Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 81-85). Also available in print.

The study of preschool children's peer relations has primarily employed sociometric interviews and observations of children's social participation during free-play situations as methods of assessment. These assessments of peer relations have traditionally demonstrated lack of fit between attitude (as measured by sociometry) and behavior (observation of social participation). Often, sociometric peer preference and acceptance does not correspond to children's observation of social participation during freeplay. The present study was designed to improve this attitude-behavior fit by developing the Crystallized Sociometric Scales which employed post stratification of opinion responses. Subjects consisted of 65 preschool children between three- to five- years- of age, divided into two preschool groups of 45 and 20 subjects. Interviews on both the traditional sociometric scales and the crystallized sociometric (weighted with questions on peer exclusivity and friendship concept) were obtained. Observation of social participation used Parten's category of play with interval time sampling. Sociometric analyses of data provided a child by child picture of the social structure of the peer group. The discrepancy scores between social participation and the traditional and crystallized sociometric variables were compared using t-tests. Results indicated that peer exclusivity provided the best attitude-behavior fit and was significantly better than the traditional nomination score. The level of the friendship concept did not affect the social participation of children. Crystallized ratings were not significantly different from the traditional ratings. The stability of the Crystallized Sociometric Scales was moderate, although it was significantly better than the traditional sociometric scales. It was concluded that crystallized sociometric nominations provide a methodology to improve the attitude-behavior fit. Although correlated, sociometry and social participation measure different aspects of peer relations whose relationship can be influenced by measurement procedures. / Graduation date: 1992

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Linda Hestenes; submitted to the Dept. of Human Development and Family Studies. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 27, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-190).

A review of the literature reveals that nothing has been done at the pre-school level in the measurement of attitudes; yet Gesell in his studies recognizes that young children do have attitudes even though many are short-lived and developmental. This lack plus the writer's interest led to the present study of the attitudes of the children enrolled in the Florida State University Nursery School. / Typescript. / "May, 1949." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts under Plan II." / Advisor: Ralph L. Witherspoon, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 43).

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Introduction: Surveillance data and other studies have indicated that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool children in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is increasing, particularly in urban areas. No studies have examined the speed at which this public health problem is emerging in child populations in urban Vietnam. Knowledge of the risk factors for preschool-aged child obesity is limited since earlier studies have been cross-sectional in design and potential risk factors at different levels have not been fully investigated. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and trends in overweight and obesity, and to identify the risk factors associated with longitudinal changes in adiposity over a one year period in preschool children in urban areas of HCMC. In addition, a sub-study aimed to validate a proxy-questionnaire for use in measuring physical activity of preschool children. Method: Based on the available data from a cross-sectional study conducted with preschool children in HCMC in 2002, a restricted sample of 492 children aged four to five years from urban areas of HCMC was used for examining the trends in overweight and obesity in this child population, over the period from 2002 to 2005. The original study using the multi-stage cluster sampling was performed in preschool children aged one to six years in both urban and sub-urban areas of HCMC. A total of 1780 children aged one to six years participated in this study. Anthropometry of the subjects was measured using standard methods. Socio-demographic information was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The one year follow-up study, using multi-stage cluster sampling, was conducted from 2005 to 2006 with children aged four to five years in preschools in urban areas of HCMC. At baseline, 670 children participated in the study and of these, 526 children completed two follow-up measurements at 6 month intervals. Information on neighbourhood, preschool and home environments, socio-economic status, the child’s and parental characteristics were collected using pre-coded, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires. Dietary intake and physical activity were measured in the home and preschool settings using modified, validated questionnaires. Anthropometry including weight, height, skinfold thickness at triceps, subscapular and suprailiac sites were measured using standard methods. The trends in overweight and obesity were examined based on data from the 2002 study and the baseline study of the cohort study. Data were collected in 2002 and made available for these secondary analyses. The validation study of the proxy-questionnaire to measure physical activity of children aged four to five years was conducted from July, 2005 to November, 2005, using accelerometers as the criterion method. A subset of 83 children from the entire cohort study participated in this study. Physical activity data over the three months, reported by the teacher and the parents, were compared with data collected from the accelerometers for seven consecutive days. Main outcomes: Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from measured weight and height. Overweight and obesity were defined using IOTF cut-off points. Underweight was classified using the 5th percentile cut-off point for weight for age, based on the 2000 CDC Growth Reference. Results: The findings indicated that the significance of overweight and obesity in preschool children in urban areas of HCMC is not only in its magnitude (obverweight: 20.5% and obesity: 16.3% in 2005), but also in the rapidly increasing trend in prevalence from 21.4% in 2002 to 36.8% in 2005. There exists an imbalance in food intake in this young child population. Dietary patterns have shifted towards higher energy obtained from protein and fat (particularly animal protein and fat) and less energy from carbohydrates, than is recommended. The risk factors of overweight and obesity in the four to six year old child population in HCMC were identified at multiple levels. The contextual variables in the community, school and home environments, interacted with individual characteristics influencing the changes in adiposity and overweight and obesity development over time. Risk factors for changes in adiposity and risk of developing overweight and obesity differed for boys and girls. The proxy-questionnaire was shown to be valid for ranking the child’s sedentary behaviour but it was not suitable for measuring the child’s physical activity patterns in absolute values. Conclusion: An obesity epidemic has been taking place in the young child population in urban areas of HCMC. Boys appear to be more vulnerable to this epidemic than girls. The diet of this child population has shifted to higher energy from protein and fat, and less energy from carbohydrate. The aetiology of overweight and obesity of preschool children ismulti-factorial. It is time for action to control this public health problem in young children in urban areas of HCMC, Vietnam.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-42).

Hundreds of thousands of Australian children under the age of six witnessed at least some of the coverage of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. In the days and weeks that followed September 11, the researcher was confronted with numerous anecdotes from mothers who talked about the impact the coverage had had on their children. Many of the mothers reported that they had not known their children were watching the coverage or had not believed that they were old enough to understand what was going on. This raised the question of responsibility and sparked the research project which asked how could preschool children best be protected from material that was likely to disturb or harm them both in scheduled news broadcasts and extraordinary events such as September 11? Through surveys, focus groups with mothers and interviews with news directors, the research looked at existing protections, how well they worked in the view of both parents and the industry and whether there could or should be a better way. The research recommended that greater protection of preschool children from inappropriate television news content could be achieved through the implementation of six recommendations. 1. Television news should be Rated PG. 2. Digital television technology should be employed to prevent news events 'overtaking' scheduled children's programming and to protect safe harbours placed in the classifications zones to protect children. 3. Broadcasters should regain control of the images that go to air during 'live' feeds from obviously volatile situations by building in short delays in G classification zones. 4. Parents should be educated to understand that even very young children can take in television news and are often scared by it. 5. Television journalists should understand that even very young children are exposed to television news and are often scared by it. 6. News promotions during afternoon children's programming should be dropped.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2005." Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1994. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.