Cohort profile: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)

Citation

Harris, Kathleen Mullan; Halpern, Carolyn Tucker; Whitsel, Eric A.; Hussey, Jon M.; Killeya-Jones, Ley A.; Tabor, Joyce; & Dean, Sarah C. (2019). Cohort profile: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). International Journal of Epidemiology.

Abstract

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) was developed in the 1990s in response to a mandate from the United States Congress to fund a study of adolescent health, and was designed by a team of multidisciplinary investigators from the social, behavioural and biomedical sciences. The original purpose of Add Health was to understand the causes of adolescent health and health behaviour, with special emphasis on the multiple contexts of adolescent life. To achieve this scientific goal, Add Health sampled the school and family environments in which young people live their lives, which included data on peer relationship dyads, parents, siblings, neighbourhoods and communities, and provides independent and direct measurement of these complex environments over time. As the cohort transitioned into adulthood, research objectives turned to understanding how adolescent experiences, behaviours and contexts are linked to health and achievement outcomes in adulthood, and the name of the study was officially changed to The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health in 2014.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyz115

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

International Journal of Epidemiology

Author(s)

Harris, Kathleen Mullan
Halpern, Carolyn Tucker
Whitsel, Eric A.
Hussey, Jon M.
Killeya-Jones, Ley A.
Tabor, Joyce
Dean, Sarah C.

Year Published

2019

Edition

June 29, 2019

DOI

10.1093/ije/dyz115

Reference ID

6798