HURRIED CHILDREN
Our main focus in this research project is to look at children’s use of out-of-school time and their emotional well being. The relation between children’s after-school activity patterns and their stress levels are investigated in the light of Dr. David Elkind’s hurried child assumption, which states that today’s children are overwhelmed by the stressful demands of their adult-structured schedules. Fourth grade students from different countries across the world –Bulgaria, Greece, Taiwan, Turkey, and USA– are surveyed about what they generally do after school and their general anxiety levels. In addition to type of activity, children are asked to report for each activity the person who chooses it and to what extent they enjoy it.	When you know you’ve overscheduled your kid © 2006 Terri Libenson Cover of Dr. Elkind’s The Hurried Child © 2001 Perseus Publishing I’m a kid © 2006 John de Rosier Dr. Newman (L) receiving her Graduate Student Organization 2005 Faculty Award from Dr. Marjorie Pryse, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies. No time for play © 1999 Jim Borgman Cagri and Asil at TASSA 2007
Researchers
Dr. Joan Newman, PI, Temi Bidjerano, Asil Ozdogru, Cagri Ozkose-Biyik Alumni: Yiping Chang, Dr. John J. Johnson, Dr. Chin-Cheng Kao (National Hualien Teachers College, Taiwan), Dr. Anastassios Matsopoulos (University of Crete, Greece), Christyn Perras
Articles
Newman, J., Bidjerano, T., Ozdogru, A. A., Kao, C.-C., Ozkose-Biyik, C., & Johnson, J. J. (2007). What do they usually do after school? A comparative analysis of fourth grade children in Bulgaria, Taiwan and USA. Journal of Early Adolescence, 27(4), 431-456. Newman, J., Matsopoulos, A., Chang, Y., & Kao, C.-C. (2003). Research note: American children’s time use in after-school activities. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 97, 449-450.
Dissertations
Bidjerano, T. (2007). Shame and guilt in response to academic failure: Evidence from cross-cultural research. Unpublished dissertation submitted to University at Albany, State University of New York. Johnson, J. J. (2004). A comparative study of stress in public and Catholic elementary school fourth grade students in relationship to after-school activities. Dissertation Abstracts International, 65(5), 1663A. (UMI No. 3134668) Kao, C.-C. (2001). Children’s stress and after-school lives in Taiwan. Dissertation Abstracts International, 62(4), 2093B. (UMI No. 3012366)
Presentations
Ozdogru, A. A., Newman, J., Bidjerano, T., Ozkose-Biyik, C., & Kao, C.-C. (2007, May). A cross-cultural examination of children's weekend activities. Poster presented at the 19th annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science, Washington, DC. Bidjerano, T., Newman, J., Kao, C.-C., Ozdogru, A. A., & Ozkose-Biyik, C. (2007, April). Gender differences in children's afterschool autonomy in Taiwan and the United States. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL. Newman, J., Bidjerano, T., Ozdogru, A. A., Kao, C.-C., & Ozkose-Biyik, C. (2007, March). Children's autonomy: A comparative analysis of fourth grade children's activities in Bulgaria, Taiwan and USA. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA. Ozdogru, A. A., & Ozkose-Biyik, C. (2007, March). Preferred and actual out-of-school activities: A comparative case study of Turkish children. Poster presented at the 3rd annual conference of the Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association, New Haven, CT. Bidjerano, T. (2006, October). Children’s autonomy as a function of culture and gender. Paper presented at the 37th annual conference of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, Kerhonkson, NY. Newman, J., Bidjerano, T., Ozdogru, A. A., Ozkose-Biyik, C., & Kao, C.-C. (2006, April). Children’s after-school activities as developmental contexts: A cross-cultural comparison. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA. Bidjerano, T. (2006, April). Parental short-term expectations for grades and student academic achievement: A cross-cultural comparison. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA. Ozdogru, A. A., Bidjerano, T., & Ozkose-Biyik, C. (2005, October). After-school activities of second-shift students in Turkey and Bulgaria. Paper presented at the 36th annual conference of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, Kerhonkson, NY. Bidjerano, T. (2005, August). Factorial validity and reliability of a Bulgarian translation of the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. Poster presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. Ozdogru, A. A., Ozkose-Biyik, C., & Newman, J. (2005, June). The “Hurried Child” in Turkey: After-school activities and anxiety in fourth graders. Paper presented at the 35th annual meeting of the Jean Piaget Society, Vancouver, Canada. Bidjerano, T., Newman, J., Johnson, J., & Kao, C.-C. (2005, April). Do Bulgarian and Taiwanese children tend to underreport symptoms of anxiety? Poster presented at the 37th annual conference of the New England Educational Research Organization, Northampton, MA. Bidjerano, T., Newman, J., Johnson, J., & Kao, C.-C. (2005, April). What fourth graders usually do after school: A cross-cultural study. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA. Ozdogru, A. A., Kao, C.-C., Johnson, J., & Newman, J. (2005, April). Report cards: A universal source of anxiety for children? Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA. Newman, J., Perras, C., Ozdogru, A. A., Kao, C.-C., Chang, Y., & Matsopoulos, A. (2004, April). Children’s after-school activities and anxiety level: American and Taiwanese comparison. Poster presented at the 36th annual conference of the New England Educational Research Organization, Portsmouth, NH.

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