Examining the relationship of home and child care chaos to children’s executive functions

Çevresel kaos yüksek seviyede gürültülü, düzensiz, kalabalık ve çocukların kendilerini güvende hissetmelerini sağlayan rutinlerin eksik olduğu mikrosistemleri tanımlamaktadır. Mevcut çalışmalar ev ortamındaki kaosun yarattığı karmaşıklığın, öngörülemezliğin ve dikkat dağıtıcı uyaranların çok olmasının bilişsel esneklik, çalışma belleği ve ketleyici kontrol bileşenlerinden oluşan yönetici işlev gelişimi ile negatif yönde ilişkili olduğuna işaret etmektedir. Ancak, okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarındaki çevresel kaosun yönetici işlev becerileri ile ilişkisi ve ev ortamındaki çevresel kaos düzeyi ile olan etkileşimi daha önce incelenmemiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, evdeki ve okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarındaki çevresel kaos ile çocukların yönetici işlev becerileri arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırmaktır. Çalışmaya 244 okul öncesi dönemdeki çocuk (%50’si kız, Ortyaş = 60.89 ± 8.39 ay) ile bu çocukların anne ve öğretmenleri katılmıştır. Anne tarafından doldurulan Aile Çevresi Kaos Ölçeği (AÇKÖ) ve öğretmen tarafından doldurulan Erken Çocukluk Programlarında Yaşam Ölçeği (EÇPYÖ) aracılığıyla sırasıyla evdeki ve okul öncesi eğitim kurumundaki kaos düzeyi ölçülmüştür. Çocukların yönetici işlev becerileri dört görevden oluşan bir batarya kullanılarak doğrudan gözlem yöntemiyle değerlendirilmiştir. Korelasyona dayalı bulgular, evdeki ve okul öncesi eğitim kurumundaki çevresel kaos ile çocukların yönetici işlev becerileri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ve negatif yönde ilişki olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Çevresel kaosun temel ve etkileşimli ilişkilerinin incelendiği düzenleyici değişken analizi bulguları, evdeki ve okul öncesi eğitim kurumundaki çevresel kaos arasında anlamlı düzeyde bir etkileşim olduğunu göstermiştir. Bu etkileşim, evdeki kaos düzeyi yüksek olan çocuklar için okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarındaki sakin, yapılandırılmış ve öngörülebilir bir çevrenin koruyucu rolüne; öte yandan ev ve okul öncesi eğitim ortamlarının her ikisinin de yüksek düzeyde kaos içermesinin “çifte olumsuzluk” oluşturarak çocuklar için yüksek risk yaratan bir durum olduğuna işaret etmiştir. Çalışmadan elde edilen bulgular, uygulamaya yönelik olarak çevresel kaos düzeyi yüksek koşullarda yaşayan çocukların yönetici işlevlerini desteklemeye yönelik müdahale programlarının nasıl geliştirilebileceğine dair tartışılmıştır.Environmental chaos refers to microsystems with high levels of noise, disorganization, crowding, and a lack of routines that make children feel safe. Available studies point out that home chaos-related commotion, unpredictability, and sources of distraction are negatively associated with the development of executive functions, which consist of the components of cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control. Meanwhile, no study has yet examined the relationship between executive functions and child care chaos or the interaction between home and child care chaos. The present study aims to investigate the relationship of home and child care chaos with children’s executive functions. The participants involve 244 preschoolers (121 girls and 123 boys, Mage = 60.89 ± 8.39 months), as well as their mothers and teachers. Home and child care chaos were measured respectively by having mothers fill out the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS; Matheny et al., 1995) and the teachers fill out the Life in Early Childhood Programs Scale (LECP; Kontos & Wachs, 2000). Children’s executive functions were assessed using the direct observation method with a battery of four tasks. The correlation-based findings reveal statistically significant and negative associations for home and child care chaos with children’s executive functions. The study conducted a moderation analysis to test the main and interactive relations of home and child care chaos, with the result showing a significant interaction between the chaos levels in both environments. These findings point to the protective role of a calm, structured, and predictable environment in child care for children with high levels of home chaos. On the other hand, high levels of environmental chaos both at home and child care pose the greatest risk for children by creating a double jeopardy. The study discusses these findings in terms of practical applications for intervention programs that aim to support the executive functions of children who are exposed to high levels of environmental chaos

Immature event-related alpha dynamics in children compared with the young adults during inhibition shown by day-night stroop task

