Families First Edmonton

Families First Edmonton

Recreational Activities and Behavioural Assessmentof FFE Focus Children

(preliminary analyses, for discussion only)

Presentation to the Community Learning Network29 September 2011

Presentation Outline

I. PreviewII. Recreational ActivitiesIII. Social and Emotional Development

Behavioural problems (parent) Emotional issues (child)Adaptability (parent)

Adjustment (child)IV. Do parent and child mental health

scores correlate?

2

Recreational Activities

3

Recreational Activities

4

1. Played team sports2. Played individual sports3. Drawn/Painted4. Watched TV/movie rentals5. Played a musical instrument6. Participated in clubs7. Gone to a movie theatre8. Played video games9. Done household chores10. Babysat brothers/sisters11. Babysat children (non- family members)

12. Worked for pay outside of the home13. Attended parties (alcohol/drugs not present)14. Attended parties (alcohol/drugs present)15. Read books/magazines16. Hung out with friends17. Hung out at a mall18. Family activities19. Played pool/video games at an arcade

1. Played team sports2. Played individual sports3. Drawn/Painted4. Watched TV/movie rentals5. Played a musical instrument6. Participated in clubs7. Gone to a movie theatre8. Played video games9. Done household chores10. Babysat brothers/sisters11. Babysat children (non- family members)

12. Worked for pay outside of the home13. Attended parties (alcohol/drugs not present)14. Attended parties (alcohol/drugs present)15. Read books/magazines16. Hung out with friends17. Hung out at a mall18. Family activities19. Played pool/video games at an arcade

Frequency of Activities (per month)

5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

<2 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 ≥12

Fre

quen

cy

Draw/Paint

Individual sports

Family Activities

Musical Instrument

Team sports

Clubs

Movie theatre

Age (years)

Total Engagement in Activities(frequency/month)

6

Fre

quen

cy

Total Engagement in Activities(frequency/month)

7

Gender

8

Frequency of Drawing or Painting

Girls

Boys

9

Fre

quen

cy

Frequency of Playing Team Sports

Girls

Boys

10

Age (years)

Fre

quen

cy

Lone parents vs. Co-parents

11

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

<2 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 ≥12


12

Lone parents

Co-parents

Age (years)

Fre

quen

cy

Frequency of Going to the Movie Theatre

13

Lone parents

Co-parents

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

<2 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 ≥12

Age (years)

Fre

quen

cy

Statistically significant but not meaningful?

Movie theatre (Lone parents)

Movie theatre (Co-parents)

14

Family Activities (Lone parents)

Family Activities (Co-parents)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

<2 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 ≥12

Age (years)

Fre

quen

cy

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

<2 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 ≥12

Frequency of playing team sports

15Age (years)

Lone parents

Co-parents

Fre

quen

cy

Population groups

16

Population group definitions

17

Foreign-born childrenChild and parent(s) were born outside of Canada

First generation childrenChild is Canadian-born but parents were born outside of Canada

Second(plus)-generation childrenChild and parent(s) are born in Canada

Aboriginal childrenPrimary caregiver identifies as Aboriginal and child is born in Canada

Frequency of Playing Individual Sports

18

0

5

10

15

20

<2 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 ≥12

2nd(+) generation children 1st generation children

Aboriginal children Foreign-born children

Age (years)

Fre

quen

cy

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

<2 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 ≥12


19

2nd(+) generation children 1st generation children

Aboriginal children Foreign-born children

Age (years)

Fre

quen

cy

Conclusions

20

1. Data are available for a wide range of recreational and leisure activities.

2. Frequency of participation often varies with age, but relations with gender, parental status, and population group are not very common and tend to be small.

Social and Emotional Development

21

Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children (BASC)

• Multidimensional assessment, ages 2.5 to 18 years• Rating scale (inventory)

• Parents• Children (> 8 years)• Teachers (not included in FFE)

• Used clinically and in research

22

Use of the BASC in Families First Edmonton

Current focusBehavioural problems (rated by parent) Emotional issues (rated by child)Adaptability (rated by parent)Adjustment (rated by child)

Interpreting BASC scores (T scores)50 mean for population (not sample)60 at risk (red flag)70 clinically significant (alarm bells)

23

“Normal” distribution

24

16%

25

Hypothetical FFE distribution

34% = 16% + 18%

Behavioural Symptoms Index (BSI)

