Higher Emotional Support Research Articles

How Should Fifth-Grade Mathematics Teachers Start the School Year? Relations between Teacher–Student Interactions and Mathematics Instruction over One Year

Background Teaching is comprised of interconnected practices. Some practices are domain neutral (DN), or independent of a content area. Examples of DN practices include emotional and instructional support and classroom organization. Others are domain specific (DS), or content dependent. Within a mathematics context, examples of DS practices include mathematical discourse, tasks, and coherent lessons. Purpose Using extant fifth-grade teacher observation data, we investigate the following questions: (1) Do quality DN practices at the start of a fifth-grade school year relate to higher DS practices at the end of the year? (2) Do early, quality DS practices relate to later, higher use of DN practices? Specifically, we investigate relations between emotional support and mathematical discourse, instructional support and mathematical tasks, and classroom organization and mathematical coherence. Research Design We use an autoregressive, cross-lagged structural equation model with three time points from a single academic year. Findings/Results Results indicated that early levels of high emotional support and classroom organization were associated with later high levels of mathematical discourse and coherence, respectively. Early implementation of demanding tasks was associated with later, higher instructional support. Recommendations We discuss implications for professional development and practice. Specifically, we suggest that teachers and instructional coaches consider how DN and DS practices relate to each other in order to boost teachers’ effectiveness.

Correlates of Treatment Readiness among Formerly Incarcerated Homeless Women.

Treatment readiness is a key predictor of drug treatment completion, rearrest, and recidivism during community reentry; however, limited data exists among homeless, female ex-offenders (HFOs). The purpose of this study was to present baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of 130 HFOs who had been released from jail or prison. Over half (60.8%) of HFOs had a treatment readiness score of ≥ 40 (n = 79, μ = 40.2, SD = 8.72). Bivariate analyses revealed that methamphetamine use, psychological well-being, and high emotional support were positively associated with treatment readiness. On the other hand, depressive symptomology and depression/anxiety scores were negatively associated with the treatment readiness score. Multiple linear regression revealed that depressive symptomology was negatively associated with treatment readiness (β = -0.377; p = .001). Further analyses revealed that the effect of emotional support on treatment readiness was mediated by depressive symptomatology.

Structural, Process and Curriculum Quality of Day Care and Preschool Provisions in the Netherlands

The presented study investigated the structural, process and curriculum quality in Dutch Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system. Teachers (N = 46) completed a structured questionnaire about the teacher, classroom and center characteristics. Furthermore, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Toddler was used to measure the process quality in 28 Dutch day care and preschool provisions considered to be good practices. Results regarding structural quality revealed small significant differences between day care and preschool provisions for teacher’s educational level, children-to-teacher ratio, and classroom composition. As regards process quality, the results showed moderate to high Emotional Support and moderate levels of Support for Learning in both types. No significant differences were identified in process quality between day care and preschool classrooms. Finally, the teachers reported placing the greatest emphasis on activities involving pretend play, self-regulation and language and fewer opportun­ities concerning literacy, maths and science activities, with no significant differences between the two provisions.

Emotionally supportive classroom interactions and students' perceptions of their teachers as caring and just

Emotionally supportive classrooms represent an important interactional context for the development of positive perceptions of student–teacher relationships. The present study investigated how students' perceptions of teacher care and justice develop over the upper elementary grades. Moreover, we studied to what degree teachers' observed emotional support predicts changes in perceptions of teacher care and justice in students with and without risks for academic failure. The study consisted of 1209 upper elementary grade students who were followed from grade five (T1) to grade six (T2, 1009 students). Multilevel analyses revealed that, over the year, student perceptions of their teacher as caring decreased in classrooms with low-quality teacher-student interactions in the emotional domain. Moreover, high emotional support from teachers protected students with high academic disengagement from developing negative perceptions of teacher justice. These results suggest a protective function of teacher's emotional support.

