Collateral benefits of the family check-up on early childhood school readiness: Indirect effects of parents' positive behavior support.

TLDR

The study examined whether the Family Check‑Up intervention improves parents’ positive behavior support and, indirectly, children’s language skills and inhibitory control in early childhood. In a multisite randomized trial of 731 high‑risk families, parents were assessed over three years starting at age 2, with positive behavior support measured by four observational indicators during semistructured tasks. Structural equation modeling showed that FCU‑assigned families increased positive behavior support from ages 2 to 3, which in turn enhanced children’s inhibitory control and language development from ages 3 to 4, indicating the intervention indirectly promotes school readiness.

Abstract

The authors examined the longitudinal effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) on parents' positive behavior support and children's school readiness competencies in early childhood. It was hypothesized that the FCU would promote language skills and inhibitory control in children at risk for behavior problems as an indirect outcome associated with targeted improvements in parents' positive behavior support. High-risk families in the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program participated in a multisite preventive intervention study (N = 731) with 3 yearly assessments beginning at child age 2 years. Positive behavior support was measured using 4 indicators derived from at-home observations of parent-child interaction during semistructured tasks. Longitudinal structural equation models revealed that parents in families randomly assigned to the FCU showed improvements in positive behavior support from child age 2 to 3, which in turn promoted children's inhibitory control and language development from age 3 to 4, accounting for child gender, ethnicity, and parental education. Findings suggest that a brief, ecological preventive intervention supporting positive parenting practices can indirectly foster key facets of school readiness in children at risk.