Building Strong Families (BSF) Project Data Collection, 2005-2008, United States

The Building Strong Families (BSF) project examined the effectiveness of programs designed to improve child well-being and strengthen the relationships of low-income couples through relationship skills education. It surveyed couples 15 months and 36 months after having applied to and been accepted into a Building Stronger Families (BSF) program at one of eight locations offering services to unwed couples expecting, or having recently had a baby. Major topics included family structure, parental involvement with children, relationships, personal and parental well-being, utilization of services such as workshops to help their relationship and parenting skills, paternity and child support, and family self-sufficiency. Respondents were asked for information on recently born children and relationship status, how much time they spent with their children, their level of satisfaction with their current relationship, substance use, if they had attended relationship and parental counseling, whether they were legally required to provide child support, employment, and family background. Additional information was asked about domestic violence and child abuse, legal trouble, past sexual history, and child development. The 36-month data collection effort also included direct assessments of parenting and child development. The quality of the parenting relationship was assessed for both mothers and fathers and was based on a semi-structured play activity, "the two-bag task." This interaction was videotaped and later coded by trained assessors on multiple dimensions of parenting. During assessments with mothers, the focal child's language development was also assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Demographic data includes race, education level, age, income, and marital status. The data collection is comprised of seven parts. Part 1: the BSF Eligibility and Baseline Survey Data file; Part 2: the BSF 15-Month Follow-up Survey Data file; Part 3: the program participation data file; Part 4: the BSF 15-month follow-up analysis file; Part 5: the BSF 36-Month Follow-up Survey Data file; Part 6: the mother-child in-home assessment; and Part 7: the BSF 36-Month Follow-up analysis file.