Engaging Immigrants in Youth Sport Coaching: Part 2. A Qualitative Analysis of the Barriers, Facilitators and Motivators for Involvement

Although research in the area of immigrants and their physical activity patterns has been steadily growing, there is still much to learn. The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers, facilitators and motivators facing recent Canadian immigrants as they relate to involvement in coaching youth sport. The quantitative information presented in the first article of this series served as a framework for conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews with 28 immigrant youth-sport coaches. Results of these interviews support the notion that there are two distinct groups of immigrant coaches - the ‘leisure-oriented coach’ (those without coaching occupational aspirations) and the ‘career-oriented coach’ (those with coaching occupational pursuits). Despite sharing several of the same barriers, facilitators and motivators, each group showed marked divergence from the other on a number of aspects in each of these three categories.

Shaping Tolerant Attitudes towards Immigrants: The Role of Welfare State Expenditures

This article contributes to the ongoing discussion on how tolerance may be fostered in Western European countries and to the question of how contextual factors such as welfare state expenditures may contribute to this formation. Tolerance is understood as a basic democratic principle that helps civil societies cope with rising levels of diversity stemming from increased immigration and individualism. Within the tolerance literature it is commonly agreed upon that a comprehensive welfare state is capable of bridging class divides and overcoming social categorization. However, over the past decades European welfare states experienced an ongoing influx of immigrants, challenging their general purpose and increasing notions of ‘welfare chauvinism’. Drawing on insights from both tolerance and welfare state solidarity literature, we implement hierarchical analyses based on Eurobarometer data to assess the potential influence of welfare state universalism on political and social tolerance in 15 Western European countries. Moreover, we demonstrate that this relationship is highly conditional on the degree of ethnic heterogeneity within a country.

Migrant child welfare : a state of the field study of child welfare services for migrant children and their families who are in-stream, home based, or settled-out : executive summary /

"Performed under Contract No. HEW-105-76-1140."

Migrant child welfare : a state of the field study of child welfare services for migrant children and their families who are in-stream, home based, or settled-out : final report /

Performed under contract no. HEW-105-76-1140, National Center for Child Advocacy and prepared by members of InterAmerica Research Associates.

Identification and care of fetal alcohol-exposed children : a guide for primary-care providers.

"Printed 1999"--P. [4] of cover.

Latchkey children [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Education and Health of the Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States, One Hundredth Congress, second session, March 11, 1988.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 89 J841-13

Interim report to the majority leader, Illinois House of Representatives : DCFS Pilot Program : permanency and stability for children in the care of elderly/frail adoptive parents and subsidized guardians /

"December 2006"

The prevalence of childhood obesity in primary school children in urban Khon Kaen, Northeast Thailand

Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem because of its strong association with adulthood obesity and the related adverse health consequences. The published literature indicates a rising prevalence of childhood obesity in both developed and developing countries. However no data exists on the prevalence in Northeast Thailand, one of the poorest regions of the country and one that has experienced a recent economic transition. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of obesity in seven to nine year old children in urban Khon Kaen, Northeast Thailand. A cross-sectional school based survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of obesity in children of urban Khon Kaen, Thailand. Multi-staged cluster sampling was used to select 12 school clusters of 72 children each between the ages of 7 and 9 years, in primary school grades 1, 2 and 3 from government, private and demonstration schools. A total of 864 seven to nine year old school children were studied. Anthropometric measurements of standing height and weight were taken for all subjects to the nearest tenth of a centimetre and tenth of a kilogram respectively. Childhood obesity was defined as a weight-for-height Z-score above 2.0 standard deviations of the National Center for Health Statistics/World Health Organisation reference population median. The prevalence of childhood obesity was 10.8% (95% CI: 7.6, 13.9). Obesity was significantly more prevalent in boys than girls. The biggest difference was observed between the three school types, with the highest prevalence of obesity found at teacher training demonstration schools and the lowest at the government schools. This study provides the first data on childhood obesity prevalence in Northeast Thailand. The prevalence of 10.8 per cent is lower than that found in two other urban areas of Thailand but slightly higher than expected for this relatively poor region. If this prevalence rate increases, as observed in other countries in economic transition, the incidence of non-communicable diseases associated with obesity is also likely to increase, thus raising cause for concern and reason for intervention to both control and prevent obesity during childhood.

