Social robots are increasingly deployed in clinical settings to support the well-being of children, where effective support must be personalized to each child. Personalization, choosing the robot action best suited to each child, can be framed as a recommendation problem, and a recently proposed recommender-system framework for social robots offers a principled approach through user profiling, ranking, and responsible computing. Instantiating it, however, is blocked not by the model but by the data, which is hard to gather. A child's state shifts within and across visits, so no fixed description of the user holds. Within a session, the few signals of whether the robot's actions helped are weak and indirect. Across sessions, children are rarely seen more than once, and anonymization breaks the identity needed to link visits. Because care cannot be randomized, existing data is observational, biased toward whatever was already done. Each is a familiar recommender-system problem, and we propose four data principles in response: an integrated profile, effectiveness signals, linkable coverage, and an exposure record logged at collection time. We identify which of these principles each capability requires, and frame them as concrete guidelines for data collection.
Jin Huang, Eric Nichols, Fethiye Irmak Doğan et al.
The world’s current generation of children will never forget the dramatic time of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its impact on schooling, family contact and home life. They also will remember who helped and stood up for them and whether they felt cared for and safe. In most cases the virus has caused relatively minor illness amongst children.
Objective: The objective of this dissertation is twofold. The first objective is to summarize the literature on poly-victimization (PV) with a focus on what relationships have been tested and how poly-victimization has been operationalized in the field. The second objective is to replicate and expand the literature by empirically testing the effect of poly-victimization on delinquency. Design, Data, and Participants. This dissertation employs a mixed method approach made up of a systematic literature review and secondary data analysis. The systematic literature review summarizes 59 poly-victimization articles published between 2007 and 2017 that contain the terms “poly-victim” or “poly-victimization” in its title and/or abstract. The secondary data analysis is based on a nationally representative sample of 6,364 10 to 17-year-olds who self-reported their lifetime victimization experiences and their past-year delinquency involvement. The pooled dataset used in this dissertation is based on the aggregation of three repeated assessments collected in 3-year intervals between 2008 and 2014, the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV). NatSCEV is a cross-sectional, U.S. based, national telephone survey conducted in English and Spanish. Broader Impacts. This dissertation seeks to provide evidence-based knowledge that will inform both the imminent research agenda and the practical and clinical strategies designed to respond to poly-victimization. The systematic review will contribute to these objectives by identifying the gaps that exist in the poly-victimization literature and by summarizing the measurement issues surrounding its operationalization. The secondary data analysis will contribute to this by providing practitioners and clinicians the evidence needed to develop and implement the policies, practices, and strategies that can positively affect the dynamic relationship that exists between violence exposure and violence perpetration. Results and Conclusion-Literature Review. Although much of the work has focused on evaluating the effect of PV on a host of adverse mental health outcomes, some work has been done to advance our understanding of adverse behavioral and social outcomes. The systematic literature review shows that most studies have focused on quantitatively evaluating the direct effects of PV using cross-sectional designs, adolescent respondents, and non-probability samples. The field can benefit from designing qualitative and/or mixed method studies that can complement each other and supplement what we already know about PV. Efforts should also be made to incorporate mediating and moderating factors into our research, thereby starting to explore more complex relationships. When quantitative efforts are pursued, focusing on obtaining probability samples and incorporating longitudinal designs will be most helpful given the current state of knowledge. Lastly, having multiple respondents can help triangulate information and address the ongoing debate on proxy interviews. Results and Conclusion-Secondary Data Analysis. Ample evidence was found to conclude that poly-victimization predicts a variety of deviant, delinquent, and rule breaking behaviors. PV’s predicted 13 different types of delinquent behaviors. It was also found to be a stronger predictor of any delinquency, as compared to 10 other categories of victimization, namely property crime, physical assault, child maltreatment, sexual victimization, kidnapping, bullying victimization, online victimization and exposure to family, school, and community violence. The policy and practice implications of these findings are extensively discussed.
While it is well-accepted that mothers play a key role in child health outcomes, the role of the father is less well understood. This study, the first of two investigations of the relationship between the social environment and child health, growth and development, was nested in a child nutrition programme carried out in Kwale County. At present child health services are largely administered through government Mother and Child Health programmes. Previous community consultations have raised the need to include all family members, particularly fathers, in the process of addressing child health and development issues. To provide a background to planning for inclusion of the wider family this study investigated local attitudes and beliefs towards parenting and how these may influence child health outcomes. In this study, we used qualitative in-depth interviews of 61 co-habiting couples with fathers and mothers interviewed separately, analysed using NVivo 10 software, to look for patterns of responses with regards to attitudes and behaviours relevant to child health. The study findings suggested that both mothers and fathers overall valued their status as parents and were willing to be involved in promoting the well-being of their children. Fathers and mothers saw that they carried out a different role, and drew on different influences in their decision making and role definition. The main barrier to direct paternal involvement in the health care of their children was reported to be the cost of attendance at clinics, both in terms of time and money. Innovation in how medical services engage with families is required to increase the supportive role that fathers can provide by using opportunities such as community meetings where men gather to explain child health risks and preventative measures.
Kennedy Sonkola, Jane Dene Kvalsvig, Inge D. Brouwer et al.
