Lives through time

de Jack Block

This study focused on the course of adolescent personality development and change, and its relationship to adjustment in later life. The data come from two ongoing longitudinal studies conducted at the Institute of Human Development (IHD). The Berkeley Guidance Study was begun in 1929 by Jean Macfarlane; participants were families with a 21-month old child. The Oakland Growth Study, a sample of fifth graders and their families, was begun in 1932 by Harold Joneson. Both studies were designed to study normal development over time and are still active today at IHD. The data come from two on-going longitudinal studies conducted at the Institute for Human Development (IHD). The Berkeley Guidance Study was begun in 1929 by Jean Macfarlane; participants were families with a 21-month old child. The Oakland Growth Study was begun in 1932 by Harold Jones on a sample of fifth graders and their families. Both studies were designed to study normal development over time and are still active today at IHD. The data set available at the Murray Center is a reanalysis of a subset of the IHD data obtained from 171 participants (drawn from an original sample of 460) when they were young adolescents, older adolescents and adults (in their thirties). Data from these waves were coded and developed and analyzed by Block for his book, Ḻives Through Time ̲(Berkeley: Bancroft, 1971). The sample was assessed again when participants were in their forties (1968-69). This fourth wave was analyzed for numerous questions, many of which are presented in Present and Past in Middle Life,̲ edited by Eichorn, Clausen, and others (New York: Academic, 1981). This wave is archived separately from the first three waves (see Institute of Human Development, A627). The personality data archived at the center were obtained by using variations of Block's California Q-Sort. The material used came from "case assemblies" of all information from the IHD files that was presented by the participants, their teachers, or IHD staff. This included such information as school grades, comments and ratings by teachers, ratings of social or interview behavior by IHD staff, intelligence test performance, Rorschach and TAT protocols, peer sociometric ratings, participant's reports of areas of agreement or disagreement with parents, attitudes on various issues, and likes and dislikes. In addition to the Q-Sort information, data from the California Psychological Inventory were obtained for the adults. Only computer-accessible data are available at the Murray Center.