DOI: 10.3886/icpsr38407
title: Early Steps Multisite Study (Age 2), 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. This data includes home-based assessments carried out at age 2 involving 731 families from three distinct communities in the United States: Pittsburgh, PA (urban), Eugene, OR (suburban), and in and outside 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.
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% in Pittsburgh, 57% in Eugene, and 49% 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: 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. Of the 1,666 families who had children in the appropriate age range and were approached at Women, Infants and Children (WIC) programs across the three study sites, 879 met eligibility requirements (52% in Pittsburgh, 57% in Eugene, and 49% in Charlottesville). Before the first home assessment at age 2, families were randomly assigned to the Family Check-Up (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%), African American (28%), biracial (13%), and other groups (9%; e.g., American Indian, Native Hawaiian), with 13.4% of the sample reported being Hispanic American. The primary caregivers who participated in the assessment tasks at age 2 were predominantly biological mothers (96%), 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% had 1-2 years of post-high school training. For more information about sample characteristics, see Dishion et al. (2008). As noted above, sampling at the three study sites was focused on recruiting WIC participants with 2-3 year-old children facing additional socioeconomic, family, and/or child risk factors, with the goal of obtaining a high-risk community sample.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Age 2 Adult-Child Relationship Scale Raw Data DS2: Age 2 Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale Raw Data DS3: Age 2 Being a Parent Raw Data DS4: Age 2 Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Raw Data DS5: Age 2 Check Up Calls Raw Data DS6: Age 2 Check Up Calls 1 Raw Data DS7: Age 2 Check Up Calls 2 Raw Data DS8: Age 2 Check Up Calls 3 Raw Data DS9: Age 2 Coach Raw Data DS10: Age 2 Demographic 2 Raw Data DS11: Age 2 Demographic Primary Caregiver Raw Data DS12: Age 2 Demographics Raw Data DS13: Age 2 Ethnic Home Environment Inventory Raw Data DS14: Age 2 Ethnic Home Environment Inventory Videotaper Raw Data DS15: Age 2 Examiner Home Impressions Raw Data DS16: Age 2 Examiner Home Impressions Videotaper Raw Data DS17: Age 2 Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Raw Data DS18: Age 2 Financial Stress Questionnaire Raw Data DS19: Age 2 General Life Satisfaction Raw Data DS20: Age 2 Daily Hassles Scale Raw Data DS21: Age 2 Infant/Toddler Home Inventory Raw Data DS22: Age 2 Inhibition Observational Raw Data DS23: Age 2 Significant Other Scale Raw Data DS24: Age 2 MacArthur Developmental Inventory Raw Data DS25: Age 2 Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure Raw Data DS26: Age 2 Me and My Neighborhood Questionnaire Raw Data DS27: Age 2 Parenting Scale Raw Data DS28: Age 2 Child Behavior Checklist Raw Data DS29: Age 2 Questionnaire List Raw Data DS30: Age 2 Relationship Raw Data DS31: Age 2 Service Providers Questionnaire Raw Data DS32: Age 2 Substance Use Raw Data DS33: Age 2 Inhibitory Control Raw Data DS34: Age 2 Adult-Child Relationship Scale Scored Data DS35: Age 2 Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale Scored Data DS36: Age 2 Being a Parent Scored Data DS37: Age 2 Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scored Data DS38: Age 2 Ethnic Home Environment Inventory Scored Data DS39: Age 2 Ethnic Home Environment Inventory Videotaper Scored Data DS40: Age 2 Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Scored Data DS41: Age 2 Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Child Coerce Scored Data DS42: Age 2 Financial Stress Questionnaire Scored Data DS43: Age 2 General Life Satisfaction Scored Data DS44: Age 2 Daily Hassles Scale Scored Data DS45: Age 2 Infant/Toddler Home Inventory Scored Data DS46: Age 2 Infant/Toddler Home Inventory Videotaper Scored Data DS47: Age 2 Significant Other Scale Scored Data DS48: Age 2 Significant Other Scale Weighted Scored Data DS49: Age 2 MacArthur Developmental Inventory Scored Data DS50: Age 2 Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure Scored Data DS51: Age 2 Me and My Neighborhood Questionnaire Scored Data DS52: Age 2 Parenting Scale Scored Data DS53: Age 2 Child Behavior Checklist Scored Data DS54: Age 2 Child Behavior Checklist Child Coerce Scored Data DS55: Age 2 Substance Use Scored Data DS56: Age 2 Inhibitory Control 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.