Esko Leskinen

Developmental Dynamics of Math Performance From Preschool to Grade 2

This study investigated the developmental dynamics of mathematical performance during childrens transition from preschool to Grade 2 and the cognitive antecedents of this development. 194 Finnish children were examined 6 times according to their math performance, twice during each year across a 3-year period. Cognitive antecedents, that is, counting ability, visual attention, metacognitive knowledge, and listening comprehension, were tested at the first measurement point. The results indicated that math performance showed high stability and increasing variance over time. Moreover, the growth of math competence was faster among those who entered preschool with an already high level of mathematical skills. The initial level of math performance, as well as its growth, was best predicted by counting ability.

School-Burnout Inventory (SBI) Reliability and Validity

This study introduces a measure for school burnout and examines its validity and reliability among students in upper secondary high schools and vocational schools by using confirmatory factor analysis. School-related burnout comprises three dimensions: (a) exhaustion at school, (b) cynicism toward the meaning of school, and (c) sense of inadequacy at school. A total of 1418 (709 girls, 709 boys) adolescents from 13 postcomprehensive schools (6 upper secondary high schools, 7 vocational schools) filled in a questionnaire concerning their school burnout and background variables. The results showed that the three-factor solution, compared to one- or two-factor solutions, fit the data best and also gave the best reliability indices. The three theoretically-derived dimensions of school burnout were closely related but separate constructs. Finally, concurrent validity for the School-Burnout Inventory (SBI) was found when the correlations of depressive symptoms, school engagement, and academic achievement with e...

Tracking of Physical Activity from Early Childhood through Youth into Adulthood

PURPOSE The aim of the study was to investigate the tracking of physical activity (PA) from preschool age to adulthood in six age cohorts of males and females. METHODS A random sample of 3596 boys and girls age 3-18 yr participated in the Cardiovascular Risks in Young Finns Study in 1980. The follow-up measurements were repeated in 1986, 1992, 2001, and 2007. The PA was measured by mothers report in 3- and 6-yr-olds and self-report in 9-yr-olds and older. Tracking of PA was analyzed using the Spearman rank-order correlation and a simplex model. RESULTS Mother-reported PA at age 3 and 6 yr significantly predicted self-reported PA in youth and in young adulthood, and there was a significant indirect effect of mother report on adult PA 2007 in males. Simplex models that fitted the data very well produced higher stability coefficients than the Spearman rank-order correlations showing moderate or high tracking. The tracking was higher in males than that in females. CONCLUSION This study has shown that physically active lifestyle starts to develop very early in childhood and that the stability of PA is moderate or high along the life course from youth to adulthood.

Stability of habitual physical activity and sport participation: a longitudinal tracking study

Although one of the most important aims of physical education and public sport policy is to encourage life‐long habitual physical activity, very little is known of the stability or tracking of physical activity. As a part of a larger research project called Cardiovascular Risks in Young Finns, the purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the stability (tracking) of leisuretime physical activity and sport participation at intervals of 3, 6, 9 and 12 years from age 9 to 30. The subjects, chosen by stratified random sample, represent five geographical areas of the country and eight gender‐age cohorts (9, 12, 15 and 18 years old in 1980). Physical activity and sport participation were measured using a short questionnaire. Tracking was analysed by Spearmans rank order correlations and by simplex model. The tracking correlations within a 3‐year interval of all individual variables were significant but rather low. The tracking correlations of the sum index of physical activity comprising five variables varied from 0.50 to 0.80 among boys and from 0.40 to 0.61 among girls. Simplex models that fitted the data very well showed higher stability coefficients than rank order correlations. With one exception the correlations of physical activity index within the 12‐year interval were significant but low.

Development of individual differences in reading : Results from longitudinal studies in english and finnish

The authors examined individual differences in reading development in English and Finnish. English-speaking Canadian children were assessed once per year in Grades 1-5, and Finnish children were assessed twice per year in Grades 1-2. Results from latent growth curve and simplex analyses showed that initial status was generally negatively associated with subsequent growth and that, although stable, individual differences were more likely to significantly decrease than to increase across the measurement points. Growth mixture models identified multiple groups of children whose reading development followed distinct patterns. The results indicate that it is possible for educational systems to significantly reduce individual differences in basic reading skills during early reading development.

Longitudinal factor analysis models in the assessment of the stability of sense of coherence

The present study examined the stability of sense of coherence using longitudinal factor analysis models. Sense of coherence was measured by Antonovsky’s [Antonovsky, A. (1987a). Unraveling the mystery of health. How people manage stress and stay well. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.] short-form (13-item) Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ). Analyses were carried out using one-year follow-up data consisting of 219 Finnish employees working in four organizations. A three-step analytic procedure was used. First, a one-factor, a three-factor, and a second-order factor model were specified and compared separately in two measurements. Second, the stability of the constructs in the three alternative models were tested by longitudinal factor analysis models. Third, changes in the level of the latent factors over time were studied. The results showed that the three-factor and the second-order factor model fitted the data better than the one-factor model. Sense of coherence was also found to be a moderately stable personality factor across the one-year period. Mean changes in the latent factors (i.e., total sense of coherence and its three components) over time were not found.

