Henrik Daae Zachrisson

University of Oslo · Department of Special Needs Education

We study a decade of achievement gaps for fifth-, eighth-, and 10th-grade students in Norway using administrative population data. Norway is a wealthy and egalitarian country with a homogeneous educational system, yet achievement gaps between students at the 90th and 10th percentiles of parental income and between students whose parents have at lea...

This study investigates associations between personality traits at age eight and academic performance between ages 10 to 14, controlling for family confounds. Sibling data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) were used (n = 9,701). First, we estimated overall associations between Big Five personality traits and academic performan...

Prevalence and medication rates of ADHD vary geographically, both between and within countries. No absolute cutoff exists between ADHD and normal behavior, making clinician attitudes (leading to local practice cultures) a potential explanation for the observed variation in diagnosis and medication rates. The objective of this study was to describe...

Whether high quantities of center‐based care cause behavior problems is a controversial question. Studies using covariate adjustment for selection factors have detected relations between center care and behavior problems, but studies with stronger internal validity less often find such evidence. We examined whether within‐child changes in hours in...

A child’s environment is thought to be composed of different levels that interact with their individual genetic propensities. However, studies have not tested this theory comprehensively across multiple environmental levels. Here, we quantify the contributions of child, parent, school, neighbourhood, district, and municipality factors to achievemen...

Background: Children with ADHD tend to achieve less than their peers in school. It is unknown whether schools moderate this association. Nonrandom selection of children into schools related to variations in their ADHD risk poses a methodological problem. Methods: We linked data on ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity and parent-child A...

Instrumental variables (IV) is a central strategy for identifying causal effects in absence of randomized experiments. Clinicians and epidemiologists may find the intuition of IV easy to grasp by comparison to randomized experiments. Randomization is an ideal IV because treatment is assigned randomly, and hence unaffected by everything else. IV met...

Recent research has suggested that across Western developed societies, the influence of genetics on educational outcomes is relatively constant. However, the degree to which family environment matters varies, such that countries with high levels of intergenerational mobility have weaker associations of family background. Research in this vein has r...

Rates of ADHD diagnosis vary across regions in many countries. However, no prior study has investigated how much within-country geographic variation in ADHD diagnoses is explained by variation in ADHD symptom levels. We examine whether ADHD symptom levels explain variation in ADHD diagnoses among children and adolescents using nationwide survey and...

A child’s environment is thought to be composed of different levels that interact with individual genetic propensities, with less advantaged environments suppressing genetic effects on achievement. However, studies have not tested this theory comprehensively across multiple environmental levels. Here, we quantify the contributions of child, parent,...

Socioeconomic disparities in early language are widespread and have long-lasting effects. The aim of this study is to investigate when social gaps in language problems arise and how they change across the first years of schooling. We address this question in two large longitudinal Norwegian datasets: the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Stu...

In this study, we estimate the effects of the scale-up of Norway’s universal ECEC program — expanding access to 1- and 2-year olds starting in the early 2000s—on standardized math and achievement tests in 5th grade (age 10) using a population-based survey sample (Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study, MoBa, n = 102,352), linked with nati...

Background: Children with ADHD tend to achieve less than their peers in school. It is unknown whether schools moderate this ADHD deficit. Selection into schools poses a methodological problem.Methods: We linked data on ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity and parent-child ADHD polygenic scores (PGS) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and...

Experimental research demonstrates sustained high‐quality early care and education (ECE) can mitigate the consequences of poverty into adulthood. However, the long‐term effects of community‐based ECE are less known. Using the 1991 NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 994; 49.7% female; 73.6% White, 10.6% African American, 5.6%...

Experimental research demonstrates sustained high-quality early-care and education (ECE) can mitigate the consequences of poverty into adulthood. However, the long-term effects of community-based ECE are less known. Using the 1991 NICHD SECCYD (n=994; 49.7% Female; 73.6% White, 10.6% African-American, 5.6% Latino, 10.2% Other), results show that EC...

