New York longitudinal study

de Alexander Thomas, Stella Chess, Richard M. Lerner, Jacqueline V. Lerner, Henry A. Murray Research Center

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the development of personality variables (temperament, anxiety, adjustment, self image), cognitive development and academic achievement, family structure and function, parent-child relations, the development of clinical symptomatology, peer relationships, the development of sexuality, drug use and abuse, vocational interests and career development, and health and physical development. The core sample of this study consisted of 133 white, middle class infants (66 males, 67 females) and their families, who were first contacted in 1956 and followed up on numerous occasions until 1988. The researchers periodically conducted interviews with the subjects' parents in the first two years of life about the child's behaviors innumberous content areas (e.g. sleep, feeding, bathing, toileting, mobility, social responsivity, and sensory functioning), parents' daily care of the child and the details of daily living. As the child became older, data collection was expanded to include other contexts within which the child interacted. When the child was approximately three years of age, 100 mothers and 93 fathers were interviewed and asked to complete the Parental Attitude Research Instrument (Schaefer & Bell, 1958). Researchers also completed an evaluation of the home environment of the subjects and of any special environmental circumstances (e.g., separations, divorces, remarriages, deaths). In adolescence and early adulthood, interviews were conducted separately with both the child and his/her parents. These interviews included additional questions about college plans, career goals, and sexual and social functioning. During the adolescent assessment, one-third of the respondents completed the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire. The Murray Center holds transcripts, interviews, rating scales, grade summaries, clinical interviews, observations transcripts, and school reports, as well as computer data for the 1956-1988 study. Follow-up is possible with the collaboration of the contributor.