Hurried Child Syndrome Among Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Study to Calculate Sample Size

Abstract

The term 'pilot study' refers to mini version of a full-scale study. These mini version studies are one of the crucial elements of a research design and are used for many purposes, to fulfil various objectives. The main cause behind conducting any pilot trial is to calculate the sample size for finding the prevalence of particular variable(s) in research and to remove all the weaknesses which can be faced while conducting the final study. This study was carried out to calculate the prevalence of 'Hurried child syndrome' in the Indian scenario. Based on that prevalence, final sample size for the main research was calculated. Results: The prevalence of 'Hurried child syndrome' was 87.5% in the pilot study and calculated sample size was 559. Conclusion: Sample size was calculated accurately with the help of a pilot study. It also facilitated the investigators to handle the shortcomings and modify the research protocol accordingly in advance. e live in a time-regulated society, where the emphasis is on speed, prompt results, fast food and rapid services. It takes great strength and discipline to live life at a slower pace. As a result, most people follow the fast current, and this fast current is growing rapidly faster, giving rise to a problem, known as 'the 'hurried child.' Concept of the hurried child was first proposed by a child psychologist and a teacher by profession-Professor David Elkind (1981), working at the Tufts University (Medford, United States). It is a set of stress linked behaviours, which results when a child is expected by his/her parents to perform well beyond his or her level of mental, social or emotional capabilities. A condition, in which the schedule of children is overfilled, they are pushed hard for academic success, along with other extracurricular activities, and are expected to behave as replica of the adults. New family lifestyles, academic pressure, over scheduling, dynamics of media and internet, parental peer pressure, childhood moving indoors, idea of child as a consumer and dynamics of schooling, are a few factors which come under this umbrella term. These factors exist in the contemporary environment of children and adolescents, which allow them to confront numerous emotional, mental and behavioural problems.

Full text

Research Paper
The International Journal of Indian Psychology
ISSN 2348-5396 (Online) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (Print)
Volume 10, Issue 2, April- June, 2022
DIP: 18.01.041.20221002, DOI: 10.25215/1002.041
https://www.ijip.in
© 2022, Kashyap V & Sharma S K; licensee IJIP. This is an Open Access Research distributed under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution License (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits
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Hurried Child Syndrome Among Children and Adolescents: A
Pilot Study to Calculate Sample Size
Vipasha Kashyap
1
*, Sunil Kumar Sharma
2
ABSTRACT
The term 'pilot study' refers to mini version of a full-scale study. These mini version studies
are one of the crucial elements of a research design and are used for many purposes, to fulfil
various objectives. The main cause behind conducting any pilot trial is to calculate the
sample size for finding the prevalence of particular variable(s) in research and to remove all
the weaknesses which can be faced while conducting the final study. This study was carried
out to calculate the prevalence of ‘Hurried child syndrome’ in the Indian scenario. Based on
that prevalence, final sample size for the main research was calculated. Results: The
prevalence of ‘Hurried child syndrome’ was 87.5% in the pilot study and calculated sample
size was 559. Conclusion: Sample size was calculated accurately with the help of a pilot
study. It also facilitated the investigators to handle the shortcomings and modify the research
protocol accordingly in advance.
Keywords: Pilot study, sample size, hurried child syndrome
e live in a time-regulated society, where the emphasis is on speed, prompt results,
fast food and rapid services. It takes great strength and discipline to live life at a
slower pace. As a result, most people follow the fast current, and this fast current
is growing rapidly faster, giving rise to a problem, known as ‘the ‘hurried child.’ Concept
of the hurried child was first proposed by a child psychologist and a teacher by profession -
Professor David Elkind (1981), working at the Tufts University (Medford, United States). It
is a set of stress linked behaviours, which results when a child is expected by his/her parents
to perform well beyond his or her level of mental, social or emotional capabilities. A
condition, in which the schedule of children is overfilled, they are pushed hard for academic
success, along with other extracurricular activities, and are expected to behave as replica of
the adults. New family lifestyles, academic pressure, over scheduling, dynamics of media
and internet, parental peer pressure, childhood moving indoors, idea of child as a consumer
and dynamics of schooling, are a few factors which come under this umbrella term. These
factors exist in the contemporary environment of children and adolescents, which allow
them to confront numerous emotional, mental and behavioural problems. [1, 2, 3]
1
Department of Psychology, Vallabh Government College (Mandi)
2
Department of Psychology, Himachal Pradesh University (Shimla), India
*Corresponding Author
Received: January 05, 2022; Revision Received: June 03, 2022; Accepted: June 17, 2022
W

