DOI: 10.3886/icpsr08092.v4
title: Terman Life-Cycle Study of Children with High Ability, United States, 1922-1991
title: Version 4

description: This study of the personal and life characteristics of children with high ability follows the 1,528 respondents from 1922 through the latest series of interviews with the surviving cohort of 720 in 1986. The original research objectives were to replace myths about intellectually superior children with documented facts. In 1922, the children were identified on the basis of an intelligence test as being in the top one percent of the population. Their development was followed over the next sixty years via questionnaires, personal interviews, and various test instruments. Questions were asked about their health, physical and emotional development, school histories, recreational activities, home life, family background, educational, vocational, and marital histories. Questions were also asked about income, emotional stability, and socio-political attitudes. The follow-up questionnaires were concerned with the evolution of the respondents' careers, activity patterns, and personal adjustment. Since 1972 there has been special emphasis on the aging process. These longitudinal data will continue to be collected as long as living members of the original cohort contribute data.
description: 1,528 children living in California in 1922, with birthdates scattered around a mean of 1910, with a standard deviation of 4 years. By the final followup, there were 812 participants remaining in the study.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: 1922-1986 Demographic and Test Information, Males DS2: 1922-1986 Demographic and Test Information, Females DS3: 1922 Parents' Information Parts I and III, Males DS4: 1922 Parents' Information Parts I and III, Females DS5: 1922 Teachers' Information, Males DS6: 1922 Teachers' Information, Females DS7: 1922 Parents' Information Parts II and IV, Males DS8: 1922 Parents' Information Parts II and IV, Females DS9: 1922 Subject Interests, Males DS10: 1922 Subject Interests, Females DS11: 1928 Parents' Information, Males DS12: 1928 Parents' Information, Females DS13: 1928 Trait Ratings, Males DS14: 1928 Trait Ratings, Females DS15: 1927-1928 Information, Males DS16: 1927-1928 Information, Females DS17: 1927-1928 Interest, Males DS18: 1927-1928 Interest, Females DS19: 1936 Information, Males DS20: 1936 Information, Females DS21: 1936 Parents' Information, Males DS22: 1936 Parents' Information, Females DS23: 1940 Information, Males DS24: 1940 Information, Females DS25: 1940 Strong Vocational Interest, Males DS26: 1940 Strong Vocational Interest, Females DS27: 1940 Strong Vocational Interest of Male's Spouse DS28: 1940 Strong Vocational Interest of Female's Spouse DS29: 1940 Evaluation of Personality and Temperament, Males DS30: 1940 Evaluation of Personality and Temperament, Females DS31: 1940 Evaluation of Personality and Temperament by Male's Spouse DS32: 1940 Evaluation of Personality and Temperament by Female's Spouse DS33: 1940 Marriage Study, Males DS34: 1940 Marriage Study, Females DS35: 1940 Marriage Study by Spouse of Males DS36: 1940 Marriage Study by Spouse of Females DS37: 1940 Parents' Information, Males DS38: 194O Parents' Information, Females DS39: 1945 Information, Males DS40: 1945 Information, Females DS41: 1950 Information, Males DS42: 1950 Information, Females DS43: 1950 Supplemental Biographical Information, Males DS44: 1950 Supplemental Biographical Information, Females DS45: 1950 Rate of Reproduction (by Subject), Males DS46: 1950 Rate of Reproduction (by Subject), Females DS47: 1955 Information, Males DS48: 1955 Information, Females DS49: 1960 Information, Males DS50: 1960 Information, Females DS51: 1972 Information, Males DS52: 1972 Information, Females DS53: 1977 Information, Males DS54: 1977 Information, Females DS55: 1982 Information, Males DS56: 1982 Information, Females DS57: 1986 Information, Males DS58: 1986 Information, Females DS59: 1922-1986 Data Availability for all Questionnaires, Males DS60: 1922-1986 Data Availability for all Questionnaires, Females DS61: 1922 Anthropometric Measures, Males DS62: 1922 Anthropometric Measures, Females DS63: 1922 Whittier Environmental File, Males DS64: 1922 Whittier Environmental File, Females DS65: 1922-1986 Education File: Dates and Ages, Males DS66: 1922-1986 Education File: Dates and Ages, Females DS67: 1922-1986 Marriage, Divorce, and Death, Males DS68: 1922-1986 Marriage, Divorce, and Death, Females DS69: 1991 General Information, Males DS70: 1991 General Information, Females DS71: Codebook for Volume I: 1922-1928 DS72: Codebook for Volume II: 1936-1945 DS73: Codebook for Volume III: 1950-1986
description: Children living in California in 1922 with an average age of 12 and a Stanford Binet Intelligence test score of 135 or more.
description: A description of the extensive cleaning and processing carried out by the Principal Investigators, with the aid of a grant from the National Institute on Aging, appears in the introduction to the printed documentation.