Depression is common among early childhood education (ECE) staff and can impair children’s learning. Among adults, greater spirituality is associated with a lower risk of depression, while adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with a higher risk. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ECE staff who reported more frequent daily spiritual experiences had a lower prevalence of depression, and whether this association was present across a range of exposures to ACEs. In the 2012 Pennsylvania Head Start Staff Wellness Survey, we collected data from 2105 Head Start and Early Head Start staff on their daily spiritual experiences (Daily Spiritual Experience Scale [DSES] score), ACE scores (count of exposure to eight categories of childhood adversity), and depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score ≥16). Among survey participants, 97.1% were female and 56.0% were ≥40 years of age. Depression was reported by 24.4% and ≥3 ACEs by 22.8%. Across quartiles of daily spiritual experiences (DSES score) from lowest to highest, the prevalence of depression decreased significantly (32.7%, 27.2%, 20.1%, and 17.2%, respectively [p < .001]), after adjusting for variables such as gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, and indicators of economic hardship. This inverse association was also present at each level of ACEs. For example, in the subgroup reporting ≥3 ACEs, the adjusted prevalence (95% confidence interval) of depression was 17.4% (27.2%, 7.7%) lower for those in the highest quartile of DSES scores compared to those in the lowest quartile. Among ECE staff working in Head Start, more frequent daily spiritual experiences were associated with a lower risk of depression across a range of exposures to ACEs. Supporting the spirituality of adults working in ECE may reduce their depressive symptoms, which could strengthen their relationships with children and families and improve children’s outcomes.

抑郁症在幼儿教育（ECE）的工作人员中很常见，并且可能损害孩子的学习能力。在成年人中，较高的灵性与患抑郁症的风险较低有关，而不利的儿童经历（ACE）与较高的患病风险有关。这项研究的目的是确定报告日常精神经历更为频繁的欧洲经委会工作人员的抑郁症患病率是否较低，以及在接触ACEs的一系列暴露中是否存在这种关联。在2012年宾夕法尼亚州起步员工健康调查中，我们从2105位起步员工和早期起步员工中收集了以下数据：他们的日常精神经历（每日精神经历量表[DSES]得分），ACE得分（接触儿童八种逆境的次数） ）和抑郁（流行病学研究中心抑郁量表得分≥16）。在调查的参与者中，女性为97.1％，≥40岁为56.0％。据报告，抑郁症占24.4％，≥3ACEs占22.8％。在每天四分之四的每日精神经历（DSES评分）中，从最低到最高，抑郁症的患病率分别显着下降（分别为32.7％，27.2％，20.1％和17.2％[p <.001]），然后对变量进行了调整，例如性别，年龄，种族/民族，教育程度和经济困难指标。在ACE的每个级别上也存在这种反向关联。例如，在报告≥3ACEs的亚组中，与最低四分位数相比，DSES最高四分位数者的抑郁调整患病率（95％置信区间）低17.4％（27.2％，7.7％）。在负责起步工作的欧洲经委会工作人员中，更频繁的日常精神经历与在接触ACE的一系列风险中患抑郁症的风险降低相关。支持在欧洲经委会工作的成年人的精神状态可以减轻他们的抑郁症状，这可以加强他们与儿童和家庭的关系并改善儿童的结局。