Project Description
This multi-phase research initiative advances the science and practice of early relational health, the principle that young children thrive when their earliest relationships are safe, stable, and nurturing. Despite decades of developmental research and major public investments, population-level improvements in early childhood well-being have stagnated, particularly during the earliest years of life. This project responds by uniting two complementary efforts. Phase I, led by Dr. William Rothenberg, synthesizes data from four landmark longitudinal studies (Fast Track, Raising Healthy Children, PROSPER, and the Great Smoky Mountains Study) representing over 1,900 families and three generations, to identify which early interventions yield the strongest intergenerational benefits and economic returns. Using advanced integrative data analysis, this phase will uncover how intervention characteristics, such as dosage and fidelity, influence family environments and child outcomes across generations. Phase II, led by Dr. Helen Milojevich, translates those findings into a population-level randomized controlled trial that combines the universal Family Connects home visiting program with the targeted Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up intervention. Through this innovative design, families receive personalized support to strengthen parent-child relationships and improve caregiver mental health. Together, these efforts establish a powerful translational pipeline—from understanding what works in early intervention to building a sustainable public health model that promotes mental health equity across generations.
Project Goals
- Explore which types of early childhood interventions have beneficial effects that last multiple generations.
- Identify the characteristics of those early childhood interventions that lead to lasting intergenerational impacts.
- Translate these insights by creating a universal prevention program that prevents childhood adversity.
- Test whether this universal prevention program works in a randomized controlled trial that combines two effective, evidence-based early childhood interventions: Family Connects and Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up