Health Behavior in School-Age Children: NEXT Longitudinal Study 2009-2016
Condition: Adolescent Health
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      NEXT is a seven-year longitudinal assessment of a representative sample of U.S. adolescent
      and young adults starting at grade 10. The goals of the NEXT longitudinal study include: to
      identify the trajectory of adolescent health status and health behaviors from mid-adolescence
      through the post high school years; to examine individual predictors of the onset of key
      adolescent risk behaviors and risk indicators during this period; to identify genetic,
      personal, family, school, and social/environmental factors that promote or sustain positive
      health behaviors; to identify transition points in health risk and risk behaviors and changes
      in family, school, and social/environmental precursors to these transitions, and to examine
      the role of potential gene-environment interactions in the development of health status and
      health behaviors. .

      This study collects reliable and valid data on health behaviors and health indicators and
      their social, environmental, and biological contexts beginning with a nationally
      representative probability cohort of 10th-grade children in the U.S in 2009 and following
      them through 2016. Measures are collected annually for seven years beginning in the 2009-2010
      school year and ending in the 2016-2017 school year. African-American youth are oversampled
      to provide better population estimates of this group and to provide an adequate sample to
      examine racial/ethnic differences in longitudinal predictors of health, health behaviors, and
      health behavior change. Hispanic youth do not require oversampling because they currently
      represent a sufficient proportion of the population of adolescents to provide an adequate
      sample to examine racial/ethnic differences. Self-reports of health status, health behaviors,
      and health attitudes are collected by in-school and online surveys. Anthropometric data,
      genetic information, and neighborhood characteristics are gathered on all participants as
      well. The study also incorporates an Administrator Survey and other data sources to obtain
      related information on school-level health programs and community-level contextual data. The
      NEXT Generation Health Study data support NICHD, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
      (NHLBI), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
      Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the Health Resources and
      Services Administration (HRSA/MCHB) in fulfillment of program requirements that address
      supportive health environments for adolescents and young adults. In addition, a
      representative subsample of overweight and normal weight adolescents has been identified:
      additional data on behavioral risk factors and biological markers and risk factors are
      gathered on these adolescents. Driving performance will also be evaluated in 150 young
      adults.
    

Detailed description: 
      NEXT is a seven-year longitudinal assessment of a representative sample of U.S. adolescent
      and young adults starting at grade 10. The goals of the NEXT longitudinal study include: to
      identify the trajectory of adolescent health status and health behaviors from mid-adolescence
      through the post high school years; to examine individual predictors of the onset of key
      adolescent risk behaviors and risk indicators during this period; to identify genetic,
      personal, family, school, and social/environmental factors that promote or sustain positive
      health behaviors; to identify transition points in health risk and risk behaviors and changes
      in family, school, and social/environmental precursors to these transitions, and to examine
      the role of potential gene-environment interactions in the development of health status and
      health behaviors. .

      This study collects reliable and valid data on health behaviors and health indicators and
      their social, environmental, and biological contexts beginning with a nationally
      representative probability cohort of 10th-grade children in the U.S in 2009 and following
      them through 2016. Measures are collected annually for seven years beginning in the 2009-2010
      school year and ending in the 2016-2017 school year. African-American youth are oversampled
      to provide better population estimates of this group and to provide an adequate sample to
      examine racial/ethnic differences in longitudinal predictors of health, health behaviors, and
      health behavior change. Hispanic youth do not require oversampling because they currently
      represent a sufficient proportion of the population of adolescents to provide an adequate
      sample to examine racial/ethnic differences. Self-reports of health status, health behaviors,
      and health attitudes are collected by in-school and online surveys. Anthropometric data,
      genetic information, and neighborhood characteristics are gathered on all participants as
      well. The study also incorporates an Administrator Survey and other data sources to obtain
      related information on school-level health programs and community-level contextual data. The
      NEXT Generation Health Study data support NICHD, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
      (NHLBI), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
      Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the Health Resources and
      Services Administration (HRSA/MCHB) in fulfillment of program requirements that address
      supportive health environments for adolescents and young adults. In addition, a
      representative subsample of overweight and normal weight adolescents has been identified:
      additional data on behavioral risk factors and biological markers and risk factors are
      gathered on these adolescents. Driving performance will also be evaluated in 150 young
      adults.
    

Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Other
Sampling method: Probability Sample
Study population: 
        This study will include two phases. Phase 1 will include a secondary data analysis with
        emerging adults and peer driving data acquired from the NEXT Longitudinal Study collected
        by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the NIH. Phase 2
        will include conducting qualitative data collection through 4-5 focus groups on University
        of Maryland College Park (UMCP) campus with undergraduate students (age 18-22) to
        understand the influential factors associated with social norms on distracted driving
      
Keywords: Health Indicators; Health Behaviors; Health Study; Natural History; Substance Abuse; Adolescence; Obesity