We study a decade of achievement gaps 5th through 10th grade by parental income and education in Norway using administrative population data. Norway is a wealthy and egalitarian country with a homogeneous educational system, yet achievement gaps between students at the 90th and 10th percentiles of parental income and education are large (0.55-0.93...

Using data collected from 4329 students in the 2015 iteration of the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), we explore two mediators for the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and TIMSS-results in mathematics among Norwegian fifth graders. First, we explore how the students’ motivation and self-concept mediate the relationshi...

Objective Preference-based instrumental variables (PP IV) designs can identify causal effects when patients receive treatment due to variation in providers’ treatment preference. We offer a systematic review and methodological assessment of PP IV applications in health research. Study Design and Setting We included studies that applied PP IV for e...

There is consensus about the positive effects of high quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) on children’s development, particularly for children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. However, limited knowledge exists on the access to quality in ECEC in a universal context. This study investigates potential socioeconomic selection into E...

Introduction Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents, and it is a strong risk factor for several adverse psychosocial outcomes over the lifespan. There are large between-country and within-country variations in diagnosis and medication rates. Due to ethical and practical...

The main purpose of the study is to analyze whether globally observed trends towards preschool expansion have impacted student achievement in primary and secondary school. We use data from multiple study cycles of two international large-scale assessments that have a longitudinal component at the country level—PIRLS and PISA—and combine these data...

This study investigated the construct validity of a proposed measure of parenting quality derived from extensively used observational ratings of parenting in mother-child interaction procedures with 2-year-olds in two large samples. Data included global ratings of mother-child interaction in an unstructured free-play and a semi-structured teaching...

Objective To estimate the effect of children's age of entry into early childhood education and care (ECEC) on parenting quality of mothers and fathers in a context of universal access to subsidized ECEC following a 1 year paid parental leave. Background Children entering non‐parental care settings in early childhood may have negative consequences...

The aim of this study is to investigate whether maternal spatial support during two types of joint manipulative toy play tasks with 2-year-old children was longitudinally associated with math screening test scores in second grade. The interaction between spatial support and maternal education was explored as well. We also investigated predictions o...

Background: Low educational attainment in parents is associated with child psychopathology. It is not clear whether the associations are due to risk factors that family members share or due to effects of maternal or paternal education on the offspring. We investigate whether associations between maternal and paternal educational attainment and chi...

Correlational studies have played a major role in building our cumulative knowledge on child development. Yet as a result, we often have difficulty making causal inferences. The concern is selection effects: When children have not been randomly assigned to conditions, pre‐existing biological, psychological, or social factors may bias correlations....

Low academic achievements are predicted by early disadvantages. Because achievement gaps typically escalate with age, early efforts to prevent future academic disadvantages are called for. The current study examines whether exposure to structured pre-academic activities in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) play a compensatory role for the e...

The importance of parent engagement in children’s schooling is well documented, yet there is limited research on the quality of parent–teacher relationships specifically. In the present study, we aimed to help build knowledge in this area by investigating parent and teacher reports of home–school cooperation during children’s first year of school i...

We aimed to identify factors associated with perceived economic well-being (PEWB), and examine its association with symptoms of depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In the Norwegian youth@hordaland study, 9166 16–19-year-olds provided information on perceived economic well-being and relevant covariates. Information about familie...

While most early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs taken to scale in the United States have served socially disadvantaged 3- to 5-years-olds, Norway scaled up universal ECEC from age 1. We investigated the consequences of Norway’s universal ECEC scale-up for children’s early language skills, exploiting variation in ECEC coverage across b...

There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of social competence for children's development, well-being, and learning. Thus age- and context-appropriate measures are needed. This study addresses the structural validity of the Lamer Social Competence in Preschool (LSCIP) scale, developed to accommodate the Nordic model of early childhood pedag...

Few studies have focused on the importance of peers for child language development in the preschool years. The aim of this study was to assess whether peer expressive language skills predict language ability of preschool-aged children attending Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centers. Data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Dev...