Hurried Child Syndrome Among Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Study to Calculate Sample Size
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 411
Usually, the developing nations look at the studies carried out in the developed world to
calculate the sample size. Studies conducted in the first world countries are kept as the frame
of reference for any research which is to be conducted in third world countries. As a result,
researchers from the third world countries restrict themselves to the data available on
Pubmed, Medline, ResearchGate and many other websites, to conduct the final research.
There is a dearth of research and specifically, quantitative data on the concept of ‘Hurried
child syndrome’. Although research has been conducted on this topic, but data is not
available about the prevalence of this condition. Hence, it was unavoidable to calculate the
sample size for the final study on this concept, based on the findings of a pilot trial.
Pilot trials are used to examine the utilized tools, procedures and processes which will be
made use of in the final work. [4, 5]. On the other hand, sample size is another critical
element of quantitative research. [6] It ascertains the minimum number of
participants/subjects which are to be included for the main study, so that the research
questions can be answered. A prerequisite of most of the empirical work is the calculation of
an adequate sample size through pre-studies. [6, 7, 8, 9]
The purpose of this study was to calculate accurate sample size, by taking an example of
prevalence of hurried child syndrome in the field settings of Himachal Pradesh (India). This
mini-investigation was also carried out to remove the procedural bugs which were to be
faced in the final study and decrease the number of unanticipated difficulties.
METHODOLOGY
Study area
District Shimla of Himachal Pradesh is located in south-western Himalayan region. It lies
between 77.10’- 78.19’ E (longitude) and 30.4’- 31.44’ N (latitude). The urban and rural
areas of this district were selected for the pilot trial. Headquarters of this district are situated
in Shimla town, which covers nearly 9.2 kilometres from east to west. This urban area is
divided further into twenty-five (25) wards. Two wards were picked up through simple
random process for selecting participants to be included in the pilot test. On the other hand,
rural Shimla is divided into sixteen sub-districts (tehsils in hindi language). Out of the 16
sub-districts, again two sub – districts were selected using simple random technique for
calculating sample size of the study.
Study population
Parents of children aged between 5-12 years and adolescents aged between 15-18 years were
the study population.
Inclusion criteria: The study population residing in district Shimla (urban and rural),
Himachal Pradesh was the most important inclusion criteria. Parents of the selected age
range for both the groups: 5-12 years and 15-18 years of age was also another significant
criterion of incorporation for the participants in the study.
Exclusion criteria: Parents of those children and adolescents, who did not give consent,
were excluded from the study. Parents who were having wards with diagnosed mental
illness or any chronic morbidity were also excluded from the pilot and final study.
Sample size
To estimate the sample size for this pilot trial, methods given by Browne and Teare,
Dimairo, and Shephard were utilized. [10, 11] Browne’s rule of thumb is to use at least 30

Hurried Child Syndrome Among Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Study to Calculate Sample Size
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 412
subjects or greater to estimate a parameter, whereas Teare et al., recommend a sample size
of at least 70 for pilot trials in order to reduce the imprecision around the estimate of the
standard deviation. Based on Teare and others’ ‘rule of thumb’, 70 subjects were selected
randomly from the selected areas for the study.
Sampling strategy
The sample size was divided equally into rural and urban areas. Two tehsils (sub districts) of
rural Shimla and two wards from urban Shimla were selected purposively. A total of 35
questionnaires were distributed to the participants in rural and urban areas (each). In order to
collect data from the two wards of rural and urban areas (each), snowball sampling
technique was utilized in this phase of the study. It was done to make the research cost and
time effective. For it was independent research without any funding aid.
Study tool
A structured questionnaire was utilized for the parents of children and adolescents who were
included in the study. Hurried child syndrome was labelled based on a set of forty-two (42)
questions, which was further given scores. The final scores were calculated by adding score
on each question. Lowest calculated score on the questionnaire was 117 and, the highest
calculated score was 166.
Data collection
The pre designed structured questionnaire in English and Hindi was introduced to the
participants who consented to participate. Participants, who were not comfortable with the
languages of questionnaires, were interviewed by one of the authors. The final sample
consisted of 51 subjects from two tehsils (sub-districts) of rural and two wards of urban
Shimla. The questionnaires of remaining 19 participants were rejected because of either
response bias or missing responses. The final sample size for the pilot work included: 24
parents of wards in the age group of 5-12 years (first group) and 27 parents of the
adolescents (15-18 years of age).
Data analysis
Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were utilized to form the norms, for the
categorization of scores of each subject. Prevalence was calculated based on the scores,
falling in the ‘average high’, ‘high’ and ‘very high’ category of norms (as shown in Table:
1). A score above 135 (˃ 135) was considered to be taken for calculating the anticipated
prevalence.
Table: 1 Norms for finding the anticipated prevalence
* M stands for mean and SD stands for standard deviation
Category
Score range
Age group
5-12 years
15-18 years
Very low (M-1/2 SD)
<123.80
2
1
Low (M -1 SD)
123.80-129.34
1
1
Average low
129.34 – 134.87
3
1
Average high
134.87 – 140.40
6
10
High (M+1/2SD)
140.40 – 145.93
7
7
Very high (M+1SD)
˃ 145.93
5
7

