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In the near future, the vertical dimension of housing will become increasingly important. But high-rise housing is still being seen as not only inconvenient but also as inappropriate for young family households. This article aims to contribute to the vertical turn in the urbanism debate from a family point of view. The focus is on large western-industrialized cities. This literature-based article consists of two parts. The first part starts with the deconstructing of families’ position in urban high-rises. It is argued that young families have an “uneasy” relationship with urban high-rises due to the neglected presence of children. The dichotomous ways in which we define children and cities ultimately define city children and vertical living families as out-of-place. The second part of the article searches for ways to reconstruct families’ relationships with high-rises. Based on an analysis of the literature, problems of vertical family living are identified, and possible solutions are discussed on both the geographical scale level of the apartment and the building. The summarized conclusion from the literature is that vertical apartment living and happy family life are not necessarily at odds. The building of family-inclusive high-rises is both in the benefit of urban-oriented families and cities.

Background: There is a paucity of studies, especially among diverse populations, demonstrating the effects of policy and environmental interventions to increase regular physical activity. The Grow Healthy Together Chattanooga project provided the opportunity to assess the impact of physical activity policy and environmental interventions on the physical activity among predominately African American children living in the inner city. Methods: Using the System for Observing Physical Activity and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC), the authors examined the physical activity of children along urban pedestrian/bike routes/trails and recreational park areas within the boundaries of the Grow Healthy Together Chattanooga communities. SOPARC data were collected at baseline (fall 2010/spring 2011) and repeated (spring 2014) in each community. Results: The SOPARC assessments yielded a total of 692 child/youth observations in 2010 and 806 observations in 2014. Children/youth observed in 2014 were greater than 2 times the odds of engaging in moderate/vigorous physical activity compared with their 2010 counterparts (odds ratio = 2.75, 95% confidence interval, 1.43–5.32). Conclusions: The present findings support the hypothesis that policy and environmental interventions can contribute to increased physical activity levels among children/youth over ∼3-year period. These results provide evidence that improved access to "urban" pedestrian/bicycle routes/trails appears to translate into increased opportunities for physical activity among inner city children/youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who regard nature as important and personally meaningful are often compelled to conserve it. This compulsion is increasingly vital in a world where global climate and biodiversity crises are worsening, with younger generations set to bear most of the resulting ecological burden. By understanding why children and adolescents value nature, we can gain insights into how they might act for its benefit. In this study, we asked over 1000 Australian students (aged 8–14) to explain why 'nature' was—or was not—important to them. Qualitative responses were gathered via a survey methodology using an online questionnaire, with thematic analysis used to identify key findings. Results show that respondents valued nature for its ability to keep humans alive and resourced, also appreciating nature as beautiful and relaxing. Respondents frequently commented on how nature made them feel: happiness, love, freedom, and calm featured prominently. A small number of students reported ambivalence about nature, or even feelings of fear. These results demonstrate substantial depth to students' understandings of nature and the ways they choose to engage with their surroundings. Encompassing a diversity of perspectives on nature allows us to better engage with youth on environmental matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early‐life conditions shape childhood growth and are affected by urbanization and the nutritional transition. To investigate how early‐life conditions (across the "first" and "second" 1000 days) are associated with rural and urban children's nutritional status, we analyzed anthropometric data from Maya children in Yucatan, Mexico. We collected weight, height and triceps skinfold measures, then computed body mass and fat mass indices (BMI/FMI), in a cross‐sectional sample of 6‐year‐olds (urban n = 72, rural n = 66). Demographic, socioeconomic and early‐life variables (birthweight/mode, rural/urban residence, household crowding) were collected by maternal interview. We statistically analyzed rural‐urban differences in demographic, socioeconomic, early‐life, and anthropometric variables, then created linear mixed models to evaluate associations between early‐life variables and child anthropometric outcomes. Two‐way interactions were tested between early‐life variables and child sex, and between early‐life variables and rural‐urban residence. Results showed that rural children were shorter‐statured, with lower overweight/obesity and cesarean delivery rates, compared to urban children. Household crowding was a negative predictor of anthropometric outcomes; the strongest effect was in boys and in urban children. Birthweight positively predicted anthropometric outcomes, especially weight/BMI. Birth mode was positively (not statistically) associated with any anthropometric outcome. Cesarean delivery was more common in boys than in girls, and