Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Child Behavior Checklist, Wave 1, 1994-1997 (ICPSR 13582)

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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.

Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)

The data files contain information from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) protocol. The CBCL has been identified as an extremely reliable and valid parent/primary caregiver reporting measure for assessing children's emotional and behavioral problems. The purpose of the PHDCN CBCL was to obtain information 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 CBCL was to classify respondents' answers overall as either an internalizing or externalizing behavior. 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 and conflicts with others and social mores.

Study Design View help for Study Design

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.

Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)

Completed between 1994 and 1997, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was administered to the primary caregiver (defined as the person(s) found to spend the most time taking care of the subject) of subjects belonging to Cohorts 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 of the PHDCN Longitudinal Cohort Study. The PHDCN CBCL was administered in two versions--a preschool version geared toward subjects aged 2 to 3, which contained approximately 100 questionnaire items, and a slightly longer version (approximately 120 questionnaire items) for subjects between the ages of 4 and 18. Each instrument also contained 2 to 3 open-ended items for reporting additional behavioral problems. The questionnaire items were presented in alphabetical order to reduce any respondent bias that might have occurred as a result of the respondent's preconceived notion regarding the presence or absence of a particular disorder. Respondents were asked to rate a list of items that applied to his or her child's behavior, occurring within the past six months, on a three-point Likert-type response scale: 0 = not true, 1 = somewhat true, and 2 = very true. Questionnaire items included "argues a lot," "complains of loneliness," "cruel to animals," "bites fingernails," "doesn't eat well," "nightmares," "physically attacks people," "refuses to talk," "talks or walks in sleep," "underactive or lacks energy," and "wets the bed." The preschool version of the CBCL was comprised of six narrow-band subscales and two broad-band scales (listed in the variable description section). The CBCL for the 4 to 18 age group contained eight narrow-band subscales, two broad-band scales, and a total problems scale. The scales were not mutually exclusive (i.e., one questionnaire item may contribute to more than one scale).

Sample View help for Sample

Stratified probability sample.

Universe View help for Universe

Children, adolescents, young adults, and their primary caregivers, living in the city of Chicago in 1994.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

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Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

In addition to the variables containing the responses to the CBCL, are were also several scale variables that help identify various syndromes. For the preschool instrument, six narrow-band (or syndrome) subscales were identified: Social Withdrawal, Depressed, Sleep Problems, Somatic Problems, Aggressive, and Destructive. The combined Social Withdrawal and Depressed scales comprise the Internalizing broad-band scale for this age group, while the Aggressive and Destructive scales comprised the Externalizing broad-band scale. Eight narrow-band subscales were generated for the 4 to 18 age group: Withdrawn, Anxious/ Depressed, Somatic Complaints, Social Problems, Attention Problems, Delinquent Behavior, Thought Problems, and Aggressive Behavior. The Internalizing behavior scale for this age group was derived from the subscales assessing Withdrawal, Somatic Complaints, and Anxious/ Depressed behaviors, and the Externalizing behavior scale was derived from the Delinquent and Aggressive subscales. There is also a Total Problems scale variable which was generated from all summed questionnaire items, except for those inquiring about allergies or asthma, which measured overall behavioral and emotional functioning.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

The overall response rate for Wave 1 of the Longitudinal Cohort Study was 75 percent or 6,228 participants. The response rates by cohort were:

1. 76.2 percent (1,269) for Cohort 0
2. 76.6 percent (1,003) for Cohort 3
3. 75.0 percent (980) for Cohort 6
4. 75.9 percent (828) for Cohort 9
5. 74.3 percent (820) for Cohort 12
6. 71.6 percent (696) for Cohort 15
7. 70.3 percent (632) for Cohort 18

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

Scale variables for the preschool version of the CBCL include: Social Withdrawal, Depressed, Sleep Problems, Somatic Problems, Aggressive, Destructive, Internalizing, and Externalizing. Scale variables for the CBCL for ages 4-18 include: Withdrawn, Anxious/Depressed, Somatic Complaints, Social Problems, Attention Problems, Delinquent Behavior, Thought Problems, Aggressive Behavior, Internalizng, Externalizing, and Total Problems.

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2005-07-22

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none