Parenting support and long-term mental health for Congolese mothers and children
Official title: Congolese mother and child mental health in response to early child development interventions
Funded at Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences · NIH-11242020 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows Congolese mothers and their children to learn if a past parenting program improves children's thinking, emotions, and behavior at school age.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (East Lansing, United States) |
| Project start | December 1, 2023 |
| Project end | November 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $576,513 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH135045-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11242020 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Congolese caregivers and their school-age children who previously participated in the year-long biweekly MISC parenting program or comparable early-childhood interventions, and similar children whose caregivers received usual care.
✕Less likely to help
Families outside the original local cohort, or children whose difficulties are primarily driven by medical or genetic conditions rather than caregiving, may not receive direct benefits from this study.
What this research studies
If you or your child took part in a parenting program called MISC in the Congo, this project will invite you back for annual checkups over three years to look at children's behavior, thinking, and emotional health, and mothers' wellbeing. Researchers will compare about 100 children whose mothers received the MISC program to 114 children whose mothers received usual care, using interviews, tests of attention and self-control, and measures of growth and family environment. The team will also collect information on maternal mental health and family relationships to understand which family factors might explain any long-term benefits. This follow-up does not provide a new treatment but aims to understand lasting effects of early parenting support.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help shape programs that improve children's mental health and family wellbeing at school age.
How similar studies have gone: Some early-childhood parenting programs have shown developmental benefits in past trials, but clear long-term mental health gains at school age are still uncertain.
Where this research is happening
-
Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
East Lansing, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Boivin, Michael Joseph — Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Boivin, Michael Joseph
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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.