predicted increased height in urban boys. In conclusion, urbanization and household crowding were the most powerful predictors of Maya 6‐year‐old anthropometry. The negative effects of crowding may disproportionately affect Maya boys versus girls and urban versus rural children. Early‐life conditions shape Maya children's nutritional status both in the "first" and "second" 1000 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioeconomic Status (SES) has been linked to the development of Executive Functions (EF) usually by means of parental education and family income. Living conditions related to urbanization characteristics are rarely considered. This cross-sectional study investigated the performance in EF tasks of 99 Brazilian children aged 6 to 8 years residing in rural and urban regions. Results showed that children who lived in the rural area performed better than those who lived in the industrial city in the working memory and inhibitory tasks. Social interactions and urbanization conditions, such as parent occupations and social stratification, may explain these differences. Therefore, urbanization conditions of locations where families live should be considered in future studies concerning the influences of SES in EF development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health-related fitness (HRF) and motor coordination (MC) can be influenced by children's environment and lifestyle behavior. This study evaluates the association between living environment and HRF, MC, and physical and sedentary activities of children in Suriname. Methods: Tests were performed for HRF (morphological, muscular, and cardiorespiratory component), gross MC (Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder), fine MC (Movement Assessment Battery for Children), and self-reported activities in 79 urban and 77 rural 7-year-old Maroon children. Urban-rural differences were calculated by an independent sample t test (Mann-Whitney U test if not normally distributed) and χ2 test. Results: No difference was found in body mass index, muscle strength, and the overall score of gross and fine MC. However, urban children scored lower in HRF on the cardiorespiratory component (P ≤ .001), in gross MC on walking backward (P = .014), and jumping sideways (P = 0.011). They scored higher in the gross MC component moving sideways (P ≤ .001) and lower in fine MC on the trail test (P = .036) and reported significantly more sedentary and fewer physical activities than rural children. Conclusions: Living environment was associated with certain components of HRF, MC, and physical and sedentary activities of 7-year-old children in Suriname. Further research is needed to evaluate the development of urban children to provide information for possible intervention and prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Compared to urban children, children living in rural areas of most countries, including China, are at higher risk of suffering unintentional injuries. Most proven injury prevention interventions, however, are rarely implemented in rural China due to lack of resources. Mobile health interventions are low-cost and easy-to-implement, facilitating implementing injury prevention in resource-limited areas (e.g., rural areas). This study is designed and implemented to examine the effectiveness of an app-based intervention for unintentional injury prevention among rural preschoolers in China.Methods: A single-blind, 18-month, parallel-group cluster randomized controlled trial with 1:1 allocation ratio will be implemented in 2 rural areas of China (Yang County, Shaanxi Province, and Shicheng County, Jiangxi Province). In total, at least 3508 rural caregivers of preschoolers aged 3-6 years old who own a smartphone will be recruited from 24 preschools. Clusters will be randomized at the preschool level and allocated to the control group (receiving routine school-based education plus app-based parenting education excluding unintentional injury prevention) or the intervention group (receiving routine school-based education plus app-based parenting education including unintentional injury prevention). External support strategies will be adopted by local partners to minimize user fatigue, non-compliance, and attrition. Data collection will be conducted at baseline and then every 3 months during the 18-month follow-up time period. Intention-to-treat data analysis will be implemented. Missing values will be imputed by using the Expectation Maximization algorithm. Generalized estimating equation will test the overall effectiveness of the app-based intervention. A per-protocol sensitivity analysis will be conducted to test the robustness of results. Subgroup analyses will follow the strategies for primary analyses. The primary outcome measure is the incidence rate of unintentional injury among preschoolers during the study period. Secondary outcome measures comprise longitudinal changes in caregiver's attitudes, caregiver-reported supervision behaviors, and caregiver-assessed home environment safety surrounding child unintentional injury prevention in the last week using a standardized audit instrument.Discussion: The app-based intervention is expected to be feasible and effective over the 18-month intervention period. If the app is demonstrated effective as hypothesized, we will initiate processes to generalize and popularize it broadly to rural child caregivers across China.Trial Registration: ChiCTR2000037606 , registered on August 29, 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite public health efforts to reduce childhood obesity, there remains an unequal distribution of obesity among rural and urban children, with higher rates in rural areas. However, few studies have compared differences in program delivery. This paper aims to describe differences between an urban and rural program delivery of a