Anxiety and spatial navigation in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome

Individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) and individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) present with poor navigation and elevated anxiety. This study is the first to investigate the relationship between these two characteristics, using a cross-syndrome comparison approach. Parent report questionnaires were employed to measure navigation competence and anxiety in N=55 individuals with WS and N=42 individuals with DS. Anxiety was measured using the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and a novel measure of navigation anxiety. Navigation was measured using the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale (SBSOD) and a novel measure of navigation competence. Categorical questions were also asked regarding navigation behaviours and difficulties, independent travel and travel training received. Finally respondents answered open-ended questions regarding travel training needs and travel training received. The majority of individuals were not permitted to travel independently. A relationship between navigation anxiety and SBSOD scores (but not navigation competence) was observed for both groups. For the DS group only, separation anxiety was related to SBSOD and navigation scores. Additional impacts on independent navigating related to difficulties specific to road crossing situations, a higher tendency to ask for help in WS than in DS, as well as a strong impact of parental confidence for both groups. This first step to understanding the complex relationship between anxiety and navigation in WS and DS suggests that navigation training should take into account elevated anxiety in these groups, and thus should include training in dealing with unforeseen changes and anxiety management.

Parental Involvement in Computer Science Education and Computing Attitudes and Behaviours in the Home: Model and Scale Development

This work is situated in research on Parental Involvement (PI) in Computer Science (CS) Education. While the importance of PI in children's education is well established, most parents have little experience in CS and struggle to facilitate the learning of a child in the area. If PI in CS Education is to happen, then we argue that parents need support and that understanding the current behaviours and attitudes toward CS in the family context is important to discerning the form that support should take. This article therefore describes the development of an instrument to identify factors relating to parental attitudes toward and motivation for PI in CS education. Relevant variables situated in the context of parental computing behaviours and attitudes in the home were identified using a literature review and expert focus group. These include computing usage, availability, confidence, and experience. To measure these variables, a survey instrument was developed and administered to a large sample of parents ( n = 1228). Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirm that the instrument measures five constructs, namely “Confidence,” measuring parental confidence levels with computing; “Attitude to PI”; “Motivation for PI”; and two types of “Usage”: Creation and Consumption. Results of Pearson correlation revealed significant positive relationships between confidence and both positive attitudes toward, and motivation for, PI, with linear regressions confirming that confidence was a significant predictor of both. Regression analysis also identified that creative usage was a predictor of positive attitudes to PI, and that programming experience was a predictor of attitude to, and motivation for, PI. These findings were further validated through triangulation with qualitative data from focus groups with the target population. We conclude that this understanding of the predictors of PI attitudes and motivation should inform the design of initiatives to address parental engagement in CS Education.

An Observationally and Psychoanalytically Informed Parent-Toddler Intervention for Young Children at Risk of ASD: An Audited Case Series and Convergences with Organicist Approaches

In this paper we describe, with illustrative vignettes, an observationally and psychoanalytically informed parent-toddler intervention for young children at risk of ASD. The intervention was offered to children between 18 and 24 months who fell in the High Risk category of the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT), which carries an 83% chance of a diagnosis at the age of 3 ½. In the absence of pathways for children under 2, this preliminary case series comprised 8 children from a heterogeneous clinical population. A significantly lower proportion of treated children were later diagnosed than the CHAT would predict (p = 0.03, Fisher’s Exact Test), suggesting that this intervention merits further investigation with larger numbers of children and additional instruments. Scores on two routine outcome monitoring measures (the Goal Based Measure and the PIR-GAS) improved both in children who were later diagnosed and in those who were not. We consider these findings in relation to recent non-psychoanalytic research papers (including an RCT on a parent-mediated intervention) that demonstrate the prime importance of parent-toddler interactions, and we suggest that supporting parental confidence is essential to improvement. We discuss emerging convergences between psychoanalytic and organicist approaches, and the possible place of this intervention in conjunction with others.

Vaccine Confidence and the Importance of an Interdisciplinary Approach

Parental confidence in vaccines is waning. To sustain and improve childhood vaccine coverage rates, insights from multiple disciplines are needed to understand and address the socio-cultural factors contributing to decreased vaccine confidence and uptake.

Marketing Breastfeeding Substitutes: A Discussion Document

Marketing influences knowledge, attitudes, and decisions related to infant and young child nutrition, safety, development, parental confidence, and other aspects of health and wellbeing of the child. These attitudes and behaviours of parents, health workers, policy makers, and other influencers have short- and long-term effects on the child. There is an International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. Is it time to have a code of marketing of breastfeeding substitutes?

