---
title: Head Start Study Highlights Important Role of Trauma-Informed Attitudes
description: Head Start and Early Head Start continue to lead the way in promoting school readiness and family engagement for vulnerable young children.
---

[Traumatic Stress Institute Blog](https://blog.traumaticstressinstitute.com/blog)

# [Head Start Study Highlights Important Role of Trauma-Informed Attitudes](https://blog.traumaticstressinstitute.com/blog/head-start-study-highlights-important-role-of-attitudes)

 Written by [John Engel, MA](https://blog.traumaticstressinstitute.com/blog/author/john-engel-ma) | February 25, 2021

[Head Start and Early Head Start](https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/616) continue to lead the way in promoting school readiness and family engagement for vulnerable young children. It’s no surprise, then, that Head Start is increasingly focused on implementing trauma-informed care as highlighted in its [Guidance to Implementing Trauma-Informed Care](https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/no-search/implementing-trauma-informed-approach.pdf) brief, noting that:

-  Exposure to trauma and [adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)](https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html) is more prevalent than commonly believed and results in lasting effects on the physical and mental health of children and families, AND
- Head Start programs play a critical role in buffering the impact of trauma by promoting resilience for children, families and staff.

A recent study adds timely relevance to the advancement of trauma-informed care in Head Start preschool settings. The study, published in [School Mental Health](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12310-020-09394-7) “examines the relationship between trauma-informed training content, trauma-informed attitudes, and stress in a sample of 111 \[Head Start\] preschool staff.” One key finding was that not all trauma-informed training has equal impact. For example, training that focused on TIC skills and personal self-reflection led to:

- Greater improvements in trauma-informed attitudes, than training that focused solely on TIC foundational knowledge. TIC attitudes were measured by the [ARTIC Scale](https://traumaticstressinstitute.org/online-artic-details/).
- Higher improvements in teacher experiences of child-related stress.

Both findings highlight the opportunity for Head Start and other preschool settings that are working to become trauma-informed to utilize assessment tools, such as the ARTIC Scale. In particular, the ARTIC offers an overall score plus 7-subscale scores, providing a more detailed understanding of staff attitudes, including:

- **Reactions to Work,** which measures attitudes related to secondary/vicarious trauma and
- **Self-Efficacy at Work,** which measures attitudes about confidence to meet the demands of working with a traumatized population.

The big take-away from this study is that is that by pairing state-of-the-art TIC measurement with TIC intervention, Head Start continues to be a thoughtful leader in early childhood education by supporting staff to best meet the needs of vulnerable children and their families.

Measure what matters, measure trauma-informed care.

[View full post](https://blog.traumaticstressinstitute.com/blog/head-start-study-highlights-important-role-of-attitudes)

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