Family Research Quantitative Methods

The Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods

In January 2007, each student in FSoS 5014, Introduction to Quantitative Family Research Methods, was asked to summarize and evaluate information about a secondary data set used in the family field. The following summary was prepared by Annie Toueng

The Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods is designed to understand the causes of delinquency, crime, substance abuse, and violence. Researches were interested in positive and negative social behavior. Specifically, this research focuses on the developmental and environmental factors that effect criminal behavior in order to develop crime prevention strategies. The researchers followed criminal behavior to better understand the course of juvenile delinquency, adult crime, substance abuse and violence in urban Chicago.

The principal investigators of the project are Felton J. Earls, M.D. (Director), Albert J. Reiss. Jr. (Co-director), Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Ph.D., Stephen Raudenbush, Ed.D., and Robert J. Sampson, Ph.D. Three waves of data have been collected and a fourth wave of data collection is in-progress. Wave I occurred January 1995-June 1997, Wave II from February 1997 to January 2000, and Wave III from January 2000 to December 2001.

There were over 6,000 participants in the study. There are five data components of the study. There was the community survey that was conducted in the year of 1995-2000 (household interviews) about the structural conditions and organization of neighborhoods, the dynamic structure of the local community, neighborhood organization, political structures, culture values, formal social control, and the social cohesion. The survey had three stages, first, city blocks were sampled within each neighborhood cluster, then dwelling units were sampled within blocks, lastly, the adult resident was sampled within each selected dwelling unit. There were 80 neighborhood clusters that were involved in data collection.

The second component is the observational study of neighborhoods (1996 and 2000). The purpose was to observe the effects of neighborhood characteristics on the young child’s development. In order to do that, the researchers videotaped of city blocks, one at a time, to observe the physical, social, and economic characteristics. The project ended up in having 27,734 of recordings but 15,141 were coded. There was also a neighborhood expert survey to collect data by interviewing community leaders on community social life and the decision that are made (1996).

The last two types of data are the longitudinal cohort study and administrative data. I The administrative data is not discussed here. The longitudinal cohort study, waves 1 - 3, is the central part of this project. It included an infant assessment. It was designed to examine the effects of prenatal and postnatal conditions on the health and cognitive functioning of infants their first years of life. Researchers were interested in linking early development processes to antisocial behavior. The cohort study includes three waves of data collected over seven years. The sample includes adolescents, young adults, and primary caregivers. There were seven randomly sampled cohorts. Measures also examine family and peer influence. Participants will be followed for eight years so data span from birth to 26 years old.

Strengths of the data set:
- Looks at all aspects according to the participants’ context including the social environment, resources, neighborhood, and the behavior of the individuals
- Also researched about Chicago’s environment, resources, community leaders

Weaknesses of data set:
- The project only collected certain data at one time, such as interviewing the community leaders only in 1996
- Only collected data from Chicago so it might be difficult if potential study was in a smaller population and less diverse area

The website is a very helpful guide to the project. You can retrieve the data directly from the website by variable or type of data. You can log in as a guest to look at the data or to create an account. There are helpful links, including publications, announcements, and a web site map.

Posted by vonko002 at January 30, 2007 8:30 PM