Emerging Adult Resilience to the Early Stages of the COVID-Pandemic: A Systematic Scoping Review.

Human resilience to COVID-19 related stressors remains a pressing concern following the aftereffects of the pandemic and in the face of probable future pandemics. In response, we systematically scoped the available literature (n = 2030 records) to determine the nature and extent of research on emerging adults' adaptive responses to COVID-19 stressors in the early stages of the pandemic. Using a multisystem resilience framework, our narrative review of 48 eligible studies unpacks the personal, relational, institutional and/or physical ecological resources that enabled positive emerging adult outcomes to COVID-18 stressors. We found that there is a geographical bias in studies on this topic, with majority world contexts poorly represented. Resources leading to positive outcomes foregrounded psychological and social support, while institutional and ecological supports were seldom mentioned. Multisystemic combinations of resources were rarely considered. This knowledge has valuable implications for understanding resilience in the context of other large-scale adverse conditions.

Understanding the influence of 24-hour movement behaviours on the health and development of preschool children from low-income South African settings: the SUNRISE pilot study.

Background: The International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years, SUNRISE, was initiated to assess the extent to which young children meet movement behaviour guidelines (physical activity, sedentary behaviour, screen time, sleep). Objective: The South African SUNRISE pilot study assessed movement behaviours in preschool children from two low-income settings, and associations between these movement behaviours, adiposity, motor skills and executive function (EF). Methods: Preschool child/parent pairs (n = 89) were recruited from preschools in urban Soweto and rural Sweetwaters. Height and weight were measured to assess adiposity. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometers while sedentary behaviour, screen time and sleep were assessed via parent report. Fine and gross motor development were measured using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3, and EF was assessed using the Early Years Toolbox. Results: The proportion of children meeting the physical activity guideline was 84%, 66% met the sleep guideline, 48% met the screen time guideline, and 26% met all three guidelines. Rural children were more active, but spent more time on screens compared to urban children. Most children were on track for gross (96%) and fine motor (73%) development, and mean EF scores were in the expected range for all EF measures. EF was negatively associated with screen time, and gross motor skills were positively associated with physical activity. Conclusion: The South African SUNRISE study contributes to the growing literature on 24-hour movement behaviours in SA preschool children, and highlights that these behaviours require attention in this age group.

Sleep and daytime sleepiness in methylphenidate medicated and un-medicated children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

OBJECTIVE: Excessive daytime sleepiness due to any cause can result in various symptoms similar to those used for the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A common treatment for children diagnosed with ADHD is methylphenidate which is also used to treat excessive daytime sleepiness. This paper reports on a study which compared the perceived levels of daytime sleepiness and prevalence of sleep disorders in medicated and un-medicated children with ADHD. METHOD: The sample consisted of two matched groups of children who had been formally diagnosed with ADHD. One group (n=12) was taking immediate release methylphenidate twice daily, while the other group (n=11) had never, and were not currently, taking any medication. The two groups, as well as their parents, rated their levels of daytime sleepiness at three points in a single day. RESULTS: Significantly higher levels of daytime sleepiness were reported by the parents of the un-medicated children between the hours of 13:00 and 15:00, compared to the medicated children. The medicated children became increasingly sleepier from the first to the second measurement in both the morning and afternoon. There was no significant difference in the number of sleep disorders/disruptions reported by the parents of either group. CONCLUSION: In a group of children with ADHD taking methylphenidate, there was a significant increase in sleepiness a few hours after taking the medication, which may then have a significant impact on their learning. The data also imply that part of the mechanism of action of methylphenidate effects in these children may be by reduction of daytime sleepiness.

Level of maternal education and performance of Black, South African infants on the 1996 Griffiths Mental Development Scales.

OBJECTIVE: The study compared the performance on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales of Black, South African infants with mothers who had twelve or more years of education and who were professionally employed with infants of mothers with fewer than twelve years of education and who were employed in non-professional jobs. METHOD: The sample consisted of 40 infants (aged 13-16 months), to whom the Griffiths Mental Development Scales was administered. RESULTS: The infants with professional mothers performed significantly better than their counterparts with non-professional mothers on the General Quotient, as well as on the Locomotor Scale. While maternal level of education did not appear to distinguish between infants in terms of social, fine motor, language, hearing, processing speed or practical reasoning, it did discriminate in terms of gross-motor functioning. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that, as the infant develops, the skills assessed by the Griffiths Scales, which are initially differentiated, become increasingly interrelated. Consequently, poor gross-motor skills, which may be more likely in infants from a low socio-economic status, may have far-reaching implications. Thus, it is important to consider maternal level of education and the socio-economic status background of the infant, as this may influence overall performance on the Scales.

Level of maternal education and performance of Black, South African infants on the 1996 Griffiths Mental Development Scales

Objective: The study compared the performance on the Griffiths Mental Development Scales of Black; South African infants with mothers who had twelve or more years of education and who were professionally employed with infants of mothers with fewer than twelve years of education and who were employed in non-professional jobs. Method: The sample consisted of 40 infants (aged 13-16 months); to whom the Griffiths Mental Development Scales was administered. Results: The infants with professional mothers performed significantly better than their counterparts with non-professional mothers on the General Quotient; as well as on the Locomotor Scale. While maternal level of education did not appear to distinguish between infants in terms of social; fine motor; language; hearing; processing speed or practical reasoning; it did discriminate in terms of gross-motor functioning. Conclusion: It is suggested that; as the infant develops; the skills assessed by the Griffiths Scales; which are initially differentiated; become increasingly interrelated. Consequently; poor gross-motor skills; which may be more likely in infants from a low socio-economic status; may have far-reaching implications. Thus; it is important to consider maternal level of education and the socio-economic status background of the infant; as this may influence overall performance on the Scales

Use of the 1996 Griffiths Mental Development Scales for Infants: a Pilot Study with a Black; South African Sample

Objectives: Over the last few years; researchers have made a significant effort to address the need for more reliable and valid assessment measures for South Africa. The objective of this study was to acquire empirical data regarding the use and application of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales with Black South African infants. Methods: Specifically; the study aimed to make a preliminary cross-cultural comparison of the performance of Black South African infants and the British normative sample of the Griffiths Scales (Huntley 1996). The South African sample consisted of 40 infants aged between 13 and 16 months; with approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. Results: The finding was that the South African sample performed significantly better than the British norm group on the Eye-Hand Co-ordination Scale (Scale D) and the Performance Scale (Scale E); while the norm group scored significantly higher on the Personal-Social Scale (Scale B). Conclusion: The implications of these results are discussed in the paper