Full Text HD-93-03 NORMATIVE BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH ON ETHNIC MINORITIES NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 22, June 12, 1992 RFA: HD-93-03 P.T. 34, FF Keywords: Behavioral/Social Studies/Service Demography Child Psychology/Development Cognitive Development/Process National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institute of Mental Health Application Receipt Date: August 26, 1992 PURPOSE The Human Learning and Behavior Branch (HLB) of the Center for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC) and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch (DBS) of the Center for Population Research (CPR), both of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the Division of Basic Brain and Behavior Sciences of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) are inviting grant applications for the support of research on the normative behavioral development of ethnic minorities. The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to generate high- quality behavioral research about the NORMATIVE developmental experiences, processes, and outcomes of minority children in the U.S.A. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objective of "Healthy People 2000", a PHS-led national activity for setting priority goals. This RFA, Normative Behavioral Research on Ethnic Minorities, is related to this initiative since it will stimulate research about variations in psychological health among minority children and about the familial, cultural, and societal conditions that influence such variations. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or "Healthy People 2000" (Summary Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone (202) 783-3238). ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT Applications may be submitted by domestic for-profit and non-profit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, units of State and local governments, and eligible agencies of the Federal Government. Applications from minority individuals and women are encouraged. It is suggested that applicants have research experience pertinent to the research agenda described in the RFA. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT This RFA will use individual research grants (R01). Responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of the proposed project will be solely that of the applicant. The total project period for applications submitted in response to the RFA may not exceed five years. This RFA is a one-time solicitation. Future unsolicited competing continuation applications will compete with all investigator-initiated applications and be reviewed according to the customary NIH/ADAMHA NIH/ADAMHA peer review procedures. FUNDS AVAILABLE The NICHD has set aside $800,000 for the first year of support (direct costs) for the entire program. It is anticipated that five awards will be made. The NIMH will set aside $300,000 for the first year of support (direct costs) of the program, and it is anticipated that two awards will be made. This level of support is dependent on the receipt of a sufficient number of applications of high scientific merit. Although this program is provided for in the financial plans of the NICHD and NIMH, awards pursuant to this RFA are contingent upon the availability of funds for this purpose. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Background This RFA is a response to a request that the U.S. Congress addressed to the NICHD. In Report # 102-104, accompanying the FY 1992 appropriation (pages 119-120), the Senate Appropriation Committee urged the NICHD to develop an RFA for normative research on ethnic minorities. The report stated the rationale for the RFA as follows: "Because most developmental research on minorities focuses on high-risk groups affected by poverty, lack of education, lack of health care, and other conditions, there is a critical lack of research about normative developmental experiences of ethnic minorities. While problem areas are critically important for research, it is also important to identify the general norms for various aspects of development in African American, Asian-American, and Hispanic children and youth." The House Appropriation Committee's Report # 102-121, accompanying the FY 1992 appropriation (page 86), uses very similar language justifying the request that the NICHD develop an RFA on the topic of ethnic minorities. This RFA can be thought of as an expression of the NICHD's long- standing commitment to the support of research on normative development, including perceptual, cognitive, social, and emotional development, from infancy through adolescence. It is also a continuation of a 1987 initiative by the NICHD. At that time, an RFA was issued entitled "Minority Families and Children: Behavioral and Societal Variables Affecting Children's Development." In addition, the RFA relates to the "National Plan for Research on Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders" of the NIMH. The National Plan, developed in response to Congressional request, seeks to expand the full spectrum of research related to child and adolescent mental disorders, including basic research in normal social, emotional, and cognitive development, and in the influence of social and cultural factors on development and healthy functioning. Objectives The objective of this RFA is to stimulate behavioral research about the normative development of minority children living in the U.S. Minority children constitute a rapidly growing segment of the population and the scientific documentation of their normative development and conditions that influence it are important. At present, research about minority children is relatively limited, a fact that stands in the way of our society's ability to appreciate the variations among minority individuals in terms of their strengths and needs. The fact that the scientific literature about the normative development of minorities is not as broad in scope and rich in detail as it ought to be is due to (a) the relatively small number of minority investigators who have devoted their career to the study of child development, and (b) the higher costs involved in doing research with minority and poor segments of the population. At the same time, those investigators who have turned their attention to studying the normative development of minority children have set forth an impressive research agenda that the NICHD and the NIMH would like to support through this RFA as well as through the support of investigator-initiated applications. In the context of this RFA, behavioral-developmental research refers primarily to psychological research. However, it is recognized that demographic, sociological, economic, and anthropological constructs and methods, when combined with psychological research, will greatly enrich our understanding of the development of minority children. Therefore, interdisciplinary approaches are highly encouraged by this RFA. Research about the developmental outcomes of minority children must be driven by ecological and cultural models of human development, showing how variations in communities and their institutions (e.g., church, school), family characteristics (e.g., family structure, including presence or absence of nuclear or extended family members), parental lifecourse experiences (e.g., cultural and migratory experiences), parental attitudes and behaviors, economic resources, and social support systems (e.g., quality and quantity of non-maternal child care) affect the development of minority children. Most of the research conducted to date has compared children of one minority group with non-minority children, or compared children of different minority backgrounds. The research, however, has not focused on the contexts in which these children grow or on individual differences among children who are reared in similar cultural and/or socio-economic contexts. There is evidence from the study of non-minority children and from cross-cultural research that familial, institutional, and other environmental contexts influence children's developmental outcome. There is also scientific information about how this happens. Similar process oriented research is needed about variations in the ecology of child rearing within and across minority groups, and how