RESUMEN
Emotion understanding (EU) ability is associated with healthy social functioning and psychological well-being. Across three studies, we develop and present validity evidence for the Core Relational Themes of Emotions (CORE) Test. The test measures people's ability to identify relational themes underlying 19 positive and negative emotions. Relational themes are consistencies in the meaning people assign to emotional experiences. In Study 1, we developed and refined the test items employing a literature review, expert panel, and confusion matrix with a demographically diverse sample. Correctness criteria were determined using theory and prior research, and a progressive (degrees of correctness) paradigm was utilized to score the test. In Study 2, the CORE demonstrated high internal consistency and a confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensional factor structure. The CORE showed evidence of convergence with established EU ability measures and divergent relationships with verbal intelligence and demographic characteristics, supporting its construct validity. Also, the CORE was associated with less relational conflict. In Study 3, the CORE was associated with more adaptive and less maladaptive coping and higher well-being on multiple indicators. A set of effects remained, accounting for variance from a widely used EU test, supporting the CORE's incremental validity. Theoretical and methodological contributions are discussed.
RESUMEN
The purpose of this study was to explore how adjusted preschoolers were to preschool when their teachers were either racially congruent or racially incongruent and whether gender moderated these associations. In this study, 259 preschoolers (50% boys; Mage = 53.84 months; 63% White, 37% Black) in 44 classrooms at 16 federally- and privately-funded centers/preschools were rated for their adjustment to preschool using teacher (N = 44; 100% women, 52% White, 38% Black, 2% Asian, 5% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 2% Latine) reports and direct child assessments. Multi-level structural equation modeling was used to simultaneously address the non-independence of the data by estimating higher-level variance components (i.e., variance on a total of six preschool adjustment outcomes out due to the classroom and due to the center) as well as correlated outcomes. Accounting for classroom-level variance as well as school-, classroom-, and child-level covariates, these analyses revealed main effects for gender and teacher-child racial congruence, and not for race, but higher-order interactions were significant. White girls with White teachers scored higher than White girls with Black teachers on four outcomes. Black girls with Black teachers scored higher than Black girls with White teachers on three outcomes and lower on two outcomes. White boys with White teachers scored lower than White boys with Black teachers on three outcomes. Black boys with Black teachers scored lower than Black boys with White teachers on five outcomes and higher on one outcome. Magnitudes of associations found ranged from small to large across the analyses. These findings add to the growing literature concerning teacher racial congruence suggesting its association with preschool adjustment may be moderated by race and gender of the child. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms accounting for these associations.
RESUMEN
We examined the role of educator perceptions of school leader emotion regulation (ER) and emotional support (ES) in educator well-being during a typical year and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on emotion contagion theory, leaders' (in)ability to regulate their own emotions may trigger ripple effects of positive or negative emotions throughout their organizations, impacting staff well-being. Additionally, based on conservation of resources theory, when experiencing psychologically taxing events, skillful emotional support provided by leaders may help to replenish staff's depleted psychological resources, promoting staff well-being. In two national studies, a cross-sectional (NStudy 1 = 4,847) and a two-wave study (NStudy 2 = 2,749), we tested the association between United States preK-12 educator perceptions of school leaders' ER and ES with educator well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, employing structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling. In Studies 1 and 2, educator reports of their leaders' ER and ES skills predicted greater educator well-being, including higher positive affect and job satisfaction and lower emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions. In moderation analyses, perceived leader ER predicted well-being about equally among educators facing severe versus mild health impacts from COVID-19. In contrast, perceived leader ES was more strongly associated with educator well-being for some outcomes in those severely versus mildly impacted by COVID-19 illness and death. Leader ER played a role in the well-being of everyone, whereas leader ES was more predictive of well-being for those severely impacted by a crisis. Regarding implications for policy and practice, efforts to promote well-being among educators may be enhanced when combined with efforts to develop school leaders' ER and ES skills, especially in times of crisis. Accordingly, school districts should consider the value of investing in systematic, evidence-based emotion skills training for their leaders.
