Seminar – Growing pains: The age 14 follow-up of the preparing for life trial

Many early childhood intervention studies experience a dissolution of treatment effects in the aftermath of the intervention. Using a randomized experiment, this study investigates the impact of sustained investment in parenting early in life on outcomes later in adolescence. The Preparing for Life program, one of the longest running field experiments in Europe, provided at-risk families with an intensive home visiting program from pregnancy until age five. End-line results, and follow-up results at age 9, demonstrate that the program was effective in raising cognitive skills by between 0.55-0.7 SD. This paper will report on the results of the age 14 follow-up and will include measures of IQ, executive functioning, time and risk preferences, health behaviors, anti-social behavior, as well as biological aging.

Polak 3-14