The effect of early childhood intervention on personal economic outcomes: The mediating role of life history strategy.

Abstract

The Carolina Abecedarian Project (ABC) is a randomized control study designed to test the efficacy of early childhood interventions for at-risk children. Proponents of interventions like the ABC argue that long-term financial savings can be achieved by expanding these types of programs. However, results of the long-term effect of the ABC on participant's financial outcomes have been mixed. Using the framework of life history theory, the effects of the intervention on several economic outcomes for ABC participants at age 21 were tested. Life history strategy was found to mediate between the intervention and level of education, criminal convictions, transportation self-sufficiency, and medical self-sufficiency. The results lend support to the efficacy of the ABC and suggest that early childhood intervention may improve individual financial outcomes by shifting life history strategy.