Cathelijne L. Mieloo

Prevalence of bullying and victimization among children in early elementary school : Do family and school neighbourhood socioeconomic status matter?

BackgroundBullying and victimization are widespread phenomena in childhood and can have a serious impact on well-being. Children from families with a low socioeconomic background have an increased risk of this behaviour, but it is unknown whether socioeconomic status (SES) of school neighbourhoods is also related to bullying behaviour. Furthermore, as previous bullying research mainly focused on older children and adolescents, it remains unclear to what extent bullying and victimization affects the lives of younger children. The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence and socioeconomic disparities in bullying behaviour among young elementary school children.MethodsThe study was part of a population-based survey in the Netherlands. Teacher reports of bullying behaviour and indicators of SES of families and schools were available for 6379 children aged 5–6 years.ResultsOne-third of the children were involved in bullying, most of them as bullies (17%) or bully-victims (13%), and less as pure victims (4%). All indicators of low family SES and poor school neighbourhood SES were associated with an increased risk of being a bully or bully-victim. Parental educational level was the only indicator of SES related with victimization. The influence of school neighbourhood SES on bullying attenuated to statistical non-significance once adjusted for family SES.ConclusionsBullying and victimization are already common problems in early elementary school. Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, rather than children visiting schools in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, have a particularly high risk of involvement in bullying. These findings suggest the need of timely bullying preventions and interventions that should have a special focus on children of families with a low socioeconomic background. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of such programs.

Validity and Reliability of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in 5–6 Year Olds: Differences by Gender or by Parental Education?

Introduction The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a relatively short instrument developed to detect psychosocial problems in children aged 3–16 years. It addresses four dimensions: emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention problems, peer problems that count up to the total difficulties score, and a fifth dimension; prosocial behaviour. The validity and reliability of the SDQ has not been fully investigated in younger age groups. Therefore, this study assesses the validity and reliability of the parent and teacher versions of the SDQ in children aged 5–6 years in the total sample, and in subgroups according to child gender and parental education level. Methods The SDQ was administered as part of the Dutch regularly provided preventive health check for children aged 5–6 years. Parents provided information on 4750 children and teachers on 4516 children. Results Factor analyses of the parent and teacher SDQ confirmed that the original five scales were present (parent RMSEA = 0.05; teacher RMSEA = 0.07). Interrater correlations between parents and teachers were small (ICCs of 0.21–0.44) but comparable to what is generally found for psychosocial problem assessments in children. These correlations were larger for males than for females. Cronbach’s alphas for the total difficulties score were 0.77 for the parent SDQ and 0.81 for the teacher SDQ. Four of the subscales on the parent SDQ and two of the subscales on the teacher SDQ had an alpha <0.70. Alphas were generally higher for male children and for low parental education level. Discussion The validity and reliability of the total difficulties score of the parent and teacher SDQ are satisfactory in all groups by informant, child gender, and parental education level. Our results support the use of the SDQ in younger age groups. However, some subscales are less reliable and we recommend only to use the total difficulties score for screening purposes.

Validation of the SDQ in a multi-ethnic population of young children

BACKGROUND The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a valuable screening tool for identifying psychosocial problems. Its performance in a multi-ethnic society, common to many paediatric health care workers, has not been investigated. Because it is important that screening instruments are valid and reliable for all ethnic groups within one society, we examined differences in the SDQs psychometric properties in a multi-ethnic society. METHODS The SDQ parent (n = 8114) and teacher form (n = 9355) were completed as part of a preventive health check for children aged 5-6 years of Dutch and non-Dutch ethnic backgrounds. The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL)/Teacher Report Form (TRF) was administered to a subsample. RESULTS Factor analysis of the parent-rated SDQ showed different rating patterns for two of the five subscales for non-Dutch children as compared with Dutch children. Cronbachs alpha for the total difficulties score varied by ethnic group (0.73-0.78 parent-rated SDQ, 0.80-0.83 teacher-rated SDQ), and coefficients were generally smaller for non-Dutch than for Dutch children (P < 0.05). Alpha coefficients for subscales varied between 0.31-0.85 for ethnic groups. Inter-rater correlations between parents and teachers for the total difficulties score varied between 0.20-0.41 between ethnic groups and were larger for Dutch than for non-Dutch children (P < 0.05). Concurrent validity was acceptable for most scales and most ethnic groups. CONCLUSION The total difficulties score of the parent- and teacher-rated SDQ is valid and reliable for different ethnic groups within Dutch society. However, there are differences in reliability and validity of the subscales, which makes interpretation of the subscales difficult for certain ethnic groups.

