Adverse experiences in early childhood and their longitudinal impact on later behavioral problems of children living in poverty

BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are an identified risk factor for the social and emotional development of children. What is less known is the long-term effects of ACEs when poverty and ACEs coincide.ObjectiveUsing longitudinal cohort-panel data, we examined whether exposure to ACEs by the age of three among poor children would longitudinally result in behavioral problems at ages three, five, nine, and 15, after controlling for mothers’ socioeconomic status and their children’s characteristics.Participants and settingWe used a subsample of 2750 children and their parents living in urban poverty from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study.MethodsLogistic regression modeling was used to obtain adjusted odds ratios of ACE categories predicting behavioral problems after accounting for family socioeconomic position.ResultsOur findings indicate that experiencing ACEs in early childhood was significantly associated with later behavioral outcomes from childhood to adolescence. Exposure to multiple ACEs before the age of three was significantly associated with the top-risk behavior group at age five; the odd ratios were 2.0 (CI = 1.3–3.1) and 2.9 (CI = 1.8–4.6) for two ACEs and three or more ACEs, respectively. At both ages nine and 15, children experiencing two or more ACEs had 1.9 to 3.2 times higher odds to demonstrate more the top 10th percentile of behavioral problems. Among covariates, mothers’ race and education, and children’s gender and temperament were identified as significant factors to determine behavior problems.ConclusionsThe findings support policies and programs for families with children who have experienced economic disadvantages and early childhood adversity.     

A mediational model linking perceptions of security,alexithymia and behavior problems of sexually abused children

BackgroundPerceptions of security toward parents are related with internalized and externalized problems among victims of child sexual abuse (CSA). Alexithymia, which is difficulty in identifying and expressing feelings, is associated with the quality of parent-child relationships (Oskis et al., 2013) and behavior problems in children (Di Trani et al., 2013).ObjectiveThe current study tested the mediational role of alexithymia in the relationship between perceptions of security toward parents and behavior problems among CSA victims.Participants and methodUsing a short-term multi-informant prospective design, 263 victims of CSA aged 6–12 years completed the Kerns Security Scale (Kerns, Klepac, & Cole, 1996), which evaluates perceived attachment security to mothers and fathers. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) at Time 1 to provide baseline scores of behavior problems and again four months later. At Time 2, parents also assessed the children’s alexithymia using the Children’s Alexithymia Measure (Way et al., 2010).ResultsPerceptions of security were both associated with alexithymia, as well as with internalizing and externalizing problems (p < .05). A mediational model showed that perception of security toward fathers outweighed the mother-child relationship in predicting children’s alexithymia. Path analysis revealed that the father-child relationship predicted decreased behavioral problems at Time 2 through a lower level of alexithymia. The model explained 46.9% of internalizing problems and 56.1% of externalizing problems (p < .05).ConclusionsThe findings support the relevance of alexithymia as an intervention target for CSA victims and underscore the importance of the father-child relationship.     

Emotional and behavior problems in adopted children – The role of early adversities and adoptive parents’ regulation and behavior

BackgroundEarly adversity and negative experiences in the adoptive family can put adopted children at risk for emotional and behavior problems.ObjectiveThis study analyzes the influence of children’s preadoptive history and adoptive parents’ characteristics on the psychosocial adjustment of nationally and internationally adopted children in Germany.Participants and settingThe survey included 172 adopted children aged between 24 and 145 months and their adoptive parents.MethodsParents provided information about preadoptive history. Information about emotional and behavior problems was obtained from the parental version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Parental well-being was obtained through a composite score of three standardized measures (self-efficacy questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale PSS-4, Brief Symptom Inventory BSI); parenting behavior was assessed with the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (DEAPQ).Results12.5% of the adopted children scored in the clinical range of the SDQ. In a multiple regression analysis, the experience of maltreatment and neglect was the most important predictor of emotional and behavior problems at time of assessment, followed by pre- and perinatal risk and parental stress regulation difficulties, R² = .423, F(4, 128) = 28.539. Increases in the number of risk factors present were associated with a greater odd of children scoring in the clinical range of the SDQ.ConclusionsMost of the nationally and internationally adopted children in this sample were well-adjusted. Prenatal and preadoptive risk as well as stress regulation capacities of the main caregiver contributed to the child’s development. An accumulation of risks increased the likelihood of adjustment problems in adopted children.     

城市化进程中失地农民心理适应问题论析

失地农民进入城市会面临某些心理不适问题,具体表现在居住变化、经济压力、就业不足与保障不力等导致的心理不安、焦虑与抵触失衡心理,以及社会交往产生的封闭自卑心理、城市认同感欠缺与市民意识缺失等。心理不适问题的产生既与城市体制性因素以及城市居民的偏见与歧视有关,也与失地农民自身人力资本不足、农村传统文化的持续影响有关。应该从物质层面做好就业与保障工作、从社会文化层面扭转生活方式与价值观念以及从个体心理层面构建心理调适机制来实现失地农民心理适应。     

浅议民族院校的思想政治教育

民族院校是我国高等教育体系的重要组成部分,承担着非常特殊的功能。其思想政治教育具有自身的特点：培养政治可靠的大学生是首要目标;全面提高学生思想道德素质和法律素质是基础;引导学生践行社会主义核心价值体系是关键;宣传党的民族理论政策是重点;培育＂四有＂新人是落脚点。     

论高职院校人才培养评估中的深度访谈艺术

深度访谈是高职院校人才培养工作评估中发现教学问题及成因,进而形成建设性意见的主要方式,深度访谈应坚持针对性、和谐性、适度性原则,做好访谈提纲等前期准备工作,并在访谈过程中恰当把握切入点、机智提问、控制谈话方向和节奏、善于倾听、捕捉细节、深入挖掘信息、谨慎评价、巧妙回应等访谈技巧。     

近年来高考加分政策问题研究述评

随着2010年11月14日教育部等五部门联合签发《关于调整部分高考加分项目和进一步加强管理工作的通知》（教学[2010]10号）的下发,高考加分项目调整拉开了新一轮帷幕,社会对高考加分问题的关注掀起了又一波高潮。通过对近年来有关高考加分政策问题方面的研究成果进行梳理,有助于总结已有的研究成果,并进一步拓展对该问题的研究深度,进而完善我国的高考加分政策。     

高职院校教师队伍建设存在的问题与对策

高职院校教师是高职院校教育质量提高和教育目标实现的基本保证。文章针对我国高职院校教师队伍建设的现状,就高职院校教师队伍建设存在的问题展开分析,探讨了加强高职院校教师队伍建设的对策。     

西北民族农牧区教育滞后形态分析

基础义务教育状况对西北民族地区农牧民影响巨大,影响农牧民生活的发展趋势。通过对农牧民接受基础教育问题进行政治学、经济学、社会学的分析,我们认为西北民族地区农牧民在接受国家义务教育的前提下、应提高技术教育、法制教育的水平,推动西北民族农牧地区社会、政治、经济的发展,促进政治文明建设。     

管理科学基金项目论文产出的定量分析

在1997-1999年间,国家自然科学基资助的管理科学项目完成之后的平均论文产出为9篇左右,数量呈逐年增加的趋势,但在国际主流学术期刊发表的论文数量相当少,学术论文主要发表在国内的学术期刊上.针对论文产出和基金项目的后评估,提出了若干建议.