Objectives: Free-play and social interactions during school recess are crucial for children's development. This study explored the social preferences of autistic and non-autistic children during...Show moreObjectives: Free-play and social interactions during school recess are crucial for children's development. This study explored the social preferences of autistic and non-autistic children during recess, and their impact on children’s recess enjoyment. Based on prior research, the study hypothesized that (1) both autistic and non-autistic children would interact more with in-group peers, and (2) more in-group interactions would contribute to higher recess enjoyment. Methods: Measurements were conducted on 69 children with special educational needs (19 autistic, 50 non-autistic) aged 4-14 years at a special educational primary school in the Netherlands. Radio frequency identification (RFID) proximity sensors tracked children’s number of interaction partners and total interaction time during recess. Recess enjoyment was assessed using six items from the Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) self-report questionnaire, completed on tablets with assistance. Interaction measures were adjusted for different group sizes and recess duration. Results: Mixed ANOVAs and post hoc tests showed that non-autistic children had significantly more non-autistic interaction partners than autistic partners (t(49) = 8,88, p < .001), whereas autistic children had a similar number of autistic and non-autistic partners (t(18) = .961, p = .175). No significant difference were found in the time spent interacting with autistic and non-autistic peers for either group (F(1, 66) = 1.09; p = .300; partial η² = .016). Regression models showed no significant relationship between in-group interactions and recess enjoyment (b = .40, t(48) = .13, p = .897 for time spent in interaction; b = 1.87, t(48) = .77, p = .443 for number of interaction partners). Conclusion: The study partially replicated previous findings of in-group social preferences among non-autistic children but found no such preference among autistic children during recess. The results highlight the differences in social patterns alongside similarities in the time spent in close interactions and enjoyment of recess in both groups. The findings have implications for professionals in designing and managing school environments that respect diverse social preferences while handling social exclusions. Limitations, future directions, and theoretical implications supporting the social model of autism are discussed.Show less
Social network centrality is the social position of a person in a social network. The more friendships or social connections they have in the network, the higher the centrality. A low level of...Show moreSocial network centrality is the social position of a person in a social network. The more friendships or social connections they have in the network, the higher the centrality. A low level of social network centrality is often thought to be related to feelings of loneliness. Yet there is still a lot of discussion if this is also the case for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Thus, this study examined the level of loneliness as well as the level of social network centrality in children with ASD, compared to their peers without ASD, and the relation between these two aspects in special education settings. Children with ASD were expected to show a lower level of social network centrality than children without ASD. However it was expected that children with ASD would not feel lonelier than their peers without ASD. Thus, while it was expected that a lower level of centrality relates to a higher level of loneliness in children without ASD, this was not expected for children with ASD. This study compared a group of 47 children with ASD and a group of 52 children without ASD, aged from 8 to 13 years old (M= 10.806; SD = 1.266), in a special education primary school setting. Loneliness was measured with the Children’s Loneliness Scale, and the centrality was measured in a “Like to Play” measure and was based on the number of friendship nominations a child received. ANOVA showed that the children with ASD did not show a significantly lower level of social network centrality nor feel lonelier than their peers without ASD. A hierarchical regression showed no significant relations between social network centrality and the level of loneliness in the two groups. Based on the results of this study children with ASD in an inclusive environment might be more socially central and less lonely than expected.Show less
Objective. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a rare autosomal dominant single-gene disorder, primarily characterized by multiple (sub)cutaneous neurofibromas and café-au-lait macules. The cognitive...Show moreObjective. