Sustained Benefits of a Preschool Home Visiting Program: Child Outcomes in Fifth Grade.

This study evaluated the sustained effects of the Research-based Developmentally Informed Parent program (REDI-P) at fifth grade, six years after intervention. Participants were 200 prekindergarten children attending Head Start (55% White, 26% Black, 19% Latinx, 56% male, mean age of 4.45 years at study initiation) and their primary caregivers, who were randomly assigned to a control group or a 16-session home-visiting intervention that bridged the preschool and kindergarten years. In addition, the study explored moderation of sustained effects by parenting risks (e.g., less than high-school education, single-parent status, parental depression, and low parent-child warmth). Growth curves over the course of the elementary years examined outcomes in three domains: child academic performance, social-emotional adjustment, and parent-child functioning. At fifth grade, significant main effects for intervention were sustained in the domains of academic performance (e.g., reading skills, academic motivation, and learning engagement) and parent-child functioning (e.g., academic expectations and parenting stress). Significant moderation by parenting risk emerged on measures of social-emotional adjustment (e.g., social competence and student-teacher relationships); parenting risk also amplified effects on some measures of academic performance and parent-child functioning, with larger effects for children from families experiencing fewer risks. Implications are discussed for the design of preschool home visiting programs seeking to enhance the school success and social-emotional well-being of children living in poverty.

Reducing Adolescent Psychopathology in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Children With a Preschool Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Living in poverty increases exposure to adversities that undermine healthy development, impeding growth in the social-emotional and language skills that support adaptive coping and promote mental health. Evidence-based programs have the potential to improve current preschool practice and strengthen these early skills, potentially reducing risk for later psychopathology. The authors tested the hypothesis that an enrichment program in preschool would be associated with reduced levels of psychopathology symptoms at the transition from middle to secondary school. METHODS: The Head Start REDI (Research-Based, Developmentally Informed) intervention was used to enrich preschool classrooms serving children from low-income families with an evidence-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program and a coordinated interactive reading program. Centers were randomly assigned to the intervention or usual practice, and 356 4-year-olds (58% White, 25% Black, 17% Latino; 54% female) were followed into early adolescence. Hierarchical linear models were used to evaluate intervention effects on teacher-rated psychopathology symptoms using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in grade 7 (ages 12-13) and grade 9 (ages 14-15), 8-10 years after the end of the intervention. RESULTS: Statistically significant intervention-related reductions were observed in conduct problems and emotional symptoms in the intervention group. In addition, the proportion of youths with clinically significant levels of conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and peer problems was reduced in the intervention group, with rates one-third of those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings indicate that enriching preschool programs serving at-risk children with a relatively inexpensive evidence-based SEL program with interactive reading substantially improved the later benefits for adolescent emotional and behavioral health. This kind of SEL enrichment represents an approach that can leverage public investments in preschool programs to enhance public health.

Promoting resilience: A preschool intervention enhances the adolescent adjustment of children exposed to early adversity.

Two hundred ninety-four children from low-income families (58% White, 17% Latinx, 25% Black; 54% girls; Mage = 4.49 years old at study entry) were recruited from Head Start classrooms to participate in a randomized-controlled trial of the project Research-based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) preschool intervention and then followed longitudinally for 10 years through 9th grade. At study entry, parents reported on their children's exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Youth reported on their feelings of social-emotional distress and school bonding after making the transition into middle school (7th grade) and high school (9th grade). Multilevel latent profile analyses revealed three profiles of adolescent distress and school bonding. Increased rates of ACEs in early childhood predicted membership in adolescent profiles characterized by heightened social-emotional distress and reduced levels of school bonding. The REDI intervention that focused on promoting early social-emotional and language skills in preschool moderated the impact of early ACEs on adolescent adjustment and promoted youth resilience, significantly buffering children from the negative impact of early ACEs on their levels of social-emotional distress and school bonding. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Longitudinal Associations Linking Elementary and Middle School Contexts with Student Aggression in Early Adolescence.

