DOI: 10.3886/icpsr22800.v1
title: Simmons Longitudinal Study: Adaptation and Development Across the Lifespan [New England, United States], Preschool Data, Wave 1, 1977
title: Version 1

description: The Simmons Longitudinal Study (SLS) is a community-based study that has prospectively traced the life course of a single-aged cohort from childhood (age 5) to adulthood (age 26). Data were collected from multiple informants at seven major time points: age 5 (1977), age 6 (1978), age 9 (1980-1981), age 15 (1987), age 18 (1990), age 21 (1993-1994), and age 26 (1998). Since its inception in 1977, the SLS has utilized a multidisciplinary, multimethod approach, with the dual goals of: (1) tracing the development and course of academic difficulties, behavior problems, and psychopathology; and (2) identifying factors that promote health functioning from early childhood (age 5) to adulthood (age 26). The SLS has consistently emphasized the identification of modifiable social and environmental risk and protective factors that can be targeted directly in prevention and intervention programs. To date, SLS has published 50 journal articles and 9 book chapters. For this wave of the study, Wave 1, the original study group was comprised of every child who entered kindergarten in the fall of 1977 in one public school district in a northeastern town in the United States. Each child participated in state-mandated testing of health and development three months before the start of school. The mothers of respondents also completed questionnaires assessing demographics, health history, development, and behavior of their children.
description: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes..
description: Datasets: 
 
 DS0: Study-Level Files 
 DS1: Child Observation Data (Parent Questionnaire and Nurse Questionnaire) 
 DS2: Computed Scales and Constructed Variables From Child Observation Data
description: mixed mode, self-enumerated questionnaire 
Data for Kindergarten Data, Wave 2, 1978 (ICPSR 24861), Grade 3 Data, Wave 3, 1980-1981 (ICPSR 24862), Grade 9 Data, Wave 4, 1987 (ICPSR 24863), Grade 12 Data, Wave 5, 1990 (ICPSR 24864), Age 21 Data, Wave 6, 1993-1994 (ICPSR 24865), and Age 26 Data, Wave 7, 1998 (ICPSR 24866) are also available from ICPSR.
In 1977, when the study began, participants were all from one school district in the northeastern United States. In later data waves, especially Age 21, Wave 6, 1993-1994 and Age 26, Wave 7, 1998, most respondents resided throughout the United States; a few resided out of the country.
The original file name as provided by the data producer for Part 1 was PSALL and for Part 2 was PSCOMP.
Some instruments administered as part of this study may contain copyrighted instruments. Reproductions of the instruments are provided solely as documentation for the analysis of the data associated with this collection. Please contact the data producer for information on permissions to use the instruments for other purposes. To obtain further information in regard to the measures used for data collection, please refer to the "References" section of the ICPSR codebook for this data wave.
 Additional details about the Simmons Longitudinal Study can be found at the Simmons College School of Social Work Web site.
description: All preschool children screened for entry into one public school system in the northeastern United States.
description: The original 1977 sample included all youth registering for kindergarten in one public school system in a working class community in Massachusetts. The racial composition and gender division of the original sample were representative of the population of Massachusetts at that time. The sample included approximately equal numbers of males and females, and almost all (98 percent) were Caucasian. For information in regard to "Sample Retention" and "Effects of Sample Attrition," please review the ICPSR codebook available with this collection.