Early Childhood Education and Adult Depression: An Attrition Reanalysis With Inverse Propensity Score Weighting

Evaluation of Midlife Educational Attainment Among Attendees of a Comprehensive Early Childhood Education Program in the Context of Early Adverse Childhood Experiences

Importance

Educational attainment is a key social determinant of health and can be particularly consequential for racial and ethnic minority populations. Although the consequences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are well established, there is little research on protective factors and policy-relevant strategies to mitigate ACE-related inequities.

Objective

To examine associations between early ACEs, comprehensive early intervention, and midlife educational attainment in a cohort of predominantly Black participants.

Design, Setting, and Participants

The Chicago Longitudinal Study is a prospective cohort study of Black and Latinx children from Chicago, Illinois. The intervention group included 989 children entering the Child-Parent Center (CPC) preschool Early Childhood Education (ECE) program in the 1980s. The comparison group comprised 550 children participating in usual early childhood services. All participants were followed up for 30 years after the end of the intervention. Analyses were conducted from July 1 to September 1, 2022.

Intervention

Attendance at the CPC preschool ECE program.

Main Outcomes and Measures

A standard battery of early childhood ACEs (conventional ACEs), a set of early childhood ACEs more commonly associated with high-poverty contexts (expanded ACEs), and educational attainment at 35 years of age were measured from self-report and administrative records.

Results

The original Chicago Longitudinal Study sample comprised 1539 participants (1430 Black participants [92.9%]; 774 female participants [50.3%]). Data on educational attainment and ACEs were available for 1083 of 1467 living participants (73.8%). Participants in the present study (1013 Black participants [93.5%]; 594 female participants [54.9%]) were a mean (SD) age of 35.1 (0.3) years at completion of the midlife survey. For the comparison group but not the CPC intervention group, having 1 or more conventional or expanded ACEs in early childhood was associated with fewer years of education (β = -0.64; 95% CI, -1.02 to -0.26), reduced likelihood of attaining a bachelor's degree or higher (odds ratio, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.09-0.70), and reduced likelihood of attaining an associate's degree or higher (odds ratio, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.11-0.62) after adjusting for covariates. Moderation analyses indicated that CPC participants with either conventional or expanded ACEs in early childhood attained a bachelor's degree or higher and an associate's degree or higher at rates similar to CPC participants without early ACEs (15.4% vs 13.6% for bachelor's degree or higher; 22.4% vs 19.9% for associate's degree or higher). Conversely, comparison group participants with early ACEs had significantly lower rates of educational attainment than their counterparts without ACEs (3.7% vs 12.1% for bachelor's degree or higher; 5.6% vs 17.1% for associate's degree or higher).

Conclusions

This cohort study suggests that early ACEs were associated with reduced educational attainment for the comparison group but not for the group participating in the CPC comprehensive early intervention. These results build on research suggesting that youths at higher risk can benefit most from intervention and support ECE as a tool for reducing ACE-related disparities.

Psychological well-being in midlife following early childhood intervention

The present study is the first to examine the relations between participation in a public early childhood intervention (the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program) and psychological well-being (or, positive functioning) into early mid-life. Data are drawn from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), which has followed a cohort of 1,539 individuals who grew up in urban poverty for over four decades. Approximately two-thirds of the original study cohort participated in the CPC program in early childhood; the rest comprise a demographically matched comparison group. Participants’ psychological functioning at age 35-37 was assessed using the Ryff Scales of Psychological Wellbeing. Results support a positive relationship between CPC preschool participation and long-term psychological wellbeing. Moderated mediation (e.g., whether CPC effects on wellbeing differ across subgroups) and potential mechanisms across multiple social-ecological levels (according to the 5-Hypothesis Model of early intervention) are also empirically investigated. Future directions for child development research, early childhood intervention, and public policy are discussed.

Impact of early life shocks on educational pursuits–Does a fade out co-exist with persistence?

Background

Changes in climatic conditions have increased the variability in rainfall patterns worldwide. A negative rainfall shock faced by children in the initial 1000 days of life and the resulting malnutrition can harm the likelihood of children’s survival, overall growth, development of the brain, motor skills, and cognitive abilities, leading to poor performance in education and labor market. While the existing findings about the long-run outcomes are mixed, it is essential to understand the nuances in such an estimation.

Methods

Using the exogenous variation in rainfall in India, we estimate the impact of adverse shocks at birth on the cognitive abilities of children at ages 5, 8, 12, and 15, on educational attainments, and the likelihood of studying STEM at higher secondary school.

Results

The Young Lives Survey data from Andhra Pradesh, India, presents evidence of the negative impact of rainfall shocks at birth on cognitive abilities from age 5 to 8, attenuating at age 12. Using nationally representative data, while we investigate the impact of adverse rainfall shocks at birth on academic performance measured by the high school grades and STEM choice at higher secondary school, we do not find a persistent impact.

