Preterm born children have cognitive problems that include deficits in working memory. Computer-based working memory training has been reported to improve cognitive function in children.

A computer-based working memory training program designed for preschoolers seems effective in very low birth weight children, not only on working memory tasks, but also by having a generalizing effect regarding memory and learning. (Read the full article)

Children have been shown to imitate behaviors they see on screen.

Modifying what children watch can improve their observed behavior. (Read the full article)

Isolated case reports of abnormal voice after extremely preterm birth are well described; however, there are no systematic studies of long-term voice outcomes in children born preterm.

Significant voice abnormalities were found in more than half of tested children born before 25 weeks’ gestation. Multivariable analyses showed that the number of intubations, not the duration of intubation, and female gender were strongly associated with this adverse outcome. (Read the full article)

Although it is known that extremely preterm children are at increased risk for cognitive deficits, academic underachievement, and behavioral problems, the frequency and severity of these impairments may decline with advances in neonatal care.

Despite recent changes in obstetric and neonatal management of extremely preterm infants, the rate of neurobehavioral impairments at school age is still too high. (Read the full article)

At least half of the achievement gap for low-income, minority children is present at kindergarten entry; however, there are no population-level early childhood interventions that effectively engage and support families and teachers to ameliorate the impact of adversity on achievement.

This study evaluated ParentCorps, a family-centered, school-based intervention to promote self-regulation and learning for all children entering school in disadvantaged, urban neighborhoods. ParentCorps results in higher kindergarten achievement among low-income, minority children. (Read the full article)

Current recommendations to prevent warts focus on limiting the personal spread of human papillomavirus and transmission in public places, such as swimming pools; however, evidence on risk factors for developing warts is limited.

Cutaneous human papillomavirus in primary schoolchildren is primarily transmitted in the family and school class. This suggests that recommendations should shift toward reducing transmission in families and school classes. (Read the full article)

Distracted driving due to texting while driving (TWD) has emerged as an important teenage safety issue. Previous studies have shown that the self-reported prevalence of TWD among teenagers varies widely.

In 2011, 45% of US high school students aged ≥16 years reported TWD during the past 30 days. TWD was positively associated with other risky motor vehicle behaviors; this association strengthened as frequency of TWD increased. (Read the full article)

Feeding difficulties often emerge during the neonatal period and affect neonatal growth. Growth throughout the first years of life is associated with children’s IQ scores and risk of behavioral problems.

Among infants born full term (≥37 weeks’ gestation) with birth weight ≥2500 g, gain in weight and head circumference during the neonatal period is associated with higher IQ, but not with behavior at 6.5 years of age. (Read the full article)

Several studies have investigated the prevalence of chronic daily headache (CDH) and analyzed the risk factors for its persistence. However, the etiologic factors that lead to new-onset CDH remain unsettled in adolescents.

This study was the first incidence study of CDH conducted in young adolescents. We reported the incidence rates and found that some risk factors for incident chronic migraine and chronic tension-type headache were different. (Read the full article)

Preschool language delay is associated with poorer academic performance, more limited employment opportunities, and relationship difficulties. Despite its importance within public health, there has been little progress toward effective population-based prevention and intervention approaches to improve outcomes.

It is feasible to identify low language in 4-year-olds on a population basis and deliver a 1-on-1 intervention. By age 5 years, this resulted in better phonological awareness and letter knowledge. There was weak evidence of better expressive, but not receptive, language. (Read the full article)

Unintentional injuries lead to a significant number of children suffering from long-lasting posttraumatic stress symptoms. Therefore, early identification of individuals at risk is crucial to provide preventative interventions. However, currently, no early screener has been evaluated in preschool-aged children.

Good sensitivity (85%) and acceptable specificity (63%) were found for an early screening measure for preschool-aged children after accidental injury. Hence, the 21-item Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale–Early Screener, a reliable and valid early screening instrument, is suggested for use within a stepped-care model. (Read the full article)

Physical activity (PA) levels in preschool children vary considerably between preschools, and are positively associated with the overall quality of the preschool. However, knowledge regarding specific characteristics of the preschool environment hypothesized to promote PA is inconsistent and lacking.

This study tested multiple potential correlates of preschool children’s objectively measured moderate and vigorous PA level during preschool attendance, identifying size of indoor area per child and location of preschool building on the playground as new potentially modifiable correlates. (Read the full article)

Violence from school staff toward children is anecdotally widespread, but there are few empirical data on prevalence and health consequences, especially in low-income settings.

