High-quality child care for low-income children offset the risk of later depressionMay 21, 2007CHAPEL HILL - Young adults from low-income families who were in full-time early educational child care from infancy to age 5 reported fewer symptoms of depression than their peers who were not in this type of care, according to a new report. The early educational intervention also appears to have protected the children to some extent against the negative effects of their home environments. The report, from the FPG Child Development Institute (FPG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, uses data from the Abecedarian Project, a longitudinal study begun in 1972 in which 111 high-risk children were randomly assigned to early educational child care from infancy to age 5 or to a control group that received various other forms of child care. The study is published in the May/June 2007 issue of the journal Child Development. Research has shown a relationship between poverty in early childhood and an increased risk for mental health problems in adulthood. A number of early intervention programs have been found to enhance the cognitive development and academic outcomes of children living in poverty, but less is known about the long-term effects of these programs on children's mental health. In the Abecedarian Project, 98 percent of the children were black and all came from low-income families with demographic factors known to predict developmental delays or academic problems. As part of the study, developmental and demographic data were collected regularly during the early childhood years with follow-up assessments in adolescence and young adulthood. The study followed up with 104 study participants when they were 21 and found that those who had participated in the child care program had fewer symptoms of depression than those who did not. Early child care also moderated the effects of the children's home environments on subsequent feelings of depression. For children in the control group, the more negative the early home environment, the greater the likelihood of signs of depression. "The early intervention does not appear to have changed home environments," according to Frances A. Campbell, a senior scientist at FPG and one of the authors of the study. "Rather, it buffered, or protected, the children from the adverse effects of less-optimal early home environments. This evidence, indicating that good early childhood experiences can make a positive difference in the mental health of individuals born into poverty, underscores the importance of investing in high-quality early childhood experiences for poor children." The study was funded, in part, by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the National Institute of Early Childhood Development and Education, and the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Child Care Current Events and Child Care News Articles Daycare may double TV time for young children, study finds In a new study, the amount of television viewed by many young children in child care settings doubles the previous estimates of early childhood screen time, with those in home-based settings watching significantly more on average than those in center-based daycares. UK incidence of children living with substance-misusing parents considerably underestimated Current figures underestimate the number of children who may be at risk of harm from parental substance use. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health have generated new estimates using five national surveys which include measures of binge, hazardous and dependent drinking, illicit drug use and mental health. Quality of early child care plays role in later reading, math achievement As children head back to school and attention turns to strategies for boosting reading and math achievement for low-income youth, a new study says the quality of early child care may play a role. Health experts offer action steps local governments can use to cut childhood obesity rates Zoning restrictions on fast-food restaurants near schools and playgrounds, community policing to improve safety around public recreational sites, requirements that publicly run after-school programs limit video game and TV time, and taxes on high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and drinks are some of the strategies local government officials can use to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic in their communities. Baby bathwater contains fragrance allergens A group of chemists from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) has developed a method to quantify the fragrance allergens found in baby bathwater. Women under-represented in cancer research, U-M study finds Women are under-represented in clinical cancer research published in high-impact journals, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Strict maternal feeding practices not linked to child weight gain A new study published online in the journal Obesity provides further evidence that strict maternal control over eating habits - such as determining how much a child should eat and coaxing them to eat certain foods - during early childhood may not lead to significant future weight gain in boys or girls. How do secure mother-child attachments predict good friendships? Preschool children who are securely attached to their mothers form closer friendships in the early grade-school years for a number of reasons, according to a new University of Illinois study published in Child Development. Public support grows for spending on mass transit and infrastructure Public support is growing for expenditures on mass transit and infrastructure and remains high for education and health care, according to a National Opinion Research Center survey at the University of Chicago that has been following spending trends for 35 years. Time single working moms spend with kids surprises researchers "Time poor" single mothers come surprisingly close in the number of hours they spend caring for their children compared to married mothers, and the difference is explained almost entirely by socio-economic factors and the kind of jobs they hold, say University of Maryland sociologists in a new study. More Child Care Current Events and Child Care News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||