Growing up in poverty increases youth risk for developing aggressive behavior problems, which, in turn, are associated with a host of problematic outcomes, including school drop-out, substance use, mental health problems, and delinquency. In part, this may be due to exposure to adverse school contexts that create socialization influences supporting aggression. In the current study, 356 children from low-income families (58% White, 17% Latinx, 25% Black; 54% girls) were followed from preschool through seventh grade. Longitudinal data included measures of the school-level contexts experienced by study participants during their elementary and middle school years, including school levels of poverty (percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch) and academic achievement (percentage of students scoring below the basic proficiency level on state achievement tests). Regression analyses suggested little impact of these school-level contexts on teacher or parent ratings of aggression in fifth grade, controlling for child baseline aggression and demographics. In contrast, school-level contexts had significant effects on child aggression in seventh grade with unique contributions by school-level achievement, controlling for child fifth grade aggression and elementary school contexts along with baseline covariates. These effects were robust across teacher and parent ratings. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding the school-based socialization of aggressive behavior and implications for educational policy and prevention programming.

Sustained effects of a school readiness intervention: 5th grade outcomes of the Head Start REDI program.

This study examined the sustained effects of the Head Start Research-based Developmentally Informed (REDI) program, which enriched preschools with evidence-based programming targeting social-emotional and language/emergent literacy skills. 44 Head Start classrooms were randomly assigned to intervention or a usual practice control group, and 356 4-year-olds (25% African American, 17% Latino, 54% female) were followed through the end of 5th grade. Growth curve analyses revealed that significant intervention effects on teacher-rated social adjustment, academic engagement, and parent involvement identified at the end of the Head Start year were sustained throughout elementary school. These findings demonstrate that evidence-based curricula combined with professional development support can enhance preschool programming and promote the elementary school adjustment of children living in poverty.

Effect of Preschool Home Visiting on School Readiness and Need for Services in Elementary School: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Home visiting programs targeting the school readiness of preschool children (age range, 4-5 years) show promise in short-term and quasi-experimental studies but rarely are evaluated with rigorous designs and follow-up assessments. Objectives: To examine the sustained effects of a preschool home visiting program on child and family competencies and on child need for services 4 years later. Design, Setting, and Participants: In a randomized clinical trial, individual families with preschool children were assigned to receive the Research-Based and Developmentally Informed-Parent home visiting program (REDI-P) (intervention group) or math home learning games in the mail (control group). Follow-up assessments occurred in third grade. Families were recruited from 24 Head Start centers in 3 Pennsylvania counties serving rural and urban areas. Four-year-old children from 200 low-income families participated. Families were recruited in fall 2008 and fall 2009. The follow-up data used were collected in spring 2013 and spring 2014. The analyses were conducted in 2016 to 2017. Interventions: REDI-P visits followed a well-specified curriculum, with 10 home visits during preschool and 6 booster visits in kindergarten. Parents received coaching to enhance parent-child relationships and home learning materials to support child development and school readiness. Main Outcomes and Measures: Intervention focused on boosting competencies in academic performance and social-emotional adjustment and reducing child problems at home. Direct assessments, teacher ratings, and parent reports were collected. In addition, third-grade teachers recorded all services that children needed and received at school. Results: Two hundred participating children (110 [55.0%] white, 52 [26.0%] black, and 38 [19.0%] Latino; 112 [56.0%] male) had a mean (SD) age of 4.45 (0.29) years at the start of intervention. Third-grade outcomes were available for 153 (76.5%) of the initial sample and revealed statistically significant effects on multiple measures in each competency domain. In addition, REDI-P reduced child need for educational and mental health services at school. Significant effect sizes were small to moderate, averaging approximately one-third of 1 SD (Cohen d = 0.27 to 0.45). Mediation models demonstrated that intervention effects on services were accounted for by intervention effects on the targeted competencies. Conclusions and Relevance: REDI-P produced sustained benefits evident 4 years after intervention, significantly reducing child need for school services. The results of this study appear to validate the value of preschool home visiting as a strategy to help close the gap in school readiness and child well-being associated with poverty.

Parent Engagement in a Head Start Home Visiting Program Predicts Sustained Growth in Children's School Readiness.