Impact of ethnicity upon body composition assessment in Sri Lankan Australian children

Objectives: Obesity is a disease with excess body fat where health is adversely affected. Therefore it is prudent to make the diagnosis of obesity based on the measure of percentage body fat. Body composition of a group of Australian children of Sri Lankan origin were studied to evaluate the applicability of some bedside techniques in the measurement of percentage body fat. Methods: Height (H) and weight (W) was measured and BMI (W/H-2) calculated. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was measured using tetra polar technique with an 800 mu A current of 50 Hz frequency. Total body water was used as a reference method and was determined by deuterium dilution and fat free mass and hence fat mass (FM) derived using age and gender specific constants. Percentage FM was estimated using four predictive equations, which used BIA and anthropometric measurements. Results: Twenty-seven boys and 15 girls were studied with mean ages being 9.1 years and 9.6 years, respectively. Girls had a significantly higher FM compared to boys. The mean percentage FM of boys (22.9 +/- 8.7%) was higher than the limit for obesity and for girls (29.0 +/- 6.0%) it was just below the cut-off. BMI was comparatively low. All but BIA equation in boys under estimated the percentage FM. The impedance index and weight showed a strong association with total body water (r(2)= 0.96, P < 0.001). Except for BIA in boys all other techniques under diagnosed obesity. Conclusions: Sri Lankan Australian children appear to have a high percentage of fat with a low BMI and some of the available indirect techniques are not helpful in the assessment of body composition. Therefore ethnic and/or population specific predictive equations have to be developed for the assessment of body composition, especially in a multicultural society using indirect methods such as BIA or anthropometry.

Validity of BMI as a measure of obesity in Australian white Caucasian and Australian Sri lankan children

Background: Body mass index ( BMI) is used to diagnose obesity. However, its ability to predict the percentage fat mass (% FM) reliably is doubtful. Therefore validity of BMI as a diagnostic tool of obesity is questioned. Aim: This study is focused on determining the ability of BMI- based cut- off values in diagnosing obesity among Australian children of white Caucasian and Sri Lankan origin. Subjects and methods: Height and weight was measured and BMI ( W/H-2) calculated. Total body water was determined by deuterium dilution technique and fat free mass and hence fat mass derived using age- and gender- specific constants. A % FM of 30% for girls and 20% for boys was considered as the criterion cut- off level for obesity. BMI- based obesity cut- offs described by the International Obesity Task Force ( IOTF), CDC/ NCHS centile charts and BMI- Z were validated against the criterion method. Results: There were 96 white Caucasian and 42 Sri Lankan children. Of the white Caucasians, 19 ( 36%) girls and 29 ( 66%) boys, and of the Sri Lankans 7 ( 46%) girls and 16 ( 63%) boys, were obese based on % FM. The FM and BMI were closely associated in both Caucasians ( r = 0.81, P < 0.001) and Sri Lankans ( r = 0.92, P< 0.001). Percentage FM and BMI also had a lower but significant association. Obesity cut- off values recommended by IOTF failed to detect a single case of obesity in either group. However, NCHS and BMI- Z cut- offs detected cases of obesity with low sensitivity. Conclusions: BMI is a poor indicator of percentage fat and the commonly used cut- off values were not sensitive enough to detect cases of childhood obesity in this study. In order to improve the diagnosis of obesity, either BMI cut- off values should be revised to increase the sensitivity or the possibility of using other indirect methods of estimating the % FM should be explored.

Adjustment of chldren who have a sibling with Down syndrome: perspectives of mothers, fathers and children

Background A number of methodological weaknesses have contributed to our relatively poor understanding of the impact on children of having a brother or sister with a disability. These include a focus on poor adjustment, using multidiagnostic groups, inadequate matching, and a failure to consider the perspectives of children and parents together. Method This study compared the adjustment of 53 siblings of a child with Down syndrome with a comparison group of siblings of children who were developing typically. Children were matched on a case-by-case basis for gender, age and position in family. Families were matched for family size and father's occupation. The age range of the target siblings was 7-14 years. Data were gathered from mothers, fathers and siblings. Results There were no significant differences between the groups on adjustment measures. These included parent perceptions of externalizing and internalizing behaviours, parent perceptions of sibling competence, and sibling perceptions of their own competence and self-worth. Associations between measures of adjustment and child reports of their contribution to household functioning depended on sex rather than group membership. There was an association between parental reports of externalizing behaviour and sibling relationships with the brother/sister closest in age. Conclusions Having a brother or sister with Down syndrome does not inevitably lead to poor adjustment. Examination of within-family processes would appear to be more useful in identifying children at risk than merely group membership.

