Early object skill supports growth in role-differentiated bimanual manipulation in infants.

The ability to coordinate the hands together to act on objects where each hand does something different is known as role-differentiated bimanual manipulation (RDBM). This study investigated two motor skills that may support the development of RDBM: infants' early object skill and their early sitting skill. To evaluate these potential predictors of RDBM growth, 90 infants were examined in a lab-based longitudinal design over a 9-month period. Latent growth modeling was used to estimate RDBM growth trajectories over 9 to 14 months from infants' object and sitting skills at 6 months, controlling for infant's sex, mother's education, and family income. Higher object skill, controlling for sitting skill, was related to a higher increase in RDBM over time. Sitting did not predict infants' change in RDBM over time, controlling for object skill. The ability to manage multiple objects may support collaborative hand use by providing infants with opportunities to practice actions that will be needed later for RDBM. By comparison, sitting may free the hands in an unspecified manner for manipulation.

Reach-to-grasp kinematic signatures in Colombian spider monkeys (Ateles fusciceps rufiventris).

A defining feature of most primates is a hand with five fingers. Spider monkeys are an exception because they have four fingers and no thumb. Despite the prevalence of reach-to-grasp research in primates, it is not known how the lack of a thumb affects reaching and grasping in spider monkeys. Drawing on patterns that have been well described in human adults, human infants, and other nonhuman primates, this study characterized prehension in Colombian spider monkeys (Ateles fusciceps rufiventris). Monkeys reached for two differently sized food objects and reaches were digitized offline for two-dimensional kinematic analysis. Grasp strategy was coded from video as preshaped when the hand was adjusted to grasp the food before contact, or not preshaped when the hand was adjusted to grasp the food after contact. Monkeys exhibited variability in reach smoothness that contrasted with the typical pattern seen in other adult primates and instead resembled the pattern observed in human infants. Monkeys anticipated the object to be grasped approximately half of the time. Reaches where the hand was preshaped to the object were smoother than reaches where the hand was adjusted to grasp after object contact. For the small object, reaches with preshaping were straighter than reaches without preshaping. Results are the first evidence of kinematic signatures for reach-to-grasp actions in spider monkeys. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Motor-language links in children with Down syndrome: a scoping review to revisit the literature with a developmental cascades lens.

Background: Children with Down syndrome (DS) typically have motor and language needs. Improving function is a shared goal for the rehabilitation therapy team, however physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology professionals treat patients differently. This difference in care may mask developmental cascades whereby changes in one domain (e.g., motor) can have seemingly unexpected effects on another domain (e.g., language). Objective: This scoping review identified papers where motor and language data have been reported together in children with DS and reinterpreted findings from a developmental cascades lens. Design: Online databases were used to identify 413 papers published before October 2021 from which 33 papers were retained that reported both motor (gross and/or fine) and language (expressive and/or receptive) data in individuals with DS with a chronological age of 0-18 years. Results: The majority of papers (79%) that reported motor and language data in children with DS did not examine their link, while 12% analyzed motor-language links, but using a cross-sectional or retrospective design. Only three papers (9%) utilized a longitudinal design to examine predictive links. Conclusion: Motor functioning and language functioning have often been reported together, but not analyzed together, in studies of children with DS. The few studies that did analyze motor-language links largely replicated findings from other developmental populations where motor gains were positively linked to language gains. Analyzing links between domains when such data is available is needed to fully characterize developmental cascades in DS and may have broad clinical implications.

Early, concurrent, and consistent hand preferences predict stacking in toddlerhood.

Stacking is a hallmark of fine motor skill development and requires skilled hand use. One mechanism for children to gain manual proficiency involves establishing a hand preference that creates practice differences between the hands as the preferred hand is used more often and in different ways than the other. Prior work found that stacking skill emerged earlier for infants with an identifiable hand preference. However, it is not known how hand preference relates to later toddler stacking performance. This study examined the effects of early hand preference (infant pattern), concurrent hand preference (toddler pattern), and consistent hand preference (infant to toddler pattern) on toddler stacking skills. Sixty-one toddlers, whose hand preferences as infants were known, were assessed for their toddler hand preference and their stacking skill across 7 monthly visits from 18 to 24 months of age. Using multilevel Poisson longitudinal analysis, children with hand preferences that were consistent across both infancy and toddlerhood were more successful at stacking, compared to those with inconsistent preferences across the infant and toddler periods. Thus, consistency of hand preferences during the first 2 years likely contributes toward individual differences in the development of fine motor skills.

