Terman life-cycle study of children with high ability, 1922-1982

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 in 1982. 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, regarding their health, physical and emotional development, school histories, recreational activities, home life, family background, educational, vocational, and marital histories, income, emotional stability and morale, and socio-political attitudes. The original research objectives were to replace myths about intellectually superior children with documented facts. The followups in 1936, 1940, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1972, 1977, and 1982 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. The study began with a sample of 1,528 boys and girls with birth dates scattered around a mean of 1910, with a standard deviation of 4 years. 812 cases supplied data for the 1982 followup.

The conceptual components of the data collection are: one file of general information and test scores, two baseline files (1922 Parents and Teachers) and eight waves of follow-up. There are two files by sex for most waves with four files for 1922 and four files for 1940. For the latter year, information was also elicited from spouses. Documentation is printed and not machine-readable. The data have not been processed by ICPSR, except to verify card counts. 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. The data collection may be disseminated only to academic researchers. All other users must get expressed written permission from the Principal Investigators. While the data tapes cannot be provided to those at nonacademic institutions, some limited data analyses can be conducted on request. For time and cost estimates of such analyses, please contact the Director, Member Services, ICPSR.