Early motor development and later language and reading skills in children at risk of familial dyslexia.

Relationships between early motor development and language and reading skills were studied in 154 children, of whom 75 had familial risk of dyslexia (37 females, 38 males; at-risk group) and 79 constituted a control group (32 females, 47 males). Motor development was assessed by a structured parental questionnaire during the child's first year of life. Vocabulary and inflectional morphology skills were used as early indicators of language skills at 3 years 6 months and 5 years or 5 years 6 months of age, and reading speed was used as a later indicator of reading skills at 7 years of age. The same subgroups as in our earlier study (in which the cluster analysis was described) were used in th…

Clumsiness in Adolescence: Educational, Motor, and Social Outcomes of Motor Delay Detected at 5 Years

This paper reports the follow-up at age 15 of a group of children who were diagnosed at age 5 as having delayed motor development. The group of children who were clumsy and the control group still differed in motor performance 10 years later: 46% of the members of the early motor delay group were classified as different from the control group on motor and perceptual tasks. The remainder made up an intermediate group that could not be clearly distinguished from the other groups. Adolescents with stable motor problems had fewer social hobbies and pastimes and had lower academic ambitions for their future than the controls, although the lower academic ambitions also reflect their lower academi…

Teachers adapt their instruction in reading according to individual children’s literacy skills

Abstract This study examined the extent to which first grade teachers adapt their reading instruction to the literacy skills of particular children in their classroom, and investigated whether teacher and classroom characteristics influence such adaptation. Three hundred seven Finnish children were tested with regard to their literacy skills at the end of their kindergarten year. At the beginning of the first grade, the teachers of these children filled in a questionnaire on the reading support they had given each child. The results showed, first, that the poorer the literacy skills a child showed at the end of kindergarten, the more personal reading instruction the teacher gave the child i…

Practice effects on visuomotor and problem-solving tests by children.

Practice effects on a visuomotor test (the Developmental Test of Visuo-Motor Integration), a timed visual discrimination test (the Underlining Test), and two problem-solving tests (the Porteus Mazes Test and the Tower of Hanoi Test) were analyzed. Children of two age groups ( Ms: 7.7 and 11.6 yr.) were chosen to study the effect of age on practice effects. The tests were repeated nine times with test-retest intervals of 2 mo. The Developmental Test of Visuo-Motor Integration showed no practice effects, while the Porteus Mazes Test, the Underlining Test, and the Tower of Hanoi Test showed significant practice effects. Practice effects were larger for the older age group on all the tests, ex…

Do fatty acids help in overcoming reading difficulties? A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and carnosine supplementation on children with dyslexia.

Background  There are claims that dietary supplementation of unsaturated fatty acids could help children with dyslexia to overcome their reading problems. However, these claims have not yet been empirically tested. Methods  This study was designed to test whether dietary supplementation was superior to placebo in treating reading, spelling or other reading-related skills of children with dyslexia. The experimental group (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA, n = 30) ate dietary supplements and the control group (placebo, n = 31) placebos during the 90-day treatment period. The supplements contained omega-3 fatty acid (ethyl-EPA, 500 mg/day) and carnosine (400 mg/day). The groups were matched for read…

The Associations of Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Time with Cognitive Functions in School-Aged Children

Abstract. Low levels of physical activity among children have raised concerns over the effects of a physically inactive lifestyle, not only on physical health but also on cognitive prerequisites of learning. This study examined how objectively measured and self- reported physical activity and sedentary behavior are associated with cognitive functions in school-aged children. The study population consisted of 224 children from five schools in the Jyva ̈ skyla ̈ school district in Finland (mean age 12.2 years; 56% girls), who participated in the study in the spring of 2011. Physical activity and sedentary time were measured objectively for seven consecutive days using the ActiGraph GT1M/GT3X …

Internal Consistency and Stability of the CANTAB Neuropsychological Test Battery in Children

The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) is a computerassessed test battery widely use in different populations. The internal consistency and one-year stability of CANTAB tests were examined in school-aged children. Two hundred-thirty children (57% girls) from 5 schools in the Jyväskylä school district in Finland participated in the study in spring 2011. The children completed the following CANTAB tests: a) visual memory (Pattern Recognition Memory [PRM] and Spatial Recognition Memory [SRM]), b) executive function (Spatial Span [SSP], Stockings of Cambridge [SOC], and Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift [IED]), and c) attention (Reaction Time [RTI] and Rapid Visual Inf…

Basic numeracy in children with specific language impairment: heterogeneity and connections to language.

Purpose This study examined basic numerical skills in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and how well linguistic factors explain the variance in these children’s number skills. Method The performance of children with SLI ( n = 29) was compared with that of typically developing children along a continuum ranging from preschool to 3rd grade ( n = 20, 47, 40, and 33). This facilitated both linguistic and educational age comparisons. To study number skills within the SLI group more closely, this group was divided into subgroups on the basis of their performance in verbal and nonverbal numerical skills. The performance of the different SLI subgroups on the linguistic and nonverbal…

Longitudinal and situational associations between math anxiety and performance among early adolescents

Studies have found math anxiety and achievement to be related from the beginning of formal schooling, but the knowledge regarding the direction of the relationship is vague. The purpose of the present study was to study this relationship. We investigated math anxiety from two points of view: trait and state anxiety. In the first substudy, we investigated the longitudinal relationship between math anxiety and performance from sixth to seventh grade (n = 848) with cross-lagged modeling. In the second substudy, we investigated the situational relationship of anxiety and performance by giving the participants (n = 149) challenging and nonchallenging math tasks adapted to their skill level, and …

Treating missing data in a clinical neuropsychological dataset--data imputation.

Missing data frequently reduce the applicability of clinically collected data in research requiring multivariate statistics. In data imputation, missing values are replaced by predicted values obtained from models based on auxiliary information. Our aim was to complete a clinical child neuropsychological data set containing 5.2% of missing observations. This was to be used in research requiring multivariate statistics. We compared four data imputation methods by artificially deleting some data. A real-donor imputation method which preserved the parameter estimates and which predicted the observed values with acceptable accuracy was used to complete the data set. In addressing the lack of st…

Yksinäisyyden, omaehtoisen yksinolon ja vanhemmille uskoutumisen yhteydet varhaisnuorten kouluviihtyvyyteen

Tämä tutkimus on osa Jyväskylän yliopiston psykologian laitoksen tutkijoiden toteuttamaa ja Suomen Akatemian rahoittamaa TIKAPUU – Alakoulusta yläkouluun -tutkimushanketta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää yksinäisyyden ja omaehtoisen yksinolon yhteyttä varhaisnuorten kouluviihtyvyyteen. Lisäksi tavoitteena oli tarkastella, ovatko yksinäisyyden ja omaehtoisen yksinolon yhteydet kouluviihtyvyyteen erilaisia sen mukaan, missä määrin nuori pystyy uskoutumaan vanhemmilleen. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu syksyllä 2014 tutkimukseen osallistuneista kuudesluokkalaisista nuorista (N = 856). Oppilaat vastasivat kysymyksiin yksinäisyydestä, omaehtoisesta yksinolemisesta, kouluviihtyvyydestä sekä v…

The Role of Learning Difficulties in Adolescents’ Academic Emotions and Academic Achievement

The present study examines associations between learning difficulties (LD), academic emotions, and academic achievement among 845 Grade 6 adolescents (455 girls, 390 boys). Reading difficulties (RD) and math difficulties (MD) were identified based on tested reading and math skills in the fall semester of Grade 6. At this time, the students also rated their hope, enjoyment, and anxiety regarding literacy and math. Information on students' achievement in literacy and math, as well as their overall academic achievement, was gathered using questionnaires in both the fall and spring semesters of Grade 6. The results show, first, that students with RD had lower hope and higher anxiety toward read…

Do childhood motor problems predict later academic achievement through physical activity, fitness and obesity?

The feasibility of working memory tablet tasks in predicting scholastic skills in classroom settings

Cognitive assessment in natural group settings facilitates data collection but poses threats to the validity. In this study, tablet‐based working memory (WM) tasks, the counting span, and reading span were used in predicting 12‐year‐old children's (N = 837) scholastic skills and fluid intelligence in a classroom with environmental noise. WM tasks had excellent internal consistency, correlated with scholastic skills, and accounted for more of the variance in cognitive performance (grade point average, fluid intelligence, scholastic skills) compared with individually administered (n = 190) digit span task. Furthermore, the multilevel analysis revealed that compared with the classrooms with no…

Arithmetic disabilities with and without reading difficulties: A comparison of arithmetic errors

Arithmetic errors of 80 children with arithmetic disabilities, representing 3% of a population‐based sample, and of 80 sex‐ and age‐matched control children were systematically analyzed. In Analysis 1, covariance structure modeling (LISREL) was applied to analyze relations between reading, as measured by text reading accuracy and speed, and arithmetic error types. The results demonstrated that reading accuracy and speed were connected to errors in multiplication fact retrieval. In Analysis 2, a classification of children with arithmetic disabilities into subgroups by reading accuracy and speed difficulties revealed that children with dysfluent reading made more fact‐retrieval errors than di…

Diet quality and academic achievement : A prospective study among primary school children

Purpose Poor diet quality may impair academic achievement in children, but such evidence is limited. Therefore, we investigated the associations of healthy diet in Grade 1 assessed by Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS), and Finnish Children Healthy Eating Index (FCHEI) with academic achievement in Grades 1–3 in children. Methods The participants were 161 Finnish children who were 6–8 years old in Grade 1 and attended in a large ongoing physical activity and dietary intervention study. Dietary factors were assessed using 4-day food records, and MDS, BSDS, and FCHEI were calculated. Academic achievement was assessed by reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arit…

Suspected motor problems and low preference for active play in childhood are associated with physical inactivity and low fitness in adolescence.