Utility of signs and symptoms of chronic cough in predicting specific cause in children

Background: Paediatricians rely on cough descriptors to direct them to the level of investigations needed for a child presenting with chronic cough, yet there is a lack of published data to support this approach. A study was undertaken to evaluate ( 1) whether historical cough pointers can predict which children have a specific cause for their cough and ( 2) the usefulness of chest radiography and spirometry as standard investigations in children with chronic cough. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of children referred to a tertiary hospital with a cough lasting 3 weeks between June 2002 and July 2004. All included children completed a detailed history and examination using a standardised data collection sheet and followed a pathway of investigation until a diagnosis was made. Results: In 100 consecutively recruited children of median age 2.8 years, the best predictor of specific cough observed was a moist cough at the time of consultation with an odds ratio ( OR) of 9.34 (95% CI 3.49 to 25.03). Chest examination or chest radiographic abnormalities were also predictive with OR 3.60 ( 95% CI 1.31 to 9.90) and 3.16 (95% CI 1.32 to 7.62), respectively. The most significant historical pointer for predicting a specific cause of the cough was a parental history of moist cough ( sensitivity 96%, specificity 26%, positive predictive value 74%). Conclusions: The most useful clinical marker in predicting specific cough is the presence of a daily moist cough. Both chest examination and chest radiographic abnormalities are also useful in predicting whether children have a specific cause of their cough.

Evidence of a transition from perceptual to category induction in 3- to 9-year-old children

We examined whether inductive reasoning development is better characterized by accounts assuming an early category bias versus an early perceptual bias. We trained 264 children aged 3 to 9 years to categorize novel insects using a rule that directly pitted category membership against appearance. This was followed by an induction task with perceptual distractors at different levels of featural similarity. An additional 52 children were given the same training followed by an induction task with alternative stimuli. Categorization performance was consistently high, however we found a gradual transition from a perceptual bias in our youngest children to a category bias around age 6-7. In addition, children of all ages were equally distracted by higher levels of featural similarity. The transition is unlikely to be due to an increased ability to inhibit perceptual distractors. Instead, we argue that the transition is driven by a fundamental change in children’s understanding of category membership.

Can certain genotypes predispose to poor asthma control in children? A pharmacogenetic study of 9 candidate genes in children with difficult asthma

Objective - We tested the hypothesis that patients with difficult asthma have an increased frequency of certain genotypes that predispose them to asthma exacerbations and poor asthma control. Methods - A total of 180 Caucasian children with confirmed asthma diagnosis were selected from two phenotypic groups; difficult (n = 112) versus mild/moderate asthma (n = 68) groups. All patients were screened for 19 polymorphisms in 9 candidate genes to evaluate their association with difficult asthma. Key Results - The results indicated that LTA4H A-9188>G, TNFα G-308>A and IL-4Rα A1727>G polymorphisms were significantly associated with the development of difficult asthma in paediatric patients (p<0.001, p = 0.019 and p = 0.037, respectively). Haplotype analysis also revealed two haplotypes (ATA haplotype of IL-4Rα A1199>C, IL-4Rα T1570>C and IL-4Rα A1727>G and CA haplotype of TNFα C-863>A and TNFα G-308>A polymorphisms) which were significantly associated with difficult asthma in children (p = 0.04 and p = 0.018, respectively). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - The study revealed multiple SNPs and haplotypes in LTA4H, TNFα and IL4-Rα genes which constitute risk factors for the development of difficult asthma in children. Of particular interest is the LTA4H A-9188>G polymorphism which has been reported, for the first time, to have strong association with severe asthma in children. Our results suggest that screening for patients with this genetic marker could help characterise the heterogeneity of responses to leukotriene-modifying medications and, hence, facilitate targeting these therapies to the subset of patients who are most likely to gain benefit.

Comparing direct and imagined intergroup contact among children:effects on outgroup stereotypes and helping intentions

We conducted an experimental intervention aimed at comparing the effectiveness of direct and imagined intergroup contact. Italian elementary school children took part in a three-week intervention with dependent variables assessed one week after the last intervention session. Results revealed that direct and imagined intergroup contact, compared to control conditions of direct and imagined intragroup contact, had an additive impact when it came to reducing negative stereotypes of immigrants and fostering future helping intentions toward this group. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.