Impacts of a Literacy-Focused Preschool Curriculum on the Early Literacy Skills of Language-Minority Children.

Spanish-speaking language-minority (LM) children are at an elevated risk of struggling academically and display signs of that risk during early childhood. Therefore, high-quality research is needed to identify instructional techniques that promote the school readiness of Spanish-speaking LM children. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention that utilized an experimental curriculum and two professional development models for the development of English and Spanish early literacy skills among LM children. We also evaluated whether LM children's proficiency in one language moderated the effect of the intervention on early literacy skills in the other language, as well as whether the intervention was differentially effective for LM and monolingual English-speaking children. Five hundred twenty-six Spanish-speaking LM children and 447 monolingual English-speaking children enrolled in 26 preschool centers in Los Angeles, CA participated in this study. Results indicated that the intervention was effective for improving LM children's code-related but not language-related English early literacy skills. There were no effects of the intervention on children's Spanish early literacy skills. Proficiency in Spanish did not moderate the effect of the intervention for any English early literacy outcomes; however, proficiency in English significantly moderated the effect of the intervention for Spanish oral language skills, such that the effect of the intervention was stronger for children with higher proficiency in English than it was for children with lower proficiency in English. In general, there were not differential effects of the intervention for LM and monolingual children. Taken together, these findings indicate that high-quality, evidence-based instruction can improve the early literacy skills of LM children and that the same instructional techniques are effective for enhancing the early literacy skills of LM and monolingual children.

Measurement invariance of internalizing and externalizing behavioral syndrome factors in a non-Western sample.

This study examined the measurement structure of Child Behavior Checklist internalizing and externalizing syndrome scales in 1,146 eleven-year-old children from a birth cohort in Mauritius. We tested for measurement invariance at configural, metric, and scalar levels by gender and religioethnicity (Creole, Hindu, Muslim). A pared-down model representing five primary factors and two secondary factors met all three forms of invariance, supporting the validity of their use for group comparisons among Mauritian children. As rated by their parents, girls were higher than boys on Somatic Complaints and lower on Aggressive Behavior, Attention Problems, and Externalizing. Creoles were higher than Muslims and Hindus on all seven factors. Hindus were higher than Muslims on Somatic Complaints and lower on Aggressive Behavior. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate strict invariance of a Child Behavior Checklist-based internalizing and externalizing factor structure among subgroups within a society.

The home literacy environment and Latino head start children's emergent literacy skills.

This study examined children's early literacy skills in both English and Spanish at entry to preschool to investigate the pattern of association among these skills and their families' home language and literacy practices. The participants were 392 primarily Latino immigrant (85%) families and their children. Mothers completed questionnaires about their families and their home literacy environment (HLE), and children's emergent literacy skills were measured in English and Spanish at the outset of the preschool year. Project assistants interviewed mothers in their homes and tallied the presence of literacy-related materials. Results of structural equation modeling showed that the 3 preliteracy skills were significantly associated within and across English and Spanish, suggesting the possible transfer of these early preliteracy skills across languages. For the English language HLE, parents' literacy-related behaviors, sibling-child reading, and families' literacy resources were all associated with children's English oral language skills, and their English print knowledge was associated with their home resources. For the Spanish language HLE, only parents' literacy-related behaviors were related to children's Spanish oral language and print knowledge skills. There were no significant cross-linguistic relations between any aspect of the English HLE and children's Spanish preliteracy skills, whereas parents' literacy-related behaviors in Spanish were negatively associated with children's English oral language and phonological awareness skills. Given the importance of oral language and vocabulary in promoting children's literacy, these results indicate that parents can support this skill in both languages, but their relative impact seems to be within rather across language.

Three types of shyness in Chinese children and the relation to effortful control.