Background This prospective longitudinal study investigates whether suspected motor problems and low preference for active play in childhood are associated with physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence. Methodology/Principal Findings The study sample consisted of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC 1986) composed of 5,767 children whose parents responded to a postal inquiry concerning their children's motor skills at age 8 years and who themselves reported their physical activity at age 16 years. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured with a cycle ergometer test at age 16 years. Odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the level o…

How does early developmental assessment predict academic and attentional-behavioural skills at group and individual levels?

The main aim of the study was to explore the ability of a brief developmental assessment to predict teacher-rated learning and attentional and behavioural skills in the first grade of school at both the group and individual levels. A sample of 394 children (181 males, 213 females) aged 4 years were followed to the age of 6 years, and 283 of the children (145 males, 138 females; mean age 7 y 11 mo) were followed further to the first grade (age 7 y) at school. The children were administered a brief but comprehensive developmental assessment (Lene - a neurodevelopmental screening method) at their local child health-care centres at ages 4 and 6 years. In the first grade, teachers completed a de…

How are learning experiences and task properties associated with adolescents’ emotions and psychophysiological states?

We examined whether learning experiences (value of success, mastery experience) and task properties (challenge) are related to early adolescents’ (n = 190, median age = 12) emotional responses and psychophysiological states (autonomic nervous system, ANS) in achievement situations in an ambulatory laboratory. They completed four achievement tasks (two math and two reading) at different challenge levels in randomized order, and reported their learning and task perceptions for each task. The proportion of errors indicated the objective demandingness of each task. As indices of sympathetic nervous system activity, we recorded skin conductance response (SCR) and heart rate (HR), and, as parasym…

Mediating effects of motor performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour on the associations of adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors with academic achievement in children

We investigated the associations of cardiometabolic risk factors with academic achievement and whether motor performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, or sedentary behaviour mediated these associations. Altogether 175 children 6–8 years-of-age participated in the study. We assessed body fat percentage (BF%), waist circumference, insulin, glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, leptin, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arithmetic skills were assessed using standardized tests. Speed/agility, balance, and manual dexterity test results were used to calculate moto…

Multimodal intervention in children with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

ABSTRACT Children (N = 3) with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorders were trained by using a multimodal programme, which comprised three types of intervention: children's individual and group‐based cognitive training, parent training and classroom intervention. The study was done using the experimental single‐case design. Baseline and progress were evaluated by classroom observations, questionnaires and rating scales. Results concerning the two children who were able to finish the programme were promising. Progress was seen in both classroom observations and parent and teacher ratings. Results are discussed and considered from the transactional point of view and some ideas about develop…

Neuropsychological subgroups of adolescents with conduct disorder

Narhi, V., Lehto-Salo, P., Ahonen, T. & Marttunen, M. (2010). Neuropsychological subgroups of adolescents with conduct disorder. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 278–284. In group-level studies adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) have been found to have deficiencies in verbal and executive functions. Teichner and Golden (2000) addressed the neuropsychological heterogeneity of CD, and hypothesized the existence of six neuropsychologically different subgroups. We used that theoretical basis to identify subgroups among 77 adolescents with CD and 48 controls. Among subjects with CD we identified subjects with no, diffuse, verbal and executive function deficits, but none with specific …

Unveiling the Mysteries of Dyslexia-Lessons Learned from the Prospective Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia.

This paper reviews the observations of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD). The JLD is a prospective family risk study in which the development of children with familial risk for dyslexia (N = 108) due to parental dyslexia and controls without dyslexia risk (N = 92) were followed from birth to adulthood. The JLD revealed that the likelihood of at-risk children performing poorly in reading and spelling tasks was fourfold compared to the controls. Auditory insensitivity of newborns observed during the first week of life using brain event-related potentials (ERPs) was shown to be the first precursor of dyslexia. ERPs measured at six months of age related to phoneme length identi…

Trail Making Test in assessing children with reading disabilities: a test of executive functions or content information.

The speed of performance on Part A, Part B, and on an experimental version containing alphabetical series (Part A Alphabetic) of the Trail Making Test was studied with 19 children with reading disabilities and 34 controls from Grades 4 to 6. When the test was used in discriminant profile fashion, children with reading disabilities showed a deficit compared with control children on Part B relative to Part A but did not relative to the new Part A Alphabetic. The results indicate that the performance of the children with reading disabilities on Part B is likely to be affected by their slowness on the alphabetical series. Based on these results we recommend that the speed of following the alph…

Continuity From Prelinguistic Communication to Later Language Ability: A Follow-Up Study From Infancy to Early School Age.

Purpose This longitudinal study examined the development of prelinguistic skills and the continuity of communication and language from the prelinguistic stage to school age. Method Prelinguistic communication of 427 Finnish children was followed repeatedly from 6 to 18 months of age ( n = 203–322 at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months), and its associations with language ability at ages 2;0 ( n = 104), 3;0 ( n = 112), 4;7 ( n = 253), 5;3 ( n = 102), and 7;9 ( n = 236) were examined using latent growth curve modeling. Results Prelinguistic development across several skills emerged as a rather stable intraindividual characteristic during the first 2 years of life. Continuity from prelinguistic …

Predicting Delay in Reading Achievement in a Highly Transparent Language

A random sample of 91 preschool children was assessed prior to receiving formal reading instruction. Verbal and nonverbal measures were used as predictors for the time of instruction required to accurately decode pseudowords in the highly orthographically regular Finnish language. After 2 years, participants were divided into four groups depending on the duration of instruction they had required to reach 90 % accuracy in their reading of pseudowords. Participants were classified as precocious decoders (PD), who could read at school entry; early decoders (ED), who learned to read within the first 4 months of Grade 1; ordinary decoders (OD), who learned to read within 9 months; and late deco…

Resolving reading disability : Childhood predictors and adult-age outcomes

We examined frequency of adult-age reading disability (RD) and its childhood predictors among 48 adults (20 to 39 years) with documented childhood RD, and contrasted their cognitive skills, education, and employment with 37 matched controls. Among individuals with childhood RD, more than half had improved in their reading fluency to the level where the set criterion for adult-age RD was not met anymore. More fluent rapid naming, less severe childhood RD, and multiple support providers in childhood together predicted improvement of reading fluency. More fluent naming differentiated the childhood RD participants whose reading fluency had improved by adult-age from those participants whose RD …

Psychosocial Functioning of Children with and without Dyslexia: A Follow-up Study from Ages Four to Nine

This longitudinal study compares developmental changes in psychosocial functioning during the transition into school of children with and without dyslexia. In addition, it examines the effects of gender and family risk for dyslexia in terms of the associations between dyslexia and psychosocial functioning. Children's psychosocial functioning (social skills, inattention and externalizing and internalizing problems) was evaluated by their parents at ages 4, 6 and 9, and diagnosis for dyslexia was made at age 8 (in grade 2). The findings indicated that children with dyslexia were already rated as having poorer social skills and being more inattentive than were typical readers before their entr…

Speech and language development of children born at 32 weeks' gestation: a 5-year prospective follow-up study

Speech and language comprehension and production were assessed at the age of 5 years in a cohort of children born preterm at 32 weeks' gestational age (N=55) in comparison with children born at term and of similar age, sex, and social backgrounds. Data both including and excluding major neurological disabilities are presented. Mean performance for the entire group of preterm children was significantly lower than for the controls on most of the measures including the composite IQ scores. When the nine children who had major neurological disabilities were excluded from the preterm “group, statistically significant differences were found on four of the total 12 speech and language measures. In…

Academic skills in children with early-onset type 1 diabetes: the effects of diabetes-related risk factors

Aim  The study aimed to assess the effects of diabetes-related risk factors, especially severe hypoglycaemia, on the academic skills of children with early-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Method  The study comprised 63 children with T1DM (31 females, 32 males; mean age 9y 11mo, SD 4mo) and 92 comparison children without diabetes (40 females, 52 males; mean age 9y 9mo, SD 3mo). Children were included if T1DM had been diagnosed before the age of 5 years and if they were aged between 9 and 10 years at the time of study. Children were not included if their native language was not Finnish and if they had a diagnosed neurological disorder that affected their cognitive development. Among th…

Neurocognitive functioning in children with type-1 diabetes with and without episodes of severe hypoglycaemia

