Psychometrics of psychosocial behavior items under age 6 years: Evidence from Nebraska, USA.

Because healthy psychosocial development in the first years of life is critical to lifelong well-being, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations are increasingly interested in monitoring psychosocial behaviors among populations of children. In response, the World Health Organization is developing the Global Scales of Early Development Psychosocial Form (GSED PF) to facilitate population-level psychosocial monitoring. Once validated, the GSED PF will be an open-access, caregiver-reported measure of children's psychosocial behaviors that is appropriate for infants and young children. This study examines the psychometric validity evidence from 45 items under consideration for inclusion in the GSED PF. Using data from N = 836 Nebraskan (USA) children aged 180 days to 71 months, results indicate that scores from 44 of the 45 (98%) items exhibit positive evidence of validity and reliability. A bifactor model with one general factor and five specific factors best fit the data, exhibited strong reliability, and acceptable model fit. Criterion associations with known predictors of children's psychosocial behaviors were in the expected direction. These findings suggest that measurement of children's psychosocial behaviors may be feasible, at least in the United States. Data from more culturally and linguistically diverse settings is needed to assess these items for global monitoring.

Debido a que el desarrollo sicosocial en los primeros años de vida es crítico para el bienestar de toda la vida, las organizaciones gubernamentales y no gubernamentales están más y más interesadas en observar vigilantemente las conductas sicosociales en la población infantil. Como respuesta, la Organización Mundial de la Salud está desarrollando el Formulario Sicosocial de las Escalas Globales del Temprano Desarrollo (GSED PF) para facilitar la observación sicosocial alerta al nivel del grupo de población. Una vez que se haya convalidado, el GSED PF será una medida de acceso abierto, que reportará el cuidador, sobre las conductas sicosociales de los niños que son apropiadas para infantes y niños pequeñitos. Este estudio examina la evidencia de la validez sicométrica de 45 puntos bajo consideración para ser incluidos en el GSED PF. Usando datos de N = 836 niños de Nebraska (Estados Unidos), de edad entre 180 días y 71 meses, los resultados indican que los puntajes de 44 de los 45 (98%) puntos muestran evidencia positiva de validez y confiabilidad. Un modelo bifactorial con un factor general y cinco factores específicos, que mejor encaja con los datos, mostró una fuerte confiabilidad y un modelo aceptable que encaja. Las asociaciones de criterio con factores de predicción conocidos acerca de las conductas sicosociales de los niños se encontraban en la dirección esperada. Estos resultados sugieren que la medida de las conductas sicosociales de los niños pudiera ser posible, por lo menos en los Estados Unidos. Se necesitan datos de escenarios más diversos cultural y lingüísticamente para evaluar estos puntos para la estar alerta en la observación global.

Racial, ethnic and nativity inequalities in gestational diabetes mellitus: The role of racial discrimination.

Introduction: Racial/ethnic minority and foreign-born women in the United States are at high risk of experiencing racial discrimination, which is associated with adverse health outcomes. Although racial discrimination is associated with metabolic disturbances such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, more studies should examine its effect on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which is highest among racial/ethnic minority and foreign-born women. Methods: We used New York City Pregnancy Risk and Assessment Monitoring System survey data (2012-2014) linked with birth certificate items (N = 4084) in bivariate and multivariate analyses to examine racial/ethnic/nativity differences in racial discrimination, and to test if racial discrimination explains racial/ethnic/nativity inequalities in GDM. Results: The 12-month prevalence of racial discrimination (9.5%) varied across race/ethnicity and nativity status, with Black, Hispanic and foreign-born women having the highest prevalence. Interaction effects indicate that US-born Black and Hispanic women are at increased risk of racial discrimination compared to their foreign-born counterparts. Women with GDM had statistically higher prevalence of racial discrimination (14%) compared with women without GDM (9%). Racial discrimination was associated with a 57% increased unadjusted risk of GDM (RR = 1.57, 95% CI [1.19, 2.06]) that decreased to 24% after adjusting for all covariates (RR = 1.24, 95% CI [0.87, 1.78]). Discussion: The high proportion of racial/ethnic minority and foreign-born women experiencing racial discrimination, and its potential impact on GDM, underscores the importance of culturally informed screening and intervention approaches by trained professionals.

Association of Friday School Report Card Release With Saturday Incidence Rates of Agency-Verified Physical Child Abuse.

Importance: Corporal punishment is a leading risk factor for physical abuse. Strong anecdotal evidence from physicians and other professionals working in child protection suggest that punishment-initiated physical abuse for school-aged children increases after release of report cards. However, no empirical examination of this association has occurred. Objective: To examine the temporal association between school report card release and incidence rates (IRs) of physical abuse. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective study reviewed calls to a state child abuse hotline and school report card release dates across a single academic year in Florida. Data were collected in a 265-day window from September 8, 2015, to May 30, 2016, in the 64 of 67 Florida counties with report card release dates available (16 960 days). Participants included all children aged 5 to 11 years for whom calls were made. A total of 1943 verified cases of physical abuse were reported in the study period in the 64 counties. Data were analyzed from October 2017 through May 2018. Exposures: School report cards release across a single academic year, measured daily by county. Main Outcomes and Measures: Daily counts of calls to a child abuse hotline that later resulted in agency-verified incidents of child physical abuse across a single academic year by county. Results: During the academic year, 167 906 calls came in to the child abuse hotline for children aged 5 to 11 years; 17.8% (n = 29 887) of these calls were suspected incidents of physical abuse, and 2017 (6.7%) of these suspected incidents were later verified as cases of physical abuse before excluding the 3 counties with no release dates available. Among the 1943 cases included in the analysis (58.9% males [n = 1145]; mean [SD] age, 7.69 [1.92] years), calls resulting in verified reports of child physical abuse occurred at a higher rate on Saturdays after a Friday report card release compared with Saturdays that do not follow a Friday report card release (IR ratio, 3.75; 95% CI, 1.21-11.63; P = .02). No significant association of report card release with IRs was found for any other days of the week. Conclusion and Relevance: This association of school report card release and physical abuse appears to illustrate a unique systems-based opportunity for prevention.