Do early care and education services improve language development for maltreated children? Evidence from a national child welfare sample

Young children under 6 years old are over-represented in the U.S. child welfare system (CWS). Due to their exposure to early deprivation and trauma, they are also highly vulnerable to developmental problems, including language delays. High quality early care and education (ECE) programs (e.g. preschool, Head Start) can improve children's development and so policymakers have begun calling for increased enrollment of CWS-supervised children in these programs. However, it is not a given that ECE will benefit all children who experience maltreatment. Some types of maltreatment may result in trauma-related learning and behavior challenges or developmental deficits that cause children to respond to ECE settings differently. The current study uses data from a nationally representative survey of children in the U.S. child welfare system, the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II, to assess whether young CWS-supervised children (N = 1,652) who were enrolled in ECE had better language development outcomes 18 months later than those not enrolled in ECE. We also explore whether the type of maltreatment that brought children to the CWS’ attention moderates the relationship between ECE and children's language development. After controlling for children's initial scores on the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-3), type(s) of maltreatment experienced, and child and caregiver demographics, we found that ECE participation predicted better PLS-3 scores at follow-up, with a positive interaction between ECE participation and supervisory neglect. ECE seems to be beneficial for CWS-involved children's early language development, especially for children referred to the CWS because they lack appropriate parent supervision at home.     

Co-occurrence of adverse childhood experiences and its association with family characteristics. A latent class analysis with Dutch population data

BackgroundAlthough adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are relatively common among children, there is limited knowledge on the co-occurrence of such experiences.ObjectiveThe current study therefore investigates co-occurrence of childhood adversity in the Netherlands and whether specific clusters are more common among certain types of families.Participants and SettingRepresentative data from the Family Survey Dutch population 2018 (N = 3,128) are employed.MethodWe estimate Latent Class Analysis (LCA) models to investigate co-occurrence of ACEs. As ACEs we examine maltreatment, household dysfunction, demographic family events, as well as financial and chronic health problems. Gradual measures for maltreatment and financial problems are studied to make it possible to differentiate with regard to the severity of experiences.ResultsOur results show that four ACE clusters may be identified: ‘Low ACE’, ‘Moderate ACE: Household dysfunction’, ‘Moderate ACE: Maltreatment’ and ‘High ACE’. Regression analyses indicated that mother’s age at first childbirth and the number of siblings were related to experiencing childhood adversity. We found limited evidence for ACEs to be related to a family’s socioeconomic position.ConclusionThe found clusters of ACEs reflect severity of childhood adversity, but also the types of adversity a child experienced. For screening and prevention of childhood adversity as well as research on its consequences, it is relevant to acknowledge this co-occurrence of types and severity of adversity.     

“There is a fine line between one’s personal life and professional one”: handling employee sexual harassment on facebook from the victim’s perspective

Sexual harassment is an interdisciplinary topic in organizational research that has received increased attention with the rise of the #MeToo movement. The online environment has complicated the experiences of employees who are sexually harassed by a coworker. One particular medium where online sexual harassment occurs is on social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook. This research report examined how victims of sexual harassment believe organizations should handle online sexual harassment. We qualitatively coded 153 responses to the question, “What else do you think employers could do to handle sexual harassment on Facebook?” Our findings demonstrated a clear tension between whether harassment on Facebook is a private concern of the employee or a public concern of the employer/organization. Some victims advocating keeping work friends off of Facebook, while others suggesting having open door policies, conversations, and/or trainings. The difference in these approaches illuminates how the victims grappled with the public/private tension, and whether the organization should be made aware of their situations or if victims should handle it themselves. Implications of this research suggest that the blurred boundaries between employee face-to-face and online sexual harassment should continue to be explored, including why victims report harassment and to whom they report it.     

Externalizing behaviors of Ukrainian children: The role of parenting

The purpose of this study was to assess the association of positive and negative parenting with child externalizing problems. Quantitative data were collected during face-to-face interviews with 320 parents of children 9–16 years of age (50% males) in 11 communities in Eastern, Southern, and Central Ukraine. The study estimated the relationship between parenting practices and child externalizing behaviors such as aggression, delinquency, and attention problems. Results revealed that positive parenting, child monitoring, and avoidance of corporal punishment were associated with fewer child externalizing symptoms. Results also indicated that child male gender and single parenting had significant and positive association with child externalizing behaviors. This study extends international psychosocial knowledge on children and families. These findings can be used to design programs and foster dialogs about the role of family and social environments in the development of externalizing disorder among researchers, representatives of governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and mass media that work with child abuse prevention in Ukraine.     

