Developmental-Ecological Studies of Development & Prevention in City Settings Secondary Data Analyses

These data sets represent rich opportunities for secondary data analyses focused on a range of topics within this general area.

The Chicago Youth Development Project 

A longitudinal study of male adolescents growing up in inner-city Chicago followed approximately 600 youth into young adulthood to track ecological effects on behavior, relationships, and parenting across generations.  Nine waves of data were collected across the 17 years of the study to provide understanding of risk development, resilience contributors, and interrelation of individual, family, peer, and community influences within high-risk communities.  

SAFEChildren Efficacy Trial

This is a random assignment trial of 480 families residing in high-risk neighborhoods in Chicago to participate in a family-support program intended to improve connection to neighbors and other parents, promote and support sustained involvement of parents in school, and increase school interest and capability for basic academic skills during the first year of school.  The long term interest is in impact on school completion and effective functioning as well as reduced antisocial behavior.  Families were followed through completion of high school.

GREAT Schools and Families 

Multisite longitudinal random assignment (of 36 schools) preventive intervention study, focused on over 9000 middle-school children, that compares a universal or whole-population approach and a selective or high-risk group focused approach to lower violence perpetration and victimization in schools. The data set is available for normative developmental analyses, intervention impact modeling, and related questions of population effects.

Neighborhood Matters: Neighborhood Effects on Development

This is a study of 30 neighborhoods (600 children and parent pairs) in inner city Chicago with the intent to 1) develop more ecologically reliable and valid measures of key neighborhood processes thought to promote healthy development; 2)test for effects of these processes on a sample of young children and on a sample of adolescents; and 3) examine longitudinally effects of neighborhood as moderators of parenting, child self-control and stress management skills.