Children's Emotion Regulation Research Articles

Development of an integrated program of sensory rehabilitation based on vibroacoustic and virtual reality and its effectiveness on the emotional profile in children with autism spectrum disorder: A Case study

Introduction: Impaired emotion regulation in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) significantly affects their interactions. Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a rehabilitation program based on vibroacoustic and virtual reality techniques and evaluate its effectiveness on the emotional profile of children with ASD. Method: The research employed a single-subject ABA design. The population included all children with ASD attending the Zehn ara Rehabilitation Clinic in Tehran in the second half of 2021, from which 5 participants were purposively selected. Initially, the combined program was implemented for 10 sessions of 30 minutes each on two randomly chosen participants from the sample, and after validating the program, three additional participants were included in the study. The Sensory Profile 2 questionnaire (2014) was used in this research. During the baseline phase, at the end of each intervention session, and during a one-month follow-up period, the questionnaires were completed. Data analysis involved visual analysis, percentage of improvement, and percentage of overlapping and non-overlapping data. Results: The results indicated that based on the obtained effect sizes, the intervention had a significant impact on emotional regulation in participants 1 to 5, with 90%, 80%, 80%, 100%, and 90% certainty, respectively. Furthermore, the percentage of improvement resulting from the interventions for participants 1 to 5 was 20.08%, 28.75%, 28.24%, 27.24%, and 21.02%, respectively. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the combined rehabilitation program was effective in improving the emotional profile of children with autism. Therefore; this approach can be recommended as an appropriate intervention for individuals with ASD.

Parent–child relationships and early childhood irritability: A longitudinal moderated moderation model

The present study proposed a longitudinal moderated moderation model to investigate whether children's cognitive and emotional factors changed the association between parent-child relationships and early childhood irritability. A total of 526 parent-child pairs were included in a two–wave longitudinal study. We assessed children's emotion regulation skills, executive function, and relationships with parents at Wave 1 and irritability at Wave 2 one year later. The results revealed that high quality parent-child relationships were associated with lower levels of irritability. The two−way interaction effects of parent-child relationships × executive function, and emotion regulation skills ×executive function predicting irritability were significant. Moreover, the association between parent-child relationships and child irritability was moderated by emotion regulation skills and executive function simultaneously. Future interventions designed to reduce preschoolers' irritability may be more effective if they focus on improving parent-child relationships and promoting children's emotion regulation skills and executive function.

A Comparative Review of Communication Differences Between Chinese and American Families in Child Upbringing

This discussion examines the influence of communication differences on various aspects of child development, including cognition, language acquisition, emotional regulation, self-esteem, and social relationships with peers. It also explores the significance of cross-cultural perspectives on communication and child upbringing, highlighting the importance of understanding and appreciating the strengths and limitations of diverse communication styles. The role of cultural sensitivity and understanding is emphasized, along with strategies to promote effective communication within multicultural families. By recognizing and adapting to communication differences, parents and caregivers can create a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters healthy child development and positive family dynamics.

Implementing Parenting Programs in Primary Care: A Framework and a Call for Action.

Healthy parent-child relationships are clearly critical to healthy child development. Parenting programs develop caregivers' skills to support the health and well-being of children. Rigorous evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of these programs. Rising rates of child and youth depression, anxiety, grief, and suicide, both prior to and compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, provide further reasons to implement parenting programs that support all parents in their essential roles. Parents can act as a buffer to stressors and support for children's well-being when they have the knowledge and skills to do so. Pediatric primary care practices are a natural setting for parenting programs, but challenges, including stigma, technology, workflow issues, and funding, have prevented their broad dissemination, implementation, and sustainability. In this article, we develop a framework for implementing parenting programs in primary care and present key considerations for selecting programs that fit the needs of parents, providers, patients, and the practice. We offer lessons from our experiences in overcoming these challenges, using the updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to structure our discussion. We also provide an initial stepwise process which readers may use to plan their own parenting program implementation. Pediatric clinicians and practices can use this article and associated resources to plan, implement, and evaluate parenting programs in their practices as a strategy to help address the growing youth mental health crisis. Improving parenting behaviors can reduce the need for current or future mental health interventions by supporting optimal child development, emotional regulation, and parent-child relationships.

