Caregiver stress and cultural identity in families of preschoolers with developmental delay and behavioral problems.

INTRODUCTION: Research on families of young children with developmental delay and disruptive behavior problems has failed to examine caregiver stress in the context of cultural factors. METHODS: Families of 3-year-old children with developmental delay and behavior problems were recruited from Early Intervention sites. All caregivers in the current analysis (n = 147) were from immigrant and/or cultural minority backgrounds. Regarding income-to-needs, most families (57.8%) fell into the extreme poverty, poor, or low-income categories. Caregivers reported on their own experiences of acculturation and enculturation as well as their child's problems. RESULTS: Path analyses revealed that higher caregiver acculturation was associated with less parenting-specific stress, and higher caregiver enculturation was associated with less caregiver general stress. Severity of child problems was associated with more parenting-specific stress and general stress. Exploratory analysis yielded significant differences in associations between acculturation, enculturation, and caregiver stress in Black/African American caregivers versus Hispanic White caregivers. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that among cultural minority caregivers of young children with developmental and behavioral problems, acculturation and enculturation may influence caregiver stress. While the cross-sectional nature of the study precludes causal conclusions, clinicians should consider how cultural factors can be harnessed to strengthen caregiver resiliency and improve engagement in parenting interventions.

Apps As Learning Tools: A Systematic Review.

CONTEXT: Young children have increasing access to interactive applications (apps) at home and at school. Existing research is clear on the potential dangers of overuse of screens, but there is less clarity around the extent to which interactive apps may be helpful in supporting early learning. OBJECTIVE: In this systematic review, we present a narrative synthesis of studies examining whether children <6 years can learn from interactive apps. DATA SOURCES: The PsycInfo, PubMed, ACM Digital Library, and ERIC databases were searched. STUDY SELECTION: Studies were included if the study design was randomized or nonrandomized controlled (quasi-experimental), the sample mean age was <6 years, the intervention involved children playing with an interactive app, and academic, cognitive, or social-emotional skill outcomes were measured. DATA EXTRACTION: Of 1447 studies, 35 were included. RESULTS: Evidence of a learning benefit of interactive app use for early academic skills was found across multiple studies, particularly for early mathematics learning in typically developing children. Researchers did not find evidence of an intervention effect for apps aiming to improve social communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. LIMITATIONS: Risk of bias was unclear for many studies because of inadequate reporting. Studies were highly heterogenous in interventions, outcomes, and study design, making comparisons of results across studies difficult. CONCLUSIONS: There is emerging evidence to suggest that interactive apps may be useful and accessible tools for supporting early academic development. More research is needed to evaluate both the potential of educational apps to support early learning, and their limitations.