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a rare autosomal dominant single-gene disorder, primarily characterized by multiple (sub)cutaneous neurofibromas and café-au-lait macules. The cognitive profile of children with NF1 is hypothesised to be associated with deficits in three domains; visuospatial ability, executive function, learning and their interdependency. Between ages 11 and 15 years, an increase in PIQ was found in children with NF1. Because visuospatial abilities are strongly related to the level of PIQ as measured with the WISC-III-NL, the objective of this study was to find if improvement in visuospatial abilities in this course of age predicts this progress in PIQ. Methods. In a longitudinal design, 31 children with NF1 were assessed with the WISC-III-NL and a standardised battery of neuropsychological assessments at average age 11 and 15. In the statistical analyses the scores on the subtests of the WISC-III-NL constituting PIQ at age 11 and 15 were compared with paired t-tests and a repeated measures ANOVA. Next, five multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted with the increase in PIQ as the dependent variable and five neuropsychological constructs (visual and auditory attention, visuospatial ability, processing speed and fine motor skills) as the predictors. Results. Picture arrangement was the only WISC-III-NL subtest to increase between age 11 and 15, d = 1.04, p < .001. The repeated measures ANOVA resulted in a difference in improvement between the five WISC-III-NL subtest scores, p < .001. Visuospatial ability was the only neuropsychological construct that predicted the increase in PIQ, b = 1.22, p = .005. There was no correlation between improvement in picture arrangement and improvement in visuospatial ability. Conclusions. Improvement in visuospatial ability appears to predict increase in PIQ in children with NF1 between age 11 and 15. Further investigation is required to determine if these findings are replicable in larger sample sizes. Additionally, there is further research needed to explore variances in the amount of improvement observed across different visuospatial tasks. It may be possible that progress in executive function effects improvement in some visuospatial tasks. Implications are that executive functioning must be taken into account when interpreting (visuospatial) results from neuropsychological assessments in children with NF1, both in science and in the clinic.Show less
Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face unique challenges when navigating the social landscape of the primary school environment, which impacts their ability to develop...Show moreChildren diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face unique challenges when navigating the social landscape of the primary school environment, which impacts their ability to develop and maintain friendships. This study therefore investigated the relationship between the social interactions of children with ASD and their friendships by examining the total time spent in social contact during school breaks and its association with the number of incoming friendship nominations at school. A sample of 100 children aged 6 – 14 years (Mage = 10.75), which consisted of 48 children with ASD and 52 children without ASD from two special education schools participated in the study. The total time spent in social contact during school breaks was measured using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) on the playground. The number of incoming friendship nominations was recorded via peer nominations. Contrary to expectations, the results showed no significant relationship between total time of social contact and incoming friendship nominations, regardless of the ASD status. Notably, although children with ASD spent less time in social contact on average, they received a similar amount of incoming friendship nominations compared to children without ASD. These findings indicate that the link between social behavior and friendship formation in children with ASD may be more complex than assumed, and suggest that children with ASD may achieve friendships without pursuing typical patterns of social contact. Furthermore, these results suggest that quantity of social contact may not be the only determinant of friendships. Instead, factors such as the quality of this contact may further influence friendships, highlighting the need for future qualitative research.Show less
Social anxiety is typically characterized by a persistent fear of negative evaluation and rejection, often leading to avoidance of social situations. Research indicates that socially anxious...Show moreSocial anxiety is typically characterized by a persistent fear of negative evaluation and rejection, often leading to avoidance of social situations. Research indicates that socially anxious individuals tend to interpret social feedback negatively, leading to cognitive biases and behavioral responses such as gaze avoidance. Extensive research on gaze behavior in social anxiety has predominantly focused on adults, resulting in a relative paucity of studies examining these phenomena in children. This study aims to investigate if social anxiety affects children's gaze behavior during a face-to-face conversation and whether this potential relationship is influenced by the conversational role (speaking vs. listening). To this end, a total of 21 participants aged 9-10 engaged in a face-to-face conversation with a young, female confederate, where participants and the confederate took turns answering a series of given questions. Participants’ eye movements were tracked using Tobii Pro eye-tracking glasses. Social anxiety was assessed with the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C). Fixation durations on the confederate’s facial regions, namely eyes, nose and mouth were extracted. The analyses revealed that, despite the expectations, social anxiety did not associate with gaze avoidance of the three facial regions. Neither did the interaction of the conversational role. However, children in general looked more at their conversation partner’s nose while speaking compared to listening. Further research should consider larger sample sizes, different confederates and varying conversational topics for the deeper investigation of the impact of social anxiety on children in naturalistic settings.Show less
