Culturally constituted universals: Evidential basis of belief matters.

Differences in the sequence with which children pass the tasks in Wellman and Liu's (2004) theory of mind (ToM) battery is increasingly bringing into question the universal and cultural specifics of children's developing understanding of others' minds. Children from China, Iran, and Turkey pass the knowledge access (KA) task of the battery earlier than they pass the diverse beliefs (DB) task (e.g., Selcuk et al., 2018). This pattern is the reverse of what has been documented with children from Australia and the US (e.g., Peterson et al., 2005). This paper presents three studies with Turkish samples that explore the possible reasons for developmental sequence and performance differences in the ToM battery. Study 1 investigated Turkish-speaking adults' judgments of appropriateness for different epistemic verbs as used in the DB and false belief (FB) tasks. Study 2 investigated whether adults' performance (i.e., accuracy, reaction time) on FB tasks were affected by culturally preferred uses of these verbs. Collectively these studies showed that adults found different epistemic language ("guess," "think," and the Turkish-specific "falsely think") to be appropriate for different belief-based tasks. However, there was no difference in adults' performance based on epistemic language. In Study 3, Turkish-speaking preschoolers' performance in belief-related tasks based on variations in epistemic language and epistemic features (i.e., presence of evidence) was investigated. Among five modifications, Turkish children benefited only from a modification that involved the manipulation of the epistemological basis for ambiguous beliefs (i.e., visual evidence for belief). RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Turkish adults find different epistemic language ("guess," "think," and the Turkish-specific "falsely-think") to be appropriate for different belief-based tasks (diverse and false belief tasks). Turkish adults' performance on false belief (FB) tasks is not affected by epistemic language. Turkish children perform better in diverse beliefs (DB) task if an epistemological basis for ambiguous beliefs (i.e., visual evidence for either belief) is provided.

Biochemical indicators of euthyroid sick syndrome in critically ill children.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of euthyroid sick syndrome (ESS) in pediatric intensive care, and to establish a link between thyroid function tests and mortality. METHODS: Between January 2015 and March 2020, children admitted to our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and tested for free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), and thyrotropin (TSH) levels were included. Patients with decreased fT3, with normal or decreased fT4, and normal or decreased TSH levels were assigned to the ESS group. The association between biochemical indicators and ESS, as well as the relationship between fT3 and mortality, were examined. RESULTS: A total of 141 (36%) of 386 children included to study were classified in the ESS group. The ESS group had a higher rate of 28-day mortality (12 [8.5%] vs. 9 [3.7%]). Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), albumin, platelet, lactate, and pediatric index of mortality 3 [PIM3 (%)] were significantly associated with ESS (odds ratios in order: 1.024, 0.422, 0.729, 1.208, 1.013). Multivariate regression analysis showed that BUN, albumin, platelet, and lactate were independently associated with ESS progression. The area under curve (AUC [95%CI]) for fT3 was 0.644 (0.555-0.789) to detect mortality. Children with a fT3 level lower than 2.31 pg/mL had significantly higher 28-day mortality (log rank test, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified BUN, albumin, lactate, and platelet count as independent risk factors for ESS progression in children. Furthermore, our findings indicated a correlation between fT3 and mortality, which makes fT3 an ideal candidate to be included in mortality indices.

"And they had a big, big, very long fight:" The development of evaluative language in preschoolers' oral fictional stories told in a peer-group context.

This study examined the development of evaluative language in preschoolers' oral fictional narratives using a storytelling/story-acting practice where children told stories to and for their friends. Evaluative language orients the audience to the teller's cognitive and emotional engagement with a story's events and characters, and we hypothesized that this STSA context might yield new information about the early development of this language, prior to elementary school. We analyzed 60 stories: the first and last story told by 10 children in each of three preschool classrooms (3-, 4-, and 5-year-old classes) that used STSA throughout the school year. Stories were coded for evaluative expressions and evidential expressions. Five-year-olds used significantly more evaluative language than did 3-year-olds, and children at all ages used significantly more evaluative language at the end than at the beginning of the year. The number of stories told throughout the year explained unique variance in children's evaluative language growth.

Preschoolers' learning of information from fantastical narrative versus expository books.

This study investigated preschool children's learning from expository and fantastical narrative books and whether the children would show a tendency for learning from expository books in cases of conflicting information. Over three testing sessions, 71 3- and 5-year-olds were individually read one expository book and one fantastical narrative book. These books contained four types of information units: narrative-only, expository-only, conflicting, and consistent. Children were asked questions that tapped these information units. Results showed a main effect of age, with 5-year-olds learning more information from both books than 3-year-olds. When the information in the narrative and expository books conflicted, 5-year-olds showed a tendency to report information from the expository book, but 3-year-olds were at chance level for prioritizing information learned from either book.

Using a narrative- and play-based activity to promote low-income preschoolers' oral language, emergent literacy, and social competence.

This study examined whether a storytelling and story-acting practice (STSA), integrated as a regular component of the preschool curriculum, can help promote three key dimensions of young children's school readiness: narrative and other oral-language skills, emergent literacy, and social competence. A total of 149 low-income preschoolers (almost all 3- and 4-year-olds) participated, attending six experimental and seven control classrooms. The STSA was introduced in the experimental classrooms for the entire school year, and all children in both conditions were pre- and post-tested on 11 measures of narrative, vocabulary, emergent literacy, pretend abilities, peer play cooperation, and self-regulation. Participation in the STSA was associated with improvements in narrative comprehension, print and word awareness, pretend abilities, self-regulation, and reduced play disruption. For almost all these measures, positive results were further strengthened by the frequency of participation in storytelling by individual children, indicated by number of stories told (NOST). The STSA is a structured preschool practice that exemplifies child-centered, play-based, and constructivist approaches in early childhood education, and that can operate as a curriculum module in conjunction with a variety of different preschool curricula. This study confirmed that it can contribute to promoting learning, development, and school readiness for low-income and otherwise disadvantaged children.