Effect of Including Parents in a School-Based Exercise and Nutrition Program for Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of parental involvement in a school-based program about exercise and nutrition. One fifth grade and one sixth grade class were randomly assigned to each of the three different treatment conditions, a school-and-home condition (n = 45), a school-only condition (n = 43), and a control condition (n = 44). In the school-and-home condition, the children's parents were also asked to participate in nutritional and exercise activities at home as a family “home team.” A multivariate analysis of variance on change scores was completed on the following variables: height, weight, skinfold, sit-and-reach, sit-ups, mile run, exercise knowledge, saturated fat, cholesterol, percent calories from fat, percent calories from carbohydrates, and nutrition knowledge. There was a significant difference among groups. The school-and-home and school-only groups showed significantly greater improvement than the control group but were not significantly different from each other. Univariate analyses on posttest scores indicated that the school-and-home children scored significantly higher than the control group on sit-and-reach flexibility and nutrition knowledge. The results indicate that including the family was primarily effective in facilitating children's improvements in flexibility and nutrition knowledge rather than in diet and exercise behaviors.     

The effects of a family fitness program on the physical activity and nutrition behaviors of third-grade children

This study examined the efficacy of a school-based exercise and nutrition program with a parent component. Third-grade children (N = 238) from six elementary schools participated in the study, with three schools randomly assigned to a program group and the other three schools to a control group. The program group received a health-related fitness school-based program and a home program that required parents and children to complete activities and earn points for nutrition and exercise activities. The control group received their traditional physical education and nutrition education program. Univariate analysis of variance on pre- and posttest scores were completed on the following variables: height, weight, body mass index, skinfold, blood cholesterol, mile run, exercise and nutrition knowledge, calories, protein, carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, fiber, sodium, percentage of calories from carbohydrates, and percentage of calories from fat. At pretest, the treatment and control groups did not significantly differ on the measures using schools as the unit of analysis. Girls scored significantly higher than boys on skinfold and pretest knowledge. At posttest, the treatment group scored significantly higher than the control group on exercise and nutrition knowledge and significantly lower than the control group on total fat intake, using schools as the unit of analysis. There was no improvement in physiological measures, including blood cholesterol. The study demonstrated that schools can adjust curriculum to meet some health needs of students and achieve modest changes in exercise and nutrition knowledge and diet. The family component of the program provided a practical approach to improving physical activity and nutrition behaviors for elementary school teachers who teach many participants in a crowded curriculum.     

Attachment,Acculturation, and Psychosomatic Complaints Among Hispanic American University Students

This study investigated adult attachment and acculturation frameworks of reported psychosomatic complaints related to perceived discrimination among a sample of Latino/Hispanic university students (N = 160). The model supported by the data suggests that attachment anxiety, acculturation toward the dominant cultural norms, and adherence to Latino/Hispanic cultural beliefs are important factors for perceived discrimination and psychosomatic complaints experienced by Latino/Hispanic students. Counseling implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Attitudes towards sexuality information for adolescents: what parents should and should not say

The goal of this study was to investigate the attitudes of Colombians with respect to what can and what must not be said to young people of different ages and genders regarding sexuality. A convenience sample of 329 adults, aged 18–64 years, living in Bogotá participated in the study. They were presented with a set of 36 vignettes describing situations in which either a young girl or a young boy seemed to be concerned about sexuality and sexual relationships. Each scenario contained three items of information: the child’s gender, age and the parent’s decision (e.g. not to say anything regarding sexuality). Through cluster analysis, seven qualitatively different sets of attitudes were found. The five most common ones were: (i) it is never appropriate to talk about sexual matters (6%); (ii) delegate this responsibility to the school nurse (4%); (iii) provide incomplete information restricted to the biology of sexuality (11%); (iv) provide comprehensive information but with a recommendation of abstinence (28%); and (v) provide comprehensive information and a recommendation of pre-marital sexual experience (36%). Although it was expected that attitudes would vary as a function of the young person’s gender and age, such variations proved to be limited in their extent.     

Eye movements of university students with and without reading difficulties during naming speed tasks

Although naming speed (NS) has been shown to predict reading into adulthood and differentiate between adult dyslexics and controls, the question remains why NS is related to reading. To address this question, eye movement methodology was combined with three letter NS tasks (the original letter NS task by Denckla & Rudel, Cortex 10:186–202, 1974, and two more developed by Compton, The Journal of Special Education 37:81–94, 2003, with increased phonological or visual similarity of the letters). Twenty undergraduate students with reading difficulties (RD) and 27 without (NRD) were tested on letter NS tasks (eye movements were recorded during the NS tasks), phonological processing, and reading fluency. The results indicated first that the RD group was slower than the NRD group on all NS tasks with no differences between the NS tasks. In addition, the NRD group had shorter fixation durations, longer saccades, and fewer saccades and fixations than the RD group. Fixation duration and fixation count were significant predictors of reading fluency even after controlling for phonological processing measures. Taken together, these findings suggest that the NS–reading relationship is due to two factors: less able readers require more time to acquire stimulus information during fixation and they make more saccades.     

Child sexual abuse consequences in community samples of Latino and European American adolescents

ObjectiveResearch investigating the impact of child sexual abuse (CSA) in community samples of adolescents has been limited. This study aims to identify sexual abuse among ethnically diverse high school adolescents of both genders and evaluate their psycho-emotional consequences.MethodThrough the use of self-report instruments, a sample of 223 Latino and European American 16–19-year-old high school students were identified as either victims of CSA or as nonabused. The emotional impact of sexual abuse was also investigated among these ethnically diverse adolescent males and females.ResultsInitial findings revealed that those adolescents who gave inconsistent responses to CSA assessments questions were much more similar in patterns of psychological distress to CSA victims compared to nonabused teenagers. Prevalence analyses revealed that females (45%) were nearly two times more likely to report CSA than males (24%). Latinos (44%) were significantly more likely to experience CSA compared to European Americans (27%), and Latinas (54%) had the highest prevalence overall. Other findings indicated substantial differences in type of perpetrator. While female victims of CSA identified male perpetrators in 91.9% of cases, male victims of CSA identified female perpetrators in 52.9% of cases. Consistent with past research, sexually abused adolescents reported significantly greater psychological distress than their nonabused peers, regardless of gender or ethnic group. Gender differences emerged with females reporting greater psychological symptoms, but these differences were substantially reduced when CSA was controlled. European Americans reported greater anxious arousal symptoms compared to Latinos.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the prevalence of CSA among adolescents is higher than existing research has noted for both males and females and particularly higher for Latinos compared to European Americans. Perpetration by females upon males may also be higher than research has noted. Our findings also revealed many ethnic and gender similarities and fewer differences in the psychological impact and circumstances of sexual abuse in this diverse sample of adolescents.Practice implicationsThe high prevalence of CSA among adolescent males and particularly Latinas emphasize the need to intervene on a community level and with parents for both prevention and intervention regarding issues of sexual victimization. The numbers of female perpetrators, especially when boys are the targets of abuse, may be higher than previously imagined and thus must be assessed tactfully and thoroughly. This study found that adolescents who reported CSA inconsistently had similar symptoms as those with confirmed CSA and therefore warrant greater attention and more persistent intervention. When treating victims of CSA, the Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) is effective in identifying specific areas of emotional distress to treat in sexually abused ethnically diverse male and female adolescents. Culturally relevant prevention efforts are needed for ethnically diverse children of both genders.