Contributions of preschool behavioral self-regulation and social skills to growth in different domains of early math knowledge.

The current study explored the relative contribution of individual differences in children's behavioral self-regulation and social skills (often referred to as learning-related skills) in the fall of preschool to children's rate of growth in different domains of early math knowledge through the spring of kindergarten. Participants were 684 children (Mage = 57.6 months, SD = 3.8, at Time 1 [fall of preschool]; 48% female; 43% Black, 32% White, 13% Latine, 11% multiracial, and 1% Asian). All children were from families with low incomes and lived in the midwestern United States. The math domains of informal numeracy, formal numeracy, and math language were assessed at four time points: fall and spring of preschool and fall and spring of kindergarten. Contrary to expectations, we did not find that either learning-related skill positively predicted rate of growth in math knowledge or observe differential relations by math domain. Rather, the relative contribution of behavioral self-regulation and social skills in the fall of preschool to rate of growth in math knowledge followed similar patterns across all math domains: an early advantage for children with higher initial social skills that stayed consistent over time (i.e., a nonsignificant slope effect) and an early advantage for children with higher initial behavioral self-regulation that diminished over time (i.e., a negative slope effect).

Bi-directional relations between behavioral problems and executive function: Assessing the longitudinal development of self-regulation.

During childhood, the ability to limit problem behaviors (i.e., externalizing) and the capacity for cognitive regulation (i.e., executive function) are often understood to develop in tandem, and together constitute two major components of self-regulation research. The current study examines bi-directional relations between behavioral problems and executive function over the course of childhood and adolescence. Relying on a diverse sample of children growing up in low-income neighborhoods, we applied a random intercept cross-lagged panel model to longitudinally test associations between behavioral problems and executive function from age 4 through age 16. With this approach, which disaggregated between- and within-child variation, we did not observe significant cross-lagged paths, suggesting that within-child development in one domain did not strongly relate to development in the other. We also observed a moderate correlation between the stable between-child components of behavioral problems and executive function over time in our preferred model, suggesting that these two domains may be relatively distinct when modeled from early childhood through adolescence.

The home numeracy environment and children's math skills: The moderating role of parents' math anxiety.

Evidence suggests that parents' math anxiety moderates the association between parents' help in mathematics homework and first graders' mathematics skills. Understanding whether similar associations are evident in younger children, in regard to the home numeracy environment (HNE) is essential, given that early math skills are strong predictors of later academic outcomes, and children's skills prior to kindergarten are fostered principally by their parents. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the association and interaction between the HNE and parents' math anxiety related to preschool children's numeracy performance. Participants were 121 parent-child dyads. Results from hierarchical multiple regression models demonstrated that parents' math anxiety and the HNE, included as separate predictors of children's math skills, were not statistically significant. However, the interaction between HNE and parents' math anxiety was statistically significant, such that the positive association between HNE and children's numeracy skills emerged when parents felt less anxious about math. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for parents' math anxiety when exploring the home influences on children's numeracy skills.

Parent and child adjustment dual trajectories at the beginning of the COVID-19 syndemic.

Children and their families have been significantly impacted by the unfolding of the COVID-19 syndemic. We sought to identify (1) groups of families with distinct profiles of joint trajectories of parental anxiety and child emotional distress and (2) protective and risk factors associated with these dual-trajectory profiles. A sample of 488 parents (65% White; 77% mothers) with 3- to 8-year-old children (MAge  = 5.04, SDAge  = 1.59) was followed from late March to early July in 2020. Survey data on parent (i.e., anxiety symptoms) and child (i.e., emotional distress) adjustment were collected at three time points. Using multivariate growth mixture modeling, we identified one group with low parental anxiety and child emotional distress (42.7%) and three other distinct groups with varying risk levels among parents and/or children. We also identified protective (e.g., positive parenting) and risk (e.g., child negative affect, negative parenting, perceived stress with racism) factors in predicting parent and child adjustment. It can be concluded that, overall, our sample (mostly middle- and high-socioeconomic status families) demonstrated family resilience amid COVID-19, consistent with prior disaster coping literature. At the same time, our findings also indicated the need to identify at-risk families and modifiable factors for post-disaster public health interventions.

