Disadvantaged youth more likely to be high-school dropouts, young parents and poor adults

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Concordia study finds poverty and behavioral history key to generational transfer

Disadvantaged kids are more likely to drop out of high school, become premature parents and raise their own children in poverty, according to an exhaustive new study from researchers at Concordia University and the University of Ottawa.

Published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development, the investigation was the first to follow boys and girls over three decades to examine whether childhood aggression, social withdrawal and low socio-economic status could impact adult wellbeing.

"Low socioeconomic status appears to have long-term detrimental effects – even when childhood behavior, education and other variables are factored in," says lead author Lisa A. Serbin, a psychology professor at Concordia University.

"Our study confirms that individual and environmental factors have a direct and enduring impact from childhood into parenthood. Addressing behavioral and academic problems in childhood might reduce, but would not eliminate the risk of economically disadvantaged children from parenting in poverty as adults," continues Dr. Serbin, who is also a scientist at the Centre for Research in Human Development.

This ongoing study was launched in 1976 and assessed participants at three-year intervals as part of the larger Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. Subjects from low socio-economic urban backgrounds were recruited from Grade 1, Grade 4 and Grade 7 at French-speaking public schools in urban Quebec.

In the most recent phase of the study, participants were in their mid-30s. Of the 328 women and 222 men who had become parents:

22.6 percent of mothers and 22.5 percent of fathers had not completed their secondary education (Grade 11) by age 25.
40 percent of female participants – married, single, cohabiting – were poor.
28 percent of male participants – married, single, cohabiting – were poor.
On average, 35 percent of households were considered poor.
Affects of childhood aggression and withdrawal

The study found that childhood aggression and withdrawal resulted in lower school achievement. Girls who experienced academic difficulties were at increased risk to drop out of high school. Girls who failed to complete high school were at greater risk for entering motherhood at a young age and to parent in poverty.

"Not only were aggressive girls at greater risk for becoming mothers early, but having children at a young age increased the likelihood that children would be raised with at least one biological parent absent," says Professor Serbin. "The absence of a parent, in turn, increased the likelihood of living in poverty."

Boys who were aggressive and those who experienced academic difficulties were at increased risk to drop out of high school. Aggressive boys were found to be at increased risk to be young parents of children who would be raised in the absence of one biological parent. Early parenthood predicted future family poverty among men regardless of family structure.

For disadvantaged kids to rise above challenges, Professor Serbin stresses, social intervention strategies must specifically target school drop-out, early parenthood, parental absence and family poverty. "To do this effectively, problematic behavior and learning difficulties during childhood and adolescence need to be addressed for conditions of parenthood to be substantially improved for socially disadvantaged youth," she says.

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Partners in research:

This study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture.

About the study:

"Predicting family poverty and other disadvantaged conditions for child rearing from childhood aggression and social withdrawal: A 30-year longitudinal study," published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development, was authored by Lisa A. Serbin, Caroline E. Temcheff, Jessica M. Cooperman, Dale M. Stack and Alex E. Schwartzman of Concordia University and Jane Ledingham of the University of Ottawa.

On the Web:

Cited International Journal of Behavioral Development study: http://jbd.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/09/24/0165025410372008

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Program for young students increases interest in college attendance and medical careers

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Two new studies have shown that a unique program in East Harlem that helps middle school students learn practical health skills and gain a better understanding of medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, resulted in increased interest in college attendance and medical careers among the students who attended the program. The results were presented at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting this month in Denver.

The MedStart Summer Enrichment Program was created in the summer of 2009 by Edward Chu and Melissa Schneiderman, two third-year medical students at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The free, one-week summer program is offered to East Harlem middle-school students who are interested in science and medicine, or who would benefit from a more interactive approach to learning. MedStart provides the participants with CPR and First Aid certification, and teaches them practical skills, such as how to take a pulse, and measure blood pressure. The program also provides transit passes, lunch, T-shirts, and trophies, at no cost to the students, for completing the program.

"East Harlem has one of the highest rates of asthma, diabetes, and obesity in all of New York City," said Chu. "We started the MedStart program because there was a significant unmet need for health care education among the youth of East Harlem about these diseases. A large number of medical students, residents, and faculty members were willing to dedicate time to help address this need, and MedStart was our solution."

The research team behind MedStart evaluated the impact of the program and presented the results at the APHA meeting. One study evaluated the impact of student attitudes toward science and medical careers before and after the program. Thirty-eight students completed the pre-program survey and 37 completed the post-survey. At the conclusion of the program, there was a 31 percent increase in students who were "very interested" in science, a 23 percent increase in students who were "very interested" in a career in the medical field, and a 13 percent increase in students who thought it was important to attend college.

A second study evaluated improvement in student knowledge of diseases prevalent in their community—asthma, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease—by surveying 39 students before and after the program. Comparing the students' pre-camp survey and post-camp survey performance, we found that their scores increased by an average of 26.5 percent. The majority of students previously were unaware of the high prevalence of these diseases in their community.

"These results demonstrate that the MedStart program improves middle school perceptions of health and science, encouraging them to someday consider careers in these fields," said Stephanie H. Factor, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and faculty advisor for MedStart. "MedStart also educates these students at a critical time in their lives about prevalent diseases in the East Harlem community. The measurable impact of this program shows that it should be replicated in communities around the country."

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Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary Math Curricula: Findings for First and Second Graders

According to a national evaluation of four math curricula, among first graders, the results favored Math Expressions over both Investigations and SFAW, but not over Saxon. Among second graders, the results favored Math Expressions and Saxon over SFAW, but not over Investigations.

The four curricula studied include: (1) Investigations in Number, Data, and Space, (2) Math Expressions, (3) Saxon Math, and (4) Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics (SFAW).

The evaluation compared the relative effects, including differences in teacher training, instructional strategies, content coverage, and materials, of these four curricula on the math achievement of first and second graders in 110 schools in 12 participating districts in 10 states. Schools were randomly assigned within each district to implement one of the four curricula in first and second grade. After one year, this study found significant impacts on student achievement of two curricula relative to the other two curricula in the study.

* The average math achievement of first graders in schools using Math Expressions was higher than in schools using Investigations and SFAW, but not in schools using Saxon. The difference is equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 54th percentile.
* The average math test score for second graders in schools using Math Expressions and in schools using Saxon was higher than that in schools using SFAW, but not in schools using Investigations. The differences are equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 55th and 57th percentile, respectively. Based on the curriculum requirements, Saxon teachers reported spending an average of one hour more on math instruction per week than teachers using other curricula, largely due to the extensive daily routines included in the Saxon curricula.
* Almost all teachers reported using their assigned curriculum and, based on classroom observations, the instructional approaches of teachers in the four curriculum groups differed as expected. Math Expressions blended student-centered and teacher-directed approaches to math instruction, while student-centered instruction and peer collaboration were highest in Investigations classrooms, and teacher-directed instruction was highest in Saxon classrooms.

The evaluation was conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. and released by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance within the Institute of Education Sciences.

For first report visit: http://ies.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=NCEE20094052.

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