Risk and Protective Factors for Parental Involvement and Early Indicators of School Achievement in Alaska.

OBJECTIVES: Parental involvement can affect child school readiness, which in turn influences subsequent child learning outcomes. While social support, stress, caregiver psychological distress, and drinking could affect parental involvement, it is unknown whether and how these factors influence downstream child learning outcomes through parental involvement and child school readiness. This study tests those associations. METHODS: Using de-identified data provided by the Alaska Longitudinal Child Abuse and Neglect Linkage project (N = 683), we use Structural Equation Modeling to assess direct and indirect effects of paths embedded in the proposed model. RESULTS: This study found statistically significant indirect effects: (1) path linking stress faced by caregivers to child reading proficiency through caregiver psychological distress, parental involvement, and child school readiness, (2) path linking stress faced by caregivers to child reading proficiency through caregiver drinking, parental involvement, and child school readiness, and (3) path linking social support for caregivers to child reading proficiency through caregiver psychological distress, parental involvement, and child school readiness. Post-estimation showed that the sum of the magnitude of total effects of stress and the magnitude of total effects of support is significantly larger than either alone. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: Findings suggest that reducing caregiver stress and offering social support could not only benefit caregivers but learning outcomes of their children as well. For child learning outcomes, simultaneously reducing stress and offering social support for caregivers, rather than just one of them alone, is suggested. These results are important for children, particularly for those raised by caregivers experiencing psychological distress or drinking issues.

Changes in Household Challenges and Subsequent Child Welfare Report.

INTRODUCTION: Preventing child maltreatment and reducing adverse childhood experiences is critical for improving adult health. To inform prevention efforts, it is necessary to move beyond static risk models and instead model the dynamic changes in household challenges during the prebirth and early childhood periods. This study examined the effect of changes in the number of household challenges from prebirth (12 months before birth of a child) to early childhood (3 years after birth) period on the risk of a child maltreatment report by age 3 years. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study linked data from the Alaska 2009-2011 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, its 3-year follow-up survey, and administrative records through 2019. Participants were 1,699 birthing parents. Latent class analyses identified prebirth and early childhood low- and high-challenge respondent groups on the basis of the level of reported household challenges. The authors then modeled the relationships between group transition membership and the risk of maltreatment using latent transition analysis. Analyses were conducted in 2021. RESULTS: Households transitioning from a high-challenge-prebirth status to a low-challenge-early-childhood status had a lower predicted risk for child services report than households remaining in the high-challenges group. Transitioning from low- to high-challenges status predicted the highest risk for child services report than that of all other groups. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce the risk of child maltreatment and subsequent adverse childhood experiences, healthcare providers should screen parents for the presence of household challenges during both pregnancy and early childhood and connect patients to resources targeted at reducing those challenges and providing continuous familial support.

Acute stress and human spatial working memory strategy use.

Acute stress can impair human working memory. Little is known, however, about the effects of acute stress on working memory strategies. The goal of this research was to investigate the effects of acute stress on use of a systematic spatial working memory search strategy. Participants (28 females and 20 males per group) completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or control tasks. Use of a systematic spatial working memory search strategy was measured through performance on the spatial working memory subtest of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). The TSST was effective at producing subjective and cortisol stress responses, but there was no significant stress effect on use of a systematic search strategy or working memory search errors. There were also no significant relationships between subjective and cortisol stress responses and use of a systematic search strategy or working memory search errors within the stress group. These results suggest that acute stress does not impair the self-generation or execution of a systematic spatial working memory search strategy.

Pre-Birth Household Challenges Predict Future Child's School Readiness and Academic Achievement.

Early developmental success and school readiness strongly influence future skill development, occupational opportunities, and health. Therefore, it is critical to identify and address early determinants of school readiness for supporting children's overall well-being and success. In this retrospective cohort study, we examined the effects of pre-birth household challenges, such as homelessness or experiences of intimate partner violence, on children's early school readiness. We linked data from the Alaska 2009-2011 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) to administrative and education records through 2019. Education records included kindergarten developmental scores, third grade reading assessments, and attendance records. Generalized linear models with Quasi-Poisson distributions for each outcome of interest examined the predictive value of pre-birth household challenges on the risks of not meeting school readiness expectations. We found that experiencing higher numbers of pre-birth household challenges was related to higher risk of the child not meeting developmental and reading proficiency and having chronic absenteeism. These results suggest that it is imperative support systems for pregnant persons and their families be introduced as soon as possible in pre-natal care routines to address current pre-birth household stressors and prevent future challenges. Such early prevention efforts are needed to ensure the best possible developmental start for children.

Subjective stress and proactive and reactive cognitive control strategies.

Acute stress likely impacts cognitive control. Little is known, however, about the effects that acute stress may have on specific cognitive control strategies. The goal of this research was to investigate the effects of acute stress on proactive and reactive control strategies. Participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test or control tasks. Use of proactive and reactive control strategies was measured with the AX-Continuous Performance Test. The Trier Social Stress Test was effective at producing subjective, cortisol, and heart rate stress responses, but there was no significant effect of stress on use of proactive or reactive control strategies in between-group analyses. However, higher subjective stress responses during performance of the AX-Continuous Performance Test were associated with less frequent use of a proactive control strategy and more frequent use of a reactive control strategy within the stress group.

Left caudal middle frontal gray matter volume mediates the effect of age on self-initiated elaborative encoding strategies.

Aging is associated with decreased self-initiated use of effective elaborative encoding strategies. Little is currently known regarding what factors drive age differences in self-initiated encoding strategies. The present research investigated whether age differences in prefrontal gray matter integrity contribute to age differences in self-initiated elaborative encoding strategies. The relationships between age, prefrontal regional gray matter volumes, and overall use of self-initiated elaborative encoding strategies were examined in healthy younger and older adults. Gray matter volume was calculated from structural MRI scans using Freesurfer. Encoding strategy use was assessed by retrospective item-by-item strategy self-reports given after a verbal intentional encoding task. Left caudal middle frontal gray matter volume mediated the effect of age on overall self-initiated use of elaborative encoding strategies. This suggests that age-associated declines in prefrontal gray matter integrity significantly contribute to age-associated declines in effective encoding strategies.