Project: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (NICHD) STUDY OF EARLY CHILD CARE AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT – PHASE IV

Sponsor: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Status: In process   
IPS Staff: Tama Leventhal  

Purpose and Approach
This study extends the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development into its fourth phase, to follow the study participants through age 15. Recruited from hospitals in 10 geographically diverse sites at the time of their births, 1,346 children and their families have been followed intensively and extensively through 6th grade. Originally, the study was designed to examine early child care and its effects on children’s development. Researchers also collected information on multiple contexts of children’s development, including home, school, and after-school environments. The principal purpose of this phase is to investigate how earlier functioning and experiences, in concert with contextual and maturational factors in adolescence, influence social relationships, health, adjustment, and intellectual and academic development during middle adolescence. Information on a wide range of adolescent outcomes and contextual features will be collected from a laboratory assessment, a home visit, etc. Additional information will be collected from health and pubertal maturation examinations, monitored physical activity, analyses of school transcripts, and surveys of school personnel.

Results and Publications
Forthcoming.