How babies use their hands to learn about objects: Exploration, reach-to-grasp, manipulation, and tool use.

Object play is essential for infant learning, and infants spend most of their day with objects. Young infants learn about objects and their properties through multimodal exploration facilitated by caregivers. They figure out how to transport their hands to where objects are, and how to grasp objects in increasingly complex ways. Building on earlier experiences, they learn how to use their hands collaboratively to act on objects, and how to use objects to act on other objects in instrumental ways. These changes in how infants use their hands occur during the most rapid period of motor development and may have important downstream implications for other domains. Recent research findings have established the importance of effective fine motor skills for later academic skills, yet our understanding of the factors that influence the early development of hand skills is sparse at best. Latest research on reaching, grasping, object manipulation, hands collaboration, and tool use is reviewed and connections among these developments are explained from the perspective of developmental cascades. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Motor Skill and Performance Psychology > Development and Aging.

Psychoeducational Messaging to Reduce Alcohol Use for College Students With Type 1 Diabetes: Internet-Delivered Pilot Trial.

BACKGROUND: College environments promote high-volume or binge alcohol consumption among youth, which may be especially harmful to those with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Little is known about the acceptability and effectiveness of interventions targeting reduced alcohol use by college students with T1D, and it is unclear whether intervention framing (specifically, the narrator of intervention messages) matters with respect to affecting behavior change. Interventions promoted by peer educators may be highly relatable and socially persuasive, whereas those delivered by clinical providers may be highly credible and motivating. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine the acceptability and impacts of an alcohol use psychoeducational intervention delivered asynchronously through web-based channels to college students with T1D. The secondary aim is to compare the impacts of two competing versions of the intervention that differed by narrator (peer vs clinician). METHODS: We recruited 138 college students (aged 17-25 years) with T1D through web-based channels and delivered a brief intervention to participants randomly assigned to 1 of 2 versions that differed only with respect to the audiovisually recorded narrator. We assessed the impacts of the exposure to the intervention overall and by group, comparing the levels of alcohol- and diabetes-related knowledge, perceptions, and use among baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 2 weeks after intervention delivery. RESULTS: Of the 138 enrolled participants, 122 (88.4%) completed all follow-up assessments; the participants were predominantly women (98/122, 80.3%), were White non-Hispanic (102/122, 83.6%), and had consumed alcohol in the past year (101/122, 82.8%). Both arms saw significant postintervention gains in the knowledge of alcohol's impacts on diabetes-related factors, health-protecting attitudes toward drinking, and concerns about drinking. All participants reported significant decreases in binge drinking 2 weeks after the intervention (21.3%; odds ratio 0.48, 95% CI 0.31-0.75) compared with the 2 weeks before the intervention (43/122, 35.2%). Changes in binge drinking after the intervention were affected by changes in concerns about alcohol use and T1D. Those who viewed the provider narrator were significantly more likely to rate their narrator as knowledgeable and trustworthy; there were no other significant differences in intervention effects by the narrator. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention model was highly acceptable and effective at reducing self-reported binge drinking at follow-up, offering the potential for broad dissemination and reach given the web-based format and contactless, on-demand content. Both intervention narrators increased knowledge, improved health-protecting attitudes, and increased concerns regarding alcohol use. The participants' perceptions of expertise and credibility differed by narrator. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02883829; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02883829. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1177/1932296819839503.

Factor analysis of the Home Handedness Questionnaire: Unimanual and role differentiated bimanual manipulation as separate dimensions of handedness.