Pregnancy in the context of dyadic coping: a meta-analysis of foreign publications

In the present article the mediating role of dyadic coping is discussed in various aspects, which one way or another are related to the context of pregnancy and the subsequent birth of a child, through the meta-analysis of empirical foreign researches. These are such aspects as spouses adaptation, quality of life, adult romantic affection, parental confidence, parental stress and depression. The period of expecting a child is seen as a common stress factor for the partners. This corresponds to the concept of pregnancy and first postnatal year under the changing social and cultural context that was generally accepted by the foreign and Russian psychology. In addition, the article addresses many aspects of gender-based differences in the use of dyadic coping. It is noted that in close relationship ineffective dyadic coping can cause the risk of family problems and dysfunction of its members, in such a case the emphasis is placed not so much on the support provided but on its subjective perception. The article concludes that the dyadic coping internal mechanisms in the period of expecting a child would be useful to study on a Russian sample as one of the possible ways of therapeutic support of family under stress.

Comparison of video and in-hospital consultations during early in-home care for premature infants and their families: A randomised trial

Introduction Early in-home care is increasingly being used in Scandinavian countries for clinically stable premature infants. Due to challenges with travel and hospital resources, alternative ways to support parents during early in-home care are being considered. The aim of this study was to test whether the proportion of mothers exclusively breastfeeding, parental confidence and mother–infant interaction increased after early in-home care with premature infants, and to compare the outcomes of in-home care involving the use of video communication and a mobile application with those of in-home care involving in-hospital consultations. Methods This study was conducted in four neonatal wards offering premature infant in-home care in Denmark. Premature infants were randomised using 1:1 block randomisation. During early in-home care, families had planned consultations two to three times a week, during which they received support from nurses: the intervention group had video consultations, while the control group had in-hospital consultations. Results The proportion of exclusively breastfeeding mothers at discharge was 66.7% in the intervention group vs 66% in the control group and decreased to 49.4% vs 55%, respectively, 1 month after discharge. No significant improvements were found in the intervention group compared with the control group. In the intervention group, some video consultations were changed to telephone consultations due to problems with the video function, or to in-hospital consultations due to infants’ requirement for medical services. No significant differences in secondary outcomes were observed. Discussion The study showed similar breastfeeding proportions at discharge. No unfavourable effects of video consultation compared with in-hospital consultation were found, indicating that video consultation could be a viable option and an important supplement during early in-home care. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02581800.

The Importance of Applying Parenting Education Program for The Student’s Parent in Elementary School

Parents are the child's first mentors in the learning process at home. Some parents feel unable to guide children at home. Parenting Education Program (PEP) has the opportunity as a solution to help parents guide their children at home. This study focuses on the definition, application, benefits and importance of Parenting Education Programs. The results of this study include: (1) PEP is a training program held by schools to provide guidance in the form of knowledge and skills to parents; (2) The application of PEP has been applied in several elementary schools, namely SDIT Ar Raihan Bantul, SD Surya Buana Malang and SD Insan Teratai Tangerang; (3) The benefits of PEP are establishing a good relationship between school and parents, increasing parental knowledge and increasing parental confidence; (4) PES is important to be implemented in many elementary schools that do not directly involve parents in children's education

“I PREFER TO BUILD TRUST” – EXAMINING PARENTAL CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN’S DIGITAL SKILLS

Digital and social media has become deeply intertwined into children’s mundane daily routines. Considered to be digital natives, young people are often assumed to be experts in using digital and social media. As they are indeed enthusiastic users of new devices and social media platforms, children might be quick in picking up on platform’s features and affordances. However, their ability for a strategic understanding of risks and opportunities is often questioned. Parental anxiety about children’s engagement with digital and social media stems from their lack of confidence in children’s ability to navigate online risk. While academic research attempted to identify and measure digital skills, less is known how these skills are negotiated in the family. Drawing on separate home-based interviews with children and parents, this paper looks at the approaches parents use to govern children’s digital and social media use. It discusses how confidence in children’s abilities – or varying degrees of it – affects the parental approach and success in working with their children on developing safe digital practices. Three dominant parental approaches identified across the sample are practices where parents act as *watchdog*, *chaperon* and/or *collaborator*. Central to each of these approaches are varying degrees of trust in children’s ability to engage in safe practices online.