Despite a growing body of research regarding the effects of media on very young children, most studies have focused on relatively short-term effects, and those that examined long-term effects have not done so with a representative sample. The current study examined long-term effects of screen media exposure on children aged 0 to 35 months. The data for this study came from the first and second waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) Child Development Supplement (CDS-I and CDS-II), which offers several advantages in examining the longitudinal relationships between early television exposure and subsequent academic performance. This nationally representative dataset includes a measure of cognitive skills, as well as time diaries that provide a record of how and with whom children spent their time. First, this study examined television viewing contexts likely to be operative in infancy and toddlerhood -- what these children view, whom they co-view with, what they co-view, and what they are doing while the television is on. Second, this study assessed the long-term effects of early exposure to different program content (i.e., child-educational programs, child-noneducational programs & adult programs) on subsequent cognitive outcomes (mainly academic achievement) in early childhood. Finally, the role of parental co-viewing in the long-term effects of exposure to child-educational content on academic skills was examined. Descriptive analyses and multiple OLS regressions were conducted. On weekdays, children were exposed to child-educational content, child-noneducational content and adult content on TV (33 minutes, 29 minutes, 27 minutes, respectively); on weekends, children were exposed to child-educational content, child-noneducational content and adult content on TV (23 minutes, 31 minutes, 31 minutes, respectively). Although it is commonly believed that television displaces time spent with others and playing, nearly half of infants and toddlers' time spent viewing television was spent playing and in social interaction (30% and 16%, respectively). Different relationships emerged among groups with differing amounts of total television exposure: children who were exposed to 1 to 2 hours of television per day had higher academic test scores compared to children who were exposed to less (those who watched no TV at all and those who were exposed to between 0 and 1 hour). As regards television content, the only relationship found was among toddlers exposed to adult content. Toddlers who were exposed to more adult programs in their early years were likely to have worse passage comprehension test scores 5 year later. However, there was no relationship between early exposure to child programs (i.e., child-educational and child-noneducational content) and subsequent academic test scores. Parental co-viewing of child-educational content was positively related to the academic achievement test scores (the passage comprehension test scores and the applied problem scores), indicating that parental co-viewing plays an important role in children's experience of media in infancy and toddlerhood. The findings have implications that may allow us to increase the effectiveness of learning from screen media in infancy and toddlerhood. / text

Multisensory integration enables young children to combine information across their senses to create rich, coordinated perceptual experiences. Events with high intersensory redundancy across the senses provide salient experiences which aid in the integration process and facilitate perceptual learning. Thus, this study’s first objective was to evaluate if toddlers’ multisensory integration abilities generalize across social/nonsocial conditions, and if multisensory integration abilities predict 24-month-old’s language development. Additionally, previous research has not examined contextual factors, such as socioeconomic status or parenting behaviors, that may influence the development of multisensory integration skills. As such, this study’s second aim was to evaluate whether maternal sensitivity and SES moderate the proposed relationship between multisensory integration and language outcomes. Results indicated that toddlers’ multisensory integration abilities, F(1,33) = 4.191, p = .049, but not their general attention control skills, differed as a function of condition (social or nonsocial), and that social multisensory integration significantly predicted toddlers’ expressive vocabularies at 24-months old, β = .530, p = .007. However, no evidence was found to suggest that SES or maternal sensitivity moderated the detected relationship between multisensory integration abilities and language outcomes; rather, mothers’ maternal sensitivity scores directly predicted toddlers’ expressive language outcomes, β = .320, p = .044, in addition to their social