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1 – 10 of 222Renfu Luo, Qijia Lyu, Scott Rozelle and Shun Wang
This study aims to bridge the gaps in the existing literature by studying the links between children's development and the subjective well-being of the caregivers using first-hand…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to bridge the gaps in the existing literature by studying the links between children's development and the subjective well-being of the caregivers using first-hand data collected in rural China.
Design/methodology/approach
Although the broad array of literature has examined the effects of child development on the subjective well-being of caregivers, the relationship between early childhood development and caregiver subjective well-being has not been well-studied using sample families with potential developmental delay in rural China. Also, existing research has relied on maternal reports to evaluate the developmental status of children. The study used data collected from 32 townships in seven nationally designated poverty counties in the Qinling mountainous area in 2016. The authors measure child development using the social-emotional module of the Ages & Stages Questionnaire and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development–Third Edition.
Findings
The authors find that child development indicators are correlated with caregiver subjective well-being. In particular, social-emotional skills are positively associated with life evaluations and positive emotion. However, we do not find any significant correlation between child development and negative emotion or depression, anxiety and stress scores.
Originality/value
The value of this study is to report the indicators of child development in rural China and examines the correlation between child development and caregivers' subjective well-being.
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John Tsiantis, Marjorie Smith, Thalia Dragonas and Antony Cox
The paper presents results from the implementation and evaluation of a EU/WHO multi‐centre programme on the promotion of children's psychosocial development through primary health…
Abstract
The paper presents results from the implementation and evaluation of a EU/WHO multi‐centre programme on the promotion of children's psychosocial development through primary health care services. The aims of the study were to develop methods for use by primary health care workers in their contact with families on issues pertaining to healthy psychosocial development in the first two years of life, to develop a training programme for primary health care workers to implement in their contact with the families, to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and to promote the implementation of the developed intervention techniques through the network of primary health care services.
Vivette Glover and Jane Barlow
Foetal programming is one of the key mechanisms by which physical and social adversity is biologically embedded during pregnancy. While early interest in such programming focused…
Abstract
Purpose
Foetal programming is one of the key mechanisms by which physical and social adversity is biologically embedded during pregnancy. While early interest in such programming focused on the long-term impact of the mother's nutritional state on the child's later physical health, more recent research has identified an increased risk of psychopathology in children of women who have experienced stress, anxiety and depression during pregnancy. The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature addressing the impact of stress in pregnancy and the implications for practice.
Design/methodology/approach
An overview of the literature has been provided.
Findings
Both anxiety and depression in pregnancy are common, with a prevalence in the region of 20 per cent. Exposure in pregnancy to anxiety, depression and stress from a range of sources (e.g. bereavement, relationship problems, external disasters and war), is associated with a range of physical (e.g. congenital malformations, reduced birthweight and gestational age), neurodevelopmental, cognitive, and emotional and behavioural (e.g. ADHD, conduct disorder) problems. The magnitude is significant, with the attributable risk of childhood behaviour problems due to prenatal stress being between 10 and 15 per cent, and the variance in cognitive development due to prenatal stress being around 17 per cent. A range of methods of intervening are effective in improving both maternal anxiety and depression, and in the longer term should improve outcomes for the infant and child.
Research limitations/implications
This research highlights the importance of intervening to support the psychological wellbeing of pregnant women to improve outcomes for infants and children, and points to the need for further research into innovative ways of working, particularly with high-risk groups of pregnant women.
Originality/value
The paper provides an update of earlier overviews.
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Keith Goldstein, Angela Vatalaro and Gad Yair
The purpose of this paper is to refute See and Gorard’s paper published in this journal in 2015 which argues that parent-based interventions for school readiness are ineffective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to refute See and Gorard’s paper published in this journal in 2015 which argues that parent-based interventions for school readiness are ineffective.
Design/methodology/approach
Methods and results from 107 studies that were cited in See and Gorard (2015a) and associated reports were reviewed. Evaluations were made based on comparing the original studies with the summaries of those studies in the publication.
Findings
In this rebuttal, the authors show how See and Gorard erred to correctly report methods, sample sizes, outcomes measured, and the actual results of prior research.
Practical implications
The authors suggest that See and Gorard do not provide solid evidence within their article to back up their claims about parent intervention programs. This rigorous review of See and Gorard’s primary sources reveals that the empirical evidence stands contrary to the claims being made. See and Gorard inaccurately reviewed publications which contradict their conclusions, and they relied on a vast amount of unpublished papers by students to support their claims.
Originality/value
The authors demonstrate how See and Gorard misapplied their own standards of evaluation; the authors claim that their source materials contradict the “finding” they purport to present; and the authors argue that they chose lesser known studies when more reputable ones were available.
