Variation in African American parents' use of early childhood physical discipline

Physical discipline is endorsed by a majority of adults in the U.S. including African American (AA) parents who have high rates of endorsement. Although many studies have examined physical discipline use among AA families, few have considered how early childhood physical discipline varies within the population. Individuals within a cultural group may differ in their engagement in cultural practices (Rogoff, 2003). Furthermore, AA families’ characteristics and their contexts, which are shaped by the interaction of social position, racism, and segregation (García Coll et al., 1996), likely influence how AA families physically discipline their young children. This study examined variation in early childhood physical discipline among AA families living in low-income communities and relations with demographic and contextual factors. Year 1 data from 310 AA parents living in three regionally distinct low-income communities were used from a sequential longitudinal intervention program study of the development and prevention of conduct disorder. Latent class analyses were conducted using parents’ responses on a measure, of the frequency of overall physical discipline, spanking, and hitting during prekindergarten and kindergarten. The associations between latent classes and six demographic and contextual factors were examined using the Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars (BCH) method. The factors were: child gender (59% male); marital status (51% never married); parental education (66% high school graduates and beyond); income (mean = $16.66K, S.D. = 12.50), family stress, and perception of neighborhood safety. Measures included the Family Information Form, Life Changes, and the Neighborhood Questionnaire. After considering two to seven class solutions, five physical discipline classes or sub-groups were identified. Classes were defined by discipline frequency (‘Infrequent’, ‘Weekly’, ‘Monthly’, ‘Almost-Every-Day’ and ‘Weekly-All’) as well as by discipline type (only parents in the ‘Weekly-All’ class hit their children). Significant associations were found between class membership, and child gender, marital status, income, and perception of neighborhood safety. Girls were more likely to be physically disciplined infrequently, χ2(4, N = 310) = 11.88, p = .05. The ‘Weekly’ class had significantly fewer married parents than all classes except ‘Almost-Every-Day’, χ2(4, N = 310) = 21.56, p < .001. Parents in the ‘Almost-Every-Day’ class had a significantly lower income than parents in all other classes except “Weekly-All”, χ2(4, N = 310) = 10.88, p = .03. Finally, parents in the “Almost-Every-Day” class perceived their neighborhood as significantly less safe compared to those in all other classes except the ‘Weekly-All’ class, χ2(4, N = 310) = 14.13 p = .01. These findings suggest that AA families vary in physical discipline during early childhood; this variation may result in sub-groups with different demographic characteristics. Associations between frequent discipline classes and perceptions of neighborhood safety implies that some AA parents may use physical discipline to protect their children from being harmed if they believe their communities are unsafe. Future research should qualitatively examine how AA parents respond to unsafe neighborhoods in their parenting behaviors, including physical discipline

Childhood Peer Status and the Clustering of Adverse Living Conditions in Adulthood

Within the context of the school class, children attain a social position in the peer hierarchy to which varying amounts of status are attached. Several studies have shown that children’s peer status is associated with a wide range of social and health-related outcomes. These studies commonly target separate outcomes, paying little attention to the fact that such circumstances are likely to go hand in hand. The overarching aim of the present study was therefore to examine the impact of childhood peer status on the clustering of living conditions in adulthood. Based on a 1953 cohort born in Stockholm, Sweden, multinomial regression analysis demonstrated that children who had lower peer status also had exceedingly high risks of ending up in more problem-burdened clusters as adults. Moreover, these associations remained after adjusting for a variety of family-related circumstances. We conclude that peer status constitutes a central aspect of children’s upbringing with important consequences for subsequent life chances, over and above the influences originating from the family.childhood; peer status; cohort; life course; outcome profiles; living conditions

The Correlation Analysis between Bullying and Experiences in Close Relationships in High School Students

In this study, it is aimed to determine whether there is correlation between the school bullying and the experiences of adolescents in their close relationships. The participants of this study consisted of children from 9th,10th,11th,12th grades of three different high schools. In this research, Student Relationships Attitude Scale and Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory were used as data collection tools. Results of the study revealed significant positive relationships between the bullying personality attitude and attachment avoidance and attachment worry dimensions of the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory. Significant relationships were found between confident attitude and attachment avoidance dimension of the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory

Teenager Attitude in Globalization Era in Senior High School in YOGYAKARTA

The students that come from outside of the city, stay alone without parental presence and direct supervision. The dynamic and variation of culture, rapid flow of information, and accessible information source contribute to increasing of the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of teenagers, either with the positive or negative tendency. The objective was assess teenager\u27s attitude in religion-based private high school in Yogyakarta used an analytic observational study with cross sectional design. The population and sample of this research were high school students in religion-based private school in Yogyakarta. The sample was selected by proportional stratified random sampling method. The results were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analysis. Bullying, truancy, school tardiness, dating, unwanted pregnancies, brawls/fights, gang students, poor manners, smoking, and pornography were the negative attitudes found in the subject of this research. About 45,3% of them had a bad attitude and 33,7% of them had a bad attitude. Several approaches for example, asking the commitment from a certain organization which concerns on mentoring and coaching of students, cooperation with student parents, and make the school environment more pleasant