Introduction: Inhibitory control develops gradually from infancy to childhood and improves further during adolescence as the brain matures. Related previous studies showed the indispensable role of task-related alpha power during inhibition both in children and young adults. Nonetheless, none of the studies have been able to investigate the direct differences in brain responses between children and young adults when confronted with a stimulus that should be inhibited. Because, unlike event-related designs, task-related designs involve continuous tasks over a certain period, which precludes the possibility of making such a comparison. Accordingly, by employing event-related design, the present study first time in the literature, aimed to analyze the event-related alpha phase locking and event-related alpha synchronization/ desynchronization to differentiate the inhibitory processes in children compared to young adults. Methods: Twenty children between the ages of 6 to 7 years and 20 healthy young adult subjects between the ages of 18 to 30 years were included in the study. Day-night Stroop task was applied to all subjects during 18-channel EEG recordings. Event-related time-frequency analysis was performed with the complex Morlet Wavelet Transform for the alpha frequency band (8–13 Hz). Event related spectral perturbation (ERSP) in three different time windows (0–200 ms, 200–400 ms, 400–600 ms) and Event-related phase locking in the early time window (0–400 ms) was calculated. Results: The children had increased alpha power in early and late time windows but decreased alpha phase locking in the early time windows compared to young adults. There were also topological differences between groups; while young adults had increased alpha phase-locking in frontal and parietal electrode sites, children had increased occipital alpha power and phase locking. Discussion: The shift in event-related alpha power observed from posterior to anterior regions with age may suggest a progressive maturation of the frontal areas involved in inhibitory processes from childhood to adulthood. The results of the present study showed that children and young adults had different EEG oscillatory dynamics during inhibitory processes at alpha frequency range

Immature event-related alpha dynamics in children compared with the young adults during inhibition shown by day-night stroop task

IntroductionInhibitory control develops gradually from infancy to childhood and improves further during adolescence as the brain matures. Related previous studies showed the indispensable role of task-related alpha power during inhibition both in children and young adults. Nonetheless, none of the studies have been able to investigate the direct differences in brain responses between children and young adults when confronted with a stimulus that should be inhibited. Because, unlike event-related designs, task-related designs involve continuous tasks over a certain period, which precludes the possibility of making such a comparison. Accordingly, by employing event-related design, the present study first time in the literature, aimed to analyze the event-related alpha phase locking and event-related alpha synchronization/ desynchronization to differentiate the inhibitory processes in children compared to young adults.MethodsTwenty children between the ages of 6 to 7  years and 20 healthy young adult subjects between the ages of 18 to 30  years were included in the study. Day-night Stroop task was applied to all subjects during 18-channel EEG recordings. Event-related time-frequency analysis was performed with the complex Morlet Wavelet Transform for the alpha frequency band (8–13  Hz). Event related spectral perturbation (ERSP) in three different time windows (0–200  ms, 200–400  ms, 400–600  ms) and Event-related phase locking in the early time window (0–400  ms) was calculated.ResultsThe children had increased alpha power in early and late time windows but decreased alpha phase locking in the early time windows compared to young adults. There were also topological differences between groups; while young adults had increased alpha phase-locking in frontal and parietal electrode sites, children had increased occipital alpha power and phase locking.DiscussionThe shift in event-related alpha power observed from posterior to anterior regions with age may suggest a progressive maturation of the frontal areas involved in inhibitory processes from childhood to adulthood. The results of the present study showed that children and young adults had different EEG oscillatory dynamics during inhibitory processes at alpha frequency range

Okul Öncesi Dönemde Sosyo-Duygusal Gelişim: Mizaç, Dil Gelişimi ve Duyguları Anlama Becerisinin Yordayıcı Rolünün İncelenmesi

