Building BRIDGES: A Brief School Readiness Intervention Designed to Guide Families Transitioning from Early Head Start to Head Start

The transition into the early school years is a salient developmental milestone, which lays the groundwork for later school success. Parent involvement in children’s development and early learning experiences has been widely examined and identified as a strong predictor of children’s school readiness. Therefore, promoting positive parent involvement during the early school years and during developmental transitions is key to children’s later school success. Recognizing the importance of early school success, several programs have been developed to support children and families in the transition to kindergarten. Yet, as early as preschool, a number of children display significant behavioral and academic difficulties, placing them at risk for later school failure. Specifically, young children living in poverty, are at an increased risk for behavioral and academic problems. Given that children’s school readiness skills, especially academic achievement, remain relatively stable after the first years of school underscores the importance of intervening earlier, before problems arise. Thus, enhancing parents’ skills and supports in promoting school readiness in young children during earlier key transitions to school may bolster later school readiness. With the outbreak of COVID-19, increases in financial insecurity, psychological distress, and disruptions to typical school have been widely observed. Although COVID-19 has pervasive impact, families of ethnic minority backgrounds and of low-income have been particularly vulnerable during this crisis. Moreover, the shift to virtual schooling further increased the demands placed on parents, further highlighting the need to support families in preparation for their transition back to schools, in an effort to prevent further difficulties related to children’s school readiness and social-emotional well-being. Using a randomized design (n=30; 15 families per condition) with structured observations and assessments (pre-and post-intervention and 3-month follow-up), this study aimed to: (1) Adapt a school readiness parenting program for families transitioning from Early Head Start (EHS) to HS; (2) Investigate the acceptability and feasibility of the program delivered via telehealth; and (3) Evaluate the initial efficacy of the program in improving positive parental involvement, home learning, and children’s social-emotional outcomes. Results from the randomized trial and implications for future development and dissemination will be discussed

Quantitative autistic trait measurements index background genetic risk for ASD in Hispanic families

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have indicated that quantitative autistic traits (QATs) of parents reflect inherited liabilities that may index background genetic risk for clinical autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their offspring. Moreover, preferential mating for QATs has been observed as a potential factor in concentrating autistic liabilities in some families across generations. Heretofore, intergenerational studies of QATs have focused almost exclusively on Caucasian populations—the present study explored these phenomena in a well-characterized Hispanic population. METHODS: The present study examined QAT scores in siblings and parents of 83 Hispanic probands meeting research diagnostic criteria for ASD, and 64 non-ASD controls, using the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2). Ancestry of the probands was characterized by genotype, using information from 541,929 single nucleotide polymorphic markers. RESULTS: In families of Hispanic children with an ASD diagnosis, the pattern of quantitative trait correlations observed between ASD-affected children and their first-degree relatives (ICCs on the order of 0.20), between unaffected first-degree relatives in ASD-affected families (sibling/mother ICC = 0.36; sibling/father ICC = 0.53), and between spouses (mother/father ICC = 0.48) were in keeping with the influence of transmitted background genetic risk and strong preferential mating for variation in quantitative autistic trait burden. Results from analysis of ancestry-informative genetic markers among probands in this sample were consistent with that from other Hispanic populations. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative autistic traits represent measurable indices of inherited liability to ASD in Hispanic families. The accumulation of autistic traits occurs within generations, between spouses, and across generations, among Hispanic families affected by ASD. The occurrence of preferential mating for QATs—the magnitude of which may vary across cultures—constitutes a mechanism by which background genetic liability for ASD can accumulate in a given family in successive generations

Emergency Preparedness: Knowledge and Perceptions of Latin American Immigrants

This paper describes the level of public emergency knowledge and perceptions of risks among Latin American immigrants, and their preferred and actual sources of emergency preparedness information (including warning signals). Five Latino community member focus groups, and one focus group of community health workers, were conducted in a suburban county of Washington D.C. (N51). Participants came from 13 Latin American countries, and 64.7% immigrated during the previous five years. Participants had difficulty defining emergency and reported a wide range of perceived personal emergency risks: immigration problems; crime, personal insecurity, gangs; home/traffic accidents; home fires; environmental problems; and snipers. As in previous studies, few participants had received information on emergency preparedness, and most did not have an emergency plan. Findings regarding key messages and motivating factors can be used to develop clear, prioritized messages for communication regarding emergencies and emergency preparedness for Latin American immigrant communities in the U.S

