About This Focus Area: 

Experiences in relationships early in life can resonate across the lifespan. Children do best when they have the opportunity to participate regularly in positive, supportive relationships with multiple adults across contexts. This research initiative focuses on the study of developmental processes across developmental domains in young children (ages birth to five). The overall goal of this initiative is to stimulate research aimed at promoting positive early development and reducing risks for compromised development, particularly for those children exposed to poverty and other child, family and community disadvantages or risks. This collaborative work includes a focus on processes and practices supporting caregiver-child relationships that promote well-being, healthy development, and evidence-based early interventions for at-risk children. Areas of focus for this initiative include the following: (1) identifying individual child, caregiver (e.g., parents, other family members and early care and education teachers), and contextual (e.g., cultural, community, neighborhood, early care and education program)  factors and processes linked to early development; (2) promoting practices and processes contributing to broadly-defined developmental well-being of young children; (3) developing, implementing and evaluating evidence-based early interventions for young children; (4) identifying scientific evidence in early intervention and prevention that will serve to guide externally-funded research, policy briefs, policy implementation in early childhood, and community outreach practices.