Measuring social-emotional development in schoolchildren: A national-level analysis of ECLS-B cohort data.

The present study examined the social-emotional development items assessed by kindergarten teachers in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort to determine the optimal factor structure underlying the items as well as the reliability and validity of the resulting factors. This study identified an empirically derived factor structure for teacher-reported social development, investigated whether there was evidence of bias in teacher assessments of social-emotional constructs, examined factor invariance across demographic characteristics (i.e.

Correction to: A Disruption, Not an Interruption: The Impact of COVID-19 on Child Care in Iowa.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s10566-023-09739-8.].

A Disruption, Not an Interruption: The Impact of COVID-19 on Child Care in Iowa.

Background: In March 2020, when public health stay home orders began in order to halt the spread of COVID-19, child care as an industry was drastically and abruptly impacted. This public health emergency highlighted the weaknesses in the child care system in the United States.

Objective: This study investigated the changes in operations cost, child enrollment and attendance, and state and federal support that occurred during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic among both center-based and home-based child care programs.

Developmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young children: a conceptual model for research with integrated administrative data systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic made its mark on the entire world, upending economies, shifting work and education, and exposing deeply rooted inequities. A particularly vulnerable, yet less studied population includes our youngest children, ages zero to five, whose proximal and distal contexts have been exponentially affected with unknown impacts on health, education, and social-emotional well-being. Integrated administrative data systems could be important tools for understanding these impacts.

A longitudinal analysis of fast-food exposure on child weight outcomes: Identifying causality through school transitions.

This article investigates the effect of fast-food availability on childhood weight outcomes by gender, race, and location. We use a novel identification strategy based on changes in fast-food exposure along the route between the home and school that occur as students progress through the public school system and transition to different types of schools, e.g.

Obese Peers' Influence on Students' BMI: Heterogeneity in Race and Sex.

Objectives: In this study, we investigate peer influence on obesity, with a focus on race and sex.

Methods: We conducted econometric analysis of longitudinal health data of 277,566 public school students, ages 5-13 years.

Results: A percentage point increase in the proportion of obese students within the same grade increased a student's BMI z-scores by about 4 one-thousandths of a standard deviation.

Prevalence, Patterns, and Predictors: A Statewide Longitudinal Study of Childhood Obesity.

Background: We examined prevalence, incidence, and trajectory of obesity from kindergarten through grade 8 in one of the first states to implement annual surveillance.

Methods: Participants included 16,414 children enrolled in kindergarten in Arkansas in 2004 with complete body mass index (BMI) measurements in kindergarten and eighth grade. Repeated measures of weight status were entered in multiple linear and logistic regression models with demographics and family poverty status.

Middle school transition and body weight outcomes: Evidence from Arkansas Public Schoolchildren.

There is evidence that middle school transition adversely affects educational and psychological outcomes of pre-teen children, but little is known about the impacts of middle school transition on other aspects of health. In this article, we estimate the impact of middle school transition on the body mass index (BMI) of public schoolchildren in Arkansas, United States. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find that middle school transition in grade 6 led to a moderate decrease of 0.

Food environment and childhood obesity: the effect of dollar stores.

In this paper we examine the effect of dollar stores on children's Body Mass Index (BMI). We use a dataset compiled by the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement that reflects a BMI screening program for public school children in the state of Arkansas. We combine propensity score matching with difference-in-differences methods to deal with time-invariant as well time-varying unobserved factors.

Pregnancy weight gain and childhood body weight: a within-family comparison.

Background: Excessive pregnancy weight gain is associated with obesity in the offspring, but this relationship may be confounded by genetic and other shared influences. We aimed to examine the association of pregnancy weight gain with body mass index (BMI) in the offspring, using a within-family design to minimize confounding.

Methods And Findings: In this population-based cohort study, we matched records of all live births in Arkansas with state-mandated data on childhood BMI collected in public schools (from August 18, 2003 to June 2, 2011).

Statewide policies for safer teen driving: an evaluation of the impact of graduated driver licensing in Arkansas.

Background: Graduated driver licensing (GDL) requirements aim to reduce the incidence of motor vehicle crashes and crash-related fatalities for novice drivers by limiting their exposure to the most risky driving situations. These programs vary across states in their scope, intensity, and impact. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term impact of the 2009 Arkansas GDL on reducing teen crashes and fatal crashes.

Academic achievement of African American boys: a city-wide, community-based investigation of risk and resilience.

In light of persistent Black-White achievement gaps for boys, this study examined publicly monitored risks believed to be associated with being behind academically for an entire subpopulation of African American boys in a large urban public school district. Also examined were indicators of academic engagement hypothesized to mediate the relations between risks and low achievement. Findings indicated that the Black-White achievement gap for boys was matched by a comparable difference in risk experiences.

Tigecycline for the treatment of Acinetobacter infections: a case series.

Background: Acinetobacter infections resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics have become prevalent in many institutions. Tigecycline has in vitro activity against Acinetobacter spp. and has been suggested as a therapeutic option in these infections.