Monthly cash support for families to help children's emotional and brain-immune health
Experimental evidence of the impact of parental income on child mental health and neuroimmune function
This gives low-income parents either $1,000 or $50 per month for three years to find out whether larger cash support improves their children's mental health and brain-immune function.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11252308 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, your family may have been randomly assigned to receive either $1,000/month or $50/month for three years without knowing which. Researchers will follow about 1,200 children and adolescents whose parents took part in the double-blind cash-transfer trial and collect surveys about mood and behavior, measures of family stress, and biological samples to study immune signaling related to brain health. The team will compare mental health outcomes and neuroimmune markers across the two payment groups and examine whether changes in family stress explain any benefits. They will also look at who benefits most and whether effects last after the payments stop.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children and adolescents from lower-income households whose parents are enrolled in the randomized cash-transfer program (about 1,200 youth) are the intended participants.
Not a fit: Families who are not eligible for the cash-transfer program, children from higher-income households, or youth whose problems stem from causes unrelated to family income may not see benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could show that unconditional cash to parents lowers the risk of youth mental illness and alters biological stress or immune markers, informing policies to support families.
How similar studies have performed: Observational studies link low income to worse youth mental health and some cash-transfer trials show improved family well-being, but using randomized cash supplements to measure neuroimmune effects and later mental health is largely novel.
Where this research is happening
Chicago, United States
- Northwestern University — Chicago, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nusslock, Robin — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Nusslock, Robin
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 below.