RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: The EQ-TIPS was developed to measure the Health-Related Quality of Life in infants/toddlers. Considering the rapid development in this period, this study aimed to investigate age-related variations in EQ-TIPS performance. METHODS: Data from 551 infants/toddlers living with a health condition were analysed. Infants/toddlers were grouped by age: 0-6 months (n = 100), 6-12 months (n = 95), 12-24 months (n = 147), and 36-48 months (n = 97). Differences in item responses and item correlations across age groups were calculated by Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman's correlations, respectively. RESULTS: The report of problems was significantly higher for movement, play, and communication in the 36-48-month group compared to the 0-6-month group. There were strong correlations (r > 0.50) across all age groups between play and movement and communication and social interaction/play; neither pain nor eating showed a clear pattern of association. CONCLUSIONS: There is an age-related difference in the reporting of items linked to developmental milestones (movement, play, and communication) with most problems reported in the 36-48-month group when deviation from peers and continued dependence on caregivers is notable. Consideration should be given to including broader examples of play in the EQ-TIPS. Redefining the items to represent social communication and/or (social) emotion, rather than communication and social interaction, may be warranted. Future research should explore the psychometric performance of items to further inform item inclusion and/or revision.
RESUMEN
Recent research has identified a leftward cradling bias in males, although males are much less lateralised than females. It has been suggested that on an individual level this leftward bias is strengthened as males acquire caregiving experience. Furthermore, recent explanations propose that leftward cradling bias is facilitated by right-hemispheric specialisation for processing facial emotions. Some have suggested that it is specifically facilitated by right-hemispheric specialisation for basic social-affective processes that underlie our capacity to relate to others. The present study investigated male cradling bias in relation to these three factors. Ninety-eight right-handed males aged 18-56 years were observed across four separate trials of an imaginary cradling scenario. Caregiving experience, attachment style, hemispheric lateralisation for processing facial emotion, and autistic traits were measured. A leftward cradling bias was observed in 72.4% of participants and was not contingent on caregiving experience. Regression analyses revealed that right-hemispheric lateralisation for processing facial emotions and autistic traits were both significant predictors of leftward cradling, while attachment style did not predict leftward cradling. Overall, our findings indicate that the leftward cradling bias in males is not contingent on previous caregiving experience and provide further support for right-hemispheric specialisation and basic social-affective processing explanations.