In countries with universal access to early childhood education and care (ECEC), child participation is high across a range of socioeconomic groups. However, ECEC quality is often varying, and many children spend much time in ECEC settings that are not necessarily high quality. In this observational study, we therefore examined the relationship bet...

Abstract When children first enter school, they face simultaneous changes in their physical settings, social relationships, and learning expectations. The present study adds to the limited literature on children’s transitions from early education and care into school by examining whether schools can support this transition through information shari...

Growing evidence suggests that children’s participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC), especially center-based services, is associated with positive outcomes, particularly for children over one year of age and children of low socioeconomic backgrounds. This signals an important opportunity for reducing socioeconomic disparities in yo...

Book synopsis: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development remains the most authoritative and accessible account of all aspects of child development. Written by an international team of experts, its comprehensive coverage includes everything from prenatal development to adolescence, pediatrics, theories and research methods, physical developmen...

This study examined whether exposure to changes in peer aggression predicted changes in child physical aggression (PA) in preschool children attending Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centers. Data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study were used, including 956 children. In fixed effects models, within-child chan...

Objective The aim of the current paper was to investigate the association between the patterns of duration, timing and sequencing of exposure to low family income during childhood, and symptoms of mental health problems in adolescence. Setting Survey administered to a large population-based sample of Norwegian adolescents. Participants Survey dat...

Table S1. Differential item functioning for the included Child Behavior Checklist items. Figure S1. An illustration of the basic model used in the analyses.

Literature reviews have concluded that extensive time in early child care is associated with frequent externalizing behavior problems in children. In this article, we address three domains of validity in the work underlying these conclusions: internal, external, and incidence validity. Regarding internal validity, most studies rely on covariate-adj...

Role of pre-academic activities in ECEC for the future academic achievements of preschoolers at social, developmental and behavioral risk

Full report: http://isotis.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ISOTIS_D1.1-Inequality-in-Various-Stages-of-the-Educational-Career-Patterns-and-Mechanisms_Literature-Review.pdf

Background: Previous studies have found significant associations between maternal prenatal and postpartum depression and child behavior problems (CBP). The present study investigates whether associations remain in a prospective, longitudinal design adjusted for familial confounding. Methods: The sample comprised 11,599 families including 17,830...

Studies suggest that affluence poses a risk for adolescents, but this has rarely been studied outside the United States. We examined the unique and additive roles of family and school affluence for adolescent outcomes among 10th-grade students (n = 7,203) in Oslo, Norway. Multilevel models were estimated separately by gender. For both boys and girl...

Children with conduct problems and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are at risk for multiple problems. Outcome research and mediation analyses testing for mechanisms of change in CU traits have been limited. We examined whether parent training-in a short-term (Brief Parent Training; BPT) or a comprehensive format (Parent Management Training, Oregon...

Objective: This study examined the direct associations between family income-to-needs and mental health and assessed moderation by early temperamental characteristics (i.e., emotionality). Method: Using data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, associations between income-to-needs across children's first 3 years and internalizing an...

Prior theoretical models and empirical research suggest that specific parent, child, and family factors are related to the utilization of early childhood education and care (ECEC). The political context of Norway provides a unique opportunity to test whether increased availability and affordability of care over time due to policy change reduces the...

Socioemotional risks associated with nonparental care have been debated for decades, and research findings continue to be mixed. Yet few studies have been able to test the causal hypothesis that earlier, more extensive, and longer durations of nonmaternal care lead to more problems. To examine the consequences of age of entry into nonparental care...

Recent studies have emphasized the importance of the prenatal period for children's cognitive development. Prenatal exposure to psychological distress has been identified as one potential agent affecting neurodevelopment, although research in this area has been marked by some contradictory findings and methodological limitations. This study aimed t...

There is considerable evidence that high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is associated with children's language competence. Yet, studies in contexts of universal access to quality-regulated ECEC are rarer, exacerbating concerns over selection bias endemic to non-experimental work on the topic. Extending the cumulative knowledge on...

