Low-income African American Preschoolers Research Articles

A Longitudinal Study of the Effect of Computers on the Cognitive Development of Low-Income African American Preschool Children

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: The current study examined the impact of daily classroom computer use on the cognitive development of preschool children in 14 urban Head Start classrooms. The sample consisted of 208 predominantly African American low-income children with a mean age of 48.8 months. A quasi-experimental design was used in which 7 classrooms had computers and 7 classrooms served as the control. Assessments were made at baseline and at 6, 12, and 18 months. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to assess differences between the computer and control groups on cognitive developmental trajectories. Children in the computer condition displayed significantly greater increases in quantitative development than did children from the control condition. Practice or Policy: Children’s access to computers at home and at school has become increasingly prevalent. However, there is still a substantial disparity in access to technology between different socioeconomic groups. The preschool years may offer a promising opportunity to close this gap in access; however, little is known about the impact of computers on the developing minds of children, particularly those from low-income African American families. Findings from the current study suggest that daily use of computer centers in the Head Start classroom may benefit quantitative outcomes for young children.

Maternal Perceptions Related to Eating and Obesity Risk Among Low-Income African American Preschoolers.

Objectives Health disparities are prevalent in the U.S., with low-income African American children suffering from high rates of obesity and related conditions. Better understanding of parental attitudes and barriers related to healthy eating and obesity risk is needed to suggest more effective intervention foci for this at-risk population. Methods African American caregivers of 3-5year old children were recruited for focus groups and a questionnaire completion from two Head Start programs in a southeastern state of the U.S. The Social Cognitive Theory was utilized to develop a focus group guide. Focus group recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the comparative content analysis. Results Eight focus groups (all participants were mothers) yielded the following main themes: (1) general nutrition knowledge but common misconceptions about foods/beverages; (2) beliefs that meals have to include meat and starch and be home-cooked to be healthy; (3) desire to feed children better than their own parents; (4) lack of family support and child pickiness perceived as the greatest barriers to healthy eating; (5) awareness of family history of diseases; and (6) low concern about children's current diet and weight status. Over 25% of mothers underestimated their child weight status. Conclusions Our findings highlight the importance of understanding maternal perspectives related to food, eating, and weight among low-income African American mothers of preschoolers. Nutrition educators should be aware of misconceptions and recognize that mothers might not perceive diet quality in early childhood as having strong impact on the child's future health and/or obesity risks.

Tooth Surface Level Caries Progression in the Primary Dentition among Preschool Children

The objective of this paper is to describe primary tooth surface level caries progression, over 2 years, based on the severity of the caries lesions. Data were collected from 790 low-income African-American preschool children in Detroit, Mich., USA. The caregivers of the children (aged 0-5 years) completed interviews and the dyad of child-caregiver completed dental examinations in 2002-2004 (baseline) and in 2004-2005 (follow-up). Caries were measured using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). The caries status of tooth surfaces was classified into initial (ICDAS 1-2), moderate (ICDAS 3-4) and extensive (ICDAS 5-6) stages. Counts of tooth surfaces with progression, by baseline caries severity level, were used to compute rate ratios (RRs) relative to sound stages. RRs were also computed for type of tooth surfaces and frequency of intake of soda consumption at baseline. After adjusting for confounders, caries progression was more likely to occur in tooth surfaces with any baseline caries relative to sound surfaces. For surfaces with initial caries, the rate of progression to moderate caries was 9.6 times higher than that of sound surfaces. Surfaces with initial and moderate caries progressed to extensive caries 6.1 and 20.6 times, respectively, relative to sound surfaces. Baseline soda consumption was not associated with the RR of caries progression. In conclusion, the staging of caries identifies different progression risks and significant emphasis should be placed on secondary prevention of initial lesions as well as on primary prevention.

Domain-Specific Cognitive Stimulation and Maternal Sensitivity as Predictors of Early Academic Outcomes among Low-Income African American Preschoolers

