Harvard School of Public Health Longitudinal Studies of Child Health and Development (The Growth Study)
The Growth Study began in 1930 to understand health and development in childhood. Between 1930 and 1939, over 300 participants were recruited from the Boston area, in Massachusetts, United States of America, who were primarily of North European ancestry. The study followed participants and their families from the prenatal period to 18 years at various intervals. Several follow-up studies were conducted after the conclusion of the original study: a 30-year follow-up study on adult health related to childhood health; a 40-year follow-up study on blood pressure and cardiac health; and a 50-year follow-up study on gynaecology and memory of dietary habits in the distant past.
Study design
Cohort - birth, Cohort
Number of participants at first data collection
309 (families)
Age at first data collection
Birth (infants)
Varied (family members)
Participant year of birth
Varied (infants)
Varied (family members)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
1930
Primary Institutions
Harvard University
Links
dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/HSPH_LSCHD
hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/14/resources/7094
countway.harvard.edu/news/staff-finds-growth-development-charts
Profile paper DOI
Not available
Funders
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Ongoing?
No
Data types collected
- Audio or visual recordings (e.g. of child behaviour, facial expressions)
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Interview – face-to-face
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Creative, arts-based and visual methods
- None
- Education data
- Healthcare data
Engagement
Keywords