The sociopolitical context of Norway includes low poverty rates and universal access to subsidized and regulated Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). In this context, the association between family income dynamics and changes in early child behavior problems was investigated, as well as whether high-quality ECEC buffers children from the effe...

This study investigated the normative use and developmental course of physical aggression (PA), defined as use of physical force such as hitting, biting, and kicking, from 8 to 26 months and predictors thereof. We used data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study, comprising 1,159 children (559 girls and 600 boys). Both mothers and...

This observational study examined family concordance and gender differences in early parent-child interaction in the family supportive sociopolitical context of Norway. Mothers and fathers from 39 Norwegian families were observed on separate occasions with their 12-month-old children (20 girls and 19 boys). Data were recorded from observations usin...

Social support and socioeconomic status (SES) have received considerable attention in explaining academic achievement and the achievement gap between students with ethic majority and immigrant background, and between boys and girls. Using a Structural Equation Modeling approach we examine (1) if there exist a gap in school achievements between thes...

This chapter addresses child well-being from a psychological point of view. In doing so, we need to remember that psychology is not one single discipline but covers a wide range of psychological disciplines from evolutionary psychology and behavior genetics via psychometrics to developmental, cognitive, personality, and social psychology – all of t...

Background: The question of whether immigrants have more emotional problems than their non-immigrant peers has yielded mixed results. In Norway, there has been a tendency toward immigrant youth reporting higher rates of emotional problems. In addition to studying levels of emotional problems across those with immigrant backgrounds, there is a need...

Background: Although strong parental achievement values have been associated with positive outcomes among children (e.g., academic success), they have also been connected to emotional problems. The latter effect may be the result of pressure related to such things as parental comparison of filial achievement, which appears to be more predominant am...

This chapter addresses child well-being from a psychological point of view. In doing so, we need to remember that psychology is not one single discipline but covers a wide range of psychological disciplines from evolutionary psychology and behavior genetics via psychometrics to developmental, cognitive, personality, and social psychology – all of t...

Associations between maternal reports of hours in child care and children's externalizing problems at 18 and 36 months of age were examined in a population-based Norwegian sample (n = 75,271). Within a sociopolitical context of homogenously high-quality child care, there was little evidence that high quantity of care causes externalizing problems....

Studies of attachment and eating disorders use different types of measures, including different coding procedures for the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Generalizability of findings across studies is therefore uncertain. We compare the Main & Goldwyn procedure with the Dynamic Maturational Method, the two most common procedures for classifying A...

"The gender gap" refers to a lifelong higher rate of emotional problems in girls, as compared to boys, that appears during adolescence. The gender gap is a well-replicated finding among older adolescents and is assumed to be a cross-cultural phenomenon. However, these cross-cultural studies have not investigated the gender gap in ethnic minorities...

The aim of this study was to specify and test the factor structure of the Child Attachment Interview (CAI), by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA provides a continuous measure of attachment, and also an examination of the construct validity of this continuous approach. Analyses included 150 children aged 9–13, recruited from schoo...

Appendix 1. Indicators used in the latent variables L18, L36, At18, and At36.

Research has highlighted a series of persistent deficits in cognitive ability in preterm low-birth-weight children. Language and attention problems are among these deficits, although the nature of the relation between attention and language in early development is not well known. This study represents a preliminary attempt to shed light on the rela...

This study investigated predictors of delayed language development at 18 months of age in a large population cohort of Norwegian toddlers. Data were analyzed on 42,107 toddlers. Language outcome at age 18 months was measured using a standard parent report instrument, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, communication scale. Confirmatory factor analys...

Attachment theory has received increasing attention from clinicians and researchers in the field of eating disorders. This paper is an updated review on theoretical approaches in the field, and of studies employing the Adult Attachment Interview. We searched the major databases such as PsycInfo and Science Direct for empirical and theoretical studi...

This study examines the association between type of child care arrangement at age 1, 1.5 and 3 years and late talking (LT). The data were from 19,919 children in the population-based prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and included information about child care arrangement, LT and a variety of covariates. Attendance at univers...