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. For example, some questions assessed impulse control and sensation-seeking traits, cognitive and language development, leisure activities, delinquency and substance abuse, friends' activities, and 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.

Infant Assessment Unit

The Infant Assessment Unit was a compilation of various measures used to evaluate the prenatal and postnatal conditions that affect the health and cognitive development of infants during the first year of life. Because the IAU was specifically interested in observing infants, only subjects belonging to Cohort 0, and their primary caregivers, participated in the IAU. The IAU utilized several measures to assess the temperament of the infant. The first was the Kagan Mobile Task/Latency to Grasp, which summarized various behaviors, such as smiling and crying, as responses to novel visual stimuli. Measures of these behaviors, including latency to grasp, were used to describe the infant's overall temperamental disposition. A second measure employed by the IAU to evaluate the temperament of the subjects was the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ). The IBQ offered the PC an opportunity to assess the behavior of the infant with respect to six components of infant temperament, including fear, distress to limits, duration of orienting, soothability, activity, and laughter and smiling. The IBQ asked the PC to make these valuations based on the infant's behavior over the course of the two weeks leading up to the administration of the IBQ. PC's were given three responses from which to choose one that best described the infant's behavior. The Infant Behavior Ratings (IBR) measure was also used to evaluate infant temperament. The IBR rated the infant on a number of observed behaviors and also rated the validity of the other IAU measures.

Other measures incorporated by the IAU were the Growth Assessment Form (GAF), the Visual Recognition Memory (VRM) Paradigm, and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Data. The GAF was used to record the evolution of the subject's physical growth and development by recording, among other things, height, weight, and body mass as physical growth as a good proxy for overall health and nutrition. The VRM Paradigm was included in the IAU to evaluate the subject's visual information processing, an aspect of infant cognition correlated with later childhood IQ and development of perceptual speed, language, and memory. The VRM Paradigm was administered at the respondent's home and consisted of the interviewer presenting the infant with visual stimulus cards and observing the subject's eye movements. Various trials were conducted, and the results were coded and recorded on a laptop computer in addition to being videotaped. The IAU data contain an additional VRM file that provides summary data for the various trials conducted for the VRM Paradigm. The IDPH Data contain information related to the PC's pregnancy. Information such as age of mother, number of visits to the doctor, whether or not there were complications, length of pregnancy, and baby's birth weight are all recorded in the IDPH file.

The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME), Infant Day Care Screen (DCS), Maternal Social Support Index (MSSI)/Father Involvement, Young Adult Self-Report (YASR), and Maternal and Infant Health Survey (MIH) were administered solely to the primary caregiver. The HOME survey was designed to evaluate the various aspects of the subject's developmental environment that could affect future positive or negative social behaviors. In addition, the PHDCN version of the HOME inventory carefully assessed the various aspects of the physical environment in which the subject lived, including the living conditions present inside the home and the state of the surrounding neighborhood. The DCS questionnaire recorded data relating the details of the childcare arrangements for the subject. The PC was asked to describe the nature (family member, babysitter, day care) and frequency (number of days and hours) of the care received by the subject. The PC was also asked how long the child had been receiving the previously described care and if there were any additional childcare programs utilized by the subject. The MSSI, an instrument designed to evaluate the aspects of the primary caregiver's social support, sought to obtain information regarding the division of household tasks and responsibilities for child rearing. The MSSI also questioned the PC with respect to his or her ability to access transportation, interaction with other adults, and involvement in the community. The MSSI further asked the PC to describe his or her relationship with the subject's father, while additional questions regarding the involvement of the subject's father or father figure were added to the measure by the IAU research team. The YASR, a self-administered survey, was included to obtain information on specific aspects of the respondent's life, such as interpersonal relationships and conflicts, tendencies toward various anti-social behaviors, and habits regarding nonmedical drug and alcohol consumption. The YASR also sought to identify personality traits and behaviors that might be classified as unusual. The goal of the YASR was to obtain an overall score for each respondent, based on the answers provided, that could be used to make observations and determinations regarding his or her psychological, emotional, and behavioral health and overall quality of life. The MIH, which is an adaptation of the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, was administered to each subject's biological mother. The MIH was primarily concerned with the prenatal conditions surrounding the subject's birth, but also collected information on the infant's delivery and health for the first six months of life.

The IAU data also include an Assessment Debriefing File (ADF) containing summary information for all of the instruments that formed the IAU protocol. The ADF data records what language the IAU instruments were administered in, whether or not a translator was required, the amount of privacy during the administration of the instruments, and who, if anyone, was present at the time the instruments were administered.