Despite a ban on corporal punishment, just over 52% of children in Luwero District experienced physical violence from school staff members in the previous week. This was associated with poor mental health in boys and girls and poor educational performance in girls. (Read the full article)

The effects of previous school-based physical activity promotion interventions have been modest, and none have demonstrated significant or meaningful increases in children’s physical activity outside of school, a period characterized by disproportionally low levels of physical activity in youth.

This study adds to the evidence-base for the effectiveness of comprehensive school health programs by demonstrating that such novel interventions lead to statistically significant, meaningful increases in the amount of physical activity children achieved on weekends and after school hours. (Read the full article)

Injuries sustained by children in the school setting have a significant public health impact. A concerning subgroup of school injuries are due to intentional and violent etiologies. Several studies have identified a need for further research to understand intentional school-based injuries.

This study discusses national estimates and trends over time and risk factors of intentional injury–related emergency department visits due to injuries sustained in the school setting. (Read the full article)

Shoulder injuries are common among high school athletes. These injuries, both traumatic and overuse, contribute to significant time loss from athletic activity. Understanding sport-specific injury patterns is critical for development of targeted injury prevention programs.

This study is the most comprehensive analysis of high school shoulder injuries to date, providing national injury estimates while examining injury rates, diagnoses, severity, and mechanisms of injury in 9 interscholastic sports. (Read the full article)

Major depression is common among adolescents. The PHQ-9 has good sensitivity and specificity for detecting depression among adolescents in primary care settings. However, no study has examined the psychometric properties of the PHQ-9 among Chinese adolescents in school settings.

This is the first study to validate the use of the PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire–2 item, and Patient Health Questionnaire–1 item among Chinese adolescents in Taiwan. The PHQ-9 and its 2 subscales have good sensitivity and specificity for detecting depression among school adolescents. (Read the full article)

Greater numbers of invasive procedures from birth to term-equivalent age, adjusted for clinical confounders, are associated with altered brain microstructure during neonatal care and poorer cognitive outcome at 18 months’ corrected age in children born very preterm.

Altered myelination at school age is associated with greater numbers of invasive procedures during hospitalization in very preterm children without severe brain injury or neurosensory impairment. Greater numbers of invasive procedures and altered brain microstructure interact to predict lower IQ. (Read the full article)

An estimated 9.5% of children are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which affects academic and social outcomes. We previously found significant improvements in ADHD symptoms immediately after neurofeedback training at school.

This randomized controlled trial included a large sample of elementary school students with ADHD who received in-school computer attention training with neurofeedback or cognitive training. Students who received neurofeedback were reported to have fewer ADHD symptoms 6 months after the intervention. (Read the full article)

There is conflicting evidence about the relationship between dental caries in primary teeth and children’s height and weight.

Findings reveal an inverse linear association between caries levels and children’s height and weight. The findings take the argument beyond the presence or absence of an association and provide a better understanding of the pattern of this association. (Read the full article)

Existing literature indicates relationships between BMI, physical activity, sleep patterns, eating behavior, and health-related quality of life in children and adolescents. However, many previous studies have used non–preference-based instruments, which are not suitable for application within economic evaluation.

The Child Health Utility 9D, a new preference-based health-related quality of life instrument for application in economic evaluation in children and adolescents, revealed stronger associations between utilities and sleep patterns or eating behavior than with BMI, physical activity, or sedentary behavior. (Read the full article)

Many children experience the death of a parent during childhood. The long-term consequences of this life event, including school performance, and the importance of the psychosocial circumstances of the home have not been well elucidated in previous studies.

Both maternal and paternal deaths during childhood were associated with lower grades and school failure. Many of the associations (and especially for death due to external causes) were associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and psychosocial problems in the family. (Read the full article)

Diarrhea still remains as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Intervention to reduce this risk are needed. Evidence on the effect of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 to prevent diarrhea in children is scarce.

In healthy children attending day care centers, daily administration of L reuteri DSM 17938 had a significant effect in reducing episodes and duration of diarrhea and respiratory tract infections, with consequent cost saving for the community. (Read the full article)

Physical activity is beneficial to health. Parents are crucial in shaping children’s behaviors, with active mothers appearing to have active children. Little is known about this association in preschool-aged children, or about factors influencing activity in mothers of young children.

Mother-child physical activity levels were positively associated and influenced by temporal and demographic factors. Maternal activity levels were low, and influences differ by activity intensity. Health promotion efforts to increase activity in mothers may also benefit their young children. (Read the full article)

Many studies have demonstrated that the built environment is related to both collision risk and walking to school. However, little research examines the influence of the built environment on the relationship between walking to school and pedestrian collision risk.

