Cognitive, language, and social-emotional development among infants and toddlers in Early Head Start: An examination of the impact of cumulative risk

The data for this study were made available from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. All outcomes were examined at the 36 month time period and the analyses included a large sample of low-income families. A cumulative risk index (CRI) consisting of 13 risk factors was used in this study to examine its relation to children's cognitive and language development, and social emotional well-being. Hierarchical linear regression analyses based on a theoretically designed model of cumulative risk also provided insight on particular risk factors that impact child developmental outcomes. This study also examined mediation models in predicting the effect of the availability of family resources on child developmental outcomes. The mediators that were evaluated included parenting behaviors (mother-child interactions), the impact of the home environment, and family well being variables (maternal depression, parental distress, parent-child dysfunctional interactions, and family conflict).; Results indicated that there was a negative association between the CRI and cognitive, language, and positive aspects of social emotional development outcomes (emotional regulation and orientation/engagement), and a positive association between the CRI and negative aspects of social emotional development (aggressive behavior). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that various child, maternal, and familial characteristics differentially impacted child outcomes with proximal variables often accounting for a greater amount of variance than distal risks. Results supported the hypothesis that distinct mediating mechanisms operate on the association between the availability of family resources and some of the child developmental outcomes; associations were mainly seen for the home environment and family well-being variables than for parenting behaviors.; The results of this research have important implications for the cumulative risk framework and provide valuable insight into the individual factors that critically impact children's developmental outcomes, particularly for high risk, low-income infants and toddlers and their families. The results of this study also provide evidence of mediation effects between the availability of family resources and child outcomes. The first three years of life are crucial for a child's development. The Early Head Start project provides important information on how to assist families and children in overcoming disadvantage and strengthening both academic and social outcomes.