Citation

Roberts AM, Gallagher KC, Daro AM, Iruka IU, Sarver SL. J. Appl. Dev. Psychol. 2019; 61: 4-12.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.appdev.2017.09.007

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Building on research demonstrating the importance of teachers' well-being, this study examined personal and contextual factors related to early childhood educators' (n=1640) depressive symptoms across licensed child care homes, centers, and schools. Aspects of teachers' beliefs, economic status, and work-related stress were explored, and components of each emerged as significant in an OLS regression. After controlling for demographics and setting, teachers with more adult-centered beliefs, lower wages, multiple jobs, no health insurance, more workplace demands, and fewer work-related resources, had more depressive symptoms. Adult-centered beliefs were more closely associated with depression for teachers working in home-based settings compared to center-based settings. These findings provide preliminary evidence about what relates to depression in the early childhood workforce, which has implications for supporting well-being across settings.

Language: en

Keywords

Child care; Depression; Early childhood educators; Mental health; Teachers; Well-being