{"title":"Pathways from parenting emotion regulation, emotion socialization and parenting practices to preschoolers’ emotion regulation","authors":"Catrinel A. Ștefan, Ingrid Dănilă","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of children’s emotion regulation (ER) is the result of a complex interplay of factors, among which parental influences play a significant role. Building on Morris et al.’s (2007; 2017) model, the present study aimed to investigate the contributions of parenting ER, emotion socialization, and parenting practices to children’s ER. The sample of the present study included 330 preschoolers. Two-stage structural equation modeling was employed to test two hypothesized models. Findings suggested that: (a) parenting reappraisal was directly associated with preschoolers’ adaptive ER, whereas the path between parenting suppression and children’s maladaptive ER was not significant; and (b) indirect effects were found from parenting reappraisal via emotion coaching and positive parenting to adaptive ER, whereas emotion coaching/ dismissing strategies exerted effects on adaptive/ maladaptive ER through positive/ negative parenting. These outcomes suggest that parenting ER contributes to children’s ER both directly and indirectly. Moreover, parenting practices may represent a mechanism that explains how emotion socialization affects learning about ER. The findings from the present study highlight that interventions aiming to enhance preschoolers’ ER and reduce risk of emotional/behavioral problems should target multiple aspects of parenting behaviors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 273-283"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143883287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Home literacy environment and Chinese Children’s second language development: A cross-lagged analysis","authors":"Yushan Jiang, Carrie Lau","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examined the cross-lagged relations between the home literacy environment (HLE) and the language and literacy skills of Chinese children learning English as a second language. We also investigated whether the relations varied by child interest and home language use. A sample of 241 children (112 girls, <em>M</em><sub>age</sub>= 47.32 months) were followed for one year. Cross-lagged path analyses revealed that while literacy resources and direct teaching positively predicted children’s English skills, children’s earlier phonological awareness and vocabulary also influenced parents’ later home literacy practices. Furthermore, the associations between HLE and child language and literacy skills varied based on child interest and home language use. These findings shed light on children’s active role in shaping their HLE.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 262-272"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143868540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mary Bratsch-Hines , Kevin Bastian , Michael Little , Lora Cohen-Vogel , Margaret Burchinal , Ellen Peisner-Feinberg
{"title":"Associations of state-funded prekindergarten with early elementary literacy and absences","authors":"Mary Bratsch-Hines , Kevin Bastian , Michael Little , Lora Cohen-Vogel , Margaret Burchinal , Ellen Peisner-Feinberg","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.04.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Publicly funded prekindergarten (pre-K) has received substantial investments in recent decades. A robust literature base has shown that pre-K, in general, tends to be associated with shorter-term rather than longer-term impacts. Yet, these findings are not definitive across varying state contexts and student demographic groups. The current study examined state administrative literacy and absence data in kindergarten and first grade for 455 students in North Carolina's publicly funded pre-K program and 225 of their non-pre-K peers. State datasets were paired with data from an in-depth longitudinal study starting in the 2016–17 school year. Student-level characteristics (family income, maternal education, race/ethnicity, multilingual learner, and disability status) were examined as possible moderators. We found pre-K attendance was associated with higher kindergarten entry literacy scores, but these advantages diminished over time. The following groups of students continued to see some longer-term benefits of pre-K: students whose mothers had a high school diploma or less and Latine students. Pre-K was associated with fewer days absent in kindergarten and first grade, with no evidence of moderation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 250-261"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143838620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xinzhuo Zou , Xiao Zhang , Nan Xiao , Weiyi Xie , Ping Wang
{"title":"Bidirectional longitudinal relations between caregiving styles and young rural Chinese children's academic skills","authors":"Xinzhuo Zou , Xiao Zhang , Nan Xiao , Weiyi Xie , Ping Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This longitudinal study investigated the bidirectional relations between primary caregivers’ caregiving styles and young rural Chinese children's academic skills. A total of 247 rural Chinese preschool children and their primary caregivers were followed up three times with a one-year time interval between adjacent time points. At each time point (Time 1 [T1], Time 2 [T2), and Time 3 [T3]), the caregivers completed questionnaires assessing their caregiving styles, and the children were tested individually on their Chinese reading and informal and formal math skills. Results from the random intercept cross-lagged model showed that T1 authoritative caregiving positively predicted T2 Chinese reading skills, and T1 Chinese reading skills positively predicted T2 authoritative caregiving. T1 Chinese reading skills negatively predicted T2 authoritarian caregiving. Further analysis showed that children's boarding status (boarders versus nonboarders) did not moderate the relation between caregiving styles and children's academic skills. These findings highlight the importance of authoritative caregiving for the development of preschool children's Chinese reading skills. They also underscore the role of