Search results for: men and boys

Authors: Johannes Van Der Sandt

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Worldwide, there are many boys choirs, but the Drakensberg Boys Choir is one of only a few of its kind: selected from a residential boys choir school using choral music as a significant vehicle for holistic education. With ongoing debates as to whether single-gender education is advantageous for boys, and research on the missing males in choirs problem, this presentation‘s purpose is to explore the perceived benefits and values for boys singing in the world-renowned Drakensberg Boys Choir, and to establish educational grounds for the existence of boys choirs. Semi-structured questionnaires were given to choristers, known as Drakies, to ascertain their perceptions of their choir membership. Their experiences are noted in terms of musical, social and behavioral skills gained. The main emerging themes in each category are discussed in order to lay claim to the assumption that boys choirs exist not only to entertain, and nor are their goals purely musical or pedagogical, but that they can be regarded as unique, cultural artifacts that aid boys‘ development into well-equipped and well-rounded young men.

Keywords: boys, choirs, choral, education, skills, values

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Authors: Rabia Iftikhar, Iqra Tariq

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The current study examined the parental acceptance-rejection and personality assessment of sexually abused children. A sample of 50 control (25 girls and 25 boys) and 50 abused (25 girls and 25 boys) were drawn through the process of purposive sampling (N = 100). The sample consisted of school going children between the ages of 8-16. The sample was taken from non-governmental schools and NGO. Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire, Personality Assessment Questionnaire and Emotional STROOP task, were used to explore the relationship between the variables. The results showed that girls showed greater parental rejection than boys, were less psychologically and emotionally adjusted than boys. The results also showed that boys were high on psychological abuse while girls were high on physical and sexual abuse. The results of STROOP showed that sexually abused children showed more reaction time than non-abused children.

Keywords: abused, adjustment, Pakistani, stroop

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Authors: Parminder K. Laroiya, Sukhdeep S. Kang

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The Present cross-sectional study was conducted on 610 boys (ranging in age bracket of 11 to 17 years) to assess their developmental age to check percentage of early, normal and late maturity among them, and to check whether there is any significant difference in their calendar age and developmental age. Developmental age of these subjects has been accessed by TW2 method (using hand wrist X-rays) and their chronological age was checked from their date of birth certificate. Developmental status of subjects i.e. early, normal or late mature was considered with +2 years or -2 years from their calendar age. Results of this study shows that 50% boys were normal in their maturity status in all age brackets and rest of subjects were either early maturers 24.92% or late maturers 25.08%. When pattern of maturity was studied in each age group it has been found that till the age of 15 years, percentage of normal maturity was less than 50 % whereas in 16 and 17 years age groups, this percentage of normal maturity increased to 60% - 65 % ( this may be because at this age mostly boys attain adolescence) Further investigation of each age group showed that till the age of 14 years percentage of late maturity among these boys were approximately 35% to 40% whereas early maturity lies between 15% to 20%. It has been found from the present study that at the age of 15 years, there is a twist among percentage of late and early maturity among boys-early maturers are 38.61% and late maturers are 16.84%. At the age of 16 and 17 years percentage of late maturity has been decreased to 3% to 6%, whereas percentage of early maturity increased to 35.64 % and 30.69 % respectively.

Keywords: maturity status, developmental age, chronological age, X-rays

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Authors: Kotomi Yamashita, Hiromi Kawasaki, Satoko Yamasaki, Susumu Fukita, Risako Sakai

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Lifestyle-related diseases develop from the long-term accumulation of health consequences from a poor lifestyle. Thus, schoolchildren, who have not accumulated long-term lifestyle habits, are believed to be at a lower risk for lifestyle-related diseases. However, schoolchildren rarely receive blood tests unless they are under treatment for a serious disease; without such data on their blood, the impacts of their young lifestyle could not be known. Blood data from physical measurements can help in the implementation of more effective health education. Therefore, we examined the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and blood sugar/serum lipid (BS/SL) levels. From 2014 to 2016, we measured the blood data of fourth-grade students living in a city in Japan. The present study reported on the results of 281 fourth-grade boys only (80.3% of total). We analyzed their BS/SL levels by comparing the blood data against the criteria of the National Center for Child Health and Development in Japan. Next, we examined the correlation between BMI and BS/SL levels. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25 was used for analysis. A total of 69 boys (24.6%) were within the normal range for BMI (18.5–24), whereas 193 (71.5%) and 8 boys (2.8%) had lower and higher BMI, respectively. Regarding BS levels, 280 boys were within the normal range (70–90 mg/dl); 1 boy reported a higher value. All the boys were within the normal range for glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) (4.6–6.2%). Regarding SL levels, 271 boys were within the normal range (125–230 mg/dl) for total cholesterol (TC), whereas 5 boys (1.8%) had lower and 5 boys (1.8%) had higher levels. A total of 243 boys (92.7%) were within the normal range (36-138mg/dL) for triglycerides (TG), whereas 19 boys (7.3%) had lower and 19 boys (7.3%) had higher levels. Regarding high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), 276 boys (98.2%) were within the normal range (40-mg/dl), whereas 5 boys (1.8%) reported lower values. All but one boy (280, 99.6%) were within the normal range (-170 mg/dl) for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); the exception (0.4%) had a higher level. BMI and BS didn’t show a correlation. BMI and HbA1c were moderately positively correlated (r = 0.139, ｐ＝0.019). We also observed moderate positive correlations between BMI and TG (r = 0.328, p < 0.01), TC (r=0.239, p< 0.01), LDL-C (r = 0.324, p < 0.01), respectively. BMI and HDL-C were low correlated (r = -0.185, p = 0.002). Most of the boys were within the normal range for BS/SL levels. However, some boys exceeded the normal TG range. Fourth graders with a high TG may develop a lifestyle-related disease in the future. Given its relation to TG, food habits should be improved in this group. Our findings suggested a positive correlation between BMI and BS/SL levels. Fourth-grade schoolboys with a high BMI may be at high risk for developing lifestyle-related diseases. Lifestyle improvement may be recommended to lower the BS/SL levels in this group.

