A unique Victorian databank that profiles children with hearing loss will help researchers globally understand why some children adapt and thrive, while others struggle. The Victorian Childhood Hearing Impairment Longitudinal Databank, which has collected information for eight years, is featured in the latest International Journal of Epidemiology. Its data shows…
Low levels of vitamin D in elementary school could spell trouble in adolescence
Vitamin D deficiency in middle childhood could result in aggressive behavior as well as anxious and depressive moods during adolescence, according to a new University of Michigan study of school children in Bogotá, Colombia. Children with blood vitamin D levels suggestive of deficiency were almost twice as likely to develop…
Optimistic people sleep better, longer, study finds
People who are the most optimistic tend to be better sleepers, a study of young and middle-aged adults found. More than 3,500 people ages 32-51 were included in the study sample. The participants included people in Birmingham, Alabama; Oakland, California; Chicago; and Minneapolis. The research was led by Rosalba Hernandez,…
Preschool teachers ask children too many simple questions: Study examined teachers’ approach during shared reading
When preschool teachers read books in their classrooms, the questions they ask play a key role in how much children learn, research has shown. But a new study that involved observing teachers during class story times found that they asked few questions — and those that they did ask were…
Americans overestimate income for children from wealthy families: Public also underestimates value of a college degree in mobility
Americans overestimate the future income for children from wealthy and middle-income families, but underestimate that for children from poor ones, finds a new study by New York University sociologists. The research, which appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), runs counter to popular perceptions, as…
Moral concerns override desire to profit from finding a lost wallet
The setup of a research study was a bit like the popular ABC television program “What Would You Do?” — minus the television cameras and big reveal in the end. An international team of behavioral scientists turned 17,303 “lost” wallets containing varying amounts of money into public and private institutions…
Not always reaching your potential is okay, but overthinking it is a problem
Having aspirations helps us navigate life in a meaningful and fulfilling way, but it can also cause psychological distress when hopes are left unfulfilled. New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has found that it’s not failing to make progress toward our ‘ideal-self’ that is problematic but rather the tendency to…
Bullying gets worse as children with autism get older
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to experience bullying than children without ASD and this bullying gets worse with age, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. Hannah Morton, a graduate student in the clinical psychology PhD program at Binghamton University, aimed…
Global study links better education, wealth to improved heart health
Findings from a sweeping global study conducted by SFU Health Sciences professor Scott Lear, among others, reveal a direct correlation between socioeconomic status and one’s susceptibility to heart attacks and strokes. Lear, who holds the Pfizer/Heart & Stroke Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Prevention Research at St. Paul’s Hospital, is the…
Brain wiring differences identified in children with conduct disorder
Behavioural problems in young people with severe antisocial behaviour — known as conduct disorder — could be caused by differences in the brain’s wiring that link the brain’s emotional centres together, according to new research led by the University of Birmingham. Conduct disorder affects around 1 in 20 children and…
Climate change could undermine children’s education and development in the tropics
Education of children is one of the ambitious goals for sustainable development as a way to alleviate poverty and reduce vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. Yet, a new study by a University of Maryland researcher published in the April 15, 2019, issue of the journal Proceedings of the…