children's better Chinese reading skills in eliciting more authoritative caregiving and less authoritarian caregiving from their caregivers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 238-249"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143825626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Potential moderators of the association between parental psychological distress and perceived child externalizing behaviors","authors":"Abigail J. Anderson , Christina M. Rodriguez","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Parental psychological distress is a commonly examined risk factor for the emergence of child problem behaviors, but the factors that may influence that relationship—like parental social support satisfaction and coping skills—have not been adequately explored. The current longitudinal study examined the association between maternal and paternal psychological distress in relation to subsequent perceived child externalizing behaviors, considering these two parental resources as moderators. The sample included a racially and socioeconomically diverse group of first-time mothers and their partners. Mothers and fathers reported their current psychological distress, social support satisfaction, and problem-focused coping at child age 6 months, 18 months, and 4 years of age, as well as reporting on child externalizing behaviors in the last two waves. For mothers, both social support satisfaction and coping at 18 months moderated the relationship between their psychological distress and subsequent perceived child externalizing behaviors. Specifically, higher coping self-efficacy predicted lower perceived child externalizing behaviors at lower levels of maternal psychological distress but did not buffer at higher distress levels. Further, lower levels of social support satisfaction exacerbated the link between maternal psychological distress and child externalizing behaviors, whereas higher social support satisfaction buffered this association. No significant interactions were observed for fathers. Results of this study emphasize the distinct relations among these variables for mothers and fathers, while highlighting potentially interactive processes involved in understanding the emergence of parent-reported children's externalizing behaviors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 229-237"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143808119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development of reading attitudes in preschool children: Trajectories, antecedents and consequences","authors":"Shuting Huo , Xiujie Yang , Nan Xiao , Xiao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The cultivation of positive attitudes toward reading is an important goal in early childhood education. This study examined the developmental trajectories of reading attitude in institutional contexts (IRA) and global reading attitude (GRA), their antecedents, and their associations with later literacy outcomes including word reading and vocabulary. One hundred and ninety-seven children (mean age = 52.72 at the first wave of data collection) were assessed individually for four times on their reading attitudes at 6-month intervals across their last two years in preschool. Information on home literacy environments was obtained from both parents, and data was also obtained on children's performance on several cognitive-linguistic tasks. Children's word reading and receptive vocabulary were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study. The results showed that, on average, children's IRA did not change across the two-year follow-up, whereas their GRA declined in a linear fashion. Paternal home literacy environment variables played unique roles in predicting the initial level and growth rate of IRA and the growth rate of GRA. In terms of developmental outcomes, the initial levels of IRA and GRA predicted children's receptive vocabulary at the end of preschool after baseline performance, background variables and cognitive-linguistic skills were controlled for. Chinese word reading was predicted by IRA but not GRA; however, this prediction did not sustain after baseline performance was entered. The findings suggested that different aspects of reading attitudes overlapped greatly, yet were somewhat dissociated in terms of developmental trajectories, antecedents, and consequences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 215-228"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143767453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michal Perlman, Gabriella Nocita, Nina Sokolovic, Olesya Falenchuk, Jennifer M. Jenkins
{"title":"One size does not fit all: Associations between child characteristics, differential treatment of children by educators and quality in child care centers","authors":"Michal Perlman, Gabriella Nocita, Nina Sokolovic, Olesya Falenchuk, Jennifer M. Jenkins","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>High-quality interactions in early childhood education settings support children's cognitive and socioemotional development. However, little is known about what explains variability in how educators interact with different children in these settings and how this variability relates to quality metrics. This study was based on data from 470 primarily low-income, preschool-aged children (mean age = 46.6 months; 53% female) attending licensed child care settings in a multicultural metropolis. Multilevel analyses revealed that approximately 80% of both observed educator behaviors and educator reports of relationship quality varied between children in the same classrooms, and that children's disruptive behavior, verbal intelligence, and hostility accounted for anywhere between 3 and 53% of this variance. Educators directed more positivity towards children who they described as more hostile and reported having closer and less conflictual relationships with children who they described as being less hostile and having greater verbal intelligence (small to moderate effect sizes). Differential treatment was associated with child-educator ratios, staff education, and emotional climate. Results can inform research, practice, and policy related to equity, professional development, and quality measurement in early childhood education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 205-214"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143724356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arya Ansari , Natalie Koziol , Meghan McCormick , Kelly Purtell , Tzu-Jung Lin , Mary Bratsch-Hines , Laura Kuhn , Amanda Witte , Ximena Franco-Jenkins