This study examined three components of parent engagement in an enriched Head Start home visiting program: intervention attendance, the working alliance between parents and home visitors, and parents' use of program materials between sessions. The study identified those family and child characteristics that predicted the different components of parent engagement, and the study tested whether those components predicted sustained growth in children's school readiness skills across four years, from preschool through second grade. Ninety-five low-income parents with four year-old children attending Head Start (56% white; 26% black; 20% Latino; 44% girls) were randomly assigned to receive the home visiting program. Assessments included home visitor, parent, and teacher ratings, as well as interviewer observations and direct testing of children; data analyses relied on correlations and hierarchical multiple regression equations. Results showed that baseline family characteristics, like warm parent-child interactions, and child functioning predicted both working alliance and use of program materials, but only race/ethnicity predicted intervention attendance. The use of program materials was the strongest predictor of growth in children's literacy skills and social adjustment at home during the intervention period itself. In contrast, working alliance emerged as the strongest predictor of growth in children's language arts skills, attention skills, and social adjustment at school through second grade, two years after the end of the home visiting intervention. To maximize intervention effectiveness across school readiness domains over time, home visiting programs need to support multiple components of parent engagement, particularly working alliance and the use of program materials between sessions.

Preschool Intervention Can Promote Sustained Growth in the Executive-Function Skills of Children Exhibiting Early Deficits.

This study examined the effects of the Head Start Research-Based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) preschool intervention on growth in children's executive-function (EF) skills from preschool through third grade. Across 25 Head Start centers, each of 44 classrooms was randomly assigned either to an intervention group, which received enhanced social-emotional and language-literacy components, or to a "usual-practice" control group. Four-year-old children ( N = 356; 25% African American, 17% Latino, 58% European American; 54% girls) were followed for 5 years, and EF skills were assessed annually. Latent-class growth analysis identified high, moderate, and low developmental EF trajectories. For children with low EF trajectories, the intervention improved EF scores in third grade significantly more ( d = 0.58) than in the control group. Children who received the intervention also demonstrated better academic outcomes in third grade than children who did not. Poverty often delays EF development; enriching the Head Start program with an evidence-based curriculum and teaching strategies can reduce early deficits and thereby facilitate school success.

Enriching preschool classrooms and home visits with evidence-based programming: sustained benefits for low-income children.

BACKGROUND: Growing up in poverty undermines healthy development, producing disparities in the cognitive and social-emotional skills that support early learning and mental health. Preschool and home-visiting interventions for low-income children have the potential to build early cognitive and social-emotional skills, reducing the disparities in school readiness that perpetuate the cycle of poverty. However, longitudinal research suggests that the gains low-income children make during preschool interventions often fade at school entry and disappear by early elementary school. METHODS: In an effort to improve the benefits for low-income children, the REDI program enriched Head Start preschool classrooms (study one) and home visits (study two) with evidence-based programming, documenting positive intervention effects in two randomized trials. In this study, REDI participants were followed longitudinally, to evaluate the sustained impact of the classroom and home-visiting enrichments 3 years later, when children were in second grade. The combined sample included 556 children (55% European American, 25% African American, 19% Latino; 49% male): 288 children received the classroom intervention, 105 children received the classroom intervention plus the home-visiting intervention, and 173 children received usual practice Head Start. RESULTS: The classroom intervention led to sustained benefits in social-emotional skills, improving second grade classroom participation, student-teacher relationships, social competence, and peer relations. The coordinated home-visiting intervention produced additional benefits in child mental health (perceived social competence and peer relations) and cognitive skills (reading skills, academic performance). Significant effects ranged from 25% to 48% of a standard deviation, representing important effects of small to moderate magnitude relative to usual practice Head Start. CONCLUSIONS: Preschool classroom and home-visiting programs for low-income children can be improved with the use of evidence-based programming, reducing disparities and promoting complementary benefits that sustain in elementary school.

