The Brain and Early Experience Study: Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study

Abstract

BackgroundChildren raised in conditions of poverty (or near poverty) are at risk for nonoptimal mental health, educational, and occupational outcomes, many of which may be precipitated by individual differences in executive function (EF) skills that first emerge in early childhood. ObjectiveThe Brain and Early Experience study considers prenatal and postnatal experiences that may mediate the association between poverty and EF skills, including neural substrates. This paper described the study rationale and aims; research design issues, including sample size determination, the recruitment strategy, and participant characteristics; and a summary of developmental assessment points, procedures, and measures used to test the study hypotheses. MethodsThis is a prospective longitudinal study examining multiple pathways by which poverty influences normative variations in EF skills in early childhood. It is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and approved by the institutional review board. ResultsRecruitment is complete with a sample of 203 participants, and data collection is expected to continue from September 2018 to February 2024. Of those recruited as low socioeconomic status (SES), 71% (55/78) reported income-to-needs (ITN) ratios of 32.5% (66/203) reporting ratios of <2.0. ConclusionsPreliminary results indicate that the recruitment strategy for maximizing variation in family SES was successful, including variation within race. The findings of this study will help elucidate the complex interplay between prenatal and postnatal risk factors affecting critical neurocognitive developmental outcomes in early childhood. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/34854