Early Educational Intervention and Midlife Psychological Wellbeing: A Longitudinal Investigation In A Low-Income, Urban Sample

Abstract

The present study is the first to examine the relations between participation in a public early childhood intervention (the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program) and psychological wellbeing into early mid-life. Data is drawn from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), which has followed a cohort of 1,539 individuals who grew up in urban poverty for over four decades. Approximately two-thirds of the original study cohort participated in the CPC program in early childhood; the rest comprise a demographically matched comparison group. In this study, participants’ psychological wellbeing is assessed in terms of rates of depressive symptoms, as well as aspects of positive psychological functioning. Processes mediating the relationship between ECE intervention and long-term psychological wellbeing are explored, as well as potential moderated mediation (e.g., whether the effects of CPC participation vary for different subgroups of children). Future directions for child development research, early childhood intervention, and public policy are discussed.