Toni Harris Virginia State UniversityJohn Sideris University of North Carolina at Chapel HillZewelanji Serpell Virginia Commonwealth UniversityMargaret Burchinal University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChloe Pickett Virginia State UniversityIntroductionBy the end of preschool, many African American children from low-income families have demonstrable lags in early language, literacy, and mathematical skills (Denton Flanagan & McPhee, 2009; Hoffman & Llagas, 2003; Sbarra & Pianta, 2001). African American boys are particularly at-risk for poor early outcomes (Chatterji, 2006; Davis, 2003; Downer & Pianta, 2006; Kaiser, Cai, Hancock, & Foster, 2002; Stanton-Chapman et al., 2004) and research shows that with each increasing grade level African American girls outperform boys in all academic domains including math, language, and science (Roberts, Burchinai, & Durham, 1999). It has been suggested that African American children's family contexts be more closely examined to determine how they differentially influence African American children's academic achievement, in light of unique risk factors associated with race, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES, Thomas & Stevenson, 2009).There is a significant body of literature that has examined how cognitive stimulation and maternal sensitivity predicts language outcomes during early childhood (Davis, 2003; Roberts, Jurgens, & Burchinai, 2005); and among Canadian children, how domain-specific cognitive stimulation (e.g., mathematics stimulation) predicts mathematical skills during middle childhood (Blevins-Knabe & Musun-Miller, 1996; LeFevre et al., 2009). From these studies, one can ascertain that during early childhood maternal sensitivity and cognitive stimulation predict language outcomes, and that domain-specific stimulation should predict mathematics outcomes during early childhood as they have done in middle childhood.As previously stated, by kindergarten entry, African American children in general, and lowincome African American children in particular, continue to demonstrate lags in performance (i.e., achievement scores and grades) that are maintained throughout their academic careers (Jencks & Phillips, 1998; Lee, 2002) with African American males demonstrating the greatest lags. In spite of these outcomes, the literature has not closely examined how domain-specific parenting variables predict African American children's language and mathematics academic outcomes prior to kindergarten entry, nor has it closely examined predictors based on gender. The primary goal of the current study is to take a closer look at how maternal sensitivity and domain-specific cognitive stimulation predict applied problem-solving skills, letter-word identification, and vocabulary during early childhood, by gender, so that more precise recommendations for successful academic outcomes can be provided to low-income African American parents.The theoretical framework for the current study derives from ecological-developmental theories (Bronfenbrenner, 1994; Garcia Coll et al., 1996) that emphasize that development is best understood by examining the multiple ecologies of children and inputs from individuals that constitute them. All ecological-developmental theories contend that development depends, in part, on the degree of support provided by a child's environment, particularly the home environment. Garcia Coll and colleagues' (1996) integrative model adds cultural specificity to traditional ecological-developmental models by describing macrosystem variables (e.g., racism, discrimination, and history of oppression) that uniquely affect children from racial/ethnic minority groups. This integrative model posits that for African American children, developmental processes are affected first by social position variables such as race, social class, and gender.Much of the existing educational research examining early predictors of academic skills among African American children uses a comparative approach with middle-class Caucasians serving as the reference group (Lee, 2003). …

Assessing low-income African-American pre-schoolers' behaviour problems in relationship to community violence, inter-partner conflict, parenting, informal social support and social skills

This study examined the relations among community violence exposure, inter‐partner conflict and informal social support and the behaviour problems of pre‐schoolers, and explored how mothers' parenting skills and children's social skills may mediate the child outcomes associated with such exposure. Participants were 185 African‐American mothers and female caregivers of Head Start children who completed study measures in a structured interview. Path analyses revealed that greater inter‐partner conflict was associated with more internalizing and externalizing child behaviour problems. Positive parenting was associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviours. Higher levels of child social skills were associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. Child social skills fully mediated the relationship between community violence and externalizing behaviours as well as between informal support and externalizing behaviours. Social skills partially mediated the relationships between positive parenting and externalizing behaviours. No mediating effect was found on the relationships between inter‐partner conflict and child behaviour problems. Implications of the findings for intervention and future research are discussed.

Obesity and Sugar‐sweetened Beverages in African‐American Preschool Children: A Longitudinal Study

A representative sample of 365 low-income African-American preschool children aged 3-5 years was studied to determine the association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (soda, fruit drinks, and both combined) and overweight and obesity. Children were examined at a dental clinic in 2002-2003 and again after 2 years. Dietary information was collected using the Block Kids Food Frequency Questionnaire. A BMI score was computed from recorded height and weight. Overweight and obesity were defined by national reference age-sex specific BMI: those with an age-sex specific BMI>or=85th, but <95th percentile as overweight and those with BMI>or=95th age-sex specific percentile as obese. The prevalence of overweight was 12.9% in baseline, and increased to 18.7% after 2 years. The prevalence of obesity increased from 10.3 to 20.4% during the same period. Baseline intake of soda and all sugar-sweetened beverages were positively associated with baseline BMI z-scores. After adjusting for covariates, additional intake of fruit drinks and all sugar-sweetened beverages at baseline showed significantly higher odds of incidence of overweight over 2 years. Among a longitudinal cohort of African-American preschool children, high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was significantly associated with an increased risk for obesity.