{"title":"Associations between school characteristics and learning gains for pre-K attenders and non-attenders: Important constructs, limited evidence","authors":"Arya Ansari , Natalie Koziol , Meghan McCormick , Kelly Purtell , Tzu-Jung Lin , Mary Bratsch-Hines , Laura Kuhn , Amanda Witte , Ximena Franco-Jenkins","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drawing on data from the Early Learning Network (<em>n</em> = 4,807; 47 % Hispanic; 25 % White; 14 % Black; 9 % Asian; 4 % Multiracial; 1 % Other) along with the Stanford Education Data Archive, Civil Rights Data Collection, and Common Core of Data, this study examined the associations between several aspects of elementary school characteristics and children's math, language, and literacy learning from kindergarten to first grade. Additionally, this study considered whether these associations differed based on pre-K attender status. Results from multilevel models indicated that schools’ academic performance, student and teacher absenteeism, novice teacher employment, expenditures, and student-teacher ratios were not consistently associated with growth in children's academic learning, and when significant, associations were small. Moreover, even though pre-K attenders entered kindergarten with stronger academic skills, and these benefits diminished by the end of first grade, there was little evidence to suggest that school characteristics mattered differentially for pre-K attender and non-attenders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 182-194"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“They felt the safe space”: Practitioner experiences of delivering Mellow Babies, a targeted, early intervention program for parents and their babies","authors":"Melissa Cruz , Aigli Raouna , Ruaridh Malcolm , Raquib Ibrahim , Angus MacBeth","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.03.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Addressing inequalities in childhood and intergenerational mental health requires a holistic understanding of the interplay of multiple complex socio-contextual factors and their impacts on families and caregivers. Mellow Babies (MB) is a group-based parenting program that aims to improve both parent and child wellbeing by addressing barriers for parents facing multiple adversities. Although there is quantitative and qualitative evidence for MB as an effective intervention, there is less evidence on how practitioners experience the delivery of MB. Using thematic analysis, this study explored practitioner attitudes towards delivering the program, identifying the components and processes in MB that practitioners believed contributed to parental experiences and outcomes. In total, 19 focus groups were conducted across the UK, engaging 42 facilitators and creche workers. Three themes and ten sub-themes emerged from the data, highlighting active parent participation driven by a supportive environment, interactive strategies, and diverse activities. Practitioners generally believed participation in MB was beneficial for participants. They identified components of their role and service structure that supported the sessions including the flexible nature of their position which enabled trusting relationships; the environment which provided a comfortable learning and development space; and the group support structure and community setting.</div><div><strong>Clinical trial registration:</strong> The study was registered with ISRCTN: Registration number ISRCTN17621046.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 195-204"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143706046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mixed delivery prekindergarten systems: partnering practices and early care and education capacity over time and place","authors":"Hope G. Casto , John W. Sipple , Lisa A. McCabe","doi":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ecresq.2025.02.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As states have increased prekindergarten (PreK) opportunities over the last two decades, most have chosen to implement a mixed delivery system in which programming is offered in both school districts and in community-based organizations (CBOs). How the provision of PreK programming has varied across the school- and community-based parts of the mixed delivery systems in different locales and over time is not well understood. Nor is it clear how the suppressed capacity for infant and toddler child care, an unintended consequence of PreK in some areas, might relate to equity of access in mixed delivery programming. New York State, a geographically diverse state where school districts are mandated to subcontract with CBOs for at least 10 % of Universal PreK (UPK) delivery, is an ideal setting to further our understanding of these relationships. Using administrative data for 670 NY school districts (excluding NY City) and about 9000 CBO providers, this study uses a series of logistic and negative binomial regression models to examine patterns of mixed delivery UPK over time (2007-2016), as well as how partnering relates to important equity issues in infant and toddler capacity. While the provision of UPK increases over time for all locales, we find a reduction in the levels of partnering for UPK provision in rural locales. Findings also indicate that degree of UPK partnering (none, some, or all) is not predictive of community capacity for infant and toddler care. These results reinforce the need to understand how schools and communities work together to form more effective cross-sector community partnerships and ensure an ECE sector with access for children and families across varied communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48348,"journal":{"name":"Early Childhood Research Quarterly","volume":"72 ","pages":"Pages 170-181"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143619870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}