Generative learning strategies enable children and young adults by encouraging them to actively process new learning material in order to improve their learning process. These strategies activate...Show moreGenerative learning strategies enable children and young adults by encouraging them to actively process new learning material in order to improve their learning process. These strategies activate prior knowledge and link it to new learning material. There are different generative learning strategies with age-related increase in effectiveness for children. For elementary school students, predicting seems to be an effective generative learning strategy. Would predicting as a generative learning strategy be equally effective for all elementary school students? These findings can be important for educational improvement. The present study examined the role of surprise in learning from predictions. It is important to understand if and how children learn from surprise. Furthermore, the role of response time (i.e. the time participants need to formulate a prediction), age and executive functions (inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility) on the effectiveness of predicting for learning numerical trivia facts was examined. The study was conducted with 27 children (11-13 years) and 44 young adults (20-24 years). It was found that a large expectation-violating prediction leads to better performance. These findings suggest that predictions with a large prediction error benefits learning. In addition, two main effects were found for age and task time on making predictions, with higher age and more task time leading to better predictions during the study phase. For the test results only a main effect for age was found, with young adults performing better on the memory test compared to children. More task time during the study phase did not lead to better memory. These findings suggest that an average longer task time leads to better predictions and there is an important role for age in predictions and testing. No significant effect was found for the general level of executive functioning. Future research is needed to gain more insight in making predictions in the classroom.Show less
With the growing complexity of nowadays society and challenges that are putting a strain on humanity, it becomes more urgent for children to grow resilient and develop the skills to prevent mental...Show moreWith the growing complexity of nowadays society and challenges that are putting a strain on humanity, it becomes more urgent for children to grow resilient and develop the skills to prevent mental health issues and enhance psychological well-being. School-based interventions that focus on enhancing self-awareness could help achieve these goals. The aim of this research project was to create an overview of what kind of interventions effectively enhance self-awareness and offer insight into possible moderators and implementation practices. A systematic search was performed: 41 studies were systematically reviewed, and 28 studies were included in a meta-analysis. The mean effect size was statistically significant and showed a small to moderate, positive, pooled effect (Hedge’s g = .307). Statistical heterogeneity was high, yet gender and the mental health-status of participants did not explain the variance in the effectiveness between the interventions in this study sample. From the included studies, 13 interventions showed significant, positive effects. Most of these interventions utilized a SEL-framework or mixed different theoretical backgrounds and techniques. Findings suggested that interventions seem to thrive when implemented with a whole-school approach: integrated in school-curricula on an ongoing basis, executed by teachers when used with a universal approach, with family involved, and health practitioners engaged to offer support and guidance to school-staff and teachers.Show less
Anxiety disorders are prevalent worldwide and tend to run in families. Parents’ suppression of emotions affects the child’s emotional development and mental health through different pathways....Show moreAnxiety disorders are prevalent worldwide and tend to run in families. Parents’ suppression of emotions affects the child’s emotional development and mental health through different pathways. However, due to social desirability bias, parents and children may differ in their reports of parental emotional suppression. This study investigated which report of parental emotional suppression is a stronger predictor of a child’s anxiety. Additionally, the mother- child and father-child interactions seem to differ in effects on the child’s emotional development. Thus, it was explored whether mother-reported or father-reported suppression of emotions has a stronger link with the child’s anxiety symptoms. This study used a correlational cross-sectional design. In total, 187 child-parent dyads were included. Both children and parents had to fill out the online versions of the Affective Style Questionnaire regarding parental suppression and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotion Disorders. Data was analysed using Pearson’s correlations and by comparing the Fisher’s z effect scores. The correlations were non-significant for the parent-report of emotional suppression and the child’s anxiety and both for the fathers and mothers. However, there was a significant relationship between the child-report of parental emotional suppression and the child’s anxiety. These results unfold the complexity of this matter as children’s gender, age or clinical level of anxiety may explain the null findings. The correlational design was the primary limitation. Future research should further investigate the effects of children’s gender and culture in this relationship to gain a deeper understanding.Show less
