We tested the structure of the Pictorial Scale of Competence and Social Acceptance (PSPCSA) across groups of first and second grade children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We used confirmatory factor analysis, including latent mean structures analysis, to test the fit of competing PSPCSA factor models and examined invariance across…

According to the Head Start Act (1998), children are income-eligible for the program if their "families' incomes are below the poverty line." There are a number of statutory exceptions to this general rule and, according to the Head Start Bureau, the result is that about 6 percent of the children in the program are not poor. But the major national…

The aim of this study was to assess rates of childhood disability as indicated by functional limitation of motor, sensory, or self-care skills in children living in severely-distressed neighborhoods. For a neighborhood in the US Census Track to be considered severely distressed, three of the following four characteristics need to be present:…

Background: Individual differences in conduct problems arise in part from proneness to anger/frustration and poor self-regulation of behavior. However, the genetic and environmental etiology of these connections is not known. Method: Using a twin design, we examined genetic and environmental covariation underlying the well-documented correlations…

Gordon Berlin discusses the nation's long struggle to reduce poverty in families with children, and proposes a counterintuitive solution--rewarding the work of individuals. He notes that policymakers' difficulty in reducing family poverty since 1973 is attributable to two intertwined problems--falling wages among low-skilled workers and the…

In this article, the author discusses a project that turns residents of some of South Leeds' most deprived neighbourhoods into community researchers and is giving people an opportunity to make concrete, positive changes to their communities. Armed with homemade tools, some coloured pens, and masses of post-it notes, the "Community…

This paper documents changing patterns of concentrated poverty in nonmetro areas. Data from the Decennial U.S. Census Summary Files show that poverty rates--both overall and for children--declined more rapidly in nonmetro than metro counties in the 1990s. The 1990s also brought large reductions in the number of high-poverty nonmetro counties and…

Research in the neurobiological, behavioral, and social sciences has dramatically increased our capacity to provide effective intervention for economically disadvantaged children. According to Neuman, however, U.S. policymakers have made little use of this body of research to improve the prospects of children at risk. This article discusses seven…

Objective: To investigate factors influencing rural and urban adolescents' food perceptions during a time of nutritional transition in Cameroon, Africa. Design: Qualitative in-depth interviews. Settings: Yaounde urban and Bandja rural areas. Participants: Fifteen adolescents 12 to 15 years old purposely selected from schools in urban and rural…

This study is one of the first to investigate the relationship between low birth weight and cognitive outcomes in an urban, poor, prospectively designed African-American birth cohort. Multivariate analyses of the Pathways to Adulthood study, a subset of the Johns Hopkins Collaborative Perinatal study, compared low birth weight African-American…

A study examined the impact of the "Closing the Achievement Gap" (CAG schools) program on the academic achievement of students in 30 schools serving high percentages of African American and economically disadvantaged students in West Virginia (WV), 2004-2008. The program assigned experienced educators, "CAG liaisons", to the…

This study investigated the strengths homeless children exhibit. Homeless children living in shelters and children of the same peer group living in low income housing were interviewed about home activities, interests, abilities, talents, character strengths, autonomous behavior, and interactions with adults. All children were selected from first,…

This document contains a summary of the statement of Clarence C. Crawford, Associate Director, Education and Employment Issues, Human Resources Division of the U.S. General Accounting Office. The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) provides on-the-job training (OJT). Under OJT arrangements, employers provide training in a particular occupation for…

This report presents data and findings on the economic impact of Job Corps on its participants and analyses of the program's benefits in relation to its costs. Findings are based on postprogram experience of individuals enrolled in the Job Corps in 1977, compared to a group of disadvantaged youth not in the program. The first three chapters…

Evaluated was the effect of incidental teaching of language skills in free play situations with 11 low income 4- and 5-year-old Black children. (Author/CL)