Sharon L. Ramey

The Prevention of Intellectual Impairment in Children of Impoverished Families: Findings of a Randomized Trial of Educational Day Care.

We estimated the effects of an experimental educational day care program on the intellectual development of preschoolers from 86 high-risk families in a randomly allocated longitudinal study. At six through 54 months of age, the IQs of experimental program children ranged from 7.9 to 20.1 points higher than those of control children when maternal mental retardation and home environment effects were controlled; at every age, a greater proportion of the experimental program children had normal range IQs (greater than 84). In 13 children with retarded mothers, none of six experimental program children, but six of seven control children, had IQ scores below normal.

The Relationship between Social Support and Life Satisfaction as a Function of Family Structure

The present study focuses on the discriminant validity of 4 types of social support and the utility of distinguishing support provision from different referents. Hypotheses about the influence of family structure on the relationship between social support and life satisfaction were formally evaluated. The respondents were 512 parents, including 176 married mothers, 172 married fathers, and 164 single mothers. Results corroborate the importance of distinguishing who provides the social support. A cluster analysis revealed distinct referent clusters in which the correlational structure suggested a degree of discriminant validity between referents. An analysis of mean levels of support indicated that individuals tended to receive more support from some referents than from others. In addition, the correlations of social support with life satisfaction differed depending on the referent providing the support. Psychological and sociological scholars have emphasized the notion that interpersonal relationships can influence an individuals well-being. Recent research on social support has revitalized this idea. Social support and its ability to predict well-being are major issues that have been addressed in the literature (e.g., Cobb, 1976; Ganster & Victor, 1988; Gottlieb, 1985; Schwarzer & Leppin, 1988). Identifying the underlying structure (dimensionality) of social support is important. Various typologies of supportive behaviors or acts have been proposed. In theory, the social support system has four different functions (e.g., Cohen & Wills, 1985). Emotional support conveys that a person is valued for his or her own worth and experiences and is accepted. This support results in the enhancement of self-esteem and functions as esteem support, expressive support, ventilation, and close support. According to House (1981) and Gottlieb (1988), the behaviors that function this way provide esteem, affect, trust, concern, and listening. Informational support helps a person to define, understand, and cope with problems. This function often has been labeled as advice, appraisal support, and cognitive guidance. Associated with this function are any behaviors that provide affirmation, feedback, social comparison, advice, suggestions, and direction. Companionship support, also referred to as diffuse support and belongingness, serves to help distract persons from their problems or to facilitate positive affective moods. Activities such as spending time with others in leisure and recreational activities are subsumed under this category. These activities reduce stress and provide affiliation and contact with others. Tangible support refers to the provision of financial aid, material resources, and needed services. This is also called aid, material support, and instrumental support. Any behavior providing money, labor, or any kind of direct resolution of a problem can serve this type of function. There is controversy over the importance of making distinctions between these different types of support. Cohen and Hoberman (1983) developed the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL), a questionnaire designed to measure the perceived availability of these four specific support resources, and presented evidence concerning the independence of the four subscales (see also Cohen & Willis, 1985). However, some researchers have noted that Cohen and his associates use a total ISEL score in several analyses, implying that distinctions among the types of support are not necessary. In addition, high correlations among subscales of appraisal, belonging, and self-esteem in the general population version of the ISEL (reported in Cohen, Mermelstein, Kamarck, & Hoberman, 1984) have led some researchers (House & Kahn, 1985) to conclude that the scale actually differentiates only two independent support functions-tangible versus the other three. The confirmatory factor analysis of ISEL reported by Brookings and Bolton (1988) did not empirically demonstrate the utility of distinguishing four types of social support, compared with a single general index. …

Maternal prepregnancy body mass index and psychomotor development in children

Background. In a prospective study, the association between maternal nutritional status and psychomotor development of low‐income African–American children was evaluated. We hypothesized that low maternal body mass index (BMI) would predict worse neurodevelopmental status in children, while higher maternal BMIs would be associated with better neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Parental employment, school climate, and children's academic and social development.

Longitudinal data were used to examine the effects of parental employment status and school climate on childrens academic and social development. Hierarchical regression, analyses of covariance, and latent growth modeling were used to assess various aspects of change as a function of work status and school climate with family income and education as control variables. Parental employment was associated with positive changes in social and academic progress even after controlling for prior developmental level, climate, and family income although effects were small and complex. School climate had minimal effect on the outcome variables. Income and education were related to various school outcomes.

Intensive educational intervention for children of poverty

Abstract This editorial addresses three issues for which there is increasing scientific and practical knowledge about solutions. First, poverty, especially intergenerational poverty, is re-affirmed to have devastating effects on families and children. These include delays in young childrens developmental progress, lowered aspirations, and increased apathy among older children and adults, and school failure or withdrawal of many capable children. Second, intensive targeted interventions in the first five years of life are evaluated as effective in preventing the significant intellectual dysfunction that may result from intergenerational poverty. Effectiveness of interventions, however, depends on (a) the quality and intensity of the intervention (with no demonstrated positive outcomes for weak programs); (b) the integration of educational programs with other aspects of a childs life, including later schooling experiences; and (c) the severity of the childs initial biosocial risk. Third, issues about how to develop and implement a nationwide effort to prevent environmentally induced handicaps are highlighted. The political and economic problems to be confronted are beyond the realm of science, but the societal benefits that can be realized provide a compelling rationale for creating a new coalescence of public and private resources dedicated to enhancing families who cannot assure their children an intellectual adequate environment.

Children at Risk: Effects of a Four-Year Head Start Transition Program on Special Education Identification

Children in Head Start are at risk for school learning or behavioral problems. While Head Start has decreased special education placement, there has been little systematic data until recently on identification of children in disability categories following preschool. In this study, two cohorts of 6,162 children across 30 sites were followed through third grade. Approximately half of these children were provided transition assistance from kindergarten through third grade. This included school transition and curricular modifications, parent involvement activities, health screening or referrals, and family social services, all similar to those received in Head Start. They were compared to a similar group of Head Start children who did not receive such services beyond the Head Start experience. Special education eligibility was determined from school records in the spring of third grade. Only 0.89% of children in the transition group were identified in the mental retardation category compared to 1.26% in the non-transition group. In the category of emotional disturbance, these same figures were 1.21% and 1.65% respectively. Both differences were statistically significant, but an opposite effect was found in the category of speech or language impairment. Findings are discussed in relation to differences in disability categories and implications for early identification.