TrygFonden

This pre-registered (#CRD42024509947) systematic review synthesized evidence on cognitive behavioral interventions (CBTs) for youths with school attendance problems (SAPs). The PsycINFO, PubMed, ERIC, and Scopus databases were searched through 1985-2024 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs, and open trials (OTs) evaluating SAP-focused CBT. Data were synthesized narratively and through meta-analysis. Four RCTs and eleven OTs met eligibility criteria, including 932 youths. Meta-analyses revealed small to large uncontrolled pre- to post-intervention effects for school attendance (g = 1.02), anxiety (g = - 0.57), depression (g = - 0.66), and behavioral problems (g = - 0.40), which were maintained at follow-up. When compared to a control, CBT had a medium effect on school attendance (g = 0.44) but non-significant effects on anxiety (g = - 0.09) and depression (g = - 0.14). While the results hold promise for SAP-focused CBTs, evidence was limited by study heterogeneity, bias risks, methodological limitations, and inconsistent outcome measures, highlighting the needed for further RCTs.

ABSTRACTMind‐Mindedness reflects parents' capacity to treat their child as an individual with a mind of their own. Research is lacking on how Representational Mind‐Mindedness (RMM) translates into observable parenting behaviours beyond infancy. The present study examined how RMM was associated with parents' Acknowledging Behaviour (AB) and use of Mental State Talk (MST), and whether these associations were moderated by parents' educational level. The sample consisted of 133 Danish parents and their 6‐year‐old children, who were observed engaging in a challenging puzzle and in a shared reminiscing task during home visits. RMM was operationalized as parents' use of mental attributes when describing their child. There was no significant association between RMM and AB. RMM was significantly associated with MST, but only among parents with higher education level. The present study illuminates differences in how the representational measure of parents' mentalization capacity translates into observable parenting behaviors among early school‐aged children.

With an increasing number of immigrant children in many countries, questions of how to prepare them for further education become highly salient. Few studies have examined the effect of first-language instruction on children's engagement in school and how that may later transfer into better majority-language outcomes. A randomized controlled trial in Denmark (n = 230) took an asset-based approach to students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds. We found that first-language instruction of majority-language learners (average age 7.1 years) reduced their behavioural problems in school and increased their school satisfaction and their parents' engagement. We saw no immediate effect on their spoken first-language skills, but one year after the intervention ended, their reading skills in the majority language were substantially improved. Half of this improvement could be explained by reduced behavioural problems. The results thereby indicate that an asset-based approach to students' linguistic and cultural backgrounds can help to ensure that first-language instruction transfers into majority-language skills.

ABSTRACT This study investigated risk factors for school absenteeism in a sample of 983 children in elementary and lower secondary schools in Denmark, using administrative data on absenteeism measured in the year following risk factor measurement. Risk factors were measured by survey (children and teachers) and register data. Two methods of determining importance of risk factors were compared: individual risk factors versus four domains of risk factors (psychological problems, physical problems, school factors, and demographic and family factors). Significant individual risk factors were found in all four domains. When teacher-reports of the children’s psychological problems were used, psychological problems was the risk factor domain that predicted school absenteeism best and the school-related factors domain predicted worst. The results highlight the need to distinguish between single risk factors that identify groups of individuals with elevated risk of school absence and the detection of risk factor domains that better predict school absence.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is genotypically diverse within the canine population and multiple strains may colonize individual dogs at any given time. If multiple strains with distinct antimicrobial resistance profiles are present in superficial bacterial folliculitis (SBF), sampling a single skin lesion for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) might be inadequate to select effective therapy. To investigate S. pseudintermedius diversity in carriage sites and lesions of dogs with SBF. Fourteen dogs with SBF. Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates obtained from perineum, gingiva and four to six skin lesions per dog were subjected to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and AST to assess diversity between lesions. For two dogs, 14-16 isolates per lesion were included in the analysis to assess diversity within lesions. Analysis of one isolate per lesion revealed one to four strains displaying unique PFGE profiles, and up to three unique antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles for each dog. Multiple pustules from the same dog always harboured the same strain, whereas papules, crusts and collarettes did not. Up to four strains with distinct AMR profiles were isolated from the same lesion in two dogs. In 12 dogs, at least one carriage site strain also was represented in lesions. Lesions of SBF may harbour multiple S. pseudintermedius strains with distinct antimicrobial resistance profiles. Pustules are the best target for bacterial culture. It remains unclear whether isolation of different strains from other lesion types is a consequence of contamination or co-infection by multiple strains.

We analyse the effect of substituting a weekly mathematics lesson in primary school grades 1–3 with a lesson in mathematics based on chess instruction. We use data from the City of Aarhus in Denmark, combining test score data with a comprehensive data set obtained from administrative registers. We use two different methodological approaches to identify and estimate treatment effects and we tend to find positive effects, indicating that knowledge acquired through chess play can be transferred to the domain of mathematics. We also find larger impacts for unhappy children and children who are bored in school, perhaps because chess instruction facilitates learning by providing an alternative approach to mathematics for these children. The results are encouraging and suggest that chess may be an important and effective tool for improving mathematical capacity in young students.