Brenda S. Heinrichs

Predicting Early Sexual Activity with Behavior Problems Exhibited at School Entry and in Early Adolescence

Youth who initiate sexual intercourse in early adolescence (age 11–14) experience multiple risks, including concurrent adjustment problems and unsafe sexual practices. The current study tested two models describing the links between childhood precursors, early adolescent risk factors, and adolescent sexual activity: a cumulative model and a meditational model. A longitudinal sample of 694 boys and girls from four geographical locations was utilized, with data collected from kindergarten through high school. Structural equation models revealed that, irrespective of gender or race, high rates of aggressive disruptive behaviors and attention problems at school entry increased risk for a constellation of problem behaviors in middle school (school maladjustment, antisocial activity, and substance use) which, in turn, promoted the early initiation of sexual activity. Implications are discussed for developmental models of early sexual activity and for prevention programming.

Helping Head Start Parents Promote Their Children's Kindergarten Adjustment: The Research-Based Developmentally Informed Parent Program

Head Start enhances school readiness during preschool, but effects diminish after children transition into kindergarten. Designed to promote sustained gains, the Research-based Developmentally Informed (REDI) Parent program (REDI-P) provided home visits before and after the kindergarten transition, giving parents evidence-based learning games, interactive stories, and guided pretend play to use with their children. To evaluate impact, two hundred 4-year-old children in Head Start REDI classrooms were randomly assigned to REDI-P or a comparison condition (mail-home math games). Beyond the effects of the classroom program, REDI-P promoted significant improvements in child literacy skills, academic performance, self-directed learning, and social competence, demonstrating the utility of the approach in promoting gains in cognitive and social-emotional skills evident after the transition into kindergarten.

The randomized controlled trial of Head Start REDI: Sustained effects on developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning.

OBJECTIVE This study assessed the sustained effects of Head Start REDI (Research-based, Developmentally Informed), a randomized controlled preschool preventive intervention, on childrens developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning into elementary school. METHOD Twenty-five Head Start centers with 44 classrooms were randomly assigned to deliver Head Start REDI or Head Start as usual. Head Start REDI featured an integrated language-emergent literacy and social-emotional skills curriculum and enhanced support for positive teaching practices. The 356 4-year-old children (54% girls; 25% African American; 17% Latino; 70% living in poverty) in those centers and classrooms were followed for 5 years (from preschool through third grade; 91% retention rate). Each year, teachers rated multiple domains of social-emotional functioning. Person-oriented latent class growth models were used to identify the different developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning that children followed. RESULTS Tests of proportions revealed that children who had been in the Head Start REDI intervention were statistically significantly more likely than children in the control condition to follow the most optimal developmental trajectories of social competence, aggressive-oppositional behavior, learning engagement, attention problems, student-teacher closeness, and peer rejection (odds ratio = 1.60-1.93). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that enriching Head Start with evidence-based curriculum components and teaching practices can have long-lasting benefits for childrens social-emotional functioning. These findings elucidate how high-quality preschool experiences promote core competencies that are critical to the school success of children living in poverty.

Early Childhood Precursors and Adolescent Sequelae of Grade School Peer Rejection and Victimization

This study examined the early childhood precursors and adolescent outcomes associated with grade school peer rejection and victimization among children oversampled for aggressive-disruptive behaviors. A central goal was to better understand the common and unique developmental correlates associated with these two types of peer adversity. There were 754 participants (46% African American, 50% European American, 4% other; 58% male; average age=5.65 at kindergarten entry) followed into seventh grade. Six waves of data were included in structural models focused on three developmental periods. Parents and teachers rated aggressive behavior, emotion dysregulation, and internalizing problems in kindergarten and Grade 1 (Waves 1–2); peer sociometric nominations tracked “least liked” and victimization in Grades 2, 3, and 4 (Waves 3–5); and youth reported on social problems, depressed mood, school adjustment difficulties, and delinquent activities in early adolescence (Grade 7, Wave 6). Structural models revealed that early aggression and emotion dysregulation (but not internalizing behavior) made unique contributions to grade school peer rejection; only emotion dysregulation made unique contributions to grade school victimization. Early internalizing problems and grade school victimization uniquely predicted adolescent social problems and depressed mood. Early aggression and grade school peer rejection uniquely predicted adolescent school adjustment difficulties and delinquent activities. Aggression and emotion dysregulation at school entry increased risk for peer rejection and victimization, and these two types of peer adversity had distinct as well as shared risk and adjustment correlates. Results suggest that the emotional functioning and peer experiences of aggressive-disruptive children deserve further attention in developmental and clinical research.

