DOI: 10.3886/icpsr38745
title: Early Steps Multisite Study (Age 3), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Eugene, Oregon, and Charlottesville, Virginia, 2002-2014
title: Archival Version

description: The Early Steps Multisite (ESM) Study is a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of the early childhood version of the Family Check-Up intervention. The enclosed data file includes home-based assessments carried out at child ages 3 involving 731 families from three distinct communities in the United States: Pittsburgh, PA (urban), Eugene, OR (suburban), and in and outside of Charlottesville, VA (rural). Assessments include questionnaires and interviews with primary caregivers (i.e., typically mothers) and alternative caregivers (fathers, grandparents, and other child caregivers) about child behavior, sociodemographic and family risk, parent well-being and support, coupled with observations of developmentally-tailored parent-child interaction tasks (e.g., teaching, clean-up, and meal preparation tasks at ages 2-5, discussion tasks at ages 7.5 and 9.5). Teacher reports on multiple domains of child behavior were obtained beginning at age 7.5 through age 10.5, and youth reports on their own adjustment beginning at child age 8.5. Direct testing of children's academic achievement was administered at child ages 5, 7.5, and 8.5 using scales from the Woodcock-Johnson. A list of more than 80 published papers using the data set can be found at www.pitt.edu/ppcl under the Early Steps Publications section.
description: The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of the early childhood version of the Family Check-Up intervention.
description: Response Rates: Of the 1,666 families who had children in the appropriate age range and were approached at WIC programs across the three study sites, 879 met eligibility requirements (52 percent in Pittsburgh, 57 percent in Eugene, and 49 percent in Charlottesville). Before the first home assessment at age 2, families were randomly assigned to the FCU or control conditions, the latter receiving WIC services as usual.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Established instruments including the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist and accompanying Teacher Report Form, the Center of Epidemiological Study - Depression (CES-D), Crnic and Greenberg General Life Satisfaction scale, Crnic and Greenberg Parenting Daily Hassles scale, Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory.
description: The sample includes families enrolled in Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement (WIC) Programs at three jurisdictions in the US for which the target child needed to be between 2 and 3 years of age at the time of enrollment. Families were invited to participate if they had a child between 2 years 0 months and 2 years 11 months of age, following a screening to ensure that they met study criteria by having family, socioeconomic, and/or child risk factors for future behavioral problems. Families were eligible to participate if they scored at least one standard deviation above the normative mean in at least two of the three domains of risk: a) familial risk (e.g., maternal depressive symptoms, b) socio-demographic risk (e.g., low parental education), and c) child risk (e.g., CP). Of the 1,666 families who had children in the appropriate age range and were approached at WIC programs across the three study sites, 879 met eligibility requirements (52 percent in Pittsburgh, 57 percent in Eugene, and 49 percent in Charlottesville). Before the first home assessment at age 2, families were randomly assigned to the FCU or control conditions, the latter receiving WIC services as usual. At the time of recruitment, primary caregivers across sites self-identified as European American (50 percent), African American (28 percent), biracial (13 percent), and other groups (9 percent; e.g., American Indian, Native Hawaiian), with 13.4 percent of the sample reported being Hispanic American. The primary caregivers who participated in the assessment tasks at age 2 were predominantly biological mothers (96 percent), and in all other cases, were biological fathers, grandmothers, or other non-maternal custodial caregivers. The sample was primarily of lower socioeconomic status, with more than two-thirds of the families enrolled in the project reporting an annual income less than $20,000. Forty-one percent of primary caregivers had a high school diploma or general education diploma (GED) and an additional 32 percent had 1 to 2 years of post-high school training. For more information about sample characteristics, see Dishion et al. (2008).
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Age 3 Adult-Child Relationship Scale Raw Data DS2: Age 3 Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale Raw Data DS3: Age 3 Being a Parent Raw Data DS4: Age 3 Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Raw Data DS5: Age 3 Check Up Calls Raw Data DS6: Age 3 Check Up Calls 1 Raw Data DS7: Age 3 Check Up Calls 2 Raw Data DS8: Age 3 Check Up Calls 3 Raw Data DS9: Age 3 Coach Raw Data DS10: Age 3 Demographic 3 Raw Data DS11: Age 3 Dominant Language Information Raw Data DS12: Age 3 Ethnic Home Environment Inventory Raw Data DS13: Age 3 Ethnic Home Environment Inventory Videotaper Raw Data DS14: Age 3 Examiner Home Impressions Raw Data DS15: Age 3 Examiner Home Impressions Videotaper Raw Data DS16: Age 3 Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Raw Data DS17: Age 3 Financial Stress Questionnaire Raw Data DS18: Age 3 Fluharty 2-Preschool Speech and Language Screening Test Raw Data DS19: Age 3 General Life Satisfaction Raw Data DS20: Age 3 Daily Hassles Scale Raw Data DS21: Age 3 Infant/Toddler Home Inventory Raw Data DS22: Age 3 Significant Other Scale Raw Data DS23: Age 3 Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure Raw Data DS24: Age 3 Microagression Scale Raw Data DS25: Age 3 Me and My Neighborhood Questionnaire Raw Data DS26: Age 3 Moffitt Scale Raw Data DS27: Age 3 Parenting Scale Raw Data DS28: Age 3 Child Behavior Checklist Raw Data DS29: Age 3 Questionnaire List Raw Data DS30: Age 3 Service Providers Questionnaire Raw Data DS31: Age 3 Substance Use Raw Data DS32: Age 3 Early Adolescent Temperament Raw Data DS33: Age 3 Adult-Child Relationship Scale Scored Data DS34: Age 3 Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale Scored Data DS35: Age 3 Being a Parent Scored Data DS36: Age 3 Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scored Data DS37: Age 3 Ethnic Home Environment Inventory Scored Data DS38: Age 3 Ethnic Home Environment Inventory Videotaper Scored Data DS39: Age 3 Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Scored Data DS40: Age 3 Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Child Coerce Scored Data DS41: Age 3 Financial Stress Questionnaire Scored Data DS42: Age 3 Fluharty 2-Preschool Speech and Language Screening Test Scored Data DS43: Age 3 General Life Satisfaction Scored Data DS44: Age 3 Daily Hassles Scale Scored Data DS45: Age 3 Infant/Toddler Home Inventory Scored Data DS46: Age 3 Infant/Toddler Home Inventory Videotaper Scored Data DS47: Age 3 Significant Other Scale Scored Data DS48: Age 3 Significant Other Scale Weighted Scored Data DS49: Age 3 Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure Scored Data DS50: Age 3 Microagression Scale Scored Data DS51: Age 3 Me and My Neighborhood Questionnaire Scored Data DS52: Age 3 Moffitt Scale Scored Data DS53: Age 3 Parenting Scale Scored Data DS54: Age 3 Child Behavior Checklist Scored Data DS55: Age 3 Child Behavior Checklist Child Coerce Scored Data DS56: Age 3 Substance Use Scored Data DS57: Age 3 Early Adolescent Temperament Scored Data
description: The sample includes families enrolled in Women, Infants, and Children Nutritional Supplement (WIC) Programs at three jurisdictions in the US for which the target child needed to be between 2 and 3 years of age at the time of enrollment. Smallest Geographic Unit: City
description: coded on-site observation; coded video observation; cognitive assessment test; face-to-face interview; mail questionnaireFor additional information, please see the study website. A list of more than 80 published papers using the data set can be found here.