Abstract

Mentally healthy infants and toddlers form basic language, information processing, self-regulation, social interaction and other foundational skills that are essential for later school readiness. However, depressive symptoms in the primary parent prevent optimal relatedness with the infant or toddler, and children of depressed parents show greater aggression and other social-emotional problems as early as the preschool era. In an ACF- funded intervention study with Early Head Start Latina mothers with depressive symptoms, the provision of specialized training and guidance to EHS staff increased their effectiveness with all families with mental health needs. The proposed project will build on the EHS Latina Mothers study by developing and testing a curriculum, ?Alumbrando el camino/Bright Moments,? to assist EHS staff to support parents with depressive symptoms in the course of regular EHS child enrichment programming in two Early Head Start programs in North Carolina. The curriculum will be implemented with parents who speak English and Spanish-speaking parents who are English Language Learners by documenting the process of implementation, fidelity and EHS staff, parent and child outcomes including positive changes in parenting interactions and infant/toddler interactions with their parents at 9 and 15 months post-implementation. The process that creates the changes (self-efficacy) and factors that modify the outcomes will be explored. Identifying parents with depressive symptoms and supporting them effectively will assist EHS programs in fully implementing the Federal performance standards and increase the long-term positive effects of EHS on the development of some of our most vulnerable infants and toddlers.