부부관계 유대감과 유아 정서조절능력의 관계

Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Marital Bond, parents’ Parenting Efficacy and Preschool Children’s Emotional Regulation and to investigate Parenting Efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationship between Marital Bond and Preschool Children’s Emotional Regulation.
 Methods For this purpose, interview and surveys were conducted on 43 pairs of parents with young children aged 3-5 as children and teachers who teaching their children. The Marital Bond was interviewed using The Oral History Interview developed by Krokoff & Gottman (1984) and translated into Korean by Nahm Eun-young (2012), and Parental Parenting Efficacy was measured by parental reporting and Preschool Children’s Emotional Regulation was measured by teacher reporting. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 program. First, the correlation between marital Bond, parental parenting efficacy, and preschool children’s emotional regulation was examined, and then the mediating effect of parental parenting efficacy was analyzed.
 Results As a result of the study, first, it was found that there was a significant correlation between marital bond, mother’s parenting efficacy, and preschool children’s emotional regulation. However, the marital bond was not related to father’s parenting efficacy. Second, it was found that mother’s parenting efficacy partially mediated in the relationship between marital bond and preschool children’s emotional regulation. It can be seen that marital bond not only directly affects the process of affecting preschool children’s emotional regulation, but also indirectly affects the mother’s parenting efficacy.
 Conclusions These results suggested that marital relationships affect children's emotions through mothers, and discussed ways to improve marital relationships and mother’s parenting efficacy to foster children's emotional regulation. In addition, A future study is needed to examine the reason for not showing a significant relationship with father’s parenting efficacy.

Factor Analysis of Teachers' Skills in Directing Silent Sitting in View of Emotion Regulation and Concentration of Early Childhood Children

This study aims to investigate the effect of teachers' ability to direct sitting still on early childhood emotion regulation and concentration. Education plays a crucial role in changing bad habits into good ones, shaping students' morals, character and intelligence to achieve superior learning achievements and compete. In the context of education, silent sitting can help students develop better focus and concentration skills, and reduce anxiety and stress. This research method uses the Partial Least Square (PLS) approach using Smart PLS 3.0 software. PLS is a variant-based method of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) aiming to analyze the relationship between variables. The results showed that the teacher's ability to direct sitting still positively and significantly affects Emotion Regulation and Concentration in early childhood. These results highlight the importance of the teacher's role in creating a learning environment conducive to developing emotions and concentration in early childhood. This study implies the need to develop teaching skills for teachers to implement various learning strategies effectively and efficiently.

Profiles of parents' emotion socialization within a multinational sample of parents.

Seminal emotion socialization theories classify parents according to two patterns of parent emotion socialization processes: 'emotion coaching' (i.e., parents validate and teach children about emotions) versus 'emotion dismissing' parenting (i.e., parents minimize and dismiss their children's emotions). However, empirical evidence supporting this binary distinction of parents remains limited. Our objective was to investigate whether parents can be differentiated by distinct patterns in their (1) beliefs about children's emotions, (2) emotion regulation, and (3) emotion-related parenting practices. Participants were parents of children aged 4-10 years from the Child and Parent Emotion Study (N = 869) (https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/10/e038124). Parents completed self-reported measures of emotion socialization processes via an online survey, which took 20-30 min to complete. Data included in the current study were collected May-August 2019. We conducted a latent profile analysis of parents' emotion socialization (13 indicators). To assess reliability of the profiles, we examined stability of the profiles across (1) parents of children in early versus middle childhood, and (2) fathers versus mothers, via measurement invariance testing. Further, to assess for construct validity of the profiles, we examined concurrent associations between six criterion constructs and parents' emotion socialization profiles. A three-profile model emerged characterizing parents by: (1) emotion coaching; (2) emotion dismissing; (3) emotion disengaged. There was strong support for construct validity and reliability. Our study provides empirical support for distinct differentiated classifications of emotion coaching and emotion dismissing parenting, aligned with emotion socialization theories. We further extend on extant theory and suggest a third 'emotion disengaged' classification, describing parents with moderate levels of emotion dismissing parenting and low levels of emotion coaching parenting. It should be noted that the profiles were derived with self-report data, therefore, data may have been biased by contextual factors. Furthermore, the study sample consisted of Western families from affluent backgrounds. The field should focus efforts on conducting person-centered studies with more diverse samples in future.