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Iheoma U. Iruka, Mary Faith Mount-Cors, Samuel L. Odom, Sandra Naoom and Melissa Van Dyke
The purpose of this chapter is to examine how early childhood development (ECD) programs are being established and supported in The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked country in…
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to examine how early childhood development (ECD) programs are being established and supported in The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked country in southern Africa. First, we discuss the rationale for ECD programs. Based on a 10-day field visit to Zambia where we observed ECD programs, interviewed policy officials, and held focus groups with families, educators, and community groups, we reflect on practice and policy implications regarding supporting and increasing high-quality early education programs. Based on the analysis of this field visit, we provide some preliminary recommendations on increasing access to high-quality ECD programs. We also discuss the limitations of this study and the need for additional studies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Father involvement is a salient predictor of children’s development and recent studies suggest that African American fathers who are highly involved across infancy and toddlerhood…
Abstract
Father involvement is a salient predictor of children’s development and recent studies suggest that African American fathers who are highly involved across infancy and toddlerhood have children who enter school better prepared to succeed. Little is known, however, about the specific dimensions of fathering (e.g., language stimulation) that contribute to the positive development of African American children during the early childhood period. Even less is known about psychological and contextual barriers to positive father involvement among African American men with very young children. The first part of this chapter briefly reviews empirical research that has delineated links between multiple dimensions of father involvement and child development in African American families. The second part of the chapter explores emerging evidence on the associations between fathers’ psychological functioning, father involvement and child development, and concludes with suggestions for future research, practice, and policy.
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Paul Jesilow, J’ona Meyer and Nazi Namazzi
Surveys attitudes to police (ATP) in Santa Ana, California by asking respondents what they most like or dislike about police. Finds inter alia that the primary indicator of ATP is…
Abstract
Surveys attitudes to police (ATP) in Santa Ana, California by asking respondents what they most like or dislike about police. Finds inter alia that the primary indicator of ATP is how people feel about their location. Contrasts sharply with previous research in finding that ethnicity is not a very good predictor of ATP. Points out that unrealistic expectations for law enforcement may be ameliorated by community policing, which involves citizens in decision making and neighborhood improvement.
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Ernest L. Nickels and Arvind Verma
Some police research has used quantitative methods of typology construction in attitudinal data to explore the spatial structure of occupational culture, suggesting distinctions…
Abstract
Purpose
Some police research has used quantitative methods of typology construction in attitudinal data to explore the spatial structure of occupational culture, suggesting distinctions among officer‐types may be empirically useful. The purpose of this paper is to suggest scale construction as a complimentary approach, using original data collected from a multi‐national sample. Cultural structure is examined here in terms of the spatial relationship among variables rather than respondents. Cultural homogeneity is understood principally as the relative congruence of attitudinal constructs across national groups. Where common constructive dimensions are evident, meaningful analysis of attitudinal valence is then possible.
Design/methodology/approach
Data‐measuring attitudes in several facets of occupational outlook were collected from police in Canada, India, and Japan. Factor analysis was used to identify latent structures among question items in 11 inventories in the aggregate set and then again in each national sample. Factor solutions were then compared for congruence across the three nations and against the aggregate result. Scores from congruent factors were analyzed using ANCOVA.
Findings
The findings suggest an appreciable universality to factor structures in the inventories and samples examined here. Congruence across attitudinal constructs appears to break down in those aspects of occupational outlook that are most personal and most impersonal to the officer.
Originality/value
The paper offers a complimentary approach to existing quantitative methods in probing sameness and difference in police culture by focusing upon the constructive meanings of attitudinal measurements as expressive of the conceptual dimensionality of attitudinal space.
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Laure Le Treut, François Poinso, Pauline Grandgeorge, Elisabeth Jouve, Michel Dugnat, Joshua Sparrow and Jokthan Guivarch
Studies of the first year of infant psychomotor development in cases of maternal postpartum depression are lacking. The mother and baby unit (MBU) is a healthcare system available…
Abstract
Studies of the first year of infant psychomotor development in cases of maternal postpartum depression are lacking. The mother and baby unit (MBU) is a healthcare system available to infants and their mothers during the postpartum period in a psychiatric hospital, which provides support and preserves the parent's role in the child's daily care. The aim of the paper is to describe the developmental profile of babies of mothers with severe postpartum depression treated in an MBU through the developmental quotients. Using the Brunet-Lézine scale, we studied six-month-old infants whose mothers were hospitalized. The study population consisted of 15 infants. The mean global developmental quotient score was 96.7. A developmental quotient lower than 80 was not observed for any of the children. We found no global psychomotor developmental delays. Despite this, the posture subscore was the area in which we observed the most difficulties. It is possible that the tonic dialogue between the mother and infant is disrupted by maternal depression.
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Richard A. Wright and J. Mitchell Miller
Although numerous studies recently have appeared that identify the most‐cited scholars and works in the general criminology and criminal justice literature and in several…
Abstract
Although numerous studies recently have appeared that identify the most‐cited scholars and works in the general criminology and criminal justice literature and in several specialty areas, no previous citation study has specifically examined the police studies literature. Through an analysis of 370 articles and research notes appearing from 1991 to 1995 in the areas of police studies, published in Criminology, Justice Quarterly, and four academic periodicals devoted to police studies, we list the 50 most‐cited scholars and the 36 most‐cited works. The lists of the most‐cited scholars and works in the specialty area of police studies are compared to general lists taken from leading criminology and criminal justice journals and introductory textbooks. We conclude with some thoughts about the relevance of citation analysis to specialists in police studies.
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