Child well-being is a multidimensional and a holistic concept which provides a contextual understanding of a child in different domains such as health, material well-being, education, conditions of housing and environment, and interpersonal relations (UNICEF, 2014).A decent level of child well-being is underpinned by the Declaration of the Rights of the Child which states that "The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth" (Cohen, 1989).But many children around the world still suffer deficiencies in many dimensions of well-being. | Aspects of shortfalls in child well-beingOne in three children (200 million globally) fails to reach their full physical, cognitive, psychological and/or socioemotional potential due to poverty, poor health and nutrition, insufficient care, stimulation and other risk factors to early childhood development (Grantham-McGregor et al., 2007).It is estimated that globally, almost 385 million children are living in extreme poverty.Poverty, malnutrition, poor health, unstimulating home environments and violence against children are major risk factors, which detrimentally affect the cognitive, motor and social-emotional development of children (Tran, Luchters & Fisher, 2017).Preterm birth complications, acute respiratory infections, intrapartum-related complications, congenital anomalies and diarrhoea are the main factors continuing causes of high numbers of under-five deaths (WHO, 2019).Further adding to the plight of children in developing countries, young girls and adolescent women are invariably subjected to various forms of harmful practices including child marriage and female genital mutilation.Close to 300 million (3 in 4) children aged 2 to 4 worldwide experience violent discipline by their caregivers on a regular basis and approximately 250 million (around 6 in 10) are punished by physical means.Recent estimates of ILO show that Asia and the Pacific still has the largest numbers of child labour (almost 78 million or 9.3% of child population), but sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labour (59 million children which is over 21% of all children; ILO, 2013).In 2017, four African nations (Mali, Benin, Chad and Guinea-Bissau) witnessed over 50% of children aged 5-14 working (UNICEF, 2017).The worst form of child labour lead to severe exploitation of children including impact on physical, mental and moral and social development of children (ILO, 2013).Education offers children a path to a promising future but about 264 million children and adolescents around the world fail to enter or complete school.They are thwarted by poverty, discrimination, armed conflict, emergencies and the effects of climate change (UNICEF, 1998) Often the family and environmental risk factors a child experiences are beyond the control.Though the effects of these factors can be moderated and this is where opportunities to promote children's positive mental health and wellbeing lie.-------
Prior studies on social disintegration in Indonesia have predominantly examined identity conflict and political polarization, with limited attention to preventive educational interventions at the elementary level, particularly regarding the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program and child well-being. Addressing this gap, this study explores how revitalization of national struggle values through contextual and participatory learning contributes to strengthening students' national spirit in Kendari City elementary schools while supporting Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). A qualitative interpretive approach was employed, involving 18 informants from three public elementary schools through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis. Data were analyzed using NVivo 14 via inductive thematic analysis. Three principal findings emerged: (1) inquiry-based learning effectively enhances civic literacy and national awareness; (2) integration of historical values with MBG program contexts strengthens children's socio-emotional well-being; and (3) teachers function as value facilitators transforming struggle narratives into tangible social actions. This study contributes to historically grounded character education theory and offers policy implications for elementary curriculum reform responsive to contemporary social disintegration threats in Indonesia.
Dela Safitri, Sakinah Humaidi Al Khairiyah Nasution, Juttalee Petsong
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Abstract Monitoring child development at the population level is essential for informing research, policy, and practice. There is limited population-level data on middle childhood (ages 10–13)—a critical developmental stage marked by biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes—as well as a lack of self-report data from Hispanic/Latinx children. This U.S.-based study aimed to (1) describe 5th and 6th grade students’ self-reported Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) scores on optimism, happiness, self-esteem, sadness, and general health (i.e., MDI well-being components) and adult support, health behaviors, peer relationships, school experiences, and activity engagement (i.e., MDI developmental assets); (2) examine correlations between MDI well-being components and assets; and (3) identify potential developmental differences in MDI scores between 5th and 6th graders. Using cross-sectional MDI data, we analyzed responses from 757 students in two predominantly Hispanic/Latinx (81.9%) Los Angeles County school districts, collecting data from 5th graders in 2019 and 6th graders in 2023. Ordinal logistic regression analyses revealed that adult, health, peer, and school MDI assets were significantly correlated with higher odds of MDI well-being components, with small to large effect sizes. Notably, adult and health MDI assets had protective benefits for 6th graders, partially offsetting their generally lower MDI well-being; in contrast, the MDI activity asset was not significantly correlated with outcomes in any MDI well-being component. Findings highlight the utility of the MDI in understanding associations between specific developmental assets and components of well-being during middle childhood. Developmental transitions may strengthen or attenuate the protective effects of assets.
Emily Hotez, Judith L. Perrigo, Jordan Morales et al.
BACKGROUND: Discipline is a crucial aspect of parenting, shaping child development and behaviour. Time-out, a widely used disciplinary strategy with a strong evidence-base, has recently come under scrutiny with concerns about potential adverse effects on children's emotional development and attachment, particularly for those with a history of adversity. AIMS: To contribute critical empirical insights to the current controversy surrounding time-out by exploring the associations among time-out implementation, parent-child attachment and child mental health, and whether adversity exposure moderated these associations. METHOD: This cross-sectional study utilised a nationally representative sample of 474 primary caregivers in Australia, with children aged 6-8 years, who completed an online survey. Measures included the Implementation of Time-out Scale, Adverse Life Experiences Scale, Primary Attachment Style Questionnaire, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Spence Child Anxiety Scale. RESULTS: Appropriately implemented time-out was associated with enhanced mental health and attachment, while inappropriate time-out correlated with adverse child outcomes. Exposure to adversity moderated the relationship between time-out implementation and child well-being, such that children exposed to adversity were most likely to experience attachment enhancement from appropriately implemented time-out. CONCLUSIONS: Despite recent concerns of harm caused by time-out, particularly for children with a history of adversity, findings support the beneficial impact of time-out on child well-being and attachment when implemented in accordance with evidence-based parameters. Combatting misinformation and disseminating evidence-based time-out guidelines is crucial for promoting child well-being and attachment, especially for children who have experienced adversity.
Alex Roach, Rebecca McLean, Antonio Mendoza Diaz et al.
