The effectiveness of early head start for 3-year-old children and their parents: Lessons for policy and programs

John M. Love; Ellen Eliason Kisker; Christine Ross; Jill Constantine; Kimberly Boller; Rachel Chazan-Cohen; Christy Brady-Smith; Allison Sidle Fuligni; Helen Raikes; Jeanne Brooks-Gunn; Louisa Banks Tarullo; Peter Z. Schochet; Diane Paulsell; Cheri Vogel

doi:10.1037/0012-1649.41.6.885

The effectiveness of early head start for 3-year-old children and their parents: Lessons for policy and programs

John M. Love, Ellen Eliason Kisker, Christine Ross, Jill Constantine, Kimberly Boller, Rachel Chazan-Cohen, Christy Brady-Smith, Allison Sidle Fuligni, Helen Raikes, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Louisa Banks Tarullo, Peter Z. Schochet, Diane Paulsell, Cheri Vogel

Children, Youth and Family Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

549 Scopus citations

Abstract

Early Head Start, a federal program begun in 1995 for low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, was evaluated through a randomized trial of 3,001 families in 17 programs. Interviews with primary caregivers, child assessments, and observations of parent-child interactions were completed when children were 3 years old. Caregivers were diverse in race-ethnicity, language, and other characteristics. Regression-adjusted impact analyses showed that 3-year-old program children performed better than did control children in cognitive and language development, displayed higher emotional engagement of the parent and sustained attention with play objects, and were lower in aggressive behavior. Compared with controls, Early Head Start parents were more emotionally supportive, provided more language and learning stimulation, read to their children more, and spanked less. The strongest and most numerous impacts were for programs that offered a mix of home-visiting and center-based services and that fully implemented the performance standards early.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	885-901
Number of pages	17
Journal	Developmental psychology
Volume	41
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.6.885
State	Published - Nov 2005

Keywords

Child policy and intervention
Early childhood development
Head Start
Poverty in early childhood

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Demography
Developmental and Educational Psychology
Life-span and Life-course Studies

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10.1037/0012-1649.41.6.885

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Love, J. M., Kisker, E. E., Ross, C., Constantine, J., Boller, K., Chazan-Cohen, R., Brady-Smith, C., Fuligni, A. S., Raikes, H., Brooks-Gunn, J., Tarullo, L. B., Schochet, P. Z., Paulsell, D., & Vogel, C. (2005). The effectiveness of early head start for 3-year-old children and their parents: Lessons for policy and programs. Developmental psychology, 41(6), 885-901. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.6.885

Love, JM, Kisker, EE, Ross, C, Constantine, J, Boller, K, Chazan-Cohen, R, Brady-Smith, C, Fuligni, AS, Raikes, H, Brooks-Gunn, J, Tarullo, LB, Schochet, PZ, Paulsell, D & Vogel, C 2005, 'The effectiveness of early head start for 3-year-old children and their parents: Lessons for policy and programs', Developmental psychology, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 885-901. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.6.885

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The effectiveness of early head start for 3-year-old children and their parents: Lessons for policy and programs

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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