A Population-Level Approach to Promoting Healthy Child Development and School Success in Low-Income, Urban Neighborhoods: Impact on Parenting and Child Conduct Problems

Abstract

Minority children living in disadvantaged neighborhoods are at high risk for school dropout, delinquency and poor health, largely due to the negative impact of poverty and stress on parenting and child development. This study evaluated a population-level, family-centered, school-based intervention designed to promote learning, behavior and health by strengthening parenting, early childhood classroom quality, and child self-regulation during early childhood. Ten schools in urban districts serving primarily low-income Black students were randomly assigned to intervention or a “pre-kindergarten education as usual” control condition. Intervention included a family program (13-week behavioral parenting intervention and concurrent group for children) and professional development for early childhood teachers. The majority (88%) of the pre-kindergarten population (N=1050; age 4) enrolled in the trial and nearly 60% of parents in intervention schools participated in the family program. This study evaluated intervention impact on parenting (knowledge, positive behavior support, behavior management, involvement in early learning) and child conduct problems over a 2-year period (end of kindergarten). Intent-to-treat analyses found intervention effects on knowledge, positive behavior support and teacher-rated parent involvement in early learning. For the highest-risk families, intervention also resulted in increased parent-rated involvement in early learning and decreased harsh and inconsistent behavior management. Among boys at high risk for problems based on baseline behavioral dysregulation (age 4, 23% of sample), intervention led to lower rates of conduct problems at age 6. Family-centered intervention at the transition to school has potential to improve population health and break the cycle of disadvantage for low-income, minority families.

Transportability of an Evidence-Based Early Childhood Intervention in a Low-Income African Country: Results of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Study

“…ParentCorps was built on an extensive body of cross-cultural parenting and child developmental research (Bradley & Corwyn, 2005; Lawire, 2009), and includes three core components: Professional Development (PD) for school-based staff to increase knowledge and use of EBPs in the classroom and to support strong home-school connections; and Programs for Parents and Students to promote EBPs at home and children’s social emotional and behavior regulation skills. In two school cluster randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in New York City, the multi-component ParentCorps has been shown to be highly acceptable to culturally diverse low-income populations and has yielded robust and sustained effects on targeted teacher/classroom, parent and child outcomes (Cohen’s ds ranged from .42 –.85 for teacher outcomes, .16–.50 for parent outcomes, and .24–.81 for child outcomes)(Brotman et al, 2011; Brotman et al, 2012; Brotman et al, 2016; Dawson-McClure et al, 2014). …”

Effects of ParentCorps in Prekindergarten on Child Mental Health and Academic Performance

“…All procedures were specified in manuals, and multimethod assessments indicated that fidelity was high (after capacity building, adherence was ≥90% 10 ). Most families (257 of 423 [60.8%]) participated and, among participants, mean attendance was 7.30 of 13.…”

Co-production in primary schools: a systematic literature review

“…These studies overwhelmingly reported that, after completion of the programmes, participating parents remained successfully involved in their children's education (Dawson-McClure et al, 2015;Reece et al, 2013). They also showed a significant effect of the programmes on children's reading and writing skills, as well as parents' strategies to help children read (Sylva et al, 2008).…”