Based on data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study, the current study examined the contribution of five hypotheses to the estimated effects of preschool Child-Parent Centers on participants’ subsequent adulthood occupational prestige, felony arrest, and depressive symptoms.
Although there is currently sufficient evidence to support the long-term beneficial effects of educational enrichment for children and families in the early years of a child’s life, the causal mechanisms or pathways that produce these effects are not well understood. Comprehensive models have rarely been tested, and differential effects across a range of outcomes and programs have not been examined. In assessing the contributions of five hypotheses to explain the estimated effects of preschool, the current study used an alternative-intervention, quasi-experimental design that involved just over 1,400 low-income participants (93 percent Black children) who attended preschool for 1-2 years or experienced the usual early educational intervention. The sample was monitored to age 24. LISREL analysis of five hypotheses (cognitive advantage, family support, school support, motivational advantage, and social adjustment) found that although each hypothesis individually accounted for part of the estimated direct effect of preschool on the quality of adult experiences, the model that best explained the outcomes included indicators related to all five hypotheses. The multifaceted model completely accounted for the direct effect of preschool on occupational prestige, official felony arrest, and 79 percent of depression symptoms. Key mediators of the outcomes were cognitive skills at school entry, school quality in the elementary grades, juvenile arrest, and school completion. These factors may assist in designing, improving, and sustaining effects of other programs and settings. 5 tables, 3 figures, and 93 references