High-quality child care for poor children found to offset the risk of later ...( ween the early home environment and sub...),Health

In contrast, among the young adults who did not attend the early care program as young children, the more negative the early home environment, the greater the likelihood that these individuals would show signs of depression.

"The early intervention, which was largely child centered, does not appear to have changed home environments," according to Frances A. Campbell, senior scientists at the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one of the authors of the study. "Rather it buffered, or protected, the treated children from the adverse effects of less optimal early home environments on depressive symptoms. Evidence indicating that good early childhood experiences can make a positive difference in the mental health of individuals born into poverty underscores the importance of investing in high quality early childhood experiences for poor children."

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Contact: Andrea Browning
abrowning@srcd.org
202-289-7905
Society for Research in Child Development
17-May-2007