Psychological and Physiological Stress and Stressors in Early Childhood Educators: An Observational Pilot Study.

While early childhood educators' mental health is important, it may also affect the well-being and education of their students. Yet, little research has described the stress and stressors of early childhood educators (ECEs), particularly as the pandemic wanes. This pilot study aimed to (1) describe ECEs' psychological and physiological stress and (2) examine the association between ECEs' psychological and physiological stress levels with stressors.

Relationships among caregiving, stress, and self-regulation in toddlers living in poverty.

Purpose: The Developmental Psychobiological Model of Experiential Canalization (DPMEC) proposes that conditions of poverty-related adversity influence child self-regulation through parental caregiving, stress hormones, and the child's genetics. However, empirical findings investigating these relationships with prolonged stress hormones are mixed. Further, the relationships among conditions of adversity with prolonged stress hormones have seldom been investigated in toddlers living in poverty.

Temperament and sleep behaviors in infants and toddlers living in low-income homes.

Temperament is a dynamic trait that can be shaped by maturity and environmental experiences. In this study, we sought to determine whether and the extent to which temperament was predicted by sleeping behaviors in an understudied sample of primarily Black and White infants and toddlers living in low-income homes (N = 150). Sleeping behaviors were assessed at 15-19 months of age with caregiver report of the Tayside Children's Sleep Questionnaire.

Sociodemographics and chronic stress in mother-toddler dyads living in poverty.

Experiencing chronic stress early in life is associated with later health disparities, and poverty may be a significant stressor for both mothers and children. With a sample of primarily Black and White mothers (N = 75) and toddlers (N = 71) living in poverty in the United States, we examined the direct relations between sociodemographic conditions of poverty and chronic physiological stress. Mothers completed questionnaires on sociodemographics, including mother/toddler race, mother's education, father's education, poverty level, economic hardship, marital status, unemployment status, and toddler sex.

Prevalence and predictors of background television among infants and toddlers from low-income families homes.

TV use could be detrimental to children's development because it may displace enriching activities like shared reading and caregiver-child interaction or disrupt children's interactions with the adults in their lives by distracting both parties. Some prior research has shown that demographic factors (maternal education, siblings) and maternal mental health (depression risk and parenting stress) may predict household TV, but findings are mixed. Household TV is defined here as whether or how much the TV is on in the home.

Co-occurring risk and protective factors and regulatory behavior of infants living in low-income homes.

Early self-regulation is a foundation for lifelong wellness and can be shaped by the interplay among several vital exposures. In this study, we examined the emergence of reliable profiles based upon exposure to risk and protective factors in infancy, determined if sociodemographic resources predict profile membership, and determined if these profiles predict early regulatory behaviors in a sample of infants reared in low-income homes. Data were collected from a sample of primarily Black or White mother-infant dyads living in low-income homes in the Midwest (n = 222) during the infants' first year of life (mean maternal age at enrollment: 26.

Maternal Mental Health Symptoms and Clusters Predict Toddler Sleep in Low-Income Homes.

The authors examined the association of maternal mental health symptoms and symptom clusters with the sleeping behaviors of toddlers living in low-income homes. The sample is comprised of 174 racially diverse mother and toddler (15-19 months old) dyads who were participating in a longitudinal birth cohort study. Dyads were initially recruited from Women, Infant, and Children clinics in a Midwestern county of the United States.

Media exposure and language for toddlers from low-income homes.

In the current study, we examined whether the quantity of toddlers' exposure to media was related to language skills and whether meeting the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations of limiting media exposure to one hour or less per day was related to language skills. We examined these associations in a sample of toddlers (N = 157) living in low-income homes. Toddlers were about two years of age (M = 28.

Relations of Maternal Depression and Parenting Self-Efficacy to the Self-Regulation of Infants in Low-Income Homes.

There is increasing recognition that young children's self-regulation provides a foundation for overall wellness later in life. Yet, infants reared in poverty may exhibit less-developed self-regulation compared to their more advantaged peers. Factors associated with poverty that may influence early self-regulation include maternal depression and parenting self-efficacy.

Print Knowledge in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Do Child and Family Variables Play a Role?

Purpose This study aimed to examine the print knowledge of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison to children who have developmental language disorder (DLD) and typically developing (TD) children as well as examine the child and family predictors of print knowledge. Method A total of 629 preschool children, including 33 children with ASD, 93 children with DLD, and 503 TD children, were the focus of the current study. Teachers completed direct assessments with the children in the fall and spring of the academic year on print knowledge using the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screener.

Hair sampling for cortisol analysis with mother-toddler dyads living in low-income homes.

Background: A first step to advance stress science research in young children is understanding the relationship between chronic stress in a mother and chronic stress in her child. One non-invasive measure of chronic stress is hair cortisol. However, little is known about strategies for hair sampling in mother-toddler dyads living in low-income homes in the U.

Food Insecurity and Depression among Economically Disadvantaged Mothers: Does Maternal Efficacy Matter?

Background: Nearly 13 million American children experience food insecurity. Research suggests that maternal depression is associated with food insecurity, such that mothers who experience depression are more likely to be food insecure. Maternal self-efficacy may be an important protective factor against depression during the postpartum year, interrupting the link between depression and food insecurity.

Neighborhood Influences on Perceived Social Support and Parenting Behaviors.

Objectives: The aim of our study is to explore the relationships between neighborhood context, perceived social support, and parenting for low-income mothers with young infants.

Methods: Data were collected during the first three time points from the Kids in Columbus Study, a 5-year longitudinal study on low-income families. Mother-child dyads (n = 228) were recruited from five Women, Infants, and Children Centers located in a Midwestern Metropolitan area.

Book-Reading Engagement in Children with Autism and Language Impairment: Associations with Emergent-Literacy Skills.

Emergent-literacy skills are frequently taught within social interactions in preschool classrooms such as shared book reading. Children with impaired language and/or social engagement may have difficulty accessing these learning opportunities. Therefore, we sought to investigate the relationship between book-reading orientation during a teacher-led shared book reading activity and emergent-literacy skill development across three groups of preschool children; autism (n = 22), developmental language disorder (DLD; n = 23), and typical development (TD; n = 58).

Comparing Children with ASD and Their Peers' Growth in Print Knowledge.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with reading. An increased focus on emergent literacy skills-particularly print knowledge-might improve later reading outcomes. We analyzed longitudinal measures of print knowledge (i.