Hurried Child Syndrome Among Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Study to Calculate Sample Size
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 413
RESULTS
Based on the data collected in the pilot phase, anticipated prevalence ‘p’ for the participants
was 87.5 (percent). It was calculated by using the total scores of all the participants on the
questionnaire. Calculated mean and standard deviation were 134.868 and 11.066
respectively.
The final sample size for the study was calculated by using the formula: 4pq/𝑒2, where ‘p’ is
the anticipated prevalence of the problem being studied. For finding the suitable sample size,
the assumption usually made is that the allowable error (e) does not exceed 10% or 20% of
the positive character. [12] The sample size was calculated at the confidence interval of
ninety five percent (95%). Calculated total sample size for this study was 559. Total sample
size was divided among the rural and urban population proportionately i.e. 90:10, as 90
percent of the Indian population resides in rural areas of this country. The sample size of this
study was calculated according to the 2011 census of Himachal Pradesh. Details are given in
Table 2 and 3.
Table: 2 Detail of sample size for the selected areas
Table:3 Division of random selection of participants for the study from urban and rural
areas
Age group
Urban
Rural
Total
5-12 years
44
396
440
* 2 subjects from
each (25) ward
* 39 participants from each (10)
randomly selected sub-districts
* 6 subjects were selected randomly
from any 6 sub-districts
15-18 years
35
84
119
* At least 1
participant from
each (25) ward.
* 8 subjects from each (10) randomly
selected sub-district
* 4 participants were selected
randomly from any selected sub-
district.
DISCUSSION
Pilot studies which are well planned and carried out effectively, are helpful for the entire
research process. Smaller versions of main studies even inform the researchers about the
probable results. Feasibility studies are most likely to increase the quality of research.
Results from such studies are of great help for the final research.
A feasibility study is used to assess the suitability of the main study. Assessment of
resources: time and cost mainly, along with execution and applicability are the main areas
with which a pre-test deals with. [13] Research studies take a lot of time, are frustrating, and
filled with problems which are not expected and predicted. It is better to conduct pilot works
and deal with the problem areas in advance, before devoting a large amount of time, funds,
and energy directly on a final study. [14, 16] It has been reported that, conducting a pilot
Age group
Sample size
Urban
Rural
Total
First group
5-12 years
44
396
440
Second group
15-18 years
35
84
119

Hurried Child Syndrome Among Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Study to Calculate Sample Size
© The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396 (e)| ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) | 414
work help in facing the challenges that are likely to arise in the substantive study. Such
systematic studies also make the investigators more confident in the instruments that they
use for the process of data collection. [15, 16]
This pre-test was conducted to overcome the dearth of research and data on the prevalence
of ‘Hurried child syndrome’. Sample size was calculated based on the findings of a pilot
trial. Another major goal was to assess the efficacy of the research instrument, which was to
be used for the main study. It assisted in interrogating the flaws present in drafted
questionnaires, which were standardized after conducting the final research. Carrying out a
mini trial made the researchers aware, about most of the hindrances which were to be faced
at later stages. Most importantly, it made the entire task of investigation, testing and analysis
simpler and easier.
CONCLUSION
This pilot work was carried out with an aim of calculating the final sample size for a study.
It was also done to increase the knowledge about methodological issues of pilot studies
which are rarely reported. Conducting a pilot study does not assure success in the main
study, but it increases the likelihood of success. It fulfils a wide array of important functions
and provides valuable insights for other researchers. Researchers need to discuss among
themselves, about the process and outcomes of pilot studies. Pilot trial of studies enable the
identification of weaknesses which researchers are likely to face while execution and
analysis of the study. Investigators should be encouraged to conduct and even report their
pilot studies in detail. This will help in making preliminary improvements for the study
design and the entire research process.
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Acknowledgement
The author(s) appreciates all those who participated in the study and helped to facilitate the
research process.
Conflict of Interest
The author(s) declared no conflict of interest.
How to cite this article: Kashyap V & Sharma S K (2022). Hurried Child Syndrome Among
Children and Adolescents: A Pilot Study to Calculate Sample Size. International Journal of
Indian Psychology, 10(2), 410-415. DIP:18.01.041.20221002, DOI:10.25215/1002.041