Longitudinal Research: Methods and Uses in Behavioral Science / Edition 1

by F. Schulsinger, Sarnoff A. Mednick, J. Knop

Overview

This volume is the product of a course on longitudinal prospective research arranged by the three editors in Arhus, Denmark, in 1978. The course was supported by the Nordisk Kulturfond for young researchers from the Nordic countries, who had planned or had simply involved themselves in longitudinal prospective research projects of various kinds. The twenty-six participants represented a wide range of professions: statisticians, psychologists, psychiatrists, nutritionists, and public health researchers. The teachers came from many countries and represented many disciplines. The course was very successful, especially from the point of view of the quality and investment of the teachers. We felt also that the course met a strong need in this relatively new field of research. Therefore, we asked the teachers to prepare written versions of their lectures so that they could have wider dissemination; they agreed to do so. The present book is composed of these contributions. The first chapter, after outlining some of the problems with traditional strategies in mental health research, goes on to suggest some of the possible preven­ tive applications of longitudinal research methods. Included in Parts II and III are papers on design problems and on the tools of long-term research, such as genetics and classification, biological measurements, epidemiological guidelines, statistical models, disease registers, and developmental psychology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780898380569
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	08/31/1981
Series:	Longitudinal Research in the Behavioral, Social and Medical Studies , #1
Edition description:	1981
Pages:	326
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.24(d)

Table of Contents

I Introduction: Longitudinal Research and Intervention.- 1 Problems with Traditional Strategies in Mental Health Research.- II Methodological Bases of Longitudinal Research: Design and Planning.- 2 Some Problems of Longitudinal Research in the Social Sciences.- 3 Epidemiological Considerations.- 4 Issues in Psychological Development.- III Methodological Bases of Longitudinal Research: Tools.- 5 Disease Registers.- 6 Genetics and Classification.- 7 Statistical Models for Longitudinal Studies.- 8 Biological Measurements in Longitudinal Research.- IV Examples of Longitudinal Research: Birth, School, and Clinical Cohorts.- 9 A Prospective Longitudinal Study of the Relationship between Obstetrical Factors and CNS Damage.- 10 Twelve-Year Follow-Up Status of Low Birthweight Infants.- 11 The Value of Birth Cohort Studies.- 12 Sequential Research with Special References to the Scandinavian Project Metropolitan.- 13 Some Methodology and Strategy Problems in Longitudinal Research.- 14 Psychiatric Epidemiological Studies in Iceland.- V Examples of Longitudinal Research: Populations at Risk.- 15 Children of Schizophrenic Mothers: The Danish High-Risk Study.- 16 The Mauritius Project.- VI Longitudinal Research: Implications and Recommendations.- 17 Longitudinal Research in the WHO European Region Program.- 18 The Contribution of Long-Term Research to Social Medicine.- 19 Some Recommendations for the Design and Conduct of Longitudinal Investigations.- References.- List of Contributors.