Development of pre-academic skills and motivation in kindergarten: a subgroup analysis between classroom quality profiles

The present study extends research on classroom quality profiles by examining the differences between profiles with respect to children’s development in pre-academic skills and motivation across the kindergarten year. Teacher–child interactions were observed in 49 Finnish kindergarten classrooms using the CLASS Pre-K instrument. Based on prior identification of latent profiles of classroom quality, subgroup analyses on children’s data were carried out on three profiles representing high Emotional Support and Classroom Organisation and intermediate Instructional Support (Profile 1), higher-intermediate Emotional Support and Classroom Organisation and lower-intermediate Instructional Support (Profile 2), and intermediate Emotional Support and Classroom Organisation and low Instructional Support (Profile 3). Children’s (n = 504) pre-reading and pre-math skills were tested at the beginning and end of the kindergarten year, and their task behaviours were rated by the testers in assessment situations. The children’s vocabulary, number knowledge and interest in reading and math were measured at the end of the kindergarten year. The results indicated a significant increase in children’s number sequence skills and a significant decrease in avoidance and helplessness across the kindergarten year in Profile 1 compared to children in Profile 2. In contrast, a significant increase was found in helplessness and social dependence for children in Profile 3 compared to the other two profiles. Moreover, the children in Profile 2 showed a significant decrease in anxiety compared to those in Profile 3, whereas the children in Profile 3 showed less interest in reading than the children in the other profiles and had lower vocabulary scores than the children in the Profile 2 at the end of the kindergarten year. The results provide a new understanding about the effects of different classroom quality profiles on child outcomes, particularly in regard to motivation.

Emotional Support, Depressive Symptoms, and Age-Related Alterations in Male Body Composition: Cross-Sectional Findings from the Men's Health 40+ Study.

More depressive symptoms and low emotional support have been related to worse body composition. Body composition significantly deteriorates in aging men. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether high emotional support and low depressive symptoms are associated with better body composition and a decelerated age-related deterioration of body composition in aging men. A cross-sectional analysis including 269 self-reporting healthy men aged between 40 and 75 years living in the German-speaking part of Switzerland was conducted. Participants completed questionnaires on emotional support and depressive symptoms. The depression screening instrument was used to form a group with low (N = 225) and moderate (N = 44) depressive symptoms. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were measured, and cell proportion (CP), fat mass (FM), and water balance (WB) were obtained using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Age-related associations emerged for WHR, CP, FM, and WB, but not for BMI. Emotional support was negatively associated with BMI, WHR, and WB, and only trend-wise with CP and FM. Group comparisons revealed that more depressive symptoms were associated with lower levels of CP and higher levels of WB. Both emotional support and depressive symptoms were significant moderators of the association between age and specific measures of body composition such as CP, FM, and WB. However, after correction for multiple testing for moderation analyses only the moderation effects of depressive symptoms on the association between age and WB and CP remained significant. Low depressive symptoms were associated with a better body composition as well as a decelerated decline in body composition and the role of emotional support acting as a buffer against age-related deterioration of body composition merits further investigation.

The association between basic need satisfaction in relationship and personal growth among lesbian and heterosexual mothers

The study examined the association between basic need satisfaction in the couple relationship (basic need satisfaction in the relationship [BNSR]) and personal growth (PG), using a sample of 57 lesbian mothers individually matched with 57 heterosexual mothers. BNSR was found to correlate positively with growth only among lesbian mothers, while no significant association was found among heterosexual mothers. The findings are explained in terms of the particular characteristics of lesbian couples, such as high emotional support, equal division of labor, and absence of traditional gender roles. The potential contribution of these features to PG in the context of lesbian motherhood, which is planned, intentional, and often achieved after contending with minority stress and challenging life circumstances, is discussed.

Temperament and Teacher–Child Conflict in Preschool: The Moderating Roles of Classroom Instructional and Emotional Support

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: This study is an examination of (a) links between preschool children’s temperament (effortful control, shyness, and anger) and teacher–child conflict and (b) classroom instructional and emotional support as moderators of associations between temperament and teacher–child conflict. Children (N = 104) were enrolled in 23 classrooms in 9 preschools in a midwestern city. Teachers provided ratings of children’s temperament and parents reported demographic information in the fall of the school year, classrooms were observed in the winter to assess instructional and emotional support, and teachers rated conflict with children in the spring. Multilevel models were estimated, and 3 main findings emerged. First, children’s effortful control was negatively associated with their level of conflict with teachers. Second, children’s effortful control was negatively related to teacher–child conflict in classrooms with low emotional support but unrelated to conflict in classrooms with high emotional support. Third, children’s effortful control was negatively related to conflict in classrooms with high instructional support but unrelated to conflict in classrooms with low instructional support. Practice or Policy: Findings highlight the importance of considering the interplay of children’s effortful control and preschool classroom instructional and emotional support in the development of early teacher–child conflict.

Parenting experiences of cancer survivors with young children in the 2012 LIVESTRONG Survey for People Affected by Cancer.

