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

Abstract

Children 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 EF skills that first emerge in early childhood.

The Brain and Early Experience (BEE) study considers prenatal and postnatal experiences that may mediate the association between poverty and EF skills, including their neural substrates. This manuscript describes (1) the study rationale and aims; (2) research design issues, including sample size determination, the recruitment strategy, and participant characteristics; and (3) a summary of developmental assessment points, procedures, and measures used to test the study hypotheses.

This is a prospective longitudinal study examining multiple pathways by which poverty influences normative variations in executive function (EF) skills in early childhood. It is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development with Institutional Review Board approval. Recruitment is completed with a sample of N = 203 and data collection is expected to continue from September of 2018 to February 2024.

Analysis plans and validation data supporting the recruitment strategy is provided. Conclusions: BEE Study data and analyses will help elucidate the complex interplay between prenatal and postnatal risk factors that may undermine critical neurocognitive developmental outcomes in early childhood.

Findings will help elucidate the complex interplay between prenatal and postnatal risk factors affecting critical neurocognitive developmental outcomes in early childhood.