Investigating the Relationship between Head Start Attendance and High-Risk Alcohol Consumption Behaviors

Abstract

Alcohol use disorders afflict over 14 million adults in the United States alone, and both alcohol misuse and alcohol-related health consequences disproportionately impact those of low SES – low childhood SES in particular. In order to target a vast array of prosocial, educational and health-related inequities among disadvantaged American children, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law in 1965 the Head Start Program (HSP), which provides early childhood education and healthcare services to low SES children between the ages of 3 and 6. This paper examines whether an association exists between Head Start attendance and adult alcohol disorder related behaviors, implementing family-level fixed effects to isolate a potential differential impact between siblings living within the same household. In contrast with our initial hypothesis, we find that Head Start attendance is correlated with a higher probability of both heavily drinking and driving after drinking alcohol within the past 30 days of being interviewed, and a higher severity level of alcohol misuse based on an additive index variable. Our research demonstrates a need for more research to be conducted, in order to help policymakers and educators better understand how and whether early childhood interventions may play a role in mitigating the deleterious health and social impacts of higher-risk alcohol consumption among adults.