How a Preschool Intervention Affected High School Outcomes: Longitudinal Pathways in a Randomized-Controlled Trial
This study examined the impact of the Head Start Research-based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) preschool intervention on high school outcomes and explored longitudinal mediation. 356 children (58% White, 25% Black, 17% Latinx; 54% female, 46% male; M<sub>age</sub> = 4.49 years) were recruited from Head Start classrooms which were randomized to intervention (N = 192) or "usual practice" (N = 164). REDI effects emerged on high school emotional symptoms (teacher ratings, d = 0.41) and behavior problems (composite of teacher, parent, youth ratings, d = 0.27) with the latter benefits mediated by earlier intervention boosts to social-emotional learning, social adjustment, and parent involvement. REDI had no direct impact on GPA or on-time graduation but promoted these outcomes indirectly mediated by earlier intervention effects.
Authors
- Karen L. Bierman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1295-7259)
- Janet A. Welsh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8823-7728)
- Damon Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9717-3263)
- Daniel Max Crowley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8956-3456)
- Brenda S. Heinrichs
Institutions
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Child Development
- Published
- 2025-04-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14235
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Early Childhood Education and Development
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 17.85
Funders
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development