Recent data indicates that 49% of Dutch youth aged 12 to 25 reported frequent stress in the past month. Growing evidence suggests that childhood stress has concerning long-term effects on mental...Show moreRecent data indicates that 49% of Dutch youth aged 12 to 25 reported frequent stress in the past month. Growing evidence suggests that childhood stress has concerning long-term effects on mental and physical health due to its negative effects on brain development and the stress network. Additionally, the increasing diversity in Dutch society underscores the importance of understanding stress and its effects, especially in vulnerable groups like children with a migration background. Previous research, mostly among adults and adolescents, shows inconsistent findings on the role of ethnicity in stress among children. This study examines the relationship between the ethnic (migration) backgrounds of students in grades 7 and 8 in Dutch primary schools and their current stress levels, perceptions of stressors, and coping strategies. The study included 92 students from primary schools in the Randstad area. Employing a cross-sectional research design, measurement instruments comprised self-report questionnaires, including the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire-Short (ASQ-S) for stress assessment, the Bicultural Stress Scale for cultural stressors, and the Brief-COPE for coping strategies. Analysis showed significant differences in stress levels, with non-Western students reporting higher overall stress levels and social-cultural stressors than Western peers. However, non-Western students did not employ more problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance coping strategies than their Western peers. Overall, non-Western students experienced significantly higher stress levels, reported more socio-cultural stressors, but did not employ more coping strategies compared to their Western counterparts. Various factors, including acculturation processes, parental support, socio-economic status, and cultural conflicts, may contribute to these disparities. Understanding these findings, can provide insights for effective psychosocial support and culturally sensitive interventions for non-Western students. By recognizing their specific stress experiences, caregivers and schools can develop and implement targeted interventions that promote their well-being.Show less
Selective mutism (SM) is a relatively rare childhood disorder characterized by a consistent failure to speak in specific settings, such as school, despite speaking normally in other settings, such...Show moreSelective mutism (SM) is a relatively rare childhood disorder characterized by a consistent failure to speak in specific settings, such as school, despite speaking normally in other settings, such as at home. Little is known about the etiology of SM, although some studies show evidence of social anxiety or problems in communication skills as underlying mechanisms. This study investigated whether some children with SM in the Netherlands have more social anxiety and more problems in communication skills than peers. Moreover, it examined which of these factors has the strongest association with the non-speaking behaviour characteristic of SM. Parents of 28 children with SM (Nboys=6; Ngirls=22) and 44 children without SM (Nboys=19, Ngirls=23) aged 4-9 years completed questionnaires on their child's speaking behaviour (Selective Mutism Questionnaire), communication skills (Children's Communication Checklist) and social anxiety (Social Worries Anxiety Index for Young children). Results show that children with SM have significantly more social anxiety and more problems in communication skills than peers. Furthermore, more problems in non-speaking behaviour are significantly associated with more social anxiety and more problems in communication skills. Non-speaking behaviour has a stronger correlation with social anxiety than with communication skills. A hierarchical regression shows that social anxiety is a strong significant predictor (80%) of nonspeaking behaviour. Communication skills have minimal additional impact (0.5%) on the variance of non-speaking behaviour. Finally, communication skills partly (11%) explain why some children with social anxiety do not speak and other children do. A limitation of this study is the small sample size, which did not allow to control for ethnicity. Possibly this affects the outcomes of communication skills. Nevertheless, we feel confident that SM is mainly related to social anxiety. Communication skills have a small influence on the outcome of SM. Based on this we recommend that treatment of SM should mainly focus on social anxiety and in addition we should be alert for problems in communication skills.Show less
