Mechanisms of effects of an early intervention program on educational attainment: A gender subgroup analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore whether the processes that account for the link between participation in the Chicago Child–Parent Center (CPC) Program and educational attainment differed by gender. Five mechanisms derived from previous studies, i.e., cognitive advantage, family support, social adjustment, motivational advantage, and school support, were investigated. The study sample included 1334 youth (682 females and 652 males) from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate pathways of effects of preschool participation on educational attainment. Findings suggest that cognitive advantage played a more important role for males than for females, and family support played a more important role for females than for males. Motivational advantage and social adjustment hypotheses were not significant mediators for either females or males, although they contributed to the overall model fit. Motivational advantage seemed to play a more important role for males. Findings provide directions for future investigation of the two groups.