Longitudinal associations between mother-child conflict and child internalizing problems in mid-childhood.

Several aspects of mother-child relationships are associated with children's internalizing problems. We examined longitudinal associations between mother-child conflict and children's internalizing problems in middle childhood. Specifically, we examined whether conflict and children's internalizing problems predict each other longitudinally in a sample of children from 3rd through 6th grade (N = 1,364) and their mothers using a cross-lagged panel model with random intercepts. In line with expectations, we found stable between-family differences in both mother-child conflict and children's internalizing problems. Contrary to expectations, we did not find that mother-child conflict and children's internalizing problems showed significant cross-lagged associations. However, mother-child conflict and children's internalizing problems had correlated errors at each wave, indicating that these two constructs covary with each other concurrently at multiple times across development, independent of stable between-family associations (i.e., as one increases, so does the other, and vice versa). The results of this study point to the importance of using statistical approaches that can disentangle between-family differences from within-family processes. In future studies, shorter time scales (e.g., weeks or months) may better capture dynamic associations between parent-child conflict and internalizing problems.

Parents' math anxiety and mathematics performance of pre-kindergarten children.

Prior research demonstrates that individuals' math anxiety may be negatively related to their mathematics performance. However, little research has examined how caregivers' math anxiety is associated with children's mathematics performance prior to kindergarten. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between parents' math anxiety and the change in children's mathematics performance during the preschool year. Participants were 310 preschool-age children (155 female; 4.12-5.78 years of age, M = 5.20 years, SD = 0.29). Structural equation modeling results demonstrated that parents' math anxiety was significantly negatively related to change in children's mathematics performance during the pre-kindergarten year when controlling for fall mathematics performance and demographics. Moreover, multigroup path analyses revealed that this association did not differ for male versus female children.

When do preschoolers learn specific mathematics skills? Mapping the development of early numeracy knowledge.

Children's mathematics skills undergo extensive development during the preschool years. Opportunities for engaging in mathematics in the preschool classroom, however, are limited, and activities and instruction are often targeted below children's skill levels. Although researchers have developed general learning trajectories of children's mathematics skills, no fine-grained trajectories across a broad range of mathematics skills exist. Such a fine-grained trajectory of when specific numeracy skills develop would allow preschool and kindergarten instruction to more appropriately match and scaffold children's mathematics capabilities. The current study examined preschool children's item-level performance on eight numeracy subtests at half-year age points throughout the preschool period. Data were compiled across six studies, and participants comprised 801 preschool children (age range = 3.12-5.99 years, M = 4.63, SD = 0.68). Children were grouped into six age categories (3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, and 5.5 years). Linear regression analyses were used to investigate the number of children who correctly answered each item of a specific subtest within a particular age group. Findings provide clear trajectories of children's early mathematics skills that can be used to inform preschool classroom practices and facilitate the design of intervention studies.

Prekindergarten classroom language environments and children's vocabulary skills.

The number of adult words children hear and conversational turns they experience are key aspects of their language environments. The current study examined variability in language environments throughout 2 prekindergarten days and variability within and between classrooms for 44 children (Mage = 4.77 years) in 11 classrooms in the United States. In addition, the study examined to what extent prekindergarten language environments are associated with children's vocabulary skills. Language environments varied considerably throughout the prekindergarten day and between classrooms, although children within the same prekindergarten classrooms had generally similar experiences. Conversational turns were more robustly associated with children's vocabulary skills than were adult words heard even when only examining within-classroom variability. Implications for understanding prekindergarten classroom language experiences and their associations with vocabulary skills are discussed.

The Kindergarten Early Development Instrument Predicts Third Grade Academic Proficiency.