A multidimensional investigation of the relationship between skin-mediated somatosensory signals, emotion regulation and behavior problems in autistic children.

Autistic children may have abnormal sensory perception, emotion dysregulation and behavior problems. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship between skin-mediated somatosensory signals and emotion/behavior difficulties in autistic children and adolescents, in comparison typically developing peers (TDP). Thirty-eight autistic children and adolescents and 34 TDP completed a multidimensional assessment consisting of the measurement of somatosensory thresholds of touch, pain and temperature, a task on emotion knowledge and parent-reported questionnaires on sensory reactivity, emotion regulation and behavior. Autistic children had higher pain sensitivity, less sensory reactive behaviors and more behavior problems than their TDP. In contrast to TDP, several somatosensory thresholds of autistic children correlated with emotion regulation and behavior problems. Sensory dysfunction may affect the development of emotional processing and behavior in autistic children and adolescents. This knowledge can lay the foundation for future studies on co-occurring alterations in corresponding neural networks and for the implementation of early interventions, including sensory rehabilitation therapy, for promoting regulated behaviors in autistic children and adolescents.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Depression: The Mediating Role of Resilience and Emotional Regulation.

The current study examined the mediating roles of resilience and emotional regulation in the association between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms among individuals who experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Data from 200 women aged 17 to 77 years who were psychiatric outpatients were collected using self-reported questionnaires assessing child adversity, depressive symptoms, resilience, and emotional regulation. A positive correlation was found between a subscale of the ACE-IQ and depression. Childhood trauma was associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms among participants with lower resilience (an association that was partly explained by resilience level [mediation]). Emotional regulation was not a significant mediator in the childhood trauma-depression association. Our findings indicate that resilience is a key mediator between childhood trauma and depression. Individuals who experienced childhood trauma may benefit from evidence-based interventions focused on strengthening resilience and improving coping strategies. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(1), 45-54.].

Short-term effects of the "I Spy Feelings" program on emotion regulation in 5- to 6-year-old children.

Mental health difficulties in early childhood can have a debilitating and ongoing impact throughout an individual's life; emotion regulation can serve as a protective factor. Therefore, evidence-based prevention programs that teach children effective skills and strategies for emotion regulation are needed. As part of the Aussie Optimism pilot study evaluating the "I Spy Feelings" program, this study aims to assess the short-term effects of the program on emotion regulation in pre-primary aged children after 2 months via a longitudinal cluster randomized controlled trial. Participants included parents (N = 73) of 5- to 6-year-old children attending four different Catholic primary schools. Children from two of the schools were allocated to the intervention group where they participated in the program (N = 33), while children from the other two schools were allocated to the control group where they did not (N = 40). At each time point, all parents completed abridged Children's Emotional Management Scales measuring how well parents believe their child is able to cope with anger, sadness and worry. A significant intervention effect 2 months after intervention was found for the outcome of anger coping such that parents whose children were in the intervention group reported significantly greater improvement in their children's ability to cope with anger compared to parents whose children were in the control group. No significant effect was found for the outcome of sadness, and results for the worry subscale were inconclusive due to unacceptable internal consistency. The present study provides insight into the benefit of programs designed to enhance the emotion regulation skills of very young children. Further follow-up is needed to assess whether the "I Spy Feelings" program has lasting effects.

Maternal recognition of positive emotion predicts sensitive parenting in infancy.

Research on parent-child relationships demonstrates the importance of maternal sensitivity for the development of children's emotion regulation, social competence, and health; thus, it is important to understand the emotional-cognitive capacities underlying maternal sensitivity. We followed 120 mothers and their full-term infants from the newborn period to 5 months postpartum. Mothers' emotion recognition during the newborn period was measured using a validated facial emotion recognition task assessing discrimination (d') of six facial expressions of emotion: happiness, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and neutrality. Maternal behavior at 5 months postpartum was coded from a mother-infant free-play session using Ainsworth's Sensitivity Scales. Preregistered analyses revealed that mothers' ability to detect happiness specifically (but not other emotions such as fear or sadness) in the neonatal period predicted greater observed sensitivity 4 months later, β = .30, p = .002, ΔR² = .08. Results suggest that maternal recognition of positive emotion may be uniquely predictive of sensitive behavior in low-stress parent-infant interaction contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) dynamics matter for children's emotion regulation: RSA inertia and instability within a stress task.

