Promoting the Social and Emotional

Development of Infants and

Preschoolers

Part I

Barbara J. Smith, Ph.D.

University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus

What is meant by “social and

emotional development”?

• Infant Mental Health

• Early Childhood Mental Health

• Social and Emotional Development

• Social and Emotional Competence

• Challenging Behavior

• There is a growing consensus across disciplines that these terms refer to the same thing and reflect a continuum of health from social and emotional well-being to mental, emotional and behavioral problems

CSEFEL Definition of Social

Emotional Development

For our (the Center on Social Emotional

Foundations for Early Learning) purposes, the

term social emotional development refers to the

developing capacity of the child from birth

through five years of age to form close and

secure adult and peer relationships;

experience, regulate, and express emotions in

socially and culturally appropriate ways; and

explore the environment and learn - all in the

context of family, community, and culture.

CSEFEL Definition cont.

Caregivers promote healthy development by:

1) working to support social emotional wellness

in all young children, 2) making every effort to

prevent the occurrence or escalation of social

emotional problems, 3) identifying and working

to remediate problems that surface, and, when

necessary, 4) referring children and their

families to appropriate services.

Some Sobering Facts

An estimated 9 to 13% of American children

and adolescents between ages nine to 17

have serious diagnosable emotional or

behavioral health disorders resulting in

substantial to extreme impairment.

(Friedman, 2002)

Children who are identified as hard to manage at ages 3 and 4 have a high probability (50:50) of continuing to have difficulties into adolescence (Campbell & Ewing, 1990; Egeland et al., 1990; Fischer, Rolf, Hasazi, & Cummings, 1984).

Early appearing aggressive behaviors are the best predictor of juvenile gang membership

and violence.

(Reid, 1993)

When aggressive and antisocial behavior has persisted to age 9, further intervention has a poor

chance of success.

(Dodge, 1993)

Of the young children who show early signs of problem behavior, it has been estimated that

fewer than 10% receive services for these difficulties. (Kazdin & Kendall, 1998)

Preschool children are three times

more likely to be “expelled” than

children in grades K-12

(Gilliam, 2005)

There are evidence-based practices that are effective in changing this

developmental trajectory…the problem

is not what to do, but where and how we do it.

• Research has shown a critical link between social skills and early success in school

• Serious, persistent challenging behavior in the early years predicts a developmental trajectory of failure

• “Learning is a social event!”

• We must help children learn appropriate social and emotional skills early-we cannot wait!

Key Social and Emotional Skills

Children Need as They Enter School

• Key Social Skills Associated with School Readiness:

– Confidence

– Capacity to develop good relationships with peers

– Concentration and persistence on challenging tasks

– Ability to effectively communicate emotions

– Ability to listen to instructions and be attentive

• When children don’t have these skills, they often exhibit

challenging behaviors

• We must focus on teaching the skills!!

Expected Prevalence of Challenging Behavior

1-10%

Children with

Persistent

Challenges

Focused

Interventions

5-15%

Children at-Risk

Intervention and

Support

All Children

Universal Interventions

However, research reports that personnel

say that they have a much higher rate of

challenging behavior in early childhood

programs

• Teachers and administrators report challenging behavior is their primary

training need

• Family members, direct service personnel and state and local

administrators report that the lack of knowledge and skills in this area is

the #1 barrier to effective services

• Many early childhood programs do not have expertise in behavior

support or resources to access this expertise

• Yale Study: preschool aged children are expelled from programs at a

rate 3x that of school aged children

• Families need help and personnel need administrative support to know

about and use effective, evidence-based strategies

Critical Issues

Outcomes Across Programs with

Evidence-based Practices

• Improved staff satisfaction

• Decreased staff turnover

• Increase in overall program quality

• Clearly articulated and implemented policies and procedures

• More intentional teaching and purposeful in supporting children’s emotional development

• Elimination of “time-out”

• Less reliance on “outside”experts

• Stronger collaboration with specialists with promotion and prevention efforts in addition to intervention

• Fewer children asked to leave program

National Centers –

Evidence-based Resources

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations

for Early Learning

www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel

Technical Assistance Center on Social

Emotional Intervention for Young Children

www.challengingbehavior.org Formerly known as “Center for Evidence Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior”

Evidence-Based Resources

• Power Point Presentations

• Fact Sheets

• Summaries of research

• Videos

• Case Studies

• Parent resources

• Materials to use with children

• Training modules

Promoting Social and Emotional

Competence: the Pyramid Model

High Quality Supportive Environments

Nurturing and Responsive Relationships

Targeted Social and

Emotional Supports

Intensive

Interventions

The Center on the Social and Emotional

Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL)

National Center focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5.

Jointly funded by the Office of Head Start and the Child Care Bureau, under the auspices of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/

CSEFEL

Analyze and synthesize the research on the social

emotional development of low-income children and

translate the findings into materials that are practical

and accessible.

Engage in intensive T/TA to selected states, territories

and/or tribal partners to foster professional development

that sustains the use of effective practices at the local

level.

Disseminate evidence-based practices and materials via

an interactive website.

CSEFEL

• Vanderbilt University

• University of Illinois

• University of South Florida

• University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical

Campus

• ZERO TO THREE

• Georgetown University Center for Child

and Human Development

March, 2013

Primary Partners

• NAEYC

• NACCRRA

• DEC

• NASMHPD

• NABE

• NHSA

March, 2013

The Pyramid Model

An Evidence-Based, 3-Tiered,

Conceptual Model for

Promoting Social Emotional

Development in Infants and

Young Children

The Pyramid Model