Increased walking was not associated with increased pedestrian collision once the effects of the built environment and socioeconomic status were modeled. Safety was related primarily to the built environment and specifically features related to road crossing. (Read the full article)

Mixed results exist regarding the efficacy of caregiver-mediated interventions for children who have ASD. To date, randomized controlled studies have rarely compared 2 active interventions; none have focused on targeting families who are low-resourced in the community.

Significant improvements were found in social communication of children who have autism when caregivers received a hands-on caregiver training intervention in the home. These are the first data from a low-intensity, short-term intervention with low-resourced families. (Read the full article)

Sending and receiving sexually explicit picture and text messages (sexting) is related to sexual activity and risk behavior among some high school populations, yet little is known about sexting associations with sexual activity and risk behavior among middle school students.

This study is the first to examine sexting among a probability sample of middle school students and found that middle school students who text excessively and send and receive sexts are more likely to report being sexually active. (Read the full article)

Hookah use is increasing dramatically among US adolescents. Many consider it a safer alternative to cigarettes. Existing studies often use nonrepresentative local populations to assess prevalence and correlates of hookah use.

This study used a nationally representative sample of US high school seniors. It confirmed some previously found correlates and determined that adolescents of higher socioeconomic status were at high risk for hookah use. (Read the full article)

Graduating from high school is associated with better health and health behaviors. However, no rigorous studies have tested whether exposure to a high-performing school improves health or health behaviors, thus the causal relationship is unknown.

Exposure to successful schools can reduce very risky health behaviors among low-income adolescents. The primary mechanism is mostly due to better school retention and also due to better academic achievement. (Read the full article)

Children with cognitive delay have been shown to have more behavior problems than typically developing children; however, few studies have investigated this relationship over time or among very young children.

Our findings provide some of the first national, prospective evidence that having a cognitive delay may place children at risk for developing and maintaining behavior problems before school age. Early identification and intervention may improve outcomes for these children. (Read the full article)

Recent concussion research has examined the role of impact location (ie, the area on the head to which impact occurred); however, no studies exist regarding impact location’s association with concussion outcomes (eg, symptomatology, symptom resolution time, return to play).

This study is the first to examine the association of impact location and concussion outcomes in young athletes. Our findings suggest that impact location, as assessed by sideline observers/player report, is likely of little use in predicting clinical outcomes. (Read the full article)

Children born very preterm (VPT) are at high risk of educational delay. School readiness has been identified as a potentially useful clinical framework for early detection of those at greatest risk. However, evidence to support its predictive validity is limited.

VPT preschoolers are at risk of impairment across the 5 American Academy of Pediatrics school readiness domains. The number of domains affected predicted likelihood of later learning problems, supporting the utility of schoolreadiness frameworks for identifying children needing surveillance and/or support. (Read the full article)

There is a generational shift in social norms related to body weight among adult population; little is known about the secular change of paternal perceptions of their child’s weight.

A shift in body norms toward heavier weight statuses exists among parents of children, presenting a vast challenge to family-based childhood obesity prevention. Primary care providers can play a more active role in identifying the children with increased weight. (Read the full article)

Overweight and peer victimization are common in childhood and negatively affect health and well-being. Overweight may predispose children to peer victimization, but whether adiposity also increases the risk of bullying perpetration is unclear.

A high BMI at school entry predicts bullying involvement, according to reports of teachers and children themselves. Although trends were visible across the whole BMI spectrum, particularly obese children were victimized and likely to be bully perpetrators. (Read the full article)

Asthma and food allergy are common chronic conditions impacting 14% and 8% of US school-aged children, respectively. School districts must be prepared to track students who have these conditions to ensure proper daily management and emergency response.

This study examines the demographic distribution of asthma and food allergy and the existence of school health management plans in a large, urban school district. The findings show that school health management plans are underused for both conditions. (Read the full article)

School-based health centers (SBHCs) are known to increase access to medical care and mental health services for at-risk adolescents. Policymakers have suggested that SBHCs could function as patient-centered medical homes, but SBHCs have not been evaluated in that context.

Using the constructs of the patient-centered medical home as defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics (accessibility, continuity, comprehensiveness, family-centeredness, coordination, and compassion), this study shows that SBHCs have the potential to function as medical homes from the perspective of adolescents and parents. (Read the full article)

Cyber dating abuse victimization has been correlated with physical, sexual, and psychological adolescent relationship abuse.

This is the first clinic-based study of cyber dating abuse. Forty-one percent of youth reported cyber dating abuse victimization, female more than male respondents. Compared with nonexposed youth, abuse victims reported more sexual assault; female victims reported more contraceptive nonuse and reproductive coercion. (Read the full article)

Preparticipation physical evaluations (PPEs) are considered necessary for a high standard of care for US scholastic athletes. However, important questions remain regarding consistency of implementation and content of cardiovascular screening practices among states.