Community Violence, Interpartner Conflict, Parenting, and Social Support as Predictors of the Social Competence of African American Preschool Children

Adopting an ecological framework, this study examines the role of community violence exposure, interpartner conflict, positive parenting, and informal social support in predicting the social skills and behavior problems of low-income African American preschoolers. Participants were 184 African American mothers and female caregivers of Head Start children who completed study measures in a structured interview. Regression analyses revealed that greater community violence exposure predicted more internalizing and externalizing child behavior problems and lower levels of self-control and cooperation. Greater interpartner conflict predicted more internalizing problems. Positive parenting was predictive of fewer internalizing and externalizing problems and higher levels of child self-control and cooperation. Greater informal social support predicted higher levels of all four child social skills, including self-control, cooperation, assertion, and responsibility. Positive parenting and informal social support failed to moderate the relationships between community violence exposure and interpartner conflict and child outcomes. Implications of the findings for intervention and future research are discussed.

Maternal self‐efficacy and 1–5‐year‐old children's brushing habits

This study investigates the relationships between maternal cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial factors and brushing practices in low-income African-American preschool children. Data are from a population-based sample of 1021 African-American families with at least one child <6 years of age and living in the 39 low-income Census tracts in Detroit, Michigan. Analyses were limited to 1-5-year-old children and their mothers (n = 719). Mothers were surveyed about oral health-related self-efficacy (OHSE), knowledge about appropriate bottle use (KBU), knowledge about children's oral hygiene (KCOH), oral health fatalism (OHF), their own toothbrushing behavior, depressive symptoms (CES-D), parenting stress, practical social support, and their child's dental history. Children's 1-week reported brushing frequency was the main outcome measure. Analyses were conducted in SUDAAN to account for the complex sampling design. Children's 1-week brushing frequency (range 0-40) averaged 8.50 times per week among 1-3-year olds and 9.75 among the 4-5-year olds. Maternal OHSE was a strong and significant predictor of children's brushing frequency; for each unit increase in OHSE, 1-3-year olds were expected to brush 18% more frequently on average during 1 week [incidence density ratios (IDR) = 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-1.28; P < 0.001], and 4-5-year olds were expected to brush 9% more often (IDR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.00-1.19; P < 0.10). Mothers' KCOH score was also significantly positively associated with brushing frequency; for each unit increase on the KCOH scale, 1-3-year olds were expected to brush 22% more frequently (IDR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.10-1.35; P < 0.001) and 4-5-year olds were expected to brush 13% more frequently (IDR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.26; P < 0.05). If a mother brushed her own teeth at bedtime during the week, her 1-3-year old child's brushing frequency was expected to increase by one-third (IDR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.12-1.60; P < 0.01) and among the 4-5-year olds, the child's frequency was expected to increase by one-quarter (IDR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.12-1.42; P < 0.001). Availability of help with transportation and financial support were also relevant variables for 1-3-year olds. Higher family income and dental insurance coverage were both positively associated with brushing among 4-5-year olds. Several maternal cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial factors were associated with young children's brushing practices. Oral health-specific self-efficacy and knowledge measures are potentially modifiable cognitions; findings suggest that intervening on these factors could help foster healthy dental habits and increase children's brushing frequency early in life.

Maternal Feeding Strategies, Child Eating Behaviors, and Child BMI in Low‐Income African‐American Preschoolers

To test the hypothesis that low-income African-American preschool children would have a higher BMI if their mothers reported greater "restriction" and "control" in feeding and if mothers reported that children showed greater "food responsiveness" and "desire to drink." In addition, to test whether higher maternal "pressure to eat" would be associated with lower child BMI. A questionnaire was completed by 296 low-income African-American mothers of preschool children. It assessed three constructs on maternal feeding strategies ("restriction," "pressure to eat," and "control") and two on child eating behaviors ("food responsiveness" and "desire to drink"). Children's BMI was measured, and mothers' BMI was self-reported. The mean (standard deviation) BMI z-score of the children was 0.34 (1.5), and 44% of the mothers were obese (BMI > or =30 kg/m(2)). Only maternal "pressure to eat" had a significant overall association with child BMI z-score (r = -0.16, p < 0.01). Both maternal "restriction" and "control" were positively associated with children's BMI z-score in the case of obese mothers (r = 0.20, p = 0.03 and r = 0.24, p = 0.007, respectively), but this was not so in the case of non-obese mothers (r = -0.16, p = 0.05 and r = -0.07, p = 0.39, respectively). Among low-income African Americans, the positive association between maternal restriction and control in feeding and their preschoolers' BMI was limited to obese mothers. Relations between parent feeding strategies and child weight status in this population may differ on the basis of maternal weight status.

Social skills and behavior problems of urban, African American preschoolers: role of parenting practices, family conflict, and maternal depression.

