Young children in recreational sports. Participation motivation.

More than 20 million children between ages 6 and 16 years participate in nonschool sports programs, with increasingly more programs being established for younger-age children. A questionnaire based on previous research with adolescent athletes was developed to determine participation motivation of 6- to 10-year-old children. Three hundred fourteen boys participating in a basketball program were interviewed privately with this instrument. Of the 12 participation motivation items, "learn to do my best," "learn and improve skills," "have a coach to look up to," and "get stronger and healthier" were most highly rated, whereas "win games" and "become popular" were rated least important. When responses of 6 and 7 year olds were compared with those of 9 and 10 year olds, older children rated "feel part of a team", "have fun and excitement" and "be with and make new friends" higher at a statistically significant level (p less than 0.05). Older children rated "win games" and "become popular" lower at a statistically significant level (p less than 0.05). The authors conclude that young children in this recreational sports program make significant distinctions in their participation motivation and that some aspects of participation that motivate them change as they grow older.

Coaches' goals for young children in a recreational sports program.

Almost all children participate in sports at some time, and programs are being established for even younger children. Adults who coach the children largely determine what the children's sports experience will be. Coaches' perceptions of what is important for the young children they instruct have not yet been carefully investigated. This study was designed, therefore, to determine coaches' goals for young children. Data were gathered by use of an attitude questionnaire administered to 29 coaches of a recreational basketball program of children ranging in age from 6 to 10 years old. Of the 12 goals, feeling part of a team, learning to do my best, and having fun and excitement were most highly rated as extremely important, while becoming popular was lowest rated as not important. Results revealed that coaches in general are able to clearly define their goals and priorities, and these goals seem developmentally appropriate for the children. However, coaches make little differentiation in goals based on age.

Encopresis responsive to non-psychiatric interventions. With remittance of familial psychopathology.

A case report of an adolescent with primary encopresis is presented in which the patient responded to standard medical interventions despite apparent significant psychopathology in the child and family. Psychological symptoms proved to be secondary and resolved with successful medical treatment and with attending to other concerns, such as this patient's school problems. Behavioral and medical literature related to encopresis is reviewed. It indicates that encopresis is associated more consistently with physiological abnormalities of the bowel rather than definable psychological disorders.

The suicidal adolescent.

It is the author's opinion that by educating dentists on the warning signs of suicide and the protocol for managing suspected cases, the tragic deaths of many adolescents may be prevented. Educational material should be presented in the undergraduate dental curriculum and periodically reinforced in the dental literature and continuing education courses. Dentists and their staffs must be constantly alert to warning signs of this ever-increasing problem. Suspected cases should be thoroughly investigated and followed up.

Neuropsychological effects of irradiation and chemotherapy treatments upon children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a case study of monozygotic twins.

Numerous attempts have been made to determine the effects of irradiation and chemotherapy upon cognitive functioning when used for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). While many studies have demonstrated a deleterious effect, others have found no significant changes in neuropsychological functioning. The uncertainty regarding the cognitive effects of these treatments is exemplified via a presentation of monozygotic twins who were evaluated via neuropsychological tests. The children received similar induction-consolidation therapy which included intrathecal methotrexate and cranial irradiation. Neuropsychological tests yielded almost identical I.Q. patterns, however, subtle differences were noted between the children when abstract reasoning abilities, achievement tests scores, motor speed, grip strength, performance on complex tasks requiring haptic sensitivity, and fingertip sensitivity were observed. This discussion also summarizes the previous findings related to cognitive function after chemotherapy and radiation therapy and some of the confounding factors which have been noted.

The incidence of cognitive dysfunction in an encopretic population in children.

Cognitive testing was conducted in a clinical population of encopretic patients. Testing included the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) and the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test (BVMGT). Although Full Scale, Verbal and Performance Intelligence Quotients on the WISC-R were not statistically different from general population means, subtests in Arithmetic (p less than 0.001), Digit Span (p less than 0.001) and Coding (p less than 0.05) were. There was also a high incidence of Verbal/Performance discrepancies and statistically significant differences on the WRAT in Spelling (p less than 0.01) and Arithmetic (p less than 0.01). Visual-motor integration was delayed two or more years in 43% of the patients on the BVMGT. These findings are consistent with the diagnosis of specific learning disabilities. An increased frequency of learning disabilities in an encopretic population may represent a subset of patients with a distinct syndrome in this disorder. These findings may point to the central nervous system (CNS) as the common point of pathology for the encopresis and learning disabilities, or reflect a common insult to both the CNS and gastrointestinal tract. Since histories in these patients did not reveal significant pregnancy or neonatal risk factors, this association could be related to genetic or environmental issues. Health professionals should be alert to the possibility of an increased incidence of learning disabilities in their encopretic patients. Further controlled studies are needed to determine if this finding is present in other settings, and if so, to determine the etiology.

Differentiating roles of clinical and counseling psychology interns.

Asked 60 clinical psychology interns and 54 counseling psychology interns from 18 APA approved university training programs to complete a survey form that involved rating the amount of emphasis placed upon various roles, functions and duties at internship and university training programs. Supervisors of the interns at the respective internship settings completed analogous forms, rating their perception of the degree of emphasis placed upon various roles, functions and duties. The data were analyzed via stepwise discriminant analysis to determine whether some roles would be more typical to one specialty. Finally, suggestions were offered for the improvement of university training programs and for the conduct of further research on roles of the two specialties.