Promoting Resilience through Early Childhood Intervention

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615788.020

18 - Promoting Resilience through Early Childhood Intervention

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012

Arthur J. Reynolds and

Suh-Ruu Ou

Edited by

Suniya S. Luthar

Show author details

Arthur J. Reynolds: Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Suh-Ruu Ou: Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Suniya S. Luthar: Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York

Book contents

Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

In the past decade, research on resilience has grown dramatically beyond the field of clinical psychology from which it arose. Applications in education, social work, human development, health, and business have expanded the conceptualization of resilience from a psychosocial perspective to a multidimensional one (Wang & Gordon, 1994; Werner & Smith, 1992; Zimmerman & Arunkumar, 1994). Although much of the knowledge base has highlighted measurement and methodology, a major source of the appeal of the resilience concept is to enhance the well-being of individuals through social programs and policies. One major priority is the identification of personal and environmental factors that promote successful adjustment among the most vulnerable young people.

In this chapter, we review evidence about the effects of early childhood interventions in promoting resilience for children who have experienced high levels of social-environmental risk due to economic disadvantage. We address several contemporary issues including the measurement of resilience, interventions as protective factors, and the pathways through which the effects of interventions lead to positive developmental outcomes.

Despite continuing concerns about construct and measurement validity (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000; Tolan, 1996), resilience as a subject of investigation has been a major influence on developmental research. Four characteristics explain its influence. First, resilience is a positive outcome of development and thus provides an alternative perspective to dysfunctional behavior that has long been associated with the field of psychology. Undue focus on individual pathology and disease can have stigmatizing effects, and this is largely avoided with resilience.

Type: Chapter
Information: Resilience and Vulnerability
Adaptation in the Context of Childhood Adversities
, pp. 436 - 460

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615788.020 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Anderson, S., Auquier, A., Hauck, W. W., Oakes, D., Vandaele, W., & Weisberg, H. I. (1980). Statistical methods for comparative studies: Techniques for bias reduction. New York: Wiley

Barnett, W. S., & Boocock, S. S. (Eds.). (1998). Early care and education for children in poverty. Albany: State University of New York Press

Barnett, W. S., Young, J. W., & Schweinhart, L. J. (1998). How preschool education influences long-term cognitive development and school success: A causal model. In W. S. Barnett & S. S. Boocock (Eds.), Early care and education for children in poverty (pp. 167–184). Albany: State University of New York Press

Berrueta-Clement, J. R., Schweinhart, L. J., Barnett, W. S., Epstein, A. S., &Weikart, D. P. (1984). Changed lives: The effects of the Perry Preschool Program on youths through age 19. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1975). Is early intervention effective? In M. Guttentag & E. Struening (Eds.), Handbook of evaluation research (Vol. 2, pp. 519–603). Beverly Hills: Sage

Chen, H. T. (1990). Theory-driven evaluations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Chicago Board of Education. (1988). Chicago EARLY: Instructional activities for ages 3 to 6. Vernon Hills, IL: ETA.

Coie, J. D., Watt, N. F., West, S. G., Harkins, J. D., Asarnow, J. R., Markman, H. J., Ramey, S. L., Shure, M. B. & Long, B. (1993). The science of prevention: A conceptual framework and some directions for a national research program. American Psychologist, 48, 1013–1022CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Consortium for Longitudinal Studies. (1983). As the twig is bent … lasting effects of preschool programs. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis issues for field settings. Chicago: Rand McNally

Cronbach, L. J. (1982). Designing evaluations for educational and social programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Currie, J., & Thomas, D. (1998). School quality and the longer-term effects of Head Start. NBER Working Paper No. 6362. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research

Durlak, J. A., & Wells, A. M. (1997). Primary prevention of mental health programs for children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25, 115–152CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Guralnick, M. (Ed.). (1997). The effectiveness of early intervention. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes

Karoly, L. A., Greenwood, P. W., Everingham, S. S., Hoube, J., Kilburn, M. R., Rydell, C. P., Sanders, M., & Chiesa, J. (1998). Investing in our children: What we know and don't know about the costs and benefits of early childhood interventions. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.

Lally, J. R., Mangione, P. L., Honig, A. S., & Wittner, D. S. (1988, April 13–18). More pride, less delinquency: Findings from the ten-year follow-up study of the Syracuse University Family Development Research Program. Zero to Three, 8(4), 13–18Google Scholar

Lazar, I., Darlington, R. B., Murray, H. W., & Snipper, A. S. (1982). Lasting effects of early education: A report from the consortium for longitudinal studies. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 47 (2/3, Serial No. 195)CrossRef Google Scholar

Lee, V. E., & Loeb, S. (1995). Where do Head Start attendees end up? One reason why preschool effects fade out. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 17, 62–82CrossRef Google Scholar

Lipsey, M. W. (1993). Theory as method: Small theories as treatments. In L. Sechrest & A. Scott (Eds.), Understanding causes and generalizing about them. New directions for program evaluation (No. 57, pp. 5–38). San Francisco: Jossey-BassCrossRef

Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (1993). The efficacy of psychological, educational, and behavioral treatment: Confirmation from meta-analysis. American Psychologist, 48, 1181–1209CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future workChild Development, 71, 543–562CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Naisbitt, N. (1968). Child–Parent Education Centers, ESEATitle I, Activity I. Unpublished report, Chicago

Powell, D. R. (1999). Early childhood development. In A. J. Reynolds, H. J. Walberg, & R. P. Weissberg (Eds.), Promoting positive outcomes: Issues in children's and families' lives (pp. 45–71). Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America

Ramey, S. L, & Ramey, C. T. (1992). Early educational intervention with disadvantaged children – To what effect?Applied and Preventive Psychology, 1, 131–140CrossRef Google Scholar

Ramey, C. T., & Ramey, S. L. (1998). Early intervention and early experience. American Psychologist, 53, 109–120CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Reynolds, A. J. (1998a). Confirmatory program evaluation: A method for strengthening causal inference. American Journal of Evaluation, 17, 21–35Google Scholar

Reynolds, A. J. (1998b). Resilience among black urban youth: Prevalence, intervention effects and mechanisms of influence. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68, 84–100CrossRef Google Scholar

Reynolds, A. J. (2000). Success in early intervention: The Chicago Child–Parent Centers. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press

Reynolds, A. J. (1999, April). Pathways of long-term effects in the Title I Child–Parent Center Program. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, NM.

Reynolds, A. J., & Temple, J. A. (1995). Quasi-experimental estimates of the effects of a preschool intervention: Psychometric and econometric comparisons. Evaluation Review, 19, 347–373CrossRef Google Scholar

Reynolds, A. J., & Temple, J. A. (1998). Extended early childhood intervention and school achievement: Age 13 findings from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Child Development, 69, 231–246CrossRef Google Scholar

Reynolds, A. J., Mavrogenes, N. A., Bezruczko, N., & Hagemann, M. (1996). Cognitive and family-support mediators of preschool effectiveness: A confirmatory analysis. Child Development, 67, 1119–1140CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Reynolds, A. J., Chang, H., & Temple, J. A. (1998). Early childhood intervention and juvenile delinquency: An exploratory analysis of the Child–Parent Centers. Evaluation Review, 22, 341–372CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Reynolds, A. J., Mann, E., Miedel, W., & Smokowski, P. (1997). The state of early childhood intervention: Effectiveness, myths and realities, new directions. Focus, 19(1), 3–11Google Scholar

Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., Robertson, D. L., & Mann, E. A. (2001). Long-term effects of an early childhood intervention on educational achievement and juvenile arrest: A 15-year follow-up of low-income children in public schools. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285 (18), 2339–2346CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Rutter, M., Champion L., Quinton, D., Maughan, B., & Pickles, A. (1995). Understanding individual differences in environment-risk exposure. In P. Moen, G. H. Elder, Jr., & K. Lüscher (Eds.), Examining lives in context: Perspectives on the ecology of human development. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Schweinhart, L. J., & Weikart, D. P. (1980). Young children grow up: The effects of the Perry Preschool Program on youths through age 15. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation

Schweinhart, L. J., Barnes, H. V., & Weikart, D. P. (1993). Significant benefits: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 27. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation

Seitz, V. (1990). Intervention programs for impoverished children: A comparison of educational and family support models. Annals of Child Development, 7, 73–103Google Scholar

Susser, M. (1973). Causal thinking in the health sciences, concepts and strategies of epidemology. New York: Oxford University Press

Tolan, P. H. (1996). How resilient is the concept of resilience?Community Psychologist, 29, 12–15Google Scholar

U. S. General Accounting Office. (1997). Head Start: Research provides little information on impact of current program. Report no, HEHS-97–59. Washington, DC: GAO.

Yoshikawa, H. (1995). Long-term effects of early childhood programs on social outcomes and delinquency. Future of Children, 5(3), 51–75CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Wang, M. C., & Gordon, E. W. (Eds.). (1994). Educational resilience in inner-city America: Challenges and prospects. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

Weissberg, R. P., & Greenberg, M. T. (1998). School and community competence-enhancement and prevention programs. In W. Damon (Ed.) Handbook of child psychology: Child psychology in practice (Vol. 4, pp. 877–954). New York: Wiley

Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press

Zigler, E., & Butterfield, E. C. (1968). Motivational aspects of change in IQ test performance of culturally deprived nursery school children. Child Development, 39, 1–14CrossRef Google Scholar

Zigler, E., & Styfco S. (1993). Head Start and beyond: A national plan for extended childhood intervention. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press

Zigler, E., Abelson, W., Trickett, P. K., & Seitz, V. (1982). Is an intervention program necessary in order to improve economically disadvantaged children's IQ scores?Child Development, 53, 340–348CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Zimmerman, M. A., & Arunkumar, R. (1994). Resiliency research: Implications for schools and policy. Social policy report (Vol. VIII, No. 4, pp. 1–17). Ann Arbor, MI: Society for Research in Child Development