Early childhood and the pre-school stage of development constitute a dynamic period for acquisition of social-emotional competencies. Yoga and mindfulness practices (YMP) have become increasingly used in schools for social emotional learning, but less is known about their utility in early childhood settings. A systematic review using PRISMA guidelines was undertaken to explore the effect of YMP on social emotional function among preschool-aged children (3–5 years). The review resulted in identification of 1115 records, of which 80 full text articles were screened, with final inclusion of 16 studies. Included studies evaluated the effect of YMP on social-emotional functioning, and identified the potential for YMP to improve regulatory skills such as behavioral self-regulation and executive function. Among studies reviewed, 13 reported improvements in these domains, but quality appraisal indicated significant variability in risk of bias across studies, and heterogeneity of outcome measurements hindered comparison. Programs appeared to produce better results when implemented for at least 6 weeks and among children who had lower baseline social-emotional functioning. YMP constitute a promising strategy for social emotional development in early childhood settings, but additional rigorously designed studies are needed to expand understanding of how and why these programs are effective.
Young women aged 18 to 24 years are in the highest risk group for intimate partner violence (IPV), and adolescent mothers are at particularly high risk for IPV and for risky health behaviors. Exposure to IPV may contribute to parenting stress and risky behaviors, and may compromise parenting behavior and healthy child development. The present study examined whether program effects of a statewide home visiting program for adolescent parents on young mothers' parenting stress and risky behaviors measured 2 years post program enrollment were mediated by program effects on their exposure to IPV measured 1 year post enrollment. Using longitudinal data from a subsample of young mothers ( n = 448; 58% program, 42% control) who participated in a randomized controlled trial evaluation of a statewide home visiting program, Healthy Families Massachusetts (HFM), we estimated path analyses to examine whether home visiting program effects observed on IPV mediated home visiting program effects on subsequent assessments of parenting distress and mothers' risky behaviors. Findings indicated that IPV mediated associations between home visiting program effects on mothers' parenting distress and risky behavior. Although most newborn home visiting programs do not have an explicitly stated goal of reducing IPV, helping mothers and their partners to reduce violent behavior can have further-reaching impacts on other key goals of home visiting programs, such as parenting stress and risky behaviors.
The ways that parents respond to children's negative emotions shape the development of self‐regulation across early childhood. The objective of this study was to examine child self‐regulation in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure in a sample of Black, economically marginalized mothers and their young children (aged 3–5 years, N = 99). The study investigates the conditional effects of emotion socialization practices that (1) encourage expression of and problem‐solving around negative affect (“supportive”), and (2) encourage suppression of affective displays (“suppressive”) on children's self‐regulation. We found a significant association between higher child self‐regulation and supportive parental reactions in the context of psychological IPV. We also found a significant association between higher child self‐regulation and suppressive parental reactions in the context of psychological IPV. Our findings are consistent with prior research suggesting Black parents who teach varied strategies for emotional expression may promote children's adaptation in high‐stress family environments. Macrosystem factors such as systemic racism and discrimination as well as the threat of family violence may shape how parents approach emotion socialization and the teaching of affective self‐expression and self‐regulation.
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