The present study employed two key dynamic indicators (i.e., inertia and instability) to the psychophysiological research of child emotion regulation (ER) and examined whether respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) dynamics were associated with child ER during a stress task. Eighty-nine Chinese school-age children (Mage = 8.77 years, SD = 1.80 years; 46.1% girls) and their primary caregivers participated in the study. After controlling for RSA static reactivity, multiple regression analyses indicated that lower RSA inertia was related to fewer in-task negative emotions rated by children and their caregivers, and higher RSA instability was associated with better child trait ER. This study introduces physiological indicators of the dynamic aspects of parasympathetic activity to the study of child ER.

The trauma experiences of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: Developmental outcomes utilizing a threat/deprivation child adversity framework.

Individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) experience heightened rates of childhood trauma and adversity. Research has examined the negative impact adverse childhood experiences have on developmental outcomes. This study aims to take the field a step further by examining the details of traumatic events, including duration, perpetrator, whether the event significantly impacted the child, and trauma subtype. Subtype is examined using threat/deprivation dimensions and their relation to child behavior and the caregiver-child relationship. A sample of 84 children aged 4-12 with FASD, all in out-of-home placements, and their families took part in an emotion coaching intervention study. At baseline, caregivers completed questionnaires assessing child trauma, child emotion regulation and behavior, caregiver emotion socialization, and caregiver-child relationships. We used analysis of covariance to examine the differing impacts of threat, deprivation, and a combination of the two on behavioral outcomes, while controlling for age. We also used Pearson's r correlations, controlling for age, to examine whether the duration of threat or deprivation exposure was related to child outcomes. Descriptive statistics showed that 87.5% of individuals experienced three or more subtypes of trauma. The average duration of all subtypes was 1.62 years, with a mean onset of 3.94 years. Biological parents were the most common perpetrator. There were significantly worse behavioral and caregiver-child relationship outcomes for children experiencing a combination of threat and deprivation trauma. A r correlations, controlling for age, demonstrated longer duration of deprivation was associated with greater cognitive difficulties. We found unique patterns of behavior in children with FASD when analyzing the impact of traumatic experiences through a threat/deprivation framework. The combination of both threat and deprivation experiences leads to worse outcomes overall. Additionally, vital details surrounding the traumatic experiences point to crucial areas for intervention, including caregiver-child relationships.

Father–child relationship and children’s peer competence: Mediated by children’s emotional regulation and environmental adaptation

This study aimed to explore father–child relationships and young children’s peer competence, as mediated by child emotional regulation and environmental adaptation. The children’s fathers and teachers completed peer competence, child emotional regulation and environmental adaptation measures on 216 Chinese children and their fathers. The results, following correlation analysis by SPSS 25.0 and validation analysis by AMOS modelling, demonstrated that: (a) a higher score on the parent–child relationship scale was associated with a higher children’s peer competence score; and (b) emotional regulation and environmental adaptation in the children’s ego resilience mediated between the father–child relationship and was associated with young children’s higher peer competence. These findings indicate that father–child relationship quality is important to children’s peer competence with superior emotional regulation and environmental adaptation. Therefore, educators should help enhance the parent–child relationship to improve children’s emotional regulation and school adaptation.

Examining a Complex Model Linking Maternal Reflective Functioning, Maternal Meta-Emotion Philosophies, and Child Emotion Regulation.

Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) refers to parents' ability to understand their children's behavior in light of underlying mental states such as thoughts, desires, and intentions. This study aimed to investigate whether maternal meta-emotion philosophies (i.e., emotion coaching, emotion dismissing) mediated the relation between maternal RF and child emotion regulation (ER). Additionally, children's genders and ages were examined as moderators of the associations between maternal RF and maternal meta-emotion philosophies. The sample comprises 667 Chinese mothers of children aged 4-6 years. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing their reflective functioning, emotion coaching and dismissing, and child emotion regulation. Results indicated both a direct link between maternal RF and child emotion regulation, as well as indirect pathways mediated by emotion coaching and dismissing. A child's gender and age also moderated the relations between maternal RF and meta-emotion philosophies. Specifically, the negative association between maternal pre-mentalizing modes and emotion coaching was stronger for mothers of girls than boys; whereas the negative association between maternal certainty of mental states and emotion dismissing, as well as the positive association between maternal interest and curiosity and emotion coaching were both stronger for mothers of younger children than older children. The findings suggest that emotion coaching and dismissing mediate the relation between maternal PRF and the emotion regulation of children.

