A Cross-Sectional Study of Early Childhood Educators' Childhood and Current Food Insecurity and Dietary Intake.

In this cross-sectional study, ECEs (N=307) completed an 18-item survey regarding their role (lead vs. assistant), Education level, Program Type, and Current and Childhood Food Insecurity (FI) and Dietary Intake. ECEs in this study reported poor dietary quality and a high rate of FI. Approximately one quarter of ECEs ate fruits and vegetables more than once per day. Of participating ECEs, 34.5% indicated Current FI and 28.7% reported experiencing FI in Childhood. Differences in prevalence of Current FI were found for ECE role, Program Type, and Education (all p ≤ .03). Regression models with Childhood Dietary Intake, Childhood FI, Education, and Program Type as predictors accounted for a significant portion of variance in Current Dietary outcomes. In both models, Childhood Dietary Intake was uniquely predictive (p < .001) although Program Type was not. Future training and education efforts for ECEs should consider including specific resources to assess and reduce ECE FI and provide practical support for healthy eating on a budget. Additional research is needed to determine the impact of ECE FI on a variety of educator and child outcomes.

Technology use and interest among low-income parents of young children: differences by age group and ethnicity.

OBJECTIVE: To examine demographic differences in frequency of use of technologies and interest in receiving nutrition information via technology by low-income parents and caregivers. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. SETTING: Head Start and state-funded child care programs. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 806 parents and caregivers from low-income families. VARIABLES MEASURED: A 20-item survey assessed frequency of use and interest in technologies (dependent variables) and collected participant age and ethnicity (independent variables). ANALYSIS: Multivariate ANOVA analysis investigated whether age, ethnicity, and their interactions were related to frequency of use and interest in technology types. RESULTS: Daily rates of usage for Internet, text messaging, and cell phone use were over 60%. However, Twitter and blogs were accessed daily by < 13% of respondents. The omnibus 2-way interaction of ethnicity and age was nonsignificant. However, main effects for ethnicity (Wilks' λ = .85; F = 3.13; P < .001) and age (Wilks' λ = .89; F = 2.29; P < .001) were observed. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Facebook, e-mail, texting, and smartphone applications may be innovative modalities to engage with low-income parents and caregivers aged ≤ 45. However, some strategies may be ineffective for reaching Hispanic families as they reported less use of the Internet, Facebook, and e-mail as well as less interest in e-mail.

Low-level depressive symptoms reduce maternal support for child cognitive development.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between low-level depressive symptoms in mothers and their support for child cognitive development. METHODS: Participants included 913 low-income mothers of preschool-age children who were screened for maternal depression and interviewed about support for learning in the child's home environment. RESULTS: Of the 770 mothers in the analysis, 21.5% reported low-level depressive symptoms (below the cutoff on the screening tool indicating clinically elevated symptoms). Logistic regression analyses revealed that children of mothers with low-level depressive symptoms were significantly less likely to experience six of seven types of support for learning compared with children of mothers with no depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that children whose mothers experience even low-level depressive symptoms are less likely to receive important supports for cognitive development and school readiness, pointing to the need for screening and interventions to address maternal depression at all levels of severity.

Maternal low- and high-depressive symptoms and safety concerns for low-income preschool children.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to examine the relationship between low- and high-level depressive symptoms in mothers' and children's risks in the areas of home and car safety, monitoring, and exposure to violence. METHODS: Participants included 978 mothers of preschool-age children who were interviewed about their home environment and screened for maternal depression. RESULTS: Whereas only 5.7% scored at high depressive levels on the screen, another 21.3% scored at low depressive levels. Logistic regression analyses controlling for demographics revealed that children were significantly more likely to experience home safety risks in 6 of 7 areas when mothers reported either low or high levels of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that children whose mothers experience even low-level depressive symptoms are at increased risk for safety problems in the home environment, pointing to the need for screening and interventions to reduce the risk of injury.

Psychological traumas of war: training school counselors as home-front responders.

PURPOSE: With nearly 3 million U.S. troops having deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) since the conflicts began, an estimated 2 million children have been separated from a parent. This manuscript describes a collaborative project between a state's Veterans Healthcare System, a branch of the American Counseling Association, and a medical university on the OEF/OIF/OND deployment experience. METHODS: The project sought to educate school counselors about experiences of OEF/OIF/OND families and learn from their observations as home-front responders in public schools during a 2-day summer workshop. This manuscript describes the framework of the workshop, pre/post evaluation results, and implications for counselors, educators, and supervisors. FINDINGS: School counselors identified childcare and parenting, emotions and behaviors, finances, and barriers to counseling services as challenges for military children and families. Following the workshop, school counselors reported a greater knowledge concerning understanding aspects of outreach for schools and communities in working with veterans and their families. They also reported a better understanding of the impact of war on military families and knowledge of local and state resources for this population. Specifically, attendees felt they could better identify issues and needs of OEF/OIF/OND families with young children, recommend parenting skills to assist these families, and recognize their psychiatric or medical issues. CONCLUSION: In addressing the mental health disparities of military children experiencing combat-related parental separation, it is important to identify protective environments that could provide prevention interventions for this population. Collaboration between the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Department of Education could help support military families and a society facing continued conflicts abroad.

Voucher-based incentives for cigarette smoking reduction in a women's residential treatment program.

Participants were women (N = 16) living with their children in a residential substance abuse treatment facility. In this within-subjects repeated measures study, a 1-week baseline was followed by a 4-week intervention and a 2-week follow-up (same as the baseline). The intervention consisted of exposure to an educational video and a smoking cessation workbook, brief individual support meetings, and an escalating schedule of voucher-based reinforcement of abstinence. Throughout the study, three daily breath samples (8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m.) were collected Monday through Friday to determine carbon monoxide (CO) concentration. In addition, urine cotinine (COT) was assessed on Monday mornings to monitor weekend tobacco use. Participants received vouchers of escalating value for CO-negative breath and COT-negative urine samples. Positive samples reset the voucher value. Significantly more negative tests were submitted during the intervention than during baseline and follow-up. The intensive behavioral intervention evaluated in this study produced a substantial reduction in cigarette smoking, and 25% of participants remained abstinent 2 weeks after the intervention was suspended. Nevertheless, the percentage of CO-negative samples submitted during the follow-up returned to baseline levels. While retaining many real-world characteristics, residential treatment facilities provide important opportunities for smoking cessation treatment and research.