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Evidence Base Home » School and Child Care » The early years of a childs life are critical for health educational attainment and economic status in adulthood

Articles in The early years of a child’s life are critical for health, educational attainment, and economic status in adulthood.

  • The Perry Preschool Project showed positive effects on achievement test, grades, high school graduation rates, earnings, and negative effects on crime rates and welfare use at the age of 27.

    Schweinhart L. Lasting benefits of the Perry Preschool Project. Available at: HYPERLINK "http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContenID-219" http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContenID-219

  • The first three years may be a critical period for mental health and cognitive ability: infants subject to severe stress show high levels of stress hormones, which are associated with an inability to pay attention, learning and memory.

    Currie J. 2000. Early Childhood Interventions: What do we know? Available at http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED451915&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED451915

  • High quality child care was related to advanced cognitive, language, and preacademic outcomes at every age and better socio-emotional and peer outcomes at some ages.

    NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. 2006. Child-care effect sizes for the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. American Psychologist 61, 99–116.

  • Higher quality child care can buffer young children from the negative developmental effects of poverty to improve school readiness and language skills for low-income children. Lower quality care was associated with better outcomes in language skills for children from low-income families.

    McCartney K, Dearing E, Taylor BA, Bub KL. 2007. Quality child care supports the achievement of low-income children: Direct and indirect pathways through caregiving and the home environment. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 28 (2007) 411–426.

  • Children who score poorly on tests of cognitive skills during their preschool years are likely to do less well in elementary and high school than their higher-performing preschool peers and are more likely to become teen parents, engage in criminal activities, and suffer from depression.

    Rouse CE, Brooks-Gunn J, McLanahan, S. (Eds.). 2005. School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps. The Future of Children (Volume 15). www.futureofchildren.org

  • Better health in childhood has a lasting impact on incomes and wealth in adulthood. This is via its impact on cognitive skills, as well as educational attainment and adult health status.

    Smith JP. 2007. The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Health over the Life-Course.” Journal of Human Resources, 42(4): 739–64.
    Case A, Fertig A, Paxson C. 2005. The Lasting Impact of Childhood Health and Circumstance. Journal of Health Economics 24(2): 365–89.
    Palloni A, Milesi C, White RG, Turner A. 2009. Early childhood health, reproduction of economic inequalities and the persistence of health and mortality differentials. Soc Sci Med. 68(9):1574-82.
    HAAS SA. 2006. Stratification: The Effect of Childhood Health on Socioeconomic Attainment. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 47: 339–354.

  • Young children are susceptible to the effects of stress. Chronic stress or abuse in childhood can impair development of the hippocampus--the region of the brain involved in learning and memory--and reduce a child’s cognitive ability, negatively affecting the child’s school readiness.

    Noble KG, Tottenham N, Casey BJ. 2005. Neuroscience Perspectives on Disparities in School Readiness and Cognitive Achievement. The Future of Children 15(1): 71-89.

  • Emotional neglect and parental intimidation in childhood are associated with having a smaller network, feeling more emotionally isolated, and less adaptive psychosocial functioning in old age.

    Wilson RS, Krueger KR, Arnold SE, Barnes LL, Mendes de Leon CF, Bienias JL, Bennett DA. 2006. Childhood adversity and psychosocial adjustment in old age. American Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry 14(4): 307-315

  • Cumulative adversity during childhood including sexual abuse, physical abuse, and serious neglect have substantial effects on adult mental health. Sexual and physical abuse in childhood are associated with depression in young adulthood, especially for females.

    Schilling E, Aseltine R, Gore S. 2008. The impact of cumulative childhood adversity on young adult mental health: measures, models, and interpretations. Social Science & Medicine, 66, 1140–1151.
    Fletcher JM. 2009. Childhood mistreatment and adolescent and young adult depression. Social Science & Medicine 68(5): 799-806