According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (1999), between 10-15% of children and adolescents in the United States show some symptoms of depression that interfere with their functioning at home and school. This same report indicated that only 20-25% of these children get the treatment they need to cope with this significant debilitating condition. Adults often turn to spirituality in order to find comfort, hope and relief from distress. Spirituality refers to one's own beliefs, experiences and ideals concerning how to cope with a crisis (Elkins & Cavendish, 2004). However, most work in spirituality has been done with adults; little is known about the ways in which spirituality may be used or expressed by children who are facing difficulty in life, and especially among clinically children with depression (Elkins et al., 2004).The purpose of this study was to investigate experiences and views that promote well-being among school-age children (ages 9-12 years) who had been diagnosed with depression, and specifically what role spirituality has in this process. The goal was to better understand the process of how these children express and find purpose and meaning in their life in order to find a sense of hope, comfort and strength in order to cope during their experience with depression. The method used for this study was grounded theory, designed to examine an underlying social process (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The sample consisted of 7 English speaking children ages 9-12 that had been diagnosed with depression not otherwise specified or dysthymia. Children were patients at a counseling center in Arizona. A semi-structured interview schedule ensured that the research questions were answered. Data were analyzed using constant comparison of themes across and within data from the participants and other text-based sources.Self-regulation, which included spiritually-related approaches, was found to be a key underlying process of coping in this group of children. Understanding the process of spiritual self-regulation was useful in providing more definitive knowledge for theory-guided practice with clinically depressed school-aged children.

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the paucity of literature present on educational psychology involvement in supporting primary school-aged children’s sleep. The research was formed using a pragmatic, mixed-methods approach with a two-phase design. Phase one explored the views of 59 participants (teachers, n= 16; parents/carers, n= 21; children, n= 22) about children’s sleep, their academic outcomes and psychosocial functioning. There were some associations between parent, child, and teacher reports of children’s sleep-related difficulties, academic outcomes and aspects of children’s psychosocial functioning. Phase two adopted a time-series pre- and post-intervention design with the aim of evaluating a school-based, six-week Sleep Club intervention for children. Twenty-nine participants (teaching assistants, n= 2; parents/carers, n= 13; and children, n= 14) took part in phase two, with the findings drawing on evaluations, quizzes, field notes, surveys, and parent interviews. Six children were selected to provide greater insight into parent and child views through case study analysis. At the end of the intervention, there was an increase in children’s sleep-related knowledge, and there were improvements in many aspects of children’s sleep-related behaviours. Thematic analysis identified that the Sleep Club facilitated communication about sleep between children and their parents and raised children’s awareness and understanding of their sleep. Children enjoyed being part of a club with other children, from whom they felt they were able to learn. Learning about emotions, sleep and the body was noted by several children, though some children did not enjoy completing the given questionnaires. Overall, participants felt that the individual sessions and the intervention could have lasted longer than the time offered. Twenty-two participants (76%, including parents, children, and school staff) reported that they would recommend the Sleep Club intervention to others. The role of the educational psychologist in supporting children with sleep difficulties is discussed.

Dental discoloration from fluorosis is a global public health problem. In Nigeria, 11.4% of the population is impacted by this disorder. Dental discoloration is caused by successive exposures to high fluoride concentrations during tooth development in utero and it is linked to the development of a variety of psychological and physiological problems, from dental aesthetics to a reduction in intelligence and skeletal changes. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to examine the cultural and environmental determinants of dental fluorosis in children in a rural community in Nigeria. A multilevel theoretical model was used to develop possible fluoride exposure pathways, such as good social services and dental care, as well as factors in the environment. The study was guided by 2 main research questions: What is the prevalence of fluorosis among Nigerian school-aged children? What is the severity of this fluorosis, and is it associated with the fluoride content of the soil, the water or the food? Data was collected by administering three surveys, on children aged 5 to15 years, their parent/guardian, and on community leaders. Chi-square and regression analysis tests were used to test for possible associations. The study findings showed a fluorosis prevalence rate of 86.6% in the 269 school children surveyed, with majority of these children between the ages of 8 to 13 years. The severity of children fluorosis was associated with the length of stay in the study area and the fluoride content in water, soil, and food. This study's possible impact on social change include raising awareness to the problem and the possible ways to resolve it, such as through, improved dental care services and a supportive social environment like flocculation of community water sources.

