Parents in the 21st century are concerned with the ubiquity of mobile devices and their effects on the progression of social development. A review of the literature indicated that although digital interaction has become more prominent, limited empirical data existed on whether children who spend more time interacting in the digital realm would develop the necessary competency to handle social situations in real-life settings. Using social constructivist theory and the Schramm model of communication as the theoretical foundations, the present study examined the relationship between mobile device usage and the level of social competency in young children as perceived by their parents, in relation to parental monitoring. A total of 401 parents of children age 5 to 12 years who have their own personal mobile devices completed the online questionnaires. Pearson correlation and linear regression showed that parental report of children's social competency was positively correlated to parental perception of mobile device usage and parental monitoring. Parental monitoring was also found to be a statistically significant moderator of the relationship between parental perception of mobile device usage and parental report of children's social competency. Positive social change of this study may include alleviating the misconception that digital interaction impeded social development, promoting parental role in raising socially competent children in the digital age, and advocating for a more collaborative parental monitoring strategy.

Children may become overweight or obese for different reasons, and childhood obesity may have health consequences such as Type 2 diabetes and asthma. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the perceptions of African American parents of elementary-age children with obesity living in Broward County, Florida about the causes and consequences of childhood obesity. The health belief model (HBM) guided this study. Interview data were gathered from 9 participants who met the criteria of being African American parents of elementary-age children with obesity living in Broward County, Florida. Moustakas- steps to analyze the data collected led to the following themes: how parents became aware of the disease, parents- reaction to the diagnosis, whether the condition was related to genetics or lifestyle behavior, what the obese children eat daily, the importance of regular workout, consequences of obesity, actions taken, and type of help needed. Results demonstrated that most of the participants perceived childhood obesity as having 2 primary causes: food consumption and insufficient physical activities. Data also showed that many of the participants regarded childhood obesity as having negative consequences, not only for the children but also for their parents and other stakeholders. Positive social change can be achieved by parental acknowledgment that obesity has adverse health consequences to be considered seriously. Denial may have severe consequences and the commitment of policymakers and others who can affect lives of the overweight or obese children is needed.

The influx of women of childbearing age into the labor force, family dynamics of dual working parents as a result of economic factors, and weakening of extended family supports have increased demand for early childhood care and education programs in Nigeria. Consequently, a problem emerged in increased enrollment in ECCE programs that are deficient in terms of structural and process factors of child-caregiver ratio, group size, staff qualifications, health and safety practices, curriculum implementation, and parental engagement. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that influenced parents' in their decision process for ECCE placement for their children aged 6 months to 1 year in Asaba education zone of Delta State, Nigeria. Epistemological constructivism was employed as the conceptual framework for this inquiry. A qualitative design together with one-on-one interviews of 9 parents of children enrolled in selected public, mission, and private ECCE programs were employed to answer four research questions on parents' decision making for ECCE selection. The resulting data were analyzed using both a priori and open coding to generate themes and patterns. The study revealed that parents relied on personal priorities over quality indicators. This study may contribute to social change by providing policymakers and other stakeholders with information on factors parents consider in their selection of ECCE programs, including factors that incline parents to choose quality-deficient programs. This information may lead to program improvements that increase enrollment of children into quality programs, reduce gaps in achievement and opportunity between the low and middle-income groups, and enhance social equity and success for children enrolled ECCE programs.