multisensory integration skills. These findings suggest that at 24-months of age, both sensitive maternal behaviors and the ability to integrate social multisensory information are important to the development of early expressive language outcomes. / M. S. / Multisensory integration allows children to make sense of information received across their senses. Previous research has shown that events containing simultaneous and overlapping sensory information aid children in learning about objects. However, research has yet to evaluate whether children’s' multisensory integration abilities are related to language learning. Thus, this study’s first goal was to look at whether toddlers are equally skilled at integrating multisensory information in social and nonsocial contexts, and if multisensory integration skills are related to toddlers' language skills. This study’s second goal was to examine whether parenting behaviors and/or familial access to resources (i.e., socioeconomic status) play a role in the hypothesized relationship between multisensory integration and language in toddlerhood. Results indicated that toddlers show better multisensory integration abilities when viewing social as opposed to nonsocial sensory information, and that social multisensory integration skills were significantly related to their language skills. Also, maternal parenting behaviors, but not socioeconomic status, were significantly related to toddlers' language abilities. These findings suggest that at 24-months of age, both sensitive maternal parenting and the ability to integrate social multisensory information are important to the development of language in toddlerhood.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many researchers turned to remote testing to continue to collect data. This shift provided new insights and exciting opportunities for researchers, including the ability to gain access to larger demographic pools. However, remote work has come with unique challenges. One factor that has proved to be challenging is the level of control researchers have when conducting remote studies. For example, compared to in-lab room setup and design, participants' home environments have numerous distractions for young toddlers (e.g., family members, pets, tv, toys). Thus, the increased variability has led to important questions regarding methodology, implementation, and in the current study, variability in participation. That is, are there systematic biases in final samples due to differences in participant characteristics, such as temperament? Particularly for remote work, the increased variability has created challenges for researchers to collect data but also exciting opportunities to understand how temperament may interact with participation and study completion rates. The current study aimed to understand whether temperament plays a role in study completion rates in remote research for toddlers ages 18 and 24 months. It was expected that effortful control would significantly influence participation and study completion, and that both negative affectivity and surgency would negatively influence participation in the remote study. Both effortful control and negative affectivity were not significantly related to participation, while surgency positively related to participation. / Doctor of Philosophy / Since the pandemic, many developmental researchers shifted from in-person settings to online testing. Although remote testing is not new, this shift provided many research labs with new opportunities to reach more participants. However, with this shift to remote testing, researchers relinquished control that has been designed in the lab, in that each home environment is different. For example, noise, internet speed, and computer size will vary across participants, whereas in the laboratory, these factors remained constant. Moreover, toys, tvs, pets, and/or siblings may be distracting for toddlers participating in a remote study. Thus, these differences across home environments have illuminated differences in toddlers' successful participation. For example, are some toddlers more likely to maintain their attention to the current task? Temperament was investigated in the current study to determine if certain skills may influence study participation and completion rates for toddlers ages 18 to 24-months. It was expected that effortful control (e.g., inhibitory control, attention focusing) would significantly influence the likelihood of a toddler completing the remote task. On the other hand, it was expected that both surgency (e.g., impulsivity, activity level) and negative affectivity (e.g., fear, shyness) would negatively influence task participation. Only surgency positively influenced task participation, and will be discussed in the context of toddler motivation, and engagement in the task.