Keywords: blood sugar level, lifestyle-related diseases, school students, serum lipid level

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Authors: Hafsat Mustapha Hanga

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The purpose of the this study was to investigate the effect of broken home on students' academic performance. Therefore, it focused on academic performance and Parental care of the student from and intact home from a cognitive motivational perceptive. The broken and intact home and also to find out if they differ in parental care this is done by using 376 subjects out of the population of 21,378. The sample was obtained using stratified random sampling techniques as the population contained sub-groups the study design was ex-post facto. The data was collected using 3 kind of instruments. To test the first and second hypotheses. Junior secondary school placement examination result was obtained to test the academic performance of the boys fron broken home and boys from and boys from intact home and then girl from broken home and girls from intact home.T-Test was used in the analysis of first and second hypotheses. For the third hypotheses two different kind of questionnaires were developed, the first was used to identify student that are from broken home while the second was for testing parental care between the subject. Chi-square was used to analyze the third hypotheses. Alkh the three 3 hypotheses were tested and rejected and were all in favor of student from intact home. The study found that there was a significant difference in the academic performance of the boys from brokeb and boys from intact home. When boys from intact home better then those boys from broken home. It also reveals that a student from a intact from intact home receives good parental care, love and concern than those from broken home.on the strength of these findings the need to establish an institution which will help those parent who have parenting problems was stressed and also the need to foster. Home school partnership was also stressed and advocate.

Keywords: broken homes, academic performance, parental care, foster

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Authors: Ratnawati Mohd Asraf, Hazlina Abdullah

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Numerous studies on boys’ performance relative to girls’ have been conducted around the globe. However, little has been done in relation to the literacy of primary school boys in the Malaysian context. This paper discusses the results of a study that sought to determine the literacy performance of Grades 1, 2, and 3 primary school students in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Data on approximately 85,000 students from each grade level were obtained from the Ministry of Education Malaysia, which conducts national screening on literacy and numeracy, or LINUS, in all government primary schools. Teachers’ views were also sought through focus group interviews and journal entries. The results show that although there is an overall improvement in literacy performance in the Malay language among the students as they go into Grades 2 and 3, girls are found to outperform boys in every screening for all grade levels.

Keywords: boys’ underperformance, literacy, literacy performance, reading

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Authors: Pegah Farokhzad

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Family has a crucial role in maintaining the physical, social and mental health of the children. Most of the mental and anxiety problems of children reflects the complex interpersonal situations among family members, especially parents. In other words, anxiety problems of the children is correlated with deficit relationships of family members and improper child rearing styles. The parental child rearing styles leads to positive and negative consequences which affect the children’s mental health. Therefore, the present research was aimed to compare the parental child rearing styles and anxiety of children with stuttering and normal population. It was also aimed to study the relationship between parental child rearing styles and anxiety of children. The research sample included 54 boys with stuttering and 54 normal boys who were selected from the children (boys) of Tehran, Iran in the age range of 5 to 8 years in 2013. In order to collect data, Baumrind Child rearing Styles Inventory and Spence Parental Anxiety Inventory were used. Appropriate descriptive statistical methods and multivariate variance analysis and t test for independent groups were used to test the study hypotheses. Statistical data analyses demonstrated that there was a significant difference between stuttering boys and normal boys in anxiety (t = 7.601, p< 0.01); But there was no significant difference between stuttering boys and normal boys in parental child rearing styles (F = 0.129). There was also not found significant relationship between parental child rearing styles and children anxiety (F = 0.135, p< 0.05). It can be concluded that the influential factors of children’s society are parents, school, teachers, peers and media. So, parental child rearing styles are not the only influential factors on anxiety of children, and other factors including genetic, environment and child experiences are effective in anxiety as well. Details are discussed.

Keywords: child rearing styles, anxiety, stuttering, Iran

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Authors: Shrikant Chavan, Vikas Minchekar

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The present study examined the self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and social maturity of High school boys and girls. Furthermore, study aimed at to foster the self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and social maturity of high school students. The study was conducted on 100 high school students, out of which 50 boys and 50 girls were selected through simple random sampling method from the Sangli city of Maharashtra state, India. The age range of the sample is 14 to 16 years. Self-efficacy scale developed by Jesusalem Schwarzer, Emotional intelligence scale developed by Hyde, Pethe and Dhar and social maturity scale developed by Rao were administered to the sample. Data was analyzed using mean, SD and ‘t’ test further Karl Pearson’s product moment, correlation of coefficient was used to know the correlation between emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and social maturity. Results revealed that boys and girls did not differ significantly in their self-efficacy and social maturity. Further, the analysis revealed that girls are having high emotional intelligence compared to boys, which is significant at 0.01 level. It is also found that there is a significant and positive correlation between self-efficacy and emotional intelligence, self-efficacy and social maturity and emotional intelligence and social maturity. Some developmental strategies to strengthen the self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and social maturity of high school students are suggested in the study.

Keywords: self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, social maturity, developmental model and high school students

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Authors: Saeed Dehnavi, Zahra Dehnavi

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Background: Psychodrama, as a form of art therapy, helps people to enact and use role-plays for a specific problem, rather than just talking about it, in an effort to review the problem, gain feedback from group members, find appropriate solutions, and practice them for their life. This paper evaluated the effectiveness of psychodrama on enhancing self-esteem of young adolescent boys. Methodology: This is aquasi-experimental research study, using a pre-post testing plan with control group.From four secondary schools in Kermanshah – Iran, 210 adolescent boys (aged 13 and 14 years) were asked to complete Koper Smith's self-esteem measure scale. Given the low self-esteem scores (less than the cut-off of 23), a number of 20 individuals were selected and randomly placed into two control and experimental groups. The experimental group participated in a twelve-session psychodrama therapy plan for 6 weeks, while the control group received no intervention. Data analysis was carried out by the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: The results of ANCOVA analysis showed an increase in the post-test scores for self-esteem, and such increase was statistically significant. Conclusion: The findings indicated the effectiveness of psychodrama on self-esteem enhancement of young boys. During psychodrama sessions, the adolescents learned to take the initiative, communicate with others in an excited state, and improve their self-esteem with positive and constructive experiences.

Keywords: psychodrama, self-esteem, young adolescents, boys

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Authors: Sylvie Ekanga Lumumba

