In the first trial, 44 Head Start classrooms were randomly assigned to the REDI intervention or usual practice and 356 4-year-old children were followed from prekindergarten into elementary school. The classroom program enhanced teaching quality and promoted improvements in child vocabulary, emergent literacy skills, social competence, learning engagement, and reduced aggression at the end of Head Start. Sustained benefits were documented in kindergarten and second grade, with improved social-emotional functioning still evident for some subgroups at the end of fifth grade.
The first aim of the proposed study is to assess the long term impact of the REDI classroom program by conducting follow-up assessments with the participants in grades 9 and 11, and testing the hypothesis that the improved social-emotional functioning and self-regulation skills promoted by REDI will mediate long term effects on academic attainment and reductions in risky behaviors in adolescence. In 2009, a second REDI trial was initiated. A new sample of 210 children attending Head Start REDI classrooms were randomly assigned to receive a complementary REDI home visiting program or usual practice Head Start home visiting. The REDI home visiting program promoted improvements in child social competence, self- directed learning and academic competence in kindergarten with sustained effects evident in second grade.
The second aim of the proposed study is to assess the longer-term impact of the REDI home visiting program by conducting follow-up assessments with the 210 participants in grades 5 and 7, and testing the hypothesis that improved parent support and parent-child communication will mediate program effects on later child outcomes.
The third aim i s to explore the impact of the school context on the long term outcomes of the REDI classroom and home visiting programs. Analyses of the REDI classroom program revealed some moderation in elementary school, with benefits amplified in schools characterized by low levels of student achievement

Public Health Relevance

REDI sought to take advantage of the well-established delivery system of Head Start and its capacity to reach children living in poverty, but to improve its impact by enriching the curriculum with evidence-based components and professional development supports, and enhancing home-visiting with evidence-based parenting practices. This study will evaluate the long term benefits of REDI enhancements to Head Start.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD046064-14
Application #
9310064
Study Section
Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention Study Section (PDRP)
Program Officer
Griffin, James
Project Start
2003-09-26
Project End
2019-07-31
Budget Start
2017-08-01
Budget End
2018-07-31
Support Year
14
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Pennsylvania State University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
003403953
City
University Park
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
16802
Bierman, Karen L; Mathis, Erin T; Domitrovich, Celene E (2018) Serving the Needs of Young Children with Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Needs: A Commentary. School Ment Health 10:254-263
Loughlin-Presnal, John; Bierman, Karen L (2017) How do parent expectations promote child academic achievement in early elementary school? A test of three mediators. Dev Psychol 53:1694-1708
Sasser, Tyler R; Bierman, Karen L; Heinrichs, Brenda et al. (2017) Preschool Intervention Can Promote Sustained Growth in the Executive-Function Skills of Children Exhibiting Early Deficits. Psychol Sci 28:1719-1730
Bierman, Karen L; Heinrichs, Brenda S; Welsh, Janet A et al. (2017) Enriching preschool classrooms and home visits with evidence-based programming: sustained benefits for low-income children. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 58:129-137
Loughlin-Presnal, John E; Bierman, Karen L (2017) Promoting parent academic expectations predicts improved school outcomes for low-income children entering kindergarten. J Sch Psychol 62:67-80
Nix, Robert L; Bierman, Karen L; Heinrichs, Brenda S et al. (2016) The randomized controlled trial of Head Start REDI: Sustained effects on developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning. J Consult Clin Psychol 84:310-22
Mathis, Erin T B; Bierman, Karen L (2015) Effects of Parent and Child Pre-Intervention Characteristics on Child Skill Acquisition during a School Readiness Intervention. Early Child Res Q 33:87-97
Lee, Phyllis; Bierman, Karen L (2015) Classroom and Teacher Support in Kindergarten: Associations with the Behavioral and Academic Adjustment of Low-Income Students. Merrill Palmer Q (Wayne State Univ Press) 61:383-411
Sasser, Tyler R; Beekman, Charles R; Bierman, Karen L (2015) Preschool executive functions, single-parent status, and school quality predict diverging trajectories of classroom inattention in elementary school. Dev Psychopathol 27:681-93
Bierman, Karen L; Welsh, Janet A; Heinrichs, Brenda S et al. (2015) Helping Head Start Parents Promote Their Children's Kindergarten Adjustment: The Research-Based Developmentally Informed Parent Program. Child Dev 86:1877-91

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