Fade-out Of Effects Research Articles

Parent Training and Child Development at Low Cost? Evidence From a Randomized Field Experiment in Mexico

ABSTRACT Can at-scale, government-implemented parent training programs improve parenting practices and child development outcomes? This article presents evidence on the effects of a low-cost, group-based early childhood education program that provided parent training and direct child stimulation in rural communities, evaluated in six Mexican states. Despite limited take-up, the program had positive impacts on observed parent behaviors in its first year. An index of observed parenting behaviors increased by 0.20 standard deviations, with larger effects (0.32 standard deviations) for parents of the youngest children (ages 0–35 months). An index of impacts on child development showed no statistically significantly effects, but certain aspects of child development showed suggestive evidence of positive impacts in the first year. For both parenting practices and child development, effect sizes were smaller and not statistically significant in the second year. The fade-out of effects is consistent with existing literature on parenting programs. Impacts of the program on child development were not significantly different for girls versus boys or for younger versus older children. These results suggest that parent training can be implemented at low cost, although design changes to improve implementation and take-up would likely be needed to generate sustained impacts on parenting practices.

Are Benefits From a Parenting Intervention Delivered Through the Health Services Sustainable? Follow-Up of a Randomized Evaluation in Jamaica.

An innovative low-cost parenting intervention, implemented through health services in Jamaica showed benefits to children's cognitive development at 18 months and parent's attitudes concerning childcare. We assessed the impact of the intervention on child and parent outcomes at 6 years of age. A cluster randomized trial of 2 parenting interventions was conducted through 20 health centers in Jamaica. Interventions were implemented from age 3 to 18 months and each intervention benefited cognitive development at 18 months (effect size 0.34-0.38 standard deviation). Children were reassessed at 6 years (n=262, 80.1% of those assessed at 18 months) to determine any benefits to cognition, behavior, and parenting behavior. Loss to follow-up was not significantly different by treatment. Inverse probability weighting and Lee bounds were used to adjust for loss to follow-up, and multilevel regression analyses conducted with random effects at the health center level. There were no significant benefits to any child outcomes at age 6 years or to parenting behavior. Results are robust using the wild cluster bootstrap procedure and using Lee bounds for attrition. The initial trial benefits were reproduced with the current sample and methods. Lack of sustained benefits may be related to the initial effect size and low intensity of the intervention that ended very young at age 18 months. It may also be related to lack of initial impact on home environment and fade-out of effects in a country with near universal preschool. The findings have implications for intervention design and targeting.

Mental Health Around Pregnancy and Child Development from Early Childhood to Adolescence

We identify the causal effect of mothers' mental health during early - and soon after pregnancy on a range of child psychological, socio-emotional and cognitive outcomes measured between ages 4-16. Results suggest a negative effect on children's psychological and socio-emotional skills in early childhood, but these effects fade-out between the ages of 11-13. We find no significant effect on cognitive outcomes. The fade-out of effects may be partly explained by compensatory behaviour of parents, as we find that mental health during or soon after pregnancy raises breastfeeding and improves measures of interaction between mother and child.

Short and long-term effects of a mathematics tablet intervention for low performing second graders.

Using a randomized placebo controlled design, we examined the direct and follow-up effects (at 6 and 12 months) of a mathematics tablet intervention. Math training focused primarily on basic arithmetic (addition and subtraction facts up to 12), and secondarily on number knowledge and word problems. We investigated the moderating effects of IQ and socioeconomic factors, and additive effects of working memory (WM) training. A representative sample of 283 low performing second-grade students were randomly assigned to control (n = 52), reading placebo (n = 78), math intervention (MA; n = 76), or math plus WM training (MA + WM; n = 77). Both math conditions scored significantly higher than control and placebo on the posttest of basic arithmetic, but not on arithmetic transfer and problem solving. WM training did not show additive effects. Given the virtually identical patterns, we collapsed the control and placebo, respectively, MA and MA + WM conditions. The collapsed MA/MA + WM condition demonstrated significant medium-sized effects (d = 0.53–0.67) on basic arithmetic compared with the collapsed control/placebo condition at posttest. There was a fadeout of effects at 6-month follow-up (d = 0.18–0.28), that declined further at 12 months (d = 0.03–0.13). IQ was a significant moderator of direct and long-term effects on addition up to 12 and subtraction up to 18, where students with lower IQ benefitted more than higher IQ students. Socioeconomic factors did not moderate outcome. The intervention effectively improved basic arithmetic among low performing second graders. Although the effects waned at 6-month follow-up, there was some indication that children with lower IQ demonstrated sustained gains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)