1. Maelstrom Catalogue
  2. Individual Studies
  3. HSAD

Harvard Study of Adult Development

Longitudinal study of two groups of men over the adult lifespan, tracking major domains of mental and physical health, social functioning, and work life.

Overview

Acronym
HSAD
Website
HSAD
Investigators
MD. Robert J. Waldinger
Harvard Medical School
Contacts
Hannah M. Yee
Massachusetts General Hospital

General Design

Study design
Cohort
Start - End Year
1938 -
General Information on Follow Up (profile, frequency)
Questionnaire follow-up every 2 years; medical records obtained every 5 years, in-person interviews approx. every 10 years.
Recruitment Target
  • Individuals
  • Other : Spouses of original male participants
Number of Participants
724
Number of Participants with Biological Samples
130
Supplementary information about number of participants
other than the 130 original male participants; 62 female spouses provided biological samples and some psychosocial data.
Supplementary Information
268 Harvard College sophomores and 456 Inner City Boston boys all recruited in the late 1930s and early 1940s

Access

Availability of data and biosamples

Possible Access to Data
Possible Access to Biosamples
Other

Videotaped marital interactions, functional and structural MRI data

Yes
No
Not applicable
Don't know

Timeline

Populations

HSAD - The College cohort ("the Grant Study")
The College cohort (“Grant Study”) consists of 268 Caucasian men from the Harvard College classes of 1942-1944 selected because they were in the top half of their class academically and without known physical or mental difficulties. Half were on scholarship and half had to work during college to finance their education.

Selection Criteria

Sex
Men only
Minimum age
17
Maximum age
21
Countries
  • United States of America
Territory
All over USA.
Ethnic Origin
  • Caucasian
Health Status
  • Good health

Sources of Recruitment

Specific Population
  • Other specific population : Harvard College undergraduates

Sample Size

Number of Participants
268

Data Collection Events

# Name Data sources Data sources - Biosamples Start End
0 HSAD - The College cohort ("the Grant Study") - baseline information
  • Questionnaires
  • Physical measures
1938 1944
1 HSAD - The College cohort ("the Grant Study") - General questionnaire college
  • Questionnaires
1947 2013
2 HSAD - The College cohort ("the Grant Study") - Marital Protocol
  • Questionnaires
  • Other : video-taped interaction
2003 2008
3 HSAD - The College cohort ("the Grant Study") - Neuroscience protocol
  • Questionnaires
  • Biosamples
  • Other : MRI
  • Tissues : brain
2008 2013
HSAD - The Inner City cohort ("the Glueck Study")
Inner City cohort (“Glueck Study”) consists of 456 Caucasian men selected in 1938-40 as matched controls for a study of juvenile delinquency when they were age 11-16 by reviewing the enrollments of neighborhood schools. They were chosen because they did not manifest serious delinquency; and they were individually matched with a delinquent group for ethnicity (predominantly Irish- and Italian-American), for limited intelligence (mean IQ = 94), and for living in a high-crime neighborhood.

Selection Criteria

Sex
Men only
Minimum age
12
Maximum age
16
Countries
  • United States of America
Territory
Boston
Ethnic Origin
  • Caucasian
Health Status
  • Good health

Sources of Recruitment

Specific Population
  • Other specific population : Boys from Boston's inner city.

Sample Size

Number of Participants
456

Data Collection Events

# Name Data sources Data sources - Biosamples Start End
0 HSAD - The Inner City cohort ("the Glueck Study") - baseline information
  • Questionnaires
1940 1950
1 HSAD - The Inner City cohort ("the Glueck Study") - follow up
  • Questionnaires
1950 1965
2 HSAD - The Inner City cohort ("the Glueck Study") - midlife follow up
  • Questionnaires
1966 1983
3 HSAD - The College cohort ("the Grant Study") - General questionnaire inner city
  • Questionnaires
2000 2013
4 HSAD - The Inner City cohort ("the Glueck Study") - Marital Protocol
  • Questionnaires
  • Other : video-taped interaction
2003 2008
5 HSAD - The Inner City cohort ("the Glueck Study") - Neuroscience protocol
  • Questionnaires
  • Biosamples
  • Other : MRI
  • Tissues : brain
2008 2013

Participating Studies

Acronym Name Study design Countries

Harmonization Initiatives Included

Acronym Name

Datasets

Name Data Collection Events Variables

Areas of Information Collected

Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Death
Lifestyle and behaviours
Physical measures and assessments
Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
Laboratory measures
Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
Diseases
Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
Symptoms and signs
Preschool, school and work life
Medication and supplements
Social environment and relationships
Non-pharmacological interventions
Physical environment
Health and community care services utilization
Administrative information

Variables Content Summary

Areas of Information Collected
No Areas of Information Collected
No Scales Collected
Areas of Information Collected per per Population and Data Collection Event
No Areas of Information Collected
No Scales Collected

Networks

Acronym Name Harmonization Initiatives Individual Studies
Last Update: 2022-12-05T12:39:03.443