Abstract Aim: Sleep difficulties are a common problem among young children. Reduction in sleep affects cognitive processes and therefore has consequences for development and functioning in daily...Show moreAbstract Aim: Sleep difficulties are a common problem among young children. Reduction in sleep affects cognitive processes and therefore has consequences for development and functioning in daily life. Behavioural inhibition, which includes avoidant behaviour, is expected to be an important predictor for Sleep difficulties. Previous research stated that Physical activity on the other hand could reduce Sleep difficulties. Therefore this study investigated the role of Physical activity in the relation between Behavioural inhibition and Sleep difficulties in boys and girls aged five and ten. Methods: This study used data from the GGD Nederland. Questionnaires from the “Jij en Je Gezondheid vragenlijst” are used to measure the three variables. Parents of a total of 12118 five year olds and 11256 ten year olds completed the questionnaire. The data was analysed by a mediation analyses and a moderated mediation analysis in PROCESS SPSS. Results: The results show significant correlations between all the three mutual variables. This means that there is some dependence between the variables. In addition, significant relations were found, however the effect sizes of the mediation model were too small (d=.11) to be of actual meaning. Conclusion: The current study does not find enough evidence for Physical activity to be a mediator in the relationship between Behavioural inhibition and Sleep difficulties. Future research should use different psychometric measures and focus more on exercising rather than Physical activity in general.Show less
The experience of being socially accepted or rejected can elicit different changes in heart rate reactivity of both children and adults. In addition, personal characteristics like aggressive...Show moreThe experience of being socially accepted or rejected can elicit different changes in heart rate reactivity of both children and adults. In addition, personal characteristics like aggressive behavior may influence this reaction. This study examined whether heart rate reactivity of four-to-seven-year-old children differed during the processing of positive, negative and neutral social judgments, and whether aggression levels were related to heart rate reactivity during the processing of social judgments. Heart rate and behavioral data of 29 children was collected during an adjusted version of the Social Judgment Task. Results showed significant differences in the behavioral responses to negative and neutral judgments, compared to the responses to positive judgments. No significant differences were found in heart rate reactivity during the three conditions. These results indicate that children do distinguish between the three conditions, but their heart rate reactivity might not be influenced by the content of the feedback yet. Additionally aggression seems to be related to heart rate reactivity during the positive and negative condition. These findings suggest that heart rate reactivity in response to social judgments might develop throughout childhood, while aggression levels already influence heart rate reactivity in young children.Show less
The focus of the current study was on brain activities of young children during social judgment processing. We examined, using electro-encephalogram (EEG), amplitude differences of the P3...Show moreThe focus of the current study was on brain activities of young children during social judgment processing. We examined, using electro-encephalogram (EEG), amplitude differences of the P3 components between positive, negative and neutral social judgments in children between the age of four and six. In addition, the relation between individual differences in empathy and the difference score of the P3 amplitude between social acceptance and social rejection was studied. Before the start of the experiment, participants received a self-chosen stuffed animal. During EEG data acquisition participants were presented with same-aged peer judgments referring to their stuffed-animal. Empathy of the participants was measured by using the My Child Questionnaire and by performing the Sally-Anne task. Results showed a clear P3 amplitude between 500 and 800 milliseconds after stimulus onset. However, contrary to what was expected, no significant differences between positive, negative and neutral social judgment processing were found. Furthermore, empathy was not found to be related to P3 amplitude differences between social acceptance and social rejection. Although no statistical results were found, current research provides new hypothesis for further research that refers to social feedback processing in children between four and six years old.Show less
Executive functions are critical for adequate social functioning which is mediated by social skills. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between executive functions and social skills...Show moreExecutive functions are critical for adequate social functioning which is mediated by social skills. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between executive functions and social skills of young children because associations between these domains have only rarely been examined. The research group consisted of 109 boys and 98 girls from primary schools with an average age between 4-7 years in 2009 and 5-9 years during the follow-up study in 2010. These children completed measurements of the Social Skills Rating Scale, the Dysexecutive Questionnaire for Children, the Zoo Map task, the Spatial Temporal Span task, the Go No Go task and the Response Organization Objects task. Results indicate that executive dysfunction in daily life is negatively correlated to social skills of boys and girls. For boys there also exists a positive correlation between working memory in 2009 and social skills in 2010. Based on the findings of this study it is concluded that executive dysfunction in daily life is a negative predictor for social skills of boys and girls.Show less
Het gebruik van computers raakt steeds meer geïntegreerd in het onderwijs. Op de computer kan leerstof op een dynamische manier worden aangeboden en kunnen ook boeken op een dynamische, in plaats...Show moreHet gebruik van computers raakt steeds meer geïntegreerd in het onderwijs. Op de computer kan leerstof op een dynamische manier worden aangeboden en kunnen ook boeken op een dynamische, in plaats van op een statische, manier gepresenteerd worden. In dit onderzoek is de vraag of deze manier van aanbieden van boeken toegevoegde waarde heeft voor het verhaalbegrip van jonge kinderen. Daarnaast wordt onderzocht of zwakke lezers meer baat hebben bij een dynamische manier van aanbieden van boeken dan goede lezers. Kinderen (N = 51) uit groep 3 van het basisonderwijs (6-7 jarigen) kregen tweemaal een dynamische of statische versie van een verhaal aangeboden of zaten in een controlegroep die geen interventie kreeg. Het verhaalbegrip van de kinderen werd getest door het stellen van meerkeuze begripsvragen en het terug vertellen van het verhaal.Show less