family-focused, community-based intervention program to prevent and reduce obesity among children.Methods: This paper uses a case study format to provide a descriptive analysis of similar obesity prevention programs, designed by the same research team, implemented in Minnesota in different settings (i.e., an urban and rural setting) with significant community engagement in the adaptation process. The rural NU-HOME program is compared to HOME-Plus, an urban family-based obesity prevention program for school-aged children.Results: Community engagement in the adaptation process of an urban program to a rural program confirmed some anticipated program content and delivery similarities while identifying key differences that were necessary for adaptation related to engagement with the community, recruitment and data collection, and intervention delivery.Discussion: When adapting research-tested programs from urban to rural areas, it is important to identify the modifiable behavioral, social, and environmental factors associated with obesity to ensure the content of effective childhood obesity prevention programs is relevant. Customizing a program to meet the needs of the community may increase reach, engagement, and sustainability. In addition, long-term dissemination of a tailored program may significantly reduce childhood obesity in rural communities and be implemented in other rural settings nationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative research study explored the child care search and selection process from the perspectives of families living in low-income, urban neighbourhoods in the United States. Findings based on interviews with 40 mothers and grandmothers caring for African American preschool-age children showed that child care searches began with referrals from trusted sources followed by site visits. Caregivers' assessments of a settings' environments and activities informed decisions to enrol their children. Barriers related to availability, accessibility, and affordability in participants' neighbourhoods, however, greatly constrained options. Previous experience with other child care providers also informed searches. State-designated quality ratings had little to no influence on the decision-making process. The findings demonstrate the potential challenges and complexities families face when seeking and selecting child care in low-income, urban communities. This work underscores the need for greater access to high-quality care in underserved neighbourhoods and for increases in family and neighbourhood-level supports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of the Gyro International Club social organization in relation to municipal playground development and urban reform in Edmonton, Alberta between 1921 and 1944. According to the article, Gyro Club playgrounds were intended to enrich urban childhood and build neighborly communities. It states that the male members of the Gyro Club in Edmonton, Alberta reproduced their own middle-class values through social relations. Child welfare reforms in Canada are examined.

Background: Exergaming has been considered a fun solution to promoting a physically active lifestyle. This study examined the impact of an exergaming-based program on urban children's physical activity participation, body composition and perceptions of the program. Methods: A sample of 185 children's physical activity was measured in August 2009 (pretest), and percent body fat was used as index of body composition. Fourth graders were assigned to intervention group engaging in 30 minutes exergaming-based activities 3 times per week, while third and fifth graders were in comparison group. Measurements were repeated 9 months later (posttest). Interviews were conducted among 12 intervention children. Results: ANCOVA with repeated measures revealed a significant main effect for intervention, F(1, 179) = 10.69, P < .01. Specifically, intervention children had significantly greater increased physical activity levels than comparison children. Logistic regression for body composition indicated intervention children did not differ significantly in percent body fat change from comparison children, Chi square = 5.42, P = .14. Children interviewed reported positive attitudes toward the intervention. Conclusions: The implementation of exergaming-based program could have a significantly positive effect on children's physical activity participation and attitudes. Meanwhile, long-term effect of the program on children's body composition deserves further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies investigated 5- to 10-year-olds' (N = 194) positivity bias when forecasting the future. Children from two geographic locations (mostly Caucasian, higher income college town; mostly African American, lower income urban community) completed a future expectations task (FET). For multiple scenarios, children predicted whether a positive versus negative (optimism items) or a positive versus extraordinary positive (wishful thinking items) outcome would occur, including its likelihood. In both samples, optimism and wishful thinking decreased with age, optimism was higher than wishful thinking, children did not show a comparative self-optimism bias, and individual differences in the FET optimism score correlated with self-reported dispositional optimism and hope. Exploratory comparisons revealed between-sample equivalence in responses to all measures, except for less tempered wishful thinking in the urban community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed a new but rapidly spreading perspective on the link between education and nature: middle-class philanthropists joining together to provide summer vacations in the countryside for poor, sickly, urban children. Drawing on numerous examples of such work in Europe and the United States, this essay highlights the common