Previous studies have shown that recurrent severe hypoglycaemia can cause long-term cognitive impairment in children with type-1 diabetes, but the results are controversial, possibly due to the heterogeneity of samples and lack of comprehensive neuropsychological assessments of children. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of diabetes and severe hypoglycaemia on the neurocognitive functioning of children with a standardized, wide age-range neuropsychological test battery designed for the assessment of children. Eleven children with diabetes and a history of severe hypoglycaemia, 10 children with diabetes without a history of severe hypoglycaemia, and 10 healthy control children …

Varhaiset kielelliset taidot ja suvussa kulkeva lukivaikeus lukutaidon ennustamisessa : seurantatutkimus 2-vuotiaasta 15-vuotiaaksi

Reducing Stress and Enhancing Academic Buoyancy among Adolescents Using a Brief Web-based Program Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy : A Randomized Controlled Trial

Acceptance and commitment therapy programs have rarely been used as preventive tools for alleviating stress and enhancing coping skills among adolescents. This randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy of a novel Finnish web- and mobile-delivered five-week intervention program called Youth COMPASS among a general sample of ninth-grade adolescents (n= 249, 49% females). The intervention group showed a small but significant decrease in overall stress (between-group Cohen’s d = 0.22) and an increase in academic buoyancy (d= 0.27). Academic skills did not influence the intervention gains, but the intervention gains were largest among high-stressed participants. The results suggest that …

Maternal Parenting Styles and Glycemic Control in Children with Type 1 Diabetes

The purpose of this study is to examine differences in parenting styles between mothers of children with type 1 diabetes and mothers of healthy children and to explore relationships between parenting styles and glycemic control of children with diabetes. Mothers of 63 children with diabetes and mothers of 83 children without diabetes reported their parenting styles using the Blocks&rsquo

Repeated assessment of the Tower of Hanoi test: reliability and age effects.

The purpose of this research was to analyze the effects of repeating an executive function test. Three versions of the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) test were repeated three times each, with test-retest intervals of 2 months. Two groups of children participated in the research (7.7 and 11.6 years, n = 22 and n = 28). Repeating the assessment improved the performance and decreased the total performance time in both of the groups. The older participants improved their performance faster than the younger ones. The reliability of all the scores, besides the error scores, seemed to be satisfactory after the first few assessments. The stability of the scores was maintained through all the assessments. Th…

Kehityksellinen kielihäiriö (kielellinen erityisvaikeus, lapset ja nuoret) : Käypä hoito -suositus

The Role of Reading Disability Risk and Environmental Protective Factors in Students' Reading Fluency in Grade 4

This study examined the role of reading disability (RD) risk and environmental protective factors in reading fluency in grade 4. The sample consisted of 538 Finnish-speaking students. Kindergarten measures included the students' risk for RD based on poor achievement in phonological awareness and letter knowledge as well as information on the three control variables: nonverbal ability, level of parental education, and gender. Measures in grades 1–3 included environmental protective factors: classmate reports of peer acceptance; teacher reports of positive affect for the student; and mother, father, and teacher reports of partnership between the home and the school. The students were also tes…

Associations between Adolescents’ Interpersonal Relationships, School Well-being, and Academic Achievement during Educational Transitions

AbstractA youth’s ability to adapt during educational transitions has long-term, positive impacts on their academic achievement and mental health. Although supportive relationships with parents, peers, and teachers are protective factors associated with successful educational transitions, little is known about the reciprocal link between the quality of these interpersonal relationships and school well-being, with even less known about how these two constructs affect academic achievement. This longitudinal study examined how the quality of interpersonal relationships and school well-being worked together to affect academic achievement during the transition from primary school to lower second…

Verbal and academic skills in children with early-onset type 1 diabetes

Aim  Basic verbal and academic skills can be adversely affected by early-onset diabetes, although these skills have been studied less than other cognitive functions. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of learning deficits in children with diabetes by assessing basic verbal and academic skills in children with early-onset diabetes and in comparison children. In addition, the incidence of dyslexia (≤10th centile in reading speed or reading–spelling accuracy) was studied. Method  The performance of 51 children with early-onset diabetes (25 females, 26 males; mean age 9y 11mo, SD 4mo; range 9–10y) was compared with that of 92 children without diabetes (40 females, 52 males; mean age 9y 1…

Effects of Multidomain Risk Accumulation on Cognitive, Academic, and Behavioural Outcomes

This longitudinal study examined the predictive associations between cumulative multidomain risk factors and cognitive (IQ), academic (reading fluency), and social adaptive outcomes at 8 to 9 years among 190 children with or without familial risk for dyslexia. Other risk factors included parental and neurocognitive risks assessed when the children were 1 to 6 years of age. Risks accumulated more among children with familial risk for dyslexia than among children without familial risk. A higher number of risks was associated with poorer performance in all outcome measures as postulated by the cumulative risk model. However, when the effects of individual risk variables were controlled for at …

Early cognitive predictors of PISA reading in children with and without family risk for dyslexia

Abstract This study examined language skills and pre-literacy skills (phonological awareness, rapid naming, and letter knowledge) before school-age as predictors of PISA reading at age 15 in two groups of children, with (n = 88) and without (n  = 70) family-risk for dyslexia . Moreover, effects of family-risk on these early predictors, reading fluency , and PISA reading were examined while controlling the effect of gender. Children were followed from age 2 to 15. Family-risk had a significant effect on early language and pre-literacy skills, reading fluency and PISA reading. A similar model predicting PISA reading fitted the data well in the Family-risk and the No family-risk group. Languag…

Muutostrendien tarkastelu nuorten koulumotivaatiossa ja -hyvinvoinnissa : kohorttitutkimus yli kolmen ajankohdan

Tässä kohorttitutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin seitsemäsluokkalaisten koulumotivaation sekä kouluhyvinvoinnin tason muutoksia yli kolmen ajankohdan (vuodet 2007, 2010 ja 2014). Vuosien 2007 (N=339) ja 2010 (N=266) aineistot edustavat kahta kohorttia Lapsen Kielen Kehitys-seurannan osallistujista, ja vuoden 2014 (N=1167) aineisto on osa Alkuportaatseurantaa. Tulokset osoittivat, että seitsemäsluokkalaisten kohorteissa koulumotivaatio ja - hyvinvointi muuttuivat vain vähän ajankohdasta toiseen. Nuorten matematiikan arvostus lisääntyi hieman, mutta kiinnostus äidinkieleen heikentyi. Nuorten ilmaisemissa koulutuspyrkimyksissä tapahtui muutosta: yliopisto koulutuspyrkimyksenä oli tyypillisempi ja amm…

Validity of the Play Assessment for Group Settings: An evaluation of differential item functioning between children with specific language impairment and typically developing peers

Aim:  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity evidence based on internal structure of the Play Assessment for Group Settings (PAGS). Methods:  The study was conducted in day care centres by comparing observations of the free play performance of two groups of children: those with specific language impairments (SLIs) (n = 55) and those with typical language development (n = 55). The participating children were 3 to 6.5 years of age. Data were subjected to many-faceted Rasch analyses and differential item functioning analysis was conducted to identify possible group-specific items in the PAGS. The effect of differentially functioning items on mean play performance measurements b…

Audiovisual speech perception in children with developmental language disorder in degraded listening conditions.

Purpose The effect of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on the perception of audiovisual speech in children with and without developmental language disorder (DLD) was investigated by varying the noise level and the sound intensity of acoustic speech. The main hypotheses were that the McGurk effect (in which incongruent visual speech alters the auditory speech percept) would be weaker for children with DLD than for controls and that it would get stronger with decreasing SNR in both groups. Method The participants were 8-year-old children with DLD and a sample of children with normal language development. In the McGurk stimuli, the consonant uttered by the voice differed from that articulated …

Suggestions for revised scoring of the Tower of Hanoi test

Detailed time and error analyses of the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) test was performed using four repeated assessments of eight children (ages 9-12 years), who had perceptual and problem solving deficits. The time before each move was measured. In addition to the traditionally counted time scores, new, relative time scores were computed in order to separate the planning time from the general reaction speed. New error scores were defined and sum scores of serious errors (perserative moves, illegal moves, and wrong results) and mild errors (self-corrected moves, almost performed moves, and interrupted trials) were computed. The relative planning time correlated positively with the achieved score, a…

Edistääkö tavuharjoittelu lukemisen sujuvuutta? : tietokonepohjainen harjoittelukokeilu tois- ja kolmasluokkalaisilla heikoilla lukijoilla

Tämä artikkeli perustuu Heikkilän, Aron, Närhin, Westerholmin ja Ahosen artikkeliin Does the training in syllable recognition improve reading speed? A computer-based trial with poor readers from second and third grade, joka julkaistiin Scientific Studies of Reading -lehden numerossa 17(6) vuonna 2013. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin, voidaanko tietokonepohjaisella tavujen toistavaan tunnistamiseen perustuvalla menetelmällä vaikuttaa heikkojen lukijoiden lukemissujuvuuteen. Lisäksi selvitettiin, vaikuttavatko lukemisen alkutaso ja nopean nimeämisen taito harjoittelun tehokkuuteen. Tutkimukseen osallistui 150 tois- ja kolmasluokkalaista heikkoa lukijaa, jotka jaettiin satunnaisesti kontrolliryhmää…

Psychological distress of children with early-onset type 1 diabetes and their mothers' well-being

Aim Few studies have focused on the psychological adjustment of pre-adolescent children with type 1 diabetes. This study examined psychosocial functioning in nine- and 10-year-old children with early-onset type 1 diabetes, and their mothers, and associations between psychosocial functioning and diabetes management. Methods The mothers of 63 children with early-onset diabetes and 86 healthy children evaluated their own psychosocial functioning, and their child's, with standardised rating scales. We used general linear models to analyse the children's behaviour problems and the mothers' well-being. Associations between the children's behaviour problems, diabetes-related measures and the mothe…

Two-year group treatment for children with learning difficulties: assessing effects of treatment duration and pretreatment characteristics.