School readiness skills predict later educational achievement, health, and social-emotional outcomes. Measures of school readiness can provide valuable information to assess both the impact of strategies and policies that prepare children for school as well as informing strategies for improving children's educational trajectories across their school years. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a measure of school readiness skills based on teacher-reported observational recall. It has been used extensively in Canada and Australia and is in the early stages of adoption in a number of U.S. cities. The current study uses data from roughly 3,000 children followed longitudinally from kindergarten through third grade from 7 school districts in Orange County, California. The study assesses whether EDI ratings in kindergarten predict third grade proficiency in mathematics and English Language Arts on state assessments. Ratings on the EDI were strongly associated with proficiency in both academic areas, even in the presence of controls for child-level factors and neighborhood fixed effects. Among its components, ratings on the language and cognitive development, communication skills and general knowledge, and social competence domains strongly differentiated children's likelihood of later proficiency in both academic areas. Implications for improving comprehensive early childhood education and schooling policies based on indicators of school readiness are discussed.

Childhood Protective Factors and a Prevention Program Reduce Later Problem Behaviors.

Prior research has yet to elucidate how constellations of protective factors in childhood and prevention efforts simultaneously may influence youth involvement in problem behaviors across different points in development. The current study examines how latent classes of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, parent-child relationships, and peer influences in third grade and receipt of an ongoing SEL intervention predict substance use and violence in fifth and eighth grade. The urban, predominantly low-income, sample (N = 1,169) was nested in 14 schools that were randomly assigned to the Positive Action program or business-as-usual. Membership in a latent class reflecting protective childhood factors predicted less substance use and violence in fifth grade; however, the SEL program predicted less substance use and violence in eighth grade. Findings generally support that SEL interventions can successfully target and boost developmentally appropriate positive behaviors and can prevail over initial risk factors with enough time and exposure.

Combining a Kindergarten Readiness Summer Program with a Self-Regulation Intervention Improves School Readiness.

Self-regulation and academic skills in kindergarten are strong predictors of later achievement. However, many children enter kindergarten without adequate levels of these skills, often because of limited participation in early childhood education. The current study examined a kindergarten readiness summer program (Bridge to Kindergarten; B2K) that served children with no prior preschool experience. The first study goal was to examine the effects of adding a self-regulation intervention to the B2K program on children's self-regulation, math, and literacy. The second study goal was to compare changes in self-regulation, math, and literacy during the kindergarten transition period for children attending the B2K program with the intervention to expected development. Results from a randomized trial indicated that children who participated in the B2K program that included the self-regulation intervention experienced more gains in self-regulation relative to children who participated in the B2K program alone. There were no significant effects on math or literacy at the end of the program. However, when examining change during the kindergarten transition period, participation in the B2K program with the self-regulation intervention was associated with improved growth in self-regulation, math, and literacy into the fall of kindergarten compared to expected development. Collectively, the findings suggest a kindergarten readiness summer program that incorporates a self-regulation intervention leads to improved school readiness in children at higher risk for later school difficulties.

Early cumulative risk and outcomes in adolescence and adulthood: The role of executive function and behavioral regulation.

This study examined the extent to which early cumulative risk predicts a range of behavioral and psychological outcomes (i.e., depression, future orientation, risky behavior, educational attainment, and socioeconomic outcomes) measured at ages 15 and 26 and whether executive function (EF) and/or behavioral regulation mediated and/or moderated these associations. Data for this study came from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and included a sample of 1,364 participants (52% male) born in 1991 and followed through age 26. Results indicated that early cumulative risk was related to depression and risky behavior at age 15 as well as depression, income, future orientation, and educational attainment at age 26. Furthermore, both EF and behavioral regulation mediated relations among cumulative risk and academic achievement at age 15 and between cumulative risk and income and educational attainment at age 26. Finally, three significant interactions emerged for age 15 outcomes, indicating that EF and behavioral regulation may change relations between cumulative risk and depression, reading, and future orientation. Implications for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

International comparisons of the home mathematics environment and relations with children's mathematical achievement.

