Abstract
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.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 357-382 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | Development and psychopathology |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 24 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Data collection was supported by NICHD grant R01HD034294-24. The first author’s work was funded by a Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being. The views and findings presented herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Doris Duke Fellowship.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Keywords
- early childhood education
- mechanisms of early intervention
- poverty
- preschool
- psychological wellbeing
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
