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High-quality child care for poor children found to offset the risk of later depression

Young adults from low-income families who were in full-time early educational child care from infancy to age 5 report fewer symptoms of depression than their peers who were not in this type of care. The early educational intervention also appears to have protected the children to some extent against the negative effects of their home environments.

These findings highlight the value of investing in high quality early childhood experiences for low-income children. Those are the conclusions of a new study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Washington at Seattle . The study is published in the May/June 2007 issue of the journal Child Development.

Research has shown a relationship between poverty in early childhood and an increased risk for mental health problems in adulthood. A number of early intervention programs have been found to enhance the cognitive development and academic outcomes of children living in poverty, but less is known about the long-term effects of these programs on children's mental health.

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offset the risk of later depression

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 6:38 PM