Questionnaires are commonly used to measure handedness. However, popular measures do not capture hand preference by skill type, thus reducing handedness to a single dimension. An exception is the Home Handedness Questionnaire (HHQ), an action-based measure developed initially for children, which measures skills across two dimensions of handedness: unimanual actions and role differentiated bimanual manipulation (RDBM). The goal of the current study was to confirm the factor structure of the HHQ in a large sample of adults (N = 1051). A secondary goal was to measure RDBM hand preference in adults. To further validate the HHQ, participants also completed the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI). Confirmatory factor analysis verified the two-factor structure of the HHQ, and a one-factor solution was replicated for the EHI. Individuals that were classified as consistent on the EHI had stronger preferences for unimanual and RDBM hand use on the HHQ. Right hand patterning was reduced for RDBM compared to unimanual on the HHQ, and the EHI. The HHQ was found to be reliable and valid against the EHI. The HHQ offers researchers a tool to examine individual differences across manual skills that comprise the neuropsychological phenomenon handedness, and to more broadly examine laterality patterns with respect to cognition.

Network analysis as a tool to understand social development in spider monkeys.

The emerging field of network science has demonstrated that an individual's connectedness within their social network has cascading effects to other dimensions of life. Like humans, spider monkeys live in societies with high fission-fusion dynamics, and are remarkably social. Social network analysis (SNA) is a powerful tool for quantifying connections that may vary as a function of initiating or receiving social behaviors, which has been described as shifting social roles. In primatology, the SNA literature is dominated by work in catarrhines, and has yet to be applied to the study of development in a platyrrhine model. Here, SNA was utilized in combination with R-Index social role calculation to characterize social interaction patterns in juvenile and adult Colombian spider monkeys (Ateles fusciceps rufiventris). Connections were examined across five behaviors: embrace, face-embrace, grooming, agonism, and tail-wrapping from 186 hr of observation and four network metrics. Mann-Whitney U tests were utilized to determine differences between adult and juvenile social network patterns for each behavior. Face-embrace emerged as the behavior with different network patterns for adults and juveniles for every network metric. With regard to social role, juveniles were receivers, not initiators, for embrace, face-embrace, and grooming (ps < .05). Network and social role differences are discussed in light of social development and aspects of the different behaviors.

Measuring infant handedness reliably from reaching: A systematic review.

Researchers have utilized reaching paradigms to measure infant handedness for more than a century. However, methods vary widely. Recent research has identified that the number of trials used in assessment is critical with the recommendation that at least 15 trials are necessary to reliably classify infants into handedness categories via statistical cutoffs. As a first step towards establishing best practices for the field, we identified, categorized, and synthesized findings according to trial number from studies that utilized reaching to index handedness in infants across the first two years of life using PRISMA guidelines. Database searches were conducted in PsycINFO, PubMed, and Ovid MEDLINE®. All articles published through May 2018 were included. Additional records were identified through other sources. After removing duplicates, 1,116 records were screened using the online software program Abstrackr. Of these records, 125 full-text articles were further assessed for eligibility, and 87 articles were included in the qualitative synthesis. Results revealed that the majority of papers published since 1890 (70%) do not meet the 15-trial minimum criterion for statistically reliable measurement of infant handedness. Broad themes from articles meeting the measurement criterion and implications for future research are discussed.

Preschool language ability is predicted by toddler hand preference trajectories.

Prior work has found links between consistency in toddler handedness for the fine motor skill role-differentiated bimanual manipulation (RDBM), and language development at 2 and 3 years of age. The current study investigated whether consistency in handedness from 18 to 24 months (N = 90) for RDBM predicts receptive and expressive language abilities assessed using the Preschool Language Scales 5th edition (PLS-5) at 5 years old. Latent class growth analyses identified 3 stable RDBM hand preference trajectories: a left hand preference with moderate right hand use (left-moderate right), a right hand preference with moderate left hand use (right-moderate left), and a right hand preference with only mild left hand use (right-mild left). At 5 years of age, children with a right-mild left handedness trajectory as toddlers scored significantly higher on receptive and expressive language abilities compared to children with a left-moderate right hand preference. Children with a right-mild left hand preference for RDBM also scored significantly higher on receptive language abilities compared to children with a right-moderate left RDBM hand preference. Children with left-moderate right and children with a right-moderate left hand preference for RDBM as toddlers did not differ in receptive or expressive language abilities at 5 years. Results indicate that individual differences in hand preference consistency for fine motor skill in toddlerhood have cascading effects on language outcomes into the preschool years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Do Gross and Fine Motor Skills Differentially Contribute to Language Outcomes? A Systematic Review.

