Year:
2003
E-Publish Date:
4/2/2003
All Authors:
Virginia A. Rauh, Faith Lamb Parker, Robin S. Garfinkel, Judy Perry, Howard F. Andrews
Acknowledgements:
This work was supported by the Head Start Bureau, ACYF/ACF (Grant #90YD0077), by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Project 1-P50-ES09600), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Project R827027), and the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center. We thank the following other members of the Head Start Community0Columbia University Partnership Team for their support in the planning and implementation of this research effort (1994–1997): Robert Anthony, Marilyn Barnwell, Marilyn Bartlett, Alison Boak, Richard Gonzales, Bernice Gordon, Gloria Holmes, Jack Licht, Edwina Meyers, Lenore Peay, Hee-Jung Park, Harriet Roldon, Joyce Rookwood, Rosanna Sanders, Verbet Silva, Thomasine Watson. We also thank the 67 NYC Head Start Centers that participated in the study. Carlos Jusino of West Harlem Environmental Action Coalition provided GIS expertise and prepared the maps for this article. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the leadership of Doris Goldberg, M.D., in advocating and pioneering the linkage of public data sets to assess risks for developmental outcomes and to evaluate interventions in New York City.
Citation:
Rauh VA, Parker FL, Garfinkel RS, Perry J, Andrews HF. Biological, social, and community influences on third-grade reading levels of minority Head Start children: A multilevel approach. Journal of Community Psychology. 2003;31(3):255-278.
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Download this document in PDF format: Biological, social, and community influences on third-grade reading levels of minority Head Start children: A multilevel approach
The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of individual and community level risks on school outcomes of children who attend Head Start. We studied a sample of 3,693 African American and Hispanic children who had been born in New York City, participated in Head Start, and attended New York City public schools. The outcome was the score obtained on a citywide third-grade reading test. Individual level risk factors were derived from birth certificate data. Community level risks were extracted from citywide U.S. Census data and other public-access data sets. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that at the individual level, lower reading scores were significantly associated with: male gender, low birth weight, unmarried mother, low maternal education, and inadequate interpregnancy spacing. Controlling for individual-level risk, concentrated community poverty significantly lowered reading scores, and a high percentage of immigrants in the community significantly raised scores. There was also a significant crosslevel effect: boys benefited more than girls from the immigrant community effect. The evidence suggests that we can better identify children at future educational risk and maximize the success of early intervention programs by exploring influences on school success at multiple levels, including the community.
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