BACKGROUND: Home mathematics environment (HME) research has focused on parent-child interactions surrounding numerical activities as measured by the frequency of engaging in such activities. However, HME survey questions have been developed from limited perspectives (e.g., Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 2012, 231; Journal of Social Issues, 64, 2008, 95; Early childhood mathematics education research: Learning trajectories for young children, Routledge, New York, 2009), by researchers from a small subset of countries (15; Psychological Bulletin, 147, 2020, 565), which may skew our interpretations. AIMS AND SAMPLE: This study broadened international representation by leveraging secondary data from the 2019 TIMSS to examine the variation of the frequency and reliability of the HME scale and its relation to children's mathematical achievement. Across 54 countries, 231,138 parents and children (Mage = 10.22 years; 51% male) participated in the larger study. METHODS: Parents completed a retrospective home environment survey and children were assessed on mathematics skills. Basic frequency descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients, and Pearson's r correlation coefficients were used to assess variability across countries. RESULTS: Findings suggested that families in certain countries engaged in home mathematics activities more frequently than families in other countries; however, the HME scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency across families in all countries (M α = .79; range = [.73, .89]). Further, the average relation between HME and mathematical achievement was r = .15 with a range between r = .02 to r = .41. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate substantial variation across countries in the HME-mathematical achievement association. These findings underscore the importance of international representation in advancing research on the diversity of a child's home environment.

Factor structure of school readiness skills: conceptual vs. statistical distinctions.

Introduction: School readiness skills are a broad set of abilities that children develop in early childhood that support achievement once they enter formal schooling. Three components of school readiness skills are of focus in the current study: executive function (EF), language/literacy, and mathematics. The current study examines to what extent 13 direct assessments of these skills statistically align with theoretical models for distinct construct- and timepoint-specific latent factors. Methods: The sample included 684 children (52.34% male; 42% Black/African American; Mage = 4.80 years in the fall of prekindergarten) assessed in the fall and spring of the prekindergarten year. Results: Factor analyses revealed the most statistical support for a model with a latent random intercept across timepoints and constructs, along with timepoint-specific latent factors in the fall and spring of prekindergarten (independent of the random intercept). The timepoint-specific latent factors primarily consisted of early literacy and mathematics assessments. Discussion: These findings challenge commonly held practices of creating construct-specific latent factors in early childhood research and, to a lesser extent, timepoint-specific latent factors without consideration of the substantial shared variance across different constructs and timepoints. Implications for the factor structure and developmental theory of school readiness skills are considered, as well as practical considerations for future research.

Corrigendum: Moving beyond dosage and adherence: a protocol for capturing dimensions of active child engagement as a measure of fidelity for social-emotional learning interventions.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1014713.].

Examining longitudinal associations between internalizing problems, body mass index, and language during childhood.

