Healthy Passages is a three site longitudinal study of adolescent health that focuses on risk and protective factors, health behaviors (e.g., dietary practices, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and violent activity), and health outcomes (e.g., diabetes, obesity, and sexually transmitted diseases) for a fifth grade cohort that is being followed biennially from ages 10 to 20 years. Healthy Passages is designed to advance the research literature on child and adolescent health in several ways. It collects data on a broad range of outcomes and a comprehensive, multilevel set of factors (e.g., biological, family, peer, school, and neighborhood) to function as predictors of the occurrence, maintenance, and change of health risk and protective behaviors across time. In addition, Healthy Passages provides biennial in-depth assessment of 5,147 youth (and their primary caregiver) over multiple years (from fifth grade through two years post high school) to collect data needed to characterize the primary influences on adolescent health risk and protective behaviors and health and educational outcomes. The overarching objective of Healthy Passages is to provide an empirical basis for effective policies and intervention programs to promote the health and optimal development of adolescents and young adults. To accomplish the project's goals, a two-staged probability sampling procedure was used to select and enroll 5,147 fifth grade students from schools in Birmingham, AL, Houston, TX, and Los Angeles, CA to ensure a sufficient sample size of African Americans, Hispanics, and non- Hispanic whites, to support precise statistical inferences. Data collection began in 2004 and is planned to continue for 10 years (and possibly beyond). Data collection for Wave 1 (grade 5) and Wave 2 (grade 7) was completed during the previous 5-year funding cycle. Wave 3 (grade 10) interviews began in January 2010 with the first half of the cohort. To complete the next stage of longitudinal research, we are currently seeking funding to continue Healthy Passages at the Los Angeles site for five more years from September 2010 to September 2015. The next five years of the project will be devoted to completing the Wave 3 (10th grade), Wave 4 (12th grade), and Wave 5 (one year post-high school) data collection;tracking of enrolled study participants to maintain up-to-date contact information between survey waves;continued scientific oversight, program management, and community collaboration;cleaning, preparing and managing data files;computing variables and running statistical analyses;analyzing data, writing papers, preparing presentations, and disseminating findings;and measurement development and planning for Waves 4 - 5 and beyond.
Healthy Passages builds on previous cross-sectional and longitudinal research to address significant issues in social development and heath promotion among youth in an effort inform social and educational policies and intervention programs in numerous ways. For example, tracking the onset, escalation, and trajectories of various health behaviors (e.g., aggression, physical activity, obesity, and tobacco use) across gender and racial/ethnic groups will facilitate the identification of when optimal intervention should be made and with whom. By repeatedly assessing the multiple levels of influence (i.e., family, peer, school, and neighborhood) and multiple determinants of health outcomes, guidelines may be provided as to where (physical location) efforts should be focused and what specific behaviors might be targeted for interventions.
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