Het Cool Little Kids (CLK) programma is een oudergericht interventieprogramma met als doel om angst en geïnhibeerd gedrag te verminderen bij jonge kinderen. Wanneer de ouders echter angstig van...Show moreHet Cool Little Kids (CLK) programma is een oudergericht interventieprogramma met als doel om angst en geïnhibeerd gedrag te verminderen bij jonge kinderen. Wanneer de ouders echter angstig van aard zijn, zou dit de effectiviteit van de interventie negatief kunnen beïnvloeden. Tot op heden beschrijft onderzoek echter tegenstrijdige resultaten, verzameld bij vooral oudere kinderen. De doelstelling van het hier gepresenteerde onderzoek was om (i) middels een paired samples T-toets te onderzoeken of de angstvermindering bij kinderen in de interventiegroep (n = 54) groter was dan die van de controlegroep (n = 38) en (ii) middels een moderatie-analyse te onderzoeken of de angst bij de ouder als moderator optreedt voor het verschil in angst bij de kinderen in de interventiegroep bij de voor- en nameting. Het verschil in angst bij het kind werd gemeten als verschilscore op de Preschool Anxiety Scale-Revised (PAS-R) en angst bij de ouder werd gemeten met de Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). De resultaten ondersteunen de eerste hypothese (p = .033), maar niet de tweede (p = .436). In conclusie bleek het CLK programma effectief te zijn voor angstvermindering bij jonge, geïnhibeerde kinderen en lijkt een hogere angst bij de ouder geen negatieve invloed te hebben op deze effectiviteit. De resultaten worden besproken in relatie tot de huidige literatuur, limitaties van het onderzoek en maatschappelijke implicatiesShow less
Developments in applications of virtual reality (VR) in the field of children's education and healthcare have been increasing rapidly in recent years. Until today, little research has been done on...Show moreDevelopments in applications of virtual reality (VR) in the field of children's education and healthcare have been increasing rapidly in recent years. Until today, little research has been done on the negative physical effects that the use of VR can cause in children aged 8-12 years. The aim of the research reported in this paper is to determine whether the use of VR causes negative physical symptoms in children and to what extent gender, level of fun of the VR task and degree of media use are influencing factors regarding such symptoms. In this study, 64 children aged 8-12 years participated. Before and after playing a short VR game, the children completed a questionnaire (CSSQ) measuring cybersickness symptoms. The results showed that children suffered some degree of cybersickness symptoms after playing a short VR game. Nevertheless, the number of children in the study suffering from cybersickness was very small. The factors of gender, degree of media use and level of fun of the VR game did not seem to influence the development of cybersickness symptoms. In follow-up studies, larger subgroups could be examined to determine more accurately at what age cybersickness symptoms are most prevalent.Show less
Emotion recognition is an important skill for individuals to acquire, leading to effective communication and smooth social interactions. While previous research has extensively studied emotion...Show moreEmotion recognition is an important skill for individuals to acquire, leading to effective communication and smooth social interactions. While previous research has extensively studied emotion recognition in childhood, many of these studies are limited by the use of non-authentic expressions produced by actors and assuming a direct correspondence between facial expressions and felt emotions, disregarding individual context. This study aimed to measure children’s emotion recognition using a more naturalistic approach by comparing self-reported and observer-reported emotions in children. In the first phase of the study, children (8 to 12 years old; N = 10) and adults (18 to 40 years old; N = 10) were filmed while watching emotion-inducing videos and self-reported their emotional experiences. In the second phase, a separate group of children (8 to 12 years old; N = 15) rated the expressed emotions of the participants from the first phase of the study. The concordance between self-reported and observer-reported emotions was examined, with a focus on whether concordance differed across emotions and the age of the stimulus actors. The results indicated that children exhibited similar accuracy in recognizing happiness, sadness, fear and disgust. Additionally, children demonstrated an own age bias, which reflects a better emotion recognition accuracy for own-age faces compared to other-age faces. These findings highlight the importance of considering self-reported emotions and the age of the stimulus actors in understanding the development of emotion recognition. Further research should explore the underlying factors that influence emotion recognition in children using a naturalistic approach.Show less
Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social functioning, as well as repetitive and restrictive interests and behaviors. It is...Show moreBackground: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social functioning, as well as repetitive and restrictive interests and behaviors. It is diagnosed based on symptom expression. An ASD diagnosis can influence different aspects of the life of an individual, such as eating and sleeping habits. It may also influence the lives of the people close to the diagnosed individual, especially when diagnosed in children. So far, little is known about how ASD symptom expression influences eating and sleeping patterns in five- year-old children as well as their parent’s parental stress levels. Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between ASD symptoms, eating and sleeping problems in five-year-old children, and parental stress. Methods: This thesis used online questionnaires filled out by parents of five-year-old children (n = 4588, Mean age = 5.1, SD = .46) to conduct three multiple regression models. Results: The findings supported the hypotheses (H1) that ASD symptom severity is associated with more problematic eating habits in five-year-old children; (H2) that ASD symptom severity is associated with more sleep problems in five-year-old children; (H3) that ASD symptom severity is associated with more parental stress in parents of five-year- old children. All results were reported with small effect sizes. Conclusion: ASD symptoms in five-year-old children had a small negative effect on eating and sleeping habits in children, and increased parental stress in their parents.Show less
