scholarly journals The Influence of Education and Home Environment on the Cognitive Outcomes of Preschool Children in Germany

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Biedinger
Keyword(s):  
Home Environment ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Preschool Education ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Migrant Children ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Main Question

Educational inequality is a well-established topic among the scientific community in Western countries. Major individual differences emerge well before children arrive at school. Therefore the following analysis deals with the explanation of early differences in cognitive outcomes. However, there is not much research done in Germany. The main question is if the strong effect of the educational background and the home environment on their outcomes and on the improvement exists as well. To test this, data of the project “Preschool Education and Educational Careers among Migrant Children” was used. The results of structural equation models confirm that the home environment and the education of the parents are important for children's outcomes at the age of 3 to 4. In addition both factors also play a major role for the explanation of the improvement of the cognitive abilities. The results show that in Germany the home environment and parental education are important predictors of cognitive abilities. As a main result the study shows that it is very important to control for earlier abilities of the children and to encourage low educated parents to be active with their children, since in that way they can compensate for their lower educational background.

scholarly journals „Was für mich selbst gut ist, kann meinen Kindern nicht schaden.“ Der Einfluss der elterlichen Freizeitaktivitäten auf die Eltern-Kind-Aktivitäten

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-364
Author(s):  
Nicole Biedinger
Keyword(s):  
Home Environment ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Preschool Education ◽  
Migrant Children ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Social Differences ◽  
Parent Child Interactions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Educational Careers

Families differ strongly in how they deal with their children. These differences are often attributed to the socio-economic origin of the parents. Numerous studies have shown that the type and the availability of the stimuli in a child’s home environment strongly influence the child’s abilities. But how can the social differences in parent-child interactions be explained? It is argued that parents consciously or unconsciously want to maximize their child-related activities’ utility. This maximization of utility is also visible in parents’ own cultural leisure activities. Thus these should predict the extent of their interactions with their child in the home environment. This utility-theoretical approach is tested by using the data of the project “Preschool education and educational careers among migrant children”. Employing linear regression models, it can be shown that the social differences are related primarily to the cultural leisure behaviour of the parents, rather than to the family’s financial situation. Thus, the parents’ own interests are reflected in their interaction within the home environment, which, in turn, has a direct effect upon their child’s development. Zusammenfassung Familien variieren sehr stark darin, wie sie mit ihren Kindern umgehen. Diese Unterschiede werden oft auf die sozioökonomische Herkunft (SES) der Eltern zurückgeführt. Viele Studien können belegen, dass die Art und der Umfang des häuslichen Anregungsniveaus die Kompetenzentwicklung der Kinder stark beeinflusst. Daher stellt sich die Frage, wodurch die sozialen Unterschiede bei den Eltern-Kind-Interaktionen erklärt werden. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass Eltern bewusst oder unbewusst im Rahmen von Aktivitäten mit ihrem Kind ihren Nutzen maximieren wollen. Diese Nutzenmaximierung zeigt sich auch in ihren eigenen hochkulturellen Freizeitaktivitäten. Somit sollten die eigenen Freizeitaktivitäten der Eltern den Umfang an häuslichen Interaktionen mit ihrem Kind vorhersagen. Dieser nutzentheoretische Ansatz wird mit den Daten des Projekts „Erwerb von sprachlichen und kulturellen Kompetenzen von Migrantenkindern in der Vorschulzeit“ überprüft. Mit Hilfe von linearen Regressionsmodellen wird gezeigt, dass die sozialen Unterschiede vor allem mit dem hochkulturellen Freizeitverhalten der Eltern zusammenhängen, und nicht von der finanziellen Situation der Familien abhängen. Somit spiegeln sich die eigenen Interessen der Eltern in der häuslichen Interaktion wider, die wiederum direkt die Kompetenzen der Kinder beeinflusst.

Maternal IQ, the Home Environment, and Child IQ in Low Birthweight, Premature Children

1993 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Bradley ◽  
Leanne Whiteside ◽  
Bettye M. Caldwell ◽  
Patrick H. Casey ◽  
Kelly Kelleher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Home Environment ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Childhood Home ◽  
Iq Scores ◽  
One Year

The study examined the extent to which aspects of the home environment play a mediating role in the relation between maternal and child IQ. The procedure of establishing mediation developed by Baron and Kenny was followed using 608 low birthweight, premature infants from eight different sites. Regression analyses indicated that both maternal IQ and Infant/ Toddler HOME scores obtained at 12 months made significant contributions to 3 year child IQ scores. Maternal IQ and Early Childhood HOME scores obtained at 36 months also both made significant contributions to 3 year child IQ scores. There was a significant "indirect" or mediated affect associated with HOME scores at both time points. Structural equation models were used to confirm information developed in the regression analyses. The fit of the model was good for the total sample and for a sample of children and mothers whose IQs were both greater than 70. A stronger indirect effect was noted at three years as compared to one year.