Effectiveness of a Universal School-Based Social Competence Program: The Role of Child Characteristics and Economic Factors

An evaluation of the effectiveness of a school-based social competence curriculum PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) on teacher-rated aggressive behavior,&nbsp;ADHD, and prosocial behavior in children. The one-year prevention program was administered to children in 28 of 56 Swiss elementary schools (N = 1,675). Outcomes&nbsp;were assessed at pretest and posttest with a follow-up 2 years later. Moderator interactions involving baseline child characteristics and economic factors were&nbsp;tested. There were significant treatment effects for ADHD/impulsivity and aggression at the follow-up. Baseline development variables predicted higher prosocial behavior&nbsp;as well as lower aggressive behavior and ADHD at the follow-up. Economic risk factors predicted poor behavior outcomes at the follow-up. Development variablesmoderated the impact of PATHS on ADHD and aggression at the follow-up. However, for most outcomes, no main effects or moderation of treatment effects were found

Maternal depressive symptoms and child social preference during the early school years: Mediation by maternal warmth and child emotion regulation

This longitudinal study examined processes that mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and peer social preference during the early school years. Three hundred and fifty six kindergarten children (182 boys) and their mothers participated in the study. During kindergarten, mothers reported their level of depressive symptomatology. In first grade, teachers rated children's emotion regulation at school and observers rated the affective quality of mother-child interactions. During second grade, children's social preference was assessed by peer nomination. Results indicated that mothers' level of depressive symptomatology negatively predicted their child's social preference 2 years later, controlling for the family SES and teacher-rated social preference during kindergarten. Among European American families, the association between maternal depressive symptoms and social preference was partially mediated by maternal warmth and the child's emotion regulation. Although the relation between maternal depressive symptoms and children peer preference was stronger among African American families than Europrean American families, its mediation by the maternal warmth and child's emotion regulation was not found in African American families. © 2010 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

‘The Blue-Eyed’ in Our School – Overcoming Stereotypes as a Way to Create Better Classroom Development Conditions for Students

The article outlines a universal and selective prevention program aiming at weakening the risk factors – child peer rejection and the emergence and prevalence of a low skills stereotype. It is based on the cooperation of researchers with pairs of faculty members teaching in the same 4th grade: the class host and a Polish, math or a foreign language teacher. The goal of this cooperation is to create better psychosocial development conditions in interactions with teachers and peers, diminishing the sense of helplessness during Polish and math classes, the risk of stereotypes and the school– and learning-re-lated stress. The results of the seven-month cooperation will be assessed through research conducted in 18 classes randomly assigned to the trial group (9 classes) and the control group (9 classes). The pretest, after-test and the measurement of results extended for a year after the conclusion of the program will include students with the after-test covering also teachers. The socio-economic status of students’ families will be the variable controlled for

Gender matters: male and female ECEC practitioners’ perceptions and practices regarding children's rough-and-tumble play (R&T)

The aim of this study was to explore Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) practitioners’ perceptions and practices regarding children’s indoor and outdoor rough-and-tumble play (R&T) from a gender perspective. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used together in a mixed method design to provide quantitative data of patterns among a larger group of ECEC practitioners, as well as to gather greater in-depth insights on ECEC practitioners’ attitudes, thoughts and actions concerning children’s R&T. The results of the study showed that ECEC practitioners acknowledged both positive and negative sides of R&T; that they allowed this kind of play significantly more in outdoor environments than indoors, and that R&T often produced uncertainty and a need for control by the practitioners. The most surprising result from the questionnaire was the lack of gender differences in allowing children’s R&T in ECEC. However, the interviews revealed that although a basic difference in attitudes between male and female practitioners originally existed, female practitioners changed their attitudes and practices towards R&T as a result of gaining more knowledge and experience of this play through their male colleagues. In addition, a high consciousness of trying to adopt common understandings, rules and practices regarding R&T also contributed to a change of attitudes.acceptedVersio

The impact of classroom aggression on the development of aggressive behavior problems in children

Prior research suggests that exposure to elementary classrooms characterized by high levels of student aggression may contribute to the development of child aggressive behavior problems. To explore this process in more detail, this study followed a longitudinal sample of 4,907 children and examined demographic factors associated with exposure to high-aggression classrooms, including school context factors (school size, student poverty levels, and rural vs. urban location) and child ethnicity (African American, European American). The developmental impact of different temporal patterns of exposure (e.g., primacy, recency, chronicity) to high-aggression classrooms was evaluated on child aggression. Analyses revealed that African American children attending large, urban schools that served socioeconomically disadvantaged students were more likely than other students to be exposed to high-aggressive classroom contexts. Hierarchical regressions demonstrated cumulative effects for temporal exposure, whereby children with multiple years of exposure showed higher levels of aggressive behavior after 3 years than children with primacy, less recent, and less chronic exposure, controlling for initial levels of aggression. Implications are discussed for developmental research and preventive interventions