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

Riesgo Y Resilienca: Exploring the Role of Parenting Stress and Self-efficacy on Young Latino Children\u27s Well-being and Home Learning Experiences during COVID-19

The current study explored the associations between parenting stress and p\arental self-efficacy on children\u27s social-emotional functioning and home learning practices among Latino families. Families were recruited as part of a pilot study of a parent-focused school readiness intervention that was conducted via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample was comprised of children (Mage = 3.02 years; 64% male) enrolled in Early Head Start, and their parents (97% biological mothers). At baseline, parents reported on family demography, parenting stress, involvement in home learning activities (i.e., literacy and math), their self-efficacy in managing a range of situations related to raising young children, and children\u27s social-emotional functioning. Study findings indicated that parenting stress was negatively associated with parent\u27s home literacy involvement, but not with home math involvement. Results also indicated that parental self-efficacy moderated the relationship between parenting stress and children\u27s social-emotional functioning, specifically externalizing and internalizing problems. Lastly, results indicated a positive association between parenting stress and children\u27s adaptive skills. Findings from the current study help elucidate our understanding of the psychological well-being of young Latino children and families during COVID-19, and will potentially inform future efforts aimed at supporting Latino parents\u27 well-being and children\u27s early learning experiences during a global health crisis

The Role of Home Language in Relation to Executive Function and Oral Reading Fluency in Young Latino Children

Young children who have a successful transition to school have better attention, working memory, and behavioral inhibition (Ponitz, et al., 2009). Children with mastery of these skills go on to have better academic outcomes, particularly in the acquisition of early literacy skills (McClelland et al., 2007). Emergent literacy skills (i.e. phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge) have been identified as early predictors of later academic success (Smith, Borkowski, & Whitman, 2008). Of these emergent literacy skills, oral reading fluency (ORF) has been shown to be a significant predictor of children’s reading proficiency (Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp, & Jenkins, 2001). This is distinctively salient for young Latino children who have been shown to fall behind in their reading skills as early as kindergarten entry (Reardon & Galindo, 2009). Given the increase in Latino children entering kindergarten, some attention has focused on the impact of language and executive function (EF). Previous work on young bilingual Latino children has demonstrated superior EF skills as compared to monolingual children (Carlson & Meltzoff, 2008), although similar findings have not been consistently replicated. This highlights the importance of understanding additional factors that may impact Latino children’s outcomes. One such factor, is the impact of home language (HL). Previous work suggests that usage of a language other than English at home is negatively associated with literacy outcomes in English (Kennedy & Park, 1994). However, little research has explored variations in HL in a sample of young children, in relation to EF and ORF. Study sample consisted of 537 children (Mage=5.87, SD=.81, 48.1% male;) entering grades K and 1st across community summer programs. One-minute, Curriculum-Based Measure probes (CBM; Fuchs et al., 2001) were used to assess children’s ORF. The Head, Toes, Knees, and Shoulders task (HTKS; Ponitz et al., 2008), a well-established brief ecologically valid assessment of children’s EF was also administered. The task is administered as a short game with up to four paired behavioral rules: “touch your head” and “touch your toes;” “touch your shoulders” and “touch your knees.” Children first respond naturally, and then are instructed to switch rules by responding the “opposite” way. There are 20 test items, where responses are scored on a three-point scale; 0 = incorrect, 1= self-correct, and 2= correct, with scores ranging from 0-40. Parents reported on the languages spoken at home and were grouped as English-only (n=117), Spanish-only (n=229), and both (n=191).A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that there was a significant interaction effect between children’s EF and HL on children’s ORF (=-.39, t(533)=-3.52, p\u3c.001, 95% CI [-.02,-.01], after controlling for child age and income. Specifically, children whose HL was English demonstrated greater EF skills, which was related to better ORF, as compared to children whose HL was Spanish (t=-2.27, b=-5.99, p\u3e.02). There were no other statistically significant differences found.These findings demonstrate the importance of considering the variation in HL in a sample of dual language speaking Latino children as it relates to EF and ORF. The implications of these findings for early intervention in literacy will be discussed

Latino Parent Involvement and Associations with Home Literacy and Oral Reading Fluency

