FAQ Page!

Below are some of the more Frequently Asked Questions by study participants.

Below each question (Q:), is our answer (A:). If you have a question that’s not listed, send it to psdrl@temple.edu, and we’ll respond to you as soon as possible.

Please note that we will always keep the identity of participants confidential, and therefore, sources for submitted questions will never be listed.

Q: How do I know my information is confidential?

A: That’s a great question. We take great care in insuring that our participants’ information is kept private. All of our data are coded with ID #s only, which means that any names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. are removed before the data is filed. These files are stored in a locked office separate from any of your identifying information. The list that matches the ID #s to the participants is kept in a separate locked office. No one is allowed access to this information except study staff, and all our staff are given extensive training on how to maintain confidentiality.

Q: Why do we have to come to Temple for a Health Visit instead of having our pediatrician send you information?

A: A lot of you have asked this question. Just as we train our research assistants to collect data in similar ways across all ten sites, so do we train our Pediatric Nurse Practitioners to make sure that they are using the same methods of examination as all the other medical practitioners across the country. This is particularly important to insure that the information from all 10 sites is collected using the same techniques. When we report our findings, we must account for our collection methods in order to show that our findings are valid and significant.

Q: How long will the study last?

A: Because of the important information our study provides to researchers, practitioners, teachers, policymakers, and countless others, NICHD has been committed to supporting us for the past twelve years. We have been invited to apply for a Phase IV grant, which would fund us through the year 2008. This would give us the opportunity to follow our families through adolescence, a critical time in children’s development. If funded, we hope you’ll join us in this exciting new phase!

Q: I thought the study was about early child care. Why is the study continuing when most kids aren’t in child care anymore?

A: Our study is unique in the way we have collected information from you. Unlike other studies that rely mostly on questionnaires and surveys, we have observed your child’s development in several places, at home, in our activity room, in child care settings, and in school. This has given us the opportunity to observe firsthand what it’s like for kids to grow up nowadays, and the picture we are collecting about children’s development is an especially rich one. We are still following the national sample to see if varying child care settings have any long term effect on children as they grow older.

We have observed some short-term effects of child care on children’s development. How long are these effects? Over time, do all children eventually look alike? And are there any effects that emerge after child care has stopped? We call these late-to-emerge effects or “sleeper effects”. Following everyone into their adolescence assures that we catch any sleeper effects that may surface. After all, families and researchers have put much time and effort into this study, and we want to make sure that our research is careful and thorough.

If you would like additional information on the questions asked above, Contact Us, and we’ll be happy to further discuss these topics with you!