Early Childhood Education and Maltreated Children’s Behavioral and Cognitive Outcomes: Quasi-experimental Evidence from the National Survey of Childhood and Adolescent Well-Being II

Prior evidence shows that early childhood education (ECE) can serve as a protective factor that boosts maltreated children’s school readiness outcomes. Yet, less is known about ECE’s relationship to other developmental domains critical to their wellbeing including their adaptive behaviors and cognitive development. Focusing on a broader range of outcomes allows for a more holistic picture of the ways in which ECE influences maltreated children’s developmental wellbeing. This study investigates ECE’s relationship to maltreated children’s adaptive behaviors (daily living and socialization skills) and cognitive development (attention and memory; perception and concepts) using data on a sample of 1,570 children (Mean age = 11.5 months at baseline) from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II. To estimate ECE’s association with children’s outcomes, this study uses the quasi-experimental method of propensity score weighting which accounts for observable selection bias between children in ECE versus not in ECE. In the short-term (Mean age = 22 months), ECE leads to lower daily living skills as well as higher perception and concept scores. These effects did not persist as children approached their formal schooling years (Mean age = 42 months). Effects were not detected on either their social skills or attention and memory. These findings demonstrate mixed evidence of ECE’s relationship to maltreated children’s outcomes and underscores the importance of identifying critical features of ECE that might need to be tailored to the specific needs of maltreated children.