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Background and Significance of the Study: Over the past three decades, the perception of sexual violence has changed significantly, it is now recognized that men and boys are victims of sexual violence. However, the body of research on male victims and particularly on their attackers is much more limited. Research on the above is thus more than required. To contribute to the above quest for further studies, the researcher conducted this study on sexual violence perpetrated against men and boys by women, in the Municipality of Ibanda, Town of Bukavu, Province of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The main study objectives were the following: to investigate on the statement of sexual violence perpetrated against men and boys in the Municipality of Ibanda, to investigate into its consequences and the statement of medical and psycho-social care given to victims. Methodology: Data were collected using valid and reliable Survey Questionnaire and Interview Schedule. Study population: the 85,882 men and boys from the Municipality of Ibanda. Sampling: led to 150 men and boys, received discreetly by the researcher during November-December 2015. Major findings: First, findings related to sexual abuse and its procedure: 74.2% of men and boys were victims of sexual violence perpetrated by a woman, more than a year ago. 13.3% however, were victims for less than a year now. 79.7% of victims have experienced sexual violence by a sexual act; 3.9% through the intention of the woman to cause the death of the victim, by serious injury to the genitals. The Second group of findings related to the consequences of sexual violence revealed that HIV/AIDS is the most important physical consequence experienced by 77.3 % of victims. Physical psychological consequences are: urinary or defecation problems (72.7%); while key psycho-emotional and behavioral consequence is: living a state of deep shame and humiliation: 68.8%. As for sexual consequences: 71.1% indicated a chronic avoidance of sexual activity and 57% reported sexual dysfunctions. The third group of findings is related to medical and psycho-social care: repetitively, more than 80% of male victims affirmed that with the help of friends and traditional healers, they took care of themselves for all the eight WHO phases of clinical care of rape victims, this was hence not effectively done. Concluding Statement: for this study, the statement of sexual violence of men and boys by women in the Eastern Congo and its consequences are not researched upon and are underestimated; the study also revealed that the care of male victims is grossly ill-conducted, as opposed to female victims care. It therefore calls for further research and further vulgarization of the research results, to convince other stakeholders (politicians for example) to immediately take action.

Keywords: sexual violence, men and boys, medical care, psycho-social care

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Authors: Saeed Dehnavi, Marjan Pooee

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Background - Psychodrama, as a form of art therapy, helps people to enact and use role-plays for a specific problem, rather than just talking about it, in an effort to review the problem, gain feedback from group members, find appropriate solutions, and practice them for their life. This paper evaluated the effectiveness of psychodrama on enhancing anxiety of young adolescent boys. Methodology - This is aquasi-experimental research study, using a pre-post testing plan with control group. From four secondary schools in Kermanshah - Iran, 210 adolescent boys (aged 13 and 14 years) were asked to complete Koper Smith's self-esteem measure scale. Given the low self-esteem scores (less than the cut-off of 23), a number of 20 individuals were selected and randomly placed into two control and experimental groups. The experimental group participated in a twelve-session psychodrama therapy plan for 6 weeks, while the control group received no intervention. Data analysis was carried out by the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results - The results of ANCOVA analysis showed an increase in the post-test scores for anxiety, and such increase was statistically significant. Conclusion - The findings indicated the effectiveness of psychodrama on anxiety enhancement of young boys. During psychodrama sessions, the adolescents learned to take the initiative, communicate with others in an excited state, and improve their anxiety with positive and constructive experiences.

Keywords: anxiety, art therapy, psychodrama, young adolescents

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Authors: Einat Waizbard, Emilio Ferrer, Meghan Miller, Brianna Heath, Derek S. Andrews, Sally J. Rogers, Christine Wu Nordahl, Marjorie Solomon, David G. Amaral

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Background: Autism symptoms are comprised of social-communication deficits and restricted/repetitive behaviors (RRB). The severity of these symptoms can change during childhood, with differences between boys and girls. From the literature, it was found that young autistic girls show a stronger tendency to decrease and a weaker tendency to increase their overall autism symptom severity levels compared to young autistic boys. It is not clear, however, which symptoms are driving these sex differences across childhood. In the current study, we evaluated the trajectories of independent autism symptoms across childhood and compared the patterns of change in such symptoms between boys and girls. Method: The study included 183 children diagnosed with autism (55 girls) evaluated three times across childhood, at ages 3, 6 and 11. We analyzed 22 independent items from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scheudule-2 (ADOS-2), the gold-standard assessment tool for autism symptoms, each item representing a specific autism symptom. First, we used latent growth curve models to estimate the trajectories for the 22 ADOS-2 items for each child in the study. Second, we extracted the factor scores representing the individual slopes for each ADOS-2 item (i.e., slope representing that child’s change in that specific item). Third, we used factor analysis to identify common patterns of change among the ADOS-2 items, separately for boys and girls, i.e., which autism symptoms tend to change together and which change independently across childhood. Results: The best-emerging patterns for both boys and girls identified four common factors: three factors representative of changes in social-communication symptoms and one factor describing changes in RRB. Boys and girls showed the same pattern of change in RRB, with four items (e.g., speech abnormalities) changing together across childhood and three items (e.g., mannerisms) changing independently of other items. For social-communication deficits in boys, three factors were identified: the first factor included six items representing initiating and engaging in social-communication (e.g., quality of social overtures, conversation), the second factor included five items describing responsive social-communication (e.g., response to name) and the third factor included three items related to different aspects of social-communication (e.g., level of language). Girls’ social-communications deficits also loaded onto three factors: the first factor included five items (e.g., unusual eye contact), the second factor included six items (e.g., quality of social response), and the third factor included four items (e.g., showing). Some items showed similar patterns of change for both sexes (e.g., responsive joint attention), while other items showed differences (e.g., shared enjoyment). Conclusions: Girls and boys had different patterns of change in autism symptom severity across childhood. For RRB, both sexes showed similar patterns. For social-communication symptoms, however, there were both similarities and differences between boys and girls in the way symptoms changed over time. The strongest patterns of change were identified for initiating and engaging in social communication for boys and responsive social communication for girls.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, autism symptom severity, symptom trajectories, sex differences

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Authors: Enes Ergün, Sedat Geli̇bolu

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The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and subjective well-being among university students. We are aiming to determine whether self efficacy of university students predicts their subjective well-being and if there is a statistically significant difference among boys and girls in this context. Sample of this study consists of 245 university students from Çanakkale, ages ranging between 17 and 24. 72% (n=171) of the participants were girls and 28% (n=69) boys. Three different scales were utilized as data collection tools that Life Satisfaction Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Positive Negative Experiences Scale. Pearson correlation coefficient, independent sample t test and simple linear regression were used for data analyses. Results showed that well-being is significantly correlated with self-efficacy and self-efficacy is a statistically significant predictor of well-being too. In terms of gender differences, there is no significant difference between self-efficacy scores of boys and girls which shows the same case with well being scores, as well. Fostering university students' academic, social and emotional self-efficacy will increase their well-being which is very important for young adults especially their freshman years.

