Poster #88 - The relationship between COVID-19 loss and hospitalization, children's socio-emotional problems, and ECE professionals' mental distress

• In Event: Poster Session 07

Abstract

When life stressors are evident, children are at risk of negative socioemotional and behavioral changes and exhibit increased problem behaviors. Today, high-quality adult-child interactions are increasingly considered a key to healthy child development, and early care and education (ECE) professionals carry an essential role in this mechanism. However, ECE professionals' mental distress(MD) might prevent them from providing support and quality care that promotes adaptive functioning in children. Therefore, this study aims to expand our knowledge on how children's exposure to stressful life events, such as the loss or hospitalization of a friend or a family member, relates to their increased socioemotional and behavioral difficulties. Further, it examines whether the MD of adults who provide care and education to children can explain the increased socioemotional and behavioral problems.
Dataset: As part of a large, nationwide survey, the cross-sectional data for this study is collected during August 2021. Eligible participants were 18 years or older, employed in the child care industry, provided information on negative life experiences of children, and consented to complete a Qualtrics survey sent via email. The final sample consists of 19,638 ECE professionals.
Variables: ECE professionals' mental distress is measured with PSS-10 and CES-D-10. Increased child socioemotional and behavioral problems(CSBP) is measured with three items asking, compared to before the pandemic, how many children in care showed increased externalizing/internalizing behaviors/psychosomatic symptoms. Two indicators are created for children who had a close friend or family member hospitalized or died due to COVID-19.
Analysis: The data analyses are utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) using Mplus. First, we tested a measurement model(CFA) for two latent constructs: (1) Increased child socioemotional and behavioral problems (CSBP), (2) ECE providers' mental distress (MD). Second, stressful life events are regressed on CSBP. Next, the association between CSBP and MD is examined. The final model included background characteristics.
Results: All models showed a good fit (Table 1). All estimates from Model 6 were significant and in the expected direction. Our final model indicated that the loss or hospitalization of someone close due to COVID-19 was related to increased socioemotional problem behaviors of children in ECE settings. Results revealed a strong association between MD and CSBP. In addition, 31.6% of CSBP and 18.8% of the MH variability is explained by Model 6, suggesting that mental distress is better able to explain child behavioral problems than in the opposite direction. Considering the problem's urgency, this association needs to be further investigated to understand mental health struggles among ECE professionals and stressful events due to the pandemic and their cumulative impact on children's wellbeing.
Conclusion: For more than two years now, children were not only exposed to stressful life events in their daily life but also were in the care of depressed and stressed professionals. The evidence from this study confirms these associations and suggests further investigation to establish causal relations. Limitations will be discussed, considering that ECE professionals under mental distress are less likely to provide emotional support and more likely to report behavioral problems.

Group Authors

Yale Children and Adults Research in Early Education Study(YALE CARES) Team

Authors

• Ayse Cobanoglu, Yale University
  Presenting Author

• Walter S Gilliam