Parent assessment of child’s “problem behaviours”

Six scales:Hyperactivity Attention problemsAggression AtypicalityDepression Withdrawal

Elevated scores signal the presence of problem behaviours

26

Behavioural Symptoms Index (BSI)

27

Percent of FFE sample: >60: 26.7%>70: 9.6%

28

Parents’ BSI reports (T score)

Lone parent

Co-parent

Age (years)

T s

core

Age (years) 29

Parent’s BSI reports (T score)

2nd(+) generation children

1st generation children

Aboriginal children

Foreign-born childrenT s

core


Age (years) 30



Aboriginal children


core


Age (years) 31



Aboriginal children


core


Age (years) 32



Aboriginal children


core


Age (years) 33



Aboriginal children


core


Age (years) 34



Aboriginal children


core

Conclusions: BSI

35

1. Children from lone-parent families appear to have a higher reported incidence of behavioural problems than children from co-parent families.

2. Foreign-born and first-generation children tend to have fewer reported behavioural problems than second(plus)-generation children and Aboriginal children.

3. FFE children produce a mysterious “bump” at 8 and 9 years of age.

Keep in mind that all of these conclusions are based on parental reports.

Emotional Symptoms Index (ESI)

Child self-report of emotional disturbance (> 8 years)

Six scales:Social stress Sense of adequacyAnxiety Self-esteemDepression Self-reliance

Elevated scores signal the presence of emotional disturbance

36

Emotional Symptoms Index (ESI)

37

Percent of FFE sample: >60: 11.7%>70: 3.4%

How do parent and child assessmentscompare?

Age (years)

Parent’s report about child’s behaviour (BSI)

Child’s self-report of own emotional state (ESI)

38

T S

core

Conclusions: ESI

39

Keep in mind that all of these conclusions are based on children’s self-reports.

1. Children’s ratings on the ESI are less extreme than their parents’ ratings with the BSI.

2. Children with two parents do not differ from children with one parent (unlike the BSI)

3. Differences among population groups are minimal (unlike the BSI), with one exception: Scores for Aboriginal children are higher than scores for foreign-born children.

Adaptability

Parental assessment of child’s ability to adjust to:• changes in routine and teacher assignment• shift from one task to another• share toys or possessions with other children

High scores indicate positive levels of adaptability.

High scores are correlated to early school achievement (in other samples).

40

Adjustment (PA)

Child self-report (> 8 years)

Four scales:Relations with parents Interpersonal relationsSelf-esteem Self-reliance

High scores indicate positive levels of adjustment, and low scores indicate problematic levels of adjustment.

41

Conclusions: Adaptability and Adjustment

42

Keep in mind that conclusions about adaptability are based on parental reports, and conclusions about adjustment are based on children’s self-reports

1. With respect to adaptability, Aboriginal and second(plus)-generation children tend to be similar to each other and to do more poorly than the other two groups.

2. With respect to adjustment, the pattern is similar but only the difference between Aboriginal and foreign-born children is reliable.

3. Lone parents report lower adaptability scores compared to co-parents

Parent’s assessment of child’s adaptability(T score)

Age (years) 43



Aboriginal children

Foreign-born children

T s

core

Conclusions: Adaptability and Adjustment

44

Keep in mind that conclusions about adaptability are based on parental reports, and conclusions about adjustment are based on children’s self-reports

1. With respect to adaptability, Aboriginal and second(plus)-generation children tend to be similar to each other and to do more poorly than the other two groups.

2. With respect to adjustment, the pattern is similar but only the difference between Aboriginal and foreign-born children is reliable.

3. Lone parents report lower adaptability scores compared to co-parents

General Observations

1. On the BASC measures, FFE children generally are not in terrible shape!

2. For psychological measures (BASC), when differences among population groups are found,

(foreign-born ≅ first-generation) ≠ (Aboriginal ≅ second-generation)

Why?

3. On the BASC measures, children’s ratings tend to be less extreme than parents’ ratings. Will both be equally affected by the interventions?

45

What’s Next?

Explore other measures of child development (e.g., academic achievement, health)

Explore relations among different types of measures (e.g., parental mental health and child-related measures; housing measures and BASC scores)

Generate new questions

Select measures that seem most important for longitudinal comparisons to test for effects of the interventions

Others????

Families First Edmonton

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