Two studies were conducted to further differentiate 3 forms of shyness previously identified in Chinese children--shyness toward strangers, anxious shyness, and regulated shyness--by examining the relation of the 3 forms of shyness to children's inhibited behavior, physiological reactivity (measured by heart period [HP]), and effortful control. In Study 1 (N = 237; M age = 9.17 years), the authors examined the 3 forms of shyness in relation to children's inhibited behavior and HP assessed in 3 conditions: at baseline, during a stranger encounter, and in a card-sorting task with social evaluative cues. Results of confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a 3-factor model of shyness. Shyness toward strangers was associated with children's inhibition (positively) and HP (negatively) in the stranger encounter and children's HP (negatively) in the card-sorting session, whereas anxious shyness was related to children's inhibition (positively) and HP (negatively) in the card-sorting session. Regulated shyness was not associated with children's inhibition in any session but was negatively related to HP in the stranger encounter session. In Study 2 (N = 208; M age = 6.57 years), the authors examined children's shyness toward strangers and effortful control at age 6 years in relation to anxious and regulated shyness 2 years later. Results showed shyness toward strangers was related to regulated shyness among children with high or moderate effortful control, and shyness toward strangers was related to anxious shyness among children with low or moderate effortful control. Findings support a multidimensional view of shyness in Chinese children.

Effective early literacy skill development for young Spanish-speaking English language learners: an experimental study of two methods.

Ninety-four Spanish-speaking preschoolers (M age = 54.51 months, SD = 4.72; 43 girls) were randomly assigned to receive the High/Scope Curriculum (control n = 32) or the Literacy Express Preschool Curriculum in English-only (n = 31) or initially in Spanish transitioning to English (n = 31). Children's emergent literacy skills were assessed before and after the intervention in Spanish and English. Children in the English-only and transitional groups made significant gains in their emergent literacy skills in both Spanish and English compared to the control group, The English-only and transitional models were equally effective for English language outcomes, but for Spanish-language outcomes, only the transitional model was effective. The results suggest that a targeted early literacy intervention can improve Spanish-speaking preschoolers' preliteracy skills.

Temperament, harsh and indulgent parenting, and Chinese children's proactive and reactive aggression.

This study examined the additive and interactive effects of temperament and harsh and indulgent parenting on Chinese children's proactive and reactive aggression. Participants were 401 children (M age = 9.29 years, 203 girls) and their parents who were recruited from 2 elementary schools in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The results showed that children's sensation seeking was associated with proactive aggression, whereas anger/frustration was associated with reactive aggression. Both subtypes of aggression were negatively related to children's effortful control but positively related to harsh parenting. Significant Temperament x Temperament and Parenting x Temperament interactions were also found. The findings point to similarities and differences between proactive and reactive aggression in relation to children's temperament and harsh and indulgent parenting in the Chinese context.

Women, war, and violence: surviving the experience.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate how Lebanese women were affected by the July 2006 conflict that erupted between the Hezbollah and the State of Israel, with a specific focus on their personal violence exposure and how they coped with these circumstances. METHODS: Participants were 310 women at Ministry of Social Affairs Centers (MOSA) located in six geographic areas with varying exposure to the conflict. A questionnaire was administered in interview format to collect information about the participants' demographic characteristics, experiences of the conflict, perceived psychological functioning, exposure to violence associated with the conflict, exposure to domestic violence during and after the conflict, and their coping strategies. RESULTS: Of the women, 89% had to leave their homes during the conflict because of fear or worry about safety. Of the 310 participants, 39% reported at least one encounter with violence perpetrated by soldiers, 27% reported at least one incident of domestic abuse during the conflict, and 13% reported at least one incident after the conflict perpetrated by their husbands or other family members. Women's self-reported negative mental health scores were positively correlated with the violence associated with the conflict and with domestic violence during and after the conflict. Women who reported that they did not know how to cope or had just tried to forget about their experiences reported more frequent domestic violence exposure during the conflict and had higher negative mental health outcomes associated with the conflict than did those who reported using active strategies. CONCLUSIONS: During armed conflict, domestic violence is also likely to increase. Therefore, when investigating the psychological impact of war on women, both forms of violence exposure should be considered. The use of active coping strategies may help in reducing psychological distress.