Conclusion

We unfold the impact of rainfall shocks on a chain of outcomes connected to long-run educational pursuits, as it helps to identify the most crucial stage for policymaking. Since STEM subjects are strongly associated with the labor market, connecting the association with early life shocks seems to be an essential addition to the literature. While we find evidence of reduced cognitive abilities in the early years, those do not seem to persist in the long run. The potential sample selection or attrition biases and the estimates of those biases can explain the nuances of estimating the long-run impact of adverse shocks at birth.

Early Education and Adult Health: Age 37 Impacts and Economic Benefits of the Child-Parent Center Preschool Program

This paper evaluates the long-term impacts of the Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) program, a comprehensive early childhood program launched in the 1960s, on the physical and mental health outcomes. This study follows a cohort of 1539 participants born in 1979-1980 and surveyed most recently at age 35-37 by employing a matched study design created by including all students who were enrolled in kindergarten classrooms in CPC school sites as well as entire kindergarten classrooms in a matched set of similar high-poverty schools. Using propensity score weighting that addresses potential issues with differential attrition and nonrandom treatment assignment, results reveal that CPC preschool participation is associated with significantly lower rates of adverse health outcomes such as smoking and diabetes. Further, evaluating the economic impacts of the preschool component of the program, the study finds a benefit-cost ratio in the range of 1.35 to 3.66 (net benefit: $3,896) indicating that the health benefits of the program by themselves offset the costs of the program even without considering additional benefits arising from increased educational attainment and reduced involvement in crime reported in earlier cost-benefit analyses. The findings are robust to corrections for multiple hypothesis testing, sensitivity analysis using a range of discount rates, and Monte Carlo analysis to account for uncertainty in outcomes.

Assessment of a Comprehensive Early Childhood Education Program and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Midlife

IMPORTANCE

Educational attainment is an underrecognized factor associated with racial disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Early childhood programs providing comprehensive family services can promote educational and socioeconomic success, but few, if any, studies of large-scale programs have assessed their associations with midlife CVD risk and mediating factors.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between an early childhood program providing multisystemic services from ages 3 to 9 years with midlife CVD risk and whether years of education mediate these associations.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Using a matched-group, quasi-experimental design, a cohort of Black and Hispanic children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study enrolled in an established early childhood program from 1983 to 1989 or the usual services were followed up for 30 years after the end of the intervention. A midlife survey on well-being was administered when the participants were aged 37 years. Analyses were conducted from September 1, 2020, to October 15, 2020.

INTERVENTION

The Child-Parent Center (CPC) Education Program provides school-based educational enrichment and comprehensive family services for 6 years, from ages 3 to 9 years (preschool to third grade [P-3]).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

General and hard Framingham Risk Scores (FRSs) were calculated from self-reported physical health and behavior profiles in the midlife Chicago Longitudinal Study survey. Years of education completed at age 34 years were measured primarily from administrative records.

RESULTS

There were 1539 participants in the original sample (1430 Black participants [92.9%]; 108 Hispanic participants [7.0%]; 1 White participant [0.1%]); 1104 of 1401 participants (78.8%) in the tracked sample completed a midlife survey on well-being by age 37 years, and 1060 participants had data available for analysis (mean [SD] age, 34.9 [1.4] years; 565 women [53.3%]), including 523 participants who grew up in high-poverty contexts. After adjusting for 17 baseline attributes and differential attrition via propensity score weighting, CPC preschool was associated with significantly lower general FRS (marginal coefficient, -2.2 percentage points [% hereafter]; 95% CI -0.7% to -3.6%; P = .004) and hard FRS (marginal coefficient, -1.6%; 95% CI -0.5% to -2.6%; P = .004), for a 20% reduction in cardiovascular disease risk. The program group was also less likely to have high-risk FRS status, including being in the top quartile of hard FRS (marginal coefficient, -7.2%; 95% CI, -0.3% to -11.6%; P = .02). Those who participated for 4 to 6 years (CPC P-3) had lower general FRS than those who participated for fewer years, but the difference was not significant (marginal coefficient, -1.2%; 95% CI, -2.5% to 0.2%; P = .09); longer participation was associated with placement in the median or higher risk category for general FRS (marginal coefficient, -7.9%; 95% CI -0.7% to -12.4%; P = .007) and hard FRS (marginal coefficient, -9.0%; 95% CI -0.6% to -11.4%; P = .02). Years of education completed by age 34 years accounted for up to 23% of the observed group differences for FRSs, including CPC preschool (general FRS, from -2.16% to -1.66%; difference = -0.5%) and P-3 (general FRS, from -1.16% to -0.71%; difference = -0.45%).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this quasi-experimental design study, a comprehensive early childhood program for a community cohort at high risk of disparities was associated with lower CVD risk later in life. Corroborating previous research, years of education through college matriculation accounted for a sizable percentage of this association. Early childhood enrichment may contribute to CVD prevention.