Abstract

A large body of literature demonstrates that children who experience unstable housing and homelessness are at risk for developmental delays and social–emotional challenges. However, there is also evidence of variability in the functioning of these children. Our primary aims were to identify unique profiles among preschool-aged children who were unstably housed and determine whether family-level and classroom-level factors predicted children’s profiles. Participants, drawn from the national Head Start CARES study, were 314 4-year-old children in one of 107 Head Start centers. Teachers’ reports of children’s behavior and social skills were entered into a latent profile analysis that revealed a four-profile structure with four subgroups of unstably housed children that were distinct in their functioning. Potential predictors of profiles included parent self-reports of their own psychological distress and education, teacher reports of the quality of relationships with the children, and observed teacher emotional support of students. Multinomial regression analyses revealed that the quality of the student–teacher relationship was a significant predictor of children’s profile membership. We provide practice and policy implications, study limitations, and suggestions for future investigations.

摘要

大量文献表明，住房不稳定和无家可归的儿童面临发育迟缓和社交情感挑战的风险。然而，也有证据表明这些儿童的功能存在差异。我们的主要目的是确定居住不稳定的学龄前儿童的独特特征，并确定家庭层面和课堂层面的因素是否预测了儿童的特征。参与者来自全国 Head Start CARES 研究，他们是 107 个 Head Start 中心之一的 314 名 4 岁儿童。教师对儿童行为和社交技能的报告被输入到潜在轮廓分析中，该分析揭示了一个四轮廓结构，其中包含四个在功能上各不相同的不稳定住所儿童亚组。概况的潜在预测因素包括父母对自己心理困扰和教育的自我报告，教师对与孩子的关系质量的报告，以及观察到的教师对学生的情感支持。多项回归分析表明，师生关系的质量是儿童档案成员资格的重要预测因素。我们提供实践和政策影响、研究局限性以及对未来调查的建议。