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Contexte et objectifs. Le contrôle de soi serait, selon Gottfredson et Hirschi (1990), le meilleur prédicteur de la délinquance. Il serait déterminé, selon les auteurs, exclusivement par les facteurs environnementaux (compétences parentales, surveillance et punition) et ce, avant l'âge de sept ans. Il ne serait pas question des facteurs génétiques dans l'étiologie du contrôle de soi. Or, plusieurs études récentes menées à l'adolescence et à l'âge adulte avancent que le contrôle de soi serait d'origine partiellement génétique. Deux objectifs seront poursuivis. D'abord, considérant que le contrôle de soi, tel que décrit par Gottfredson et Hirschi (1990), n'ait jamais été étudié spécifiquement à la petite enfance, il a été nécessaire d'opérationnaliser le construit à la petite enfance à partir des informations existantes sur le contrôle de soi. Ensuite, il s'agira d'estimer l’influence relative des facteurs génétiques et environnementaux sur le contrôle de soi à 18, 30 et 48 mois. Méthodologie. En tout, 672 familles de jumeaux monozygotes ou dizygotes de la grande région métropolitaine de Montréal ont pris part à l'Étude des jumeaux nouveau-nés du Québec. Les items utilisés proviennent du Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1994) et ont été obtenus via les parents des jumeaux. La zygotie a été évaluée à l’aide du Zygosity Questionnaire for Young Twins (Goldsmith, 1991) et le sexe a été déterminé par les assistants de recherché. Trois temps de mesures furent étudiés : 18 mois (n = 664), 30 mois (n = 617) et 48 mois (n = 531). Résultats. Les résultats des analyses factorielles confirmatoires suggèrent par le biais des estimés qu'il soit possible de générer un facteur du contrôle de soi à la petite enfance à partir des indicateurs sélectionnés et que ceux-ci se regroupent sous l'égide d'un seul facteur. Les résultats concernant l’étiologie montrent que les différences individuelles observées seraient, majoritairement influencées par les facteurs génétiques (additifs ou de dominance) suivis par les environnements uniques. Conclusion. Les résultats suggèrent que les facteurs génétiques jouent un rôle important dans l’étiologie des différences individuelles dans le contrôle de soi tôt dans le développement alors que les environnements communs ne seraient pas impliqués. Les résultats sont compatibles avec les études menées à l'adolescence et à l'âge adulte et sont en contradiction avec les postulats de Gottfredson et Hirschi (1990). / Context and goals. Self-control is described by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) as the most reliable predictor of delinquency. The authors suggest that self-control is determined primarily by environmental factors, including parental monitoring of their children, the recognition of bad behaviors, the appropriate correction of the bad behaviors, of which the individual differences are deemed stable by age seven. The main goal of this study was to examine the genetic and environmental etiology of self-control in toddlerhood. Specifically, this study aims to 1) evaluate whether self-control can be reliably operationalized in toddlerhood; and 2) estimate the genetic and environmental contributions of individual differences in self-control in this period of development. Methods. The sample consisted of 672 pairs of monozygotic or dizygotic twins who grew up in the greater Montreal area. Information about the twins were collected from the parent that knows the child best using the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1994) whereas the zygosity was determined by the Zygosity Questionnaire for Young Twins (Goldsmith, 1991). For the purpose of this study, only three waves of data collection were used: 18 months (n = 332 pairs), 30 months (n = 309 pairs) et 48 months (n = 266 pairs). Results. The results support the idea self-control can be estimated from six behavioral and attitudinal indicators (impulsivity, disobedience, bad temper, aggressive behavior, hyperactivity and inattention) and derived in a single factor as early as 18 months of age. At 18, 30 and 48 months of age, the best fitted models indicated that only genetic and uniquely experienced environmental factors underlined individual differences in self-control. Interpretation. Contrary to Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) hypothesis, individual differences in self-control in toddlerhood is moderately explained by genetic factors, the reminder being relegated to uniquely experienced environments. Also noteworthy is the absence of a shared-environmental etiology, part of which is expected to comprise family influences experienced by both twins, such as the parental monitoring of their children, the recognition of bad behaviors and the appropriate correction of the bad behaviors.

Title: The Pikler Early Childhood Education Author: Dana Noack Department: Katedra psychologie, FF UK Supervisor: Prof. PhDr. Lenka Šulová, CSc. Abstract: The intention of this study was to explore how the parents who are familiar with the Piklerian principles use these in upbringing their children in the family in the period of early childhood. The theoretical part describes the process of socialization (with the emphasis on the preconditions for the early interaction both on the child's and the parent's side) as well as the topic of upbringing in the family (basic models and the relation of upbringing to the socio-cultural and the historical context) and the most important aspects of the child development in the first three years. The last chapter of the theoretical part introduces the Hungarian pediatrician Emmi Pikler, the basic pediatrist Emmi Pikler, the basic premises of her approach and it's principles related to the issue of the motor development, care and play. The empirical part presents the results of the qualitative content analysis of data gathered by a questionnaire. These data provide us with a basic picture of how the concrete parents use the Piklerian principles in upbringing their children.

