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• Spanish-speaking children's effortful control in preschool was indirectly and positively associated with their later English vocabulary and letter-word skills. • The association between Spanish-speaking children's effortful control and English vocabulary and letter-word skills was mediated through close teacher-child relationships and classroom engagement. • Effortful control was positively associated with Spanish-speaking preschoolers' vocabulary and letter-word skills in English. We examined the association between Spanish-speaking preschoolers' (N = 137; M age = 53 months; SD = 4 months; 53% boys) effortful control (EC) and English vocabulary and letter-word skills. We also examined whether close teacher-child relationships and classroom engagement mediated the association between EC and English vocabulary and letter-word skills and whether that mediated association varied based on parents' and preschoolers' English use at home. Data were gathered using teacher and parent surveys and child standardized assessments. The results revealed a positive association between preschoolers' EC in the fall of preschool and their English vocabulary and letter-word skills in the following spring. The association was mediated through close teacher-child relationships and classroom engagement, but only at certain levels of parents' and preschoolers' English use at home. The findings highlight the important role that EC may play in fostering Spanish-speaking preschoolers' English skills and the classroom socioemotional processes by which that association operates as a function of their linguistic experiences in English at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested a mediated-moderation model examining the association between Latina mothers' parenting stress and depression and children's academic skills approximately 4 years later, prior to kindergarten entry, whether mothers' positive parenting behaviors and children's self-regulation mediated those associations, and whether the mediated associations varied based on mothers' education. Participants were 714 low-income Latina mothers (M age at enrollment = 24 years; 78% Mexican; 59% foreign-born) and children (53% boys). Data were gathered across four time points: when the children were approximately 14, 24, and 36 months of age, and prior to kindergarten entry. Results revealed an inverse association between mothers' parenting stress and depression and children's academic skills mediated via parenting behaviors but only at certain maternal education levels. The findings highlight family processes by which Latina mothers who experience parenting stress and depression may adversely impact children's academic readiness for kindergarten, and how maternal education may buffer that association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the extent to which positive interactions with peers and the amount of English exposure received from them during social interactions in the fall of preschool contributed to low-income Spanish-speaking children's ( N = 107; M age = 53 months; SD = 4.30 months; 56% boys) English vocabulary and letter-word skills in the spring (controlling for parents’ language use, family income, number of English books at home, and children's nonverbal cognitive abilities). We also examined the mediating roles of children's learning behaviors (e.g., attentiveness, independence, initiative, persistence, and participation) and English oral proficiency in the classroom. The association between positive peer interactions and English vocabulary skills was mediated by children's English oral proficiency, whereas the association between positive peer interactions and English letter-word skills was mediated by children's learning behaviors and English oral proficiency. The associations among peer English exposure and children's English vocabulary and letter-word skills were mediated by children's English oral proficiency. There was also evidence of a transactional association between positive peer interactions and children's learning behaviors and between peers’ and children's English oral proficiency. The findings highlight the importance of peer experiences in fostering Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ English vocabulary and letter-word skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We examined the role of the teacher–child relationship quality (close, dependent, and conflictive) on preschoolers’ (N =95) academic readiness for kindergarten, and we tested children''s prosocial and aggressive behavior and peer group exclusion as mediators of this relation. A unique feature of this study is the ethnically and socio-economically diverse preschool-aged sample. The association between close teacher–child relationships and academic readiness was partially mediated by prosocial behavior and peer group exclusion. There was also evidence of a transactional association between close teacher–child relationships and children''s behavior. Additionally, children''s behavior and peer group exclusion mediated the relation between negative teacher–child relationships (dependent and conflictive) and academic readiness. The findings suggest that teacher training, education, and support for establishing close teacher–child relationships may maximize preschoolers’ academic readiness by promoting social adaptation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Engagement in social pretense predicted preschoolers' inhibitory control growth. • Gains associated with social pretense held controlling for other forms of social play. • Solitary pretense did not predict gains in inhibitory control. Recent experimental evidence suggests that engaging in pretend play can improve children's executive functions (EFs). Yet, evidence regarding how play relates to the development of EF remains sparse. The current study investigated whether preschoolers' social and solitary pretend play over the course of one preschool year predicted growth in inhibitory control, a key component of EF. Participants were 132 Spanish-speaking preschoolers (M age = 53 