The randomized controlled trial of Head Start REDI: Sustained effects on developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the sustained effects of Head Start REDI (Research-based, Developmentally Informed), a randomized controlled preschool preventive intervention, on children's developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning into elementary school. METHOD: Twenty-five Head Start centers with 44 classrooms were randomly assigned to deliver Head Start REDI or Head Start as usual. Head Start REDI featured an integrated language-emergent literacy and social-emotional skills curriculum and enhanced support for positive teaching practices. The 356 4-year-old children (54% girls; 25% African American; 17% Latino; 70% living in poverty) in those centers and classrooms were followed for 5 years (from preschool through third grade; 91% retention rate). Each year, teachers rated multiple domains of social-emotional functioning. Person-oriented latent class growth models were used to identify the different developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning that children followed. RESULTS: Tests of proportions revealed that children who had been in the Head Start REDI intervention were statistically significantly more likely than children in the control condition to follow the most optimal developmental trajectories of social competence, aggressive-oppositional behavior, learning engagement, attention problems, student-teacher closeness, and peer rejection (odds ratio = 1.60-1.93). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that enriching Head Start with evidence-based curriculum components and teaching practices can have long-lasting benefits for children's social-emotional functioning. These findings elucidate how high-quality preschool experiences promote core competencies that are critical to the school success of children living in poverty.

Helping Head Start Parents Promote Their Children's Kindergarten Adjustment: The Research-Based Developmentally Informed Parent Program.

Head Start enhances school readiness during preschool, but effects diminish after children transition into kindergarten. Designed to promote sustained gains, the Research-based Developmentally Informed (REDI) Parent program (REDI-P) provided home visits before and after the kindergarten transition, giving parents evidence-based learning games, interactive stories, and guided pretend play to use with their children. To evaluate impact, two hundred 4-year-old children in Head Start REDI classrooms were randomly assigned to REDI-P or a comparison condition (mail-home math games). Beyond the effects of the classroom program, REDI-P promoted significant improvements in child literacy skills, academic performance, self-directed learning, and social competence, demonstrating the utility of the approach in promoting gains in cognitive and social-emotional skills evident after the transition into kindergarten.

Executive Functioning and School Adjustment: The Mediational Role of Pre-kindergarten Learning-related Behaviors.

164 four-year-old children (14% Latino American, 30% African American, 56% European American; 57% girls) in 22 Head Start classrooms were followed through third grade. Growth curve models were used to estimate the predictive associations between pre-kindergarten executive function (EF) skills and trajectories of academic skill development (math, literacy, overall academic functioning) and social-emotional adjustment at school (social competence, aggression), controlling for child sex, race, verbal IQ, and pre-kindergarten baseline scores. Direct developmental pathways were examined, along with indirect pathways, in which the association between preschool EF and elementary school adjustment was mediated by classroom learning behaviors. Preschool EF significantly predicted later math skills, academic functioning, and social competence, and marginally predicted later literacy skills. Preschool learning behaviors fully mediated the association between EF and later literacy skills and social competence, but did not mediate associations between EF and later math skills or academic functioning. Implications for developmental theory and early education are discussed.

Early childhood precursors and adolescent sequelae of grade school peer rejection and victimization.

This study examined the early childhood precursors and adolescent outcomes associated with grade school peer rejection and victimization among children oversampled for aggressive-disruptive behaviors. A central goal was to better understand the common and unique developmental correlates associated with these two types of peer adversity. There were 754 participants (46% African American, 50% European American, 4% other; 58% male; average age=5.65 at kindergarten entry) followed into seventh grade. Six waves of data were included in structural models focused on three developmental periods. Parents and teachers rated aggressive behavior, emotion dysregulation, and internalizing problems in kindergarten and Grade 1 (Waves 1-2); peer sociometric nominations tracked "least liked" and victimization in Grades 2, 3, and 4 (Waves 3-5); and youth reported on social problems, depressed mood, school adjustment difficulties, and delinquent activities in early adolescence (Grade 7, Wave 6). Structural models revealed that early aggression and emotion dysregulation (but not internalizing behavior) made unique contributions to grade school peer rejection; only emotion dysregulation made unique contributions to grade school victimization. Early internalizing problems and grade school victimization uniquely predicted adolescent social problems and depressed mood. Early aggression and grade school peer rejection uniquely predicted adolescent school adjustment difficulties and delinquent activities. Aggression and emotion dysregulation at school entry increased risk for peer rejection and victimization, and these two types of peer adversity had distinct as well as shared risk and adjustment correlates. Results suggest that the emotional functioning and peer experiences of aggressive-disruptive children deserve further attention in developmental and clinical research.