The results of a 2-year treatment study of children with learning problems are reported. During the first treatment year, half of the children participated in a multifaceted neurocognitive treatment and the other half in a treatment that provided supervision of school tasks and peer group support. During the second treatment year, all children participated in the neurocognitive treatment. The participants were 74 Chilean children 6 to 11 years old. The issues under investigation were the effect of treatment duration, and the relationship between pretreatment neurocognitive and behavioral characteristics and academic treatment outcome. The results indicated that significant gains occurred d…

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes: Are there differences in academic problems?

This article addresses the relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and academic problems. The development of diagnostic categories of attention deficits from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed.) to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) is briefly reviewed. Forty‐five Chilean children demonstrating symptoms of either ADHD Combined Type, ADHD Predominantly Inattentive Type, or ADHD Predominantly Hyperactivity‐Impulsive Type are compared with each other and with a clinical control group on the prevalence of academic achievement problems. The data show that academic problems are more common among ADHD Comb…

Rapid automatized naming and learning disabilities: does RAN have a specific connection to reading or not?

This work is an extension of a study by Waber, Wolff, Forbes, and Weiler (2000) in which the specificity of naming speed deficits to reading disability (RD) was examined. One hundred ninety-three children (ages 8 to 11) evaluated for learning disabilities were studied. It was determined how well rapid automatized naming (RAN) discriminated between different diagnostic groups (learning impaired [LI] with and without RD) from controls and from each other. Whereas Waber et al. concluded that RAN was an excellent tool for detecting risk for learning disabilities in general, the results of the present study point to a more specific connection between RAN and RD. peerReviewed

Comorbid Fluency Difficulties in Reading and Math: Longitudinal Stability Across Early Grades

We examined the prevalence of comorbidity of dysfluent reading and math skills longitudinally in a representative sample ( N = 1,928) and the stability of comorbid and single difficulties from first to fourth grades. The findings indicated that half the children who showed very low performance in one skill also evidenced low or very low performance in the other. Comorbid difficulties had somewhat higher prevalence in third and fourth graders than in first and second graders. The stability of comorbid difficulties was found to be established from Grade 2 onward, but the stability of single difficulties increased steadily across grades. Overall, the findings emphasize the relatively strong s…

Predicting word-level reading fluency outcomes in three contrastive groups: Remedial and computer-assisted remedial reading intervention, and mainstream instruction

Abstract The aim of the longitudinal intervention study was to build a model of predictive values of reading fluency in three contrastive reading groups: remedial and computer-assisted remedial reading intervention, and mainstream instruction, to identify the most effective type of intervention for children with different profiles of compromised pre-reading skills. The participants were 7-year-old Finnish school beginners ( N  = 166). Two remedial interventions took place in four weekly sessions of 45 min over a period of 28 weeks in Grade 1. For a child with deficits in the core pre-reading skills (letter knowledge, phonological awareness or rapid automatized naming), the computer-assisted…

Computer-Assisted Remedial Reading Intervention for School Beginners at Risk for Reading Disability

The aim of the longitudinal study was to investigate whether a computer application designed for remedial reading training can enhance letter knowledge, reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling of at-risk children. The participants, 7-year-old Finnish school beginners (N = 166), were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (a) regular remedial reading intervention (n = 25), (b) computer-assessed reading intervention (n = 25), and (c) mainstream reading instruction (n = 116). Based on the results, computer-assisted remedial reading intervention was highly beneficial, whereas regular type of intervention was less successful. The results indicated that at-risk children require computer-based letter–name and…

Cognitive predictors of single-digit and procedural calculation skills and their covariation with reading skill.

Abstract This study examined the extent to which children’s cognitive abilities in kindergarten and their mothers’ education predict their single-digit and procedural calculation skills and the covariance of these with reading skill in Grade 4. In kindergarten, we assessed children’s (N = 178) basic number skills, linguistic skills, and visual attention. In Grade 4, we assessed their calculation and reading skills. Data on children’s cognitive ability at 5 years of age and their mothers’ level of education were also collected. The results showed that both of the core components of calculation, single-digit and procedural calculation, as well as their covariance with reading, were predicted …

Task-related variation in communication of mothers and their sons with learning disability

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether mother-child communication patterns vary as a function of the type of the task. Groups of learning disabled (LD=30) and normally achieving boys (NLD=30) were videotaped interacting with their mothers in two different tasks. The children were matched for age (8 to 11 year-olds) and for parent’s SES. The results indicated that the teaching task differentiated the groups more than did the story task. Academic character of the teaching task increased mothers’ task involvement in both groups. Mothers of the LD group showed, however, significantly more dominance and expressed less emotionality while teaching their child. Mothers’ interaction…

Why do boys and girls perform differently on PISA Reading in Finland? The effects of reading fluency, achievement behaviour, leisure reading and homework activity

The present study examined gender gap in Program for International St udentAssessment (PISA) Reading and mediators of the gender gap in a Finnish sample(n = 1,309). We examined whether the gender gap in PISA Reading performancecan be understood via the effects of reading fl uency, achievement behaviour (masteryorientation and task-avoidant behaviour) or the amount of time spent with leisurereading and homework. Girls outperformed boys in all measures except forachievement behaviour. The models explaining PISA Reading were not different:For boys and girls, reading fluency, mastery orientation, leisure book reading andhomework explained the variance in PISA Reading scores. The gender effect on …

Developmental trajectories of early communication skills.

Purpose This study focused on developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills and their connections to later parent-reported language difficulties. Method The participants represent a subset of a community-based sample of 508 children. Data include parent reports of prelinguistic communication skills at 12, 15, 18, and 21 months and language difficulties at age 4;7 (years;months). The authors used latent profile analysis to identify groups of children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills ( n = 271). The relations among these groups and follow-up data of parent-reported concerns of language development ( n = 187), as well as the ro…

Communication Deviances and Clarity Among the Mothers of Normally Achieving and Learning-Disabled Boys.

The main purpose of the study was to reexamine the association between maternal communication deviances and learning disabilities in children. In this study, we adapted and extended the procedure used by Ditton, Green, and Singer (1987). A two-part experimental task was used: one in which the child could not request any clarification of mother's instructions, and another in which the mother and child could communicate. Both communication deviances and the clarity of mothers' communication were analyzed. The subjects were 60 mother-child pairs in which half of the children had learning disabilities and the other half were normally achieving children matched for age and parents' SES. The dyad…

Clinical significance of test refusal among young children.

The present study describes the incidence of test refusal at neuropsychological assessment, investigates its correlates, and its stability. The participants were 124 children aged 3.5 years whose development has been followed from birth in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD). The frequency of test refusal on the Finnish version of the NEPSY was analyzed with respect to the children's concurrent and earlier cognitive and language skills, assessed using tests and parental ratings. Refusal during test-taking was found to be relatively common at this age, and high frequency of refusal at an earlier age was associated with similar tendency at a later age. High test refusal was ass…

Psychiatric Problems in Adolescence Mediate the Association Between Childhood Learning Disabilities and Later Well-Being

This follow-up study investigated the associations of childhood learning disabilities (LDs) with adult-age anxiety, depression, and unemployment. Psychosocial problems in childhood and psychiatric diagnoses and lack of education in adolescence were studied as potential mediators, and gender and mother’s education were studied as potential moderators of these associations. Data on childhood clinical neuropsychological assessments and lifelong register data on individuals with childhood LD ( n = 430; 301 [70%] males; 20–39 years of age) and matched controls ( n = 2,149) were applied. Mediation analyses were performed using structural equation modeling. Childhood LDs exerted a significant, bu…

Are balance problems connected to reading speed or the familial risk of dyslexia?

Aim The aim of this study was to examine the connection between balance problems and reading speed in children with and without a familial risk of dyslexia by controlling for the effects of attention, hyperactivity, and cognitive and motor functioning. Method The prevalence of balance problems was studied in 94 children (48 females, 46 males) with a familial risk of dyslexia (at-risk group) and 85 children (38 females, 47 males) without a risk of dyslexia (comparison group). Further, the relationships between balance problems (at age 8y 6mo), reading proficiency (at age 9y), attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (at age 8y), and cognitive (at age 8y 6mo) and motor functioning (at age 6y …

Parents as Informants of their Child's Vocal and Early Language Development

Continuity in vocalization and language development was examined in the longitudinal study of 94 children. Parents observed their infant's vocal development with the help of a checklist during the first year of life and reported their lexical development by using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (the CDIs) at the ages of 14 and 18 months. The Reynell Developmental Language Scales (the RDLS) were administered to the children in a laboratory setting at 18 months. The vocalization checklist revealed milestones of sound production which parents reported reliably and which were significantly related to the child's later language development. The continuity in vocal and languag…

Psychiatric comorbidity more common among adolescent females with CD/ODD than among males.

