Emily Freeman

Preventing and treating childhood obesity: time to target fathers

Objective:To examine the long-term effects of having one overweight or obese parent on child weight status and determine whether these effects vary according to parent sex.Design:Prospective study: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC).Subjects:Two-parent families (N=3285) from the LSAC were included if height and weight data were available for both parents and their child at the 2004 and 2008 time points.Measurements:Child weight status category (healthy, overweight, obese) in 2008 when the child was aged 8–9 years. Regression modelling was used to investigate how self-reported parent weight status in 2004 influenced measured child weight status 4 years later.Results:Parent body mass index (BMI) was significantly correlated with child BMI, but there was no evidence of sex-specific associations between parent and child BMI correlations. The results from the regression analysis showed that having an overweight or obese father, but a healthy weight mother, significantly increased the odds of child obesity (odds ratio: 4.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–17.33 and odds ratio: 14.88, 95% CI: 2.61–84.77, respectively), but the reverse scenario (overweight or obese mother with a healthy weight father) was not a significant predictor of child overweight or obesity (odds ratio: 2.52, 95% CI: 0.38–16.71 and odds ratio: 2.56, 95% CI: 0.31–21.26, respectively).Conclusions:Children with overweight or obese fathers are at a higher risk of becoming obese. This suggests that interventions are urgently required to test the efficacy of treating overweight fathers as a key strategy for childhood obesity prevention and/or treatment.

Rough and tumble play quality: theoretical foundations for a new measure of father-child interaction

Energetic, competitive, body-contact play (rough and tumble play (RTP)) is commonly observed among young children and is reported as an important feature of father–child relationships. Animal studies have demonstrated positive developmental effects of peer–peer play-wrestling, influencing cognitive and social outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the nature of RTP between father and child and its relationship to child development and to describe a theoretically informed measure of the quality of father–child RTP.

A dissociation between similarity effects in episodic face recognition

University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia Memory similarity, the similarity between a test lure and memory traces, reduces confidence and accuracy in all forms of recognition memory. In contrast, Tulving (1981) showed that, in recognition memory for scenic pictures, choice similarity, the similarity between forced choice test alternatives, increased accuracy but decreased confidence. In the present study, we replicated both memory and choice similarity effects and the dissociation between accuracy and confidence with pictures of faces. State-trace analysis confirmed the dissociation and identified two dimensions underlying these effects, one associated with choice similarity and another associated with memory similarity. Further analysis showed that the effect of study—test lag was associated with the memory-similarity dimension.

Father-Child Interactions and Children's Risk of Injury.

Unintentional injury is an important cause of infant and child hospitalisation and parents play a key role in reducing childrens risk-taking behaviour. Studies show that maternal and paternal parenting and supervision of children differ, but there is little research showing how fathers’ parenting may influence childrens tendency to engage in risk-taking behaviour. Recent theoretical developments suggest that fathers parenting may be particularly effective in encouraging safe risk taking. In this study, we examine how well parenting practices typically undertaken by fathers predict rates of childrens injury risk at three years. Questionnaire data were collected from 46 fathers. Results show that both duration of rough-and-tumble play and fathers’ encouragement of perseverance predicted lower rates of injury behaviours, while their stimulation of risk taking predicted higher rates of injury behaviours. The results are discussed in the light of developmentally appropriate risk taking and fathering.

MEASUREMENT OF FATHER–CHILD ROUGH‐AND‐TUMBLE PLAY AND ITS RELATIONS TO CHILD BEHAVIOR

Although there is increasing evidence of paternal influence on child outcomes such as language and cognition, researchers are not yet clear on the features of father-child play that are most valuable in terms of child development. Physical play such as rough and tumble play (RTP) is a favored type of father-child play in Western societies that has been linked to childrens socioemotional competence. It is important, therefore, to determine the implications of this play for child development. In this review and meta-analysis, associations between father-child physical play and child behavior were examined. The review also focused on study methods. Sixteen studies are reviewed, N = 1,521 father-child dyads, 35% boys. Study characteristics such as definitions of physical play, play settings, play measures, and coding were examined. The meta-analysis found weak to moderate population effects for links between father-child physical play and child aggression, social competence, emotional skills, and self-regulation. Research investigating the effect of father-child physical play on childrens development will be improved when definitions clearly identify the nature of play, settings facilitate boisterous play, and measures include frequency and quality of play interactions. This play shows promise as an enhancer of positive father-child relationships and a catalyst for child development.

Does accuracy and confidence in working memory performance relate to academic achievement in NAPLAN, the Australian national curriculum assessment?

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to examine how accuracy and confidence in working memory performance relates to academic achievement as assessed in the Australian national curriculum assessment (National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)). Method A total of 150 Australian schoolchildren enrolled in Year 4 participated in the study. Accuracy and confidence in performance of a working memory task were assessed. Associations between these working memory measurements and scores in each of the NAPLAN domains (numeracy, reading, persuasive writing, grammar, and spelling) were examined, separately for males and females. Results Accuracy in working memory performance was associated with achievement in all five NAPLAN domains, in both males and females. Confidence in working memory performance was also related to achievement, but the pattern of results differed for males and females. For females, significant associations were found between confidence and achievement in numeracy, reading, writing, and spelling. For males, confidence was associated with achievement in numeracy only. Females outperformed males in persuasive writing. There was a non‐significant trend for males to outperform females in numeracy. Conclusion The strong links between working memory and achievement highlight the importance of early detection of working memory problems. Further research is needed to examine the extent to which the pattern of results generalises to other year levels.

Working Memory Power Test for Children

Low working memory (WM) capacity has been linked to poor academic performance and problem behavior. Availability of easy-to-administer screening tests would facilitate early detection of WM deficits. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Working Memory Power Test for Children (WMPT) in 170 Australian schoolchildren (8½-11 years). Reliability (internal consistency) and validity of WMPT accuracy scores were examined. WMPT accuracy predicted achievement in reading, numeracy, and spelling. The results provide preliminary evidence of reliability and validity that supports interpretation of the WMPT accuracy score. With additional research, the WMPT could be valuable as an easy-to-administer screener for WM deficits.