Keywords: positive psychology, self-efficacy, subjective well being, university students

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Authors: Armaghan Moravej Aleali, Seyed Mahmoud Latifi, Homeira Rashidi

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Objective: High blood pressure in a risk factor for some disease like stroke, coronary heart disease, and renal failure. High blood pressure in children is an increasing health problem. The aim of this present was to determine prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension age between 10 to 17 years old. Material & Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was conducted using multiphase sampling method in Ahvaz (Southwest of Iran). A questionnaire include: height, weight, and body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures filled for each participant. Blood pressure was measured twice for each person. For the diagnosis of hypertension, the fourth report of the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents of the National Health Institute of United States was used. Results: The subject participants of the study were 1707children and adolescents including 922 boys (54%) and 785 girls 46%). The prevalence of high blood pressure was 1.7% (boys 2.5% girls 0.8%). The prevalence of pre-hypertension was 9 % (7.6% in boys, 10.6% in girls). The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased with increasing body mass index. Conclusion: In this study, the prevalence of high blood pressure was found to be lower than other studies in our country. The prevalence of the high blood pressure in boys was significantly higher than girls. This study, like other studies, showed a high correlation between being overweight and an increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Keywords: hypertension, pre-hypertension, childhood, adolescence

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Authors: Jeffrey L. Hurst, Sarah M. Coyne

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With the growth of technology and media, teens are increasingly exposed to media such as pornography and engaging in risky media use such as sexting. Parental media mediation strategies including controlling or autonomy supporting strategies can be an important protective factor against risky media uses. The purpose of this study is to examine how parental media mediation around media, influence adolescents’ behaviors including frequency of pornography use and sexting. We also examine the effects of parental media mediation on adolescents disclosing pornography use to parents and the amount of secrets that adolescents keep about pornography use. We hypothesize that controlling media mediation will result in more sexting, more frequency pornography use, more secrets about pornography and less disclosure to parents. We also predict that autonomy supportive media mediation will show the opposite pattern. Data for this study came from a nationally representative research project, Project M.E.D.I.A. Participants included 783 adolescents. 49% of the participants were male, and the mean age for boys was 15.44 years (SD= 3.34) and for girls was 15.3 years (SD=2.93). Parental media mediation was assessed using an eight-item measure with subscales of controlling and autonomy supporting media mediation. Participants were also asked if they have ever viewed pornography. If they answered yes, they were asked about the frequency of pornography use as well as if they have ever kept secrets from their parents about it and if they had ever disclosed their pornography use to their parents. The data analysis strategy for this study was a multiple group path analysis. Frequency of pornography use, sexting, secrets from parents and disclosure to parents were predicted by controlling and autonomy supporting parental media mediation, frequency of parents warning against pornography use, income and ethnicity. Groups were distinguished by boys and girls, allowing for sex differences. After running the model in MPLUS, we found partial support for our hypotheses. Autonomy supportive media mediation resulted in less sexting for boys (β= -.15, p < .05) and girls ( β= -.13, p < .05). Autonomy supportive media mediation also predicted keeping fewer secrets for girls (β=-.27, p < .01) but had no effect for boys. Controlling media mediation predicted more disclosure about pornography to parents for boys (β=.16, p < .05) and less disclosure to parents about pornography for girls (β=-.14, p < .05). Frequency of pornography was not predicted by any of the predictors in the model. Autonomy supportive media mediation was a very strong predictor of less sexting for both boys and girls. Parents should approach media mediation with this supportive and understanding mindset. Parental autonomy support allows adolescents to explore and develop their own moral beliefs without feeling guilt or shame from their parents. This need to have autonomy is also shown by girls disclosing less pornography use to their parents when parents are really controlling about media use. Interestingly, boys disclosed more to their parents when their parents were controlling. Further research is needed on why this is. Further research should also look at the effects that disclosing pornography use to parents has on future pornography use.

Keywords: media, moral development, parental mediation, pornography, sexting

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Authors: David Xiaoqian Sun, Khairunnisa Binti Haji Sibah, Jr., Lejak Anak Ambol

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The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships between objectively measured physical activity levels (PALs), enjoyment of physical activity (EPA), and body mass index (BMI) among adolescents. A total of 188 12-14-year-old Bruneian secondary school adolescents (88 boys and 100 girls) voluntarily took part in this study. Subjects wore the RT3 accelerometer for seven consecutive days in order to measure their PALs. Times of students’ engagement in total (TPA), light (LPA), moderate (MPV), and vigorous PA (VPA) were obtained from the accelerometer. Their BMIs were calculated from their body height and weight. Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) was administrated to obtain their EPA levels. Four key enjoyment factors including fun factors, positive perceptions, unexciting in doing activities, and negative perceptions were identified. Subjects’ social economic status (SES) was provided by school administration. Results show that all the adolescents did not meet the recommended PA guidelines even though boys were engaged in more MVPA than girls. No relationships were found between BMI and all PALs in both boys and girls. BMI was significantly related to the PACES scores (r = -.22, p = 0.01), fun factors (r = -.20, p = 0.05) and positive perceptions (r =-.21, p < 0.05). The PACES scores were significantly related to LPA (r = .18, p = 0.01) but not related to MVPA (r = .04, p > 0.05). After controlling for age and SES, BMI was only significantly related to the PACES scores in girls (r = -.27, p < .01) but boys (r = -.06, p > 0.05). Fun factors were significantly related to LPA and MVPA (p < .01) in girls while negative perceptions were significantly related to LPA and MVPA (p < .01) in boys. This study provides evidence that enjoyment may be a trigger of LPA but MVPA and may be influenced by their BMI status particularly in girls. Based on these findings, physical and health educators are suggested to not only make PA more enjoyable, but also consider gender differences in promoting adolescents' participation in MVPA.

Keywords: accelerometer, body mass index, enjoyment of physical activity, moderate to vigorous physical activity

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Authors: Rohan M. Dalal, Elena Pirondini, Shanu Somvanshi

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Introduction: The current state of reproductive health outcomes in lower-income countries is poor, with inadequate knowledge and culture among adolescent boys. Moreover, boys have traditionally not been a priority target. To explore the opportunity to educate adolescent boys in the developing world regarding accurate reproductive health information, the purpose of this study is to investigate how adolescent boys in the developing world engage and use technology, utilizing cell phones. This electronic survey and video interview study were conducted to determine the feasibility of a mobile phone platform for an educational video game specifically designed for boys that will improve health knowledge, influence behavior, and change health outcomes, namely teen pregnancies. Methods: With the assistance of Plan India, a subsidiary of Plan International, informed consent was obtained from parents of adolescent males who participated in an electronic survey and video interviews via Microsoft Teams. An electronic survey was created with 27 questions, including topics of mobile phone usage, gaming preferences, and sexual and reproductive health, with a sample size of 181 adolescents, ages 11-25, near New Delhi, India. The interview questions were written to explore more in-depth topics after the completion of the electronic survey. Eight boys, aged 15, were interviewed for 40 minutes about gaming and usage of mobile phones as well as sexual and reproductive health. Data/Results. 154 boys and 27 girls completed the survey. They rated their English fluency as relatively high. 97% of boys (149/154) had access to mobile phones. The majority of phones were smartphones (97%, 143/148). 48% (71/149) of boys borrowed cell phones. The most popular phone platform was Samsung (22%, 33/148). 36% (54/148) of adolescent males looked at their phones 1-10 times per day for 1-2 hours. 55% (81/149) of the boys had parental restrictions. 51% (76/148) had 32 GB of storage on their phone. 78% (117/150) of the boys had wifi access. 80% (120/150) of respondents reported ease in downloading apps. 97% (145/150) of male adolescents had social media, including WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube. 58% (87/150) played video games. Favorite video games included Free Fire, PubG, and other shooting games. In the video interviews, the boys revealed what made games fun and engaging, including customized avatars, progression to higher levels, realistic interactive platforms, shooting/guns, the ability to perform multiple actions, and a variety of worlds/settings/adventures. Ideas to improve engagement in sexual and reproductive health classes included open discussions in the community, enhanced access to information, and posting on social media. Conclusion: This study involving an electronic survey and video interviews provides an initial foray into understanding mobile phone usage among adolescent males and understanding sexual and reproductive health education in New Delhi, India. The data gathered from this study support using mobile phone platforms, and this will be used to create a serious video game to educate adolescent males about sexual and reproductive health in an attempt to lower the rate of unwanted pregnancies in the world.

