Welcome!
Overview
The Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA), also known as the Parent Child Project, began in 1975 and is currently celebrating its 50th year. The overall goal of the project is to outline general trends in development and observe the course of individuals’ lives to understand how early experience and support impact later outcomes. This study contributes to a better understanding of early caregiving, social support, and intervention strategies across the lifespan. Additionally, it reflects on how people think about their experiences, risk and protective factors, and issues of continuity and change.
It is rare to be able to follow individuals for such a long time and learn how people develop and change over time. This project studied how people develop at different points in their lives and across diverse settings. To ensure a comprehensive understanding of development, we incorporated a variety of settings and sources of information into the visits, such as home visits, teacher interviews, and school observations. Many of the study's earlier findings are summarized in the 2005 book The Development of the Person.
History
Beginning in 1975, we recruited a sample of 267 first-time mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy through the Minneapolis Public Health Department and Hennepin County Medical Center. Wide-ranging assessments of the mother’s characteristics, circumstances, parent expectations, and prenatal care were carried out when mothers were recruited into the study.
We continued to assess mothers and children after the birth of the child. In infancy, assessments of parents, children’s temperament, and observations of parent-child interactions were carried out at birth (days 1-3), 3, 6 (twice), and 12 (twice) months. Thereafter, assessments were conducted every 6 months until age 2 1/2, yearly through the 3rd grade, three times between 9 and 13 years, and at ages 16, 17 ½, 19 , 23, 26, 28, 32, 37, and 39 years.
See the Current Research tab to learn more about the current assessments, as participants are between 46-50 years old.