scholarly journals Cognitive Abilities Explain Wording Effects in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Assessment ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Gnambs ◽  
Ulrich Schroeders
Keyword(s):  
Factor Structure ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Specific Factor ◽  
Measurement Models

There is consensus that the 10 items of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) reflect wording effects resulting from positively and negatively keyed items. The present study examined the effects of cognitive abilities on the factor structure of the RSES with a novel, nonparametric latent variable technique called local structural equation models. In a nationally representative German large-scale assessment including 12,437 students competing measurement models for the RSES were compared: a bifactor model with a common factor and a specific factor for all negatively worded items had an optimal fit. Local structural equation models showed that the unidimensionality of the scale increased with higher levels of reading competence and reasoning, while the proportion of variance attributed to the negatively keyed items declined. Wording effects on the factor structure of the RSES seem to represent a response style artifact associated with cognitive abilities.

Environmental risk and young children’s cognitive and behavioral development

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Pike ◽  
Alessandra C. Iervolino ◽  
Thalia C. Eley ◽  
Thomas S. Price ◽  
Robert Plomin
Keyword(s):  
Home Environment ◽  
Environmental Risk ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Risk Indicators ◽  
Twin Design ◽  
Medical Factors ◽  
Total Behavior

Using a longitudinal, large-scale sample of British twins, we addressed the prediction of both cognitive abilities and behavioral adjustment from eight domains of environmental risk: minority status, socio-economic status, maternal medical factors, twin medical factors, maternal depression, chaos within the home environment, and parental feelings towards their children and discipline. Participants included 5765 families with twins (49.1% male) born in 1994 and 1995. Aspects of environmental risk were assessed from birth until the children’s third birthdays; outcome measures were assessed at their fourth birthdays. Overall prediction of outcome (via multiple regression analysis) was moderate (R = .23 -.48). SES and chaos were the strongest predictors for the cognitive outcomes whereas for total behavior problems the more proximal parenting factors were also dominant. Future analyses will investigate these environmental risk indicators in the context of the genetically sensitive twin design.

Individual Differences in Face Cognition: Brain–Behavior Relationships

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grit Herzmann ◽  
Olga Kunina ◽  
Werner Sommer ◽  
Oliver Wilhelm
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Repetition Effects ◽  
Visual Processes ◽  
Memory Representations ◽  
Brain Behavior ◽  
Object Cognition

Individual differences in perceiving, learning, and recognizing faces, summarized under the term face cognition, have been shown on the behavioral and brain level, but connections between these levels have rarely been made. We used ERPs in structural equation models to determine the contributions of neurocognitive processes to individual differences in the accuracy and speed of face cognition as established by Wilhelm, Herzmann, Kunina, Danthiir, Schacht, and Sommer [Individual differences in face cognition, in press]. For 85 participants, we measured several ERP components and, in independent tasks and sessions, assessed face cognition abilities and other cognitive abilities, including immediate and delayed memory, mental speed, general cognitive ability, and object cognition. Individual differences in face cognition were unrelated to domain-general visual processes (P100) and to processes involved with memory encoding (Dm component). The ability of face cognition accuracy was moderately related to neurocognitive indicators of structural face encoding (latency of the N170) and of activating representations of both faces and person-related knowledge (latencies and amplitudes of the early and late repetition effects, ERE/N250 and LRE/N400, respectively). The ability of face cognition speed was moderately related to the amplitudes of the ERE and LRE. Thus, a substantial part of individual differences in face cognition is explained by the speed and efficiency of activating memory representations of faces and person-related knowledge. These relationships are not moderated by individual differences in established cognitive abilities.

scholarly journals Young men's behavioral competencies and risk of alcohol use disorder in emerging adulthood: Early protective effects of parental education

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe ◽  
Sara L. Lönn ◽  
Won K. Cook ◽  
Kenneth S. Kendler ◽  
Kristina Sundquist
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Emerging Adulthood ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Protective Effects

