School program's benefits may last into adulthood

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An elementary school program aimed at helping disadvantaged children function in and out of school appears to have benefits that last into adulthood, a new study finds.

Researchers found that the program -- offered at public schools in high-crime areas of Seattle -- had benefits that were still apparent 15 years after students completed it. Of 598 young adults who'd attended the schools in the 1980s, those who'd gone through the program were more educated, had higher incomes and were in better mental and sexual health than their peers.

The findings suggest that the positive effects of such childhood programs can extend into adulthood, according to lead researcher Dr. J. David Hawkins. The results also support wider use of similar school programs, he told Reuters Health.

The participants included a similar number of boys and girls, along with a balanced mix of racial and ethnic groups. Hawkins and his colleagues at the University of Washington in Seattle report the findings in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The study included 598 adults who were surveyed at the ages of 24 and 27; almost 400 had taken part in the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP) during elementary school, while the rest had not.

The SSDP trained teachers in classroom management, offered parents classes in encouraging positive behavior and helping their children with schoolwork, and gave children lessons in getting along with their peers and controlling their own behavior.

The goal was help children excel at school and cut their risk of drug use, early pregnancy and getting involved in crime.

Hawkins and his colleagues found that students who had gone through the program were, in general, doing better than their peers at the age of 27.

Overall, they had gone farther in their education, with one third having an associate degree, compared with 22 percent of their peers.

They were also less likely to have a mental health disorder or to have ever been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.

While there were no clear positive effects on the rates of substance abuse or crime, the overall findings are still positive, according to Hawkins and his colleagues. The benefits for young adults' mental health, they note, are especially noteworthy, "given the potentially debilitating consequences of depression and anxiety."

"The study shows that with training and coaching in the project methods," Hawkins said, "everyday teachers and parents in urban settings can significantly improve their children's futures."

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, December 2008.