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Poster #65 - Supporting the Relational and Developmental Needs of Young Children Exposed to Potentially Traumatic Events

Fri, March 24, 2:30 to 3:15pm, Salt Palace Convention Center, Floor: 1, Hall A-B

Abstract

Introduction
Early trauma is pervasive (Jimenez et al., 2016), and can disrupt young children’s developmental trajectories (Lieberman, 2011). Exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) can lead to challenging behaviors among preschoolers (Briggs-Gowan et al., 2010), negatively impacting child-teacher relationships (Whitaker et al., 2015) and teachers’ well-being (Friedman-Krauss et al., 2014). Following PTE exposure, responsive, consistent caregiving is essential, as children’s attachment bonds and sense of safety are often disrupted (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2015). Sometimes, teachers are the primary source of such caregiving. Teachers additionally play a formative role in young children’s socioemotional development (McLeod et al., 2017), through formal and informal emotion-focused teaching (EFT; Curby et al., 2021). With most preschool-age children participating in early childhood education (ECE; National Center for Education Statistics, 2022), clear opportunities for intervention exist. Increasingly, ECE-based trauma-informed care (TIC) is recognized as a promising approach to address trauma’s impact (Bartlett, 2021). Foundational to TIC are trusting child-teacher relationships and safe environments that foster children’s socioemotional and early academic skills (Bartlett & Smith, 2019).

This study explores three interrelated outcomes following implementation of Ready to Learn Through Relationships (RLR), a preventative, culturally-attuned program to facilitate integration of TIC in ECE classrooms (Center for Childhood Resilience, 2019). The following associations will be examined: teachers’ EFT practices and quality of child-teacher interactions; teachers’ EFT practices and teachers’ stress-levels; and teachers’ stress-levels and quality of child-teacher interactions. The indirect effect of stress-level on the association between EFT and interaction quality will also be examined.

Participants
This study explores the end-of-year (EOY) timepoint of a larger study and partnership between a hospital-based research team and Head Start to implement and evaluate RLR. Participants include four ECE teachers. All identified as female; three identified as Latinx, and one as Black. The children served ranged from 3-5 years old. Most identified as Black or Latinx and live in racialized and underserved Chicago communities.

Methods
Video-recordings occurred over one week at three timepoints (morning, midday, afternoon) per classroom (n=4). The resulting 722 minutes will be coded for EFT using the EMOtion TEaching Rating Scale (EMOTERS; Zinsser et al., 2018). Teachers reported stress-levels using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Shiffman et al., 2008) at three timepoints (morning, midday, afternoon) every day during the week of recordings. The quality of observed child-teacher interactions was examined using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta et al., 2008).

Results
Across teachers, average stress-level (1-5) was highest at midday (M=2.50, SD=1.45), followed by afternoon (M=2.14, SD=1.46) and morning (M=1.63, SD=1.15). CLASS domain scores (1-7) were, on average, highest for Emotional Support (M=5.77), followed by Classroom Organization (M=5.09), and Instructional Support (M=3.05). Full analyses including EFT practices will be complete by March 2023.

Conclusions
This study highlights the relational and developmental nature of early PTE exposure. The well-being of those who support young children to overcome trauma’s impact, including ECE professionals, is critical. Intervention efforts that promote child and teacher well-being, high-quality child-teacher interactions, and children’s socioemotional development hold promise for improving young children’s developmental outcomes.

Authors