Clinicians and researchers have been increasingly concerned on conduct problems among adolescent females. Yet, most research on the issue has been conducted among males. The aim of this study was to characterize conduct disorder (CD) among adolescent females in comparison with males. Family background, symptoms and severity of CD, and psychiatric comorbidity were assessed among Finnish 12-18-year-old females (n=40) with conduct disorder/oppositional defiant disorder (CD/ODD) compared with males (n=37). Data were collected via structured interviews with the subjects and interviews with parents. Lifetime and current Axis I diagnoses (DSM-IV) were assessed using the Structured Clinical Intervi…

The role of learning to read in the development of problem behaviour: A cross-lagged longitudinal study

Background. This study investigates the posited relationship between learning to read, and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviours, during the transition from preschool to primary school. Methods. A total of 196 (104 boys, 92 girls) children participating in the Jyvaskyla Entrance into Primary School (JEPS) study were followed up six times during their transition from preschool to primary school. At each measurement, the children's reading performance was tested. Moreover, their internalizing and externalizing problem behaviour was examined by means of structured interviews. Results. The results showed that problems in reading acquisition predicted an increase in internalizing pr…

Double-Deficit Hypothesis in a Clinical Sample : Extension Beyond Reading

This study explored the double-deficit hypothesis (DDH) in a transparent orthography (Finnish) and extended the view from reading disabilities to comorbidity of learning-related problems in math and attention. Children referred for evaluation of learning disabilities in second through sixth grade ( N = 205) were divided into four groups based on rapid automatized naming (RAN) and phonological awareness (PA) according to the DDH: the double-deficit group, the naming speed deficit–only group, the phonological deficit–only group, and the no-deficit group. The results supported the DDH in that the prevalence and severity of reading disability were greatest in the double-deficit group. Despite …

Social withdrawal in children moderates the association between parenting styles and the children's own socioemotional development.

Background: Social withdrawal in early childhood is a risk factor for later socioemotional difficulties. This study examined the joint effects of children’s social withdrawal and mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles on children’s socioemotional development. Based on diatheses-stress, vantage sensitivity, and differential susceptibility models, socially withdrawn children were assumed to be more prone to parental influences than others. Methods: Teachers rated 314 children on prosocial skills, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors at three points in time between grades 1–3. Mothers (n = 279) and fathers (n = 182) filled in questionnaires measuring their affection, and their behavio…

Boosting Reading Fluency: An intervention case study at subword level

This study is an intervention case study of fluency in Finnish‐speaking children with dyslexia. Two 7‐year‐old children, a girl and a boy, were selected from the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia. The intervention emphasised syllables as reading units, and proceeded from reading syllables to reading words and text. Letter knowledge, reading skills (syllables, words, pseudowords, and text reading), and syllable segmentation of words were measured before, immediately after, and three months after the intervention. The results showed that the intervention mainly affected fluency at the syllable level. The girl also showed some improvements in fluency (accuracy, speed) at the word and te…

Does training in syllable recognition improve reading speed? A computer-based trial with poor readers from second and third grade.

Repeated reading of infrequent syllables has been shown to increase reading speed at the word level in a transparent orthography. This study confirms these results with a computer-based training method and extends them by comparing the training effects of short syllables and long frequent and infrequent syllables, controlling for rapid automatized naming. Our results, based on a sample of 150 poor readers of Finnish, showed clear gains in reading speed regarding all trained syllables, but a transfer effect to the word level was evident only in the case of long infrequent syllables. Rapid automatized naming was associated with initial reading speed, but not with the training effect. peerRevi…

Borderline intellectual functioning: an increased risk of severe psychiatric problems and inability to work

Background The use of facilities such as disability pension, psychiatric care, health care and services for people with intellectual disabilities and borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) were compared with the general population and two other study groups comprising people with mild intellectual disabilities (MIDs) and learning problems (LPs). Methods The population-based sample (N = 416,973), 'Finland-in-Miniature', was gathered in 1962 and followed until 1998. For the purpose of the present study, three groups were formed: BIF (n = 416), MID (n = 312) and LP (n = 284). The use of services was examined with the help of national registers. Results As compared with the general populatio…

Very early phonological and language skills: estimating individual risk of reading disability

Background: Analyses from the JyvaskylaLongitudinal Study of Dyslexia project show that the key childhood predictors (phonological awareness, short-term memory, rapid naming, expressive vocabu- lary, pseudoword repetition, and letter naming) of dyslexia differentiate the group with reading disability (n ¼ 46) and the group without reading problems (n ¼ 152) at the end of the 2nd grade. These measures were employed at the ages of 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 years and information regarding the familial risk of dyslexia was used to find the most sensitive indices of an individual child's risk for reading disabil- ity. Methods: Age-specific and across-age logistic regression models were constructed to pro…

The development of phonological abilities and their relation to reading acquisition: case studies of six Finnish children.

The relation between phonological abilities and reading acquisition and the interindividual variation in the development of different phonological manipulation skills were assessed for six 7-year-old Finnish nonreaders. Intensive time series data were collected by following the children for 13 months. Assessments were conducted every 4 weeks with five phonological manipulation tests. The results indicated gradual progress at the group level. However, analysis of the individual profiles indicated large interindividual variation in the rate of improvement and in the relation between different manipulation skills and reading acquisition.

Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Academic Performance in Finnish Children

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the relationships between objectively measured and self-reported physical activity, sedentary behavior, and academic performance in Finnish children. Methods: Two hundred and seventy-seven children from five schools in the Jyväskylä school district in Finland (58% of the 475 eligible students, mean age = 12.2 yr, 56% girls) participated in the study in the spring of 2011. Self-reported physical activity and screen time were evaluated with questions used in the WHO Health Behavior in School-Aged Children study. Children’s physical activity and sedentary time were measured objectively by using an ActiGraph GT1M/GT3X accelerometer for seven consecutive da…

Familial dyslexia: neurocognitive and genetic correlation in a large Finnish family.

Neuropsychological findings of individuals with dyslexia (n=24) from a large, three-generation Finnish family are presented. We have previously performed whole genome linkage scanning in this family and found that dyslexia in this kindred segregates with a single locus in the pericentromeric area of chromosome 3. Those included in the analyses were carefully evaluated for general cognitive ability, reading and spelling skills, and reading-related neurocognitive skills. The neurocognitive type of dyslexia segregating in this family consisted of deficits in phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory, and rapid naming. Severe dyslexia also seemed to be connected with a general language d…

Developmental pathways of children with and without familial risk for dyslexia during the first years of life.

Comparisons of the developmental pathways of the first 5 years of life for children with (N = 107) and without (N = 93) familial risk for dyslexia observed in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal study of Dyslexia are reviewed. The earliest differences between groups were found at the ages of a few days and at 6 months in brain event-related potential responses to speech sounds and in head-turn responses (at 6 months), conditioned to reflect categorical perception of speech stimuli. The development of vocalization and motor behavior, based on parental report of the time of reaching significant milestones, or the growth of vocabulary (using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories) failed t…

Early development of children at familial risk for Dyslexia—follow-up from birth to school age

We review the main findings of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (JLD) which follows the development of children at familial risk for dyslexia (N = 107) and their controls (N = 93). We will illustrate the development of these two groups of children at ages from birth to school entry in the skill domains that have been connected to reading and reading disability in the prior literature. At school entry, the highest score on the decoding task among the poorer half (median) of the at risk children--i.e. of those presumably being most likely genetically affected--is 1 SD below the mean of the control group. Thus, the familial risk for dyslexia shows expected consequences. Among the e…

Reliability and validity of the Finnish version of the motor observation questionnaire for teachers.

Objectives: Observational screening instruments are often used as an effective, economical first step in the identification of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The aim was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the Motor Observation Questionnaire for Teachers (MOQ-T-FI).Methods: The psychometric properties were tested using two separate samples (S1: age range 6-12, M 9y 5mo, females 101, males 92; S2: age range 6-9, M 7y 7mo, females 404, males 446). Teachers completed the MOQ-T-Fl in both samples, and in sample 2 teachers' ratings were compared to student's performance on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC…

Reading comprehension, word reading and spelling as predictors of school achievement and choice of secondary education

Abstract The main aim of this study was to find out what kind of factor model of written language skills could be created on the basis of tests of reading accuracy and fluency, spelling and reading comprehension, and how the written language skills factor and school achievement predict choice of secondary education and what effects gender, special education support and socio-economic background have on this prediction. Altogether 1700 students were assessed with two word-level reading tests and word- and pseudo-word-spelling tests and by a reading comprehension test. Remaining data were elicited with a questionnaire. The findings showed that a latent written language skills factor could be …

Language problems in children with learning disabilities: do they interfere with maternal communication?

