Exploring lifelong well-being
begins with you
Our Study
Our Every Dollar Counts Youth Follow-Up study explores how early life experiences and family environments shape children’s health as they grow.
We are dedicated to learning how family support, changes in stress, relationships, and daily experiences may support healthy brain and body development over time.
We are deeply grateful to the families who participate by sharing their time and experiences with us, as their input enables us to better understand what helps youth thrive across emotional, social, and physical development.
How It Works
Your participation is key to helping us advance important research. To ensure you feel informed and supported, we’ve provided an overview of what a visit will be like. Please note that the nature of your visit will vary based on your location (i.e., Chicago or Dallas)
Click on tab based on your location
Chicago-Area participants
Visit Highlights
Time
You can expect to spend approximately 8 hours with our research team.
Time
Breakfast and lunch will be provided during your visit.
Time
All travel expenses related to attending will be covered by our team.
Your Visit at a Glance
During your visit, you and your child will take part in a variety of activities. You’ll find a brief overview below created to help you feel prepared and ready.
You and your child will:
Complete questionnaires
Participate in interviews
Be asked to be recorded while you discuss your relationship
Your child will be asked to complete a series of standard health measures:
Blood draw
MRI scan
Extended blood pressure
Height and weight measurements
Each child and family may choose to do the study visit even if they aren’t comfortable or able to do all of the parts.
Discover more about the MRI process:
A simple guide to your MRI
Below is a video that explains the MRI from our collaborators at U of M, in the future, we will have a video specific to Northwestern, but we hope this video is helpful for you and your child to understand the MRI scan.
This brief video walks you through what to expect during the MRI portion of your visit. From arriving at our imaging center here in downtown Chicago, to what the scan feels and sounds like, we’ll show you each step so there are no surprises. Our goal is to help you feel comfortable, confident, and supported from the beginning to the end of your appointment.
Dallas-Area participants
Visit Highlights
You can expect to spend approximately 2 hours on your online surveys.
Your Remote Visit at a Glance
You and your child will be asked to:
Complete questionnaires
Statement of Confidentiality:
Your participation, along with any personal or identifying information you share, will be kept strictly confidential. This study is protected by a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health, which helps safeguard you and your child’s information from federal, state, and local courts or legal proceedings.