Domestic violence: the Lebanese experience.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of domestic violence among women presenting to primary health care facilities in Lebanon; to identify presenting symptoms and responses to varied forms of violence; and to examine variables associated with domestic violence. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of all women presenting to four primary health care centres in different geographic areas of Lebanon from September 2002 to October 2002. A questionnaire was administered in interview format. The following information was collected from participants: demographic characteristics, perceived health status, prior exposure and responses to domestic violence, and characteristics of the perpetrators. RESULTS: Of the 1418 participants, 494 (35%) reported experiencing domestic violence and 307 (22%) had family members who had been exposed to domestic violence. Among the women exposed to violence, verbal abuse or insult was most common (88%) followed by physical violence (66%); 57% reported their experiences to family, friends or authorities, whereas the remainder kept silent. Women who were exposed to domestic violence had higher frequencies of reported physical symptoms than those who were not exposed. Generally, the perpetrators were spouses who had demographic backgrounds comparable to their wives. Multiple regression analyses showed that women's education levels, work status, health status, and familial violence predicted domestic violence. CONCLUSIONS: Women readily talk about their abuse when asked. The rate of domestic violence is high among Lebanese women and is a significant health issue. Additional research is needed to better understand the extent of the problem and to develop more effective reporting methods.

Community violence, family conflict, and preschoolers' socioemotional functioning.

This study examined the relations among family conflict, community violence, and young children's socioemotional functioning and explored how children's social cognition and mothers' psychological functioning may mediate the outcomes associated with this exposure. Mothers of 431 Head Start preschoolers completed questionnaires about their family demography, exposure to community violence, family conflict, and children's distress symptoms. Children were administered a social cognition assessment, and teachers rated their behavior. Results showed that mothers' reports of children's co-witnessing of community violence were positively associated with police department crime rates, children's distress symptoms, and teachers' ratings of aggression. A path analysis revealed that children's social awareness and mothers' depressive symptoms partially mediated the effects of community violence and family conflict on outcomes for children.

Is there violence in the neighbourhood? Ask the children.

BACKGROUND: Community violence is a major public health concern. Much has been written about high intensity community violence such as wars or gang violence. However, chronic low intensity community violence is greatly overlooked. The objective of the following study is to assess how children living in neighbourhoods characterized by chronic low intensity violence perceive their environment. METHODS: Children drew two pictures: one of their physical neighbourhoods and the other representing what goes on in the neighbourhoods. Each child also completed a neighbourhood safety survey. RESULTS: The participants were four hundred and five children (213 girls; 192 boys) 8-12 years old (mean = 9.70; SD = 1.26) who lived in Beirut. 75 drawings contained violent incidents (fist fights and heated verbal arguments were most commonly depicted). 168 children mentioned people fighting or quarrelling in the streets but elected not to draw them. Children reported feeling unsafe and dissatisfaction with the quality of their neighbourhoods. CONCLUSION: Children living in chronic low intensity community violence may feel unsafe and distrustful of their environment but may perceive violent events as regular normal occurrence. The risk of copying such behaviours and propagating violence is to be considered seriously.

East meets west: ethnic identity, acculturation, and conflict in Asian Indian families.

This study examined the influence of the family on adolescents' acculturation, ethnic identity achievement, and psychological functioning. One hundred eighty American-born Asian Indian adolescents and one of their immigrant parents completed questionnaires assessing their acculturation, ethnic identity, and family conflict. Adolescents also completed anxiety and self-esteem measures. The results showed that parents' and adolescents' ratings of their self-identification and ethnic identity were positively associated. Parents who had a separated or marginalized style of acculturation reported higher family conflict than those who had an integrated or assimilated acculturation style. Adolescents reported higher self-esteem, less anxiety, and less family conflict when there was no acculturation gap between them and their parents. The findings suggest that how parents relate to their natal, as well as to the host, culture has direct effects on adolescents' ethnic identity achievement and their psychological functioning.