Teacher-child Interactions and Children’s Self-regulation: The Moderating Role of Stress

• In Event: 2-129 - Caregiver-child Interactions: Associations with Physiological Processes and Self-Regulation in Children

Integrative Statement

Studies have evidenced an association between the quality of teacher-child relationship and self-regulation in children (Jones et al., 2013; Weiland et al., 2013). However, few of these studies include longitudinal designs, which are needed to map children’s developmental trajectories as well as to control for omitted variables that remain stable (Mackinnon, 2008). On the other hand, there are reasons to believe that, depending on the levels of stress children experience in pre-k, they may benefit to a different extent from the support they receive from their teachers (Kim & Kochanska, 2012; Thijs & Koomen, 2008). However, there is a dearth of empirical studies investigating this. This study addressed the following research questions: (a) Is there a significant association between the quality of teacher-child interactions and self-regulation trajectories? (b) Do stress levels moderate the link between teacher-child interactions and self-regulation trajectories?
A sample of 95 middle-income children enrolled in 27 pre-k classrooms in Bogotá, Colombia were followed over the course of six months at three distinct time points. Teacher-child interactions were evaluated with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS, Pianta et al., 2008) and the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS, Pianta & Nemitz, 1991). Stress levels were measured using saliva cortisol samples in the morning and afternoon at time 1 and 2. Self-regulation was assessed with the Pencil Tap Task (Diamond & Taylor, 1996), Head to Toes Task (Ponitz et al., 2008) and the Day–Night Stroop (Gerstadt et al., 1994). These three indices were combined to capture a single cool self-regulation measure. Additionally, the Gift Task (Murray & Kochanska, 2002) and a measure of impulse control from the PSRA-Assessor report (Smith-Donald, Raver, Hayes, Richardson, 2007) captured hot self-regulation. Finally, demographic information was collected on children, their families and teachers through questionnaires.
Multilevel models for change were used to address the research questions. Self-regulation was modeled as a function of the quality of teacher-child interactions (i.e., emotional support, classroom organization, closeness, and conflict), controlling for a set of children, family and teacher characteristics. An interaction between the quality of teacher-child interactions and cortisol levels were added as a predictor to the models to respond the second question. Results revealed that cool self-regulation and impulse control increased over time. Closeness and conflict were negatively associated with the intercept of cool self-regulation and none of the teacher-child interaction variables predicted changes over time in self-regulation (Table 1). Cluster analyses of cortisol levels resulted in three groups: (a) children whose cortisol levels increased during the day at time one, but remained stable at time two, (b) children whose cortisol levels increased at time one and two, and (c) children whose cortisol levels decreased at time one and two (Figure 1). When children belonged to the second group, emotional support was positively associated with changes over time of cool self-regulation. Classroom organization was positively associated with the intercept of impulse control for this same group of children, but negatively associated with changes over time for impulse control.

Authors

• Tatiana Plata-Caviedes, Universidad de Los Andes
  Presenting Author

• Carolina Maldonado-Carreno, Universidad de Los Andes
  Non-Presenting Author