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Background: Because traumatic life experiences are common, teaching and learning can be difficult without recognizing how trauma can make people feel psychologically unsafe. Safety can be restored through healthy relationships. Contributions to Theory: We present a framework for how relational health--the capacity to develop and maintain safe, stable, and nurturing relationships with others--may allow flourishing in school communities, even amidst past and ongoing adversity. We propose four key assets for relational health--awareness of self, acceptance of self, awareness of others, and acceptance of others. To support this framework, we developed a relational asset score using data from a survey of 214 early childhood education professionals and examined its association with meaningful work, purpose in life, work satisfaction, and intention to stay in one's program. Implications for School Health: School health requires relational health. Research should evaluate the associations between relational assets and the perceptions of safety and connection in school communities. Leadership can prioritize relational health by supporting staff in building and using their relational assets. Conclusions: School communities may be more likely to flourish, even amidst adversity, if all adults in the community prioritize relational health, which provides the psychological safety required for teaching and learning.

We aimed to determine whether early adolescents who report higher levels of teacher connection have a greater prevalence of flourishing and whether this association is present across levels of parent connection. We analyzed cross-sectional data, collected in the International Survey of Children's Well-Being (2016–2019), from 33,269 11- to 13-year-olds in 25 countries. The teacher connection score, analyzed as quartiles, asked about care, support, and respect from teachers. The flourishing score (range 0–10) was based on items about self-acceptance, purpose in life, positive relations, growth, environmental mastery, and autonomy. The prevalence (95% confidence interval) of flourishing (score > 8) was 66.0% (65.4%, 66.5%). The covariate-adjusted difference in flourishing prevalence between those in highest and lowest quartiles of teacher connection was 26.8% (25.2%, 28.5%). This difference was similar across groups with varying levels of parent connection. Teacher connection may contribute to adolescent flourishing, in addition to academic achievement and the avoidance of negative outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether child maltreatment is associated with obesity in preschool children. Methods: Data were obtained from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth cohort study of 4898 children born between 1998 and 2000 in 20 large US cities. At 3 years of age, 2412 of these children had their height and weight measured, and mothers answered items on the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales about three types of child maltreatment--neglect, corporal punishment, and psychological aggression. The frequency of each type of maltreatment behavior in the prior year was analyzed using categories--ever/never for neglect and quintiles for the other two types of maltreatment. Child obesity was defined as measured body mass index (kg/m[superscript 2]) [greater than or equal] 95th percentile. Results: Eighteen percent of the children were obese, and the prevalence of any episode of neglect, corporal punishment, and psychological aggression was 11%, 84%, and 93%, respectively. The odds of obesity were increased in children who had experienced neglect (odds ratio 1.56, 95% confidence interval, 1.14-2.14), after controlling for the income and number of children in the household, the mothers' race/ethnicity, education, marital status, body mass index, prenatal smoking, and age, and the children's sex and birth weight. Neither the frequency of corporal punishment nor psychological aggression was associated with an increased risk of obesity. Conclusions: In a sample of preschool children from 20 large US cities, maternal self-report of neglectful behavior was associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity, after controlling for birth weight, maternal obesity, and multiple socioeconomic factors.