Associations between Learning and Behavioral Difficulties in Second-Grade Children.

Learning and behavioral difficulties often emerge during the first years of primary school and are one of the most important issues of concern for families and schools. The study was aimed at investigating the co-occurrence of difficulties between academic learning and emotional-behavioral control in typically developing school children and the moderating role of sex. A sample of 640 second-grade school children participated in the study. This study used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to measure the emotional and behavioral difficulties and a battery of objective and standardized tests to evaluate the learning skills in children. In this sample 7% to 16% of children performed below the normal range in reading and/or arithmetic tests. Mixed models showed that children's hyperactive behaviors were positively related to both reading and math difficulties, and emotional problems correlated negatively with reading accuracy. The more children displayed behavioral difficulties, the more they were exposed to the risk of worsening reading and math performance, especially for girls. The result that among different emotional-behavioral problems within the school setting, hyperactivity behaviors and emotional difficulties are related to learning difficulties with a moderate effect of sex, needs to be taken into account in screening and prevention programs for learning difficulties in order to not disregard the complexity of the associated profiles.

A Comparison of Nonpharmacologic Interventions on the Emotional State of Children in the Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVES: The majority of children and adolescents presenting to the emergency department are in pain and require painful procedures. This randomized study was to investigate the efficacy of 3 different nonpharmacologic interventions (clowns, dogs, and musicians) to reduce pain and analyze the perception of positive and negative affects after the presence of these activities in a short-stay observation unit (SSOU). METHODS: Participants were composed of 105 children (54 boys and 51 girls; aged 3-16 years) assigned randomly to an experimental group (N = 57) that was composed of patients who were present in the SSOU. They received one of the following nonpharmacologic interventions: clowns (n = 18), dogs (n = 24), or musicians (n = 15) or they were assigned to a control group (CG) (N = 48) that consists of the patients who were present in the SSOU without the presence of nonpharmacologic interventions. RESULTS: Differences among the groups did not emerge; in fact, the 3 interventions have a similar influence in a different way on a child's well-being. No significant main effect about pain emerged for both groups across age and sex. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of different nonpharmacologic interventions (clowns, dogs, and musicians) seemed to empower positive affect in children but did not influence the self-reported pain.

Can presence of a dog reduce pain and distress in children during venipuncture?

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of animal-assisted intervention as distraction for reducing children's pain and distress before, during, and after standard blood collection procedure. Fifty children (ages 4-11 years) undergoing venipuncture were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG; n = 25) or to the control group (CG; n = 25). The blood collection procedure was carried on the children in the EG arm in the presence of a dog, whereas no dog was present when venipuncture was conducted on children in CG. In both cases, parents accompanied the child in the procedure room. Distress experienced by the child was measured with the Amended Observation Scale of Behavioral Distress, while perceived pain was measured with a visual analog scale or the Wong Baker Scale (Faces Scale); levels of cortisol in blood also were analyzed. Parental anxiety during the procedure was measured with State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Children assigned to the EG group reacted with less distress than children in the CG arm. Furthermore, cortisol levels were lower in the EG group compared with the CG group. There were no significant differences in pain ratings and in the level of parental anxiety. It appears that the presence of dogs during blood draw procedures reduces distress in children.