Our blood contains valuable information about how our bodies are functioning. We are looking to see if there are any indicators that predict good health or give us insight into the development of chronic conditions. We are not looking at your DNA or genetics. We will collect three small tubes of blood, which is about 4 teaspoons in total. One tube will be used to measure inflammation, another for pre-diabetes and hemoglobin A1C levels (a marker of average blood sugar levels over the past three months), and a third tube will be used to measure cholesterol. These tests are routinely ordered by your doctor during a regular check-up.

We want to focus on families who are sometimes left out of research about healthy child development, which includes African American and Hispanic/Latinx families. Although families of color often face unique stressors, they also frequently benefit from protective processes, including strong family relationships, positive racial identity, and internal coping strategies. By focusing on African American and Latinx families, we can better understand how these protective factors influence children’s development.

Your information is confidential and will not be shared with others outside the research team.* Participants are assigned a random code number, and the information you provide during your study visits will be stored with that code, not your name. We carefully follow guidelines to make sure that your information is kept private. When we analyze data, we look at the sample as a whole and never at individual participant responses. Your survey responses will be kept on password protected computers, and your blood will be stored in a locked laboratory. This information and your blood will be stored with your code number, not your name. The only people with access to identifiable information are the individuals who are part of our study team. This information is not shared with any other agencies or study teams on campus. *There are two exceptions to this confidentiality assurance: 1. if someone discloses that they are planning to hurt themself or someone else. 2. If we have reasonable cause to believe that child abuse has occurred.

Both the parent/guardian and the child will receive compensation during the visit. At each visit, the parent/guardian will receive $50 cash or Amazon e-voucher, and the child will receive $50 in cash or Amazon e-voucher. If both the child and parent complete all three visits, then the parent will receive an additional $20 during the third visit. You can earn up to $320 per child. We also provide an optional $20 to go towards any transportation costs.