Aim
To investigate iron status and developmental scores at 6 years of age in a population with decreased prevalence of iron deficiency in infancy. Iron status at 6 years and tracking from 12 months ...were also studied.
Methods
Children (n = 143) born in Iceland in 2005 were followed up at the age of six. Motor and verbal development was assessed by a parental questionnaire, and iron status was assessed by Hb, MCV and serum ferritin (SF). Iron depletion was defined as SF <15 μg/L and deficiency as MCV <76 fL and SF <15 μg/L.
Results
Iron depletion was observed in 5.6% of 6‐year‐olds, and 1.4% were iron deficient. Self‐help (subset in motor development) differed by −4.14 (95% CI = −7.61, −0.67), between those iron depleted at 12 months (n = 6) and those nondepleted (n = 102), adjusted for maternal education. The combined motor developmental score seemed lower in iron depleted infants, although of borderline significance (p = 0.066). MCV concentration tracked from 12 months to 6 years (r = 0.31, p < 0.002), but Hb and SF did not.
Conclusion
Improved iron status at 12 months and 6 years has diminished the public health threat associated with iron depletion in the population studied, but iron depletion and development still associate weakly. Action to prevent iron depletion in infancy remains important.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
To compare developmental ratings of mothers and fathers, 58 couples, parents of four year olds, mothers and fathers rated separately their children's development on a 190-item eightsubtest inventory ...of verbal and motor development. The results yielded moderate to high inter-parent correlations (
r
= .32 to
r
= .63) on all eight subtests with one exception (Personal-Social Competence). The mothers rated their children's development (across gender) higher than did fathers on all eight subtests (
p
< .001). Mothers' ratings of daughters' development were higher than fathers' on four out of eight subtests (Fine Motor, Language Expression, Achievement and Self Help) and on six out of eight when rating their sons (Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Language Expression, Language Comprehension, Information and Self Help)
.
No differences emerged regarding child gender in fathers' and mothers' ratings on the eight subtests except on one subtest: mothers rated their sons' Gross Motor ability higher than daughters' Gross Motor. The results suggest moderate mother-father concordance in developmental ratings - but the relative modesty of the correlations and the consistantly higher mother ratings, both in verbal and motor areas, suggest that psychometric developmental rating scales may need separate norms for mothers and fathers.
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BFBNIB, CEKLJ, FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PEFLJ, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Sixty mothers of four 12-yr-old children described their children's positive and negative characteristics and specific instances of their children's desirable and undesirable social behavior. They ...rated (a) the environmental versus dispositional basis of their child's behavior, (b) the behavior's probable origins, cross-situational consistency, and temporal stability, (c) the child's controllability, and (d) personal responsibility for engaging in each behavior. As predicted from attribution theory, mothers perceived desirable child behaviors as dispositional and undesirable ones as unstable and situationally caused. Positive personal characteristics were seen as stable and inborn, but negative ones as transitory. Children perceived as difficult to manage, however, were also seen as dispositionally and stably oppositional. Older children were considered more difficult to manage than younger ones, but only their misbehavior was seen as more innately determined. Girls' conduct of all types was considered more dispositional, and sons' characteristics were seen as more stable, especially during adolescence. The results suggest a positive bias in mothers' perceptions of their children, except when they are considered difficult to control.
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CEKLJ, FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PEFLJ, UPUK
The study investigates differences in psychological, offending history, and substance use variables between desisters and recidivists among 461 Icelandic prison inmates, who were followed up 5 years ...after their release from prison. Almost half (48%) of the sample were re-convicted during the 5-year period and had received one or more prison sentences. Recidivists scored significantly lower than desisters on the Gough Socialization Scale, and desisters scored significantly higher on Self-Deception and Other-Deception Questionnaires. Recidivists had more extensive offending history, and had reported more substance use than desisters. A discriminant function analysis was performed in order to investigate which variables discriminated best between desisters and recidivists. The results indicate that offending history variables and low other-deception, discriminated best between the two groups. The results emphasize the importance of previous criminal history and antisocial personality traits as risk factors and impression management or social desirability as a protective factor.
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BFBNIB, NUK, PILJ, PRFLJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
This paper reports the main findings from a prevalence study of adolescent gambling and problem gambling among Icelandic adolescents. The final sample consisted of 3,511 pupils aged 13 to 15 in 25 ...primary schools in Reykjavík. The results indicated that 93% of adolescents had gambled some time in their life and 70% at least once in the preceding year. Problem gambling prevalence rates were evaluated with two gambling screens, American Psychological Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition, Multiple-Response-Junior (DSM-IV-MR-J) and the South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA). The DSM-IV-MR-J identified 1.9% as problem gamblers, while SOGS-RA identified 2.8% as problem gamblers. The results also showed that problem gamblers reported more difficulties in school and used alcohol and other drugs more frequently than adolescents who gambled socially or not at all. Finally, evaluation of electronic gambling machine (EGM) accessibility revealed that gambling on low-stakes EGMs in public places was more common than on EGMs in arcades or bars and restaurants. The potential implications of these findings are discussed.
Specific long term effects of parental divorce were examined in a sample of 179 Icelanders, 20 to 30 years of age. The participants answered the Borromean Family Index, the Affect Balance Scale and a ...number of questions on sexual behavior and attitudes towards marriage and divorce. Results showed that compared to adults whose parents remained married, those of divorced parents reported more negative emotional experiences at the time of the study and had looser family ties. They also had greater number of short love affairs, had their first love affair at a younger age, had a greater number of sexual partners, and were younger at the time of their first sexual intercourse than adults whose parents remained married.
The feasibility of mothers estimating their own children's development is explored in this paper. Construction, reliability and validity of a mothers' developmental inventory for children from 4 ...months to 41 months is described. The inventory consists of six subtests: Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Language Expression, Language Comprehension, Personal-Social Competence and Self Help. A preliminary version of the inventory was item analyzed on a sample of 105 mothers of 4 to 37 months old children. This reduced the inventory to 164 items with satisfactory reliability and age discrimination on half-year intervals. The list was cross-validated on a sample of 275 mothers, for which medians of alpha coefficients for the six subtests ranged from 0.69 to 0.96, with most (26 out of 36) coefficients being 0.77 or higher. Again, the age discrimination was satisfactory, although floor effects appeared on four subtests for children younger than 12 months and ceiling effects on two subtests for children older than 24 months.
Gretarsson, S.J. (1988). The image of man in psychology. Theoretical and methodological issues. Nordisk Psykologi, 40, 279-288.
An image of man is contrasted with models of man, and a distinction is ...made between methodological techniques and methodological procedures. It is pointed out that recent so-called revolutions in psychology and corresponding attacks on classical methodology have successfully changed the methodological techniques but left the procedures intact. It is argued that classical methodology is an important determiner of the structure of modern psychology, which has definite implications for the ability and the interest of psychologists in putting forth images of man.
Sixty mothers of four- through 12-year-old children rated the (1) environmental versus dispositional basis of their child's behavior; (2) behavior's probable origins, cross-situational consistancy, ...and temporal stability; (3) child's controllability; and (4) personal responsibility for engaging in each behavior. Findings suggested a positive bias in mothers' perceptions of their children, except when they are considered difficult to control. (RH)