The stability of sense of coherence: comparing two age groups in a 5-year follow-up study

In the original theoretical formulation, Antonovsky (1987a) proposed that sense of coherence is a developmental construct that becomes stabilized at the age of 30. The present 5-year follow-up study was designed to test this hypothesis by investigating the differences in stability in sense of coherence among two age groups the younger group of which consisted of individuals under and the older group of individuals over 30 years of age. The participants were Finnish technical designers (N=352) of whom 40% (n=141) comprised the younger age group (25–29 years) and 60% (n=211) the older age group (35–40 years). The 13-item Orientation to Life Questionnaire (Antonovsky, 1987a) was used to measure sense of coherence at two time points (years 1992 and 1997). The methodology of the study was based on longitudinal factor analysis models using the LISREL framework. The results were not in line with Antonovskys theory: more stability in sense of coherence was not found in the older group of subjects compared with the younger group. In fact, age did not play any role in the stability of, level of or mean changes in sense of coherence. Thus, the findings indicate that Antonovsky’s (1987a, 1991) theory is in need of revision regarding the development and stability of sense of coherence in adulthood.

Testing a model of physical activity and obesity tracking from youth to adulthood: the cardiovascular risk in young Finns study

Objective:To test a potential model of the relationship between physical activity and obesity from youth to adulthood.Design:Longitudinal study data from the cardiovascular risk in young Finns study.Subjects:A total of 1319 boys (n=626) and girls (n=693) aged 9, 12, 15 and 18 years were randomly selected from five university towns and their rural surroundings in 1980. They were followed up for 21 years. In 2001 they were 30, 33, 36 and 39 years old.Measurements:Physical activity was assessed by a short questionnaire at two measurement points. Obesity was measured by body mass index (BMI) and sum of skinfolds in 1980 and BMI and waist circumference in 2001.Results:Structural equation analysis (LISREL) indicated that the prevalence of abdominal obesity in adulthood was directly affected by adult physical activity (beta (β)=−0.16, t=−4.02, P< 0.05 for men, β=−0.12, t=−3.35, P<0.05 for women) and indirectly via youth physical activity (β=−0.10, t=−4.68, P< 0.05 for men, β=−0.07, t=−4.54, P<0.05 for women). Obesity tracked significantly from youth to adulthood (β=0.41, t=11.13, P<0.05 for men, β=0.34, t=9.39, P<0.05 for women). Youth physical activity might reduce body weight in youth but was not directly associated with adult abdominal obesity in either men or women. The model accounted 19% of abdominal obesity in men and 13% in women. The path from youth physical activity to adult obesity through youth obesity seemed to be stronger than the path through adult physical activity.Conclusions:This study lends general support to the hypothesized model that abdominal obesity in adulthood is directly related to adult physical activity and youth overall obesity in both sexes. Youth physical activity had an indirect effect on abdominal obesity through the maintenance of physical activity in adulthood. Participation in and maintaining physical activity from youth to adulthood may have an important role in reducing obesity in adulthood.

Peer Group Influence and Selection in Adolescents' School Burnout: A Longitudinal Study

The present study investigated the extent to which peer group similarity in school burnout is due to peer group influence and the extent to which it is due to peer group selection. Moreover, the roles of academic achievement and gender in school burnout were examined. A total of 611 ninth graders were examined at the beginning of the final term of comprehensive school, and 614 were examined at the end of the final term. The results of the Multilevel Latent Growth Modeling showed that peer group influence was responsible for peer group similarity, but no evidence was found for peer group selection. The results showed further that high academic achievement protected group members against an increase in school burnout.

Measuring Deterioration in International Classification of Functioning Domains of People With Multiple Sclerosis Who Are Ambulatory

Background and Purpose: Measures to detect important effects related to physical therapy interventions must be able to detect an important change. The purpose of this study was to select the most responsive physical functioning measures for multiple sclerosis (MS) using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework. Subjects: The participants were 120 people with MS who were ambulatory from a population-based sample. Methods: Physical functioning was assessed by quantitative clinical measures of activities (n=5) and body functions (n=7) and by self-reported performance in self-care, mobility, and domestic life domains in the activities and participation component of the ICF at baseline and 2 years later. A participants perception of change and a change in Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores were used as external criteria in the analysis of the receiver operating characteristic curve and the minimally important change score. The minimal detectable change was calculated as distribution-based responsiveness. Results: According to the external criteria, 51% of the participants showed deterioration as measured by their own perceptions compared with the 26% of the participants who showed deterioration as rated by the clinician. Regardless of the external criterion applied, the measures most responsive to deterioration were self-reported scores in self-care, mobility, and domestic life; distance walked and change in heart rate during a 6-minute walk test; 10-m walk test speeds, stride length, and cadence; repetitive squatting; and Box and Block Test scores. Discussion and Conclusion: The results show the relative responsiveness of different measures in the subsample who deteriorated and provide data that can facilitate the interpretation of score changes in people with MS who are ambulatory for future studies and in clinical practice.