Session: School and Family Experiences That Promote Adult Well-Being in a School-Reform Intervention (Society for Prevention Research 24th Annual Meeting)

This symposium presents findings on the contributions of school and family experiences on adult health and well-being within the context of the Child-Parent Center (CPC) Education Program. CPC is a large-scale preschool-to-third grade (P-3) that is currently being expanded in the Midwest. A key question of the project is whether the program affects health outcomes through improving educational success and parent involvement in children’s education. The effectiveness of the program, however, is a function of the quality of implementation and the extent to which it can counteract the influences of family risk and adversity. In this proposal, new findings from two CPC projects are described.

 The first two papers describe the impacts of school, program, and family experiences in first decade of child development. The CPC program has shown long-term effects on health and well-being because of the strong emphasis on enhancing parent involvement and the school-family partnership. The effects of the program, however, may vary by family characteristics such as parents’ own educational experiences.  Effects may also vary by adverse experiences, However, these experiences may have detrimental effects across a wide range of outcomes. Based on the accumulated research that early school and family contexts shape later health and well-being, the third paper reports on the implementation of the Midwest CPC expansion project. The project is a scale-up of the program as Preschool-to-Grade 3 reform model with 6 core elements: collaborative leadership, effective learning experiences, parent involvement, continuity and stability, aligned curriculum, and professional development. Fidelity of implementation for each of these factors is reported as well as their links to short-term outcomes that are predictive of long-term health behaviors. The symposium addresses the themes of mechanisms of change, school and family influences, implementation fidelity, and promoting health equity through preventive interventions.

The first paper, “Child-Parent Centers Buffer Children of High-School Dropouts from Adolescent Maladaptive Behaviors” presents findings on the family moderators of the effects of CPC preschool on adolescent and early adult problem behaviors, including substance abuse.

The second paper, “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Well-Being: Main Effects and Mediators” examines the complex links between early adversity and adult well-being, including depression, substance use, and occupational status.

The third paper, “Promoting Health Equity through High-Quality, Aligned Preschool-to-3^rd Grade Practices” reports on the initial implementation and impacts of the Midwest Child-Parent Center Expansion in reducing achievement gaps leading to health disparities.

After the paper presentations, the interactive discussion will examine the implications of the results for implementing, evaluating, scaling, and sustaining prevention programs to enhance health equity.