Aims: To determine whether distinct trends can exist in children's diurnal cortisol slopes as they transition to school, and the extent to which these trends relate to preschool attendance and/or exerted effortful control. Method: A secondary analysis of the anonymised data gathered for the UK Transition to School Study was carried out. 105…

In this study, the heart rate response of children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exposed to outdoor free play sessions during preschool was examined. Participants (n = 7; four children with ASD and three children who show typical development) wore Actiheart heart rate monitors during 6 school days. Using a single-subject design,…

We examined daytime salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) secretion levels and variability in preschool-aged children with autism (AUT) and typically developing children (TYP). Fifty-two subjects (26 AUT and 26 TYP) were enrolled. Salivary samples were obtained at waking, midday, and bedtime on two consecutive days at three phases…

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between early childhood professionals' (ECPs) stress regulation (using salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase [AA] measurements), work engagement and the quality of their pedagogical work in integrated special day-care groups. Participants were 89 ECPs from 21 integrated special day-care…

Research Findings: Although there is a well-established relationship between economic stress and children's self-regulation, few studies have examined this relationship in children of Hispanic immigrants (COHIs), a rapidly growing population. In a sample of preschool children (N = 165), we examined whether economic stress predicted teacher…

Mechanisms underlying socioeconomic disparities in school readiness and health outcomes, particularly obesity, among preschool-aged children are complex and poorly understood. Obesity can induce changes in proteins in the circulation that contribute to the negative impact of obesity on health; such changes may relate to cognitive and emotion…

There are no known biomedical or genetic markers to identify which infants with galactosaemia (GAL) are most at risk of poor language skill development, yet pre-linguistic communicative "red flag" behaviours are recognised as early identifiers of heightened vulnerability to impaired language development. We report on pre-linguistic…

A young child's stress-sensitive neurobiological system is immature and open to being shaped by experience. When children enter preschool, external demands on them to adjust are different from the demands they experience at day care. In Finland, the last year before children transfer to the comprehensive school is called preschool. The preschool…

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of early educational quality on children's cortisol levels. It was hypothesised that the environmental stressors might load children's immature stress regulative systems thus affecting their diurnal cortisol levels. The study sample consisted of 146 preschool-aged children. Cortisol was measured…