Development of the Culturally Affirming and Responsive Experiences (CARE) Measure: Observing Responsiveness and Ethnic-Racial Cultural Socialization in Mother-Child Interactions.

The existing literature on the importance of maternal responsiveness and the growing body of literature supporting early ethnic-racial cultural socialization highlight the need for an observational measure of how they co-occur during mother-child interactions. This study presents the development and initial validation of the Culturally Affirming and Responsive Experiences (CARE) measure, an observational measure of the presence and quality of responsiveness and ethnic-racial cultural socialization within early mother-child interactions. Pilot study results with 103 racially and ethnically diverse mother-child dyads demonstrated initial reliability and validity of the CARE measure.

Social-Emotional Profiles of Preschool Children: An Investigation of Demographic Disparities and Intersectionality.

This study aims to enhance our understanding of the diverse nature of social-emotional development and explore the demographic disparities and intersectionality of social determinants among children, with an emphasis on underserved populations of children in low-resource environments. Young children living in low-income families are exposed to a wide array of social and systemic risks that increase the propensity for poor learning and social-emotional development. Using data from the Head Start Family and Childhood Experiences Survey (FACES, this study focuses on the social-emotional development of a nationally representative sample of young children enrolled in the Head Start program ( = 1921, 50.

Profiles of young children's home environment and association with their development.

This study aimed to identify profiles of young children's early home environment and explore their association with development in motor, inhibitory control, language, and emotional competence skills. The sample included 2,158 children (51.4% male), 35.

The importance of community resources for breastfeeding.

Background: Breastfeeding has long-lasting effects on children's cognition, behavioral, mental and physical health. Previous research shows parental characteristics (e.g.

Maternal Informal Learning Experiences that Shape Parenting Practices.

Objective: Current understanding of the linkage between maternal education and parenting practices has largely been informed using a narrow definition of educational attainment-the highest level of education an individual has completed. However, the proximal processes that shape parenting, including informal learning experiences, are also important to understand. Less is known about the informal learning experiences that shape parenting decisions and practices.

Do Neighborhood Resources Mitigate Family Risk to Preschool Children's Executive Function Skills Growth?

Despite previous studies showing that children's development of executive function (EF) skills is associated with the differing contexts in which children live, evidence about the independent and synergistic effects of families and neighborhoods is limited. Using a sample from a two-cohort longitudinal study of preschoolers from low-income families, we examined whether residential neighborhood resources (measured with the Child Opportunity Index (COI)) moderated the relationship between family cumulative risk and the growth trajectory of children's EF skills. Results from conditional growth curve models indicate family cumulative risk was negatively related to baseline EF skills and the rate of EF skill growth.

The Role of Preschool Dosage and Quality in Children's Self-Regulation Development.

The present study examined how the dosage and quality of the federal preschool program "Head Start" (HS) in the US related to children's self-regulation skills in kindergarten. Using Propensity Score Matching and multiple regression (OLS), this study explored how the number of years and hours a week of HS were related to self-regulation among 2,383 children, who entered the program either at 3 or 4 years old. An additional year in HS was significantly positively associated with self-regulation in kindergarten, while the number of hours a week in HS was not.

Sleep Patterns and School Readiness of Pre-Kindergarteners from Racially and Ethnically Diverse, Low-Income Backgrounds.

Objective: To explore patterns in parent-reported child sleep health and to investigate connections between such patterns and school readiness for newly enrolled prekindergarten (PreK) attendees from racially and ethnically diverse, low-income backgrounds.

Study Design: In a secondary analysis from a larger multiple-cohort longitudinal observational study of prekindergartners in low-income families, parental reports of sleep health for 351 children (mean age, 52.8 ± 3.

Investigating Mechanisms for Maternal Education Disparities in Enacting Health-Promoting Infant Care Practices.

Background: Although higher education and healthier practices are positively associated, the explanatory mechanisms for this association remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to better understand mechanisms underlying this association by examining maternal adherence to 2 health-promoting infant care practices: supine placement and breastfeeding.

