U of M report says early-childhood intervention improves well-being through young adulthood

Study is the first to show school programs have enduring impact

Minority preschoolers from low-income families who participated in a comprehensive school-based intervention fared better educationally, socially and economically as they moved into young adulthood, according to a report by University of Minnesota professors Arthur Reynolds and Judy Temple. The study is published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s (JAMA) Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Reynolds is a child development professor in the College of Education and Human Development and Judy Temple is a professor in the department of applied economics and in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

“This study is the first to show that large-scale established programs run by schools can have enduring effects into adulthood on general health and well-being,” Reynolds says. “Early childhood programs can promote not only educational success but health status and behavior.”