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Galeano, L., Fawcett, C., Forssman, L. & Gredebäck, G. (2024). Early Childhood Educators' Math Anxiety and Its Relation to Their Pedagogic Actions in Swedish Preschools. Journal of Cognition and Development, 25(1), 100-126
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Early Childhood Educators' Math Anxiety and Its Relation to Their Pedagogic Actions in Swedish Preschools
2024 (English)In: Journal of Cognition and Development, ISSN 1524-8372, E-ISSN 1532-7647, Vol. 25, no 1, p. 100-126Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Early childhood educators’ math anxiety and its relation to their frequency of pedagogic actions was examined through a questionnaire completed by 352 participants (aged 21–65) representative of the Swedish municipality where the study was conducted. Our sample contained 189 certified preschool teachers and 163 preschool caregivers who significantly differed in their ratings reported for math teaching anxiety. Results revealed that certified preschool teachers who reported higher levels of math anxiety also reported teaching and talking about mathematics content less frequently. When controlling for certified preschool teachers’ gender and age, years of work in preschools, and whether they work only with younger (1–3), older (4–6) or with both groups of children (1–6-year-old), certified preschool teachers’ general math anxiety and math teaching anxiety predicted their reported frequency of math teaching and frequency of conversations about numbers, patterns, and geometric concepts with peak strength in gatherings, excursions and situations designed to teach mathematics to preschool children. Preschool caregivers’ math anxiety measures and their reported frequency of pedagogic actions did not display statistically significant relations. Findings showed setting specific associations between certified preschool teachers general math anxiety, math teaching anxiety and their avoidance of mathematics content, highlighting the importance of early childhood educators’ awareness of math anxiety, its nature, and consequences for teaching practices.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2024
Keywords
Math anxiety, preschool educators, early childhood, pedagogic actions, teaching
National Category
Didactics
Research subject
Education; Mathematics; Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-512100 (URN)10.1080/15248372.2023.2256844 (DOI)001066697900001 ()
Funder
Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, 2015.0055
Available from: 2023-09-21 Created: 2023-09-21 Last updated: 2024-02-21Bibliographically approved
Gredebäck, G., Dorji, N., Sen, U., Nyström, P., Hellberg, J. & Wangchuk, . (2023). Context dependent cognitive development in Bhutanese children. Scientific Reports, 13, Article ID 19875.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Context dependent cognitive development in Bhutanese children
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2023 (English)In: Scientific Reports, E-ISSN 2045-2322, Vol. 13, article id 19875Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

We assessed risk/protective factors for cognitive development of Bhutanese children (504 3-5 year-olds, 49% girls, major ethnicities Ngalop 26%, Tshangla 30%, Lhotsampa 34%) using a non-verbal test of cognitive capacity (SON-R) and primary caregiver interviews. Cognitive capacity was related to the family's SES and whether the family belonged to the primary Buddhist majority ethnic groups (Ngalop or Tshangla) or primarily Hindu minorities (Lhotsampa). In majority families more engagement in Buddhist practices was associated with higher cognitive capacity in children. Minority children were more impacted by parents autonomous-relatedness values. Results demonstrate that cognitive development is dependent on the financial and educational context of the family, societal events, and culture specific risk/protective factors that differ across sub-groups (majority/minority, culture/religion).

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2023
National Category
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-517477 (URN)10.1038/s41598-023-47254-x (DOI)001104793000045 ()37963958 (PubMedID)
Funder
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, KAW 2017.0284Uppsala University
Available from: 2023-12-11 Created: 2023-12-11 Last updated: 2023-12-11Bibliographically approved
Gredebäck, G., Lindskog, M. & Hall, J. (2023). Poor maternal mental health is associated with a low degree of proactive control in refugee children. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Poor maternal mental health is associated with a low degree of proactive control in refugee children
2023 (English)In: Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, ISSN 1747-0218, E-ISSN 1747-0226Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