The present study aimed to investigate the predictive role played by temperament, language and emotion comprehension skills in social competence and behavior problems in the preschool period. The sample consisted of 223 children aged between 39-83 months, their mothers, and 48 preschool teachers who were recruited from 16 municipal preschools located in two central districts of Istanbul through convenient sampling. Children’s social competence was measured through teacher report of Social Competence Behavior Evaluation-Preschool Edition, Short Form (SCBE-30), and children’s behavior problems were evaluated with the related subscales of mother report of Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and teacher report of the SCBE-30. Temperament, receptive language development and emotion comprehension skills were measured through Children's Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form (CBQ-VSF), Turkish version of Test of Early Language Development-Third Edition (TELD-3:T), and Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC), respectively. The predictive role of each child characteristics in social competence and behavior problems was tested with a series of hierarchical linear regression analyses. Findings indicated that emotion comprehension skills significantly and language development and temperamental effortful control marginally predicted children’s social competence. Further, while temperamental negative affect and effortful control were significant predictors of both externalizing and internalizing problems, externalizing problems were also predicted by language development. The ways findings of this study can contribute to intervention programs that aim to prevent behavior problems and enhance social competence in the preschool period were discussed.Bu çalışma, bireysel çocuk özelliklerinden mizaç, dil gelişimi ve duyguları anlama becerisinin okul öncesi dönemde sosyal yetkinlik ve davranış problemleri üzerinde oynadığı yordayıcı rolü incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmanın örneklemini İstanbul’un iki merkez ilçesinin belediyelerine bağlı 16 anaokulundan uygun örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilen, yaşı 39-83 ay aralığında olan 223 çocuk, anneleri ve 48 anaokulu öğretmeni oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada, çocukların sosyal yetkinlikleri öğretmen bildirimine dayanan Sosyal Yetkinlik ve Davranış Değerlendirme-30 Ölçeği (SYDD-30) ile davranış problemleri ise anne bildirimine dayanan Çocuk Davranış Değerlendirme Ölçeği (ÇDDÖ) ve öğretmen bildirimine dayanan SYDD-30’un ilgili alt ölçekleri ile ölçülmüştür. Sözü edilen bireysel çocuk özelliklerinden mizaç Çocuk Davranış Listesi-Çok Kısa Formu (ÇDL-ÇKF) ile, alıcı dil gelişimi Türkçe Erken Dil Gelişim Testi (TEDİL) ile, duyguları anlama beceri ise Duyguları Anlama Testi (DAT) ile ölçülmüştür. Her bir çocuk özelliğinin sosyal yetkinlik ve davranış problemlerini yordayıcı gücü bir dizi aşamalı çoklu regresyon analizi ile test edilmiştir. Bulgular, duyguları anlama becerisinin anlamlı düzeyde, dil gelişimi ve mizacın çaba gerektiren kontrol boyutunun ise marjinal düzeyde sosyal yetkinliği yordadığını göstermiştir. Mizacın olumsuz duygulanım ve çaba gerektiren kontrol boyutları hem dışsallaştırma hem de içselleştirme problemlerinin anlamlı birer yordayıcısı olarak bulunurken, dışsallaştırma problemlerinin dil gelişimi tarafından da yordandığı saptanmıştır. Bu çalışmadan elde edilen bulguların davranış problemlerini önlemeye ve sosyal yetkinliği geliştirmeye yönelik müdahale programlarına nasıl katkılar sağlayabileceği tartışılmıştır

Socioemotional development in the preschool period: Investigating the predictive role of temperament, language development, and emotion comprehension

The present study aimed to investigate the predictive role played by temperament, language and emotion comprehension skills in social competence and behavior problems in the preschool period. The sample consisted of 223 children aged between 39-83 months, their mothers, and 48 preschool teachers who were recruited from 16 municipal preschools located in two central districts of Istanbul through convenient sampling. Children s social competence was measured through teacher report of Social Competence Behavior Evaluation-Preschool Edition, Short Form (SCBE-30), and children s behavior problems were evaluated with the related subscales of mother report of Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and teacher report of the SCBE-30. Temperament, receptive language development and emotion comprehension skills were measured through Children's Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form (CBQ-VSF), Turkish version of Test of Early Language Development-Third Edition (TELD-3:T), and Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC), respectively. The predictive role of each child characteristics in social competence and behavior problems was tested with a series of hierarchical linear regression analyses. Findings indicated that emotion comprehension skills significantly and language development and temperamental effortful control marginally predicted children s social competence. Further, while temperamental negative affect and effortful control were significant predictors of both externalizing and internalizing problems, externalizing problems were also predicted by language development. The ways findings of this study can contribute to intervention programs that aim to prevent behavior problems and enhance social competence in the preschool period were discussed

The relationship between attachment style and emotional characteristics of autobiographical memory: The mediator role of rejection sensitivity

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Prenatal parental emotion regulation difficulties and infants' communication skills: The moderating role of infants' 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and gender

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SELF COMPASSION AND EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY OF ADOLESCENTS: THE MODERATOR ROLE OF INSTITUTIONAL CARE

Adolescents receiving institutional care are much more likely to develop any psychological problems at some point in their lives, than those living with their biological parents. In addition to the cognitive and social difficulties they experience, there are various studies demonstrating that they are at risk, in the field of emotional development too. Emotional development constitutes only a part of important outcomes but it covers crucial concepts such as self-compassion and emotional reactivity. Although these concepts are so important for adolescents to establish healthy relationships with themselves and others, no study has so far studied these in this special group. In the light of the literature the aim of the present study is to investigate the moderating role of institutional experience on the relation between self-compassion and emotional reactivity. Firstly, it is expected that children who are residing in institutions will have higher scores on emotional reactivity compared to children in a family environment. Secondly, it is predicted that there will be a significant and negative relationship between self-compassion and emotional reactivity. Additionally, this potential relationship is expected to be stronger for institutionalised adolescents. A total of 90 adolescents from two different care types (institutional care and biological family homes) will be included in the study. Data will be collected using the Self-Compassion Scale and the Emotion Reactivity Scale. A moderation model will be tested that includes emotional reactivity as a criterion variable, self-compassion as a predictor variable, and care type (institutional care vs. biological family homes) as a moderator. The results of the present study may contribute to enlighten the emotional regulation mechanisms of adolescents receiving institutional care and develop effective intervention programs regarding the protective role of self-compassion, which is a relatively new concept