Theory of mind and language in children with cochlear implants

Thirty children with cochlear implants (CI children), age range 3-12 years, and 30 children with normal hearing (NH children), age range 4-6 years, were tested on theory of mind and language measures. The CI children showed little to no delay on either theory of mind, relative to the NH children, or spoken language, relative to hearing norms. The CI children showed a slightly atypical sequence of acquisition of theory of mind concepts. The CI children's theory of mind performance was associated with general syntactic proficiency more than measures of complement syntax, and with time since implantation more than age at implantation. Results suggest that cochlear implantation can benefit spoken language ability, which may then benefit theory of mind, perhaps by increasing access to mental state language.     

"Because I am Muslim, I cannot wear a swimsuit": Muslim girls negotiate participation opportunities for physical activity

Drawing on the works of postcolonial critical feminist and Arab Muslim feminist scholars, we discuss in this paper how 4 muslim girls (ages 14- 17 years) negotiated their participation in opportunities for physical activity. Data collection methods included self mapping questionnaires, digital photos, private journal entries, and recordings of informal conversations. We discuss (a) how three discursive challenges emerged in veiling-off opportunities for physical activity, and (b) how the girls uncovered alternative ways of being physically active. To promote active life practices with muslim girls, we need to (a) navigate the diversity of young muslims within the intersecting discourses in their lives that potentially challenge their participation in physical activities, and (b) honor young muslims' choices while negotiating their chances of maintaining physical activities.     

The mental and physical health difficulties of children held within a British immigration detention center: A pilot study

ObjectiveThe present study aimed to assess the mental and physical health of children held within a British immigration detention center.MethodA total of 24 detained children (aged 3 months to 17 years) were assessed with their parents or carer after being referred by a registered legal charity. Thirteen were seen by a pediatrician alone, 4 by a psychologist alone, and 7 by both professions using semi-structured clinical interviews. The psychologist also used standardized self-report questionnaires to measure psychopathology.ResultsDuring the psychological assessment of 11 children, 8 met criteria for psychiatric “caseness” on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. All 11 reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Sleep problems, somatic complaints, poor appetite, emotional symptoms, and behavioral difficulties were common. Symptoms of global distress were also reported by all 9 parents. According to pediatric assessment 8 out of 20 children had lost weight. Six had missed health appointments and 2 were taken to hospital. Nutritional, developmental, educational, and child protection concerns were raised.ConclusionsDetained children were found to be experiencing mental and physical health difficulties of recent onset, which appeared to be related to the detention experience. These findings support previous Australian studies demonstrating that detention is not in the best interest of the child. It suggests that current UK policies regarding the detention of children for purposes of immigration control should be re-examined. Further research in the area is required.Practice implicationsAlthough high levels of mental and physical health problems, as well as child protection concerns were detected, detained families had very limited access to appropriate assessment, support or treatment. The traumatic experience of detention itself also has implications for the sizeable proportion of psychologically distressed children who are eventually released from detention and expected to successfully reintegrate into British society; while those children who are deported are returned with increased vulnerability to future stressors.     

Accelerometer responsiveness to change between structured and unstructured physical activity in children and adolescents

This study examined if accelerometer-based assessments of physical activity were responsive to changes in physical activity level commensurate with performing structured versus unstructured activity in youth. Youth (6–16 years; N = 206) participated in a simulated after-school program that included structured and unstructured games on four occasions over a 3-year period. Recruitment occurred in 2007/2008 and data collection ended in 2011. Participants wore an Actigraph GT1M accelerometer on the hip. The Evenson cut-points were used to determine the time spent in each physical activity intensity, and standardized response means (SRM) were calculated and converted to standard effect sizes to be interpreted according to Cohen’s guidelines. SRMs ranged from trivial (0.16) to high (2.07), with the majority (75%) being classified as moderate or high. Our findings suggest that accelerometry was sensitive to differences in physical activity associated with structured compared to unstructured play, supporting the utility of accelerometry in evaluating activity-promoting interventions.     

Genetic and Environmental Links Between Natural Language Use and Cognitive Ability in Toddlers

Although the phenotypic correlation between language and nonverbal cognitive ability is well‐documented, studies examining the etiology of the covariance between these abilities are scant, particularly in very young children. The goal of this study was to address this gap in the literature by examining the genetic and environmental links between language use, assessed through conversational language samples, and nonverbal cognition in a sample of 3‐year‐old twins (N = 281 pairs). Significant genetic and nonshared environmental influences were found for nonverbal cognitive ability and language measures, including mean length of utterance and number of different words, as well as significant genetic covariance between cognitive ability and both language measures.     

Profile analysis of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children,Second Edition,with African American and Caucasian preschool children

This study used profile analysis to investigate the interpretability of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC‐II), in terms of the Cattell‐Horn‐Carroll (CHC) theory among ethnically diverse preschool children. Forty‐nine African American and 49 Caucasian preschool children from a Midwestern city were included in the study and were matched for age, sex, and level of parental education. The profile analysis examining CHC broad abilities showed that the African American and Caucasian preschool children had similar patterns of highs and lows and performed at the same level with no significant difference between the two groups in their overall mean IQ. Profile analysis of the KABC‐II subtests found that although the African American and Caucasian groups performed overall at a similar level, they did not show the same pattern of highs and lows in subtest performance. Specifically, Caucasian preschoolers scored significantly higher than their African American counterparts on the Expressive Vocabulary subtest. Overall, the two groups displayed remarkably similar performance on the KABC‐II. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.