Keywords: adolescent males, India, mobile phone, sexual and reproductive health

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma, Murat Aydin, Muhammet Demirkol, Burcin Nalbantoglu, Aysin Nalbantoglu, Birol Topcu

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Childhood obesity is an ever increasing global health problem, affecting both developed and developing countries. Accurate evaluation of obesity in children requires difficult and detailed investigation. In our study, obesity in children was evaluated using new body fat ratios and indices. Assessment of anthropometric measurements, as well as some ratios, is important because of the evaluation of gender differences particularly during the late periods of obesity. A total of 239 children; 168 morbid obese (MO) (81 girls and 87 boys) and 71 normal weight (NW) (40 girls and 31 boys) children, participated in the study. Informed consent forms signed by the parents were obtained. Ethics Committee approved the study protocol. Mean ages (years)±SD calculated for MO group were 10.8±2.9 years in girls and 10.1±2.4 years in boys. The corresponding values for NW group were 9.0±2.0 years in girls and 9.2±2.1 years in boys. Mean body mass index (BMI)±SD values for MO group were 29.1±5.4 kg/m² and 27.2±3.9 kg/m² in girls and boys, respectively. These values for NW group were calculated as 15.5±1.0 kg/m² in girls and 15.9±1.1 kg/m² in boys. Groups were constituted based upon BMI percentiles for age-and-sex values recommended by WHO. Children with percentiles >99 were grouped as MO and children with percentiles between 85 and 15 were considered NW. The anthropometric measurements were recorded and evaluated along with the new ratios such as trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio, as well as indices such as Index-I and Index-II. The body fat percent values were obtained by bio-electrical impedance analysis. Data were entered into a database for analysis using SPSS/PASW 18 Statistics for Windows statistical software. Increased waist-to-hip circumference (C) ratios, decreased head-to-neck C, height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-waist C and height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-hip C ratios were observed in parallel with the development of obesity (p≤0.001). Reference value for height ‘to’ ‘two’-‘to’-hip ratio was detected as approximately 1.0. Index-II, based upon total body fat mass, showed much more significant differences between the groups than Index-I based upon weight. There was not any difference between trunk-to-appendicular fat ratios of NW girls and NW boys (p≥0.05). However, significantly increased values for MO girls in comparison with MO boys were observed (p≤0.05). This parameter showed no difference between NW and MO states in boys (p≥0.05). However, statistically significant increase was noted in MO girls compared to their NW states (p≤0.001). Trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio was the only fat-based parameter, which showed gender difference between NW and MO groups. This study has revealed that body ratios and formula based upon body fat tissue are more valuable parameters than those based on weight and height values for the evaluation of morbid obesity in children.

Keywords: anthropometry, childhood obesity, gender, morbid obesity

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Authors: Arunas Emeljanovas, Brigita Mieziene, Vida Cesnaitiene, Ingunn Fjortoft, Lise Kjonniksen

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Background: Gender differences in physical fitness were tracked in many studies with lower effect in preschool children and increasing difference among genders across age. In Lithuania, on a population level, secular trends in physical fitness were regularly observed each ten years for the last two decades for 11-18 years old students. However, there is apparently a lack of such epidemiological studies among primary school students. Assessing and monitoring physical fitness from an early age is of particular importance seeking to develop and strengthen physical abilities of youths for future health benefits. The goal of the current study was to indicate age and gender differences in anthropometric measures, musculoskeletal, motor and cardiorespiratory fitness in Lithuanian primary school children. Methods: The study included 3456 1-4th grade students from 6 to 10 years. The data reliably represents the population of primary school children in Lithuania. Among them, 1721 (49.8 percent) were boys. Physical fitness was measured by the 9-item test battery, developed by Fjørtoft and colleagues (2011). Height and weight were measured and body mass index was calculated. Student t test evaluated differences in physical fitness between boys and girls, ANOVA was performed to indicate differences across age. Results: All anthropometric and fitness means that were identified as significantly different were better in boys than in girls and in older than younger students (p < .05). Among anthropometric measures, height was higher in boys aged 7 through 9 years. Weight and BMI differed among boys and girls only at 8 years old. Means of height and weight increased significantly across all ages. Among musculoskeletal fitness tests, means of standing broad jump, throwing a tennis ball and pushing a medicine ball were different between genders within each age group and across all ages. Differences between genders were less likely in motor fitness than in musculoskeletal or cardiorespiratory fitness. Differences in means of shuttle run 10 x 5 test between genders occurred at age 6, 9 and 10 years; running 20 m at age 6 and 9 years, and climbing wall bars at age 9 and 10. Means of Reduced Cooper test representing cardiorespiratory fitness were different between genders within each age group but did not differ among age 6 and 8 as well as 7 and 8 years in boys, and among age 7 and 8 years in girls. Conclusion: In general, the current study confirms gender differences in musculoskeletal, motor and cardiorespiratory fitness found in other studies across the world in primary school and older children. Observed gender differences might be explained by higher physical activity in boys rather than girls. As it is explained by previous literature, older boys and girls had better performances than younger ones, because of the components of fitness change as a function of growth, maturation, development, and interactions among the three processes.

