Assembling a cohort for in-depth, longitudinal assessments of the biological embedding of child maltreatment: Methods, complexities, and lessons learned

Abstract

As championed by the work of Ed Zigler, investing in nurturing environments for all children is a chief tenet of primary prevention that will have far-reaching benefits to the health and welfare of all members of society. Children who endure child maltreatment (CM) are among society's most vulnerable. Prospective longitudinal research aimed at a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms linking CM to subsequent adverse health consequences is needed to improve outcomes and to strengthen causal inference. This paper outlines the methods of the Child Health Study (CHS), a large, state-wide longitudinal cohort of recently maltreated and nonmaltreated youth aged 8–13 who will be assessed every 2 years. The CHS is designed to include in-depth assessments of multiple environmental, behavioral, neural, physiological, and molecular mechanisms through which CM may impact a broad spectrum of youth development, including behavioral and physical health outcomes. In addition to describing the conceptual framework and methods underlying the CHS, we provide information on valuable “lessons learned” in the hopes of supporting future research efforts facing similar challenges. The ultimate goal of this research is demonstrating how policies regarding CM impact the well-being, resilience and recovery of survivors and that they are worthy of large public investment.

The Flexible Regulation of Emotional Expression Scale for Youth (FREE-Y): Adaptation and Validation Across a Varied Sample of Children and Adolescents

“…The first sample featured the first 439 children enrolled into a large longitudinal cohort study aimed at examining the impact of child maltreatment (i.e., sexual abuse, physical abuse, and child neglect) on subsequent adverse health consequences (see Schreier et al, 2021, for full details). As part of this cohort study, children aged 8 to 13 ( M = 11.42, SD = 1.44, 47.9% female) who experienced an investigation for child maltreatment within the previous year were recruited via Statewide Child Welfare Information System (CWIS) records.…”

Obesity and accelerated epigenetic aging in a high-risk cohort of children

“…The Center was established to serve as a dedicated on-campus facility for the CHS. The physical space houses a research lab with areas dedicated to biospecimen sample collection, measurement of physical health by trained nursing staff, participant and family interview rooms, and physical/hard-copy data storage 41 . The Pennsylvania State University Institutional Review Board approved the study, and informed assent (child) and consent (caregiver) was obtained from all participants.…”

Cross-tissue comparison of telomere length and quality metrics of DNA among individuals aged 8 to 70 years

“…Child participants were members of the Child Health Study (CHS), a large multidisciplinary study designed to provide prospective, longitudinal data on the health and development of children with and without a history of maltreatment investigations [for more details about the CHS see 46 ]. Approval from The Pennsylvania State University Institutional Review Board was granted (protocol STUDY00006550), and informed assent (child) or consent (caregiver) was obtained from all participants.…”