Effects of Head Start REDI on children's outcomes 1 year later in different kindergarten contexts.

One year after participating in the Research-based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) intervention or "usual practice" Head Start, the learning and behavioral outcomes of 356 children (17% Hispanic, 25% African American; 54% girls; Mage  = 4.59 years at initial assessment) were assessed. In addition, their 202 kindergarten classrooms were evaluated on quality of teacher-student interactions, emphasis on reading instruction, and school-level student achievement. Hierarchical linear analyses revealed that the REDI intervention promoted kindergarten phonemic decoding skills, learning engagement, and competent social problem-solving skills, and reduced aggressive-disruptive behavior. Intervention effects on social competence and inattention were moderated by kindergarten context, with effects strongest when children entered schools with low student achievement. Implications are discussed for developmental models of school readiness and early educational programs.

Sustaining High Quality Teaching and Evidence-based Curricula: Follow-up Assessment of Teachers in the REDI Project.

Recent research has validated the power of evidence-based preschool interventions to improve teaching quality and promote child school readiness when implemented in the context of research trials. However, very rarely are follow-up assessments conducted with teachers in order to evaluate the maintenance of improved teaching quality or sustained use of evidence-based curriculum components after the intervention trial. In the current study, we collected follow-up assessments of teachers one year after their involvement in the REDI research trial to evaluate the extent to which intervention teachers continued to implement the REDI curriculum components with high-quality, and to explore possible pre-intervention predictors of sustained implementation. In addition, we conducted classroom observations to determine whether general improvements in the teaching quality of intervention teachers (relative to control group teachers) were sustained. Results indicated sustained high-quality implementation of some curriculum components (the PATHS curriculum), but decreased implementation of other components (the language-literacy components). Sustained intervention effects were evident on most aspects of general teaching quality targeted by the intervention. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Predicting early sexual activity with behavior problems exhibited at school entry and in early adolescence.

Youth who initiate sexual intercourse in early adolescence (age 11-14) experience multiple risks, including concurrent adjustment problems and unsafe sexual practices. The current study tested two models describing the links between childhood precursors, early adolescent risk factors, and adolescent sexual activity: a cumulative model and a meditational model. A longitudinal sample of 694 boys and girls from four geographical locations was utilized, with data collected from kindergarten through high school. Structural equation models revealed that, irrespective of gender or race, high rates of aggressive disruptive behaviors and attention problems at school entry increased risk for a constellation of problem behaviors in middle school (school maladjustment, antisocial activity, and substance use) which, in turn, promoted the early initiation of sexual activity. Implications are discussed for developmental models of early sexual activity and for prevention programming.

Racial differences in parental reports of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: Accurate assessment of racial disparities in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) depends on measurement that is equally valid for all groups. This study examines differences among African American and white children in ADHD measurement with a widely used parental report instrument, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC). METHODS: Data come from 1070 children in the Fast Track Project, a longitudinal study of predominantly low-income children at risk of emotional and/or behavioral problems. Item Response Theory (IRT) methodology is used to determine whether ADHD screening items provide comparable information for African American and white children or whether differential item function (DIF) exists. IRT scores and race/ethnicity are entered in logistic regression models predicting use of ADHD medication. RESULTS: Seven of 39 DISC items performed differently among African Americans and whites. In most cases, parents of white children were more likely to endorse these items than were parents of African American children at comparable underlying levels of children's hyperactivity. When items exhibiting differential functioning were deleted, race disparities predicting underlying need as indicated by ADHD medication use decreased and were no longer statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Perceptions of ADHD-related symptoms among parents of African American children appear to differ in important ways from those of parents of white children, and screening instruments relying on parent report may yield different results for African American and white children with similar underlying treatment needs. Gathering information from additional sources including teachers and school counselors can provide a more complete picture of the behavioral functioning and therapeutic needs of children in all race/ethnic groups.