Concrete and abstract concepts in school age children

The aim of this study is to highlight what kind of information distinguishes abstract and concrete conceptual knowledge in different aged children. A familiarity-rating task has shown that 8-year-olds judged concrete concepts as very familiar while abstract concepts were judged as much less familiar with ratings increasing substantially from age 10 to age 12, according to literature showing that abstract terms are not mastered until adolescence (Schwanenflugel, 1991). The types of relation elicited by abstract and concrete concepts during development were investigated in an association production task. At all considered age levels, concrete concepts mainly activated attributive and thematic relations as well as, to a much lesser extent, taxonomic relations and stereotypes. Abstract concepts, instead, elicited mainly thematic relations and, to a much lesser extent, examples and taxonomic relations. The patterns of relations elicited were already differentiated by age 8, becoming more specific in abstract concepts with age.

Investigating relative clauses in children with specific language impairment

Background: It is well documented that children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) experience significant grammatical deficits. While much of the focus in the past has been on their morphosyntactic difficulties, less is known about their acquisition of complex syntactic structures such as relative clauses. The role of memory in language performance has also become increasingly prominent in the literature. Aims: This study aims to investigate the control of an important complex syntactic structure, the relative clause, by school age children with SLI in Ireland, using a newly devised sentence recall task. It also aims to explore the role of verbal and short-termworking memory in the performance of children with SLI on the sentence recall task, using a standardized battery of tests based on Baddeley’s model of working memory. Methods and Procedures: Thirty two children with SLI, thirty two age matched typically developing children (AM-TD) between the ages of 6 and 7,11 years and twenty younger typically developing (YTD) children between 4,7 and 5 years, completed the task. The sentence recall (SR) task included 52 complex sentences and 17 fillers. It included relative clauses that are used in natural discourse and that reflect a developmental hierarchy. The relative clauses were also controlled for length and varied in syntactic complexity, representing the full range of syntactic roles. There were seven different relative clause types attached to either the predicate nominal of a copular clause (Pn), or to the direct object of a transitive clause (Do). Responses were recorded, transcribed and entered into a database for analysis. TheWorkingMemory Test Battery for children (WMTB-C—Pickering & Gathercole, 2001) was administered in order to explore the role of short-term memory and working memory on the children’s performance on the SR task. Outcomes and Results: The children with SLI showed significantly greater difficulty than the AM-TD group and the YTD group. With the exception of the genitive subject clauses, the children with SLI scored significantly higher on all sentences containing a Pn main clause than those containing a transitive main clause. Analysis of error types revealed the frequent production of a different type of relative clause than that presented in the task—with a strong word order preference in the NVN direction indicated for the children with SLI. The SR performance for the children with SLI was most highly correlated with expressive language skills and digit recall. Conclusions and Implications: Children with SLI have significantly greater difficulty with relative clauses than YTD children who are on average two years younger—relative clauses are a delay within a delay. Unlike the YTD children they show a tendency to simplify relative clauses in the noun verb noun (NVN) direction. They show a developmental hierarchy in their production of relative clause constructions and are highly influenced by the frequency distribution of the relative clauses in the ambient language.

Obstetric mode of delivery and child psychological development

Background/aims: Objective of the current thesis is to investigate the potential impact of birth by Caesarean section (CS) on child psychological development, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavioural difficulties and school performance. Structure/methods: Published literature to date on birth by CS, ASD and ADHD was reviewed (Chapter 2). Data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) were analysed to determine the association between CS and ASD, ADHD and parent-reported behavioural difficulties (Chapter 3). The Swedish National Registers were used to further assess the association with ASD, ADHD and school performance (Chapters 4-6). Results: In the review, children born by CS were 23% more likely to be diagnosed with ASD after controlling for potential confounders. Only two studies reported adjusted estimates on the association between birth by CS and ADHD, results were conflicting and limited. CS was not associated with ASD, ADHD or behavioural difficulties in the UK MCS. In the Swedish National Registers, children born by CS were more likely to be diagnosed with ASD or ADHD. The association with elective CS did not persist when compared amongst siblings. There was little evidence of an association between birth by elective CS and poor school performance. Children born by elective CS had slight reduction in school performance. Conclusions: The lack of association with the elective CS in the sibling design studies indicates that the association in the population is most probably due to confounding. A small but significant association was found between birth by CS and school performance. However, the effect may have been due to residual confounding or confounding by indication and should be interpreted with caution. The overall conclusion is that birth by CS does not appear to have a causal relationship with the aspects of child psychological development investigated.