189 Background: When a parent is diagnosed with cancer, family functioning may be disrupted, placing children at risk. Little is known, however, about the parenting experiences of cancer survivors. Methods: Among cancer survivors with children age ≤ 20 years at diagnosis (n = 2,375) in the 2012 LIVESTRONG Survey for People Affected by Cancer, we used logistic regression to model the odds that 1) children were not fully emotionally supported or that 2) cancer affected survivors’ ability to provide care for their children. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Predictors included age of youngest child at diagnosis ( ≤ 10 years versus 11-20 years), survivor report of high distress, and confidence obtaining emotional support. Models also controlled for important sociodemographic covariates. Results: Among survivors, 50% reported that their children were not fully emotionally supported, and 58% reported that cancer affected their ability to provide care for their children. Significant predictors of children not being fully emotionally supported included: government insurance (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.0-2.1); annual income ≤ $60,000 (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.3-2.1); being retired (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.2-2.4); or female (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-1.7). Significant predictors of cancer interfering with the ability to provide care for children included: female sex (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.8-2.7), survivor report of high distress (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4-2.0), having a child ≤ 10 years (OR 2.5; 95% CI 2.0-3.2), or a child who was not fully emotionally supported (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.3-1.9). Survivors with confidence in their ability to obtain emotional support were less likely to report that cancer interfered with their ability to provide care (OR 0.8; 95% CI 0.6-0.9). Conclusions: Many cancer survivors with young children at diagnosis report that cancer or its treatment affects their ability to provide care, or that their children are not fully emotionally supported. Increased attention to the psychosocial needs of parenting cancer survivors is warranted, particularly among women, those with public insurance, lower incomes, children ≤ 10 years and survivors who report high distress levels or inadequate emotional support.

The relationship between classroom quality-related variables and engagement levels in Swedish preschool classrooms: a longitudinal study

ABSTRACTChild engagement has been defined as active participation in classroom routines, appropriate interactions with the environment and it also predicts academic achievement. Therefore, it is necessary to identify predictors of engagement over time. Moreover, cross-cultural data is needed to provide a global picture of the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) across countries. This study aims to describe the quality of Swedish preschool classrooms and its relationship with students’ engagement over time. Data was collected from 165 preschool teachers in 55 preschool units in Sweden. Results show that all classroom-related variables (Emotional Support, Instructional Support and Classroom Organisation) have increased levels over time, while engagement remained stable. Three groups of preschool classroom units were identified with similar patterns of classroom quality over time (higher emotional support and lower instructional practice) and similar differences in level. Emotional Support was found to be the best predictor of student engagement over time.

Neighborhood poverty and allostatic load in African American youth.

This study was designed to determine whether living in a neighborhood in which poverty levels increase across adolescence is associated with heightened levels of allostatic load (AL), a biological composite reflecting cardiometabolic risk. The researchers also sought to determine whether receipt of emotional support could ameliorate the effects of increases in neighborhood poverty on AL. Neighborhood concentrations of poverty were obtained from the Census Bureau for 420 African American youth living in rural Georgia when they were 11 and 19 years of age. AL was measured at age 19 by using established protocols for children and adolescents. When youth were 18, caregivers reported parental emotional support and youth assessed receipt of peer and mentor emotional support. Covariates included family poverty status at ages 11 and 19, family financial stress, parental employment status, youth stress, and youths' unhealthful behaviors. Youth who lived in neighborhoods in which poverty levels increased from ages 11 to 19 evinced the highest levels of AL even after accounting for the individual-level covariates. The association of increasing neighborhood poverty across adolescence with AL was not significant for youth who received high emotional support. This study is the first to show an association between AL and residence in a neighborhood that increases in poverty. It also highlights the benefits of supportive relationships in ameliorating this association.

Perceived discrimination among African American adolescents and allostatic load: a longitudinal analysis with buffering effects.

This study was designed to examine the prospective relations of perceived racial discrimination with allostatic load (AL), along with a possible buffer of the association. A sample of 331 African Americans in the rural South provided assessments of perceived discrimination from ages 16 to 18 years. When youth were 18 years, caregivers reported parental emotional support and youth assessed peer emotional support. AL and potential confounder variables were assessed when youth were 20. Latent growth mixture modeling identified two perceived discrimination classes: high and stable, and low and increasing. Adolescents in the high and stable class evinced heightened AL even with confounder variables controlled. The racial discrimination to AL link was not significant for young adults who received high emotional support.

