Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods

The Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) was a large-scale, interdisciplinary study of how families, schools, and neighborhoods affect child and adolescent development. It was designed to advance the understanding of the developmental pathways of both positive and negative human social behaviors. In particular, the project examined the causes and pathways of juvenile delinquency, adult crime, substance abuse, and violence. At the same time, the project provided a detailed look at the environments in which these social behaviors took place by collecting substantial amounts of data about urban Chicago, including its people, institutions, and resources.

Longitudinal Cohort Study

One component of the PHDCN was the Longitudinal Cohort Study, which was a series of coordinated longitudinal studies that followed over 6,000 randomly selected children, adolescents, and young adults, and their primary caregivers over time to examine the changing circumstances of their lives, as well as the personal characteristics, that might lead them toward or away from a variety of antisocial behaviors. The age cohorts include birth (0), 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 years. Numerous measures were administered to respondents to gauge various aspects of human development, including individual differences, as well as family, peer, and school influences.

Youth Self Report (YSR)

The data files contain information from the Youth Self Report (YSR) protocol. The YSR has been identified as an extremely reliable and valid measure for assessing adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems. The purpose of the PHDCN YSR was to obtain from the subject a self-perceived assessment on anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsion, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and other antisocial behaviors, including measures of aggression, defiance and involvement in delinquent behavior. The overall goal of the YSR was to classify respondents' answers as either internalizing or externalizing behaviors. Internalizing behaviors were defined as co-occurring problems that mainly involved inner distress, such as undue anxiety, depression, and inhibition, whereas externalizing behaviors were defined as co-occurring problems that mainly involved aggressive behaviors as well as conflicts with others and with social mores.

Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods

The city of Chicago was selected as the research site for the PHDCN because of its extensive racial, ethnic, and social-class diversity. The project collapsed 847 census tracts in the city of Chicago into 343 neighborhood clusters (NCs) based upon seven groupings of racial/ethnic composition and three levels of socioeconomic status. The NCs were designed to be ecologically meaningful. They were composed of geographically contiguous census tracts, and geographic boundaries and knowledge of Chicago's neighborhoods were considered in the definition of the NCs. Each NC was comprised of approximately 8,000 people.

Longitudinal Cohort Study

For the Longitudinal Cohort Study, a stratified probability sample of 80 neighborhoods was selected. The 80 NCs were sampled from the 21 strata (seven racial/ethnic groups by three socioeconomic levels) with the goal of representing the 21 cells as equally as possible to eliminate the confounding between racial/ethnic mix and socioeconomic status. Once the 80 NCs were chosen, then block groups were selected at random within each of the sample neighborhoods. A complete listing of dwelling units was collected for all sampled block groups. Pregnant women, children, and young adults in seven age cohorts (birth, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 years) were identified through in-person screening of approximately 40,000 dwelling units within the 80 NCs. The screening response rate was 80 percent. Children within six months of the birthday that qualified them for the sample were selected for inclusion in the Longitudinal Cohort Study. A total of 8,347 participants were identified through the screening. Of the eligible study participants, 6,228 were interviewed.

For all cohorts except 0 and 18, primary caregivers as well as the child were interviewed. The primary caregiver was the person found to spend the most time taking care of the child. Separate research assistants administered the primary caregiver interviews and the child interviews. The primary method of data collection was face-to-face interviewing, although participants who refused to complete the personal interview were administered a phone interview. Interviews were conducted in Spanish, English, and Polish. In Wave 1 the complete protocol was translated into Spanish and Polish. An interpreter was hired for participants who spoke a language other than English, Spanish, or Polish. Depending on the age and wave of data collection, participants were paid between $5 and $20 per interview. Other incentives, such as free passes to museums, the aquarium, and monthly drawing prizes were also included.

Interview protocols included a wide range of questions, assessing impulse control and sensation-seeking traits, cognitive and language development, leisure activities, delinquency and substance abuse, friends' activities, as well as self-perception, attitudes, and values. Caregivers were also interviewed about family structure, parent characteristics, parent-child relationships, parent discipline styles, family mental health, and family history of criminal behavior and drug use.

Youth Self Report (YSR)

Administered between 1994 and 1997, the Youth Self Report (YSR) was completed by the subjects belonging to Cohorts 12 and 15 of the PHDCN Longitudinal Cohort Study. The PHDCN version of the YSR consisted of 112 questions. Respondents were asked to rate a list of items that applied to their behavior, occurring within the past six months, on a three-point Likert-type response scale: 0 = not true, 1 = somewhat true or sometimes true, and 2 = very true or often true. Questionnaire items included "I argue a lot," "I brag," "I feel lonely," "I destroy things belonging to others," "I feel no one loves me," "I am shy," "I threaten to hurt people," "I like to make others laugh," "I like to help others," and "I worry alot." The YSR was comprised of eight sub-scales: Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints, Anxiety and Depression, Social Problems, Thought Problems, Attention Problems, Aggressive Behavior, and Delinquent Behaviors. Internalizing behaviors such as anxiety, depression and other emotional problems not overtly evident were measured by combining responses comprising the Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints, and Anxious/Depressed sub-scales. Externalizing behaviors such as aggression, hyperactivity, and other overt behavioral problems were measured by combining responses comprising the Aggressive Behavior and Delinquent Behaviors sub-scales.