The Effects of a Relationship-Focused Professional Development Intervention on Infant and Toddler Teachers' Mindfulness-Based Strategies for Coping.

Teaching is a demanding profession with teachers of very young children reporting high rates of stress and exhaustion. We tested the effects of a relationship-focused professional development intervention designed to enhance teachers' use of mindfulness-based strategies to support coping on trajectories of teachers' stress, exhaustion (emotional, physical, and mental), and coping. Infant and toddler teachers (N = 81) from Early Head Start (EHS) or EHS childcare partnerships (CCP) were randomized to the intervention or usual care control condition. Using ecological momentary assessment, teachers completed twice-weekly reports of stress, exhaustion, coping, and coping strategy effectiveness via smartphones for 40 weeks. Multilevel linear regression modeling, accounting for within-person repeated measures, showed no intervention effects on stress and exhaustion trajectories. Teachers in the intervention reported increased use of mindfulness-based strategies for coping over time as compared to the control group, although frequency of use peaked and then declined. While perceptions of stress and exhaustion did not change, teachers' increased use of mindfulness-based strategies suggests improvements in how teachers managed stress and exhaustion; however, the decline in use of coping suggests the need for ongoing support within the workplace.

Stress Intensity and Exhaustion Among Infant and Toddler Teachers: Descriptive Analysis and Associations with Sources of Stress and Coping Strategy Use.

This study described infant/toddler teachers' (N = 106) perceptions of stress intensity and exhaustion (emotional, physical, mental) intensity. We examined the associations between stress and exhaustion and teachers' reports of stress sources and coping strategy use. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), teachers from Early Head Start (EHS), EHS childcare-partnerships, or independent childcare programs (midwestern U.S.) completed twice-weekly reports of: stress and exhaustion intensity; stress sources (workload, children's behaviors, personal life); and, coping strategies (support from colleagues, distraction, mindfulness techniques, reframing). Research Findings: Stress and exhaustion reports were similar to studies of preschool teachers. Workload and personal life stressors were associated with stress and all exhaustion types. Teachers used fewer than two different coping strategies/per reporting day. Only reframing was negatively associated with stress and emotional exhaustion. Teachers reported greater stress at end-of-week than beginning-of-week. Older teachers reported greater stress and emotional exhaustion. Although one-third of teachers reported ≥4 ACEs, early adversity was not associated with stress or exhaustion. Practice or Policy: We discuss the results relative to the sparse literature on infant/toddler teachers' well-being and suggest areas for professional development supports while underscoring the need for EHS federal policy makers and program administrators to consider how to reduce/streamline workload.