The relation of parent–child interaction qualities to social skills in children with and without autism spectrum disorders

This study examined associations between parent-child interactions and the development of social skills in 42 children (21 typically developing and 21 with autism spectrum disorders) between the ages of 3 years, 0 months and 6 years, 11 months. We expected that positive parent-child interaction qualities would be related to children's social skills and would mediate the negative relation between children's developmental status (typical development vs autism spectrum disorders) and social skills. Videotapes of parents and children during a 5-min wordless book task were coded for parent positive affect and emotional support as well as parent-child cohesiveness. Emotional support and cohesiveness were significantly related to children's social skills, such that higher emotional support and cohesiveness were associated with higher social skills, R (2) = .29, p = .02, and R (2) = .38, p = .002, respectively. Additionally, cohesiveness mediated the relation between children's developmental status and social skills. These findings suggest that parent emotional support and cohesiveness between parents and children positively influence children's social skills. Parent positive affect was unrelated to social skills. Implications of these findings for social skills interventions are discussed, particularly for young children with autism spectrum disorders.

The association between perceived emotional support, maternal mood, salivary cortisol, salivary cortisone, and the ratio between the two compounds in response to acute stress in second trimester pregnant women

ObjectiveLittle is known about the effect of social support on the reactivity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis during pregnancy. Moreover, when investigating the HPA axis most studies do not consider the activity of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2), an enzyme within the salivary glands that inactivates cortisol to cortisone. This study explores the association between perceived emotional support and the maternal psychobiological stress response to a standardized naturalistic stressor by assessing maternal mood and the reactivity of salivary cortisol (SalF), salivary cortisone (SalE), and the SalE/(E+F) ratio as a marker of 11β-HSD2 activity. MethodsRepeated saliva samples and measures of maternal mood were obtained from 34 healthy second trimester pregnant women undergoing amniocentesis which served as a psychological stressor. The pregnant women additionally responded to a questionnaire of perceived emotional support and provided sociodemographic (e.g., maternal educational degree) and pregnancy-specific data (e.g., planned versus unplanned pregnancy). ResultsPerceived emotional support neither showed a significant effect on mood nor on the SalF or SalE response to stress. However, a moderately strong positive association was found between perceived emotional support and SalE/(E+F) (r=.49). Additionally, the final regression analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between educational degree, planned/unplanned pregnancy and SalE/(E+F). ConclusionFindings suggest a higher metabolization of cortisol to cortisone in pregnant women with higher emotional support. In contrast, higher maternal education and unplanned pregnancy appear to be associated with decreased salivary 11β-HSD2 activity. The current study emphasizes the importance of taking the activity of 11β-HSD2 into account when examining SalF.

Patterns of Emotional Social Support and Negative Interactions among African American and Black Caribbean Extended Families.

This study examines patterns of emotional support and negative interaction (i.e., criticism, conflict) from extended family members using data on African Americans and Caribbean Blacks from the National Survey of American Life. A pattern variable was constructed that describes four types of extended family networks: (1) high emotional support and high negative interaction (ambivalent), (2) high emotional support and low negative interaction (optimal), (3) low emotional support and low negative interaction (estranged) and (4) low emotional support and high negative interaction (strained). Multi-nominal logistic regression was used to investigate the sociodemographic and familial (e.g., frequency of family contact) correlates of the patterns of extended family networks. Family closeness and contact, as well as gender, age and marital status were associated with extended family network types. Optimal family networks were associated with higher levels of family contact and closeness; women, younger adults and unmarried persons were more likely than their counterparts to have more advantageous extended family networks. Overall, findings for African Americans and Caribbean Blacks revealed both important similarities (e.g., gender, marital status, family closeness and contact) and differences (e.g., age) in the sociodemographic and familial correlates of diverse extended family networks.

Student help seeking from pastoral care in UK high schools: a qualitative study.

Little is known about high school students' perceptions of school-based pastoral support. This study aimed to explore this in the context of a high school-based emotional support project. Qualitative interviews explored perspectives on help seeking of students (N=23) and staff (N=27) in three UK high schools where a pastoral project was introduced. Data were analysed thematically. Student peer groups perceived help seeking as a sign of weakness. However, students valued learning skills in managing emotions and friendships. Staff expressed concerns about students' ability to help seek proactively, and highlighted organisational influences on pastoral support. Increasing student control over the process, and involving trusted staff, could encourage help seeking in high school. It is possible to access the views of students who do not help seek, to improve understanding of help-seeking behaviour.

