The purpose of this longitudinal study was: (1) to increase understanding of the process of childbearing, (2) to identify factors early in pregnancy that are predictive of future problems with childbirth and child rearing, and (3) to compare the experiences of first-time parents with those of parents who already have children.

Initially, approximately 100 women and 90 of their husbands volunteered to participate in this study. At the five-year follow-up visit, an additional sample of 15 families was added to the 44 in the longitudinal sample. Comparison data were collected from 32 Chinese-American families at this time as well.

Participants were studied seven times over a six year period, beginning before the fourth month of pregnancy, and concluding when the children were five years old. Wives, husbands, and eventually children completed a battery of measures that included self-report scales and semistructured interviews. Other data included clinical assessments, unstructured observations, semistructured observations, and videotapes of parent-child interactions at 2 and 5 years old. Videotapes of some of the children at age 7 were made by a student as part of another project. The variables assessed for adults included psychological, marital, sociocultural, physiological, and parental ones. There are also child measures starting at birth. A total of 40-60 measures were administered to all participants throughout the six years.

The Murray Center has acquired the paper and computer-accessible data from the various rating and self-report scales, comparison paper data from the Chinese-American sample, and audiotapes of the interviews. Some videotapes of parent-child interactions at 2, 5, and 7 are available.