Participants in the Child Development Project (CDP) were recruited from three sites (Nashville, TN; Knoxville, TN; and Bloomington, IN) during pre-registration for kindergarten in 1987 and 1988. To represent the late-enrolling segment of the population, additional children were recruited at the beginning of the school year. Families were recruited from multiple schools within these sites. The sample was selected to be typical of a range of socioeconomic status (SES) groups, with an effort made to include individuals from at-risk neighborhoods. Over half of the participants lived with single or divorced parents before adulthood. Approximately 75% of parents who were approached agreed to participate in the longitudinal study. The initial sample size included 585 children (52% male, 81% European American, 17% African American, 2% other ethnic groups). Participants provided informed consent at each wave of data collection, and the project was approved by the IRB of Duke University, Indiana University, and Auburn University.
