Substantial empirical evidence supports the positive effects of physical activity (PA) on executive functions, but not all forms of physical activity benefit equally. Among kindergarteners, ...cognitively-engaging exercise seems to more strongly effect EF than simple exercise. We aimed to investigate several qualitatively different exercise formats on kindergarteners' inhibition. Participants were 75 children (M age = 68.1 months), recruited from 14 classrooms of three kindergarten schools. They were randomly assigned to three groups: control group, free play group (non-cognitively-engaging PA), and an intervention group (cognitively-engaging PA). The intervention group performed 18 sessions of a cognitively engaging PA (tasks requiring movements and inhibitory behavior skills). We assessed “hot” and “cool” aspects of inhibition using the Day-Night Stroop test, Head-Shoulders-Knees-Toes, Gift Wrap, and Snack Delay. We found that the intervention group obtained a more consistent performance improvement on post-test measures of hot and cool inhibition than did the free play group.
Family is a crucial factor to determine the amount, the duration, and the complexity of children’s sport activities. This study aims at comparing the beliefs concerning the involvement in sport ...activities among parents of children with Down syndrome (DS) and parents of typically developing children (TDC). A phenomenological theoretical framework was adopted to realize semistructured interviews with the parents. The participants were 35 parents: 19 with children and adolescents with DS and 16 with TDC. The main facilitation/barrier themes identified by the parents of children with DS were the family and the expert at Adapted Physical Activity (APA) instructors. Conversely, the parents of TDC identified social factors related to family as the only barrier. One of the issues that emerge from this study is the lack of home-based physical activity (PA) intervention programs aimed at involving families and children.
It is known in the literature that fundamental motor skill acquisition is strongly associated with the development of neuromotor, cognitive, social, and emotional aspects in childhood. Unfortunately, ...in Italy, the physical education teacher is not included in the school's core personnel, and it is very hard to find a specific physical education program (PEP) that could improve preschool children's motor and cognitive status. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the quotient of gross motor development (QGMD) and pre-literacy skills concerning visual analysis and spatial orientation abilities changed after 16 weeks of PEP (2 h/week) in preschool children. We conducted a school-based non-randomized pilot trial. It involved 119 preschool children, clustered in a control group CG,
= 29, body mass index (BMI): 16.90 ± 3.16 Kg/m
and an intervention group (IG,
= 90, BMI: 16.00 ± 1.75 kg/m
). Participants were assessed for literacy readiness, locomotor and object control skills before and after the experimental period. IG increased the locomotor, object-control skills and QGMD in response to PEP. As concerns the pre-literacy domain, no significant difference was found in visual analysis and spatial orientation skills between IG and CG groups. However, we detected improvements from baseline to post-test in IG children. In conclusion, this study contributes additional evidence suggesting how a PEP could affect not only motor skills, but also cognitive ones. Consistently with the growing research, interventions based on structured ludic-motor activities ensure health benefits for preschool children.
www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT01274117.
The aim of the present study is the development and the evaluation of preliminary psychometric characteristics of a short form self-report questionnaire to assess executive functioning (EF). The ...research was conducted in a sample of 316 Italian children that attended primary or secondary schools, with an age range between 7 and 11. EFA showed that Executive Functioning Self-Report (EF-SR) is composed of eleven items that are adequately represented by a single factor that characterizes the total score of the EFs. Furthermore, preliminary analyses showed an adequate level of skewness and kurtosis, of internal reliabilities, and test-retest reliability. Finally, the EF-SR showed positive moderate correlation with Stroop Congruent Trials, and with the Stroop Control trials, while the correlations with the other measures were not significance (Color Word Stroop task, the Corsi Block Tapping and the Tower of London), demonstrating appropriate discriminant validity. In conclusion, the EF-SR proves to have the potential to be an easy and fast questionnaire for measuring EF, especially in children.
Physical activity has beneficial effects on health and is extremely recommended for children's well-being. Understanding risk factors that could cause negative affect in children practicing physical ...activity is hugely relevant, and there is a growing consensus that autonomous and controlled motivation in the self-determination theory (SDT) framework could offer a broader perspective. Consequently, this study aims to examine the longitudinal relations between autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and negative affect in physical activity, using a sample of children that regularly participate in physical activity. One hundred forty children in the range age between 7 and 11 (M = 8.45, SD = 0.93) that regularly participated in physical activity completed a battery of questionnaires at two times. Results of the cross-lagged structural model showed that controlled motivation at T1 positively predicts negative affect in physical activity at T2. Overall, the results of this study support the hypotheses based on the SDT framework regarding the role of motivation to predict affects in the physical activity context.
The paths of medically assisted reproduction represent the most important scientific progress to cope with the inability to achieve spontaneous conception (SC) and to reach desired parenthood. ...Couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) and couples not facing ovulation induction and artificial fertilization show sufficient levels of well-being and psychological adjustment. However, in some cases couples undergoing ART show lower perceived quality of life than couples with SC.Our aim is to investigate the main psychological variables involved in the special risk condition of medically assisted reproduction and how they could direct specific guidelines to enhance mental wellbeing in dealing with infertility.
In this regard, we performed a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines. From all the studies included, the considered outcome measures were psychological, social, and relational variables and are presented in a systematic approach.
A total of 14 studies were included in this article, according to our strict inclusion criteria.
Conflicting results have been proven by this systematic review. Even though all underlined the importance of taking charge of the psychological variables in infertility, few studies monitored and evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions. Moreover, none of the selected studies monitored the evolutionary implications of parental competence on the development of children born from ART.
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