General mood of professional caregivers in child care centers and the quality of caregiver–child interactions

The present study is the first to relate professional caregivers’ general mood to the observed quality of their interactions with the children in their care. A total of 238 female caregivers from 133 child care groups in 64 centers completed the General mood scale of Bar-On’s Emotional Quotient Inventory (1997) and was observed while playing with small groups of children. Factor analysis on the General mood scale yielded five general mood factors, one negative and four positive. Two positive mood factors in particular, i.e., positivity and optimism, were found to contribute positively to the quality of professional caregivers’ behavior toward the children and, through their caregiving behavior, to the children’s well-being.