Who we are
CHINA•COLOMBIA•ITALY•JORDAN•KENYA•PHILIPPINES•SWEDEN•THAILAND•USA
It is widely agreed among experts in the study of adolescent health and development that the greatest threats to the well-being of young people in industrialized societies come from preventable and often self-inflicted causes, including automobile and other accidents, violence, drug and alcohol use, and sexual risk-taking. Although considerable progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of disease and chronic illness among this age group, similar gains have not been made with respect to reducing the morbidity and mortality that result from risky and reckless behavior.
This study utilizes the most culturally diverse sample ever assembled to provide an unprecedented opportunity to understand biological, familial, and cultural processes in the development of self-regulation and risk-taking. We aim to understand how risk-taking develops across adolescence as a function of biological maturation (puberty and age) and socialization (parenting and culture).
We are the largest prospective longitudinal and multinational study of parenting and child development. We recruited a sample of 1,417 8-year-olds and their mothers and fathers from 13 cultural groups in nine countries (Jinan and Shanghai, China; Colombia; Naples and Rome, Italy; Jordan; Kenya; Philippines; Sweden; Thailand; and Black, White, and Hispanic/LatinoAmericans in the United States). We have assessed families annually through interviews with mothers, fathers, and children about the parent-child relationship, the child’s adjustment,attitudes and beliefs, cultural values, civic engagement, beliefs about the world and about children’s roles as adults, and substance use. We also assessed young people’s reward-seeking, self-regulation, social information processing, and risk-taking via a computerized battery administered at ages 10, 14, 17, and 20.