Les activités de loisirs des enfants et des adolescents comme milieu de développement

Les activités de loisirs, peu étudiées en France en psychologie du développement, font l’objet de nombreux travaux dans la littérature en particulier anglo-saxonne. Considérant ce déséquilibre, le but principal de cet article est de montrer en quoi, et comment, les loisirs constituent un environnement participant à l’évolution et à la construction identitaire. Reconnaître ce rôle invite les psychologues du développement et de l’orientation à mieux les considérer dans leur pratique. Après avoir positionné le concept de loisirs comme un véritable milieu, les relations réciproques associant pratique de loisirs et dimensions sociales et cognitives du développement seront présentées, à partir d’une recension de travaux internationaux sur la question. Les facteurs socioculturels et psychologiques qui préludent au choix des loisirs seront tout d’abord décrits, puis la question du rôle propre des loisirs dans le développement sera posée, en revenant plus particulièrement sur les mécanismes inter-et intra-individuels susceptibles de l’expliquer.Leisure activities have attracted little attention in developmental psychology in France and have been studied to a greater extent internationally, particularly in the English-speaking countries. With this in mind, the principal aim of this article is to show how leisure contributes to the development and construction of identity. Recognition of this role of leisure should encourage developmental and counselling psychologists to take greater account of it in their work. After first establishing the specific role of leisure, the reciprocal relationships between leisure activities and aspects of social and cognitive development will be presented from a review of international work. The socio-cultural and psychological factors which determine the choice of leisure activities will be described. The specific role of these activities in development will then be discussed, in particular focusing on the inter-and intra-individual mechanisms that could be involved

Morning-evening Types İn Kindergarten, Time-of-day And Performance On Basic Learning Skills

Research on the combined effect of diurnal type and time of day on school/ preschool performance is still scarce, probably because until recently there were no non-invasive questionnaires measuring diurnal type in younger children. To our knowledge, in the literature studies on the so-called synchrony effect only exist for adolescents and adults and no work has been conducted on prepubertal children. This study investigated in kindergarten the relationship between morningevening types with time-of-day and performance on a battery of tests covering basic skills involved in preschool learning. The sample comprised 80 children between 5 and 6 years old (M = 5.42, SD ± 0.495): 36 morning (45%) and 44 evening (55%) types, classified according to the Children’s Chronotype Questionnaire (Werner et al., 2009; PT version, Couto et al., 2014). The children completed a battery of tests related to kindergarten learning (Vitória de La Cruz, PT version, 2012) at four times in the kindergarten day (9:30-10:00; 11:30-12:00; 13:30-14:00; 15:00-15:30). Analyses indicated: an asynchrony effect on the Constancy of Form test, as M-E types performed better in their non-optimal moments, reaching significance in M-types; time-of-day effects in the Verbal (13:3014:00 > 11:30-12:00), Quantitative Concepts (15:00-15:30 > 9:30-10:00/ 11:30-12:00/ 13: 30-14:00) and Position in Space (11:30-12:00 > 13:30-14:00) tests. These results suggest the “synchrony effect” may be a simplistic hypothesis, and better performances are not necessarily associated to early times in the school day. Replication studies are necessary

Temps des vacances et questions de rythmes

National audienc

Les activités extrascolaires, un facteur négligé de l’adaptation scolaire des enfants et des adolescents

Introduction L’objectif poursuivi ici était d’éclairer l’adaptation au système scolaire par les processus intervenant en dehors de celui-ci. Plus particulièrement, il s’agit de considérer que des activités qui, par définition, ne sont ni scolaires ni familiales, constituent un réel milieu de développement. Elles seraient susceptibles de contribuer à la réussite scolaire de manière directe, en affectant les processus cognitifs en jeu dans les apprentissages et/ou de manière indirecte, en étant..

Temps, Rythmes et apprentissages

International audienc

Chronotype, Time of Day and Development Level as Predictive Factors of Mnesic Performance in Adolescents Assessed in an Academic Context

International audienc

Réforme des rythmes scolaires, étude du sommeil et de la fatigue de 778 enfants de 5 à 10 ans

International audienc

Chronotype, moment de passation et niveau de développement comme prédicteurs des performances mnésiques d’adolescents

International audienc

Is tryptophan catabolism increased under indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase activity during chronic lung inflammation in pigs?

In a preliminary study we observed that piglets suffering from chronic lung inflammation induced by an intravenous injection of complete Freund adjuvant showed a marked decrease in plasma tryptophan (Trp) concentration suggesting increased Trp utilisation. During the inflammatory process, a cytokine-induced enzyme called indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) has been shown to catabolise Trp into kynurenine (Kyn). Yet, during inflammation, increased Trp catabolism may decrease Trp availability for other functions such as growth. This metabolic pathway has never been studied in pigs. So, the objectives of this study were to measure IDO activity in pigs and to determine if the decrease in plasma Trp concentrations previously observed in piglets suffering from chronic lung inflammation could be explained by the induction of IDO activity. In order to do so, we compared IDO activity measured in the tracheo-bronchial lymph nodes and in the lungs of 7 piglets, injected with complete Freund adjuvant (CFA), to 7 pair-fed littermate healthy controls. Blood samples were taken at 0, 2, 5, 7 and 10 days following CFA injection in order to measure plasma Trp, Kyn and haptoglobin concentrations. Indoleamine 2,3-dioygenase activity in the tracheo-bronchial lymph nodes (P < 0.05), in the lungs (P < 0.07) and plasma haptoglobin (P < 0.01) were higher in pigs with lung inflammation than in the controls. Plasma Trp and Kyn were not significantly affected by CFA injection. Our data showed that IDO is activated under chronic lung inflammation in pigs. The impact of IDO activation on plasma Trp concentration and its availability is discussed according to the amount of Trp provided by the diet