Background: Changes in motor development provide children with new learning opportunities to interact with objects, their environment, and with caregivers. Previous research finds that both gross and fine motor skills are predictive of later language outcomes across early infancy and childhood. However, gross and fine motor skills afford different types of interactions. Thus, gross and fine motor skills may potentially differ in the developmental trajectories through which cascading changes in language may occur. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there are differences in the predictive capacities of gross and fine motor skills toward language outcomes across infancy and early childhood in typical development. Method: A systematic review of existing literature on motor-language cascades was conducted in across studies measuring gross and/or fine motor and language development in children from 0 to 5 years old. Searches were conducted in PsycINFO, PubMed, and MEDLINE. Keywords used were a combination of "gross motor," "fine motor," "motor performance," "motor development," or "psychomotor development" along with "language," "language development," or "communication skills." Two independent reviewers screened abstracts and full texts based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A total of 23 articles were retained. Of these, seven studies measured only gross motor skills, four studies measured only fine motor skills, and 12 studies measured both gross and fine motor skills in the same study. Studies used a variety of measures to assess gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and language development (e.g., parent report, in lab observations, standardized assessment), and findings varied based on analyses used. Results demonstrated that both gross and fine motor skills are related to language outcomes, but due to a smaller amount of studies testing fine motor skills, conclusions regarding whether one is more important for language outcomes cannot be drawn. Conclusions: We conclude that both gross and fine motor skills help foster language development from infancy to early childhood. Limitations regarding current knowledge regarding the mechanisms that underlie motor-language cascades are discussed, as well as the need for more studies on fine motor skills.

Clinical Trial Recruitment and Retention of College Students with Type 1 Diabetes via Social Media: An Implementation Case Study.

BACKGROUND: We sought to quantify the efficiency and acceptability of Internet-based recruitment for engaging an especially hard-to-reach cohort (college-students with type 1 diabetes, T1D) and to describe the approach used for implementing a health-related trial entirely online using off-the-shelf tools inclusive of participant safety and validity concerns. METHOD: We recruited youth (ages 17-25 years) with T1D via a variety of social media platforms and other outreach channels. We quantified response rate and participant characteristics across channels with engagement metrics tracked via Google Analytics and participant survey data. We developed decision rules to identify invalid (duplicative/false) records (N = 89) and compared them to valid cases (N = 138). RESULTS: Facebook was the highest yield recruitment source; demographics differed by platform. Invalid records were prevalent; invalid records were more likely to be recruited from Twitter or Instagram and differed from valid cases across most demographics. Valid cases closely resembled characteristics obtained from Google Analytics and from prior data on platform user-base. Retention was high, with complete follow-up for 88.4%. There were no safety concerns and participants reported high acceptability for future recruitment via social media. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that recruitment of college students with T1D into a longitudinal intervention trial via social media is feasible, efficient, acceptable, and yields a sample representative of the user-base from which they were drawn. Given observed differences in characteristics across recruitment channels, recruiting across multiple platforms is recommended to optimize sample diversity. Trial implementation, engagement tracking, and retention are feasible with off-the-shelf tools using preexisting platforms.

