Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42264220›Full record

ArticlePreventive medicine2026

Assessing the intergenerational impact of head start on offspring mental health in the United States.

Julia P Schleimer, Anjum Hajat, Gail Joseph, Min Sun, Frederick Rivara, Ali Rowhani-Rahbar

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In one paragraph

Article in Preventive medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
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0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Julia P SchleimerDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA; Center for Firearm Injury Prevention, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: jps36@uw.edu.
Anjum HajatDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. Electronic address: anjumh@uw.edu.
Gail JosephCollege of Education, University of Washington, 2012 NE Skagit Lane, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. Electronic address: gjoseph@uw.edu.
Min SunCollege of Education, University of Washington, 2012 NE Skagit Lane, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. Electronic address: misun@uw.edu.
Frederick RivaraDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA; Center for Firearm Injury Prevention, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: fpr@uw.edu.
Ali Rowhani-RahbarDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, 3980 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA; Center for Firearm Injury Prevention, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: rowhani@uw.edu.

Funding

Early Childhood Education and Violence Prevention Across the Life Course and GenerationsF31HD112202 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI SCHLEIMER, JULIA · 2023 to 2024
$97k
NICHD NIH HHS F31 HD112202NIH HHS F31HD112202
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo estimate the association between maternal exposure to Head Start and offspring mental health.

methodsIn this retrospective cohort study using a difference-in-differences approach, we leveraged the quasi-random rollout of Head Start in the United States in the 1960's and the timing of birth cohorts in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 to estimate associations between maternal Head Start exposure and offspring depression (among those aged 15+ in years 1994-2020) and suicidal ideation (among those aged 15+ in years 2012-2020). We examined heterogeneity by offspring race, ethnicity, and sex.

resultsMaternal Head Start exposure was associated with 0.79 (95% CI = 0.62, 0.99) times the risk of depression among female Hispanic/Latina offspring and 0.66 (95% CI = 0.50, 0.87) times the risk of depression among female White offspring. We found null associations for other races, ethnicities, and males, and for the outcome of suicidal ideation.

conclusionsMaternal Head Start exposure may meaningfully reduce risk of depression among Hispanic/Latina and White female offspring-groups who tend to report higher risk of depression. POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Findings suggest social policies that invest in the social, economic, and human capital of vulnerable children can improve mental health outcomes across generations.

Indexed as

DepressionEarly Intervention, EducationalMental HealthAdolescentAdultFemaleHispanic or LatinoHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleRetrospective StudiesSuicidal IdeationUnited StatesWhiteDepressionEarly childhood educationHead startMental healthQuasi-experimentSuicidal ideation

Identifiers

PMID42264220
PMCPMC13387724

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.