Background The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the economies, social relationships, and mental health of the population globally. A growing number of research presents empirical evidence for the...Show moreBackground The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the economies, social relationships, and mental health of the population globally. A growing number of research presents empirical evidence for the negative psychological consequences of the lockdowns, such as increased anxiety and stress. However, the long-term mental effects, especially on children and their parents, are unclear and need to be further investigated. Aims This paper aims to examine whether there is a difference in the levels of anxious and shy behaviour in five-year-old children and in parental stress in their parents due to the pandemic. Method The data was collected as part of the "Jij en Je Gezondheid" project, executed by the Gemeentelijke Gezondheidsdiensten region. Inclusion criteria included children around the age of five and their parents who live in Amsterdam. Independent samples t-test was run to investigate whether there is a difference in anxious and shy behaviour in the children and parental stress before and after the COVID lockdowns. Results Levels of anxious and shy behaviour were higher after the COVID lockdowns in children as compared to the before lockdowns group. Parental stress was reported to also increase after the COVID lockdowns. Conclusions The study emphasizes the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s anxious and shy behaviour and their parents' stress levels. The findings highlight the need for tailored interventions for families to decrease the long-term psychological burden of the pandemic, as well as additional research to fully understand the problem.Show less
Physical activity (PA) and social interaction (SI) are often challenging for autistic children, especially during recess at school. The aim of this study was to identify the PA levels and social...Show morePhysical activity (PA) and social interaction (SI) are often challenging for autistic children, especially during recess at school. The aim of this study was to identify the PA levels and social interaction and to examine the relationship between the PA levels and SI. Participants included fifty-three children diagnosed with ASD between the ages of 4 and 13 years. Multi-motion receivers measured PA levels and (1) video observations and (2) proximity sensors (RFID) resulted in data for SI. Results showed that, during recess, a significant difference was found between sedentary activity and light-to-moderate and vigorous activity. More time was spent in sedentary activity. Also, according to the proximity sensors, autistic children spent more time in interaction than alone. However, for the video observations, autistic children spent more time alone than in interaction, but this difference was insignificant. A positive correlation was found between vigorous activity and interaction time (RFID). Supporting the notion that PA is positively correlated to SI. Further research is necessary to minimize the limitations and to better understand the needs regarding PA and SA in autistic children during recess.Show less
Peer-mediated interventions (PMI) can be administered to young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This evidence-based intervention is implemented with typically developing peers, who are...Show morePeer-mediated interventions (PMI) can be administered to young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This evidence-based intervention is implemented with typically developing peers, who are trained on behavioral and social strategies, in order to improve the social, communication, and play skills of children and adolescents with ASD. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of PMI and the moderating effect of peer training strategies, particularly direct instruction and video modeling. Following a systematic search, a meta-regression analysis was conducted, including a total of 12 studies. Overall, PMI was found to be an effective intervention for the social, communication, and play skills of children and adolescents with autism. The present study also found that both direct instruction and video modeling are appropriate peer training strategies to employ in PMI, and that the effectiveness of this intervention is not dependent on the type of training that is delivered to the peer workers. Future research is recommended on this area, as several limitations and data inconsistencies were found. Future studies should consider higher sample sizes, reporting follow-up and generalization data, and exploring potential mediators and moderators.Show less
