Longitudinal Study of a Preventive After-school Program

预防性课后计划的纵向研究

• 批准号: 6879166
• 负责人: JOSEPH L MAHONEY
• 金额: $ 25.75万
• 依托单位: YALE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-07-01 至 2007-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6879166
• 关键词: academic achievement; behavioral /social science research tag; child behavior; child care; clinical research; curriculum; developmental nutrition; disease /disorder prevention /control; education; elementary school; emotional adjustment; human subject; interview; longitudinal human study; low socioeconomic status; middle childhood (6-11); parent offspring interaction; psychological adaptation; questionnaires; recreation; social behavior; urban area

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this study is to assess long-term adjustment associated with after-school program participation for children from a disadvantaged, urban area in the northeastern United States. The developmental perspective guiding this research assumes that childhood adjustment problems are regulated by a network of biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors. Conditions of social and economic disadvantage present special constraints on the developmental process and increase the risk for long-term school failure, social behavior problems, and poor physical health. High quality, multicomponent after-school programs offer unique academic, social, and health-related opportunities that may reorganize the developmental trajectories of at-risk, disadvantaged children toward more favorable outcomes. A 4-year longitudinal investigation of after-school program participation is proposed. The research sample involves approximately 640 children in grades 1 to 3 from six public schools. Approximately 95 percent of the sample is eligible to receive free/reduced lunch and 45 percent live in poverty. The racial/ethnic characteristics are as follows: Hispanic (42.6 percent), African-American (42.3 percent), White (11.8 percent), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9 percent), and Native American (.5 percent). The design of the study assigns students that apply to participate in after-school programs into either a target group or a control group waiting list. The after-school programs' contexts and curricula are substantially similar and include physical recreation, academic enrichment, and physical health and nutrition components. Consistent with the holistic, developmental perspective guiding the research, target and control groups will be compared on long-term academic performance, psychosocial adjustment, and physical health. Within group individual differences in adjustment will also be assessed. Results of this study will inform the knowledge base on risk and protective factors in ethnically diverse, disadvantaged populations, elucidate the link between in-school competence and beyond-the-classroom activities, and clarify the conditions under which after-school programs can serve a preventive role in the development of social-academic problems and poor physical health. This information will help to guide policy decisions at the local and national level concerning how best to design after-school programs for children in disadvantaged, urban areas of the United States.

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究的目的是评估美国东北部贫困城市地区儿童与课外项目参与相关的长期调整。指导这项研究的发展视角假设儿童适应问题受到生物、心理社会和环境因素网络的调节。社会和经济不利条件对发展过程造成特殊限制，增加了长期学业失败、社会行为问题和身体健康状况不佳的风险。高质量、多元的课外项目提供独特的学术、社会和健康相关机会，可以重新组织高危、弱势儿童的发展轨迹，以获得更有利的结果。 建议对课外活动参与情况进行为期 4 年的纵向调查。研究样本涉及来自六所公立学校的大约 640 名 1 至 3 年级的儿童。大约 95% 的样本有资格获得免费/减价午餐，45% 的人生活贫困。种族/族裔特征如下：西班牙裔（42.6%）、非裔美国人（42.3%）、白人（11.8%）、亚洲/太平洋岛民（2.9%）和美洲原住民（0.5%）。该研究的设计将申请参加课外项目的学生分配到目标组或对照组等待名单中。课后项目的背景和课程基本相似，包括体育娱乐、学术充实以及身体健康和营养成分。根据指导研究的整体发展观点，目标组和对照组将在长期学业表现、心理社会调整和身体健康方面进行比较。还将评估组内调整中的个体差异。 这项研究的结果将为不同种族、弱势群体的风险和保护因素的知识库提供信息，阐明校内能力与课堂外活动之间的联系，并阐明课外计划可以为儿童提供服务的条件。在社会学业问题和身体健康状况不佳的发展中发挥预防作用。这些信息将有助于指导地方和国家层面的政策决策，即如何最好地为美国贫困城市地区的儿童设计课外项目。