MDI Tools for Action
www.earlylearning.ubc.ca/mdi/tools
What the MDI Measures
Dimension 1: Social and Emotional
Development
OPTIMISM
Social and emotional
well-being
profoundly affect
children’s health
and development.
Research has
shown that school
interventions that
promote students’
social and emotional
well-being result in:
• improved student
attitudes towards
school;
• increases
in positive
behaviour
including
reductions in
bullying; and
• improvements
in academic
achievement.
Optimism refers to the mindset of having positive expectations for the future. Decades of research have
publicized the health benefits of thinking positively and scientists are now gaining insight as to why this
may be the case.
•
Optimism predicts a range of long-term health and life benefits including greater success
in school and work, less likelihood of depression and anxiety, greater satisfaction in
relationships, better physical health, and longer life. It is also a strong predictor of resilience in
children who face adversity.
•
Optimism may lead to positive life outcomes because it changes behaviour. Optimists are
more likely to believe that if they try, they will succeed. These beliefs lead optimists to persist
longer at tasks and take better care of their health, increasing their chance of success and
thus reinforcing their positive beliefs.
•
Studies have shown that optimism is partly genetic and partly learned through experiences
with parents, teachers, peers, and community. A number of children’s programs are now
teaching optimism in the early years in order to promote constructive thinking patterns that
will benefit them throughout their lives.
SELF-ESTEEM
Self-esteem refers to a person’s sense of self-worth. Self-esteem is one of the most critical components
of child health to measure at this stage in development, as it is during the middle childhood years that
children begin to form beliefs about themselves as either competent or inferior people.
•
Self-esteem is an overall evaluation of one’s worth or value as a person.
•
Increased cognitive abilities acquired during middle childhood allow children to reflect more
realistically about themselves, including how they compare to others. Because of this children
can end up feeling inadequate or inferior compared to their friends and can also experience
inner turmoil if they perceive their “real” self as not matching their “ideal” self.
•
Because self-esteem is an overall evaluation and not task-specific, it may be more difficult to
change through intervention than other qualities. Low self-esteem can lead to chronic selfloathing, anxiety, and depression.
(Zins et al., 2004)
HAPPINESS
Happiness, or subjective well-being, refers to how content or satisfied children are with their lives. Research shows that happy people tend to have better relationships, be more actively engaged in the community, and live longer. Although quality of life has become a focus of health promotion efforts for adults,
it is just beginning to be recognized as an important health component for children and adolescents.
• Happiness serves a greater advantage than just feeling good: children with a positive, friendly
affect are more likely to attract positive attention from peers and adults, thus broadening and
strengthening their social resources. Having positive experiences to refer to also allows children cope better when negative experiences occur.
•
Life experiences influence overall happiness, but overall happiness influences decisions children make that will in turn determine their future experiences.
•
Risks associated with low happiness/life satisfaction include depression, social rejection, aggression, and substance abuse.
EMPATHY AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Empathy is the experience of feeling what another person feels and prosocial behaviour is behaving in
socially appropriate and responsible ways. Both skills are critical for building and maintaining positive
relationships with others and may have indirect consequences as well.
• Empathic children are better able to foresee the negative social consequences of their
actions and are better able to problem-solve during awkward situations.
• A recent study of bullying among 9 and 10 year-olds found that prosocial children
demonstrated greater empathic awareness than either bullies or children targeted by
bullies.
• Prosocial children are often favoured by their teachers and end up performing better
academically than antisocial children.
• School interventions designed to increase empathy and prosocial behaviour have been
found to increase social and emotional awareness in classrooms, decrease aggressive
behaviour, and increase academic performance.
SADNESS AND WORRIES
A Canadian study of child mental wellness found that 1 in 5 Canadian children suffer mental health
problems severe enough to warrant professional services, and yet only 25% of children receive the
services they need. Recognizing that half of all lifetime mental health disorders start before the age
of 14, it is imperative to recognize and circumvent issues before they become chronic problems. The
MDI measures the beginning symptoms of both depression (sadness) and anxiety (worries).
•
Anxiety is the most prevalent mental health concern among both children and adults. It is
estimated that anxiety affects 1 in every 8 children (13%) – with onset starting as early as 6
years old. Although it is one of the most prevalent mental health issues, studies have found
that up to 80% of youths with anxiety do not use health services.
•
Depression is estimated to affect 1 in every 15 children (6%) in Canada. It has a later onset
than anxiety, usually beginning around the time of puberty. Depression affects children’s
ability to concentrate and also limits their ability to experience enjoyment or pleasure in
things.
•
Anxiety and depression are more commonly reported among children from affluent
backgrounds than children from less affluent backgrounds, likely due to increased pressure
and isolation from adults.
•
Anxiety and depression often co-occur.
Table 1. Symptoms of anxiety and depression in children
childhood anxiety symptoms1
childhood depression symptoms2
•
not wanting to separate from parents
•
being tired all the time
•
avoiding social situations (e.g., recess,
•
not experiencing much interest or pleasure
lunch)
in things
•
excessively worrying about things
•
difficulty focusing on tasks
•
experiencing frequent aches and pains
•
crying easily; easily irritable
www.anxietybc.com
1
www.healthlinkbc.ca/kb/content/major/ty4640.html
2
HELPING STUDENTS
The MDI is a population-level health
tool and cannot identify or diagnose
individual children. If you suspect a child or
student may be struggling with a social or
emotional health issue, please inform the
child’s school counsellor.
“Raising children, I
realized, is vastly more
than fixing what is
wrong with them. It
is about identifying
and nurturing their
strongest qualities,
what they own and
are best at, and
helping them find
niches in which they
can best live out these
strengths.“
- Dr. Martin
Seligman, Founder,
Positive Psychology
Centre, PA
REFERENCES
Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the Life Cycle in Psychological Issues (monograph). Vol. 1 No. 1
New York: International Universities Press.
Gillham, J., & Reivich, K. (2004). Cultivating Optimism in Childhood and Adolescence. Annals of
the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 146-163.
Harter, S. (2001). The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. Guilford Press: New
York, NY.
Heubner, E. S. (2004). Research on assessment of life satisfaction of children and adolescents.
Social Indicators Research, 66, 3-33.
Joint Consortium for School Health (2010). Schools as a setting for promoting positive mental
health. Available from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/sco/resources.htm.
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, D., Jin, R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and
age-of-onset distributions of DSM disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.
Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 593-602.
Luthar, S. S. (2003). The culture of affluence: Psychological costs of material wealth. Child
Development, 74, 1581-1593.
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction.
American Psychologist, 55, 5-14.
Warden, D., & Mackinnon, S. (2003). Prosocial children, bullies and victims: An investigation
of their sociometric status, empathy and social problem-solving strategies. British Journal of
Developmental Psychology, 21, 367-385.
Wentzel, K. R. (1993). Does being good make the grade? Social behaviour and academic
competence in middle school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 357-364.
Zins, J., Weissberg, R., Wang, M., & Wahlberg, H. J. (Eds.). (2004). Building academic success on
social emotional learning: What does the research say? New York, NY: Teacher’s College Press.
Human Early
Learning Partnership
CONTACT
RESEARCH LEAD
TEL 604-822-1278
FAX 604-822-0640
www.earlylearning.ubc.ca
Maddison Spenrath
Implementation Project Coordinator
Human Early Learning Partnership
[email protected]
Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl
Principal Investigator
University of British Columbia and Human Early
Learning Partnership