Keywords: primary school children, motor fitness, musculoskeletal fitness, cardiovascular fitness

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Authors: Juan Li, Hui Tian, Min Wang

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In China, under the considerable pressure of 'Gaokao' –the highly competitive college entrance examination, high school teachers and parents often worry that doing physical activity would take away the students’ precious study time and may have a negative impact on the academic grades. There was a tendency to achieve high academic scores at the cost of physical exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the physical fitness and academic achievement of Chinese high school students. The participants were 968 grade one (N=457) and grade two students (N=511) with an average age of 16 years from three high schools of different levels in Beijing, China. 479 were boys, and 489 were girls. One of the schools is a top high school in China, another is a key high school in Beijing, and the other is an ordinary high school. All analyses were weighted using SAS 9.4 to ensure the representatives of the sample. The weights were based on 12 strata of schools, sex, and grades. Physical fitness data were collected using the scores of the National Physical Fitness Test, which is an annual official test administered by the Ministry of Education in China. It includes 50m run, sits and reach test, standing long jump, 1000m run (for boys), 800m run (for girls), pull-ups for 1 minute (for boys), and bent-knee sit-ups for 1 minute (for girls). The test is an overall evaluation of the students’ physical health on the major indexes of strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory function. Academic scores were obtained from the three schools with the students’ consent. The statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS 24. Independent-Samples T-test was used to examine the gender group differences. Spearman’s Rho bivariate correlation was adopted to test for associations between physical test results and academic performance. Statistical significance was set at p<.05. The study found that girls obtained higher fitness scores than boys (p=.000). The girls’ physical fitness test scores were positively associated with the total academic grades (rs=.103, p=.029), English (rs=.096, p=.042), physics (rs=.202, p=.000) and chemistry scores (rs=.131, p=.009). No significant relationship was observed in boys. Cardiorespiratory fitness had a positive association with physics (rs=.196, p=.000) and biology scores (rs=.168, p=.023) in girls, and with English score in boys (rs=.104, p=.029). A possible explanation for the greater association between physical fitness and academic achievement in girls rather than boys was that girls showed stronger motivation in achieving high scores in whether academic tests or fitness tests. More driven by the test results, girls probably tended to invest more time and energy in training for the fitness test. Higher fitness levels were associated with an academic benefit among girls generally in Chinese high schools. Therefore, physical fitness needs to be given greater emphasis among Chinese adolescents and gender differences need to be taken into consideration.

Keywords: physical fitness; adolescents; academic achievement; high school

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Authors: Marjeta Misigoj Durakovic, Maroje Soric, Lovro Stefan

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Background and aim: Physical inactivity has been linked with increased morbidity and premature mortality and adolescence has been recognised as the critical period for a decline in physical activity (PA) level. In order to properly direct interventions aimed at increasing PA, high-risk groups of individuals should be identified. Therefore, the aim of this study is to describe gender differences in: a) PA level; b) weekly PA patterns. Methods: This investigation is a part of the CRO-PALS study which is an on-going longitudinal study conducted in a representative sample of urban youth in Zagreb (Croatia). CRO-PALS involves 903 adolescents and for the purpose of this study data from a subgroup of 190 participants with information on objective PA level were analysed (116 girls; mean age [SD]=15.6[0.3] years). Duration of moderate and vigorous PA was measured during 5 consecutive by a multiple-sensor physical activity monitor (SenseWear Armband, BodyMedia inc., Pittsburgh, USA). Gender differences in PA level were evaluated using independent samples t-test. Differences in school week and weekend levels of activity were assessed using mixed ANOVA with gender as between-subjects factor. The amount of vigorous PA had to be log-transformed to achieve normality in the distribution. Results: Boys were more active than girls. Duration of moderate-to-vigorous PA averaged 111±44 min/day in boys and 80±38 min/day in girls (mean difference=31 min/day, 95%CI=20-43 min/day). Vigorous PA was 2.5 times higher in boys compared to girls (95%CI=1.9-3.5). Participants were more active during school days than on weekends. The magnitude of the difference in moderate-to-vigorous PA was similar in both gender (p value for time*gender interaction = 0.79) and averaged 19 min/day (95%CI=11-27 min/day). Similarly, vigorous PA was 36% lower on weekends compared with school days (95%CI=22-46%) with no gender difference (p value for time*gender interaction = 0.52). Conclusion: PA level was higher in boys than in girls throughout the week. Still, in both boys and girls, the amount of PA reduced markedly on weekends compared with school days.

Keywords: adolescence, multiple-sensor physical activity monitor, physical activity level, weekly physical activity pattern

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Authors: Howard Gomwe, Eunice Seekoe

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There is arguably dearth of literature regarding body physical fitness and body composition amongst primary schools in South Africa. For this reason, the study is aimed at investigating and accessing how body composition relates to physical fitness amongst learners between 9 – 14 years of age in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In order to achieve this, a school-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 876 primary school learners aged 9 to14 years. Body composition indicators were measured and/or calculated, whilst physical fitness was evaluated by a 20 m shuttle run, push-ups, sit and reach as well as sit-ups, according to the EUROFIT fitness standards. Out of 876 participants, a total of 870 were retained. Of these, 351 (40.34%) were boys and 519 (59.66%) were girls. The average age of learners was 11.04 ± 1.50 years, with boys having a importantly (p = 0.002) higher average age (M = 11.24; SD = 1.51 years) as compared to that of girls (M = 10.91; SD = 1.48 years). The non-parametric Spearman Rho correlation coefficients revealed several significant and negative relationships between body composition measurements with physical fitness characteristics, which were stronger in girls than in boys. The findings advocate for policy makers and responsible authorities to initiate the development of policies and interventions targeted at encouraging physical activity and healthy promotion among primary school learners in South Africa, especially in girls.

Keywords: BMI, body composition, physical fitness, children

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Authors: Raluca Ionela Maxim

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Designing a gender responsive Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) mobile game based learning solution (mGBL) is a challenge in terms of content, gamification level and equal engagement of girls and boys. The goal of this case study was to research and create a high-fidelity prototype design of a mobile game that contains role-models as avatars that guide and expose girls and boys to STEM learning content. For this research purpose it was applied the methodology of design sprint with five-phase process that combines design thinking principles. The technique of this methodology comprises smart interviews with STEM experts, mind-map creation, sketching, prototyping and usability testing of the interactive prototype of the gender responsive STEM mGBL. The results have shown that the effect of the avatar/role model had a positive impact. Therefore, by exposing students (boys and girls) to STEM role models in an mGBL tool is helpful for the decreasing of the gender inequalities in STEM fields.