traits and local variations of these programmes designed to improve the physical health and often the moral tone of such endangered children. It highlights in particular the fundamental disagreements over whether it was better to house such children in the homes of rural families or to keep them together in groups under the supervision of teachers or other adults. In conclusion, it examines the important role of a single patron, the Prussian/German Crown Princess Victoria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2017, about 20% of the world's children under 1 year of age with incomplete DPT vaccination lived in Nigeria. Fully-immunised child coverage (FIC), which is the percentage of children aged 12-23 months who received all doses of routine infant vaccines in their first year of life in Nigeria is low. We explored the associations between child, household, community and health system level factors and FIC, in particular focussing on urban formal and slum, and rural residence, using representative Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) data from 2003, 2008 and 2013.Method: Multilevel logistic regression models were applied for quantitative analyses of NDHS 2003, 2008 and 2013 data, singly, pooled overall and stratified by rural/urban, and within urban by formal and slum. We also quantify Population Attributable Risk (PAR) of FIC.Results: FIC for rural, urban formal and slum rose from 7.4, 25.6 and 24.9% respectively in 2003 to 15.8, 45.5 and 38.5% in 2013, and varied across sociodemographics. In pooled NDHS analysis, overall and stratified, final FIC adjusted odds (aOR) were: 1. Total population - delivery place (health facility vs home, aOR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.73-1.73), maternal education (higher vs no education, aOR = 3.92, 95% CI = 1.79-8.59) and place of residence (urban vs rural, aOR = 1.69, 95% CI = 0.89-3.22). 2. Rural, urban formal and slum stratified: A.Rural - delivery place (aOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.12-1.94), maternal education (aOR = 4.99, 95% CI = 2.48-10.06). B.Urban formal - delivery place (aOR = 2.62, 95% CI = 1.43-4.79), maternal education level (aOR = 9.18, 95% CI = 3.05-27.64). C.Slums - delivery place (aOR = 5.39, 95% CI = 2.18-13.33), maternal education (aOR = 5.03, 95% CI = 1.52-16.65). The PAR revealed the highest percentage point increase in FIC would be achieved in all places of residence by maternal higher education: rural-38.15, urban formal-22.88 and slum 23.76, while non-attendance of antenatal care was estimated to lead to the largest reduction in FIC.Conclusion: Although low FIC in rural areas may be largely due to lack of health facilities and immunisation education, the intra-urban disparity is mostly unexplained, and requires further qualitative and interventional research. We show the FIC point increase that can be achieved if specific sociodemographic variable (risk) are addressed in the various communities, thus informing prioritisation of interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Comparable data to examine the physical activity (PA) transition in African countries such as Kenya are lacking. Methods: We assessed PA levels from urban (UKEN) and rural (RKEN) environments to examine any evidence of a PA transition. Nine- to twelve-year-old children participated in the study: n = 96 and n = 73 children from UKEN and RKEN, respectively. Pedometers were used to estimate children's daily step count. Parental perception regarding their child's PA patterns was collected via questionnaire (n = 172).Results: RKEN children were more physically active than their UKEN counterparts with a mean average steps per day (± SE) of 14,700 ± 521 vs. 11,717 ± 561 (P < .0001) for RKEN vs. UKEN children respectively. 62.5% of the UKEN children spent 0 hours per week playing screen games compared with 13.1% of UKEN children who spent more than 11 hours per week playing screen games. Seventy percent of UKEN and thirty-four percent of RKEN parents reported being more active during childhood than their children respectively. Conclusions: Results of this study are indicative of a PA transition in Kenya. Further research is needed to gather national data on the PA patterns of Kenyan children to minimize the likelihood of a public health problem due to physical inactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Walking to school is an important source of physical activity among children. There is a paucity of research exploring environmental determinants of walking to school among children in urban areas. Methods: A cross-sectional secondary analysis of baseline data (2007) from 365 children in the "Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence" (MORE) Study (8 to 13 years; Mean 9.60 years, SD 1.04). Children and caregivers were asked about walking to school and perceived safety. Objective measures of the environment were obtained using a validated environmental neighborhood assessment. Results: Over half (55.83%) of children reported walking to school most of the time. High levels of neighborhood incivilities were associated with lower levels of perceived safety (OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.72). Living on a block above the median in incivilities was associated with a 353% increase in odds of walking to school (OR: 3.53; 95% CI: 1.68 to 7.39). Conclusions: Children residing in neighborhoods high in incivilities are more likely to walk to school, in spite of lower levels of perceived safety. As a high proportion of children residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods walk to school, efforts should be directed at minimizing exposure to neighborhood hazards by ensuring safe routes to and from school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of studies indicate higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural school children. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in personal, social, and environmental correlates of physical activity between school location (urban versus rural) and gender. Methods: Middle school children (N = 676) from different districts in Cyprus completed questionnaires assessing physical activity and potential correlates. Results: Children from rural schools reported higher friend support for physical activity and more ease of walk to a bus station from their home. Urban school children reported higher presence of sidewalks in their neighborhood. Boys reported more hours per day playing outside and higher enjoyment and friend support for physical activity than girls, whereas girls reported higher means in the variable 'I see a lot of people walking or being physically active in my neighborhood'. Significant two-way interactions between gender and school location were noted with rural school girls having less favorable scores in a number of correlates of physical activity. Conclusions: More studies are needed to further understand the higher incidence of overweight and obesity observed among rural youth. Girls from rural areas may be targeted as a priority group for promoting physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of environmental factors on physical fitness of rural and urban children. Methods: To reveal the differences between physical fitness of children living in urban and rural districts of the Turkish Cypriot population, 3939 nine- to eleven-year-old male primary school children from 90 schools of North Cyprus were tested. Testing procedures were similar to the Eurofit tests. Results: The results showed that body mass index and skin fold thicknesses were higher in the urban children (P < .05). Differences in cardiopulmonary and motor fitness were also found between groups. In addition, flexibility and muscle endurance were significantly higher in the rural children. Conclusion: The significantly lower flexibility, muscle endurance, and strength of urban children might indicate a lower habitual physical activity level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the household registration system, millions of rural‐to‐urban migrant children in China are ineligible to receive urban social welfare benefits. These children potentially suffer from the evolving awareness of their perceived inferior social identity and experiences of inequalities at an early stage of life. This study examined whether self‐perceived social identity is related to academic performance and peer relations among rural‐to‐urban migrant children in Beijing. Data were collected from 136 children during 2013 and 2014 in three schools for migrant children in Beijing. Path analysis showed that children who identified as a Beijinger, compared with those who self‐identified with their rural hometown, had better self‐efficacy, which in turn was associated with better academic performance and better peer relations. Enlightened by Western theories, these findings suggest that migrant children's performance in school could be enhanced by cultivating positive perceptions of their social identity through teachers' practice and community‐ and policy‐level social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the interwar years, Parisian parks--artificial pockets of nature in the densely built city--had become a locus of debates around "child-friendly play spaces." The diversity of Paris's young population in age, gender, and social status meant that the criteria of what constituted "child-friendly" was constantly in flux and that definitions of childhood remained fluid. Interwar Parisian parks became spaces of debate over proper forms of outdoor play and the risks children faced while playing. Municipal administrators and elected municipal councilors, together with pedagogues and parents, mutually constructed the spaces of parks and park-use policies. Children's presence in public acted both as an incentive and a challenge in creating municipal policies to regulate public spaces or in reconfiguring the organization of these spaces. Municipal council debates, parents' petitions or complaints, reports filed by neighborhood representatives, and daily logs recorded by park guards all reveal how children's actions in green spaces played a pivotal role in the making and remaking of the urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor air pollution associated with cooking and heating biomass fuel burning is estimated to be responsible for 7 million deaths in 2016 and most of these deaths occur in low and middle income countries. In Côte d'Ivoire, 73% of the population is reported using biomass (charcoal or wood) for cooking. The active device 3M EVM-7 was used to measure PM2.5 daily average concentrations inside and outside households in areas close (Andokoi) and far (Lubafrique) to an industrial zone in two popular neighborhoods of Yopougon, the largest and most populated municipality of the city of Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire). PM2.5 daily average concentrations indoors and outdoors are respectively 121±12 μg/m³ and 117±8 μg/m³ in Andokoi and 32±3 μg/m³ and 41±4 μg/m3 in Lubafrique well above the World Health Organization guideline value (25 μg/m³) for air quality. Using multivariable models, the results were the number of windows in bedrooms and kitchens located outdoor were negatively correlated with the concentration of indoor PM2.5. The outdoor concentrations of PM2.5, were higher according to the cooking fuel type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the UN Convention on Child Rights, 1989 legally and academically the practice of seeing children as complete, independent beings and full-scale members of society has steadily inclined. The present study tries to follow suit in the qualitative study on urban Bengali children