National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health
The original purpose of the Add Health study was to help understand the causes of adolescent health and health behavior with special emphasis on the effects of multiple contexts of adolescent life.
The cohort was then followed through their transition to adulthood and research turned to understanding the determinants and consequences of developmental and health trajectories from adolescence into adulthood.
- Start Year
- 1994
- Supplementary Information
-
Detailed information about the study design here: http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/design
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| Investigators | Contacts |
|---|---|
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Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Follow Up
-
After the in-school survey in 1994-1995, the participants were sampled and followed-up with an in-home interview in 1995, 1996, 2001-2002 and 2007-2008.
- Supplementary Information
- Number of participants refers to wave I.
Marker Paper
Resnick MD, Bearman PS, Blum RW, et al. Protecting adolescents from harm. Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. JAMA, 1997; 278(10): 823-32.
PUBMED 9293990
Recruitment
- Recruitment Target
-
- Individuals
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 20,745
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 20,745
- Supplementary Information
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
|
Timeline
Populations
The participants were administrators from participating schools.
Selection Criteria
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- United States of America
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
-
Other specific population :
Administrators of selected high schools.
-
Other specific population :
- Supplementary Information
-
Systematic sampling methods and implicit stratification ensured that the 80 high schools selected are representative of US schools with respect to region of country, urbanicity, size, type and ethnicity.
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 144
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
-
Wave 1: 144 participants
Wave 2: 128 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
Add Health - School Administrators - Wave I
|
Questionnaires. The administrators completed self-administered questionnaires dealing with school policies and procedures, teacher characteristics, health-service provision or referral, and ... |
1994-09 | 1995-04 |
| 1 |
Add Health - School Administrators - Wave II
|
Telephone interview. School administrators were contacted by telephone and asked to update information from the first year on school policies and procedures, teacher characteristics, ... |
1996-04 | 1996-06 |
The participants were all adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States in 1994-1995.
Selection Criteria
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- United States of America
- Other Criteria
-
Participants had to be in 7th to 12th grade.
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
-
Other specific population :
Adolescents attending the selected high schools.
-
Other specific population :
- Supplementary Information
-
Systematic sampling methods and implicit stratification ensured that the 80 high schools selected are representative of US schools with respect to region of country, urbanicity, size, type and ethnicity.
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 20,745
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 20,745
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
-
Wave 1: 20 745 participants (in-school questionnaire: 90 118 participants)
Wave 2: 14 738 participants
Wave 3: 15 197 participants
Wave 4: 15 701 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
Add Health - Adolescents - Wave I
|
In-school self-administered questionnaire and interviewer-assisted + self-administered in-home questionnaire. The in-school questionnaire was self-administered and included topics such as: ... |
1994-09 | 1995-12 |
| 1 |
Add Health - Adolescents - Wave II
|
Interviewer-assisted + self-administered in-home questionnaire. The interview was generally similar to Wave I and covered topics such as: health status, health-facility utilization, ... |
1996-04 | 1996-08 |
| 2 |
Add Health - Adolescents - Wave III
|
Interviewer-assisted + self-administered in-home questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to obtain relationship, marital, childbearing, and educational histories, and to date key labor ... |
2001-07 | 2002-04 |
| 3 |
Add Health - Adolescents - Wave IV
|
Interviewer-assisted + self-administered in-home questionnaire. The Wave IV survey maintained longitudinal elements from earlier waves of data collection, including information on multiple ... |
2008-01 | 2009-01 |
| 4 |
Add Health - Adolescents - Wave V
|
Interviewer-assisted + self-administered in-home questionnaire. Add Health plans to trace, locate, and re-interview cohort members in a Wave V follow-up during the period 2015-2018 to collect ... |
2015-11 | 2018-12 |
The participants were parents of the adolescents enrolled in the study.
Selection Criteria
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- United States of America
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
-
Other specific population :
Parents of the selected participants.
-
Other specific population :
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 17,670
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
Add Health - Parents - Wave I
|
Questionnaire. A parent, preferably the resident mother, completed an interviewer-assisted questionnaire covering topics such as: inheritable health conditions, marriages and marriage-like ... |
1995-04 | 1995-12 |
| 1 |
Add Health - Parents - Phase I
|
Questionnaire. Follow-up interviews planned for the period between July 2015 and June 2018. |
2015-07 | 2018-06 |
The participants were partners of the adolescents sample recruited for the study.
Selection Criteria
- Minimum age
-
18
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- United States of America
- Other Criteria
-
Criteria required that a partner be current, of the opposite sex, at least 18 years old, and in a relationship with the original Add Health participant for at least three months.
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
-
Other specific population :
Original Add Health participants' partners.
-
Other specific population :
- Supplementary Information
-
Recruitment was determined by a computer algorithm that evaluated the relationship history provided by a respondent.
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 1,507
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
Data Collection Event
The information collected from partners was the same as from the original participant and included: demographics, household roster and residence history, parental support and relationships, retrospective ADHD, relationships with siblings, friends, education, labor market experience and active-duty military service, general health and diet, access to health services, health insurance, illnesses, medications, physical disabilities, social psychology and mental health, mentoring, marriage/cohabitation history and attitudes, economics and personal future, sexual experiences and STDs, table of relationships, table of pregnancies, relationships in detail, BEM inventory, propensity for risk, completed pregnancies, current pregnancy, live births, children and parenting, delinquency and violence, involvement with the criminal justice system, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, self-image, mistreatment by adults, civic participation and citizenship, religion and spirituality, gambling, and daily activities.
The Add Health Picture Vocabulary Test was also performed.
- Start Date
-
2001-08
- End Date
-
2002-04
- Data sources
-
- Questionnaires
- Cognitive measures
Classifications
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Diseases
- Symptoms and signs
- Medication and supplements
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Health and community care services utilization
- Death
- Physical measures and assessments
- Laboratory measures
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Preschool, school and work life
- Social environment and relationships
- Physical environment
- Administrative information
- Cognitive functioning
- Personality
- Psychological distress and emotions
- Other psychological measures and assessments
- Life events
- Beliefs and values
- Perception of health
- Quality of life
- Life course development
- Functional limitations
- Other perception of health, quality of life and functional limitation-related information
- Tobacco
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Nutrition
- Breastfeeding
- Physical activity
- Sleep
- Sexual behaviours and orientation
- Technological devices
- Misbehaviour and criminality
- Other and unspecified lifestyle information
Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Lifestyle and behaviours
Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
Diseases
Symptoms and signs
Medication and supplements
Non-pharmacological interventions
Health and community care services utilization
Death
Physical measures and assessments
Laboratory measures
Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
Preschool, school and work life
Social environment and relationships
Physical environment
Administrative information
Cognitive functioning
Personality
Psychological distress and emotions
Life events
Functional limitations
Tobacco