In this study, parent-child interaction in two carefully matched subgroups—school—age boys with learning disabilities (LD) who showed a discrepancy between their verbal IQ and performance IQ and had more extensive difficulties in higher-level language abilities (VIQ < PIQ, n = 8) and boys with LD who did not manifest a discrepancy between verbal IQ and performance IQ (VIQ = PIQ, n = 8), were investigated. The effects of the child's language problems on child task performance and on the quality of maternal communication were analyzed in a mother-child problem solving task. Children in the VIQ < PIQ group were found to be less successful on the task than children in the VIQ = PIQ group…

Alakoulusta yläkouluun yhtenäis- ja erilliskouluissa

Suomessa alakoulusta yläkouluun siirrytään tavallisimmin 12‒13 vuoden iässä. Tuolloin nuoren elämässä tapahtuu monia haasteellisia muutoksia, kuten puberteettiin liittyviä fyysisiä ja psyykkisiä muutoksia sekä alakoulusta yläkouluun siirtymiseen liittyviä fyysisen ja sosiaalisen lähiympäristön muutoksia. TIKAPUU-pitkittäishankkeessa selvitettiin, miten yhtenäis- tai erilliskoulua käyvät nuoret kokevat alakoulusta yläkouluun siirtymisen. nonPeerReviewed

Mediating effects of motor performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour on the associations of adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors with academic achievement in children

We investigated the associations of cardiometabolic risk factors with academic achievement and whether motor performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, or sedentary behaviour mediated these associations. Altogether 175 children 6-8 years-of-age participated in the study. We assessed body fat percentage (BF%), waist circumference, insulin, glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, leptin, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arithmetic skills were assessed using standardized tests. Speed/agility, balance, and manual dexterity test results were used to calculate moto…

The effects of a psychomotor training programme on motor skill development in children with developmental language disorders

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two approaches to movement intervention for children with a combination of language and movement difficulties – a specialist approach labelled psychomotor training and regular PE lessons from trained PE teachers. From a sample of 76 children formally classified as suffering from developmental language disorder, 54 (71%) fell below the 15th percentile on a test of motor competence. These 54 children were then divided into two groups, one of whom received a 10 week psychomotor training programme and the other regular PE lessons. Although all children, regardless of the type of intervention, made progress, the differences b…

Developmental links of very early phonological and language skills to second grade reading outcomes: strong to accuracy but only minor to fluency.

The authors examined second grade reading accuracy and fluency and their associations via letter knowledge to phonological and language predictors assessed at 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 years in children in the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia. Structural equation modeling showed that a developmentally highly stable factor (early phonological and language processing [EPLP]) behind key dyslexia predictors (i.e., phonological awareness, short-term memory, rapid naming, vocabulary, and pseudoword repetition) could already be identified at 3.5 years. EPLP was significantly associated with reading and spelling accuracy and by age with letter knowledge. However, EPLP had only a minor link with re…

Unveiling the Mysteries of Dyslexia : Lessons Learned from the Prospective Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia

This paper reviews the observations of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD). The JLD is a prospective family risk study in which the development of children with familial risk for dyslexia (N = 108) due to parental dyslexia and controls without dyslexia risk (N = 92) were followed from birth to adulthood. The JLD revealed that the likelihood of at-risk children performing poorly in reading and spelling tasks was fourfold compared to the controls. Auditory insensitivity of newborns observed during the first week of life using brain event-related potentials (ERPs) was shown to be the first precursor of dyslexia. ERPs measured at six months of age related to phoneme length identi…

The role of adolescents' temperament in their positive and negative emotions as well as in psychophysiological reactions during achievement situations

Abstract This study examined the role of adolescents' (n = 190) temperament in their emotional reactions in achievement situations. Adolescents rated their temperament (i.e., surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity, effortful control) and completed achievement tasks in Grade 6. They also reported their emotions before and during challenging and non-challenging tasks. In addition, adolescents' autonomic nervous system reactions (i.e., skin conductance levels) were recorded. The results showed that high effortful control was related to higher levels of positive emotions independent of the degree of task difficulty. Low negative affectivity and high effortful control were related to lower …

Cognitive skills among Nepalese child labourers

The cognitive skills of 61 Nepalese 10-14-year-old working children with at least 2 years working experience (WE) were compared to two groups of children, beginners (N = 29) with less than 1 year of WE and a school group (N = 104) matched for age and ethnic background. All the children (N = 194) were tested by the Bender test, WISC-R for Arithmetic, Digit Span, and the Word Fluency test. The main results showed that the school group was better in all the cognitive tests, except for Digit Span Backwards, where the working group had the highest average score. The second main finding shows no major differences in cognitive skills between the beginner and working groups. However, the work exper…

Does Childhood Reading Disability or Its Continuance Into Adulthood Underlie Problems in Adult-Age Psychosocial Well-Being? A Follow-Up Study

This follow-up study aimed at a better understanding of the associations of reading disability (RD) with adult-age psychosocial well-being. We compared adult-age psychosocial well-being in 48 individuals (20–39 years) with documented childhood RD but without comorbid disabilities to 37 matched controls. The associations of psychosocial well-being with childhood and adult-age reading fluency were studied in the RD group, controlling for IQ, gender and unemployment. Psychosocial well-being was assessed with commonly used self-report questionnaires. No group differences were found in psychosocial well-being. In the RD group, lower adult-age reading fluency was associated with symptoms of depre…

The Nature of and Factors Related to Reading Difficulties Among Adolescents in a Transparent Orthography

We examined the nature of and factors related to adolescents’ reading difficulties in a highly transparent orthography. We compared word, pseudoword, and text reading speed and accuracy, rapid naming (RAN) and phonological processing between poor readers (n = 80) and normally developing readers (n = 189). Reading problems were manifested in reading speed and in timed pseudoword reading accuracy. RAN predicted speed, and phonological processing predicted accuracy of reading in both groups. Among poor readers, RAN also explained reading accuracy. For the normally developing sample, phonological processing also predicted reading speed.

Assessing Reading Skills with a Computer-aided Set of Tests Based on the Dual-route Theory of Reading

Associations Between Childhood Learning Disabilities and Adult-Age Mental Health Problems, Lack of Education, and Unemployment.

We studied the impact of diverse subtypes of learning disabilities (LD) on adult-age mental health, education, and employment by comparing the LD group ( n = 430) with a matched control group without a known history of LD ( n = 2,149). The clinical archived data were merged with lifelong register data on sickness allowances/disability pensions granted on the basis of psychiatric illnesses, reimbursements for psychoactive medication, having a degree after compulsory education, and having received unemployment allowances. Differences emerged between the LD and control groups in all outcomes, suggesting that a higher proportion of individuals with LD had mental health problems compared to the…

Long-Term Intervention Effects of Spelling Development for Children With Compromised Preliteracy Skills

The aim of this longitudinal study was to build a model of the predictive values (poor phonological awareness, low letter knowledge, and slow naming speed) of spelling in 3 contrasting reading groups: a regular and a computer-assisted remedial intervention and mainstream instruction. The participants were 7-year-old Finnish school beginners (N = 166). The interventions took place in 4 weekly sessions of 45 min each over a period of 28 weeks in groups of 5 during Grade 1. We compared postintervention spelling development across the groups. The children who received systematic phonics-based training via the computer-assisted intervention reached the postinstruction level of the mainstream gro…

Rapid serial naming: relations between different stimuli and neuropsychological factors.

We report two studies on rapid serial naming (RSN). Study 1 addressed the relations among RSN tasks comprising different stimuli. Separate components for RSN of alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric stimuli, as well as for tasks in which the stimuli alternated between categories were identified. In Study 2, phonological skills, processing speed, motor dexterity, and verbal fluency were found to explain RSN performance. The studies indicate: (1) that RSN tasks vary in their properties according to the stimuli used and according to the way the tasks are arranged, and (2) that RSN tasks are multi-componented.