Le contrôle psychologique parental est un facteur de risque réputé pour les problèmes intériorisés des enfants (p. ex., Affrunti & Ginsburg, 2011; McLeod, Wood & Weisz, 2007). Selon la Théorie de l'auto-détermination, le contrôle psychologique mène aux problèmes intériorisés (Ryan, Deci, Grolnick, & La Guardia, 2006) car il brime le besoin fondamental d'autonomie. En effet, recevoir de la pression afin de penser, se comporter et se sentir d’une certaine façon (Ryan, 1982) semble favoriser une régulation trop rigide et surcontrôlée (Ryan et al., 2006). Suite aux travaux de Soenens et Vansteenkiste (2010), la distinction conceptuelle entre deux formes de contrôle psychologique, soit manifestes (p. ex., les menaces, forcer physiquement) et dissimulées (p. ex., la surprotection, le marchandage), ont été utilisées pour évaluer le style parental (Étude 1) et les pratiques disciplinaires (Étude 2). Le contrôle psychologique parental et le soutien de l'autonomie (Étude 2) ont été mesurés durant la petite enfance puisque (1) les problèmes intériorisés émergent tôt, (2) le développement du sentiment d'autonomie est central au cours de cette période, et (3) attire probablement plus de contrôle psychologique parental. Avec ses deux articles, la présente thèse vise à clarifier la façon dont le contrôle psychologique manifeste et dissimulé est lié au développement précoce de problèmes intériorisés. L'étude 1 est une étude populationnelle examinant l'impact relatif du style parental sur des trajectoires développementales d'anxiété (N = 2 120 enfants; de 2,5 à 8 ans) avec de nombreux facteurs de risque potentiels provenant de l'enfant, de la mère et de la famille, tous mesurés au cours de la petite enfance. Les résultats ont montré qu'en plus de la timidité des enfants, de la dépression maternelle et du dysfonctionnement familial, le contrôle psychologique manifeste (c.-à-d., coercitif) et dissimulé (c.-à-d., la surprotection) augmentent le risque, pour les enfants, de suivre une trajectoire d'anxiété élevée. Une interaction entre la dépression maternelle et le contrôle dissimulé a été trouvée, ce qui indique que la surprotection augmente l'anxiété des enfants seulement lorsque la dépression maternelle est élevée. Enfin, le contrôle dissimulé prédit également l'anxiété telle que rapportée par les enseignants de deuxième année. Le deuxième article est une étude observationnelle qui examine comment l'autorégulation (AR) des bambins est liée au développement précoce des symptômes intériorisés, tout en explorant comment les pratiques disciplinaires parentales (contrôle et soutien de l'autonomie) y sont associées. Les pratiques parentales ont été codifiées lors d'une requête de rangement à 2 ans (contexte "Do", N = 102), tandis que l'AR des bambins a été codifiée à la fois durant la tâche de rangement ("Do") et durant une tâche d'interdiction (ne pas toucher à des jouets attrayants; contexte «Don't » ), à 2 ans puis à 3 ans. Les symptômes d'anxiété / dépression des enfants ont été évalués par leurs parents à 4,5 ans. Les résultats ont révélé que l'AR aux interdictions à 3 ans diminue la probabilité des enfants à manifester des taux élevés de symptômes d'anxiété / dépression. Les analyses ont aussi révélé que le parentage soutenant l'autonomie était lié à l'AR des enfants aux requêtes, un an plus tard. En revanche, le contrôle psychologique manifeste et dissimulé ont eu des effets délétères sur l'AR. Enfin, seul le contrôle dissimulé a augmenté les probabilités de présenter des niveaux plus élevés de problèmes intériorisés et ce, au-delà de l’effet protecteur de l'AR des bambins. Des résultats mitigés sont issus de cette thèse concernant les effets respectifs des deux formes de contrôle sur les problèmes intériorisés, dépendamment de