TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of early childhood intervention on risk-taking, mental health, and cognitive ability
T2 - The mediating role of life history strategy.
AU - Dunkel, Curtis S.
AU - Hammersley, Jonathan J.
AU - Waters, Micheal L.
AU - van der Linden, Dimitri
AU - Merrie, Laureon A.
AU - Walen, Amy L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Psychological Association
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Data from the Carolina Abecedarian Project (N = 104) was used to test the hypothesis that infants deemed at-risk who received an intensive and individualized intervention would develop a slower life history (LH) strategy as measured in young adulthood. Additionally, it was predicted that this effect on life history strategy would mediate several effects of the intervention. This possibility was tested in the areas of risk-taking, mental health, and cognitive ability. Results supported the hypothesis that the intervention caused a slowing of LH strategy and that LH strategy mediated the effect of the intervention on risk-taking, mental health, and cognitive ability. Lastly, it was predicted that any effects would be strongest at the most molar level of measurement. This was found for a composite trait and cognitive ability, but not for risk-taking and mental health. The results have several significant implications, but given the small sample size, replication is especially important. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)Public Significance Statement: The Carolina Abecedarian Project is a renowned early childhood intervention that produced broad and lasting effects in a sample of at-risk children. However, to date, no ultimate explanation has been given as to what mechanism may have produced these results. Support was found for the hypothesis that the intervention acted to slow the life history strategy of the intervention group.
AB - Data from the Carolina Abecedarian Project (N = 104) was used to test the hypothesis that infants deemed at-risk who received an intensive and individualized intervention would develop a slower life history (LH) strategy as measured in young adulthood. Additionally, it was predicted that this effect on life history strategy would mediate several effects of the intervention. This possibility was tested in the areas of risk-taking, mental health, and cognitive ability. Results supported the hypothesis that the intervention caused a slowing of LH strategy and that LH strategy mediated the effect of the intervention on risk-taking, mental health, and cognitive ability. Lastly, it was predicted that any effects would be strongest at the most molar level of measurement. This was found for a composite trait and cognitive ability, but not for risk-taking and mental health. The results have several significant implications, but given the small sample size, replication is especially important. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)Public Significance Statement: The Carolina Abecedarian Project is a renowned early childhood intervention that produced broad and lasting effects in a sample of at-risk children. However, to date, no ultimate explanation has been given as to what mechanism may have produced these results. Support was found for the hypothesis that the intervention acted to slow the life history strategy of the intervention group.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091614255&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/ebs0000248
DO - 10.1037/ebs0000248
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091614255
SN - 2330-2925
VL - 15
SP - 27
EP - 41
JO - Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences
JF - Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences
IS - 1
ER -