About the project
More than 1,000 families from diverse regions across Norway have been recruited as participants. The LiN-study has provided innovative insights into multifaceted subjects such as encompassing postpartum depressive problems in both maternal and paternal caregivers, dimensions of parental stress, iodine inadequacy prevailing within the expectant maternal cohort, and the appraisal of stress levels prevalent among the youngest attendees of childcare facilities. The next step is to gain a better understanding of how the earliest phase in life can impact children's coping and challenges following the transition to school.
Objectives
The primary objective of the Little in Norway-study is to increase our understanding of pre- and postnatal risk factors that impact the early developmental trajectories of children. This research initiative is underpinned by the imperative to deepen our insights into how children can diverge onto distinct developmental pathways during their formative years. It seeks to elucidate the pivotal factors that precipitate early developmental variations, explore avenues for potential intervention, and discern the extent to which certain children exhibit heightened adaptability, rendering them more susceptible to adverse environmental influences during both the prenatal and postnatal phases, while at the same time may derive greater benefits from tailored developmental support.
Sub-projects
Financing
Little in Norway received a core grant from the Norwegian Research Council (#196156) in 2010, which enabled the initiation and execution of the research project. Furthermore, RBUP East and South have provided financial support during the course of the research project. The Institute of Marine Research (Havforskningsinstituttet) is an important partner and has contributed to financing related to the analysis of biological samples through the FINS project (#900842.FINS). The follow-up starting school study is funded by the Åse Gruda Skar Fund at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo.
Cooperation
The Little in Norway-study emerged as a collaboration between the National Competence Network for the Mental Health of Infants and Toddlers at RBUP East and South, as well as the remaining three Regional Centers for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Child Welfare.
Together with the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, LiN also contributes valuable research on nutrition for pregnant/nursing women and infants and toddlers. In 2018, the Little in Norway-study moved to the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, and now includes several researchers affiliated within the Department. Among international collaborators, Richie Poulton, the director of The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study at the University of Otago in New Zealand, as well as Arnold Sameroff from the University of Michigan in the USA and Antoine Guedeney at Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard and the University Denis Diderot in Paris, have played important roles in planning and designing the project.
The kindergarten-study was established through a collaboration with researchers at the Regional Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Central Norway, led by Professor May Britt Drugli. In addition, Little in Norway collaborate with the University of Tromsø and researchers associated with the Northern Babies Longitudinal Study by Professor Catharina Wang.