The early childhood generalized trust belief scale

The study was designed to develop and evaluate the Early Childhood Generalized Trust Belief Scale (ECGTBS) as a method of assessing 5-to-8-year-olds’ generalized trust. Two hundred and eleven (103 male and 108 female) children (mean age 6 years and 2 months at Time 1) completed the ECGTBS twice over a year. A subsample of participants completed the ECGTBS after two weeks to assess the scale’s test-retest reliability. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed that the ECGTBS assessed the expected three factors: reliability, emotional trust, and honesty with item-pairs loading most strongly on their corresponding factor. However, the ECGTBS demonstrated low to modest internal consistency and test-retest reliability which indicates a need for further development of this instrument. As evidence for the convergent validity of the ECGTBS, the reliability and emotional trust items were associated with the children’s trust in classmates at Time 2. Concurrent asymmetric quadratic relationships indicated the importance of midrange generalized trust. Specifically, children with very high generalized trust experienced greater loneliness and children with very low generalized trust had fewer friendships than children with midrange trust

The effects of changes in the order of verbal labels and numerical values on children's scores on attitude and rating scales

Research with adults has shown that variations in verbal labels and numerical scale values on rating scales can affect the responses given. However, few studies have been conducted with children. The study aimed to examine potential differences in children’s responses to Likert-type rating scales according to their anchor points and scale direction, and to see whether or not such differences were stable over time. 130 British children, aged 9 to 11, completed six sets of Likert-type rating scales, presented in four different ways varying the position of positive labels and numerical values. The results showed, both initially and 8-12 weeks later, that presenting a positive label or a high score on the left of a scale led to significantly higher mean scores than did the other variations. These findings indicate that different arrangements of rating scales can produce different results which has clear implications for the administration of scales with children

An Evaluation of a Mental Health Promotion Programme to Improve Emotional, Social and Coping Skills in Children and Young People Attending Special Schools

Background: Research evidence suggests that a child's emotional, social and psychological well-being influences their future health, education and social prospects, and that positive, well-developed coping skills and high emotional literacy lead to improved self-esteem, reduced stress, and reduced incidence of serious emotional problems in later life. Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are at a disadvantage as they tend to have lower levels of emotional literacy and may have limited opportunities or capacity to develop coping skills. Few targeted, evidence-based programmes aimed at improving emotional literacy and coping skills are currently available for use in SEND schools.Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility of the school-based mental health promotion programme Zippy's Friends in SEND schools. The study concentrated on the first three modules of the programme, implemented over the course of an academic year in a cohort of children and young people with SEND.Methods: Fifty-three children and young people attending eight SEND schools participated in the educational programme and study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using standardized assessment scales, purposed-designed questionnaires, emotion recognition tasks and interviews to assess typical and maximal behavior of the children as well feedback on the programme. Data were collected from children, parents/guardians/care givers, and teachers before and after the intervention. The results of the qualitative data will be presented elsewhere.Results: Teachers' ratings indicated that the children's and young people's social skills, emotional literacy, and emotional recognition improved over the course of the study. Significant improvements were observed in teachers' ratings of communication, cooperation, assertion, responsibility, and self-awareness. Parental ratings did not change over time.Conclusions: This small-scale study indicates that the Zippy's Friends programme is feasible and may lead to improved emotional literacy. However, further research is needed that uses a comparison group to isolate the effects of the programme from factors such as age-related maturation, development, and usual school-based learning

Reciprocal Relations Between Student-Teacher Relationship and Children's Behavioral Problems: Moderation by Child-Care Group Size

In this Norwegian study, bidirectional relations between children's behavior problems and child-teacher conflict and closeness were examined, and the possibility of moderation of these associations by child-care group size was tested. Eight hundred and nineteen 4-year-old children were followed up in first grade. Results revealed reciprocal effects linking child-teacher conflict and behavior problems. Effects of child-teacher closeness on later behavior problems were moderated by group size: For children in small groups only (i.e., ≤ 15 children), greater closeness predicted reduced behavior problems in first grade. In consequence, stability of behavior problems was greater in larger than in smaller groups. Results are discussed in light of regulatory mechanisms and social learning theory, with possible implications for organization of child care

Engaging young children with informational books

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Young children's perceptions of teacher‐child relationships: an evaluation of two instruments and the role of child gender in kindergarten

The psychometric qualities of two instruments that measure children's perceptions of teacher-child relationships were evaluated in a sample of kindergartners (N = 150): The Young Children's Appraisals of Teacher Support (Y-CATS) and the Kindergartner-Teacher Interaction Computer (KLIC) test. On the Y-CATS, children judged propositions on a dichotomous response format. On the KLIC, children evaluated pictures according to a two-step response procedure to obtain a 4-point scale. Furthermore, these instruments were employed to explore gender differences in the associations between the teacher-child relationship and indices of maladaptive behavior. Teachers completed measures of relationship quality and children's behavior problems. A three-dimensional structure of the Y-CATS (Warmth, Conflict, and Autonomy Support) was found, whereas the KLIC's structure was unidimensional. The KLIC showed high reliability but stronger evidence was obtained for the validity of the Y-CATS. Consistent with attachment-based research, the results indicated that children display gender-typical problem behavior when having non-close teacher-child relationships