Valentina Tobia

Specific Learning Disorders A Look Inside Children’s and Parents’ Psychological Well-Being and Relationships

Despite their ascertained neurobiological origin, specific learning disorders (SLD) often have been found to be associated with some emotional disturbances in children, and there is growing interest in the environmental and contextual variables that may modulate children’s developmental trajectories. The present study was aimed at evaluating the psychological profile of parents and children and the relationships between their measures. Parents of children with SLD (17 couples, 34 participants) and parents of children with typical development (17 couples, 34 participants) were administered questionnaires assessing parenting styles, reading history, parenting stress, psychopathological indexes, and evaluations of children’s anxiety and depression. Children (N = 34, 10.7 ± 1.2 years) were assessed with self-evaluation questionnaires on anxiety, depression, and self-esteem and with a scale assessing their perception of parents’ qualities. Results showed that parents of children with SLD have higher parental distress, poorer reading history, and different parenting styles compared to parents of children with TD; there were no differences in psychopathological indexes. The SLD group also rated their children as more anxious and depressed. Children with SLD had lower scholastic and interpersonal self-esteem, but they report ratings of parents’ qualities similar to those of TD children. Relationships between parents’ and children’s measures were further explored. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The Simple View of Reading in Bilingual Language-Minority Children Acquiring a Highly Transparent Second Language.

ABSTRACT The present study evaluated which components within the simple view of reading model better predicted reading comprehension in a sample of bilingual language-minority children exposed to Italian, a highly transparent language, as a second language. The sample included 260 typically developing bilingual children who were attending either the first 2 years (n = 95) or the last 3 years (n = 165) of primary school and who had Italian as an instructional language. Children were administered a comprehensive battery for the assessment of decoding skills, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension latent variables. Results showed that, in both groups, listening comprehension was the most powerful predictor of reading comprehension, followed, only for younger children, by reading accuracy. Reading speed was not a significant predictor. These results confirmed the primary role of listening comprehension in predicting reading comprehension in bilinguals and added important evidence regarding the role of reading accuracy as a predictor of reading comprehension.

The Italian version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) - Teacher: Psychometric properties

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is an instrument developed by Goodman for screening child and adolescent psychopathology. The aim of this study is to contribute to the analysis and validation of the internal structure of the Italian SDQ teacher version (SDQ-T). The SDQ-T was completed by 301 teachers, evaluating 3,302 children aged 3 to 15 years. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) performed on a portion of the sample (n = 1,000) led to five interpretable factors, partially different from the original structure: Items 2 and 10 loaded on the Conduct Problems scale instead of that on the Hyperactivity/Inattention scale. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were performed to compare three different latent structures: the original five-factor structure; a second-order model recently proposed by Goodman, Lamping, and Ploubidis; and structure obtained with the EFA. The latter one showed the best fit. Significant differences by gender and school grade were found. The Italian SDQ-T’s internal structure differed in part from the original instrument; possible causes are discussed.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Parents for Italian School-Aged Children: Psychometric Properties and Norms

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ; (1)] is a multi-informant instrument for screening developmental psychopathology. This study contributes to the validation of the Italian SDQ-Parent version (SDQ-P), analyzing its factorial structure, providing norms and investigating cross-informant agreement (parents-teachers). The SDQ-P and the SDQ-Teacher version (SDQ-T) were completed for 1917 primary and middle school students. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to compare two factorial structures: the original five-factor model and the structure obtained in a past Italian study (2). The original model showed the best fit. Significant differences by gender and school grade were found; norms were provided separately for males and females attending 1st–2nd, 3rd–5th and 6th–8th grades. Finally, the analysis of parent-teacher agreement showed correlations ranging from small (prosocial behavior) to large (hyperactivity-inattention). This study offers some reflections on the best way to use this instrument in a community sample.

Theoretical models of comprehension skills tested through a comprehension assessment battery for primary school children

In this study, two alternative theoretical models were compared, in order to analyze which of them best explains primary school children’s text comprehension skills. The first one was based on the distinction between two types of answers requested by the comprehension test: local or global. The second model involved texts’ input modality: written or oral. For this purpose, a new instrument that assesses listening and reading comprehension skills (ALCE battery; Bonifacci et al., 2014) was administered to a large sample of 1,658 Italian primary school students. The two models were tested separately for the five grades (first to fifth grade). Furthermore, a third model, that included both the types of answers and the texts’ input modality, was considered. Results of confirmatory factor analyses suggested that all models are adequate, but the second one (reading vs. listening) provided a better fit. The major role of the distinction between input modalities is discussed in relation to individual differences and developmental trajectories in text comprehension. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Numerical Magnitude Representation in Children With Mathematical Difficulties With or Without Reading Difficulties

This study aimed to explore the spatial numerical association of response codes (SNARC), the flanker, and the numerical distance effects in children with mathematical difficulties. From a sample of 720 third, fourth, and fifth graders, 60 children were selected and divided into the following three groups: typically developing children (TD; n = 29), children with mathematical difficulties only (MD only; n = 21), and children with mathematical and reading difficulties (MD+RD; n = 10). Children were tested with a numerical Eriksen task that was built to assess SNARC, numerical distance, and flanker (first and second order congruency) effects. Children with MD only showed stronger SNARC and second order congruency effects than did TD children, whereas the numerical distance effects were similar across the three groups. Finally, the first order congruency effect was associated with reading difficulties. These results showed that children with mathematical difficulties with or without reading difficulties were globally more impaired when spatial incompatibilities were presented.

