Project Description
The purpose of the "Impact of Toxic Stress on Self-Regulation: Implications for ACF Programs" project was to
- Thoroughly describe research on the impact of toxic stress on the development of self-regulation skills and capacity from early childhood though young adulthood.
- Review and describe the effectiveness of interventions to promote self-regulation for universal and targeted populations from early childhood through young adulthood.
The title for the whole project was “Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress” and resulted in a large series of reports and briefs. The “landing page” for the whole series is here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/self-regulation-and-toxic-stress-series
Project Goals
- Review existing research on the impact of toxic stress on children
- Propose a model for promoting self-regulation across development that can guide programs, policy, and practice
- Explore the implications of this research for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) programs that serve universal populations — such as Head Start, child care (including school-age children), teen pregnancy prevention and healthy relationship programs in schools, subsidized employment and job training for youth who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, transitional living — and for ACF programs that serve targeted populations (child welfare, runaway and homeless youth, home visiting programs that serve adolescent parents).
Project Team Members
- Desiree W. Murray, Katie Rosanbalm, Christina Christopoulos, Amar Hamoudi
Project Findings
- Co-Regulation: What It Is and Why it Matters (video)
- Policy Brief: An Applied Contextual Model for Promoting Self‑Regulation Enactment Across Development: Implications for Prevention, Public Health and Future Research
- Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Report 1: Foundations for Understanding Self-Regulation from an Applied Developmental Perspective
- Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Report 2: A Review of Ecological, Biological, and Developmental Studies of Self-Regulation and Stress
- Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Report 3: A Comprehensive Review of Self Regulation Interventions from Birth Through Young Adulthood
- Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Report 4: Implications for Programs and Practice
- Co-Regulation from Birth through Young Adulthood: A Practice Brief
- Promoting Self-Regulation in the First Five Years: A Practice Brief
- Current Gaps and Future Directions for Self-Regulation Intervention Research
- Tip Sheets