Interprofessional provider educational needs and preferences regarding the provision of sexual and reproductive health care in cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is an important disease-specific concern for adolescent and young adult (AYA) women that is not consistently addressed in cystic fibrosis (CF) centers. This study identifies educational needs and preferences of interprofessional CF providers regarding SRH in AYA women with CF. METHODS: Interprofessional CF providers participated in an anonymous survey regarding general and CF-specific SRH knowledge and skills, factors for optimizing SRH care, and preferred approaches for SRH training. We calculated descriptive statistics for all respondents and stratified by provider type. RESULTS: A total of 523 providers completed the survey (39% physicians/advanced practice providers, 19% nurses, 20% social workers, and 22% other disciplines). Half reported comfort responding to female AYA SRH concerns; however, only one-third were comfortable asking appropriate questions and confident taking a sexual history. Only 29% were comfortable with their current CF-specific SRH knowledge. Respondents' preferred SRH topics for further training included: pregnancy/parenthood planning, sexual functioning, urinary incontinence, intimate partner violence, and taking a sexual history. Nearly two-thirds felt having connection to women's health specialists familiar with CF would facilitate SRH care. Approximately one-third desired SRH educational materials for providers to view at point-of-care or through online case-based learning; <10% were interested in role playing SRH skills. CONCLUSION: Many interprofessional CF providers lack comfort and skills in addressing SRH with AYA women with CF. Provider training needs and approaches identified in this study can be used to develop tailored educational interventions to improve comprehensive CF care.

The Development of Object Construction from Infancy through Toddlerhood.

Early in development, children explore and combine objects in increasingly complex ways. One manual skill, object construction, represents a major shift in how objects are explored relative to other objects. Despite recent connections with cognitive functioning such as spatial skills, the development of object construction ability has rarely been studied and its trajectory has not been adequately described. The purpose of this study was to describe the development of three types of object construction (stacking, nesting, affixing) across 5 monthly infant visits and 7 monthly toddler visits using a longitudinal design and a large sample size. Infants (10-14 months, n=131) and toddlers drawn from the infant sample (18-24 months, n=65) were given sets of age-appropriate toys each of which elicited at least one type of constructive play. We described success at different construction tasks and identified trends for construction skill for infant and toddler development using multilevel modeling. We found that each of the three construction actions developed in unique ways across the 10-24-month period. Infant construction skill predicted the development of toddler skill, but toddler construction skill diverged from infant trajectories. We discuss the role of combination strategies in the development of object construction skill and how object construction could be related to other domains of development.

Sexual and Reproductive Health of Young Women With Cystic Fibrosis: A Concept Mapping Study.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) women with pediatric-onset chronic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis (CF), face disease-specific sexual and reproductive health (SRH) concerns. Using concept mapping (CM), this study aimed to identify the SRH topics and outcomes valued by AYA women with CF and their parents. METHODS: Women with CF who were 13 to 30years of age and parents of 13- to 30-year-old daughters with CF participated in an online CM study. Participants individually brainstormed, rated, and sorted SRH topics important for AYA women with CF. Using multidimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analyses, and t tests to assess rating differences, multidisciplinary stakeholders interpreted results during in-person meetings. RESULTS: Twenty-four participants (13 AYAs and 11 parents) generated 109 statements around SRH in CF; 88% completed rating and sorting. Sixteen stakeholders named 6 main clusters of concepts: fertility and pregnancy, deciding to have children, birth control, navigating life, sex, and gynecologic concerns. Participants rated birth control as highest in importance for adolescent women (mean = 3.9 ± 0.1 on a 5-point scale) and fertility and pregnancy as highest for young adult women (mean = 4.2 ± 0.04). Parents provided higher importance ratings for all clusters than patient participants. Stakeholders identified patient-centered outcomes for each cluster and focused on how to improve SRH knowledge, decision making, and patient-provider communication in the subspecialty setting. CONCLUSIONS: Eliciting patient-centered outcomes using CM can inform improvements in the care of AYAs with pediatric-onset chronic diseases. The SRH topics and patient-centered outcomes identified in this study should inform enhancements to comprehensive clinical care delivery for these populations.

The home handedness questionnaire: pilot data from preschoolers.

