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Connection Collection

Annotation from the Connection Collection

You are viewing a record from the Connection Collection, a searchable annotated bibliography database. It links you with research-based information that you can use to connect schools, families, and communities.

Annotation:
This study investigates the long-term effects on educational attainment and juvenile delinquency for youth who participated in the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS). Researchers employed multiple methods to measure effects of five mechanisms on the benefits of preschool participation in the Chicago Child Parent Centers (CPC). These five mechanisms include cognitive advantage, family support, social adjustment, motivational advantage, and social support. Based on a matched-group design, analyses indicated that participation in CPC during the preschool years was associated with a higher rate of high school completion and a lower juvenile delinquency rate. At age 20, 59% of the students who participated in the CPC preschool program had completed high school; in the comparison group only 46% of the participants had finished. For juvenile arrests, the rate of petitions to the juvenile court was 13% for CPC students versus 22% for the comparison group. The long-term effects of CPC participation were attributed to a cognitive boost at the end of the program and to the school and family support received between the preschool and high school years. The school support hypothesis accounted for the largest share of mediated effects, with family support and cognitive advantage hypotheses contributing about equally to high school completion. Longitudinal data were collected from 1,539 low-income, minority preschool students who were growing up in areas of high-poverty and who were participating in an investigation of behavioral development. The experimental group consisted of 989 children who entered the CPC in preschool and completed kindergarten. The comparison group included 550 children who attended alternative government-funded kindergarten programs; 14% of these participated in Head Start preschool. The majority of the participants were Black and a small proportion of participants were Hispanic. This study indicates that early childhood intervention may have long-term effects that can be moderated by teachers, parents, and policymakers. Additional research, including randomized controlled trials, needs to be conducted in order to examine the long-term effectiveness of specific preschool intervention programs.

Suggested Citation Style:

• Reynolds, A. J., Ou, S., & Topitzes, J. W. (2004). Paths of effects of early childhood intervention on educational attainment and delinquency: A confirmatory analysis of the Chicago child-parent centers. Child Development, 75(5), 1299-1328.