l'informateur (mère c. enseignant) et de la méthodologie (questionnaires c. données observationnelles). Toutefois, le contrôle psychologique dissimulé était lié à ce problème affectif dans les deux études. Enfin, le soutien à l'autonomie s’est révélé être un facteur de protection potentiel et mériterait d'être étudié davantage. / Parental psychological control is a well known risk factor for children’s internalizing problems (e.g., Affrunti & Ginsburg, 2012; McLeod, Wood & Weisz, 2007). According to self-determination theory, psychological control leads to internalizing problems (Ryan, Deci, Grolnick, & La Guardia, 2006) because it thwarts the basic need for autonomy. Indeed, receiving pressure to think, behave and feel in particular ways (Ryan, 1982) is thought to foster a too rigid and overcontrolled regulation (Ryan et al., 2006). Following Soenens and Vansteenkiste (2010), the conceptual distinction between overt (e.g., threats, physical force) and covert (e.g., overprotection, bribes) forms of psychological control was used when assessing parenting style (Study 1) and disciplinary practices (Study 2). Parental psychological control and autonomy support (Study 2) were measured during toddlerhood as (a) internalizing problems emerge early, (b) the budding sense of autonomy and agency is central during this period, perhaps (c) “pulling for” parental control. With its two articles, the present thesis aims to clarify how overt and covert psychological control relate to the early development of internalizing problems. Study 1 is a population study examining the relative impact of parenting style onto child anxiety developmental trajectories (N = 2120 children; 2.5- to 8-years-old) along a host of putative child, mother, and family risk factors measured in toddlerhood. Results revealed that in addition to child shyness, maternal depression and family dysfunction, both overt (i.e., coercive) and covert (i.e., overprotection) parenting increase the risk for higher child anxiety. An interaction between maternal depression and covert control was found, indicating that overprotection only increases child anxiety when maternal depression is high. Finally, maternal covert control also predicted second grade teacher reports of children’s anxiety. Study 2 is an observational study investigating how toddlers’ self-regulation (SR) relates to later internalizing symptoms, while also exploring how parental disciplinary practices (controlling and autonomy-supportive) relate to these child outcomes. Parental practices were coded during a clean-up request task at 2 years of age (“Do” context; N = 102), while toddlers’ self-regulation was coded in both a clean-up (“Do”) and an attractive toys prohibition (“Don’t”) contexts, at age 2 and 3. Their anxious/depressed symptoms were rated by parents at 4.5-years-old. Results revealed that SR to prohibitions at 3-years-old decreased the odds of children showing high levels of anxious/depressed symptoms. Analyses also revealed that autonomy-supportive parenting was positively related to child SR to requests one year later. In contrast, overt and covert controlling parenting had detrimental effects on SR. Finally, only covert control increased the odds of showing higher levels of internalizing problems, above the protective effects of toddlers’ SR skills. There were somewhat mixed results in this thesis for the respective effects of both forms of control onto internalizing problems, depending on informant (mother vs. teacher) and methodology (questionnaires vs. observational data). However, covert psychological control was related to this affective problem across both studies. Coding autonomy support revealed that it may be an indirect, protective factor that merits further investigation.