in street situations and from 'middle class' families in Kolkata metropolis. It explored how gender is performed differentially and relationally among the urban children with 'differences'. The present study explores the lived experiences that construct the identities on the basis of gender. In the present qualitative study, consents of available children, engaging responses and the sites of their preference were prioritized for selection. One hundred informed consensual best responded child participants in three age categories were selected for this study. Structured, Semi structured, unstructured interviews, free-flowing conversation and observations have been recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed in order to reach how and why their childhood identities get structured and they themselves structure. The emergent themes are relationally analyzed principally on the basis of the narrative data for gender the voluntary and critical submission and as well as challenge to gender differentiation done principally by 'symbolic violence'. The diversity of the childhood as gendered within an Indian metropolis is seen relationally dispersed and distanced among the micro-social settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postural defects including scoliotic posture constitute one of the most frequently observed health problems in school-aged children. The incidence of this multifactorial condition has been observed to increase recently. The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of scoliotic posture in primary and secondary school students living in a large city. The sample consisted of 1,325 boys and 1,355 girls, aged 6 to 18, living in the city of Poznań. Their postures were assessed through skilled visual inspection method based on the criteria delineated by Wiktor Dega. Additionally, measurements of scoliotic deformities were taken using the Bunnell's scoliometer. It was found that the incidence of scoliosis assessed on the basis of Dega's postural defect chart amounted in total to 14.6% in boys and 17% in girls. No substantial differences between boys and girls in particular age categories were found. Scoliometer examination appeared to be a more accurate method for screening scoliosis and revealed higher incidence of this condition in total and both in boys and girls as compared to the visual screening method. The contractures which may lead to scoliotic posture appeared most frequently in the knee joints, both in boys and in girls. The incidence of lateral spinal curvatures was related to age and increased with age. Scoliometer proved to be a more effective tool in detecting lateral spinal curvatures and should be more widely used in school healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much attention has been directed at the perceived decline in city children’s contact with nature. We used a child-centric approach to assess neighborhood nature knowledge in 187 children aged 9 to 11 years, from different socioeconomic and ethnic groups in three New Zealand cities. We evaluated the relative importance of social (independence, gender, social connections, deprivation, age) and environmental factors (biodiversity) in explaining variation in knowledge at a scale relevant to each child’s independent movements. Our biodiversity evaluation reflected the natural dimensions of the habitats where children interacted with nature. Generalized linear modeling identified ethnicity as having the strongest association with nature knowledge. Within each ethnic group, social factors were most important (independence, social connections, deprivation) except for Pākehā/NZ European children, where local biodiversity was most important. Enhancing biodiversity values of private green spaces (yards) would be effective in facilitating opportunities to experience nature, which is fundamental to supporting nature contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to compare lifestyles and environmental perceptions of urban and rural children. Ninety-two students completed a questionnaire and were given two means (drawing or wring) to express their thoughts regarding (1) the activity and play areas, (2) their neighborhood and (3) their city. The results showed higher levels of parental supervision and restrictions on the independent mobility of the urban children in outdoor areas. This and other differences regarding the life styles are reflected in the children’s drawings of various settings. The results have applied value for planners and urban designers, and additional research is currently underway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence upon muscle strength of 1 h/day of required physical education was tested in 546 prepubescent children over a 5-year period. Experimental students began the program in Grade 1, with immediately preceding and succeeding classes serving as controls. Annual measurements showed a linear increase of limb circumferences with stature (H), but strength increased more rapidly than H2. Strength data showed gender effects (M > F) at all ages and environmental effects (rural > urban) in older children (10-12 years). Experimental students were stronger in 19 of 42 comparisons. Girths were greater in girls (7 of 18 comparisons) and in the rural environment (4 of 18 comparisons), but were unaffected by the experimental intervention. Bone diameters were greater in the boys (16 of 18 comparisons) and in the urban environment (2 of 18 comparisons). Daily required physical education leads to small increases of isometric strength without significant increments of limb dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to neighborhood violence is an important risk factor for the social and emotional development of children and youth. Previous work recognizes that violence may affect children indirectly via secondhand exposure; yet, few