• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.145-154
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• 2011

This study investigated the effects of young children's learning-related skills and the maternal involvement on academic abilities. The sample consisted of 310 children from 7 child-care centers located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. All variables were measured by the teachers and the mothers of surveyed children. The instrument included the Korean Child Development Inventory(K-CDI) for 4 to 6-year olds and Preschool Learning Behavior Scale(McDermott et al 2000) and the questionnaire on mother's involvement about their children's education. The collected data was analyzed by t-test and hierarchical regression using the SPSS Program. The findings are as follows. First, regardless of the family income level, verbal comprehension and numerical abilities were positively associated with their learning-related skills of young children. Second, the interaction effect of learning-related skills and the mothers' involvement on verbal comprehension of young children in the low-income families was observed. However, no interaction effect was seen in terms of learning-related skills and the maternal involvement on verbal comprehension and numerical abilities of young children in the high-income families. These findings highlight the importance of learning-related skills and their mothers' involvement during the preschool period for the low-income family in improving the early academic achievement.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors associated with skipping breakfast of Korean children by analyzing the 24-hour recall intake data from the 2001 National Health and Nutrition Survey. The sample of this study consisted of 1,600 children aged 7 to 18 years. About 17% of the children skipped breakfast, consuming no food or beverage at all. About 30% of children reporting breakfast skipping in a self-administered survey were shown to have eaten some foods as a result of analysis of the 24-hour recall data. Students having eaten breakfast consumed 21% of Estimated Energy Requirement at breakfast. The multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that age was associated with skipping breakfast both in elementary and middle/high school students; older students were more likely to skip breakfast. Elementary school students from low-income families were more likely to skip breakfast than those from upper-high income families. Intervention programs are needed to prevent children from skipping breakfast by targeting older students. For elementary school students, such programs should be first developed for those from low-income families.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.21-40
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• 1999

Path analysis was used to determine variables influencing the self-esteem of 222 4th, 5th, and 6th grade children in law-income families. The children and their mothers responded to questionnaires on self-esteem, child psychological traits, mother psychological characteristics, economic hardship, and child rearing practices. Mothers' warmth-acceptance child rearing behavior was facilitating of children's self-esteem. However, mothers' economic stress had an indirect impact via their depression on decrease in the warmth-acceptance variable. Permissive-nonintervention child rearing behavior decreased the level of children's self-esteem. However, mothers' depression and marital confilct(??) deriving from economic stress increased both rejection-restriction and permissive-nonintervention styles of child rearing. Mothers who experienced much stress due to economic hardship influnced(??) children's perception of their family's poverty and thereby lowered their children's self-esteem.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.46 no.10
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• pp.97-106
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• 2008

We examined the effects of family and home literacy environments on the vocabulary and reading abilities of 3 to 5-year-olds. In particular, SES was considered against home literacy environment. The sample consisted of 366 Korean children and their mothers. We found that the level of mother's education was related to the child's vocabulary test score. After controlling for family factors, home literacy environment score positively predicted children's performance both in vocabulary and reading tests. Magnitudes of differences between the two literacy groups (high and low home literacy environment) became larger in the children from relative lower income families. Magnitudes of differences for vocabulary and reading tests was strikingly large in the low-income group both in vocabulary and reading tests. These findings shed lights on the importance of parent education and family services for low-income families with preschool children.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.107-123
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short term effectiveness of a cognitive ability improvement service for children, which is one of the 'Investment activities for Local Community Services' conducted by the Ministry for Health and Welfare. Results indicate that the longer the period of using cognitive improvement services for children, the more positively significant influence there is on their language abilities in terms of comprehension, expression, and reading-writing. Furthermore, these influences are stronger in children of low-income families than in children from higher income families. Certainly, this type of service improves infants' language abilities regardless of the income level of their families.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.691-701
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• 2009