The current study examines the extent to which associations between internalizing problems, body mass index (BMI), and language skills from early (36 months) to late childhood (fifth grade) are due to relatively stable between-child differences, time-specific correlations, or cross-lagged paths. Data from the NICHD study, Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,364) were used. Results showed that internalizing problems and language are significantly and negatively correlated due to relatively stable between-child differences, with some evidence of positive cross-lagged paths, where better language at 36 months, 54 months, and third grade predicted more internalizing problems at the subsequent timepoint, and more internalizing problems at third grade predicted better language at fifth grade. Time-specific associations for BMI showed a negative correlation with language at 36 months and a positive correlation with internalizing problems at 54 months only. Additionally, higher internalizing at third grade predicted higher BMI at fifth grade, though the association was small and no other cross-lagged paths between internalizing and BMI emerged. These findings suggest that previous research documenting cross-lagged associations between BMI and internalizing problems, and between language and internalizing problems may be biased due to between child differences not fully controlled for in prior models. Implications for understanding these key aspects of youth's healthy development are considered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining Associations Between Food Insecurity, Inhibitory Control, and Body Mass Index in Preschoolers.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines relations between food insecurity, inhibitory control, and body mass index (BMI) in early childhood. METHOD: The sample comes from an evaluation of a state-funded prekindergarten program and includes 126 children (mean age = 4.73 yrs, female = 42%) from families with low incomes. Parents reported on their child's food insecurity. Child inhibitory control was assessed using a performance-based task, and children's height and weight were objectively collected at the same time as the inhibitory control assessment. A regression model was used to test whether inhibitory control moderated the association between food insecurity and BMI. The model included a large battery of covariates and adjusted for clustering at the classroom level. Ad hoc analyses were conducted to examine the robustness of findings to different conceptualizations of food insecurity based on the US Department of Agriculture's categories for severity. RESULTS: A significant interaction revealed that inhibitory control moderated the association between food insecurity and children's BMI percentile. Investigation of the simple slopes suggested that greater food insecurity was related to a higher BMI percentile among children who demonstrated stronger inhibitory control. In addition, results from ad hoc analyses examining categories of food insecurity indicated that experiencing very low food security was also related to a higher BMI among children with average and strong inhibitory control. CONCLUSION: This study makes a unique contribution to the existing literature by examining relations among food insecurity, inhibitory control, and BMI during a critical period in children's physical and brain development. Findings have implications for public health efforts to address childhood obesity among populations with low incomes.

Prenatal programming of developmental trajectories for obesity risk and early pubertal timing.

The thrifty phenotype and fetal overnutrition hypotheses are two developmental hypotheses that originated from the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) perspective. The DOHaD posits that exposures experienced prenatally and early in life may influence health outcomes through altering form and function of internal organs related to metabolic processes. Obesity risk and early pubertal timing might be influenced by similar mechanisms. The thrifty phenotype hypothesis is primarily characterized by experiencing a deprivation of nutrients during gestation paired with an energy rich postnatal environment. The fetal overnutrition hypothesis says that obesity experienced prenatally will be associated with increased lifetime risk of obesity in the offspring. Both hypotheses were tested by examining developmental pathways from genetic and prenatal risk through early growth trajectories (birth to 7 years) to pubertal timing at age 11 years. Participants included 361 children adopted at birth (57% male; 57% non-Hispanic White, 11% Black, 9% Hispanic; adoptive family income Mdn = $70,000-$100,000, birth family income Mdn = < $15,000). Associations between boys' childhood body mass index (BMI) and pubertal timing were confounded by genetics, prenatal risk, and early growth. The thrifty phenotype hypothesis was partially supported for boys' childhood BMI (at ages 4 to 7 years). Both hypotheses were partially supported for girls' childhood BMI but not pubertal timing. A novel Gene × Prenatal Risk interaction showed that genetic risk predicted girls' childhood BMI most strongly at adequate compared with at excessive levels of gestational weight gain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Moving beyond dosage and adherence: A protocol for capturing dimensions of active child engagement as a measure of fidelity for social-emotional learning interventions.

Social-emotional competencies are important for school-readiness and can be supported through social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions in the preschool years. However, past research has demonstrated mixed efficacy of early SEL interventions across varied samples, highlighting a need to unpack the black box of which early interventions work, under what conditions, and for whom. In the present article we discuss the critical implementation component of active child engagement in an intervention as a potential point of disconnect between the intervention as designed and as implemented. Children who are physically present but unengaged during an intervention may lead to decreased average impacts of an intervention. Furthermore, measuring young children's active engagement with an intervention may help to guide iterative intervention development. We propose a four-step protocol for capturing the multi-dimensional and varied construct of active child engagement in a SEL intervention. To illustrate the utility of the protocol, we apply it to data from a pilot study of a researcher-implemented, semi-structured block play intervention focused on supporting the development of SEL and math skills in preschoolers. We then present future directions for the integration of active participant engagement into the measurement of implementation of SEL interventions for young children.