Preschool children's use of decontextualized language, or talk about abstract topics beyond the here-and-now, is predictive of their kindergarten readiness and is associated with the frequency of parents' own use of decontextualized language. Does a brief, parent-focused intervention conveying the importance of decontextualized language cause…

There is growing support for the efficacy of mindfulness training with parents as an intervention technique to improve parenting skills and reduce risk for youth problem behaviors. The evidence, however, has been limited to small scale studies, many with methodological shortcomings. This study sought to integrate mindfulness training with parents…

Using a group-randomized field experimental design, this study tested whether a workplace intervention--designed to reduce work-family conflict--buffered against potential age-related decreases in the affective well-being of employees' children. Daily diary data were collected from 9- to 17-year-old children of parents working in an information…

A robust finding across research on early childhood educational interventions is that the treatment effect diminishes over time, with children not receiving the intervention eventually catching up to children who did. One popular explanation for fadeout of early mathematics interventions is that elementary school teachers may not teach the kind of…

Much of child care research has focused on the effects of the quality of care in early childhood settings on children's school readiness skills. Although researchers increased the statistical rigor of their approaches over the past 15 years, researchers' ability to draw causal inferences has been limited because the studies are based on…

Using data ("n" = 3,790 with 2,119 in the 3-year-old cohort and 1,671 in the 4-year-old cohort) from 353 Head Start centers in the Head Start Impact Study, the only large-scale randomized experiment in Head Start history, this article examined the impact of Head Start on children's cognitive and parent-reported social-behavioral outcomes…

Self-regulatory abilities are robust predictors of important outcomes across the life span, yet they are rarely taught explicitly in school. Using a randomized controlled design, the present study investigated the effects of a 12-week mindfulness-based Kindness Curriculum (KC) delivered in a public school setting on executive function,…

A short-term cognitive mediation training intervention program designed to alter the social-cognitive basis for aggressive behavior of adolescent aggression offenders was found to increase social problem-solving skills, reduce endorsement of beliefs supporting aggression, and reduce aggressive, impulsive, and inflexible behavior. (RH)

Comparing 969 economically disadvantaged children attending Head Start, other preschools, or no preschool, this study assessed the Project's effectiveness. Findings indicated that Head Start provided an especially enriching preschool experience, and was an impressive instrument of short-term change in children. Gains in behaviors other than…

Estimated effects of high participation in Infant Health and Development Program targeting low-birth-weight (LBW) premature infants. Found that at age 8, effects of attending more than 400 days on scores on the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children Full and Verbal Scales was 7 to 10 points. Effects were 14 points for heavier LBW infants and 8…

Comparisons were made in the conversations of 16 low income children in a preschool intervention program, a group of low income children not in the program, and a group of middle income children. Adults' conversational turns included three types of cognitively complex initiations. Results demonstrated a facilitating effect of day care…

Examined developmental trajectories toward violence over middle childhood and children's response to a universal school-based preventive intervention. Found that three growth patterns--positive linear, late acceleration, and gradual deceleration--characterized the children's trajectories, and these trajectories varied meaningfully by child…