This study assesses the development of proactive control strategies in 100 Syrian refugee families (394 individuals) with 6- to 18-year-old children currently living in Turkish communities. The results demonstrate that children’s age and their mothers’ post-traumatic stress symptoms were associated with the degree of proactive control in their children, with worse mental health being associated with a larger reliance on reactive control and lesser reliance on proactive, future-oriented, control (measured via d′ in the AX-CPT task). None of the following factors contributed to children’s performance: fathers’ experience with post-traumatic stress, parents’ exposure to potentially traumatic warrelated events, perceived discrimination, a decline in socio-economic status, religious beliefs, parents’ proactive control strategies, or the education or gender of the children themselves. The association between mothers’ mental health and proactive control strategies in children was large (in terms of effect size), suggesting that supporting mothers’ mental health might have clear effects on the development of their children.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2023
Keywords
Proactive control, prediction, child development, refugee, war, trauma
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology) Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-517044 (URN)10.1177/17470218231211573 (DOI)
Funder
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, 2012.0120Swedish Research Council, 2015-06564
Available from: 2023-12-01 Created: 2023-12-01 Last updated: 2023-12-01Bibliographically approved
Gerbrand, A., Gredebäck, G. & Lindskog, M. (2023). Recognition of small numbers in subset knowers: Cardinal knowledge in early childhood. Royal Society Open Science, 10(10), Article ID 230474.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Recognition of small numbers in subset knowers: Cardinal knowledge in early childhood
2023 (English)In: Royal Society Open Science, E-ISSN 2054-5703, Vol. 10, no 10, article id 230474Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Previous research suggests that subset-knowers have an approximate understanding of small numbers. However, it is still unclear exactly what subset- knowers understand about small numbers. To investigate this further, we tested 133 participants, ages 2.6 – 4 years, on a newly developed eye-tracking task targeting cardinal recognition. Participants were presented with two sets differing in cardinality (1–4 items) and asked to find a specific cardinality. Our main finding showed that on a group level, subset- knowers could identify all presented targets at rates above chance, further supporting that subset-knowers understand several of the basic principles of small numbers. Exploratory analyses tentatively suggest that one-knowers could identify the targets 1 and 2, but struggled when the target was 3 and 4, whereas two- knowers and above could identify all targets at rates above chance. This might tentatively suggest that subset-knowers have an approximate understanding of numbers that is just (i.e. +1) above their current knower level. We discuss the implications of these results in length. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Royal Society, 2023
Keywords
knower level, cardinal recognition, cardinality, understanding number words, eye-tracking
National Category
Applied Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-516784 (URN)10.1098/rsos.230474 (DOI)001095979800003 ()37885983 (PubMedID)
Funder
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, KAW 2012.0120
Available from: 2023-11-29 Created: 2023-11-29 Last updated: 2023-11-29Bibliographically approved
Hazer, L. & Gredebäck, G. (2023). The effects of war, displacement, and trauma on child development. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), Article ID 909.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The effects of war, displacement, and trauma on child development
2023 (English)In: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, E-ISSN 2662-9992, Vol. 10, no 1, article id 909Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In this paper, we review how refugee children’s psychological development is impacted by experiencing war, displacement, and trauma. As the Syrian conflict has resulted in the largest refugee crisis in modern history, we focus on Syrian refugees, but comparisons to other current major conflicts (Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Yemen) are done for reference, making this review relevant, not only for the Syrian conflict but war-affected children in general. The potentially traumatic events (PTEs) experienced by families and children vary depending on current and past migration experiences. During the premigration phase, there is a high risk of war-related PTEs whereas lack of shelter, high insecurity, and exploitation are common during the perimigration phase. Common PTEs during postmigration include uncertain legal status, changed family dynamics, downward mobility, and lack of social support. A high number of PTEs, low mental health, and permanent postmigration stress are evident across conflicts. In addition to these PTEs that impact all family members, there are additional long-lasting child-specific interpersonal PTEs related to parental practices and lack of support. These cumulative stressors are associated with poor mental health and developmental delays in several domains including cognitive functioning, emotion regulation, affective processing, and prospective control. At the same time, some studies demonstrate a high degree of resilience, and normative development, or report a lack of association between the psychological development of children and levels of PTEs. The number of studies assessing child development in this context is limited and more research is required in order to fill knowledge-gaps related to the mechanisms, and causal relations, behind these developmental outcomes.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2023
National Category
Social Sciences Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-518688 (URN)10.1057/s41599-023-02438-8 (DOI)001113357000004 ()
Available from: 2023-12-21 Created: 2023-12-21 Last updated: 2023-12-22Bibliographically approved
Peltonen, K., Gredebäck, G., Pollak, S. D., Lindskog, M. & Hall, J. (2023). The role of maternal trauma and discipline types in emotional processing among Syrian refugee children. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(8), 1487-1495
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The role of maternal trauma and discipline types in emotional processing among Syrian refugee children
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2023 (English)In: European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, ISSN 1018-8827, E-ISSN 1435-165X, Vol. 32, no 8, p. 1487-1495Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Stressful experiences in armed conflict incur intergenerational effects through parental behaviors with their children. A recent study reported that among Syrian refugee families, mothers' (but not fathers') post-traumatic stress (PTS) impacted children's emotional processing. In this study, we aim to shed further light on this phenomenon by analyzing how the parenting practices in the context of post-traumatic stress confers protection or risk for children's emotional processing. Participants were 6-18-year-old children (n = 212) and their mothers (n = 94), who fled from Syria and were residing in Turkish communities. We used the computer-based emotional processing task including photos of facial movements typically associated with different emotions to measure children's capacity for emotional processing. Mothers reported their PTS and the discipline types they use, as well as the contextual factors related to their refugee background. Linear mixed effect models were constructed first, to find out the discipline types that are most strongly associated with emotional processing of the child, and second, to examine whether these discipline types moderate the effect of maternal PTS on children's emotional processing. Finally, generalized linear models were constructed to examine which contextual factors are associated with the use of these discipline types by mothers. We found that spanking as a discipline type was associated with poorer child emotional processing, whereas withholding of media access was associated with better emotional processing. Younger and less religious mothers were more prone to use spanking. The study underlines the need for parenting programs alongside with efforts to address mental health issues among mothers living under armed conflict.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2023
Keywords
Discipline, Emotion, Face recognition, PTS, Parenting, War
National Category
Psychology
Research subject
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-469577 (URN)10.1007/s00787-022-01962-3 (DOI)000761841000001 ()35217919 (PubMedID)
Funder
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, 2012.0120Swedish Research Council, 2015-06564
Available from: 2022-03-11 Created: 2022-03-11 Last updated: 2023-07-12Bibliographically approved
van den Berg, L., Libertus, K., Nyström, P., Gottwald, J., Licht, V. & Gredebäck, G. (2022). A Pre-registered Sticky Mittens Study: Active Training does not Increase Reaching and Grasping in a Swedish Context. Child Development, 93(6)
Open this publication in new window or tab >>A Pre-registered Sticky Mittens Study: Active Training does not Increase Reaching and Grasping in a Swedish Context
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2022 (English)In: Child Development, ISSN 0009-3920, E-ISSN 1467-8624, Vol. 93, no 6Article in journal (Refereed) Submitted
Abstract [en]