Keywords: design thinking, design sprint, gender-responsive STEM education, mobile game based learning, role-models

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Wee Akina Sia Seng Lee, Shabeshan Rengasamy, Lim Boon Hooi, Chandrakalavaratharajoo, Mohd Ibrahim K. Azeez

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This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Teaching Games For Understanding (TGFU) in improving the hockey tactical skills and state self-confidence among 16-year-old students. Two hundred fifty nine (259) school students were selected for the study based on the intact sampling method. One class was used as the control group (Boys=60, Girls=70), while another as the treatment group (Boys=60, Girls=69) underwent intervention with TGFU in physical education class conducted twice a week for four weeks. The Games Performance Assessment Instrument was used to observe the hockey tactical skills and The State Self-Confidence Inventory was used to determine the state of self-confidence among the students. After four weeks, ANCOVA analysis indicated the treatment groups had significant improvement in hockey tactical skills with F (1, 118) =313.37, p < .05 for school boys, and F (1, 136) =92.62, p < .05 for school girls. The Mann Whitney U test also showed the treatment groups had significant improvement in state self-confidence with U=428.50, z= -7.22, p < .05, r=.06 for school boys. ANCOVA analysis also showed the treatment group had significant improvement in state self-confidence with F (1, 136) =74.40, p < .05 for school girls. This indicates that TGFU in a 40 minute physical education class conducted twice a week for four weeks can significantly improve the hockey tactical skills and state self-confidence among 16-year-old students. The findings give new knowledge to PE teachers to implement the TGFU method as it enhances the hockey tactical skills and state self-confidence among 16-year-old students. Some recommendation was suggested for future research.

Keywords: Teaching Games For Understanding (TGFU), traditional teaching, hockey tactical skills, state self-confidence

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Howard Gomwe, Eunice Seekoe, Philemon Lyoka, Chioneso Show Marange, Dennyford Mafa

Abstract:

There is arguably a lack of literature regarding body physical fitness and body composition amongst primary school learners in South Africa. For this reason, the study is aimed at investigating and accessing how body composition relates to physical fitness amongst primary school learners in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In order to achieve this, a school-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 876 primary school learners aged 9 to 14 years. Body composition indicators were measured and/or calculated, whilst physical fitness was evaluated according to the EUROFIT fitness standards by a 20 m shuttle run, push-ups, sit and reach as well as sit-ups. Out of 876 participants, a total of 870 were retained. Of these, 351 (40.34%) were boys, and 519 (59.66%) were girls. The average age of learners was 11.04 ± 1.50 years, with boys having a significantly (p = 0.002) higher mean age (M = 11.24; SD = 1.51 years) as compared to that of girls (M = 10.91; SD = 1.48 years). The non-parametric Spearman Rho correlation coefficients revealed several significant and negative relationships between body composition measurements with physical fitness characteristics, which were stronger in girls than in boys. The findings advocate for policymakers and responsible authorities to initiate the development of policies and interventions targeted at encouraging physical activity and health promotion among primary school learners in South Africa, especially in girls.

Keywords: BMI, body composition, body fat, children, physical fitness, primary school

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Authors: Maryam Razmjoee

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Physical aggression is one of the most common behavioural problems among children with intellectual disabilities. Behaviours such as hitting, kicking, and threatening with the intent to harm others are examples of physical aggression. Identified language delays are related to physically aggressive behaviours, as children with poor language skills are often frustrated by socially interactions with their peers, leaving them at risk engaging in acts of physical aggression. As a result of this concern, physical aggression and language skills of children with mild intellectual disabilities was investigated. In the current study, 102 students, from years 1-3, with mild intellectual disabilities (51 girls and 51 boys) have been recruited from five educational centres which cater for children with mild intellectual disabilities in the city of Shiraz (a major city in Iran). The Test of Language Development-Primary: 3rd Edition (TOLD-3) and Overt and Relational Aggression Questionnaire were used to assess these children. Results showed that physical aggression had a significant negative association with expressive (p = 0.008), and receptive (p = 0.019) language skills. In addition, boys demonstrated more physically aggressive behaviours than girls (p = 0.014). No difference was found in expressive and receptive language skills between girls and boys with mild intellectual disabilities. The overall findings suggest that improving the language skills of children with intellectual disabilities experiencing language delays will help them to avoid exhibiting antisocial behaviours in social interactions.

Keywords: behaviour, language skills, mild intellectual disabilities, physical aggression, primary school students

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Authors: Mathula Thangarajh

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Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe form of X-linked muscular dystrophy caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene resulting in progressive skeletal muscle weakness. Boys with DMD also have significant cognitive disabilities. The intelligence quotient of boys with DMD, compared to peers, is approximately one standard deviation below average. Detailed neuropsychological testing has demonstrated that boys with DMD have a global developmental impairment, with verbal memory and visuospatial skills most significantly affected. Furthermore, the total brain volume and gray matter volume are lower in children with DMD compared to age-matched controls. These results are suggestive of a significant structural and functional compromise to the developing brain as a result of absent dystrophin protein expression. There is also some genetic evidence to suggest that mutations in the 3’ end of the DMD gene are associated with more severe neurocognitive problems. Our working hypothesis is that (i) boys with DMD do not make gains in neurodevelopmental skills compared to typically developing children and (ii) women carriers of DMD mutations may have subclinical cognitive deficits. We also hypothesize that there may be an intergenerational vulnerability of cognition, with boys of DMD-carrier mothers being more affected cognitively than boys of non-DMD-carrier mothers. The objectives of this study are: 1. Assess the neurodevelopment in boys with DMD at 4-time points and perform baseline neuroradiological assessment, 2. Assess cognition in biological mothers of DMD participants at baseline, 3. Assess possible correlation between DMD mutation and cognitive measures. This study also explores functional brain abnormalities in people with DMD by exploring how regional and global connectivity of the brain underlies executive function deficits in DMD. Such research can contribute to a better holistic understanding of the cognition alterations due to DMD and could potentially allow clinicians to create better-tailored treatment plans for the DMD population. There are four study visits for each participant (baseline, 2-4 weeks, 1 year, 18 months). At each visit, the participant completes the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery, a validated psychometric measure that is recommended by NIH Common Data Elements for use in DMD. Visits 1, 3, and 4 also involve the administration of the BRIEF-2, ABAS-3, PROMIS/NeuroQoL, PedsQL Neuromuscular module 3.0, Draw a Clock Test, and an optional fMRI scan with the N-back matching task. We expect to enroll 52 children with DMD, 52 mothers of children with DMD, and 30 healthy control boys. This study began in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this, there were subsequent delays in recruitment because of travel restrictions. However, we have persevered and continued to recruit new participants for the study. We partnered with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and helped advertise the study to interested families. Since then, we have had families from across the country contact us about their interest in the study. We plan to continue to enroll a diverse population of DMD participants to contribute toward a better understanding of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Keywords: neurology, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, muscular dystrophy, cognition, neurodevelopment, x-linked disorder, DMD, DMD gene

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Authors: T. Borja-Alvarez, V. Jiménez-Borja, M. Jiménez Borja, C. J. Jiménez-Mosquera