these variations shape the developmental outcome of the children involved. Research about developmental processes and outcomes describes the way knowledge and skill are acquired; it uncovers the internal psychological influences (e.g., motivation, pre-requisite cognitive abilities, social skills) and the external forces (e.g., availability of human and material resources, coaching, role modeling, reinforcement) that work together to create, advance, or hinder certain aspects of psychological attainment. The developmental outcomes that need to be investigated are in all domains of human functioning, e.g., cognitive, linguistic, academic, social, emotional. Much of the research that has been conducted so far has focused on the academic attainment and the cognitive development of minority children. It is now recognized that the research agenda needs to pay more attention to social and emotional development, in addition to the more traditional domains of research on minority children. Research about the developmental experiences of minority children cannot ignore the medical health and nutritional status of these children from birth on. Variations in health and nutritional status need to be documented and related to the environmental factors and to the outcome of minority children's development. Minority children are known to experience more medical problems and less access to medical care. These, in turn, may adversely affect the developmental outcome of the children. Therefore, the ways in which variations in nutritional and medical health status interact with variations in the ecology of development and with developmental outcome needs to be documented. However, research focusing on the development of a homogeneous group of children, all at high medical/nutritional risk, will not be responsive to this RFA. The research agenda for studying the normative development of minority children is extensive. Much of it is set forth in the review papers published in "Child Development" in a special issue on minority children that appeared in April 1990 (volume 61, no. 2). No one research project to be supported through this RFA will be able to focus on all the issues mentioned above. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS To help investigators who are funded through this RFA to share information and to learn from each other, it is recommended that each applicant ask for funds to attend an annual meeting of the grantees. The meeting will take place at the NIH, Bethesda, MD. STUDY POPULATIONS The RFA calls for research on all minority children. These include African American, Asian American, Native American, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic children. Research on children of all ages (0 to 17) is welcome. Newborns, infants, toddlers, preschool age children, and school-age children of all ages and both sexes, including adolescents, could be the subjects of research applications to be submitted in response to this RFA. APPLICATION PROCEDURES The research grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91) is to be used in responding to this RFA. These forms are available at most institutional business offices and from the Office of Grants Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone (301) 496-7441. The RFA label available in the PHS 398 application form must be affixed to the bottom of the face page of the application. Failure to use this label could result in delayed processing of the application such that it may not reach the review committee in time for review. In addition, the RFA title and number must be typed on line 2a of the face page of the application form and the YES box must be marked. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the Checklist, and three signed, photocopies, in one package to: Division of Research Grants National Institutes of Health Westwood Building, Room 240 Bethesda, MD 20892** At the time of submission, two additional copies of the application must also be sent to: Dr. Laurance Johnston, Division of Scientific Review Executive Plaza North, Room 520A 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-1485 Applications must be received by August 26, 1992. If an application is received after that date, it will be returned to the applicant without review. The Division of Research Grants (DRG) will not accept any application in response to this announcement that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. The DRG will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of substantial revisions of applications already reviewed, but such applications must include an introduction addressing the previous critique. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by NIH staff for completeness and responsiveness. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant without further consideration. If the application is not responsive to the RFA, NIH staff will return the application to the applicant. The applicant will then have the option of submitting it to the DRG for review in competition with unsolicited applications at the next review cycle. Applications may be triaged by a standing peer review group on the basis of relative competitiveness. The NIH will withdraw from further competition those applications judged to be non-competitive for award and notify the applicant Principal Investigator and institutional official. Those applications judged to be competitive will undergo further scientific merit review. Those applications that are complete and responsive will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria stated below for scientific/technical merit by a special peer review committee convened by the NICHD (following consultation with NIMH staff). The second level of review will be provided by the National Advisory Child Health and Human Development Council and by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Council. The review criteria are: o scientific significance, technical excellence, and originality of proposed research; o appropriateness and adequacy of the approach and methodology proposed to carry out the research; o qualifications and research experience of the Principal Investigator, collaborating investigators and staff, particularly, but not exclusively, in the area of the proposed research; o experience of the Principal Investigator and collaborating investigators in conducting research with minority research participants; o availability of resources necessary to perform the research, including ability to recruit and maintain minority data collectors; o appropriateness of the proposed budget and duration in relation to the proposed research. AWARD CRITERIA Responsiveness to the RFA, scientific merit, and technical proficiency, as described in the application, will be the predominate criteria for determining funding. The anticipated date of award is April 1, 1993. INQUIRIES Potential applicants are welcome to ask for clarification of issues and questions concerning this RFA. Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to: Hildegard P. Topper, M.S. Special Assistant Office of the Director National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Building 31, Room 2A04 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-0104 or Mary Ellen Oliveri, Ph.D. Chief, Personality and Social Processes Research Branch Division of Basic Brain and Behavioral Science National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 11C-10 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-3566 Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Edgar D. Shawver Office of Grants and Contracts National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 6130 Executive Boulevard Executive Plaza North, Room 505 G Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-1303 or Bruce Ringler, Chief, Grants Management Branch National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 7C Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-3065 AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.865, research for Mothers and Children, and 93,242, Mental Health Research Projects. Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74. Awards are also under authorization of PHS Act, Title V, Part B. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health System Agency review. .
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