Co-occurrence of developmental delays in a screening study of 4-year-old Finnish children

The aim of this population study was to examine the severity and prevalence of co-occurring developmental delays in 4-year-old children, the rate of overlapping problems, and sex differences. A sample of 434 children (196 males, 238 females; mean age 4 years 3 months, SD 1 month) were administered the 'Lene' test: a comprehensive neurodevelopmental screening test. Results suggest that co-occurrence of attention-behavioural, motor-perceptual, and language delays occurring in school-aged children could already be detected at the age of 4 years. Isolated delays were usually mild, but co-occurring difficulties were mostly moderate or severe. Overlap between developmental delays depended on the …

Adolescents’ and mothers’ temperament types and their roles in early adolescents’ socioemotional functioning

The present study examined adolescents’ and mothers’ temperament types and their roles in the socioemotional functioning of early adolescents. A total of 869 sixth-grade students and 668 mothers participated in the study. The students rated their temperament and socioemotional functioning and the mothers rated their own temperament. Latent profile analyses identified four temperament types among the adolescents (resilient, reserved, average, and mixed) and three types among the mothers (resilient, average, and mixed). The results showed that the adolescents with resilient or reserved temperaments reported significantly fewer conduct problems and emotional symptoms, less hyperactivity, and …

Järjestelmäkehittäjien motivaatioon vaikuttavia tekijöitä

 Ahonen, Timo Arvi Petteri Järjestelmäkehittäjien motivaatioon vaikuttavia tekijöitä/Timo Ahonen Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän yliopisto, 2010. 30 s. Kandidaatintutkielma Tässä kandidaatintutkielmassa käsitellään järjestelmäkehittäjien motivaatiota, siihen vaikuttavia tekijöitä ja motivaation yhteyttä työtyytyväisyyteen. Näistä tekijöistä on tarkoitus muodostaa yhtenäinen kuvaus. Tutkielma on suoritettu kirjallisuuskatsauksena. Eniten järjestelmäkehittäjien motivaatioon vaikuttavana motivaattorina nähtiin olevan työ ja siten työn eri osa-alueet, kuten palkkaus ja työtehtävien muodostamat haasteet. Motivoituneiden järjestelmäkehittäjien nähtiin olevan tuottavampia ja pysyvän pidempään samassa työpai…

School-related stress among sixth-grade students : Associations with academic buoyancy and temperament

The present study examined to what extent sixth-grade students' academic buoyancy and temperament contributed to their school-related stress. A total of 845 students rated their school-related stress at the beginning and end of the school year and their academic buoyancy at the beginning of the year. Parents rated students' effortful control and negative affectivity. The results showed that high academic buoyancy, high effortful control, and low negative affectivity at the beginning of the school year were related to lower school-related stress at the end of the school year, after controlling for gender, GPA, and previous level of stress. Effortful control and negative affectivity had no si…

Instructional support predicts children’s task avoidance in kindergarten

Abstract This study examined the role of observed classroom quality in children's task-avoidant behavior and math skills in kindergarten. To investigate this, 1268 children were tested twice on their math skills during their kindergarten year. Kindergarten teachers ( N  = 137) filled in questionnaires measuring their professional experience and also rated the children on their task-avoidant versus task-focused behaviors. Trained observers used the CLASS instrument ( Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008 ) to observe 49 kindergarten teachers (out of 137) on their emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. The results of multilevel modeling showed that kindergarten classro…

Resolving reading disability : Childhood predictors and adult-age outcomes

We examined frequency of adult‐age reading disability (RD) and its childhood predictors among 48 adults (20 to 39 years) with documented childhood RD, and contrasted their cognitive skills, education, and employment with 37 matched controls. Among individuals with childhood RD, more than half had improved in their reading fluency to the level where the set criterion for adult‐age RD was not met anymore. More fluent rapid naming, less severe childhood RD, and multiple support providers in childhood together predicted improvement of reading fluency. More fluent naming differentiated the childhood RD participants whose reading fluency had improved by adult‐age from those participants whose RD …

Associations Between Adolescents' Subjectively Experienced Emotions and Psychophysiological Reactions in Achievement Situations

This study investigated associations of early adolescents' (N=190, median age = 12) subjectively experienced emotions and psychophysiological reactions in achievement situations. Self-reported questions assessed adolescents' experienced emotions. Additionally, adolescents' autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactions were recorded; skin-conductance response (SCR) and heart rate (HR) were used to measure sympathetic nervous system activity, and heart rate variability (HRV) was used to measure parasympathetic nervous system activity. The between-person-level results of multilevel modeling showed that increased HR was associated with higher levels of hope and fear and that decreased SCR was associ…

Learning Disabilities Elevate Children’s Risk for Behavioral-Emotional Problems : Differences Between LD Types, Genders, and Contexts

Our purpose was to study the frequency of behavioral-emotional problems among children identified with a learning disability (LD). The data were obtained for 579 Finnish children (8–15 years) with reading disability (RD-only), math disability (MD-only), or both (RDMD) assessed at a specialized clinic between 1985 and 2017. We analyzed percentages of children with behavioral-emotional symptoms reaching clinical range (i.e., z score ≥1.5 SDs) and the effects of the LD type, gender, and context (home vs. school) on them. Furthermore, we analyzed the effect of the severity of LD and gender on the amount of behavioral-emotional symptoms reported by teachers and parents. Alarmingly high percenta…

Why do boys and girls perform differently on PISA Reading in Finland? The effects of reading fluency, achievement behaviour, leisure reading and homework activity

The present study examined gender gap in Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) Reading and mediators of the gender gap in a Finnish sample (n = 1,309). We examined whether the gender gap in PISA Reading performance can be understood via the effects of reading fluency, achievement behaviour (mastery orientation and task-avoidant behaviour) or the amount of time spent with leisure reading and homework. Girls outperformed boys in all measures except for achievement behaviour. The models explaining PISA Reading were not different: For boys and girls, reading fluency, mastery orientation, leisure book reading and homework explained the variance in PISA Reading scores. The gender ef…

The role of academic buoyancy and emotions in students' learning-related expectations and behaviours in primary school.

Background. Academic buoyancy refers to students’ ability to come through ordinary challenges they face in the academic context, and it can positively contribute to students’ beliefs and behaviours in learning situations. Although buoyancy has been found to be related to positive academic outcomes, previous studies have not examined how buoyancy influences academic emotions in learning situations and how these emotions further affect students’ learning-related expectations and behaviours. \ud Aims. This study investigated to what extent academic buoyancy predicts students’ failure expectations, avoidance behaviour, and task-oriented planning in learning situations, and to what extent academ…

Adolescent reading and math skills and self-concept beliefs as predictors of age 20 emotional well-being

This study examines longitudinal associations among reading skills, math skills and emotional well-being in a Finnish sample (n = 586) followed from the end of comprehensive school (Grade 9, age 15–16) to age 20. In particular, we determine whether the associations between skills and well-being are mediated by self-concept beliefs. In Grade 9, the participants’ reading fluency, PISA reading comprehension and math skills were assessed in classrooms, and questionnaires were used to assess self-concept (global and skill-specific) and internalising problems. At age 20, questionnaires were used to self-report emotional well-being and educational attainment. The results showed no direct predictiv…

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Does IQ matter in adolescents' reading disability?

Abstract We studied the connection of IQ, reading disability (RD) and their interaction with reading, spelling and other cognitive skills in adolescents with average IQ and RD (n = 22), average IQ, non-RD (n = 71), below average IQ and RD (n = 29), and below average IQ non-RD (n = 33). IQ was not connected to reading and spelling in subjects without RD, but a connection to non-word spelling in subjects with RD existed. IQ and RD showed a connection to other cognitive skills (IQ to working memory, verbal memory and syntactic skills, RD to poor performance in text reading and rapid naming and both of them to reading comprehension, phonological and arithmetic skills), but no interaction existe…

Children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills: language and working memory at age 5.

Purpose In this article, the authors examine the developmental continuity from prelinguistic communication to kindergarten age in language and working memory capacity. Method Following work outlining 6 groups of children with different trajectories of early communication development (ECD; Määttä, Laakso, Tolvanen, Ahonen, & Aro, 2012), the authors examined their later development by psychometric assessment. Ninety-one children first assessed at ages 12–21 months completed a battery of language and working memory tests at age 5;3 (years;months). Results Two of the ECD groups previously identified as being at risk for language difficulties continued to show weaker performance at follow-u…

Early temperament and age at school entry predict task avoidance in elementary school

This study examined the role of temperament, prereading skills, and age at school entry in the development of Finnish children's task avoidance. Teachers rated the task-avoidant behavior of 198 participants in kindergarten and twice in Grades 2 and 3. Parents rated the children's temperament at age 3 and children's prereading skills were measured at age 5. The results showed that, on average, the level of children's task avoidance remained the same from kindergarten to Grade 2 fall, but decreased from Grade 2 fall to Grade 3 spring. A low task avoidance level was predicted by good prereading skills, high effortful control, and high negative affectivity. Low surgency predicted a decrease in …

A dominant gene for developmental dyslexia on chromosome 3.

