Forgiveness Education in Chicago

LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF

FORGIVENESS EDUCATION ON

CHILDREN OF LOW SES

Mary Newhauser

University of Wisconsin-Madison

OVERVIEW

SES and health

SES and education

Forgiveness education

Rationale

Experimental design

Expected results

Implications/future research

Suggestions

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (SES)

A combined measure that incorporates:

Economic status (measured by income)

Social status (measured by education)

Work status (measured by occupation)

(Adler & Stewart, 2010)

SES AND HEALTH

The Gradient Effect – Individuals with high SES have better outcomes than

individuals with low SES. Figure adapted from McCain, Mustard and Shanker

(2007).

Link

SES AND HEALTH

Social determinants of health

What are the mechanisms?

Access to healthcare

Environmental exposures (toxins)

Health behaviors

Obesity

Smoking

STRESS

(Adler & Stewart, 2010)

SES AND HEALTH

Stress-related health outcomes among low SES:

High blood pressure

Atherosclerosis

CV

Prenatal teratogens

Premature labor

Major depression

Anxiety disorders

(Adler & Stewart, 2010)

SES AND HEALTH

Hierarchical relationship

Not just between richest and poorest

Significance at every income level

(Adler & Stewart, 2010)

**

**

SES AND HEALTH

Wealth = health

6.5 extra years of longevity in highest income group

5 extra years for college grads compared to high

drop outs

CPS drop out rate ~40%

239 “excess deaths”/day in African-Americans

(2002)

(NACCHO, 2008)

SES AND HEALTH

Compared to other rich countries, we have highest:

Infant mortality

Homicide

Teen birth

Incarceration

Poverty*

Biggest mortality gap between highest, lowest

income groups

SES stress poor mental health physical

health

(NACCHO, 2008)

SES AND EDUCATION

Low-SES families less resources/time to provide

academic support at home

School conditions more important than family?

Lower quality teachers

Below average cognitive abilities upon Kindergarten

entry

Slower learning

SES and child behavior

(APA, 2012)

FORGIVENESS EDUCATION IN YOUTH

Reduces anger, depression in adults

Emotion regulation, self-esteem, healthy decision-

making in adults

All have impact on general health

Low SES African-Americans

Lower resting diastolic

Lower resting cortisol

Inflammatory stress hormone

(Reed &Enright, 2006; Lawler et al., 2003; Toussaint & Williams, 2003)

CHILDHOOD SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND ADULT HEALTH

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Volume 1186, Issue 1, pages 37-55, 16 FEB 2010 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05334.x

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05334.x/full#f2

RATIONALE

Low SES children poor health care, slower rates

learning, behavioral problems + Low-quality

schools + Forgiveness education less anger,

depression, anxiety, more self-esteem Better

mental/physical health outcomes, better grades,

higher motivation = narrowing the SES

disadvantage gap?

PARTICIPANTS

No exclusion criteria

250 total Ps 50 in each condition

Randomly select 60 classrooms

Move up through the grades with each other

Pretests (teachers too)

1st graders

3 elementary schools

Selected based on SES profiles

Inner-city Chicago

African-American, Hispanic

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Dosage study

How much is enough to be effective?

Wash out effect (return to baseline)

Manipulated variable: amount of forgiveness education

1st grade only

1st, 2nd grade only … till 5th grade

5 total groups

Curriculum: IFI Forgiveness Curriculum Guide

Group 1 acts as control

MEASURES

Health outcomes:

BMI

Body weight

Resting blood pressure & heart rate

Health history questionnaire

MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)

Depression, hostility:

Beck Anxiety/Depression Inventory (Youth)

Motivation:

Cumulative GPA

Post-high school plans

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation Scale

Self-esteem:

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Enright Forgiveness Inventory (for Children)

PROCEDURE

No exclusion criteria

Permission from CPS

Train the teachers

Fidelity checks

Pre-test

Forgiveness education - 1 semester/academic year

Reassess participants

After 5th grade

After high school graduation?

PREDICTED RESULTS

Within the high dosage groups, compare successful

students to unsuccessful Poverty, family stability,

teacher’s remarks, absenteeism

Possibly exponential relationship?

Compare successful vs. unsuccessful students

IMPLICATIONS

Closing the gap!

Agency, not welfare

Low-cost, sustainable

Fewer negative outcomes in adolescents:

Violence

Shootings

High school drop-out rates

Better social, relational skills

Giving low SES children some useful tools to

move them towards equality

FURTHER RESEARCH

More longitudinal studies

Health benefits

More replication

Mechanisms

Does SES mediate ability to learn forgiveness?

Comparative studies

Curriculum tweet

SUGGESTIONS?

Longitudinal high school study problems:

CPS drop out rate ~40%

Huge sample size?

Contacting students who dropped out?

Follow up after graduation

Following students to different middle schools?

Magnet, charter high schools

Cost effectiveness

WORKS CITED

Adler, N. E., Boyce, T., Chesney, M. A., Cohen, S., Folkman, S., Kahn, R. L., &Syme, S. L. (1994). Socioeconomic status and health: the challenge of the gradient. American Psychologist, 49(1), 15.

Cohen, S., Janicki-Deverts, D., Chen, E. and Matthews, K. A. (2010), Childhood socioeconomic status and adult health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186: 37–55. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05334.x

Adler, N. E. and Stewart, J. (2010), Health disparities across the lifespan: Meaning, methods, and mechanisms. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186: 5–23. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05337.x

Kawachi, I., Adler, N. E. and Dow, W. H. (2010), Money, schooling, and health: Mechanisms and causal evidence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186: 56–68. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05340.x

http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/factsheet-education.aspx

Lawler, K. A., Younger, J. W., Piferi, R. L., Billington, E., Jobe, R., Edmondson, K., & Jones, W. H. (2003). A change of heart: Cardiovascular correlates of forgiveness in response to interpersonal conflict. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 26, 373-393.

Reed, G. L., &Enright, R. D. (2006). The effects of forgiveness therapy on depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress for women after spousal emotional abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(5), 920.

Toussaint, L. L., & Williams, D. R. (October, 2003). Physiologicalcorrelates of forgiveness: Findings from a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of community residents. Presented at a Campaign for Forgiveness Research Conference, Atlanta, GA.