Future generations: how families shape child wellbeing across generations
Official title: The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Third Generation Children’s Study
Funded at University of Wisconsin-Madison · NIH-11375029 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A long-term study following families across three generations to understand how parenting, family life, and health affect children's development and success.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Wisconsin-Madison NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project start | September 16, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $654,241 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD112569-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11375029 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are families with a G2 parent who previously participated in FF and have a G3 child around age five.
✕Less likely to help
Families without a G2 participant or with no G3 child at age five may have limited direct relevance to this specific expansion.
What this research studies
This grant expands a large, ongoing U.S. birth-cohort study to collect data on five-year-old children (G3) and their families, focusing on parenting, caregiving, grandparent involvement, and child outcomes like health, behavior, and cognition. Researchers will gather information through surveys and biological samples to map how early environments influence later achievement and well-being across generations. The work aims to identify key mechanisms that drive inequalities by socioeconomic status and race, with a diverse, nationally representative sample from Wisconsin and other sites. Participants would be families with a G2 parent and a G3 child around age five, and they will be followed over time as G3 grows, enabling future policy-relevant insights.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the study could inform programs and policies that support families at critical ages to promote healthier development and reduce disparities.
How similar studies have gone: The FF study already provides a rich, multi-generational dataset; expanding to G3 age five is a novel but building-block approach with strong precedent for meaningful findings.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Berger, Lawrence M — University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Study coordinator: Berger, Lawrence M
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.