DataSet

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

The long-term objective of this project is the achievement of a sophisticated, developmentally-sensitive understanding of the roles played by key behavioral and psychosocial factors in human health and longevity, using the unique 7-decade Terman archive. The Terman Gifted Children Study (later renamed the Terman Life Cycle Study) began in 1921-22 when most of the 1528 participants were in elementary school. Major efforts have been made to follow up on and improve the dataset. Data have been collected/refined on the subjects' social relations, education, personality, habits, careers, families, mental health, life stress, physical activities, physical health, date of death and cause of death through 1990. Until the project began, the study aimed primarily to describe the life course of gifted individuals. That is, the study was originally focused on addressing such issues as whether bright children were neurotic, introverted, sickly eggheads. (It turned out that they were not). As young adults, they were generally healthy and successful. In middle age, they were largely productive citizens, but with none clearly identifiable as a "genius." In short, the focus of previous studies (by others) had been on social and career success. Few predictive studies using the data had been undertaken, with little or no study of health as a function of individual differences. Especially noteworthy is that death certificates (through 1990) have been collected from state agencies, and coded cause of death using a certified nosologist supervised by medical expert, Dr. Criqui, who has expertise in coding death certificates. Terman's aim was to secure a reasonably random sample of bright California children, and so most public schools in the San Francisco and LA areas in the1920's were searched for bright children, nominated by their teachers and tested by Terman. The sample was later characterized as a productive, intelligent segment of 20th century middle-class American men and women. The average birth date was 1910, with a S.D. of 4 years. Most were pre-adolescent when first studied; those still living are now in their 80's or 90's. Archival prospective cohort design. (1) To further extend, improve, and refine the Terman archival data-base, including collecting and coding death certificates from 1991-1999, so that it will be of greater value for addressing questions in health and aging, thus leveraging the existing investment in this project. (2) To analyze the correlates and effects of physical activity at each stage of life, and across time. (3) To take the next steps in examining how social support, especially aspects of spirituality/religiosity, relates to longevity and cause of death; and to examine effects of changes in social integration across time. (4) Further, to examine if and how purpose and social connectedness affect successful aging in the very old. (5) To study validated archival personality scales within a modern five-factor framework, including their relationship to facets of each factor (assessed by the NEO PI-R). (6) To then determine which facets are most related to longevity and cause of death and explore reasons behind the finding that childhood cheerfulness is inversely related to longevity in these data. (7) To follow up on analyses comparing the longevity of men and women by adding a focus on masc

68 data files

California

1900-1939, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s

Computer, microfiche

Questionnaire, psychological tests

Age: 6-12,13-17,18-22, mixed

Unknown

Male and Female

Study of predictors of longevity across the life-span from 1922 (when the participants were children) through the present.

nlm

1. Friedman, H.S., Tucker, J.S., Schwartz, J.E., Tomlinson-Keasey, C., Martin, L.R., Wingard, D.L., Criqui, M.H. (1995). Psychosocial and behavioral predictors of longevity: The aging and death of the "Termites." American Psychologist, 50, 69-78. Other papers by <a href="http://www.psych.ucr.edu/faculty/friedman/longabstract.html">Friedman</a> can be found at: http://www.psych.ucr.edu/faculty/friedman/longabstract.html .<br> 2. Terman, Lewis M., et al. TERMAN LIFE-CYCLE STUDY OF CHILDREN WITH HIGH ABILITY, 1922-1986 [Computer file]. 2nd release. Palo Alto, CA: Robert R. Sears [producer], 1986. Ann Arbor, MI: <a href="http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/index.html">Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research</a> [distributor], 1989.

The data collection may be disseminated only to academic researchers. All other users must get express 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.

Longitudinal, field study

1,528

The original Terman data are accesssible if permission obtained on-site at Stanford University's Psychology Department. The new data will be archived and available upon completion of the project at the University of California, Riverside. No data are available at this time, but the PI welcomes collaboration under certain circumstances. Also, data are available from <a href="http://www.radcliffe.edu/murray/index.html">Murray Research Center</a> at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard and the <a href="http://www.icpsr.umich.edu:8080/ABSTRACTS/08092.xml">Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research</a>.

Individual

The primary outcome variables are longevity, cause of death, and old-age well-being.

Over 50 years

1417