Teacher and Peer Reports of Overweight and Bullying Among Young Primary School Children

BACKGROUND: Overweight is a potential risk factor for peer victimization in late childhood and adolescence. The current study investigated the association between BMI in early primary school and different bullying involvement roles (uninvolved, bully, victim, and bully–victim) as reported by teachers and children themselves. METHODS: In a population-based study in the Netherlands, measured BMI and teacher-reported bullying behavior were available for 4364 children (mean age = 6.2 years). In a subsample of 1327 children, a peer nomination method was used to obtain child reports of bullying. RESULTS: In both teacher- and child-reported data, a higher BMI was associated with more victimization and more bullying perpetration. For instance, a 1-point increase in BMI was associated with a 0.05 increase on the standardized teacher-reported victimization score (95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.07; P < .001). Combining the victimization and bullying scores into different types of bullying involvement showed that children with obesity, but not children with overweight, had a significantly higher risk to be a bully–victim (odds ratio = 2.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.62 to 3.14) than normal-weight peers. CONCLUSIONS: At school entry, a high BMI is a risk factor associated with victimization and bullying perpetration, with obese children particularly likely to be victims and aggressors. Results were consistent for teacher and child reports of bullying, supporting the validity of our findings. Possibly, obesity triggers peer problems, but the association may also reflect a common underlying cause that makes obese children vulnerable to bullying involvement.

Risky Music Listening, Permanent Tinnitus and Depression, Anxiety, Thoughts about Suicide and Adverse General Health

Objective To estimate the extent to which exposure to music through earphones or headphones with MP3 players or at discotheques and pop/rock concerts exceeded current occupational safety standards for noise exposure, to examine the extent to which temporary and permanent hearing-related symptoms were reported, and to examine whether the experience of permanent symptoms was associated with adverse perceived general and mental health, symptoms of depression, and thoughts about suicide. Methods A total of 943 students in Dutch inner-city senior-secondary vocational schools completed questionnaires about their sociodemographics, music listening behaviors and health. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations. Results About 60% exceeded safety standards for occupational noise exposure; about one third as a result of listening to MP3 players. About 10% of the participants experienced permanent hearing-related symptoms. Temporary hearing symptoms that occurred after using an MP3 player or going to a discotheque or pop/rock concert were associated with exposure to high-volume music. However, compared to participants not experiencing permanent hearing-related symptoms, those experiencing permanent symptoms were less often exposed to high volume music. Furthermore, they reported at least two times more often symptoms of depression, thoughts about suicide and adverse self-assessed general and mental health. Conclusions Risky music-listening behaviors continue up to at least the age of 25 years. Permanent hearing-related symptoms are associated with people’s health and wellbeing. Participants experiencing such symptoms appeared to have changed their behavior to be less risky. In order to induce behavior change before permanent and irreversible hearing-related symptoms occur, preventive measurements concerning hearing health are needed.

Ethnic differences in problem perception and perceived need for care for young children with problem behaviour

BACKGROUND  Problem perception and perceived need for professional care are important determinants that can contribute to ethnic differences in the use of mental health care. Therefore, we studied ethnic differences in problem perception and perceived need for professional care in the parents and teachers of 5- to 6-year-old children from the general population who were selected for having emotional and behavioural problems. METHODS A cross-sectional study with data of 10,951 children from grade two of the elementary schools in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond area, The Netherlands. Parents and teachers completed the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) as well as questions on problem perception and perceived need for care. The SDQ was used to identify children with emotional and behavioural problems. We included Dutch, Surinamese, Antillean, Moroccan and Turkish children in our sample with high (>P90) SDQ scores (N = 1,215), who were not currently receiving professional care for their problems. RESULTS Amongst children with high SDQ scores, problem perception was lower in non-Dutch parents than in Dutch parents (49% vs. 81%, p < 0.01). These lower rates of problem perception could not be explained by differences in socioeconomic position or severity of the problems. No ethnic differences were found in parental perceived need and in problem perception and perceived need reported by teachers. Higher levels of problem perception and perceived need were reported by teachers than by parents in all ethnic groups (PP: 87% vs. 63% and PN: 48% vs. 23%). CONCLUSIONS Child health professionals should be aware of ethnic variations in problem perception as low problem perception in parents of non-Dutch children may lead to miscommunication and unmet need for professional care for the child.

Risky Music-Listening Behaviors and Associated Health-Risk Behaviors

OBJECTIVE: To examine, among adolescents and emerging adults attending inner-city lower education, associations between risky music-listening behaviors (from MP3 players and in discotheques and at pop concerts) and more traditional health-risk behaviors: substance use (cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis, and hard drugs) and unsafe sexual intercourse. METHODS: A total of 944 students in Dutch inner-city senior-secondary vocational schools completed questionnaires about their music-listening and traditional health-risk behaviors. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between music-listening and traditional health-risk behaviors. RESULTS: Risky MP3-player listeners used cannabis more often during the past 4 weeks. Students exposed to risky sound levels during discotheque and pop concert attendance used cannabis less often during the past 4 weeks, were more often binge drinkers, and reported inconsistent condom use during sexual intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: The coexistence of risky music-listening behaviors with other health-risk behaviors provides evidence in support of the integration of risky music-listening behaviors within research on and programs aimed at reducing more traditional health-risk behaviors, such as substance abuse and unsafe sexual intercourse.

