Our study is the first to provide statistics on opioid use among U.S. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applicants. We use an innovative machine-learning method to identify opioids in open-ended text fields in SSDI administrative data. We find that more than 30% of applicants between 2007 and 2017 reported using one or more opioids, a…

Physical activity (PA) engagement in Early Childcare and Education Centers (ECEC) supports preschoolers' ability to meet the national physical activity guidelines. However, the influence of Head Start playground quality, as assessed by the Head Start Body Start Play Space Assessment (PSA), on Head Start preschoolers' school day PA is…

Experiences of workplace mistreatment are associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes. Workplace mistreatment among early childhood education workers is underexplored in the United States. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Worker Well-Being Questionnaire was used to assess the extent and types of workplace…

The environmental workforce remains largely White, despite calls to diversify. There exists a narrative that environmental education programs can enact change by cultivating Connection to Nature (CTN) among individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). We contend that more work is needed to understand the full range of…

Objective: This study examined the unique and interactive effects of PA volume and within-person fluctuations in PA volume (i.e., intraindividual variability in PA volume; PA-var) on preschoolers' (N = 141; 47.5% girls) ADHD symptoms. Method: Preschoolers wore accelerometers during the school day over a 2-week period. Teachers reported on…

This study deconstructs cumulative risk to probe unique relations to basal cortisol for family income and four distinct aspects of poverty-related instability. Participants were 288 children aged 3-5 years who attended Head Start preschool. Parents reported on poverty risks. Children provided samples of salivary cortisol at four times of day on…

Supportive early relationships are critical to young children's development. Previous research has focused primarily on aspects of specific parenting practices that impact infants' and toddlers' development. However, additional research is needed for a more nuanced understanding of the relationships among family experiences, parenting behaviors,…

Objective: We examined how students' food insecurity related to their demographic information, academic experiences, use of food programs, and reflections on food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: 246 NYC undergraduates during the first 9 months of the pandemic. Methods: Students reported on food insecurity (e.g., USDA's 10-item AFSSM),…

Government-funded assistance program enrollment may play an important role in the overall increase of HIV testing among low-income U.S. adults. We pooled data from the 2016-2018 National Health Interview Survey and limited analyses to respondents aged 18 to 64 years with incomes less than 100% of the U.S. poverty threshold (N = 9,497). The outcome…

In 2021-2022, Head Start served nearly 790,000 young children, primarily from low-income families. However, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) estimates that far more children are eligible than can be served due to limited resources, heightening the importance of targeting services effectively. House Report 117-96 includes a…

This study explored the relations between parental formal education, residential mobility, and children's school readiness in a sample of 509 Head Start children, 30% of whom were Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLLs). Additionally, it explored whether the relations between these demographic factors and school readiness varied as a…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the longitudinal, bidirectional relations between receptive and expressive Spanish and English language and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in a sample of 97 preschool children from Spanish-speaking, homes who were enrolled in a U.S. Head Start program. Eight cross-lagged path…

Early detection and access to interventions for developmental delays in young children have been shown to improve health, social, and academic outcomes later in life. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors associated with caregivers' perception of child developmental concerns in low-income communities. A countywide survey was…

Despite frequent reliance on teacher and parent ratings of children's behavior for multi-informant assessment, agreement between teachers' and parents' ratings is low. This study examined the predictive utility of teacher and parent ratings for children's self-regulatory outcomes (i.e., executive function, continuous performance task) in four…

Research Findings: Engineering play is a new framework for understanding constructive block building as a design process. The current study examined associations between engineering play with wooden unit blocks and mathematics and spatial skills of children with and without disabilities. Participants included 110 preschoolers (44% female; 25%…