Abstract We investigate how early exposure to parental externalizing behaviors (EB) may contribute to development of alcohol use disorders (AUD) in young adulthood, testing a developmental cascade model focused on competencies in three domains (academic, conduct, and work) in adolescence and emerging adulthood, and examining whether high parental education can buffer negative effects of parental EB and other early risk factors. We use data from 451,054 Swedish-born men included in the national conscript register. Structural equation models showed parental EB was associated with academic and behavioral problems during adolescence, as well as with lower resilience, more criminal behavior, and reduced social integration during emerging adulthood. These pathways led to elevated rates of AUD in emerging and young adulthood. Multiple groups analysis showed most of the indirect pathways from parental EB to AUD were present but buffered by higher parental education, suggesting early life experiences and competencies matter more for young men from lower socioeconomic status (SES) families than from higher SES families. Developmental competencies in school, conduct, and work are important precursors to the development of AUD by young adulthood that are predicted by parental EB. Occupational success may be an overlooked source of resilience for young men from low-SES families.

scholarly journals 1240Socioeconomic Inequalities in Adolescent Metabolic Syndrome and Depression: no mediation by parental depression and parenting

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Lepe ◽  
Sijmen A. Reijneveld ◽  
Josué Almansa ◽  
Andrea F. de Winter ◽  
Marlou L.A. de Kroon
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Parenting Style ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Parental Depression ◽  
Socioeconomic Health Inequalities

Abstract Background We assessed to what extent parental depression and parenting style mediate the relationships between different measures of parental socioeconomic status (SES) and both depression and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents, and whether these mechanisms differ by sex. Methods Data were from the prospective multigenerational Dutch Lifelines Cohort Study. Our sample consisted of 1,217 adolescents with an average follow-up of 33.3 (SD = 7.33) months and a median baseline age of 13 (IQR:13-14) years. We used structural equation models to assess the direct and indirect effects of SES on baseline and changes at follow-up in both depression and MetS, and to assess moderation by sex. Results Parental education had a small direct effect on adolescent cMetS. For each additional year of education, cMetS scores were 0.098 (95%CI: 0.020; 0.184) units lower at baseline and decreased 0.079 (95%CI: 0.004; 0.158) units at follow-up. No indirect effects via parenting style or parental depression were found, and there was no moderation by sex. Additionally, parenting style was consistently associated with baseline cMetS and depression, and improvements in parenting style were consistently associated with decreasing depression scores. Conclusions The results indicate that improving parenting style may improve health for all adolescents. However, in this study parental depression and parenting style did not account for adolescent socioeconomic health inequalities. This may be partly due to good access to social services within the Netherlands. Key messages Improvements in parenting style may improve adolescent health. Additionally, pathways to counteract socioeconomic differences require further elucidation.

Measuring the Big Five in Self-Report and Other Ratings

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Barbaranelli ◽  
Gian Vittorio Caprara
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Error Variance ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Fit Indexes ◽  
Response Modes

Summary: The aim of the study is to assess the construct validity of two different measures of the Big Five, matching two “response modes” (phrase-questionnaire and list of adjectives) and two sources of information or raters (self-report and other ratings). Two-hundred subjects, equally divided in males and females, were administered the self-report versions of the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ) and the Big Five Observer (BFO), a list of bipolar pairs of adjectives ( Caprara, Barbaranelli, & Borgogni, 1993 , 1994 ). Every subject was rated by six acquaintances, then aggregated by means of the same instruments used for the self-report, but worded in a third-person format. The multitrait-multimethod matrix derived from these measures was then analyzed via Structural Equation Models according to the criteria proposed by Widaman (1985) , Marsh (1989) , and Bagozzi (1994) . In particular, four different models were compared. While the global fit indexes of the models were only moderate, convergent and discriminant validities were clearly supported, and method and error variance were moderate or low.

Collective Efficacy and Organizational Commitment in an Italian City Hall

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Borgogni ◽  
Silvia Dello Russo ◽  
Laura Petitta ◽  
Gary P. Latham
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
City Hall ◽  
Italian City ◽  
Public Sector Managers ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Group

Employees (N = 170) of a City Hall in Italy were administered a questionnaire measuring collective efficacy (CE), perceptions of context (PoC), and organizational commitment (OC). Two facets of collective efficacy were identified, namely group and organizational. Structural equation models revealed that perceptions of top management display a stronger relationship with organizational collective efficacy, whereas employees’ perceptions of their colleagues and their direct superior are related to collective efficacy at the group level. Group collective efficacy had a stronger relationship with affective organizational commitment than did organizational collective efficacy. The theoretical significance of this study is in showing that CE is two-dimensional rather than unidimensional. The practical significance of this finding is that the PoC model provides a framework that public sector managers can use to increase the efficacy of the organization as a whole as well as the individual groups that compose it.

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