Screening accuracy and clinical application of the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA).

Background The Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) is a promising questionnaire for the early detection of psychosocial problems in toddlers. The screening accuracy and clinical application were evaluated. Methods In a community sample of 2-year-olds (N = 2060), screening accuracy of the BITSEA Problem scale was examined regarding a clinical CBCL1.5-5 Total Problem score. For the total population and subgroups by child’s gender and ethnicity Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated, and across a range of BITSEA Problem scores, sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio’s, diagnostic odds ratio and Youden’s index. Clinical application of the BITSEA was examined by evaluating the relation between the scale scores and the clinical decision of the child health professional. Results The area under the ROC curve (95% confidence interval) of the Problem scale was 0.97(0.95–0.98), there were no significant differences between subgroups. The association between clinical decision and BITSEA Problem score (B = 2.5) and Competence score (B = −0.7) was significant (p<0.05). Conclusions The results indicate that the BITSEA Problem scale has good discriminative power to differentiate children with and without psychosocial problems. Referred children had less favourable scores compared to children that were not referred. The BITSEA may be helpful in the early detection of psychosocial problems.

Seasonal variation in self-reported health and health-related behaviour in Dutch adolescents

Youth health surveys are often used to collect data on the prevalence of health and health-related behaviour. As well as using various methods of data collection (e.g. self-administered questionnaires or interviews, l paper-and-pencil or web-based tests) and different settings (e.g. school or household), studies also take place in different seasons. Collecting data at different times of the year raises the issue of seasonal variation in youth health surveys. Knowledge of seasonal variation in health and health-related behaviour is important for the design of (epidemiological) studies and when comparing data from other youth surveys. To date, the issue of seasonality has rarely been investigated for youth health surveys. A few studies exist on mental diagnostic outcomes. Kovalenko et al. found significant annual variations for overanxious disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social phobia and major depressive disorder, with the lowest symptom scores in August-October.1 Weak seasonal variation was found for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and marijuana use. No significant seasonality was found for alcohol, other substance use,

Gezondheid en leefstijl van scholieren op het ROC vraagt om aandacht

Gezondheidsverschillen tussen laag en hoog opgeleiden zijn groot en hardnekkig. Investeren in de gezondheid van de jeugd op lagere opleidingsniveaus is dan ook van groot belang om deze gezondheidsverschillen aan te pakken. Scholen werken steeds vaker op een gestructureerde manier aan gezondheid. Opmerkelijk is dat hier op ROC’s nog weinig aan wordt gedaan. Daarnaast is er weinig bekend over de gezondheidssituatie van ROC-leerlingen. Om inzicht te krijgen in de gezondheidssituatie zijn schriftelijke anonieme enquêtes uitgezet op twee grote ROC-locaties in Rotterdam. De vragenlijst is ingevuld door 956 leerlingen (respons 78%) van verschillende opleidingen. Met behulp van logistische regressie is bepaald of er verschillen zijn in gezondheidsvariabelen naar geslacht en opleiding. Een aanzienlijk percentage leerlingen op het ROC heeft te maken met problemen op het gebied van (psychische) gezondheid en leefstijl. Jongens geven minder vaak aan een slechte psychische gezondheid te hebben dan meisjes (26% versus 40%), maar zeggen vaker een ongezonde leefstijl te hebben en scoren minder goed op gedragsindicatoren. Ook blijken er grote verschillen te zijn tussen de opleidingen binnen het ROC. Het lijkt erop dat ‘de ROC-leerling’ niet bestaat. Het is daarom belangrijk om bij gezondheidsbeleid op ROC’s rekening te houden met grote verschillen in omvang en aard van gezondheidsproblemen tussen de opleidingen.Trefwoorden: ROC, gezondheid, leefstijl, gezondheidsbeleid, gezondheidsverschillen, jongerenAbstractHealth and Lifestyle of ROC Students Demands Attention! Health inequalities between low and high educated are large and persistent. Investing in youth health is of great importance to overcome these inequalities. Primary and secondary schools already work in a structured manner on health and safety. Remarkable is that ROC’s do not give much attention to the health status of their students. To gain more insight in the health situation of ROC students, the students of two large ROC’s were asked to fill out an anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire was returned by 956 students (response 78%). Logistic regression was used to determine differences in health behaviour between groups by gender and by field of education. A high percentage of the ROC students has problems in the area of (psychological) health and lifestyle. Boys indicate less often to have a bad psychological health than girls (26% versus 40%), but they indicate more often to have lifestyle and behavioural problems. There also appear to be large inequalities between the different fields of education. It seems that the ‘ROC student’ as such does not exist. Therefore it is important for health policy at ROC’s to take these difference into account.