Goodness of Fit Between Children and Classrooms: Effects of Child Temperament and Preschool Classroom Quality on Achievement Trajectories

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine whether child temperament differentially predicted academic school readiness depending on the quality of classroom interactions for 179 Head Start preschoolers. Teachers rated children's temperament as overcontrolled, resilient, or undercontrolled in the fall and reported on children's language/literacy and math skills continuously throughout the year. Observations of classroom emotional and instructional support were conducted in the spring. Results from multilevel models indicated that overcontrolled children (compared to resilient children) made greater math gains in classrooms with higher instructional support, whereas a trend-level effect suggested that undercontrolled children (compared to resilient children) made lower math gains in classrooms with lower emotional support. Results also showed that resilient children's gains in language/literacy were more positively associated with high emotional support than were the scores of overcontrolled children. Practice or Policy: This study adds to prior findings suggesting that overcontrolled and undercontrolled children need special attention in the preschool classroom. Teachers and administrators may want to carefully consider the effect that classroom interactions and instructional techniques have on individual children and attempt to tailor instruction to meet the individual needs of children within classrooms.

Educational Video on Palliative Care

Background. Majority of in-hospital deaths occur in the emergency department (ED) and criticalcare settings. Death often follows a failed resuscitation after a sudden-critical-event/injury or after a terminal-crisis event in aprogressive life-limiting illness-trajectory. Family-members are often unprepared and face high emotional support needs. In procedural/resuscitation-based specialties (like emergency medicine and surgery), traditional focus of trainee-education is on acquiring the technical skills associated with advanced cardiac/trauma life-support (ACLS/ATLS). Death is perceived as a professional failure, debriefing is not the norm and self-reflection after these emotionally charged resuscitations rarely addressed. To supplement the resuscitation training we designed a structured communication and self-reflection module that adds-on skills to effectively communicate with family members of critically ill/injured patients who undergo resuscitations.

School‐performance indicators and subjective health complaints: are there gender differences?

Although boys and girls are generally located in the same physical school environment, it may be experienced differently by, and have varying implications for, boys and girls. Girls like school more and achieve higher school marks, but they also perceive more school-related pressure. Based on a total sample of 8456 ninth grade pupils in Stockholm in 2004, this study uses multilevel linear regression to analyse differences between boys and girls with regard to a number of school-performance indicators (demands, motivation, teacher support and school marks) and their association with subjective health complaints. Results showed that girls perceive more demands, show greater academic motivation, perform better in school and report more emotional support from teachers than boys. In contrast, instrumental and appraisal support from teachers are more commonly reported by boys. Associations between school-performance indicators and subjective health complaints were slightly stronger for girls than for boys. Contextual variation in health complaints, especially between classes, was found only for girls. High achievement motivation and emotional teacher support in the school class was associated with better pupil health, suggesting that a positive climate in terms of motivation and support favours class health as a whole.

Social support and psychological distress in rheumatoid arthritis: a 4-year prospective study

Introduction: The objective of the study was to investigate the course of psychological distress in early rheumatoid arthritis patients and to explore the strength of its associations with disease-related variables over time. A further aim focused specifically on the associations between social support and psychological distress. Methods: The study had a longitudinal design, with four annual measurements over consecutive years. The course and stability of psychological distress on the individual level were investigated via test–retest correlation coefficients and changes over time were studied using the Friedman test for repeated measurements. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to analyze the multilinear associations of disease activity, functional disability, joint tenderness, pain and social support with psychological distress. Results: Significant cross-sectional associations were found among functional disability, joint tenderness, pain, emotional support, instrumental support and psychological distress. However, after controlling for the erratic pattern of the disease and the relevant variables, only initial psychological distress and emotional support retained a significant relationship with psychological distress. The final regression model, in which functional disability, pain, emotional support and initial psychological distress were significant variables, explained 36% of the variance in psychological distress. Conclusion: The study stresses the importance of initial psychological distress, which was found to have the highest correlation with psychological distress experienced 4 years later. In addition, higher emotional support and lower pain were found to be the only variables independently associated with lower levels of psychological distress after controlling for the relevant variables.Implications for RehabilitationPsychological distress is a relevant problem in rheumatoid arthritis patients and should be recognized early in the disease as it might reflect a lack of social resources which can be crucial in the further course of the disease.Special attention should be paid to different types of social support in relation to psychological distress, which might improve targeting psychosocial interventions.