Broader Implementation of a Successful Dual-Generation Intervention in Partnership With Head Start of Lane County
Condition: School Readiness
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This project involves the development of a scaled-up model of a successful dual-generation
      intervention targeting attention, stress, and self-regulation in families attending Head
      Start, and improvements of outcome assessments of the intervention. The investigators
      hypothesize that families randomly assigned to receive the intervention, compared to families
      not receiving the intervention, will show improved brain function for attention and
      self-regulation and improved physiological function for stress regulation in both children
      and their parents, improvements in child school performance and cognition, and improvements
      in assessments of parent/family well being.
    

Detailed description: 
      Based on basic research on the neuroplasticity of attention, stress, and family dynamics, the
      investigators developed a successful dual-generation intervention that targets attention,
      stress, and self-regulation. The intervention has been shown to improve brain function for
      attention, cognition, and behavior in preschool children in Head Start (HS) and also improves
      communication skills and reduces stress in parents. This project involves the development of
      a scaled-up model of this intervention working with with Head Start of Lane County (HSOLC).

      Goal 1: In partnership with HSOLC, the investigators have developed a scaled-up model of the
      intervention that is delivered by HS specialists and sustainable and replicable by other HS
      programs. This intervention is called Creating Connections: Strong Families, Strong Brains
      (CC).

      Goal 2: To characterize the degree to which CC improves distal outcomes related to
      parent/family well-being by assessing health and safety outcomes in parents and children,
      parental education, financial literacy and decision making, household chaos, and biomarkers
      of allostatic load related to health outcomes.

      Goal 3: To evaluate hypothesized mediating factors related to changes in family well-being,
      specifically changes in foundational systems (stress and self-regulation) by refining
      measures of family stress and self-regulation by assessing heart rate variability in parents
      and children and neurophysiological measures of self-regulation in parents.

      Children and parents at randomly assigned HSOLC sites will receive CC, and other HSOLC sites
      will deliver the regular HS curriculum. The investigators hypothesize that participation in
      CC will result in improved brain function for attention and self-regulation as well as
      improved physiological function for stress regulation in both children and their parents
      compared to families not receiving the intervention.
    

Intervention name(s): Creating Connections: Strong Families, Strong Brains
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Dual-generation intervention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: family well-being