Abstract
Consistent evidence points to the importance of the early childhood home environment for children’s concurrent and subsequent development. Yet little is known about the long-term association between parental warmth in early childhood and children’s social-emotional well-being in late childhood for children with and without disabilities. To explore these long-term relationships, we conducted a study using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation project. Our results suggest that parental warmth in early childhood is associated with children’s, but not teachers’, reports of child social-emotional well-being in fifth grade. Additionally, greater levels of parental warmth in early childhood were negatively associated with parent-reported internalizing and externalizing behavior in fifth grade for children with disabilities. Our results indicate that targeted parenting programs through early childhood programs and early intervention services may be an important resource for families with young children with disabilities.
Recommended Citation
Stoffers, Melissa; Kelly, Cara L.; Whitaker, Anamarie; and Barnes, Tia Navalene
(2023)
"Long-Term Association Between Parental Warmth and Social-Emotional Well-Being for Children With Disabilities,"
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Vol. 69:
Iss.
4, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/mpq/vol69/iss4/3