Peer-reviewed article
Infant and early childhood mental health professionals’ attitudes toward a system of professional endorsement: A quantitative examination of personal factors, professional support, and perceived benefits
Lorraine F. Kubicek, Cheri J. Shapiro, Tristan Collier, Diana M. Morelen, Ashley McCormick ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study surveyed 911 professionals in the United States and Australia who hold an Infant or Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement. It asked how personal factors, professional supports and perceived benefits relate to attitudes toward the Endorsement, meaning whether people would keep taking part and recommend it to others. Three factors predicted more positive attitudes: confidence and motivation, social influences related to Endorsement, and perceived opportunities. Social influences and opportunities together predicted attitudes better than either did alone. The study is about the workforce rather than directly about children.
Key points
- Voluntary online Perceptions of Endorsement Survey completed by 911 Endorsed professionals in the US and Australia.
- The design is descriptive and cross-sectional.
- Confidence and Motivation significantly predicted positive Attitudes towards Endorsement.
- Endorsement-related Social Influences and perceived Opportunities were also significant predictors.
- Social Influences and Opportunities combined predicted Attitudes uniquely, beyond what each predicted individually.
Limitations
The abstract describes a cross-sectional, voluntary survey of people who already hold the Endorsement, so it cannot show cause and effect or the views of non-endorsed professionals. It does not measure outcomes for infants, children or families.
Abstract
Demand for recognition of the specialized knowledge and skills required of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) practitioners, researchers, and policymakers resulted in the establishment of standardized professional credentials that document this expertise. However, to date, research on the influences and impacts of an Infant or Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement on IECMH professionals is scarce. This descriptive, cross-sectional study aims to fill this gap by reporting quantitative findings from a voluntary online survey, the Perceptions of Endorsement Survey (PES), completed by a diverse group of 911 Endorsed professionals across the United States and Australia. The study by a U.S. research team explores how personal factors, professional supports, and perceived benefits influence the likelihood of continuing to participate in the Endorsement system and of recommending it to others (Attitudes towards Endorsement). Regression analyses revealed three factors that were significant predictors of positive Attitudes towards Endorsement: Confidence and Motivation, Endorsement-related Social Influences, and perceived Opportunities. Moreover, the combination of Endorsement-related Social Influences and Opportunities significantly and uniquely predicted positive Attitudes towards Endorsement above what these factors predicted individually. Discussion focuses on how individual-level demographic characteristics, occupational-level factors, social factors, and perceived benefits relate to Attitudes towards Endorsement.