Early Head Start Project
The Early Head Start (EHS) project examines how patterns of family engagement in early intervention programs shape children's emotional regulation and parenting outcomes. Using large-scale longitudinal data and person-centered analyses, this work identifies distinct engagement profiles and highlights how sustained participation in EHS services supports developmental outcomes in early childhood.
Background
Studies show that income-based disparities in children's development tend to emerge by age 3. The Early Head Start program was created to address significant income-based disparities in children's development. Early Head Start programs use services such as early education, childcare, and family support, to support families with infants and toddlers living in poverty.
Objectives of the Early Head Start Project
The Early Head Start (EHS) project had three main aims:
1. To identify the different ways (profiles) families engage with the EHS program. For this we looked specifically at when families start the program, how long they stay in the program, and how many of the different EHS services they use.
2. To examine how these different patterns of engagement influence children's emotional regulation (ER) trajectories.
3. To examine the relationship between engagement with parent-focused services and parenting outcomes (e.g., parenting stress, discipline style, parenting practices, and maternal mental health)
Methods
To meet these goals, we performed many different analyses using a dataset provided by the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation (EHSRE) Study team. To explore and learn more about the dataset provided by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), follow this link: https://acf.gov/opre/project/early-head-start-research-and-evaluation-project-ehsre-1996-2010
To lay the ground work for the study, we looked at the current literature and studies that relate to EHS programs. We found that head start programs build self-regulation, specifically through behavior regulation, executive function and attentional regulation.
Analysis and Results
Engagement Profiles
Using a person-centered approach, we identified distinct patterns of engagement in EHS programs. We looked at engagement with the program at 6 (early entry), 15 (mid entry) and 26 (late entry) months. We found four distinct profiles of engagement:
1. Highly Engaged Families (early entry, full completion, and consistent use of services)
2. Low Engaged Families (late entry, incomplete program duration, and consistently low service use)
3. Short-term Engaged Families (late entry, incomplete duration but HIGH service use)
4. Early-Entry Declining Engagement Families (moderate use at 6 and 15 months but tapers by 26 months.
Emotion Regulation
Next, we linked these engagement profiles to children's emotional regulation trajectories at 36 months (or age 3). We found that there were significant links between how families engage with the program and emotional regulation outcomes for their children.
For example, the children in the Highly Engaged Families profile showed significantly higher emotion regulation at age 3 than did the children in the Low Engaged Families. This suggests that consistent and sustained engagement with the Early Head Start program can lead to improved emotion regulation outcomes for children.
Parenting Outcomes
Finally, we looked at whether engagement with parent-
focused services led to improved parenting outcomes.
We found five distinct way in which parents engage with EHS services:
1. Consistent High Engagement
2. Early Middle Engagement
3. Increasing Engagement
4. Early Engagement
5. Consistent Low Engagement
These patterns of engagement also showed significant links to parenting outcomes.
1. For positive parenting behaviors, parents in the Consistent High Engagement group showed greater supportiveness and warmth compared to those in the Consistent Low Engagement and Early Engagement groups.
2. For negative parenting behaviors, the Consistent Low Engagement and Early Middle Engagement groups reported greater harsh parenting than the Increasing Engagement group. For severe discipline, the Consistent High Engagement and Increasing Engagement groups both reported less harsh disciplinary practices than the Early Middle Engagement and Early Engagement groups.
Findings
1. Families show different patterns of engagement with Early Head Start programs.
2. These patterns of engagement show significant effects on children's emotional regulation and parenting outcomes.
Implications
Here's what this means for early head start programs:
1. This project provides directions for customizing EHS supports based on how families engage over time.
2. Structurally, EHS program staff and administrators could offer more flexible scheduling, varied modes of participation (e.g., in person, home visits, virtual options), childcare support, and transportation support.
3. Strong EHS staff-family relationships are associated with higher levels of family engagement. Relationships between parents and EHS caregivers include multiple dimensions, such as establishing trust, maintaining frequent and open communication, and fostering collaboration. Specifically, EHS caregivers could inform parents of confidentiality, display genuine interest in the child and family, and follow through with families to build trust with families. For families with less initial collaborative relationships, EHS caregivers (e.g., home visitors, teachers) could help parents to understand why and how to build positive relationships.
Contributors
This work was made possible by a team of researchers who work diligently and collaborative with the purpose of making a difference for low-income children and families through the Early Head Start Program.
Funding Statement: We gratefully appreciate the funding from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which supported this research (Grant No: 90YR0189)
Ying Zhang, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Clarkson University and the director of this lab. She applies advanced quantitative and person-centered methods, including latent class, growth mixture, and machine-learning approaches, to model developmental patterns of family engagement, parenting quality, and child outcomes.
Qingyang Liu, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. As an applied quantitative methodologist, her research uses innovative and advanced methodological approaches (e.g., growth mixture modeling, latent growth curve modeling, latent profile analysis, behavioral genetic modelings) across longitudinal large-scale, national-level, and local/community datasets.
Fei Shen, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Kean University. Dr. Shen’s research focuses on understanding the impact of child maltreatment on marginalized communities, as well as identifying mediating and moderating factors that can prevent survivors from the negative effects of child maltreatment experiences.
This poster was presented at the 2025 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Meeting on May 2, 2025 by Dr. Ying Zhang.
This poster was presented at the 2026 annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Conference in Chicago on February 17, 2026 by undergraduate research assistant Makayla Kepner.
This poster was presented at the 2026 annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Conference in Chicago on February 27, 2026 by undergraduate research assistant Makayla Kepner.
This poster was presented at the Society for the Study of Human Development (SSHD) Biennial Meeting on October 26, 2025 by undergraduate research assistant Makayla Kepner.
This poster was presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) annual conference on February 28, 2026 by undergraduate research assistant Genevieve Mucitelli.