Psychology
The Well-Being of Parents with Children Who Attend a Center-Based Preschool Program: Implications for Parental Involvement
Document Type
Poster Presentation
Start Date
10-4-2015 11:30 AM
End Date
10-4-2015 1:00 PM
Sponsor
Jill Walls (Ball State University)
Description
In addition to high quality childcare, greater parental involvement in children's school-based experiences and communication with children's teachers have been linked to better academic outcomes for young children, including school readiness. The extent to which parents are involved in the school context is likely influenced, to some extent, by parents' psychological functioning. Understanding the daily lives (and stressors) of parents of young children is important for childcare providers and practitioners alike. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine associations between parents' exposure to daily and context specific stressors and indicators of psychological well-being. Families served by a local preschool program were recruited for the sample. The sample consists of 19 families (we have data for 19 mothers and 15 fathers). Study participants provided demographic information and responded to questions about their jobs, marital quality, coping strategies, and several indicators of psychological well-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, general mood). Parents also completed daily stress and mood inventories across multiple days. The focus of the results section for this poster presentation will be mainly descriptive; we will provide frequencies, ranges, and mean scores on all stress and well-being measures as well as some preliminary analyses of relationships between variables (e.g., correlations and t-tests with adjustments for sample size). Results from this pilot study can inform future research employing larger samples of families with preschoolers.
The Well-Being of Parents with Children Who Attend a Center-Based Preschool Program: Implications for Parental Involvement
In addition to high quality childcare, greater parental involvement in children's school-based experiences and communication with children's teachers have been linked to better academic outcomes for young children, including school readiness. The extent to which parents are involved in the school context is likely influenced, to some extent, by parents' psychological functioning. Understanding the daily lives (and stressors) of parents of young children is important for childcare providers and practitioners alike. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine associations between parents' exposure to daily and context specific stressors and indicators of psychological well-being. Families served by a local preschool program were recruited for the sample. The sample consists of 19 families (we have data for 19 mothers and 15 fathers). Study participants provided demographic information and responded to questions about their jobs, marital quality, coping strategies, and several indicators of psychological well-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, general mood). Parents also completed daily stress and mood inventories across multiple days. The focus of the results section for this poster presentation will be mainly descriptive; we will provide frequencies, ranges, and mean scores on all stress and well-being measures as well as some preliminary analyses of relationships between variables (e.g., correlations and t-tests with adjustments for sample size). Results from this pilot study can inform future research employing larger samples of families with preschoolers.