months) from 10 Head Start classrooms in the southwest United States. Multiple 15-s naturalistic observations of children's interactions (e.g., social, solitary) and activities (e.g., pretense, non-pretense) were gathered across free-play classroom contexts. Among observed play behaviors, social pretense was the only predictor of inhibitory control growth in preschool contexts. The current study speaks to the importance of continued research on play-based interventions, especially in diverse populations, and corroborates a growing body of theoretical and empirical evidence for the importance of pretend play in the development of EF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the indirect relations between maternal parenting stress when children were 15months of age and children’s vocabulary and academic skills when they were about to enter kindergarten, testing for potential mediation by mother-child closeness and children’s self-regulation skills. Participants had been involved in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project and included 1760 European American, African American, and Hispanic low-income mother-child dyads. Structural equation modeling revealed that mothers’ parenting stress when children were 15 months old was inversely related to children’s vocabulary and academic skills just prior to kindergarten, and that mother-child closeness at 25 months and children’s pre-kindergarten self-regulation skills consecutively mediated these associations in a three-path mediation model. The findings highlight the benefits of mother-child closeness in toddlerhood, and negative implications of maternal parenting stress. The discussion focuses on how maternal parenting stress is related to later maternal behavior, ultimately shaping child outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis aimed to quantify the association between childhood SEP and later-life cognitive functioning and identify possible moderators. We conducted random-effects meta-analyses of 39 reports, contributing 49 independent subsamples from 229,824 respondents. Moderators were analyzed using meta-regression and subgroup analyses. There was a small, positive correlation between childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and cognitive functioning in older adulthood across the overall summary effect (r = 0.161), global cognitive functioning (r = 0.183), verbal episodic memory (r = 0.148), verbal fluency (r = 0.196), and processing speed (r = 0.130), but not inhibition (r = 0.058). An older mean sample age was linked with a weaker correlation for the overall summary effect and verbal episodic memory. Higher sample education was a significant moderator for verbal episodic memory only, such that the association between childhood SEP and verbal episodic memory was weaker at higher levels of education. Across all domains, mother's education was more strongly linked with cognitive functioning than other SEP constructs were. There was no significant moderation by gender, national income inequality, study design (whether prospective or retrospective), or the age of the childhood SEP measure (ages 0–4 or 9–15). Minimal publication bias was present. The socioeconomic conditions of one's childhood are related to cognitive performance in older adulthood. Policymakers should consider legislation and programs to improve circumstances for low-income children and families, particularly those that increase women's educational access, as targets for improving cognitive outcomes in later life. • Childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) is positively correlated with later-life cognitive functioning. • Older age and higher education weaken this correlation for some cognitive domains. • This correlation is strongest when SEP is measured as maternal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pretend play in preschool predicted executive function in first grade. • Pretend play also moderated the relationship between risk and executive function. • Pretend play positively predicted executive function in high risk populations. Growing evidence highlights the importance of executive functions (EFs) for optimal development. Unfortunately, existing literature documents compounding deficits in EF due to the stressors associated with poverty. Recent research supports a positive relationship between pretense and EF, but few studies have examined the longitudinal association between these variables in a low-income sample. As such, the current study investigated whether pretend play behaviors among a sample of 191 Head Start preschoolers predicted EF outcomes in first grade, and whether pretend play mitigated the adverse consequences of cumulative risk on children's EF development. Results revealed a positive, prospective relationship between pretense in preschool and EF in first grade. In addition, pretend play moderated a negative association between cumulative risk in preschool and EF outcomes in first grade, with the association being weaker for children who engaged in more pretend play relative to those who engaged in less pretend play. Follow-up analyses suggest that pretend play may be particularly important for the inhibitory control aspect of EF in this sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in child care environments has raised a public concern. This study aimed to characterize indoor VOCs in four facilities of Head Start programs in Kansas city, Missouri, investigate seasonal and spatial variations in VOC levels, and assess health risks associated with children's VOC exposure. In total, 49 VOCs including aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, glycol ethers, esters and chlorinated hydrocarbons were identified and quantified in the facilities. Significant differences were noted for the VOC concentrations among the facilities. Toluene was the most abundant aromatic hydrocarbon detected in all the air samples, with a narrow median concentration range of 2.17–3.07 μg/m3. 2-(2-Methoxyethoxy)ethanol never reported in prior research was detected in only one facility in this study, with the median (range) concentration of 0.83 (