data collection​

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Recruitment

 

Working with the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan, we recruited mothers after giving birth at hospitals in four metropolitan areas: New York City, greater New Orleans, the Twin Cities, and the Omaha metropolitan area. Eligible mothers who chose to participate completed a baseline interview about their work, education, family background, household income, relationship with the baby’s father, mental health, and neighborhood of residence. View the recruitment materials.

 

Quantitative Data Collection at birth and ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8.

See details in Data and Documentation. 

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Age 1  follow up (complete): Approximately one year after the child’s birth, each mother was invited to participate in a follow up survey. Information about the child’s health and development, maternal health, family income, and family life was collected. For data collection prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the surveys were administered in the families' homes. For this subset of participants, mother and child interactions were videotaped during a brief ten minute interaction, and infant brain activity was assessed using mobile EEG technology.

 

Age 2 follow up (complete): Approximately two years after the child’s birth, mothers were invited to participate in a telephone interview. Information that was collected is broadly similar to that collected at the 12-month visit.

 

Age 3 follow up (complete): Approximately three years after the child’s birth, mothers were  invited to participate in a telephone interview. Information collected is broadly similar to that collected 12 and 24 months.

 

Age 4 follow up (complete): Approximately four years after the child’s birth, families were invited to local university settings to complete questionnaires related to their life experiences and child's development, and we directly assessed children's cognitive and emotional development and brain function.

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Age 6 follow up (complete): Approximately six years after the child’s birth, families were invited to local university settings to complete questionnaires related to their life experiences and child's development, and we directly assessed children's school readiness, cognitive development and brain function.

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Age 8 follow up (begins summer 2026): Approximately eight years after the child’s birth, families will be invited to local university settings to complete questionnaires related to their life experiences and child's development, and we will directly assess children's cognitive and emotional development and brain function.

 

Qualitative Data Collection

 

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. 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.