Early Literacy and Numeracy Skills in Bilingual Minority Children: Toward a Relative Independence of Linguistic and Numerical Processing

Many studies have suggested that the concept of “number” is relatively independent from linguistic skills, although an increasing number of studies suggest that language abilities may play a pivotal role in the development of arithmetic skills. The condition of bilingualism can offer a unique perspective into the role of linguistic competence in numerical development. The present study was aimed at evaluating the relationship between language skills and early numeracy through a multilevel investigation in monolingual and bilingual minority children attending preschool. The sample included 156 preschool children. Of these, 77 were bilingual minority children (mean age = 58.27 ± 5.90), and 79 were monolinguals (mean age = 58.45 ± 6.03). The study focused on three levels of analysis: group differences in language and number skills, concurrent linguistic predictors of early numeracy and, finally, profile analysis of linguistic skills in children with impaired vs. adequate numeracy skills. The results showed that, apart from the expected differences in linguistic measures, bilinguals differed from monolinguals in numerical skills with a verbal component, such as semantic knowledge of digits, but they did not differ in a pure non-verbal component such as quantity comparison. The multigroup structural equation model indicated that letter knowledge was a significant predictor of the verbal component of numeracy for both groups. Phonological awareness was a significant predictor of numeracy skills only in the monolingual group. Profile analysis showed that children with a selective weakness in the non-verbal component of numeracy had fully adequate verbal skills. Results from the present study suggest that only some specific components of language competence predict numerical processing, although linguistic proficiency may not be a prerequisite for developing adequate early numeracy skills.

Reading under the skin: physiological activation during reading in children with dyslexia and typical readers

The aim of this study was to investigate physiological activation during reading and control tasks in children with dyslexia and typical readers. Skin conductance response (SCR) recorded during four tasks involving reading aloud, reading silently, and describing illustrated stories aloud and silently was compared for children with dyslexia (n = 16) and a control group of typical readers (n = 16). Children’s school wellness was measured through self- and parent-proxy reports. Significantly lower SCR was found for dyslexic children in the reading-aloud task, compared to the control group, whereas all participants showed similar physiological reactions to the other experimental conditions. SCR registered during reading tasks correlated with “Child’s emotional difficulties,” as reported by parents. Possible interpretations of the lower activation during reading aloud in dyslexic children are discussed.

Il benessere nei bambini con disturbi specifici dell'apprendimento e nei loro genitori : uno studio pilota con il questionario sul benessere scolastico : versione per genitori

Alcuni studi mostrano come alle difficolta scolastiche dei bambini con Disturbi Specifici dell’Apprendimento (DSA), si affiancano difficolta di natura emotiva, comportamentale e relazionale, che vanno ad influenzare il benessere psicologico dei bambini stessi e dei loro genitori. In questo articolo vengono analizzati i risultati della somministrazione del Questionario sul Benessere Scolastico-versione per genitori (QBS-G), che valuta diversi aspetti dell’integrazione scolastica dei bambini con DSA e i vissuti dei loro genitori. In questo studio pilota viene misurata la validita della struttura interna del questionario con un’analisi fattoriale confermativa che mostra risultati accettabili; anche i punteggi di omogeneita interna delle singole sottoscale e del punteggio totale danno risultati da sufficienti a ottimi. I punteggi del questionario ottenuti dai genitori di bambini con DSA (n = 164) vengono confrontati con quelli di genitori di bambini con sviluppo tipico (n = 59), mostrando differenze significative. L’analisi del solo gruppo di genitori con figli con DSA evidenzia delle differenze nei punteggi in base al numero di disturbi in comorbilita (sottoscala Valutazione degli apprendimenti) e all’aver preso parte o meno ad un intervento (sottoscala Rapporto con scuola e insegnanti). Nell’articolo vengono discusse le implicazioni del benessere scolastico in relazione alla valutazione e al trattamento dei bambini con DSA. Parole chiave: Disturbi specifici dell’apprendimento, difficolta d’apprendimento, benessere scolastico, genitori. Abstract Few studies reported emotional, behavioural and relational difficulties in children with Specific Learning Difficulties (SLD), associated with a decline in school wellness. Furthermore, children’s difficulties also afflict parents’ wellness. In this study the results from the first administration of the Questionnaire on the School Wellness-parents’ version (QSW-P), are described. The questionnaire’s internal structure is analyzed using a confirmatory factor analysis, that showed acceptable fit indices. Furthermore, the validity analysis showed good psychometric properties of the instrument. The scores from the QSW-P administered to parents whose children have a diagnosis of SLD (n = 164) were compared to questionnaires of parents of children with typical development (n = 59): the two groups showed significant difference in some sub-scales of the questionnaire. Analyses run on the SLD group, showed differences in the QSW-P scores based on comorbidity (subscale Evaluation of learning processes) and on taking part in an intervention (subscale Relationship with teachers and school). The results of the QSWP in relationship with assessment and treatment of children with SLD are discussed.