This study examined the role of parenting, family routines, family conflict, and maternal depression in predicting the social skills and behavior problems of low-income African American preschoolers. A sample of 184 African American mothers of Head Start children completed participant and child measures in a structured interview. Results of regression analyses revealed that mothers who utilized more positive parenting practices and engaged in more family routines had children who displayed higher levels of total prosocial skills. Positive parenting and lower levels of maternal depressive symptoms were predictive of fewer externalizing and internalizing child behavior problems. Lower family conflict was linked with fewer externalizing problems. Implications of the study for future research and intervention are discussed.

Language Performance of Low-Income African American and European American Preschool Children on the PPVT–III

The performance of low-income African American preschoolers (36 to 52 months old) on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Third Edition (PPVT-III; L. M. Dunn & L. M. Dunn, 1997) was examined to provide a norm for assessing the performance of this population and to explore the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and language scores on the PPVT-III. Four hundred and eighty-two African American and 52 European American children in a comparison group were individually administered the PPVT-III. On average, African American children performed approximately 1.5 SD below the expected mean based on national norms. Using standard cutoff scores, the PPVT-III identified more children as having language delays than did other measures of language abilities. Socioeconomic factors were related to PPVT-III scores, indicating that the degree of disadvantage within children with low SES was related to language abilities. Maternal education level, marital status, and the number of children in the household were uniquely associated with children's performance on the PPVT-III. The importance of supporting language development in preschool children from low-income families is discussed.

Using Scientific Knowledge to Inform Preschool Assessment: Making the Case for “Empirical Validity”

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 crystallized the concern for accountability in education. National testing was mandated as a way to improve the “broken” educational system. Publicly funded early education programs were not spared from such testing. While the positive effects of high-quality early education on children’s later school achievement is well demonstrated, too many early care and educational settings in the United States are of minimal or poor quality. Accountability is clearly important for increasing the quality of our early childhood programs, however, it is not yet evident how best to formulate a standard of accountability that reflects the body of knowledge we have gained concerning how young children learn. In this report, we propose two major thrusts designed to bring about a more scientifically informed accountability system: reconceptualizing the ways in which we think about the validity of our test instruments, and reconceptualizing markers of development from products of learning (performance standards) to processes of learning. We introduce the term “empirical validity” to draw attention to the fact that assessments should be built on current empirical work in the various developmental domains. This report focuses on the domains of language and literacy, two areas of major concern for the Federal Head Start program and for which there is an abundance of current research. This body of knowledge provides many examples illustrating how an emphasis on process rather than product can be vital for improving the quality of education. For example, although vocabulary is centrally important and psychometrically adequate tests of early vocabulary exist, these tests do not measure essential aspects of word learning that have been identified as predictive of later language and reading success in early language learning literature. Our case study of language and literacy illustrates how today’s developmental science offers a new knowledge that can be strategically incorporated in assessments for empirically valid testing of children’s competencies. The same argument for “empirically valid” and evidence-based assessments applies to other domains of cognitive growth and to socio-emotional development. The future of preschool assessment would be well served by attention to primary research that focuses on the processes of learning. In this report, we also suggest that one possible avenue for progress in assessment would center on integrative and dynamic assessment techniques that would comprehensively capture the nature of children’s learning, minimize validity concerns related to context and culture, and evaluate how competencies in different developmental domains interact for optimal learning. To bridge the gap between science and policy, developmental scientists and test developers are urged to work together to create innovative ways to chart the developmental processes that support learning and progress toward social maturity in ways designed to ensure that research findings are continuously reflected in current assessments.

Profiles of social competence among low-income African American preschool children.

Relations between children's personal attributes and peer play competence were investigated in a sample of 141 African American preschool children who participated in Head Start. Variable-oriented analyses confirmed that dispositions of temperament, emotion regulation, autonomy, and language were related to children's peer play competence in the classroom. Person-oriented analyses revealed distinctive profiles of personal attributes linked to adaptive preschool social functioning. A small group of resilient children whose profile was characterized by highly adaptable temperament, ability to approach new situations, and above average vocabulary development evidenced the greatest social competence with peers. Children who were disruptive with peers were equally divided between two profiles characterized by inattention and activity, but with differential performance on vocabulary tasks. A profile containing calm, reticent children was the group least likely to engage in disruptive peer play. Inspection of the six profiles revealed the within-group variability for this economically disadvantaged sample and illustrated the differential importance of temperament, regulation, and language constructs. Findings from the profile analyses and relations with peer competence inform the study of resilience in social development for urban African American children who participate in early intervention preschool programs.

Beyond Shared Book Reading: Dimensions of Home Literacy and Low-Income African American Preschoolers' Skills

This chapter examines the associations between individual dimensions of the home literacy environment and specific emergent literacy skills in low-income preschoolers.