Abstract
Purpose
To investigate longitudinal associations between the presence of early childhood routines– predictable and repeatable functional practices that promote healthy growth, development, and relationships – and adolescent health outcomes.
Design
Secondary data analysis.
Setting
20 large U.S. cities.
Subjects
2943 children with socioeconomic disadvantage from the Future of Families cohort.
Measures
Routines at age 3 (shared family meals, bedtime routine, daily reading); outcomes later in the same children at age 15 (healthy routines, overall health, psychological well-being).
Analysis
Descriptive statistics, regression analyses.
Results
We detected longitudinal associations between early childhood routines and later adolescent routines (increased count of shared family meals by parent report [IRR 1.13, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.24, P = 0.007], bedtime routine and daily reading by adolescent report [aOR 1.34, 95% CI: 1.08, 1.67, P = 0.008; aOR 1.18, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.38, P = 0.04; respectively]). A bedtime routine in early childhood was associated with excellent health in adolescence (aOR 1.42, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.79, P = 0.004]. Adolescent routines were concurrently associated with overall health and psychological well-being. We also detected two longitudinal patterns of associations suggesting multiple mechanisms for how early childhood routines influence later health and well-being.
Conclusion
Early childhood routines predict adolescent routines, and may contribute to long term adolescent health outcomes. Future studies may promote childhood routines during critical developmental stages as a strength-based strategy to promote long-term health and well-being.
Keywords
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References
Supplementary Material
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