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<p>The psychological wellbeing of Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers is linked to important child development outcomes (e.g., self-regulation). The COVID-19 pandemic prompted substantial shifts in the expectations of ECE teachers, likely exacerbating existing job-related stressors and creating new ones. Extant work examining changes in ECE teacher psychological wellbeing during the pandemic has largely focused on increased depression prevalence rather than on changes in underlying depressive symptomology. Using longitudinal data from the National Survey on Early Care and Education (NSECE), we extend the literature by examining changes in depressive symptomology of a large sample of center-based ECE teachers (<i>N</i> = 2,040) observed before and at two time points after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., in 2019, 2021, and 2022). ECE teachers reported significantly elevated levels of feelings of depression and sadness in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic—two core symptoms of clinically relevant depression. Furthermore, ECE teachers who were under 44 years old, identified as Hispanic, had prior education of some college or less, or worked primarily with infants and toddlers were more likely to experience sharp increases in depressive symptomology. The implications of these findings are discussed.</p>

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Examining Depressive Symptomology for U.S. Early Childhood Education Teachers Before and During COVID-19

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月3日

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  • Tingting Reid,
  • Mark Murphy

摘要

The psychological wellbeing of Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers is linked to important child development outcomes (e.g., self-regulation). The COVID-19 pandemic prompted substantial shifts in the expectations of ECE teachers, likely exacerbating existing job-related stressors and creating new ones. Extant work examining changes in ECE teacher psychological wellbeing during the pandemic has largely focused on increased depression prevalence rather than on changes in underlying depressive symptomology. Using longitudinal data from the National Survey on Early Care and Education (NSECE), we extend the literature by examining changes in depressive symptomology of a large sample of center-based ECE teachers (N = 2,040) observed before and at two time points after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., in 2019, 2021, and 2022). ECE teachers reported significantly elevated levels of feelings of depression and sadness in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic—two core symptoms of clinically relevant depression. Furthermore, ECE teachers who were under 44 years old, identified as Hispanic, had prior education of some college or less, or worked primarily with infants and toddlers were more likely to experience sharp increases in depressive symptomology. The implications of these findings are discussed.