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ADDHEALTH - NATIONAL LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH
Description:
This study provides a comprehensive view of the health and health behaviors of adolescents and the antecedents - personal, interpersonal, familial, and environmental of these outcomes. The study features a longitudinal, multi-level design with independent measurement at the individual, family, peer group, school, and community levels. The basic sample was drawn from a stratified probability sample of 80 high schools and associated feeder schools (middle or junior high schools) nationwide. Information on peer networks, non-sensitive health behaviors, and school climate was collected in the schools from all students attending grades 7-12. A representative sample of 21,000 adolescents was interviewed in their homes, and 18,000 parents (mothers) completed questionnaires. In-home interviews with adolescents were repeated after one year in 1996. School policies and characteristics were reported by school administrators in a short questionnaire. Community and neighborhood characteristics were measured using independent sources of existing data. Young men and women are represented equally in the sample. Over-samples of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Chinese, and African American youth residing in well-educated households supplement the sample sizes for these groups. The study also includes over-sampling of sibling pairs with varying degrees of biological relationship, physically disabled youth, and enhanced data on peer influence.
