Intergenerational Adversity: Executive Function and Stress Physiology in a Two-Generation Head Start Intervention

• In Event: 2-100 - Mechanisms to Enhance Executive Functions and Stress Physiology in Head Start Populations

Integrative Statement

Recent calls emphasize the potential for two-generation approaches targeting foundational systems to improve outcomes for children and parents from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds (Shonkoff, 2012). Two aspects of brain function predominantly underlie SES-related disparities in educational and health outcomes: stress physiology and self-regulation, which includes executive function (EF; e.g., Blair & Raver, 2012). Aspects of brain function related to these systems are foundational in that they are related to multiple outcomes. For example, preschool EF skills predict future math and reading achievement (Bull et al., 2008), and self-regulation predicts many adult outcomes (Moffitt et al., 2011). Excessive activation of the stress response system in development can create physiological disruptions that increase health risks in adulthood (McEwen & Gianaros, 2010). Two-generation programs targeting stress and self-regulation have been shown to be effective in improving outcomes related to these systems in children and parents (e.g., Neville et al., 2013). We developed a two-generation intervention targeting attention and self-regulation in preschool children by engaging the broader context of parents and the home environment. We have shown that, relative to two comparison groups, parents in the program demonstrate improved language, behavior and reduced parenting stress, and children in the program display significant improvements in cognition, parent-reported child behaviors, and brain functions supporting selective attention (Neville et al., 2013).

This intervention, called Creating Connections: Strong Families, Strong Brains (CC), features full-year classroom implementation of the child training component as well as selected parent strategies and an eight-week parent training program delivered mid-year. The primary strength of CC is a focus on foundational systems supporting stress regulation and self-regulation, and the degree of integration of child and parent training programs. We hypothesize that participation in CC will positively impact child cognition, behavior, and health resulting in reduced stress, family well-being, and improved self-regulation in both children and parents (e.g., Shonkoff, 2012).

Families of children in 20 classrooms across nine sites were randomly assigned at the site level to receive either CC or Head Start-as-usual. Family assessment data were acquired for each annual cohort in fall and spring of the school year. Outcome domains include laboratory measures of stress physiology and brain function for attention and self-regulation in both children and parents (N = 106), laboratory measures of child cognition including IQ, language, preliteracy, and executive function (N = 269), parent self-report measures including parenting practices, parenting stress, child sleep behavior, home environment (N = 269), and Head Start measures of child health and achievement of learning objectives (N ≈ 1650).

While analysis is ongoing, we will present preliminary assessments of intervention effects from Cohorts 1-3 using an SEM approach with participant- and site-level covariates. Analyses performed to date reveal improvements on a behavioral measure of inhibitory control (Berkman, Kahn, & Merchant, 2014) specific to parents at CC sites who were high attenders of the mid-year parent training program. These findings suggest that these systems might underlie both risk associated with early adversity, but also resilience to the effects of adversity, on behavior and physiology.

Author

• Eric Pakulak, University of Oregon
  Presenting Author