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Contexte. La majorité des adultes autistes vivent avec leur famille ou dans des établissements résidentiels. Cependant, les ressources résidentielles sont limitées et peu d’entre elles sont spécifiquement conçues pour répondre aux besoins des adultes autistes. Peu d’études ont systématiquement examiné les différentes facettes du bien-être de l’individu, y compris la qualité de vie, l’anxiété et le fonctionnement adaptatif, avant et après la transition du domicile familial à l’établissement résidentiel. La construction de résidences adaptées à l’autisme (c’est-à-dire, avec approches architecturales et cliniques spécifiques) et l’identification des facteurs entourant une transition positive pourraient favoriser la transition et l’expérience de vie des adultes autistes dans leur propre maison. Objectifs. Les objectifs de cette étude sont (1) d’évaluer l’impact de la transition vers une résidence adaptée à l’autisme sur le bien-être, en particulier sur la qualité de vie, le niveau de fonctionnement adaptatif et l’anxiété ; et (2) d’identifier les facteurs, tels que perçus par les parents, associés à une transition positive vers une résidence adaptée aux personnes autistes. Méthodologie. Il s’agit d’une recherche à devis mixte (qualitatif et quantitatif) s’inscrivant dans le cadre d’une étude longitudinale auprès de 12 adultes autistes (21-49 ans ; 8F : 4 M), résidant tous dans la même résidence adaptée. La majorité des participants (92 %) viennent d’un milieu familial et tous requièrent un niveau de soutien léger à modéré. Les résidents ont été suivis pendant 13 mois : trois mois avant leur entrée dans la résidence (T1) et 10 mois après leur arrivée (T2). La collecte de données a combiné des informations provenant (a) des questionnaires remplis par les parents, mesurant la qualité de vie (Échelle San Martin — Échelle d’Évaluation de la Qualité de vie de personnes ayant des déficiences significatives), le bien-être émotionnel et comportemental (Emotional Problem Scales), et le niveau de fonctionnement adaptatif (Système d’évaluation des comportements adaptatifs — 2e édition), (b) des entretiens semi-structurés avec les parents des adultes autistes après la transition dans la résidence. Les analyses sont basées sur une série de cas multiples et comprennent des analyses thématiques qualitatives. Résultats. Objectif 1. Les résultats démontrent que les niveaux de qualité de vie, de fonctionnement adaptatif et d’anxiété du groupe sont restés relativement stables à travers la transition. Cependant, lorsque les résultats sont examinés individuellement, ils montrent qu’au T2, 50 % des parents ont signalé une augmentation de la qualité de vie des résidents et 83 % ont noté un maintien ou une augmentation du fonctionnement adaptatif. Les résultats de la sous-échelle d’anxiété du questionnaire EPS montrent que 25 % des résidents semblent présenter une diminution de l’anxiété, 8 % une augmentation, tandis que 67 % restent inchangés. Objectif 2. Trois thèmes clés ont été associés à une transition favorable du domicile familial vers le nouvel environnement résidentiel : (a) la préparation en amont avec le futur résident permet de réduire l’incertitude associée à un nouveau milieu de vie et d’augmenter le sentiment de contrôle du résident sur la situation ; (b) les caractéristiques individuelles de l’adulte autiste aident à son intégration dans la résidence ; (c) la communication entre les différents acteurs permet le partage d’informations sur le résident. Conclusion. La transition vers une résidence conçue spécifiquement en fonction des besoins d’adultes autistes semble faciliter l’adaptation et accroître le bien-être de certains résidents. Malgré les limites de cette étude (p. ex. : la taille de l’échantillon, l’absence de contribution directe des adultes autistes), ces résultats comblent une lacune dans les connaissances sur les impacts de la transition entre le milieu familial et une résidence adaptée aux besoins autistiques. D’autres analyses viseront à identifier la contribution de composantes architecturales et cliniques aux résultats actuels. / Background. A majority of autistic adults stay with their families or in residential facilities. However, residential resources are limited, and few are specifically built to meet the needs of autistic adults. Few studies systematically investigated the various facets of the individual's well-being, including quality of life, adaptive functioning, and anxiety before and after transitioning from family home to residential facility. Building autism-friendly residence facilities (i.e., specific architectural and clinical approaches), and identifying factors surrounding a positive transition, might support the transitioning and living experience of autistic adults into their own home. Objectives. The aims of this study are to (1) assess the impact of transitioning to an autism-friendly residence on well-being, specifically on quality of life, level of functioning and anxiety; and (2) identify factors, as perceived by parents, associated with a positive transition to an autism-friendly home. Methods. This is a mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) longitudinal study of 12 autistic adults (21-55 years; 8F:4M), all residing in the same autism-friendly residence. The majority of participants (92%) comes from a family setting, and all require a mild to moderate level of support. Residents were followed for 13 months: three months before entering the residence (T1) and 10 months after their arrival (T2). Data collection combined information from (a) questionnaires completed by parents, measuring quality of life (San Martin Scale — Quality of life Assessment for People with significant disabilities), emotional and behavioral well-being (Emotional Problem Scales), and level of adaptive functioning (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System – 2nd edition), (b) semi-structured interviews with autistic adult parents before and after integration. Analyses are based on a multiple-case design series and include qualitative content thematic analyses. Results. Objective 1. Results showed that levels of quality of life, adaptive functioning, and anxiety remained relatively stable during the transition. Although, when the results are individually looked at, they show that at T2, 50% of parents reported an increase in the residents' quality of life and 83% noted a maintenance or an increase in adaptative functioning. Distinctly, results on the anxiety subscale of the emotional problem scales questionnaire show that 25% of residents appear to show a decrease in anxiety, 8% show an increase, while 67% remain unchanged. Objective 2. Three relevant key themes were associated with a positive transition from the family home to the new residential environment: (a) upstream preparation with the future resident helps reduce the uncertainty associated with a new living environment and increase the resident’s feeling of control over the situation; (b) the individual characteristics of the autistic adult facilitated integration into the residence; and (c) communication among the various stakeholders allowed for sharing informations about the resident. Conclusion. The transition to a residence designed specifically in accordance with autistic needs seems to ease their adaptation and increase their well-being. Despite limits of this study (e.g. sample size, absence of direct input of autistic adults), these results fill a knowledge gap about the impacts of the transition from a family setting to an autism-friendly residence facility. Further analyses will aim to identify the contribution of specific architectural, clinical and lifestyle components to the current results.