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Contexte. Les instances de recherche en pédiatrie mentionnent que le temps d’écran crée des conséquences négatives immédiates et ultérieures sur la santé et les saines habitudes de vie des enfants et des adolescents. Ils suggèrent une supervision parentale, un encadrement du temps d’écran ainsi que des espaces et des moments sans écrans. Toutefois, nous savons que les pratiques parentales efficaces sont la source primaire de socialisation et établissent donc les habitudes de vie d’une famille. Les pratiques parentales sont aussi souvent utilisées dans des programmes de prévention pour les comportements et pour les habitudes de vie chez les jeunes. Objectif. Nous souhaitons examiner l’effet modérateur des pratiques parentales efficaces sur les liens entre la présence d’une télévision dans la chambre des garçons et filles au préscolaire et les saines habitudes de vie ultérieures (l’activité physique à l’extérieur des heures scolaires, les habitudes alimentaires et la durée du sommeil). Méthode. Les participants (929 garçons et 930 filles) proviennent d’une cohorte de naissances de l’Étude longitudinale du développement des enfants du Québec (ÉLDEQ). La télévision dans la chambre (rapportée par l’enfant et confirmée par l’intervieweur) et les pratiques parentales efficaces (rapportées par la mère) ont été récoltées à 4 ans. Les saines habitudes de vies (rapportées par la mère) ont été récoltées à 10 ans. Des régressions linéaires ont été effectuées pour tester l’hypothèse d’une modération en faisant des analyses stratifiées par le sexe, tout en contrôlant pour des caractéristiques individuelles et familiales. Résultats. La télévision dans la chambre n’est pas associée significativement sur les saines habitudes de vies, tant chez les gars et les filles. Les pratiques parentales modèrent significativement le lien entre la télévision dans la chambre et l’activité physique à l’extérieur des heures scolaires chez les gars. Des pratiques parentales efficaces élevées chez les garçons augmentent l’activité physique à l’extérieur des heures scolaires quand un garçon a une télévision dans sa chambre, comparativement à des pratiques parentales efficaces faibles. Pour les filles, les pratiques parentales efficaces prédisent une plus grande durée de sommeil, en tant qu’effet direct. Les pratiques parentales modèrent significativement le lien entre la télévision dans la chambre et la durée du sommeil chez les filles. Les pratiques parentales efficaces élevées augmentent la durée du sommeil quand une fille a une télévision dans sa chambre, comparativement à des pratiques parentales efficaces faibles. Conclusion. Les pratiques parentales efficaces peuvent être considérées comme un facteur de protection sur les saines habitudes de vie associées avec une télévision de la chambre, améliorant ainsi les chances d’un développement optimal chez l’enfant. Ainsi, la parentalité est une cible pertinente pour les programmes de prévention, particulièrement pour l’activité physique à l’extérieur des heures scolaires chez les garçons et la durée du sommeil chez les filles. / Background. Community pediatricians and allied youth services report that screen time creates immediate and subsequent well-being and lifestyle risks in children and adolescents. In fact, current guidelines recommend parental supervision and monitoring of screen time as well as screen-free spaces and moments. Effective parenting practices are often targeted in prevention programs addressing behavioral development and diminishing risk for mental psychopathologies. Little is known regarding the role of parenting in effectuating guidelines. Objective. This study aims to examine the moderating effect of parenting practices on the relationship between the presence of a television in the preschool child’s bedroom and subsequent healthy lifestyle habits (physical activity outside school hours, healthy eating habits and sleep duration). Methods. Participants (929 boys and 930 girls) are from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD) birth cohort. Bedroom television (reported by children and confirmed by interviewer) and effective parenting practices (reported by mothers) were collected at age 4. Mothers reported on chilren’s healthy lifestyle habits at age 10. Linear regressions were conducted, stratified by sex, to test expected moderation hypothesis by controlling for child and family characteristics. Results. Bedroom television was not significantly associated with lifestyle risks, both in boys and girls. Parenting practices significantly moderated the relationship between bedroom television and physical activity outside school hours for boys. Better parenting practices were associated with increases in physical activity outside school hours when a bedroom television was present, compared with lower effective parenting practices. For girls, effective parenting for girls predicted higher sleep duration as a direct effect. Parenting practices significantly moderated the relationship between bedroom television and sleep duration for girls. Better parenting practices were associated with increases sleep duration in the presence of a bedroom television, compared with lower effective parenting practices. Conclusion. Effective parenting practices can be considered as a protective factor for lifestyle habits associated with the presence of a television in the preschool bedroom, thus bettering chances of optimal development. These findings support the role of parenting as a program target for risk prevention.