The social and economic impact of the Montreal Longitudinal and Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of early prevention programmes and their viability as a public policy option have increasingly caught the attention of scholars and policymakers. Given the implementation costs of such programmes, it is important to assess whether they achieved anticipated objectives and whether they made efficient use of taxpayer money. AIM: To discuss the social and economic impact of a 2-year randomised intervention aimed to improve social skills and self-control (i.e., non-cognitive skills) among disruptive boys from low-income neighbourhoods in Montreal. METHOD: We review findings from published studies documenting the impact of the intervention at different stages of the life course, as well as its cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit. RESULTS: The intervention improved behavioural indicators throughout adolescence and eventually led to greater high school graduation rates, reduced crime, and better labour market outcomes in adulthood. Importantly, the prevention programme generated considerable returns to taxpayer investments. CONCLUSION: Findings from the Montreal Longitudinal Experimental Study have been well-received and have contributed to an early prevention 'awakening' in Quebec and elsewhere.

Simple questionnaires outperform behavioral tasks to measure socio-emotional skills in students.

Recent empirical research has shown that improving socio-emotional skills such as grit, conscientiousness and self-control leads to higher academic achievement and better life outcomes. However, both theoretical and empirical works have raised concerns about the reliability of the different methods used to measure socio-emotional skills. We compared the reliability and validity of the three leading measurements methods-a student-reported questionnaire, a teacher-reported questionnaire, and a behavioral task-in a sample of 3997 French students. Before analyzing the data, we polled 114 international researchers in cognitive development and education economics; most researchers in both fields predicted that the behavioral task would be the best method. We found instead that the teacher questionnaire was more predictive of students' behavioral outcomes and of their grade progression, while the behavioral task was the least predictive. This work suggests that researchers may not be using optimal tools to measure socio-emotional skills in children.

Long-term economic and social outcomes of youth suicide attempts.

BACKGROUND: Youth who attempt suicide are more at risk for later mental disorders and suicide. However, little is known about their long-term socioeconomic outcomes. AIMS: We investigated associations between youth suicide attempts and adult economic and social outcomes. METHOD: Participants were drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten Children (n = 2140) and followed up from ages 6 to 37 years. Lifetime suicide attempt was assessed at 15 and 22 years. Economic (employment earnings, retirement savings, welfare support, bankruptcy) and social (romantic partnership, separation/divorce, number of children) outcomes were assessed through data linkage with government tax return records obtained from age 22 to 37 years (2002-2017). Generalised linear models were used to test the association between youth suicide attempt and outcomes adjusting for background characteristics, parental mental disorders and suicide, and youth concurrent mental disorders. RESULTS: By age 22, 210 youths (9.8%) had attempted suicide. In fully adjusted models, youth who attempted suicide had lower annual earnings (average last 5 years, US$ -4134, 95% CI -7950 to -317), retirement savings (average last 5 years, US$ -1387, 95% CI -2982 to 209), greater risk of receiving welfare support (risk ratio (RR) = 2.05, 95% CI 1.39 to 3.04) and were less likely to be married/cohabiting (RR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.93), compared with those who did not attempt suicide. Over a 40-year working career, the loss of individual earnings attributable to suicide attempts was estimated at US$98 384. CONCLUSIONS: Youth who attempt suicide are at risk of poor adult socioeconomic outcomes. Findings underscore the importance of psychosocial interventions for young people who have attempted suicide to prevent long-term social and economic disadvantage.

Child Care Attendance and Educational and Economic Outcomes in Adulthood.

OBJECTIVES: To test associations between onset of formal child care (in infancy or as a toddler), high school graduation, and employment earnings from ages 18 to 35 years. METHODS: A 30-year prospective cohort follow-up study, with linkage to government administrative databases (N =3020). Exposure included formal child care, if any, by accredited caregivers in centers or residential settings at ages 6 months and 1, 1.5, 2, 3, and 4 years. A propensity score analysis was conducted to control for social selection bias. RESULTS: Of 2905 participants with data on child care use, 59.4% of male participants and 78.5% of female participants completed high school by age 22 to 23. Mean income at last follow-up (n = 2860) was $47 000 (Canadian dollars) (SD = 37 700) and $32 500 (SD = 26 800), respectively. Using group-based trajectory modeling, we identified 3 groups: formal child care onset in infancy (∼6 months), formal child care onset as a toddler (after 2.5 years), and never exposed. After propensity score weighting, boys with child care started in infancy had greater odds of graduating than those never exposed (odds ratio [OR] 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18-1.63; P < .001). Boys attending child care had reduced odds of low income as young adults (infant onset: OR 0.60 [95% CI: 0.46-0.84; P < .001]; toddler onset: OR 0.63 [95% CI: 0.45-0.82; P < .001]). Girls' graduation rates and incomes revealed no significant association with child care attendance. CONCLUSIONS: For boys, formal child care was associated with higher high school completion rates and reduced risk of adult poverty. Benefits for boys may therefore extend beyond school readiness, academic performance, and parental workforce participation.

Inattention in boys from low-income backgrounds predicts welfare receipt: a 30-year prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Childhood disruptive behaviors are highly prevalent and associated with adverse long-term social and economic outcomes. Trajectories of welfare receipt in early adulthood and the association of childhood behaviors with high welfare receipt trajectories have not been examined. METHODS: Boys (n = 1000) from low socioeconomic backgrounds were assessed by kindergarten teachers for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression, opposition, and prosociality, and prospectively followed up for 30 years. We used group-base trajectory modeling to estimate trajectories of welfare receipt from age 19-36 years using government tax return records, then examined the association between teacher-rated behaviors and trajectory group membership using mixed effects multinomial regression models. RESULTS: Three trajectories of welfare receipt were identified: low (70.8%), declining (19.9%), and chronic (9.3%). The mean annual personal employment earnings (US$) for the three groups at age 35/36 years was $36 500 (s.d. = $24 000), $15 600 (s.d. = $16 275), and $1700 (s.d. = $4800), respectively. Relative to the low welfare receipt group, a unit increase in inattention (mean = 2.64; s.d. = 2.32, range = 0-8) at age 6 was associated with an increased risk of being in the chronic group (relative risk ratio; RRR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.03-1.31) and in the declining group (RRR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.23), after adjustment for child IQ and family adversity, and independent of other behaviors. Family adversity was more strongly associated with trajectories of welfare receipt than any behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Boys from disadvantaged backgrounds exhibiting high inattention in kindergarten are at elevated risk of chronic welfare receipt during adulthood. Screening and support for inattentive behaviors beginning in kindergarten could have long-term social and economic benefits for individuals and society.