Micronutrient intakes and the role of nutritional supplements in the diets of Irish adults and pre-school children

To investigate micronutrient intakes and the role of nutritional supplements in the diets of Irish adults aged 18-64 years and pre-school children aged 1-4 years. Analysis is based on data from the National Adult Nutrition Survey (NANS) (n=1274) and the National Pre-School Nutrition Survey (NPNS) (n=500). Food and beverage intakes and nutritional supplement use were recorded using 4-day food records. Nutrients were estimated using WISP© which is based on McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods, 6thEd and the Irish Food Composition Database. “Meats”, “milk/yoghurt”, “breads”, “fruit/fruit juices” and “breakfast cereals” made important contributions to the intakes of a number of micronutrients. Micronutrient intakes were generally adequate, with the exception of iron (in adult females and 1 year olds) and vitamin D (in all population groups). For iron, zinc, copper and vitamin B6, up to 2% of adults had intakes that exceeded the upper limit (UL). Small proportions of children had intakes of zinc (11%), copper (2%), retinol (4%) and folic acid (5%) exceeding the UL. Nutritional supplements (predominantly multivitamin and/or mineral preparations) were consumed by 28% of adults and 20% of pre-school children. Among users, supplements were effective in reducing the % with inadequate intakes for vitamins A and D (both population groups) and iron (adult females only). Supplement users had a lower prevalence of inadequate intakes for vitamin A and iron compared to non-users. In adults only, users had a lower prevalence of inadequate intakes for magnesium, calcium and zinc, and displayed better compliance with dietary recommendations and lifestyle characteristics compared with non-users. There is poor compliance among women of childbearing age for the recommendation to take a supplement containing 400µg/day of folic acid. These findings are important for the development of nutrition policies and future recommendations for adults and pre-school children in Ireland and the EU.

National food consumption surveys: micronutrient intakes and the role of fortified foods in the diets of Irish pre-school children and adults

This research investigated the micronutrient intakes of Irish pre-school children (1-4 years) and adults (18-64 years) and the role that fortified foods (FFs) play in the diets of these population groups. Dietary intake data were collected as part of the National Pre-school Nutrition Survey (NPNS) (2010-2011) and the National Adult Nutrition Survey (NANS) (2008-2010) using 4-day food and beverage records. Nutrient intakes were estimated using WISP©, which encompasses McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods and the Irish Food Composition Database. A FF is one in which one or more micronutrients are added. Key dietary sources of micronutrients in NPNS and NANS were “milk”, “meat & meat products”, “breakfast cereals”, “fruit & fruit juices” and “breads”. In general, intakes of most micronutrients were adequate with the exception of iron (1 year old children and adult women) and vitamin D (in all population groups). Small proportions of the pre-school population had intakes which exceeded the upper level (UL) (zinc: 11%, folic acid: 5%, retinol: 4%, copper: 2%). Less than 2% of adults had intakes of iron, copper, zinc and vitamin B6 which exceeded the UL. FFs were consumed by 97% of pre-school children and 82% of adults, representing 17% and 9% of mean daily energy intake respectively. Relative to energy intake, FFs contributed substantially greater proportions to intakes of key micronutrients, such as iron and vitamin D. FFs were effective in reducing the prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intakes in these population groups, particularly for iron in women and 1 year old children. FFs made a significant contribution to folate intake in women of childbearing age (72µg). FFs contributed greater proportions of carbohydrate and lower proportions of fat to the diets of consumers. Voluntary addition of nutrients to foods did not contribute appreciably to intakes exceeding the UL in these population groups.