While handedness questionnaires are widely used in adults, there is no comparable measure designed specifically for children. The current study developed the Home Handedness Questionnaire (HHQ), a new measure for preschoolers administered by parents using common household items. The HHQ has two scales that distinguish action types typically combined on other measures: actions performed with only the right or left hand (i.e., unimanual, such as holding a toothbrush), and actions performed with one hand holding the object for the other hand's action (i.e., role-differentiated bimanual manipulation or RDBM, such as unscrewing a lid from a jar). The HHQ was able to detect right preference, left preference, and no preference for unimanual and RDBM actions in a proof of concept study in 3-year-olds (N = 64). The HHQ identified a majority of children as right-handed, but was also sensitive to variability in direction across skill types. Approximately one-quarter of children in the sample had mixed preferences for the two types of manual skills, suggesting that for a subgroup of children, hand use patterns may still be undergoing change. Suggestions for refining the HHQ are discussed. Overall, the HHQ is a promising multidimensional parent-led tool for assessing preschool handedness.

Developing Sexual and Reproductive Health Educational Resources for Young Women with Cystic Fibrosis: A Structured Approach to Stakeholder Engagement.

PURPOSE: Stakeholder engagement, specifically integration of patient and family perspectives about what matters, is increasingly recognized as a critical component of patient-centered healthcare delivery. This study describes a structured approach to and evaluation of stakeholder engagement in the development of novel sexual and reproductive health (SRH) educational resources for adolescent and young adult (AYA) women with cystic fibrosis (CF). METHODS: Key stakeholders participated in a systematic series of steps to iteratively develop and adapt patient educational resources. Process measures (stakeholder recruitment, composition, co-learning, and transparency) and proximal outcomes of stakeholder involvement (impact on the development process and satisfaction) were measured via recorded stakeholder recommendations and a stakeholder survey. RESULTS: Seventeen stakeholders participated in seven group and two patient-only conference calls. The majority of stakeholders understood their roles, had their expectations met or exceeded, and were satisfied with the frequency and quality of engagement in the project. All stakeholders in attendance provided multiple concrete recommen-dations during the development process. Stakeholders explored the motivations of AYA women with CF related to SRH and agreed that the ideal resource should be online. After reviewing the design of existing resources, stakeholders decided by consensus to partner with a pre-existing young women's health website and created 11 CF-specific SRH guides. CONCLUSIONS: This study illuminates a path for a formal process of stakeholder engagement and evaluation in educational resource development centered on the SRH care needs of AYA women with CF. Similar systematic, planned processes could be extended to other populations and aspects of healthcare.

Measuring Spanish Comprehension in Infants from Mixed Hispanic Communities Using the IDHC: A Preliminary Study on 16-Month-Olds.

The MacArthur Inventario del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas: Primeras Palabras y Gestos (IDHC) is a widely-used parent report measure for infant Spanish language comprehension. The IDHC was originally created for use with infants of Mexican background. According to the U.S. 2017 census, however, about 37% of U.S. Hispanics are not of Mexican origin. In Miami-Dade, a large county in South Florida, 98% of Hispanics do not identify Mexico as their country of origin. IDHC use in mixed Hispanic communities such as Miami may be problematic due to differences in dialect and object labels. This study explored whether excluding IDHC words flagged as unknown or not commonly used by adults from mixed Hispanic communities affects bilingual infants' vocabulary size. Data were collected from Hispanic 16-month-old infants (N = 27; females = 13) from a mixture of Latin American backgrounds residing in Miami, FL, USA, and compared to archival data from the IDHC Mexican norming sample (N = 60; females = 31). Findings indicate significant differences in the rate of comprehension between the two samples with infants from mixed Latin American backgrounds demonstrating lower rates of comprehension for words flagged as unknown/uncommon. Moreover, Spanish vocabulary scores for infants from mixed Hispanic communities were significantly lower compared to the Mexican norming sample. Use of total vocabulary score (i.e., Spanish + English) attenuated these issues in administrating the IDHC to bilingual infants from mixed Hispanic communities. Results suggest that comprehension of some IDHC words is influenced by Hispanic family background. These preliminary findings highlight potential issues in IDHC administration that require further investigation in additional samples spanning the full age range of the IDHC and from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds to effectively tune how we assess infant Spanish language comprehension to cultural differences.