Socioeconomic status, child enrichment factors, and cognitive performance among preschool-age children: results from the Follow-Up of Growth and Development Experiences study.
Extra books, toys, and preschool days raise preschool IQ scores across all incomes, but they do not fully erase the rich-poor gap.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Koegel et al. (2014) tracked 4-year-olds from different income homes. They counted books, toys, and preschool days. Then they gave each child a short IQ-type test.
The team asked: do extra books and preschool lift scores even when money is tight?
What they found
Kids with more books, toys, and preschool days scored higher. The gap between rich and poor shrank, but it did not vanish.
Enrichment helped every child, yet low-income kids still lagged behind.
How this fits with other research
Wang et al. (2023) saw the same pattern in Chinese students with ID. Parent school talks and upbeat views partly bridged the income gap.
Jones et al. (2010) used a taught thinking program and also got medium gains. Their lesson: the adult must fully buy in.
Allen et al. (2016) looked at preterm kids and found the reverse risk: biology, not poverty, hurt grades. Both studies say early risks matter, but one points to cash, the other to birth weight.
Why it matters
You cannot change a family’s pay check today, but you can add books, puzzles, and preschool hours right now. Hand out a toy mailbox, sign the parent up for Head Start, or model how to talk about colors while stacking blocks. Small enrichments chip away at the SES gap before kindergarten starts.
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Loan the family a simple educational toy and show one interactive play script during your visit.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Lower cognitive performance is associated with poorer health and functioning throughout the lifespan and disproportionately affects children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) populations. Previous studies reporting positive associations between child home enrichment and cognitive performance generally had a limited distribution of SES. We evaluated the associations of SES and child enrichment with cognitive performance in a population with a wide range of SES, particularly whether enrichment attenuates associations with SES. Children were sampled from a case-control study of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) conducted in a public hospital serving a low SES population (final n=198) and a private hospital serving a middle-to-high SES population (final n=253). SES (maternal education and income) and perinatal factors (SGA, maternal smoking and drinking) were obtained from maternal birth interview. Five child home enrichment factors (e.g. books in home) and preschool attendance were obtained from follow-up interview at age 4.5 years. Cognitive performance was assessed with the Differential Ability Scales (DAS), a standardized psychometric test administered at follow-up. SES and enrichment scores were created by combining individual factors. Analyses were adjusted for perinatal factors. Children from the public birth hospital had a significantly lower mean DAS general cognitive ability (GCA) score than children born at the private birth hospital (adjusted mean difference -21.4, 95% CI: -24.0, -18.7); this was substantially attenuated by adjustment for individual SES, child enrichment factors, and preschool attendance (adjusted mean difference -5.1, 95% CI: -9.5, -0.7). Individual-level SES score was associated with DAS score, beyond the general SES effect associated with hospital of birth. Adjustment for preschool attendance and home enrichment score attenuated the association between individual SES score and adjusted mean DAS-GCA among children born at both of the hospitals. The effect of being in the lower compared to the middle tertile of SES score was reduced by approximately a quarter; the effect of being in the upper compared to the middle tertile of SES score was reduced by nearly half, but this comparison was possible only for children born at the private hospital. A child's individual SES was associated with cognitive performance within advantaged and disadvantaged populations. Child enrichment was associated with better cognitive performance and attenuated the SES influence. Health care providers should reinforce guidelines for home enrichment and refer children with delays to early intervention and education, particularly children from disadvantaged populations.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1177/0883073807302605