Giselle B. Esquivel

A Longitudinal Study of the Social and Academic Competence of Economically Disadvantaged Bilingual Preschool Children.

This longitudinal study was conducted to gain understanding of the social-emotional and academic development of economically disadvantaged bilingual preschool children. In Study 1, the authors combined cognitive, psychosocial, and cultural-linguistic factors to determine profiles of social competence as measured by peer play. A person-centered analysis of 207 Hispanic American preschoolers (ages 4 and 5 years) yielded 6 distinct profiles, 2 of which were socially competent and 1 of which was vulnerable. Findings revealed profile differences in social competence and a significant relationship between bilingualism and social-emotional development. In Study 2, the authors determined which profiles were associated with later academic achievement and growth of English proficiency. Findings indicated a significant relationship of early social-emotional development to later academic success and English acquisition, highlighting the role of bilingualism.

Play and social skills in maltreated and non-maltreated preschoolers during peer interactions

OBJECTIVE The goal of the study was to investigate whether maltreated children differ from nonmaltreated children with regard to their social skills and play behaviors. METHOD The social skills and free-play behaviors of 30 3- to 5-year-old maltreated and nonmaltreated children were compared. Fifteen children with a range of maltreatment experiences drawn from a hospital-based therapeutic nursery treatment program and 15 demographically similar children drawn from a home-based Head Start program participated in the study. All children were of low socioeconomic status. Childrens free-play peer interactions were videotaped during the first 3 months of attendance in either program and analyzed along social and cognitive dimensions. Teachers and therapists rated childrens social skills in peer interactions. RESULTS Maltreated children were found to have significantly poorer skill in initiating interactions with peers and maintaining self-control, as well as a greater number of problem behaviors. Significant differences were not found between groups with regard to social participation or cognitive level of play. Significant correlations of moderate strength were found between social participation in play and social skills for the sample as a whole: total social skills score was positively related to interactive play, and negatively related to solitary play. CONCLUSION The results suggest that the experience of maltreatment has a negative impact on childrens developing interpersonal skills above and beyond the influence of factors associated with low socioeconomic status and other environmental stressors.

Creativity Styles and Personal Type

Sixty-two student teachers enrolled in an initial teacher education program in a medium-sized, metropolitan university completed the Kirton (1976) Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI), the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI; Briggs & Myers, 1976), and Khatena and Torrances (1976) What-Kind-of-Person-Are-You checklist. Path analyses revealed a strong causal link between KAI innovator style and creative self-perceptions. Of the MBTI introversion, intuitive, thinking, and perceiver types, only intuitiveness exhibited a total causal link to creative self-perception that came close to the KAI. Creativity, personality, and cognitive style literatures are diverse and more research is suggested, although the KAI instrument appeared to be an effective predictor of scores on a creative self-perception measure.

The creative skills of culturally and linguistically diverse gifted students

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the creative abilities of culturally and linguistically diverse students. The relationships among creativity and achievement, intelligence, nonverbal reasoning, and instructional climate were also examined. For the pupils in this study, moderate correlations were found between creativity and intelligence and between creativity and reading achievement. A low correlation was found between creativity and nonverbal‐reasoning skills. Significant relationships were found between creativity and several classroom variables. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of identifying gifted youth from culturally and linguistically different backgrounds.

CORRELATIONS AMONG MEASURES OF COGNITIVE ABILITY, CREATIVITY, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FOR GIFTED MINORITY CHILDREN '

This study explored the correlations among nonverbal reasoning ability, creativity, and academic achievement in gifted minority children, 89 girls and 71 boys in Grades 1 through 8 in a program for gifted. A random half of students from all grade levels were tested at the beginning of the year and the remaining half after 7 mo. with Raven Progressive Matrices, Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, and the California Achievement Test. Pearson correlations reflected limited relations among these variables except for a significant positive value between creativity and reading achievement. Suggestions for further study and implications for identification procedures and program development were provided.

Resilience among At‐Risk Hispanic American Preschool Children

Abstract:  This study combines cognitive (i.e., intelligence), psychosocial (i.e., inhibition, activity level, negative emotionality, emotion regulation, autonomy), and cultural–linguistic factors (i.e., level of acculturation and bilingualism) to determine patterns of resilience and vulnerability among 207 economically disadvantaged Hispanic American preschool children, from 50 early childhood classrooms, as gauged by their social competence during peer play. Person‐oriented analysis yielded six distinct profiles, two profiles of which were resilient and one identified as vulnerable. Results of this study revealed within‐group differences in resilience among these children and the significant role bilingualism and maintenance of the home language play in their social–emotional development.

Spiritual Wellness as a Protective Factor in Predicting Depression Among Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study examined the predictive power of spiritual wellness on depression in 83 mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders. Spiritual wellness is a multidimensional construct that consists of four components: meaning and purpose in life, inner resources, transcendence, and positive interconnectedness. Each of the four spiritual components of spiritual wellness was investigated to determine their respective predictive power in predicting lower depression symptoms. Spiritual wellness components that were found to be significant predictors of lower depression symptoms in mothers were identified as protective factors. A hierarchical regression revealed that the spiritual wellness components of meaning and purpose in life and inner resources were significant predictors of lower depression symptoms and therefore served as protective factors in maternal depression. The findings of this study provide direction for future research to investigate how these spiritual wellness components can be incorporated into counseling and the design of interventions for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders.