School of Social Work, Michigan State University, 655 Auditorium Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States.
Child Abuse Negl. 2020 Mar;101:104329. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104329. Epub 2020 Jan 11.
This study examined the long-term effects of Head Start on foster children's developmental outcomes from ages 3-4 to 8-9.
187 children in the care of foster parents (either relatives or non-relatives) were selected among 4442 children from the Head Start Impact study data, collected during 2002-2009. Children's cognitive, social-emotional, and health outcomes were measured at three time points: ages 3-4, 5-6, and 8-9.
Regression analysis was used to examine interaction effects of Head Start at the three measured time points. Results indicated that children in foster care who participated in Head Start had overall higher cognitive, social-emotional, and health outcomes compared to children in foster care who did not participate in Head Start. The positive impacts of Head Start on children in foster care were more prevalent when children were 8-9 years old.
Social workers should evaluate, identify and connect adequate social services to children in foster care. Future studies should be conducted to identify the barriers of accessing Head Start among children in foster care.
本研究考察了学前教育计划对寄养儿童从 3-4 岁到 8-9 岁发展结果的长期影响。
在 2002-2009 年期间收集的学前教育计划影响研究数据中，从 4442 名儿童中选择了 187 名寄养在养父母（亲戚或非亲戚）家中的儿童。在三个时间点（3-4 岁、5-6 岁和 8-9 岁）测量儿童的认知、社会情感和健康结果。
回归分析用于检验学前教育计划在三个测量时间点的交互效应。结果表明，与未参加学前教育计划的寄养儿童相比，参加学前教育计划的寄养儿童在认知、社会情感和健康方面的总体结果更高。当儿童 8-9 岁时，学前教育计划对寄养儿童的积极影响更为普遍。
社会工作者应该评估、识别并为寄养儿童提供适当的社会服务。未来的研究应该确定寄养儿童获得学前教育计划的障碍。