Several studies have previously investigated the effects of sticky mittens training on reaching and grasping development. However, recent critique casted doubts on the robustness of the motor effect of this training. The current study presents a pre-registered report that aimed to generalize these effects to Swedish infants. Three-month-old infants N = 96, 51 females, mostly White middle class in Uppsala, received daily, parent-led sticky mittens or observational training for 2 weeks or no training in 2019. Reaching and grasping abilities were assessed before and after training, using motion tracking and a 4-step reaching task. Sticky mittens training did not facilitate successful reaching. These results indicate that beneficial motor effects of sticky mittens training did not generalize to this sample.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Society for research in child development, 2022
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-472733 (URN)10.1111/cdev.13835 (DOI)000848231900001 ()36047569 (PubMedID)
Available from: 2022-04-14 Created: 2022-04-14 Last updated: 2023-01-09Bibliographically approved
Tu, H.-F., Lindskog, M. & Gredebäck, G. (2022). Attentional Control Is a Stable Construct in Infancy but Not Steadily Linked With Self-Regulatory Functions in Toddlerhood. Developmental Psychology, 58(7), 1221-1236
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Attentional Control Is a Stable Construct in Infancy but Not Steadily Linked With Self-Regulatory Functions in Toddlerhood
2022 (English)In: Developmental Psychology, ISSN 0012-1649, E-ISSN 1939-0599, Vol. 58, no 7, p. 1221-1236Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Attentional control in infancy has been postulated as foundational for self-regulation later in life. However, the empirical evidence supporting this claim is inconsistent. In the current study, we examined the longitudinal data from a sample of Swedish infants (6, 10, and 18 months, n = 118, 59 boys) across a broad set of eye-tracking tasks to find stable markers of attention. Two attention indices showed a high degree of stability and internal consistency but were not related to self-regulatory functions measures at 18 or 30 months. Our findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that a relation between attentional control and self-regulation is unsupported. We discuss the need for a revision of the idea of attention as foundational for self-regulation.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Psychological Association (APA), 2022
Keywords
information processing, sustained attention, effortful control, executive function, eye-tracking paradigm
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-485051 (URN)10.1037/dev0001362 (DOI)000783957500001 ()35446068 (PubMedID)
Available from: 2022-09-19 Created: 2022-09-19 Last updated: 2023-08-25Bibliographically approved
Hall, J., Ahmad, A., Nordenving, S. & Gredebäck, G. (2022). Child development and resilience in war, conflict and displacement. Solna: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Child development and resilience in war, conflict and displacement
2022 (English)Report (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Approximately 452 million children were living in a conflict zone in 2020, and almost half of the roughly 80 million forcibly displaced people worldwide are children. Many of the countries most affected by conflict are developing countries with a young and growing population.