Socialisation for children and adolescents is fundamental for their well-being and overall development. Schools are where children spend most of their day, so it is important to inquire about their...Show moreSocialisation for children and adolescents is fundamental for their well-being and overall development. Schools are where children spend most of their day, so it is important to inquire about their peer interactions and reciprocal friendships in the schoolyard. Autistic children have shown to have smaller social networks than non-autistic children. Therefore, exploring how reciprocal friendships can be beneficial for their peer interactions may deliver opportunities to create more inclusive environments at schoolyards. The current study was a cross-sectional correlational design. It was part of a longitudinal study which aimed to create an inclusive environment for students outside the classroom. The sample consisted of 99 Dutch speaking participants, 47% autistic and 53% non-autistic children with ages ranging between 8 and 14 years old (M = 10.8, SD = 1.2). The sample included 35% females and 66% males, who attended 21 different classes in two special education primary schools in The Netherlands. Data was collected during break time using proximity sensors (RFID) to measure peer interactions on the playground. The variables analysed were the total interaction time and the number of interaction partners. For measuring reciprocal friendships, a self-report to nominate their best friends was used. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) performed showed that autistic children had lower levels of reciprocal friendships (F(4, 94) = 3.98, p = .049) but a higher number of interaction partners (F(4, 94) = 4.19, p = .043) than non-autistic children. Nonetheless, there were no differences between the interaction time for both groups (F(4, 94) = 0.74, p = 0.391). Also, hierarchical regression analysis conducted showed that reciprocal friendship gave a significant contribution to total interaction time (β = .237, t = 2.35, p =.021), but did not influence the number of interaction partners on the school playground. In conclusion, non-autistic and autistic children were different in reciprocal friendships and peer interactions on the playground. As one of the biggest challenges for autistic children is to engage in social interactions, knowing that friend’s support can increase opportunities to interact with others may contribute to create more inclusive environments that enable their overall development.Show less
Background. Sleep’s positive impact on children’s development, health and psychological well-being renders crucial the investigation of precipitating and perpetuating factors of sleep disturbances...Show moreBackground. Sleep’s positive impact on children’s development, health and psychological well-being renders crucial the investigation of precipitating and perpetuating factors of sleep disturbances to prevent or address them. Aim. This study examines whether sleep disturbances in 10-year-olds are associated with eating habits, physical activity and parental stress. Methods. A total of 349 participants took part in the current study (Mean age = 10.21 years, SD = 0.49, boys = 50.14%). A regression analysis was run using sleep disturbances as a dependent variable, eating habits, physical activity and parental stress as independent variables and sex, ethnicity and region as covariates. Results. Eating habits, physical activity and parental stress did not have any predictive value for sleep disturbances. Conclusion. We conclude that sleep disturbances in 10-year-old children are not associated with eating habits, physical activity and parental stress. These results contradicting previous findings might be partially explained by some limitations of our study, such as the low internal consistency of our questionnaires and the potentially biased view of parents filling in the questionnaires.Show less
The present study focuses on the amount of brain knowledge that children have, and specifically, which neuromyths they believe. Previous research suggests that brain knowledge, either right or...Show moreThe present study focuses on the amount of brain knowledge that children have, and specifically, which neuromyths they believe. Previous research suggests that brain knowledge, either right or wrong, can influence the way children think about themselves, and how they behave. If this knowledge is negatively framed, this can have a negative effect on their development. Therefore, we investigated whether curiosity, prior knowledge, and science-related curiosity were predictive of correctly distinguishing neuromyths and truths and whether these same predictors were related to the perceived relevance of brain knowledge in their daily lives. Furthermore, we looked at the difference between children in primary school and in secondary school with respect to how much they want to know about the brain, and what they want to know about the brain was examined. To test this, 321 children in primary and secondary schools, aged between 10 and 15 years, filled out a questionnaire about their curiosity and prior knowledge, and they judged whether 25 statements about the brain (13 myths, 11 facts, and 1 opinion) were right or wrong. We found that curiosity, prior knowledge, and science-related curiosity as measured with a questionnaire were not predictive of being better able to distinguish neuromyths and truths. However, in an exploratory analysis we found that a higher number of correctly detected facts predicted a lower number of correctly detected neuromyths. When looking at perceived relevance, higher levels of curiosity and science-related curiosity predicted higher levels of perceived relevance, while prior knowledge did not. No differences between children who go to primary school and secondary school were found in how much they want to know about the brain. Also, the themes they would like to know more about were quite the same, mostly focused on general brain knowledge and brain development. This is the first study that focuses on neuromyths and brain knowledge in children. It is important that more research is done on the effect of believing neuromyths and the influence it has on children’s behavior.Show less
