Chapter 6 Health Outcomes from Head Start Participation

In this chapter, we discuss whether early-childhood investments in low-income children could lead to a lasting impact on health outcomes. We note that such investments could improve adolescent and adult health by increasing child health, increasing educational attainment, or influencing parents' behaviors. Model preschool programs, such as the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program and the Carolina Abecedarian Program, have been successful in increasing the educational attainment and health behaviors of low-income children. The Head Start program, which is the largest public investment in low-income, preschool-aged children in the United States, has also improved child health and educational attainment. Although there is extensive research on the impact of Head Start participation, there has been little research on the impact on risky behaviors in adolescence. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its Child Development Supplements (CDS), we examine the impact of Head Start participation on smoking, alcohol use, and drug use throughout adolescence and the extent to which varying degrees of selection on unobservables influence this relationship.