Reprint from: Allergology International 55(1), 2006, p.59-65

Asthma is a complex, chronic disorder of the airways that is characterized by underlying inflammation, airflow obstruction, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Asthma symptoms can be frightening and can have an effect on the emotional functioning Quality of Life (QOL) of school-aged children who have asthma. The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational study was to explore the influence of factors identified in the literature on school-aged children’s emotional responses to asthma. Guiding this study was a theoretical model that proposed that the impact of chronic illness severity on QOL is potentially mediated by both resource and barrier factors. The population of interest was 85 school-aged children (ages 6-12) and parents of children who have asthma that were recruited from participants already enrolled in year 4 of the Asthma in Central Texas (ACT) study (R01NR007770, Sharon D. Horner, P.I.) at The University of Texas at Austin. Significant inverse correlations were found between asthma related child emotional functioning QOL and each of the following variables: asthma severity, r = -.30, p < .01; child internalizing behaviors, r = -.26, p < .05, and child externalizing behaviors, r = -.43, p < .001. Significant inverse relationships were found between caregiver emotional functioning QOL and each of the following variables: asthma severity, r = -.39, p < .001; child internalizing behaviors, r = -.22, p < .05 and child externalizing behaviors, r = -.25, p < .05. Multiple regression analysis revealed that asthma severity and child externalizing problems accounted for 26% of the variance in child emotional functioning QOL. No moderators or mediators were identified. Findings from this study imply that externalizing problem behaviors of school-aged children may be a predictor of their negative feelings about their asthma. Nursing educators should consider including the emotional impact of asthma on children in nursing curriculums as this may ultimately influence health care providers to more skillfully address this important issue in both assessment and intervention settings. / text

Good nutrition is crucial. School-aged children battle social issues such as poor nutrition, childhood obesity, and minimal nutrition knowledge. This study was a quasi-experimental design analyzing the effects of CATCH curriculum with a Farm-to-School program to assess nutrition knowledge of third grade students, and to increase fruit and vegetable consumption behavior. Third grade boys and girls (n=65) participated in this study. The intervention consisted of two nutrition education classes and a farm tour. Data were collected at baseline and post intervention. Surveys assessed nutrition knowledge and fruit and vegetable consumption behavior. Data were analyzed with independent sample t-tests. Significant differences were found concerning knowledge of fiber and farm exposure (p<0.001). Knowledge of vitamins and minerals and reported vegetable consumption behavior at home and school were also significant (p<0.05). These findings suggest that CATCH nutrition education and farm tours can positively affect school-aged children's nutrition knowledge and consumption behavior.

Dyslexia is a clinical diagnosis often associated with phonological processing deficits. There are, however, other areas of concern, such as the presence of auditory temporal processing (ATP) disorders. One method of investigating ATP is the gap detection (GD) paradigm. This study investigated GD performance using the Gaps-in-Noise © (GIN) test in three groups of 30 children, aged 8 to 9 years. GD thresholds and gap identification scores (%) were determined for each participant. The three groups of participants included (Group I) children with dyslexia and phonological deficits, (Group II) children with dyslexia and no significant phonological deficits, and (Group III) normal reading peers. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed that GD thresholds for the three groups were significantly different. Group I showed longer GD thresholds (RE, 8.5 msec; LE, 8 msec), than did Group II (4.9 msec for both ears) or Group III (RE, 4.2 msec; LE, 4.3 msec). Close inspection of the threshold values for the three groups revealed that the thresholds for Group II overlapped substantially with those of Group III, but not with those of Group I. Similar trends were also noted for the gap identification analysis. From a clinical perspective, the majority of participants in Group II and all participants in Group III performed within normal limits on both measures (i.e., thresholds and identifications), while performance of participants in Group I fell below established norms on these measures. Finally, additional analyses revealed that ATP was highly correlated with phonological processing measures indicating a relationship between the presence of phonological deficits and ATP deficits. This study confirmed that ATP deficit is a factor to be considered in dyslexia and suggested that the GIN © test is a promising clinical tool that should be incorporated in the evaluation procedures for children with reading difficulties.

No description available.

This study investigated the relationships between peer victimization, social skills, and sociometric status in a sample of 224 fifth grade students in a large school district in the southwestern United States. Peer victimization and social skills were assessed using a self-report questionnaire. A peer nomination inventory was used to classify participants according to sociometric status. Social Exchange Theory guided hypotheses regarding the relationships between social skills, peer victimization, and sociometric status, with the idea that students with poor social skills are more likely to be victimized and rejected by peers. Prior research about the relationships between these variables also suggested that social skills and sociometric status would both have an inverse relationship with peer victimization. Statistical analyses did not indicate the presence of significant relationships between any of the three main variables of interest. A statistically significant difference was identified between students who were English Language Learners (ELL) compared to students who were not ELL, such that ELL students reported experiencing less peer victimization than non-ELL students. Several limitations were identified in the present study. For example, confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the data did not fit with the factor structure of the social skills measure. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify a set of items that was subsequently used to represent the participants' social skills score. Sampling bias is also suspected. The participation rate was 47.3 percent. Participation may have been limited due to adults' objections to having students list classmates whom they Liked Least. Ideas for future research are presented.

This report was developed to: a) enhance the clinician’s understanding of transfer and maintenance as it relates to stuttering, b) explore the unique challenges that face the school-aged population, c) examine research outside of the field that may be of benefit for school-aged stuttering clients, and d) provide the clinician with examples and activities that will facilitate the transfer and maintenance of stuttering treatment. The report will include a brief discussion of transfer and maintenance. The remainder of the report will focus on facilitating transfer and maintenance by increasing motivation, self-efficacy, realistic goal setting, and self-regulation. / text