The role of teachers' depressive symptoms in classroom quality and child developmental outcomes in Early Head Start programs

Abstract

The present study examined whether teachers' depressive symptoms are directly and indirectly associated with children's social-emotional and language development in the context of Early Head Start (EHS) center-based programs. We used the EHS Family and Child Experiences Study (i.e., Baby FACES 2009) with a sample of 275 toddlers and 197 teachers in 72 programs. Among the current sample of EHS teachers, the prevalence of teachers' depressive symptoms was low. Teachers with higher levels of depressive symptoms tended to report that they have toddlers with more behavior problems in the classroom after controlling for several child, family, and teacher characteristics. We also found a significant association between teachers' depressive symptoms and observed levels of Emotional and Behavioral Support (EBS) in classrooms. EBS is significantly associated with teacher-rated child behavior problems. However, teachers' depressive symptoms are not significantly associated with Engaged Support for Learning (ESL). There is no mediational link for the association of teachers' depressive symptoms with any developmental outcomes via its association with EBS or ESL. Although incidence of clinical levels of depressive symptoms was low in this sample, overall depressive symptoms were associated with classroom quality and children's behavior problems, suggesting the importance of intervention and prevention strategies for practitioners and policy makers to improve teachers' mental health and classroom quality systematically in EHS.