Kyong-Ah Kwon

Early Head Start Relationships: Association with Program Outcomes.

Research Findings: Interpersonal relationships among staff caregivers, parents, and children have been recommended as essential aspects of early childhood intervention. This study explored the associations of these relationships with program outcomes for children and parents in 3 Early Head Start programs. A total of 71 children (8–35 months, M = 20), their parents, and 33 program caregivers participated. The results showed that caregiver–child relationships were moderately positive, secure, and interactive and improved in quality over 6 months, whereas caregiver–parent relationships were generally positive and temporally stable. Caregiver–child relationships were more positive for girls, younger children, and those in home-visiting programs. Caregiver–parent relationships were more positive when parents had higher education levels and when staff had more years of experience, had more positive work environments, or had attained a Child Development Associate credential or associates level of education rather than a 4-year academic degree. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis suggested that the quality of the caregiver–parent relationship was a stronger predictor of both child and parent outcomes than was the quality of the caregiver–child relationship. There were also moderation effects: Stronger associations of caregiver–parent relationships with observed positive parenting were seen in parents with lower education levels and when program caregivers had higher levels of education. Practice or Policy: The results support the importance of caregiver–family relationships in early intervention programs and suggest that staff need to be prepared to build relationships with children and families in individualized ways. Limitations of this study and implications for program improvements and future research are discussed.

Mothers' and fathers' parenting challenges, strategies, and resources in toddlerhood

This study examined mothers’ and fathers’ parenting challenges and strategies/resources used when parenting toddlers. Through a qualitative interview protocol, implemented with mothers and fathers separately at a university laboratory, this study found that both fathers and mothers appeared to be transitioning from traditional gender roles towards co-parenting practices. Thirty-eight, mostly Caucasian and middle-class, mothers and fathers of toddlers reported many similarities in parenting challenges, coping strategies, and resource use. Common sources of parenting stress for both mothers and fathers were developmental and behavioural concerns about their toddler and time management concerns in balancing between various responsibilities. Some fathers reported difficulty and less perceived competence in taking care of children during daily routines than did mothers. Mothers used a greater variety of emotion regulation strategies than fathers did. These strategies, which included support-seeking from more diverse sources (e.g. families, friends, books), were used to reduce their stress. Implications for the content and delivery methods of co-parenting and parenting education programmes are discussed.

Predictors of Academic Procrastination in Asian International College Students

This study examined the relationships among acculturative stress, coping styles, self-efficacy, English language proficiency, and various demographic characteristics as predictors of procrastination behavior in Asian International students (N = 255) studying in the United States. Results of multiple logistic regression indicated that a collective coping style, avoidant coping style, academic self-efficacy, and English language proficiency were the significant predictors of academic procrastination in non-Indian Asian international students. Implications for college student affairs professionals and researchers are addressed.

Child Maltreatment in United States: An Examination of Child Reports and Substantiation Rates

Child maltreatment represents a serious threat to childrens rights and is a grave problem in the US and around the world. It is the second leading cause of death for children in the US. Each year, hundreds of thousands of reports are made to child protective services across the US. A fraction of these reports are made by the alleged victims of child maltreatment. While research into maltreatment reporting has generally focused on adult reporters, research on reports made by children themselves has been largely ignored. Data from a national child maltreatment reporting system were analyzed to first describe and then compare reports of maltreatment made by the alleged child victim to other adult reporters. Results indicated that a minority of self-reports are substantiated by child protective services and that the type of maltreatment most often reported by the alleged child victim differed significantly from other adult reporters. Differences related to the gender, race and ethnicity of the child reporter were also found.

Links among coparenting quality, parental gentle guidance, and toddlers’ social emotional competencies: Testing direct, mediational, and moderational models

Abstract The present study examined three hypothesized models that describe associations among coparenting quality (as perceived by both parents), parents’ gentle guidance, and toddlers’ social emotional competencies: (a) direct associations; (b) mediational associations (coparenting quality is associated with toddlers’ social emotional competencies through individual parents’ gentle guidance); and (c) moderational associations (co-parenting quality moderates the relations between parents’ gentle guidance and toddlers’ social emotional competencies). Sixty-seven mostly middle-class, two-parent families with toddlers were observed in a laboratory setting. Parents completed a questionnaire describing their perceived coparenting quality and their children’s social emotional competencies. As hypothesized, there was evidence for a mediational association of coparenting quality with toddlers’ social emotional competencies through mothers’ gentle guidance but not fathers’ gentle guidance. The direct and moderational models of associations between coparenting quality and children’s social emotional competencies were not supported by the data.