Childhood adversity and the risk of substance use and delinquency: The role of protective adult relationships

Youth involved in the child welfare system experience multiple early adversities that can contribute to increased risk of substance use and delinquency. Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with poorer behavioral outcomes among youth, less is known about the possible protective factors that may influence the relationship between early adversity and risk-taking behavior. This study examined whether protective adult relationships moderated the link between cumulative ACEs and substance use and delinquency after controlling for demographic characteristics in child welfare-involved youth. The sample included 1054 youth, ages 11–17, from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II who were in the first wave of data collection. Results showed that protective adult relationships moderated the relationship between ACEs and substance use, but not for delinquency. Specifically, under lower levels of protective adult relationships, cumulative ACEs related to increased substance use among youth. Implications for child welfare practices to target youths' support systems are discussed.     

Exploring Developmental Appropriateness of Multitouch Tables in Prekindergarten: A Video Analysis

This study explored how developmentally appropriate practices influenced the affordances of a multitouch surface in an early childhood classroom. Children, ages 4 to 5 years old, were videotaped while engaged in a storymaking application on a multitouch table. As a result of the study, we found that some challenges with the functionality undermined children's autonomous control. The researchers observed numerous instances of issues with control of the medium, including height of the table, sensitivity to multiple types of touch, and limited instructions and prompts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Community implementation outcomes of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up

Bringing evidence-based treatments to community practice is a critical challenge for the field. When implemented in the community, evidence-based treatments often fail to provide the benefits shown in laboratory settings. Therefore, when evidence-based treatments are transported to the community, it is essential to investigate implementation process and outcomes. The present study assessed whether Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), an intervention for high-risk parents that has been shown to be efficacious in randomized clinical trials (RCTs), changed parent behavior in a community-based setting. This study examined data collected from 78 cases by 9 parent coaches in a diverse community setting in Hawaii, and compared data to benchmarks from RCTs. Parent coach fidelity was coded from intervention session video clips, and was also compared with benchmarks. Caregivers participating in ABC were primarily birth parents, and most were referred through Child Protective Services involvement or for reasons of harsh parenting or neglect. Parental behavior was assessed before and after intervention using a semi-structured play task. Increases in parental following the lead and delight, and decreases in parental intrusiveness, were observed; these changes were comparable to effect sizes observed in RCTs. Intent to treat analyses were conducted using behavioral data from videotaped sessions, and suggested that ABC also improved following the lead in parents who subsequently dropped out of treatment. These results support the viability of ABC for enhancing parenting behavior among parents at high risk for maltreatment, and demonstrate that parent coaches in community agencies can successfully implement ABC.     

Adult mental health outcomes of child sexual abuse survivors born at extremely low birth weight

The high prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) is concerning, particularly as survivors are at increased risk for multiple adverse outcomes, including poor mental health across the lifespan. Children born at an extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) and who experience CSA may be a group that is especially vulnerable to psychopathology later in life. However, no research has considered the mental health risks associated with being born at ELBW and experiencing CSA. In this study, we investigated the mental health of 179 ELBW survivors and 145 matched normal birth weight (NBW; >2500 g) participants at ages 22–26 and 29–36. At age 22–26, CSA was associated with increased odds of clinically significant internalizing (OR = 7.32, 95% CI: 2.31–23.23) and externalizing (OR = 4.65, 95% CI: 1.11–19.51) problems among ELBW participants exposed to CSA compared to those who did not, though confidence intervals were wide. At age 29–36, CSA was linked to increased odds of any current (OR = 3.43, 95% CI: 1.08–10.87) and lifetime (OR = 7.09, 95% CI: 2.00–25.03) non-substance use psychiatric disorders, however, this did not hold after adjustment for covariates. Statistically significant differences in mental health outcomes were not observed in NBW participants exposed to CSA compared to NBW participants who were not exposed. Survivors of significant perinatal adversity who are also exposed to CSA may be at higher risk for psychopathology through the fourth decade of life.     

Early Literacy and the Public Library: An Opportunity of a Lifetime (of Reading)

In this article, author Bill Ptacek says that the future is now, and, at least from the 1970s through today, in the field of early childhood work, the future has come so fast that it is constantly upon us. That reality means that those concerned about young children in libraries have been about adaptation on a continuing basis. In this world of rapid change, innovation is constant: City firefighters come to the libraries in uniform to read stories to children, library outreach specialists take programs to daycare centers in their communities, and staff members create a space in a library devoted to early childhood reading. This tradition of rapid change means that the early childhood staff of most large public libraries in North America is changing for the future on a regular basis. The work unit should be considered seriously as one model for 21st century public library reform.     

迟子建小说的"记忆"呈现

在迟子建小说的想象艺术中，有关童年与历史记忆的书写是其中重要的组成。作家通过对视角择取、意象营造等记忆呈现方式的技术化处理，展现出的不仅是那个独特时代环境下带有鲜明地域和化印记的人类最为生动鲜活的生存场景，同时更多展露出的则是作家对于现实社会的凝重思索和对人性温情的热切渴望。