Sustaining High-Quality Teaching and Evidence-Based Curricula: Follow-Up Assessment of Teachers in the REDI Project

Research Findings: Recent research has validated the power of evidence-based preschool interventions to improve teaching quality and promote child school readiness when implemented in the context of research trials. However, very rarely are follow-up assessments conducted with teachers in order to evaluate the maintenance of improved teaching quality or sustained use of evidence-based curriculum components after the intervention trial. In the current study, we collected follow-up assessments of teachers 1 year after their involvement in the REDI (REsearch-based, Developmentally Informed) research trial to evaluate the extent to which intervention teachers continued to implement the REDI curriculum components with high quality and to explore possible preintervention predictors of sustained implementation. In addition, we conducted classroom observations to determine whether general improvements in the teaching quality of intervention teachers (relative to control group teachers) were sustained. Results indicated sustained high-quality implementation of some curriculum components (the Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies curriculum) but decreased implementation of other components (the language/literacy components). Sustained intervention effects were evident on most aspects of general teaching quality targeted by the intervention. Practice or Policy: Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Preschool Intervention Can Promote Sustained Growth in the Executive-Function Skills of Children Exhibiting Early Deficits:

This study examined the effects of the Head Start Research-Based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) preschool intervention on growth in children’s executive-function (EF) skills from preschool through third grade. Across 25 Head Start centers, each of 44 classrooms was randomly assigned either to an intervention group, which received enhanced social-emotional and language-literacy components, or to a “usual-practice” control group. Four-year-old children (N = 356; 25% African American, 17% Latino, 58% European American; 54% girls) were followed for 5 years, and EF skills were assessed annually. Latent-class growth analysis identified high, moderate, and low developmental EF trajectories. For children with low EF trajectories, the intervention improved EF scores in third grade significantly more (d = 0.58) than in the control group. Children who received the intervention also demonstrated better academic outcomes in third grade than children who did not. Poverty often delays EF development; enriching the Head Start program with an evidence-based curriculum and teaching strategies can reduce early deficits and thereby facilitate school success.

Effect of Preschool Home Visiting on School Readiness and Need for Services in Elementary School: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Home visiting programs targeting the school readiness of preschool children (age range, 4-5 years) show promise in short-term and quasi-experimental studies but rarely are evaluated with rigorous designs and follow-up assessments. Objectives To examine the sustained effects of a preschool home visiting program on child and family competencies and on child need for services 4 years later. Design, Setting, and Participants In a randomized clinical trial, individual families with preschool children were assigned to receive the Research-Based and Developmentally Informed–Parent home visiting program (REDI-P) (intervention group) or math home learning games in the mail (control group). Follow-up assessments occurred in third grade. Families were recruited from 24 Head Start centers in 3 Pennsylvania counties serving rural and urban areas. Four-year-old children from 200 low-income families participated. Families were recruited in fall 2008 and fall 2009. The follow-up data used were collected in spring 2013 and spring 2014. The analyses were conducted in 2016 to 2017. Interventions REDI-P visits followed a well-specified curriculum, with 10 home visits during preschool and 6 booster visits in kindergarten. Parents received coaching to enhance parent-child relationships and home learning materials to support child development and school readiness. Main Outcomes and Measures Intervention focused on boosting competencies in academic performance and social-emotional adjustment and reducing child problems at home. Direct assessments, teacher ratings, and parent reports were collected. In addition, third-grade teachers recorded all services that children needed and received at school. Results Two hundred participating children (110 [55.0%] white, 52 [26.0%] black, and 38 [19.0%] Latino; 112 [56.0%] male) had a mean (SD) age of 4.45 (0.29) years at the start of intervention. Third-grade outcomes were available for 153 (76.5%) of the initial sample and revealed statistically significant effects on multiple measures in each competency domain. In addition, REDI-P reduced child need for educational and mental health services at school. Significant effect sizes were small to moderate, averaging approximately one-third of 1 SD (Cohen d = 0.27 to 0.45). Mediation models demonstrated that intervention effects on services were accounted for by intervention effects on the targeted competencies. Conclusions and Relevance REDI-P produced sustained benefits evident 4 years after intervention, significantly reducing child need for school services. The results of this study appear to validate the value of preschool home visiting as a strategy to help close the gap in school readiness and child well-being associated with poverty.