Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

The answer to last week’s Trivia Tuesday is… 18-24 months! Around this age, many toddlers start to understand and say words like “boy” or “girl,” but they are still learning what those words really mean.

This week’s question is: Why is pretend play (like playing house) important for young children?
A. It helps them fall asleep faster
B. It boosts emotional and social skills
C. It helps with hand-eye coordination
D. It teaches them math

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this week’s question!

With the rise of technology, music became more accessible, and more genres have emerged! Such genres can impact the lives of the listeners; for example, someone may benefit greatly from instrumental or classical music when studying. In this article, the researchers look at how different genres of music can impact adolescent’s cognitive abilities, stress, etc. 

Jazz was surprisingly the most helpful in improving calmness and decreasing stress in the participants. Classical music greatly increased calmness, which caused lower energy levels in the participants, whereas Hip-hop increased their energy levels and mood. Interestingly, Pop music had no effect in either variables. In addition, they found that calmness and energy are respectively correlated with stress and mood. 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Created in Australia, the kids TV show, Bluey, became an international hit among children and families. Though episodes are quite short, each highlights life lessons and emotional growth. For children, the visually appealing graphics and talking dogs foster their imagination, encouraging creativity. However, older audiences not-so secretly enjoy watching this kids’ show as well! One could say that their inner child is healed while watching the therapeutical elements of the show. 

Children may not notice, but older viewers and adults can recognize the adult subtext that’s often in children’s media. In Bluey, the adult subtext is not inappropriate or crude like in other media to garner attention, but the attention from adults in this show comes from the characters being relatable in everyday life. Bluey’s parents are shown to make mistakes, talk about serious topics, or get emotional – all realistic behaviors that real parents engage in. The show closely mirrors real family dynamics, making it comforting and reassuring for parents to see. 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Previous research has shown a consistent positive correlation between the arts and both children’s and adolescents’ intellectual development. Specifically, musical education and participation have shown the strongest association, as creating music is a complex task that engages multiple brain systems. 

This article explores whether this positive association between music and learning is causal or not, as existing research is speculative at best. Using data from a large, nationally representative sample, researchers found that there is no evidence that education in the arts causes better academic or personal outcomes (higher GPA, self-esteem, etc.). However, children who chose to engage in arts when they were younger are more likely to stay engaged in the arts later in life, meaning it is good to encourage children to get involved in the arts at a young age.

 

To read more, click here!

 

Alexandra Lagaros, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

In Rusbult’s investment model of romantic commitment, satisfaction and investment correlates with commitment within a romantic relationship. Thus, it can predict the stability of relationships, and even friendships, as the author predicts. The only difference between a romantic relationship and a friendship is that they aren’t exclusive. Individuals can have multiple friends but only one romantic partner (not including polyamory relationships). 

The researchers applied Rusbult’s model onto adolescent best friendships to predict their friendship stability. After analyzing data from adolescent boys and girls of both stable and nonstable friendships, the model was proven to be applicable in friendships and predictive abilities of stability. The better friendship stability, the higher levels of satisfaction, investments, and commitment there would be! These variables are also more important for girls than boys. 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

In her Ted Talk on childhood trauma Doctor Nadine Burke Harris discusses the long term affects of childhood trauma on an individuals psyche along with the types of care that can help someone combat the negative affects of adverse childhood experiences. Dr. Harris describes how trauma can trigger a fight or flight response in individuals and if this response is constantly activated, individuals can experience long term negative health affects such as chronic stress, anxiety, depression, heart disease and even death.

However, Dr. Harris also discusses methods to combat these adverse childhood experiences. She emphasizes the importance of more holistic approaches in regards to treating individuals with trauma based disorders and how these approaches can assist in breaking the cycle of trauma that many individuals who are victims of adverse childhood experiences often go through.

 

Jay Schieffelin

There are many types of family support services that can aid children’s mental health, starting in the 1980’s. Parents that are included in their child’s treatments are quite common. In this literature review, the authors discovered and discussed five important types of familial support: informational, instructional, emotional, instrument, and advocacy. 

The authors were curious if family support programs were more effective than regular clinical practices/treatment. Family support services differ from traditional clinical care since it helps the parents with their personal well-being as well as learning about child management. Family-led programs also highlight advocacy and instrumental support. Even with the lack of research of the use of family programs, there is great potential for it to be utilized more in the future to help families! 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

The answer to last week’s Trivia Tuesday is… 6-7 years old! This is usually when children are in first or second grade. At this age, children are able to recognize common words, use phonics to decode new words, and are able to read simple sentences smoothly.

 

This week’s question is: At what age are children able to recognize and label different gender groups?

1. 6-12 months
2. 12-18 months
3. 18-24 months
4. 24-30 months

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this week’s question!

One of the most common psychiatric disorders in the United States is major depression. It can inhibit one’s daily functioning, regardless of age. Due to the high prevalence of the disorder, there’s an abundance of research aimed at discovering effective and efficient treatments. In this article, the researchers look at past literature that focus on the efficacy of family therapy for depression in multiple studies.  

Based on six studies, family therapy is more effective when compared to no treatment/waiting list. However, when compared to group/behavioral/cognitive interventions, there was no clear conclusion that family therapy is better/as effective as these other treatments. This does not mean it’s not used in treatment, in fact it’s used widely for many patients, but only when clinicians deem it useful. More research is needed to determine if family therapy is the best treatment for individuals with major depression.  

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Kathleen Gallagher’s Ted Talk, “The Healthy Child: Assembly Required” takes a reflective look at how in order the nurturing of a healthy child does not only involve physical well-being but psychological well-being as well. Gallagher discusses the many benefits of raising a child in a healthy, nurturing environment with these benefits ranging from an expanded vocabulary in preschool to lower rates of heart disease as adults.

Gallagher goes on to explain that issues preventing children from being raised in nurturing environments are often systemic and challenging these issues needs to be tackled with an understanding that these issues are often systemic. Poverty, racial prejudice, and prejudice against LGBTQ+ individuals are examples of systemic problems that hinder healthy child development.

Examples are also provided of healthy non-physical care that parents who promote healthy environments instill in their households. A few of these examples include nurturing strong emotional bonds, promoting language use, and providing access to resources that help children learn both social skills and academic skills.

Overall, Gallaghers Ted Talk discusses how a healthy child is created through a sum of different forms of care provided in their households.