studies have aimed to identify and quantify these effects, especially in settings like Colombia where youth is chronically exposed to violence. To address this gap in the literature, this article implements an empirical strategy where geographically specific and time-stamped data are leveraged to identify the effect of indirect exposure to homicides on fifth grade children’s social and emotional outcomes. Sample participants (N = 5801) represent the fifth-grade population of boys and girls (50.7%) in two major urban areas in the country (Mage = 11.01, SD = 0.75). We hypothesize that the effects of exposure to neighborhood violence on children’s social and emotional skills will be consistent and negative. The findings indicate a consistent negative effect of indirect exposure to homicides on children’s emotional functioning (i.e., emotional regulation and empathy), as well as on the prevalence of avoidance behaviors. However, contrary to theoretical expectations, the results do not support effects on children’s levels of aggressive behavior, nor on the beliefs and attitudes that justify the use of aggression in interpersonal relationships. The findings are discussed in light of predictions from social cognitive models and their implications for developmentally and trauma-informed interventions for youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Common comorbid medical conditions including allergic rhinitis (AR), obesity, and sleep disordered breathing (SDB) have been linked with asthma exacerbations; however, these conditions also impact sleep and academic functioning. The current study sought to examine unique and combined associations of these common comorbidities on sleep and academic performance among urban minority children with persistent asthma. We expected additional comorbid diagnoses would be associated with poorer sleep and academic functioning.Method: Urban children 7-9 years old (n = 249) with persistent asthma from African American, Latino, and non-Latino White backgrounds participated in this cross-sectional study. Asthma and AR were assessed using guidelines-based approaches. Overweight/obesity was assessed using body mass index and parents reported on SDB risk. Sleep quality (sleep efficiency) and sleep duration were assessed via 4 weeks of actigraphy. A cumulative risk index (CRI) score of asthma-related comorbidities (i.e., number of comorbidities for which each child met criteria) was calculated.Results: Comorbid conditions were prevalent (AR, 85%; overweight/obese, 39%; SDB risk, 44%). Lower SDB risk and better AR control were both associated with fewer school absences. A higher CRI score was associated with shorter sleep duration and more absences. For children with 1 comorbid condition, better lung function was associated with better sleep efficiency.Conclusion: Findings suggest increased risk of shorter sleep and more frequent school absences among urban minority children with asthma and more comorbid conditions. Assessment and treatment of this high-risk group must consider how comorbid conditions exacerbate children's asthma and may affect sleep and daytime functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The September issue of PsyCh Journal features four Original Articles, beginning with an assessment of factors promoting proenvironmental behaviors in urban Chinese children, which finds environmental sensitivity and personal norms as two critical factors. This is followed by a verification of the Greek version of the Family Assessment Device (FAD), using correlations with the already validated Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES‐III). A third contribution explored the mediating role of social support and hope in the linkage of extraversion with happiness in a sample of undergraduates at a Malaysian university, finding a serial mediating effect, through social support and then hope, of extraversion in the enhancement of happiness, in addition to two stronger indirect effects. The fourth article examined the heritability of spatial working memory (SWM) and set‐shifting abilities, both consistently observed as impaired in individuals with schizophrenia and thus considered potential endophenotypes of this illness, finding moderate heritability for SWM but no significant heritability for set‐shifting ability in a healthy Chinese twin sample. These are followed by two Short Communications, the first reporting the use of quantitative semantics to find clusters of words in LinkedIn users' self‐descriptions to an employer or a friend. The second examined relationships among proactive personality, job crafting, and mental health in a survey of full‐time Chinese employees, finding that job crafting mediated a positive relationship between proactive personality and mental health. A final contribution presents reflections from within China on how crucial problems encountered in the development of new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms (such as understanding the semantic structure of images) can promote better understandings of the human mind itself, leading in turn to more powerful AI capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This 2015 study was a part of the National Growth Survey of Children under seven years of age, which has been carried out in nine Chinese cities every 10 years since 1975. Our aim was to assess children's feeding practices and nutritional supplements.Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of 89 006 healthy children aged one to 24 months. All data were collected by face-to-face interviews during child health visits, using a questionnaire.Results: The exclusive breastfeeding rate was 53% in infants under six months of age, and the continued breastfeeding rate was 51% among infants who were 10-12 months and 5% when they were 21-24 months. Infants were weaned at a mean of 9.3 months in urban areas and 9.4 months in suburban areas. Cereals were provided as complementary food at a mean age of five months, eggs at six months, meat at eight and a half months and bean products at over 12 months. The most common nutritional supplements given to the children were vitamins A and D and calcium.Conclusion: The feeding practices of Chinese city children were similar to those in developed countries, but strategies are needed to promote more rational consumption of nutritional supplements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on a comparative study of 9- to 11-year-old children’s place use and preferences in six low-income historic Istanbul neighbourhoods with varying degrees of redevelopment. Data on places used and preferred by children were obtained using the participatory photography technique. The article contributes to the existing literature by showing that children in more redeveloped neighbourhoods are more likely than those in less redeveloped ones to be confined to highly controlled and regulated places and less likely to interact with nature, pay attention to the social attributes of their communities and appreciate heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neighborhoods in which children grow up have consequences for their short‐ and long‐term well‐being. Although most neighborhood research measures disadvantage at the census tract level, more proximate physical characteristics of neighborhoods may be more relevant indicators of neighborhood quality for the well‐being of young children. Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study explores the association between these more proximate indicators of neighborhood physical disorder measured across childhood (ages 3 to 9) and early delinquency at age 9. Descriptive results (N = 2,989) indicate that exposure to neighborhood physical disorder across childhood is common among children in urban areas. Multivariate analyses suggest that exposure to neighborhood physical disorder, particularly for older children, is strongly associated with a higher likelihood of engagement in early delinquent behaviors, over and above family and census tract‐level measures of disadvantage. Associations remain robust to numerous supplementary analyses and alternate specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Childhood obesity is increasing in urban India. This study aimed to examine the associations of younger siblings abdominal adiposity with individual, familial and environmental factors, in urban school aged siblings.Methods and Study Design: Weight, height and waist circumference of 2906 siblings aged 3-16 years were measured along with details on demographics, diet, lifestyle, behavior and reported parental anthropometrics. Abdominal adiposity was classified as waist circumference above the age and sex specific 75th percentile value. The associations of various factors with abdominal adiposity in the younger siblings were examined through logistic regression analyses.Results: Sibling, familial factors and environmental factors had significant associations with abdominal adiposity. The odds of a younger sibling having abdominal adiposity was greatest (OR=3.16, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 2.27 to 4.42), when the older sibling had abdominal adiposity, followed by the odds ratio of both parents being overweight (OR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.33 to 1.99) compared to neither being overweight. The influence of abdominal adiposity of the older sibling was greater when the siblings were of the same sex (OR=3.55, 95% CI: 2.24 to 5.65) than when they were of different sex (OR=2.73, 95% CI: 1.67 to 4.46); the odds ratio being highest when both siblings were males.Conclusions: The younger sibling's abdominal adiposity is associated with that of his/her sibling and parental obesity, in addition to other known risk factors in urban south Indian families. Interventions to prevent childhood obesity need to also consider the sibling effect along with the other known factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School neighborhood violence continues to be a major public health problem among urban students. A large body of research addresses violence at school; however, fewer studies have explored concentrations of violence in areas proximal to schools. This study aimed to quantify the concentration of shootings near schools to elucidate the place-based dynamics that may be focal points for violence prevention. Geocoded databases of shooting and school locations were used to examine locational patterns of firearm shootings and elementary, middle, and high schools in Boston, Massachusetts. Analyses utilized spatial statistics for point pattern data including distance matrix and K function methodology to quantify the degree of spatial dependence of shootings around schools. Results suggested that between 2012 and 2015, there were 678 shooting incidents in Boston; the average density was 5.1 per square kilometer. The nearest neighbor index (NNI = 0.335 km, p < .001, O = 0.95 km, E = 0.28 km) and G function analysis revealed a clustered pattern of gun shooting incidents indicative of a spatially non-random process. The mean and median distance from any school to the nearest shooting location was 0.35 and 0.33 km, respectively. A majority (56%, 74/133) of schools in Boston had at least one shooting incident within 400 m, a distance that would take about 5 min to walk if traveling by foot. The bivariate K function indicated that a significantly greater number of shootings were clustered within short distances from schools than would be expected under a null hypothesis of no spatial dependence. Implications for students attending schools in racially homogenous neighborhoods across all income levels are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]