   Studiens resultat antyder att högläsning av engelsk barnlitteratur inte har påverkat elevernas inställning till att lära sig engelska markant, men att eleverna var positiva till högläsning i engelskundervisningen. Resultatet visar även att elevernas passiva ordförråd verkar ha ökat efter de tre undervisningstillfällena, samt att cirka hälften av eleverna kunde rapportera att de använt någon språklig strategi i mötet med de engelska texterna, till exempel att använda bilderna eller likheter med det svenska språket.    Vår slutsats är att högläsning av engelsk barnlitteratur i undervisningen kan bidra till att upprätthålla elevers språkliga nyfikenhet och positiva inställning till att lära sig engelska samt att de utökar sitt passiva ordförråd. En annan slutsats är att alla elever bör ges möjlighet i undervisningen att utveckla förmågan att använda språkliga strategier i enlighet med Skolverket (2011b). / The autumn of 2016, we conducted a study in a Swedish grade 2 class with the aim to identify some pupils´ attitudes to learning the English language and how those attitudes were influenced by the reading aloud of English children´s literature. The aim was also to see whether reading aloud influenced the pupils´ passive vocabulary and whether they used some form of linguistic strategies when encountering unknown words during the listening.    The data collection methods used in the study were 71 structured interviews with the pupils, simple observations of three lessons with reading aloud of English children´s literature and word tests conducted before and after the three lessons.    The study´s results suggest that the reading aloud of English children´s literature did not affect the pupils´ attitudes towards learning English significantly, but that the pupils were positive towards reading aloud during English classes. The results further indicate that the pupils´ passive vocabulary increased after the three lessons, and that about half of them used a linguistic strategy when encountering unknown words during the reading, for example use of pictures and of the similarity to the Swedish language.    A conclusion of this study is that reading aloud of English children´s literature in teaching can help to maintain pupils´ linguistic curiosity and positive attitudes to learning English, as well as expand their passive vocabulary. Another conclusion is that all pupils should be given the opportunity in class to develop the ability to use linguistic strategies according to Skolverket (2011b).

Thesis (M.A.)--James Madison University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.