Methods: We analyzed nationally representative data from the Study of Attitudes and Factors Effecting Infant Care, which surveyed US mothers after infant birth and 2 months thereafter.

How Lifestyle Factors Affect Cognitive and Executive Function and the Ability to Learn in Children.

In today's research environment, children's diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors are commonly studied in the context of health, independent of their effect on cognition and learning. Moreover, there is little overlap between the two literatures, although it is reasonable to expect that the lifestyle factors explored in the health-focused research are intertwined with cognition and learning processes. This thematic review provides an overview of knowledge connecting the selected lifestyle factors of diet, physical activity, and sleep hygiene to children's cognition and learning.

Changing Teacher-Child Dyadic Interactions to Improve Preschool Children's Externalizing Behaviors.

A randomized controlled trial was used to examine the impact of an attachment-based, teacher-child, dyadic intervention (Banking Time) to improve children's externalizing behavior. Participants included 183 teachers and 470 preschool children (3-4 years of age). Classrooms were randomly assigned to Banking Time, child time, or business as usual (BAU).

Visuomotor integration and inhibitory control compensate for each other in school readiness.

Visuomotor integration (VMI), or the ability to copy designs, and 2 measures of executive function were examined in a predominantly low-income, typically developing sample of children (n = 467, mean age 4.2 years) from 5 U.S.

Program and Teacher Characteristics Predicting the Implementation of Banking Time with Preschoolers Who Display Disruptive Behaviors.

This study examined the relationship among baseline program and teacher characteristics and subsequent implementation of Banking Time. Banking Time is a dyadic intervention intended to improve a teacher's interaction quality with a specific child. Banking Time implementation was examined in the current study using a sample of 59 teachers and preschool children displaying disruptive behaviors in the classroom (~three children per classroom).

Individual and Contextual Factors Associated with Pre-Kindergarten Teachers' Responsiveness to the MyTeachingPartner Coaching Intervention.

With research findings indicating positive associations between teacher-child interaction quality and children's development and learning, many professional development efforts now focus on improving the ways in which teachers interact with children. Previous work found that MyTeachingPartner (MTP), a web-mediated coaching intervention, improved teachers' classroom interactions with children, and further analysis found that improvement in teachers' interactions was mediated by their responsiveness to the MTP intervention. The current study assessed how teacher characteristics, including demographics, beliefs, and psychological factors, as well as contextual characteristics related to multiple measures of teachers' responsiveness to MTP.

The Role of the Mentor in Supporting New Teachers: Associations with Self-Efficacy, Reflection, and Quality.

In our study, we examined variation in mentoring aspects of an induction program for 77 novice teachers and associations with self-efficacy, reflection, and quality of student-teacher interactions. Mentors' previous experience and full- vs. part-time status predicted novices' perception of support, reflection, and observed student-teacher interactions.

Long-term cognition, achievement, socioemotional, and behavioral development of healthy late-preterm infants.

Objective: To compare healthy late-preterm infants with their full-term counterparts from age 4 through 15 years for numerous standard cognitive, achievement, socioemotional, and behavioral outcomes.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: National Institute of Child Health and Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, 1991-2007.

Teacher Characteristics Associated with Responsiveness and Exposure to Consultation and On-line Professional Development Resources.

This paper is a natural follow-up to intent-to-treat findings indicating that the MyTeachingPartner Consultancy, inclusive of on-line video resources and web-mediated consultation, improved the quality of pre-k teachers' interactions with children. This study takes a close look at implementation fidelity within the effective MTP Consultancy condition over both years of implementation, in order to learn more about the ingredients of professional development that may have contributed to the success of the intervention. Variation in teachers' responsiveness (e.

Transition from pediatric to adult medical care.

Because of recent medical advances, the number of children with chronic medical conditions who survive into adulthood has increased. The transition of care from pediatric to adult specialists and subspecialists has been rarely studied, yet it is an important aspect of care. To define issues in the pediatric patients at the University of Virginia, survey data was collected from adult nephrologists in the state.