War and displacement entail a wide range of adversity, with several negative impacts on children’s psychological development. These include mental health disorders, emotional and conduct problems, and impaired cognitive development, which have relevance for their life opportunities, including social relations, school performance and labour market success. While physical development is important, the development of the child’s emotional, social and cognitive abilities is equally crucial. The early years of childhood represent the ‘window of opportunity’ that shapes the child’s whole development experience throughout life. Research shows that the development potential of 250 million children under five years (around 43 per cent) in low- and middle-income countries is at stake. Also, there is a high probability that children will experience delayed early childhood development with exposure to local conflicts, and this delay increases with chronic exposure.

Perhaps somewhat surprising, however, is that research has also uncovered widespread resilience and even increased prosocial behaviour among children exposed to war violence. Resilience is a broad concept concerning the capacity to respond when challenged, return to stability, adjust to a new normal, or transform to survive or flourish. One approach to building resilience is the protection of child mental health and development through providing special care in the early stages of a child’s life. Addressing children’s resilience and early childhood psychological development is essential to limit human suffering, rebuild war-torn societies and evade recurring conflicts. Therefore, an important question is: What could be done to protect child development in the midst of conflict?

This SIPRI Topical Backgrounder provides an overview of existing aid-supported programmes and current practices to protect and promote children’s psychological development in war and displacement, followed by a review of a selection of rigorous research from the body of relevant literature to suggest ways forward.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Solna: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 2022. p. 8
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Research subject
Psychology; Peace and Conflict Research
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-474140 (URN)
Available from: 2022-05-09 Created: 2022-05-09 Last updated: 2022-05-11Bibliographically approved
Gredebäck, G., Hall, J. & Lindskog, M. (2022). Fluid intelligence in refugee children: A cross-sectional study of potential risk and resilience factors among Syrian refugee children and their parents. Intelligence, 94, Article ID 101684.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Fluid intelligence in refugee children: A cross-sectional study of potential risk and resilience factors among Syrian refugee children and their parents
2022 (English)In: Intelligence, ISSN 0160-2896, E-ISSN 1873-7935, Vol. 94, article id 101684Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

We assess fluid intelligence of 6–18 year-old children growing up in families that have fled from Syria and reside in Turkish communities (100 families, 394 individuals). We demonstrate that fluid intelligence of refugee children is related to maternal fluid intelligence and to the amount of time mothers spend reading to their child. These factors stood out in the analysis even when controlling for a large range of other factors such as demographics, parental mental health, parental fluid intelligence, home environment, and a large array of potential enrichment factors.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2022
Keywords
Intelligence, Child development, War, Refugee, Book reading, Trauma
National Category
Psychology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-481537 (URN)10.1016/j.intell.2022.101684 (DOI)000860744400007 ()
Funder
Wallenberg Foundations, 2012.0120Swedish Research Council, 2015-06564
Available from: 2022-08-11 Created: 2022-08-11 Last updated: 2022-10-14Bibliographically approved
Projects
What processes mediate our ability to anticipate others actions? [2011-01528_VR]; Uppsala UniversityUnifying Developmental Social Cognition (ERC) [2012-00035_VR]; Uppsala UniversityInfants’ sense of number - Investigating cognitive mechanisms and training interventions for learning mathematics early in life [P15-0430:1_RJ]; Uppsala UniversityThe Impact of Book-Sharing on Infant Language and Cognitive Development: A Randomized Controlled Trial [P18-0300:1_RJ]; Uppsala University
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0003-3046-0043

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