Data and documentation

Baby’s First Years data are freely available to the research community through the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).  Data from each data collection wave are released as soon as they are cleaned and documented. 

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BFY Baseline Data Summary (collected at birth)

Between May 2018 and June, 2019, 1,050 mothers with incomes below the poverty threshold in four metropolitan areas in the United States were recruited in 12 hospitals shortly after giving birth and completed a baseline interview. Some 1,000 of these 1,050 agreed to receive the cash gift that the study offered. The User Guide for the BFY baseline data collection was designed to inform potential data users about study procedures and baseline data collected as part of the project. The guide provides descriptions of:

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• the design of the Baby’s First Years project

• how we came to administer a baseline interview to the n=1,050 mothers included in the publicly available dataset.

• how we coded and otherwise processed the mothers’ responses to the instrument.

• baseline characteristics and balance across the two cash gift groups

• noteworthy features of the data that all analysts should know about

 

Baseline data and documentation

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• Baseline user guide for BFY baseline data collection 

• Baseline randomization procedures 

• Baseline recruitment brochure 

• Baseline screening questionnaire 

• Baseline research consent form 

• HIPPA consent form 

• Baseline questionnaire 

• Baseline gift script

• Baseline gift information letter 

• Baseline administrative data and transaction tracking consent form 

• Baseline data deposit with ICPSR 

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BFY Age 1 Data Summary

Between July 2019 and June 2020, we attempt to contact all 1,000 mothers who participate in the study and successfully interviewed 931 of them. Data collection was timed to coincide with their children’s first birthdays. Until March 13, 2020, interviews were conducted in person, often in the mother’s home. After March 13 and because of the Covid-19 pandemic, remaining interviews were conducted by telephone. Novel features of the in-home Age-1 interviews include: EEG from the child, a hair sample from the mother, and a video recorded play task with the mother and child.

 

Data from the age 1 wave is available on the BFY ICPSR website.

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• Age 1 user guide for age 1 data collection

• Age 1 questionnaire (English)

• Age 1 questionnaire (Spanish)

• Age 1 participant letter about data collection

• Age 1 research consent form 

• Age 1 questionnaire 

• Age 1 administrative data and transaction tracking consent form (for participants not consenting at baseline) 

• Age 1 EEG explanatory video (not yet available)

• Age 1 data deposit with ICPSR

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BFY AGE 2 DATA SUMMARY 

Between July 2020 and June 2021, we attempted to contact all 1,000 mothers who participated in the study and successfully interviewed 924 of them. Data collection was timed to coincide with their children’s second birthdays. All interviews were conducted by telephone.

 

Data from the age 2 wave is available on the BFY ICPSR website. 

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• User Guide for the Age 2 Data Collection 

• Participant letter announcing the Age-2 data collection

• Age 2 research consent form

• Age 2 questionnaire (English)​

• Age 2 questionnaire (Spanish)

• Age 2 administrative data consent form (for participants not consenting at baseline) 

• Age 2 data deposit with ICPSR

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BFY AGE 3 DATA SUMMARY 

Between July 2021 and June 2022, we attempted to contact all 1,000 mothers who participated in the study and successfully interviewed 921 of them. Data collection was timed to coincide with their children’s third birthdays. All interviews were conducted by telephone.

 

Data from the age 3 wave is available on the BFY ICPSR website.

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• User Guide for the Age 3 Data Collection

• Participant letter announcing the Age 3 data collection

• Age 3 research consent form

• Age 3 questionnaire (English)​

• Age 3 questionnaire (Spanish)

• Age 3 data deposit with ICPSR 

 

BFY AGE 4 DATA SUMMARY 

Between July 2022 and August 2023, we attempted to contact all 1,000 mothers who participated in the study and successfully completed 892 assessments for Age 4. Data collection was timed to coincide with their children’s fourth birthdays. All assessments were conducted in person and interviews were conducted by telephone.

 

Data from the age 4 wave is available on the BFY ICPSR website.

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• User Guide for the Age 4 Data Collection

• Participant letter announcing the Age 4 data collection

• Age 4 scheduling script

• Age 4 research consent form

• Age 4 questionnaire (English and Spanish)

• Age 4 data deposit with ICPSR

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BFY AGE 6 DATA SUMMARY (more coming soon)

Between July 2024 and August 2025, we attempted to contact all 1,000 mothers who participated in the study.

 

The age 6 data and documentation are currently being processed and will be available in the future.​​

 

BFY qualitative study

Beginning in 2019, we recruited 80 mothers from the New Orleans and Twin Cities study sites, to participate in-depth, semi-structured interviews. These interviews have occurred approximately 9-12 months apart when the focal children were ages 1-4, with a final wave of interviews occurring several months after families received their last BFY gift payment.

 

• Round 1 qualitative study interview guide

• Round 2 qualitative study interview guide

• Round 3 qualitative study interview guide

• Round 4 qualitative study interview guide 

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In 2023, we recruited 77 mothers from the New York City and Omaha sites to participate in similar interviews. In addition, high-gift group mothers from these sites were invited to take photos of experiences or items they associated with their time in BFY as part of a photo elicitation project.  ​

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• Round 1 ​​qualitative study interview guide (NY/NE)

• Round 2 qualitative study interview guide (NY/NE)

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