Advancing the Study of Human Development with 21st Century Technologies

Project Description

This funding supported an interdisciplinary team of scholars from economics, electrical and computer engineering, medicine, psychology, public policy and sociology in developing the capacity to embed ‘intensive measurement bursts’ into two of the most widely accessed and cited cohort studies in the world that, collectively, have assessments spanning from birth to the fifth decade of life. The Add Health and Dunedin studies each have produced rich archives of data on individuals’ social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development from childhood through adulthood. And, these data have been used, generating over 3,000 publications, with countless applications to policy and practice across the fields of education and human development.

Project Goals

  1. Test ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocols, measuring individuals’ behavior, cognitions, health and experiences in real time using smartphones among a local sample.
  2. Integrate streaming information on physiology, activity levels, sleep and other indicators of health, cognition and wellbeing collected with wireless sensors.
  3. If successful, these data and findings were planned to be used to secure extramural funding to test novel scientific questions related to health and human development.

Project Findings

Violence Exposure is Associated with Adolescents' Same- and Next-day Mental Health Symptoms

Young Adolescents’ Digital Technology Use and Mental Health Symptoms: Little Evidence of Longitudinal or Daily Linkages