A longitudinal population study of infant vulnerability and plasticity from pregnancy to age 18 months

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The aim of the present proposal is to conduct a longitudinal population study of resilience and vulnerability among Norwegian infants in the areas of sensory-motor development and social-emotional functioning. The study is relevant to the call for proposa ls because it aims to generate new knowledge about differential mental health susceptibility among infants within a developmental framework by including infants with prenatal alcohol, drug and tobacco exposure and possible perinatal parental depression an d stress. The study is designed to detect early signs of risk and pathways to healthy and aberrant development, and to provide knowledge about how candidate genes make some infants more susceptible to adversity and simultaneously more likely to benefit fr om supportive experiences. Such knowledge will inform intervention. Currently most vulnerable children are referred much too late, at a time when intervention often will be time consuming and expensive. Early detection and treatment will relieve the suffe ring of children and their families, and lead to better channeling of societal resources. The proposed study is nationwide and will be conducted in all four health regions in Norway under the auspices of the Norwegian Network of Infant Mental Health.