Our results show that PPE policies are variable among US states, and adoption of current PPE-4 best practices is slow, demonstrating the need for nationwide PPE standardization. (Read the full article)

Adolescent relationship abuse (ARA) is prevalent in confidential clinic settings such as school health centers (SHCs) and is associated with poor health outcomes. No evidence-based interventions target reduction of ARA in the SHC setting.

This study provides the first evidence of the potential benefits of a brief provider-delivered universal education and counseling intervention in SHCs to address and prevent a major public health problem: ARA. (Read the full article)

Sleep deprivation is a worldwide problem in adolescents. The effectiveness of sleep education in enhancing sleep knowledge with consequent modification of sleep habits remains uncertain, in view of small sample sizes and lack of control groups in previous studies.

This large-scale, cluster randomized controlled study found that a school-based sleep education program was effective in enhancing sleep knowledge and improving behavioral and mental health, but it had no significant impact on sleep duration or pattern among adolescents. (Read the full article)

It is unclear whether developmental delays observed among infants with single-suture craniosynostosis (SSC) persist at school age. Few neurodevelopmental studies have examined children with SSC beyond age 3, with most having methodological limitations.

This study is the first to follow and test infants with SSC and a control group at school age. Infancy delays among children with SSC persisted at school age in some areas (IQ, math) but not others (reading, spelling). (Read the full article)

Although the psychometric properties of the school-age Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) have been extensively examined by using longitudinal data, the preschool version of the SDQ has only been explored in a limited number of cross-sectional studies.

This is the first psychometric study of the preschool SDQ using longitudinal data. We report measurement invariance over time, satisfactory reliability, construct and criterion validity, and predictive utility for subsequent behavioral problems (4 years) and clinical disorders (2 years). (Read the full article)

Selective eating is a common, burdensome eating pattern in young children. A significant subset remain selective eaters at least until adolescence and, for some, adulthood. The question is whether selective eating is a serious enough developmental pattern to warrant intervention.

This study examines whether selective eating, at 2 levels of severity, is associated with current and future psychological problems. Because moderate levels of selective eating were associated with impairment, selective eating falls within the diagnosis of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. (Read the full article)

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parent-child reading from infancy through at least kindergarten, the span of maximal brain growth. Home literacy environment, including reading behaviors and access to books, has been shown to promote oral language and print concepts.

Home reading environment is positively associated with activation of brain areas supporting narrative comprehension and mental imagery in preschool children. This offers novel insight into the neurobiological foundations of emergent literacy and potential effect of shared reading during early childhood. (Read the full article)

A previous national study conducted over 2 seasons by this group of authors demonstrated the effectiveness of mandated protective eyewear in reducing eye/orbital, concussive, and head/facial injuries in high school girls' field hockey.

Data collected from regional/national high school sports injury surveillance databases by certified athletic trainers over 4 seasons has shown that nationally mandated protective eyewear results in a greater than 3-fold reduced risk of eye/orbital injuries in girls playing high school field hockey. (Read the full article)

Electronic cigarette use among youth is rising exponentially. Among other concerns, modified electronic cigarettes can be used to vaporize cannabis. However, no scientific data have been published on the rates of using electronic cigarettes to vaporize cannabis among youth.

This study presents rates of vaporizing cannabis among a sample of high school students (N = 3847). Rates of vaporizing cannabis were high among lifetime e-cigarette users (18.0%), lifetime cannabis users (18.4%), and lifetime dual cannabis and e-cigarette users (26.5%). (Read the full article)

Preschool language delay predicts poorer academic performance, employment opportunities, and social relationships. Language for Learning, a systematic, population-based intervention for 4-year-olds with low language, is feasible, acceptable and has short-term benefits, but long-term benefits are unknown.

Population ascertainment at age 4 followed by a yearlong, one-on-one home program benefited phonological skills (an important literacy determinant) at age 6, but not the primary language outcomes. To be cost-effective, future follow-up would need to demonstrate lasting academic benefits. (Read the full article)

Many families share genetic cancer risk information with their children, and some parents and providers believe BRCA1/2 testing should be permitted in adolescence. The psychosocial effects and impact on health and risk behaviors of this knowledge is unknown.

In our cohort of 869 mother-daughter pairs, we found no differences in general adjustment, but 10- to 13-year-old girls with breast cancer family histories reported higher breast cancer–specific distress and perceived breast cancer risk. Mother distress was associated with daughter distress. (Read the full article)

Educators are changing instructional priorities, altering lessons, and working on ways to help teachers grow professionally, all in an effort to raise math achievement.

Boston Public Schools is turning innovative ideas into action through a new professional development network.