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Research on child sexual abuse has predominantly focused on female survivors. This has resulted in less research looking at the particular context in which this abuse takes place for boys and the impact this abuse may have on male survivors. The aim of this study is to examine the sex and age of the perpetrators of child sexual abuse and explore gender differences in the impact along with the subjective interpretation that survivors attribute to these experiences. The data for this study was obtained from Ecuadorian university students (M = 230, F = 293) who reported sexual abuse using the ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool Retrospective version (ICAST-R). Participants completed Horowitz's Impact of Event Scale (IES) and were also requested to choose among neutral, positive, and negative adjectives to describe these experiences. The results indicate that in the case of males, perpetrators were both males (adults =27%, peers =20%, relatives =10.3%, cousins =7.4%) and young females (girlfriends or ex-girlfriends =25.6%, neighborhood =20.7%, school =16.7%, cousins =15.3%, strangers =12.8%). In contrast, almost all females reported that adult males were the perpetrators (relatives =29.6%, neighborhood =11.9%, strangers =19.9%, family friends =9.7%). Regarding the impact of these events, significant gender differences emerged. More females (50%) than males (20%) presented symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Gender differences also surfaced in the way survivors interpret their experiences. Almost half of the male participants selected the word “consensual” followed by the words “normal”, “helped me to mature”, “shameful”, “confusing”, and “traumatic”. In contrast, almost all females chose the word “non-consensual” followed by the words “shameful”, “traumatic”, “scary”, and “confusing”. In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that young females and adult males were the most common perpetrators of sexually abused boys whereas adult males were the most common perpetrators of sexually abused girls. The impact and the subjective interpretation of these experiences were more negative for girls than for boys. The factors that account for the gender differences in the impact and the interpretation of these experiences need further exploration. It is likely that the cultural expectations of sexual behaviors for boys and girls in Latin American societies may partially explain the differential impact in the way these childhood sexual abuse experiences are interpreted in adulthood. In Ecuador, as is the case in other Latin American countries, the machismo culture not only accepts but encourages early sexual behaviors in boys and negatively judges premature sexual behavior in females. The result of these different sexual expectations may be that sexually abused boys may re-define these experiences as “consensual” and “normal” in adulthood, even though these were not consensual at the time of occurrence. Future studies are needed to more deeply understand the different contexts of sexual abuse for boys and girls in order to analyze the long-term impact of these experiences.

Keywords: abuse, child, gender differences, sexual

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Authors: S. B. Otieno1, F. Were, A. Afullo, K. Waza

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Background: Multi drug resistance HIV has emerged rendering the current conventional treatment of HIV ineffective. There is a need for new treatment regime which is cheap, effective and not prone to resistance development by HIV. Methods: In randomized clinical study of 68 HIV positive children 3 – 15 years to asses the efficacy of yeast selenium in HIV/AIDS patients, 50μ yeast selenium was administered to 34 children while in matched control of 34 were put on placebo. Blood samples and weight of the both groups which were taken every 3 months intervals up to 6 months, were analyzed by ELIZA for CD4T cells, the data was analyzed by SPSS version 16, WAZ scores were analyzed by Epi Info version 6. Results: No significant difference in age { χ2 (1, 62) =0.03, p =0.853}, cause of morbidity between test and controls {χ2 (1, 65) = 5.87, p= 0.015} and on condition of foster parents {χ2 ( 1,63) = 5.57, p= 0.0172} was observed. Children on selenium showed progressive improvement of WAZ and significant difference at six months {F (5,12) = =5.758, P=0.006}, and weight gain of up to 4.1 kilograms in six months, and significant CD4 T cell count increase t= -2.943, p<0.05 compared to matched controls t = -1.258 p> 0.05. CD4 T cell count increased among all age groups on test 3-5 years (+ 267.1),5-8 years (+200.3) 9-15 years (+71.2) cells/mm3 and in matched controls a decrease 3-5 years (-71), 5-8 years (-125) and 9-13 years (-10.1) cells/mm3 . No significant difference inCD4 T cell count between boys {F (2, 32) = 1.531 p= 0.232} and between boys {F (2, 49) = 1.040, p= 0.361} on test and between boys and girls {F (5, 81) = 1.379, p= 0.241} on test. Similarly no significant difference between boys and girls were observed {F (5, 86) = 1.168, p= 0.332}.In the test group there was significant positive correlation β =252.23 between weight for age (WAZ), and CD4 T Cell Count p=0.007, R2= 0.252, F< 0.05. In matched controls no significant correlation between weight gain and CD4 T cell count change was observed at six months p > 0.05. No positive correlation β =-138.23 was observed between CD4T Cell count, WAZ, p=0.934, R2 =0.0337 F >0.05. Majority (96.78%) of children on test either remained or progressed to WHO immunological stage I. Conclusion: From this study it can be concluded that yeast Selenium is effective in slowing the progress of HIV 1 in children from WHO clinical stage I by improving CD4 T cell count and hence the immunity.

Keywords: selenium, HIV, AIDS, WAZ

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Authors: Manpreet Kaur, Badaruddoza, Sandeep Kaur Brar

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The increasing prevalence of adolescent obesity is one of the major causes to be hypertensive in adulthood. Various statistical methods have been applied to examine the performance of anthropometric indices for the identification of adverse cardiovascular risk profile. The present work was undertaken to determine the significant traditional risk factors through principal component factor analysis (PCFA) among population based Punjabi adolescents aged 10-18 years. Data was collected among adolescent children from different schools situated in urban areas of Punjab, India. Principal component factor analysis (PCFA) was applied to extract orthogonal components from anthropometric and physiometric variables. Association between components were explained by factor loadings. The PCFA extracted four factors, which explained 84.21%, 84.06% and 83.15% of the total variance of the 14 original quantitative traits among boys, girls and combined subjects respectively. Factor 1 has high loading of the traits that reflect adiposity such as waist circumference, BMI and skinfolds among both sexes. However, waist circumference and body mass index are the indicator of abdominal obesity which increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The loadings of these two traits have found maximum in girls adolescents (WC=0.924; BMI=0.905). Therefore, factor 1 is the strong indicator of atherosclerosis in adolescents. Factor 2 is predominantly loaded with blood pressures and related traits (SBP, DBP, MBP and pulse rate) which reflect the risk of essential hypertension in adolescent girls and combined subjects, whereas, factor 2 loaded with obesity related traits in boys (weight and hip circumferences). Comparably, factor 3 is loaded with blood pressures in boys and with height and WHR in girls, while factor 4 contains high loading of pulse pressure among boys, girls and combined group of adolescents.

Keywords: adolescent obesity, cvd, hypertension, punjabi population

Procedia PDF Downloads 371