Developmental dyslexia is a neurofunctional disorder characterised by an unexpected difficulty in learning to read and write despite adequate intelligence, motivation, and education. Previous studies have suggested mostly quantitative susceptibility loci for dyslexia on chromosomes 1, 2, 6, and 15, but no genes have been identified yet. We studied a large pedigree, ascertained from 140 families considered, segregating pronounced dyslexia in an autosomal dominant fashion. Affected status and the subtype of dyslexia were determined by neuropsychological tests. A genome scan with 320 markers showed a novel dominant locus linked to dyslexia in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 3 with a m…

Adolescents’ Academic Emotions and Academic Achievement Across the Transition to Lower Secondary School : The Role of Learning Difficulties

This study examined the role of learning difficulties in academic emotions and achievement across the transition to lower secondary school among 848 Finnish adolescents. Reading difficulties (RD) and math difficulties (MD) were identified based on test scores in Grade 6 and 7. Students with difficulties were identified as having resolving, emerging, or persistent RD/MD. Students rated their academic emotions and information on students’ academic achievement was acquired from school registers. The results showed that a decline in academic emotions and achievement was typical among all students across the transition. Resolving, emerging, or persistent types of RD/MD were also meaningfully ref…

The dynamics of motivation, emotion, and task performance in simulated achievement situations

Abstract This study aimed to examine associations between motivation, emotion, and task performance in simulated achievement situations. A group of sixth grade students (n = 190) completed an achievement task. Situational information on task value, success expectations, emotions, effort, task performance, and causal attributions was collected and information on subsequent academic achievement was obtained from school registers. The results showed, first, that high task value, high expectancy of success, and high positive emotions before a task contributed to a higher level of effort during the task. This, in turn, was related to better task performance. Second, high expectancy of success pr…

Continuity of Communication and Language Development (M����tt�� et al., 2016)

Purpose: This longitudinal study examined the development of prelinguistic skills and the continuity of communication and language from the prelinguistic stage to school age. Method: Prelinguistic communication of 427 Finnish children was followed repeatedly from 6 to 18 months of age (n = 203���322 at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months), and its associations with language ability at ages 2;0 (n = 104), 3;0 (n = 112), 4;7 (n = 253), 5;3 (n = 102), and 7;9 (n = 236) were examined using latent growth curve modeling. Results: Prelinguistic development across several skills emerged as a rather stable intraindividual characteristic during the first 2 years of life. Continuity from prelinguistic de…

Physical activity and obesity mediate the association between childhood motor function and adolescent's academic achievement

The global epidemic of obesity and physical inactivity may have detrimental implications for young people’s cognitive function and academic achievement. This prospective study investigated whether childhood motor function predicts later academic achievement via physical activity, fitness, and obesity. The study sample included 8,061 children from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986, which contains data about parent-reported motor function at age 8 y and self-reported physical activity, predicted cardiorespiratory fitness (cycle ergometer test), obesity (body weight and height), and academic achievement (grades) at age 16 y. Structural equation models with unstandardized (B) and standardi…

Development of early motor skills and language in children at risk for familial dyslexia

Differences in motor development and the relationship between motor and language development were studied in 88 children with familial risk for dyslexia (43 females, 45 males; at-risk group) and 88 children without familial risk for dyslexia (35 females, 53 females; control group; n=176) during the first two years of life. A structured parental questionnaire was used to assess motor development. Expressive language skills were assessed at the age of 18 months with the Reynell Developmental Language Scales and at 18 and 24 months with the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. At group level, the motor development of children in both the at-risk and control groups was similar. Howe…

Mother-Child Teaching Strategies and Learning Disabilities

The teaching strategies used by mothers of sons with learning disabilities (LD) (n = 30) and normally achieving sons (NLD) (n = 30) were examined. The children were matched for age (8- to 11-year-olds) and for parents' socioeconomic status. The behavior of mother-child pairs was videotaped in a teaching task that was constructed to resemble a homework assignment. The results showed that the mothers of children with LD used fewer high-level strategies, and their total time used in teaching was less than that of the mothers of NLD children. The mothers of children with LD exhibited more dominance and less emotionality and cooperation than did the mothers of NLD children; however, the mothers…

Conceptual knowledge‐based strategy training in single‐digit calculation: a single case intervention study in a child with specific language impairment

The aim of this single‐case intervention study was to examine whether a conceptual knowledge‐based strategy training would improve the accuracy of single‐digit arithmetical calculation in a child with specific language impairment. The intervention concerned an11‐year‐old Finnish‐speaking child with specific language impairment. He was trained individually once a week for three months. On the basis of his baseline performance single‐digit arithmetical problems were divided into ‘well‐known arithmetical problems’ and ‘error‐prone arithmetical problems’. Error‐prone problems were taught in meaningful relation to well‐known problems, which he repeatedly solved correctly by using arithmetical fa…

Comparing Efficacies of Neurocognitive Treatment and Homework Assistance Programs for Children with Learning Difficulties

The purpose of the study was to analyze the relative efficacies of two treatments for children with learning difficulties. The first treatment consisted of multiple training components targeting specific cognitive and behavioral factors; the second treatment provided emotional support and supervision of school tasks. The participants were 94 Chilean schoolchildren (6 to 11 years of age). The efficacies were compared on (a) neurocognitive tests, (b) school achievement tests, and (c) behavior in school and at home. The results indicated that both groups improved on most of the outcome measures. The first group showed best results in parents' rating of home behavior, and the second group in r…

The early motor milestones in infancy and later motor skills in toddlers: a structural equation model of motor development.

The relationship between the achievement of early motor milestones in infancy and later motor development was studied in 130 children with (N = 66, 35 male/31 female) and without (N = 64, 31 male/35 female) familial risk for dyslexia. A structured parental questionnaire was used to assess motor development in infancy, and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children was used to assess motor skills at age 3.5 years. No differences were found at the group level and therefore the structural equation model was constructed by entering both groups simultaneously. An Early Body Control factor, computed from the infant data, explained 38% of the variance of the Gross Motor Skills factor at the age …

Associations between private speech, behavioral self-regulation, and cognitive abilities

We examined the associations between 5-year-old children’s private speech, behavioural self-regulation, and cognitive abilities. Behavioural self-regulation was assessed using parental and preschool teacher questionnaires. Cognitive abilities (i.e., language, inhibition, planning and fluency, and memory) were assessed with neurocognitive tests, and the effectiveness of private speech (i.e., whether the child performs better when using speech than when not using speech) with the Hammer Task. About 43% of the children used private speech spontaneously, and about 76% performed better on the Hammer Task when they used speech. Associations between behavioural self-regulation and speech effectiv…

Assessment of Three-and-a-Half-Year-Old Children's Emerging Phonological Awareness in a Computer Animation Context

Four computer-animated tasks were created to analyze the underlying structure of emerging phonological awareness at 3.5 years of age and to explore the factors that influence children's ( N = 91) performance on the tasks. Our findings indicated that already at this young age, children are able to master tasks demanding identification, blending, and continuation of phonological units when the tasks are presented in a motivating assessment context. In line with earlier research, children showed higher mastery in dealing with words and syllables than in dealing with phonemes. Targets in the initial position of a word were easier for children to identify than those in the final position. Our an…

Teacher-perceived supportive classroom climate protects against detrimental impact of reading disability risk on peer rejection

Abstract This study examined the role of a supportive classroom climate, class size, and length of teaching experience as protective factors against children's peer rejection. A total of 376 children were assessed in kindergarten for risk for reading disabilities (RD) and rated by their teachers on socially withdrawn and disruptive behaviors. The grade 1 measures included sociometric peer assessment and teachers' self-ratings of their supportiveness in the classroom, together with information on class size and teaching experience. The results showed, first, that the studied social and learning risk factors positively predicted peer rejection in grade 1. Moreover, teacher-reported supportive…

The role of reading difficulties in the associations between task values, efficacy beliefs, and achievement emotions

The aim of this study was to examine the situational associations of reading-related task values and efficacy beliefs with achievement emotions, and whether these associations are moderated by reading difficulties (RD). The sample comprised 128 Finnish sixth-grade students (66 with no reading difficulties [No RD], 31 with mild reading difficulties [Mild RD], and 31 with severe reading difficulties [Severe RD]) who were randomized to complete either a non-challenging or challenging reading task. Students reported their reading-related task values (attainment and interest) and efficacy beliefs right before and their achievement emotions both before and after performing the reading task. The r…

The Youth Compass -the effectiveness of an online acceptance and commitment therapy program to promote adolescent mental health: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract Purpose Mental health problems affect 10-20% of adolescents worldwide. Prevention and early interventions for promoting adolescent mental health are therefore warranted. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effects of a 5-week web-intervention (Youth COMPASS) based on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on adolescents’ depressive symptoms, life satisfaction and psychological flexibility. Methods The sample comprised 243 adolescents at the age of 15-16 years (51%females) from 15 lower secondary schools. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups of which two groups received an ACT-based online-intervention including support via What…

Two distinct pathways for Developmental Coordination Disorder: Persistence and resolution

This article describes the perceptual motor, educational and social outcome of early motor delay in a group of 17-18 year old Finnish adolescents who were originally evaluated at age 5. The study group consisted of 65 adolescents: 22 with significant motor problems (or developmental coordination disorder, DCD), 23 with minor motor problems (intermediate group) and 20 controls. The goal of this study was to reassess the results obtained when they were age 15 and to determine whether the variables used earlier could still discriminate the adolescents at age 17. The results showed that at age 17 all perceptual motor tasks differentiated the three groups. The DCD group performed less well than …

Suspected motor problems and low preference for active play in childhood are associated with physical inactivity and low fitness in adolescence

Background - This prospective longitudinal study investigates whether suspected motor problems and low preference for active play in childhood are associated with physical inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescence. Methodology/Principal Findings - The study sample consisted of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC 1986) composed of 5,767 children whose parents responded to a postal inquiry concerning their children's motor skills at age 8 years and who themselves reported their physical activity at age 16 years. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured with a cycle ergometer test at age 16 years. Odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the lev…