Search Results (4)

Background/Objectives: Sleep problems affect the quality of life (QoL) and treatment prognosis of children with epilepsy (CWE). We analyzed sleep problems and QoL in CWE but without neurodevelopmental disorders, which affect sleep and QoL. We also examined discrepancies between child self-reports and parent proxy reports in QoL assessments. Methods: Thirty-two CWE in grades 2–6 (aged 7–12 years) in regular classes who attended Osaka Metropolitan University Hospital and PL General Hospital between January 2022 and August 2023 were compared with 21 children who had attended the hospitals for acute non-neurological disorders and had recovered (control group). Children with neurodevelopmental disorders, those unable to answer questionnaires, and those taking sleeping pills were excluded. Children in both groups completed the Kinder Lebensqualität Fragebogen (KINDL-R); their parents completed the KINDL-R and Japanese Sleep Questionnaire for Elementary Schoolers (JSQ-ES). Results: There were no significant differences in mean (±SD) JSQ-ES total scores between the epilepsy and control groups (71.6 ± 21.4 vs. 63.2 ± 15.2, respectively; p = 0.16). In the epilepsy group, there were no significant differences in total or subscale KINDL-R scores between children with (JSQ-ES ≥ 80) and without (JSQ-ES < 80) sleep problems. Correlation coefficients between child self-reports and parent proxy reports for KINDL-R total scores were 0.171 (p = 0.348) and 0.656 (p = 0.001) for the epilepsy and control groups, respectively. There was a significant difference between the total scores of children’s self-reports and parents’ proxy reports in the control (p = 0.008) group, but not in the epilepsy group (p = 0.837). Conclusions: Sleep problems may not have significant impacts on the QoL of CWE without neurodevelopmental disorders. Parents of CWE do not always correctly assess their children’s QoL, so it is important to ask both children and their parents to obtain a comprehensive picture of their QoL. Full article

A paucity of research has addressed the relationship between each psychological construct of playfulness and smartphone dependency, and the purpose of this research is to understand how each psychological construct of playfulness, including physical animation, social engagement, mental spontaneity, emotional fluidity, and humorous perspective playfulness, influences smartphone dependency of the upper grades of elementary schoolers. For this purpose, a total of 278 questionnaires was analyzed for descriptive, correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The correlation analysis showed that respondents’ age positively and parents’ education levels negatively correlates to smartphone dependency. The multiple regression analyses showed that physical animation playfulness and emotional fluidity playfulness negatively and social engagement playfulness positively influence smartphone dependency of the respondents. The findings indicate that to reduce smartphone dependency among elementary schoolers, physical animation and emotional fluidity playfulness need to be promoted. The findings also suggest that each component of playfulness has distinctive advantages and disadvantages of developmental processes in childhood, and more future research endeavors need to be directed to understand the role of playfulness in children’s behaviors and cognitive processes. Full article

This study examined pre-pandemic (2017-early March 2020) to early-pandemic (Spring 2020) changes in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), light PA (LPA), and sedentary behavior/sleep (SS), by weekday/weekend, and age (preschool, elementary, middle school). We re-enrolled children from two pre-pandemic obesity prevention trials and examined differences in accelerometer-measured PA from pre-pandemic to early-pandemic across age groups using linear mixed models. Children (n = 75) were 51% multiple race/ethnicities, 29% preschool, 28% elementary, 43% middle school, 65% suburban, 21% rural, and 13% urban. Pre-pandemic to early-pandemic changes in weekday MVPA (p = 0.006), LPA (p = 0.018), and SS (p = 0.003) differed by age. On weekdays, middle schoolers’ MVPA decreased 15.36 min/day (p = 0.002) and SS increased 94.36 min/day (p < 0.001) with non-significant changes among preschoolers and elementary schoolers. Compared to elementary schoolers, middle schoolers’ changes in weekday MVPA (b = −16.34, p = 0.036) and SS (b = 63.28, p = 0.039) significantly differed. Declines in weekday MVPA and increases in SS among middle schoolers suggest that, compared with younger children, middle schoolers are dependent on school and recreational facilities for PA, and in their absence engage in more sedentary activities and sleep. Full article

The main aim of the present study is to analyze the differences that may exist when students address the resolution of verbal problems in their mother tongue and in the language of instruction when these are different. We understand that knowing the type of verbal problems and their semantic structure can be helpful for students’ contextual and mathematical understanding and will allow teachers to improve instruction during the first years of elementary education in bilingual schools specialized in the area of second language acquisition as well as in CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning). This study shows how children, as they are acquiring a greater command of the second language, show similar effectiveness to those students who work on mathematics in their mother tongue. This transversal study was conducted on 169 bilinguals studying in international schools. The sample was made up of 80 1st grade students (39 girls, mean age of 7.1 years and 41 boys, mean age of 7.3 years); and 89 2nd grade students (38 girls, mean age 8.2 years, and 51 boys, mean age 8.2 years). The exploratory analyses let us show how 1st grade students demonstrate lower effectiveness in solving problems when they do it in a second language, compared to 2nd grade students whose effectiveness is higher in carrying them out. It is also relevant that in first graders, the largest number of errors are found in the simplest tasks as students’ effectiveness is less when they are taught in a second language, since it takes them longer to create effective resolution models. This fact will allow us to reconsider appropriate strategies and interventions when teaching mathematics in bilingual contexts. Full article