Evidence-Based Treatment in Practice: PCIT Research on Addressing Individual Differences and Diversity Through the Lens of 20 Years of Service.

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an intensive parent support program for caregivers and their children who exhibit difficult-to-manage disruptive behaviors. After more than four decades of research supporting its efficacy for reducing children's disruptive behaviors and improving parent-child relationships, PCIT has become one of the most popular and widely disseminated parenting support programs in the world. The evidence for the efficacy of PCIT can be found in many reviews of randomized clinical trials and other rigorous studies. To add to those reviews, our aim was to provide practical guidance on how PCIT can be part of an evidence-based program for families that depends on practitioner expertise, as well as attention to families' diverse needs. To do this, we describe the evolution of PCIT as practiced in a university-community partnership that has continued for over 20 years, alongside a narrative description of selected and recent findings on PCIT and its use in specific client presentations across four themes. These themes include studies of 1) whether the standard manualized form of PCIT is efficacious across a selection of diverse family situations and child diagnoses, 2) the mechanisms of change that explain why some parents and some children might benefit more or less from PCIT, 3) whether treatment content modifications make PCIT more feasible to implement or acceptable to some families, at the same time as achieving the same or better outcomes, and 4) whether PCIT with structural modifications to the delivery, such as online or intensive delivery, yields similar outcomes as standard PCIT. Finally, we discuss how these directions in research have influenced research and practice, and end with a summary of how the growing attention on parent and child emotion regulation and parents' responses to (and coaching of) their children's emotions has become important to PCIT theory and our practice.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Parenting Intervention During Infancy Alters Amygdala-Prefrontal Circuitry in Middle Childhood

Early adverse parenting predicts various negative outcomes, including psychopathology and altered development. Animal work suggests that adverse parenting might change amygdala-prefrontal cortex (PFC) circuitry, but work in humans remains correlational. The present study leveraged data from a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of an early parenting intervention targeting parental nurturance and sensitivity (Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up [ABC]) to test whether early parenting quality causally affects amygdala-PFC connectivity later in life. Participants (N= 60, mean age= 10.0 years) included 41 high-risk children whose parents were referred by Child Protective Services and randomly assigned to receive either ABC (n= 21) or a control intervention (n= 20) during the children's infancy and a comparison sample of low-risk children (n= 19). Amygdala-PFC connectivity was assessed via functional magnetic resonance imaging while children viewed fearful and neutral faces. Across facial expressions, ABC produced different changes than the control intervention in amygdala-PFC connectivity in response to faces. The ABC group also exhibited greater responses than the control intervention group to faces in areas classically associated with emotion regulation, including the orbitofrontal cortex and right insula. Mediation analysis suggested that the effect of ABC on PFC activation was mediated by the intervention's effect on amygdala-PFC connectivity. Results provide preliminary causal evidence for the effect of early parenting intervention on amygdala-PFC connectivity and on PFC responses to face viewing. Findings also highlight amygdala-PFC connectivity as a potential mediator of the effects of early parenting intervention on children's emotion regulation development. Intervening Early With Neglected Children; https://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT02093052. We worked to ensure sex and gender balance in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure race, ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper received support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our reference list.