This study was conducted to evaluate the dietary quality of school-aged children from low-income families in comparison with those from higher income families. The socio-demographic and anthropometric data and one day 24-hour recall dietary intake data of 1,782 school-aged children were used for analysis from the data of 2001 National Health and Nutrition Survey. The children whose family had monthly household income 120% or lower than the 2001 Minimum Cost of Living were classified into Low Income Group (LIG), and the others were classified into Higher Income Group (HIG). The consumption levels of the food groups of the Korean Food Guide as well as the general nutritional status based on their weight and height, energy and nutrient intake were compared between LIG and HIG in elementary (n = 989), middle (n = 432), and high (n = 361) school-aged children, respectively. LIG tended to have lower weight, height, and BMI than HIG, but the difference was significant only in the weight and the BMI of the middle school-aged children. The energy intake of LIG didn't differ from that of HIG, but LIG consumed a higher percentage of energy from carbohydrate and a lower percentage of energy from fat than HIG. Some micronutrient intake was lower in LIG than HIG in case of the elementary and the middle school-aged children. The average numbers of servings of milk dairy products and fruits consumed by LIG were significantly lower than those consumed by HIG in the elementary and the middle school-aged children, and they were less than the respective recommended serving. The average number of servings of meat fish egg beans consumed by LIG was lower than that consumed by HIG in the middle and the high school-aged children, and it was also less than the recommended serving. The results suggested that the diet of children from low-income families should be intervened by strategies different from the other children in order to improve the consumption level of milk dairy products, fruits, and meat fish egg beans.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.89-108
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• 2008

This study used Family Group Theraplay (Munns, 2005) to investigate the effects of enhancing interaction between child and mother on mitigating developmental risks for children growing up in low-income households. The subjects for the study were selected from among Community Child Care Centers and Community Welfare Centers in Seoul. The children were in the first, second, and third grades of elementary school. Eleven child-mother dyads participated in Family Group Theraplay once a week for a total of 12 45-minute sessions. The control group consisted of 9 child-mother dyads. The Family Group Theraplay program improved interaction between the children and their mothers and also reduced children's behavior problems and mothers' parenting stress.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.117-138
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of early storybook reading intervention participation on the first graders' language abilities in low income families. The subjects consisted of 148 first graders and their primary caregivers. The intervention group was composed of 100 first graders who participated in the early storybook reading intervention program in childcare or kindergarten. The comparison group comprised 48 first graders from equivalent social and economic backgrounds, who did not participate in the program. The language abilities of the children were tested and questionnaires regarding the home literacy environment, children's reading activities at home and parents' perceptions of their children's reading behaviors were completed by the children's primary caregivers. The data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. The results indicated that early intervention participation was directly associated with children's higher language abilities in first grade and indirectly influenced the children's language abilities through the home literacy environment, children's reading activities at home and parents' perceptions of their children's reading behaviors.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1-23
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to develop the Cognitive Spectrum Program, a cognitive development program designed to increase children's IQ. The effect of this program was verified using a nonequivalent control group design. The subjects were 127 5-8 year old children. 56 children were assigned to the experimental group and 71 children to the control group. The experimental group participated in thirteen 90 min. long sessions. Quantitative analyses using SPSS WIN 18.0 and qualitative analyses were carried out. The results were as follows: First, this Cognitive Spectrum Program was shown to be effective in improving cognitive development. Second, the amount of improvement in cognitive development was found to be predictive of the amount of change in socioemotional development, demonstrating that attention deficits and overall problem behaviors were greatly reduced among the children whose IQ was improved by this program. This finding was also verified through qualitative analyses.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.123-141
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of early intervention programs for child development and parenting stress from low-income families. The subjects of this study were 0-5 years old children 1,904(Participation 1,501 nonparticipating 403) and 1,904 parents from low-income families. The child and the parents who participated in the intervention program, 1,501 people respectively, did not participate in the intervention program for children and parents of 403 people each. The collected data were analyzed by t-test. The results of the study are as follows. First, There were differences in child development between the early child who participated in the intervention program and those who did not. Especially, the infants who participated in the intervention program had a more higher level in muscle exercise, small muscle exercises, problem solving, communication, and social development than infants who have not participated. Second, parents of low-income families who participated in the intervention program had lower parenting stress than the parents who didn't participate. As a result, early intervention programs should be targeted at children and parents from low-income families.