Objective: Social development is one of the important outcomes examined in child care research. Factors related to parenting and the overall child-rearing environment, which includes the mother's mental health, are hypothesized to contribute to children's social development, above all, in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to determine whether parenting satisfaction and stress at 9 month affect the social competence of 30-month-olds. Methods: The study participants were 311 dyads of 9-month-old children and their mothers. Each mother completed questionnaires to provide child-rearing-related information, including information on parenting satisfaction and stress, when their child was 9 months old. Caregiver-child interaction was observed when the child was 30 months old, and the features of the interaction were studied using the Interaction Rating Scale (IRS), a measure of social competence. Results: Regression analysis showed that the children's total scores on the IRS were significantly related to their mothers' satisfaction and parenting stress when the children were 9 months old. At the same time, the caregivers' total scores were also related to their children's total scores on the IRS. Multiple regression analysis was performed, after controlling for genders of children, to analyze the association between the children's social competence and the mothers' satisfaction (β=0.12, p=0.03) and caregiver-child interaction (β=0.41, p<0.01). Conclusions: The results suggest that mothers' satisfaction in child rearing is an important factor affecting the social development of children at 30 months of age.

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Purpose: In order to supply influenza vaccines in a stable manner in Japan, we have estimated influenza vaccination rates and predicted demand for vaccines every year since the 2000/01 season. The present paper deals with the prediction of demand for vaccines in the 2011/12 season. Methods: The survey was conducted at 3,376 medical institutions randomly selected from those with a record of purchasing influenza vaccines. Data on the number of vaccinated individuals in the 2010/11 season and the predicted number of individuals who would be vaccinated in the next season were collected. Based on the data, the quantity of influenza vaccine that would be required in the 2010/11 season was estimated. Results: The predicted demand was 27.65 million bottles (1 bottle: 1.0mL).However, the actual demand was 25.10 million bottles and the prediction overestimated the demand by 10.2 percent.

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