OBJECTIVE: Grounded in Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler\u27s theoretical model of parents\u27 motivations for involvement in their children\u27s education, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between Latino parents\u27 perceptions of involvement and the home literacy environment, as well as children\u27s oral reading fluency (ORF). We further considered salient contextual factors (i.e., educational attainment, income status, and parent reading proficiency) that may impact parents\u27 perceptions of involvement. METHOD: The sample included 730 young Latino children (Mage = 6.47, SD = 1.13; 49.9% male) and their caregivers attending summer camps that participated in a summer reading intervention program. Prior to intervention delivery, parents completed questionnaires regarding general family demography, parent perceptions of involvement, and the home literacy environment. Standardized curriculum-based measures of children\u27s ORF were conducted by trained research staff. RESULTS: Results indicated that Latino parents\u27 perceptions of involvement were associated with children\u27s ORF and aspects of their home literacy involvement, even when accounting for parents\u27 income, education level and self-reported reading proficiency. Regarding income status, families from higher income backgrounds perceived having more time and energy, and were more involved, as compared to families from lower income backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study suggest that Latino parents\u27 perceptions not only influence their home literacy involvement, but also their young children\u27s ORF, even when accounting for contextual factors. Implications for practice and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Examining Executive Functioning and Early Literacy Skills for Young Children At-Risk for Reading Failure

Young children with a successful transition from preschool to elementary have better attention, working memory, and behavioral inhibition (Blair & Razza, 2007; Ponitz, McClelland, Matthews, & Morrison, 2009). Children with mastery of these skills have better academic outcomes, particularly in literacy (McClelland et al., 2007). Emergent literacy skills, (i.e. phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge) have also been identified as early predictors of academic success (Smith, Borkowski, & Whitman, 2008). Specifically, letter name and letter sound fluency at kindergarten entry has a strong association with children’s reading (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2001). However, most studies focused on elementary-aged children, who have already had the opportunity to develop these regulatory and early literacy skills in a formal classroom setting (Shaul & Schwartz, 2014), and not within the context of a reading intervention program. Therefore, this study examined change in executive function and early literacy skills pre-to post-intervention, as well as the relationship between executive function and early literacy skills in young children at-risk for reading failure.Study sample consisted of 331 children (Mage=6.03, SD=.63, 52% male; 54.8% Hispanic) entering grades K-1st across community summer programs that participated in a reading intervention, Summer Reading Explorers (Hart et al., under review). The intervention aimed to increase emergent literacy skills for children at-risk or below reading proficiency. Students received 30-minute tutoring sessions by a certified teacher in small groups of same grade level and similar ability for six weeks. Curriculum-Based Measurement one-minute probes (CBM; Fuchs et al., 2001) were used to assess children’s letter name fluency (LNF) and letter sound fluency (LSF) pre- and post-intervention. The Head, Toes, Knees, and Shoulders task (HTKS; Ponitz et al., 2008), a brief well-established assessment of children’s executive function (EF) was administered pre- and post-intervention. The task is administered as a game with up to four paired behavioral rules: “touch your head” and “touch your toes;” “touch your shoulders” and “touch your knees.” Children first respond naturally, then are instructed to switch rules by responding the “opposite” way. There are 20 test items, where responses are scored on a three-point scale (0-incorrect, 1-self-correct, and 2-correct), with scores ranging from 0-40.Paired samples t-tests revealed, kindergarteners and 1st graders significantly improved their LNF and LSF (ps\u3c .001), pre- to post-intervention. However, only kindergarteners significantly improved their EF (p\u3c.001). Regression analyses revealed that pre-intervention, EF was significantly related to LSF for kindergartners, (B=.08, t(104)=3.35, p\u3c .001), and 1st graders, (B=.02, t(225)=2.34, p=.02), after controlling for child age. No significant relation was found between EF and LNF (ps\u3e.05), nor between pre-intervention EF and post-intervention LNF and LSF, across grades (ps\u3e.05), after controlling for child age and baseline LNF/LSF. Please see Table 1 for results.These findings demonstrate that better EF is related to better LSF in young children, prior to intervention. Additively, findings suggest that young children at-risk or below reading proficiency can make significant gains in their literacy skills and EF for entering kindergarteners, through a summer intervention program. The implications of these findings for early intervention in literacy will be discussed