A Digital Mental Health App Incorporating Wearable Biosensing for Teachers of Children on the Autism Spectrum to Support Emotion Regulation: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

As much as 80% of children on the autism spectrum exhibit challenging behaviors (ie, behaviors dangerous to the self or others, behaviors that interfere with learning and development, and behaviors that interfere with socialization) that can have a devastating impact on personal and family well-being, contribute to teacher burnout, and even require hospitalization. Evidence-based practices to reduce these behaviors emphasize identifying triggers (events or antecedents that lead to challenging behaviors); however, parents and teachers often report that challenging behaviors surface with little warning. Exciting recent advances in biometric sensing and mobile computing technology allow the measurement of momentary emotion dysregulation using physiological indexes. We present the framework and protocol for a pilot trial that will test a mobile digital mental health app, the KeepCalm app. School-based approaches to managing challenging behaviors in children on the autism spectrum are limited by 3 key factors: children on the autism spectrum often have difficulties in communicating their emotions; it is challenging to implement evidence-based, personalized strategies for individual children in group settings; and it is difficult for teachers to track which strategies are successful for each child. KeepCalm aims to address those barriers by communicating children's stress to their teachers using physiological signaling (emotion dysregulation detection), supporting the implementation of emotion regulation strategies via smartphone pop-up notifications of top strategies for each child according to their behavior (emotion regulation strategy implementation), and easing the task of tracking outcomes by providing the child's educational team with a tool to track the most effective emotion regulation strategies for that child based on physiological stress reduction data (emotion regulation strategy evaluation). We will test KeepCalm with 20 educational teams of students on the autism spectrum with challenging behaviors (no exclusion based on IQ or speaking ability) in a pilot randomized waitlist-controlled field trial over a 3-month period. We will examine the usability, acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of KeepCalm as primary outcomes. Secondary preliminary efficacy outcomes include clinical decision support success, false positives or false negatives of stress alerts, and the reduction of challenging behaviors and emotion dysregulation. We will also examine technical outcomes, including the number of artifacts and the proportion of time children are engaged in high physical movement based on accelerometry data; test the feasibility of our recruitment strategies; and test the response rate and sensitivity to change of our measures, in preparation for a future fully powered large-scale randomized controlled trial. The pilot trial will begin by September 2023. Results will provide key data about important aspects of implementing KeepCalm in preschools and elementary schools and will provide preliminary data about its efficacy to reduce challenging behaviors and support emotion regulation in children on the autism spectrum. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05277194; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05277194. PRR1-10.2196/45852.

Family experiences of ambiguous loss during COVID‐19

AbstractObjectiveThe present study provides descriptive results on parents' mental health, ambiguous loss, stress, and parent–child relationship as well as child stress and children's emotion regulation abilities. Additionally, we present initial psychometric results and preliminary regression findings from a quantitative ambiguous loss measure.BackgroundThe COVID‐19 pandemic has led to more than one million deaths in the United States and subsequent mental health difficulties for parents and children.MethodData were collected from 134 participants (MParentAge = 39.1 years; 54.5% women; MChildAge = 9.4 years) in early May 2021. Analyses examined group differences of longitudinal findings over a year‐long period, parents' gender, and financial needs.ResultsModerate levels of COVID‐19–specific stress as well as general stress in both parents and children were found. Women reported higher levels of closeness among the parent–child dyad, and parents whose financial needs were not met reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression. A liner regression indicated that 44.3% of the variance in ambiguous loss can be explained by COVID‐19 specific stress and depression.ConclusionIndividuals and families are still experiencing difficulties after the COVID‐19 pandemic, as seen through the descriptives presented. Additionally, ambiguous loss can be predicted by these experiences.ImplicationsLong‐term information about individual and family experiences after a year of the COVID‐19 pandemic highlights important experiences of generalized stress in both parents and children.

Adaptation and Efficacy of a Social-Emotional Learning Intervention (SEL Kernels) in Early Childhood Settings in Southeastern Brazil: A Quasi-Experimental Study

ABSTRACT Prior research has shown that social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions offer promise for supporting young children’s outcomes, but implementation problems are frequent, especially in low-resource contexts. This study describes the adaptation and efficacy of a new, classroom-based SEL intervention for children aged 3 to 6 years in early childhood education programs in Brazil. SEL Kernels are simple, brief, targeted SEL activities that can be flexibly implemented by teachers. Research Findings: Results of a quasi-experimental study using teacher reports with 314 Brazilian children (164 male, 150 female) who did (n = 205) and did not (n = 109) receive SEL Kernels suggested intervention-related improvements in teachers’ reports of child behavior problems (d = .65) and emotion regulation (d = 1.12) in this setting. Practice or Policy: Implications of this work – including the importance of teacher buy-in and implementation – are discussed.