The Triple C Project: Children, COVID-19, and its Consequences 

The purpose of the proposed project, known as Children, COVID-19, and its Consequences (the “Triple C” study), is to analyze how COVID-19 is affecting family economic circumstances and child well-being. With data collection in four sites across the country that vary substantially by severity of infection, policy and economic context, and sociodemographic make-up, the goals of the project are as follows:

Data collection will take place in Durham, NC; Pittsburgh, PA; Seattle, WA; and New Brunswick & Newark, NJ. The sample will consist of 2,000 families (500 in each site), with at least one resident child between the ages of 5 and 11 years of age. Stratified sampling will be used to select a socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse sample. Families will be surveyed electronically at three time points (at baseline, 3 months, and 9 months). Survey data will assess familial levels of economic well-being, parent-partner interactions, parental physical and mental health and parenting stress. Measured children’s outcomes include parent reports of children’s psychosocial development; grades, standardized test scores, and school disciplinary measures drawn from school records; and health reports culled from medical records. 

Triple C will be the first study to provide a comprehensive portrait of the well-being of families and children across multiple cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Triple C stands in contrast to other surveys that may be concentrated in one city, not include information on children, or rely on repeated cross-sections of data. Second, our study assesses multiple dimensions of economic well-being to fully reflect the manifold effects of the current economic crisis. It also accords with developmental studies that highlight the importance of capturing multiple dimensions of economic well-being, including parental job-loss, housing instability, wealth, and food insecurity. Third, our study surveys families at three relatively short intervals (baseline, 3-months, and 9 months), to capture the dynamic nature of economic circumstances and the degree of economic uncertainty caused by the epidemic that may be missed by surveys with longer times between data collection. Assessing households over short intervals is necessary because families experience substantial within-year variability in their economic circumstances, a pattern that is likely to be exacerbated by the reopening (and re-closing) of the economy as the virus unfolds. Fourth, our study documents how economic uncertainty shapes family processes, parenting, and children’s development with particular attention to how these effects differ across race, ethnicity and socio-economic statuses.  Finally, the rapid nature of the proposed data collection efforts will allow for the timely dissemination of findings that can be immediately accessed by researchers and policymakers.

Investigators

Durham, NC : Dr. Christina Gibson-Davis, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University

New Brunswick & Newark, NJ: Dr. Lenna Nepomnyaschy, School of Social Work, Rutgers University and Dr. Sharon Bzostek, Department of Sociology, Rutgers University 

Pittsburgh, PA: Dr. Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Portia Miller, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh

Seattle, WA: Dr. Sara R. Curran, Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology, University of Washington, Dr. Christine Leibbrand, Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Dr. Liliana Lengua, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, and Dr. Soojin Park and Dr. Holly Schindler, College of Education, University of Washington and in collaboration with Dr. Anjum Hajat at the University of Washington.