ABSTRACT
RESEARCH DESIGN The design of the Pittsburgh Youth Study aimed at following up urban boys who were in Grades 1, 4, and 7 in Pittsburgh public schools at the outset of the study (called the youngest, middle, and oldest samples). Out of an enrollment of 1,631, 1,432, and 1,419 male students in the spring of 1987 and 1988 in Grades 1, 4, and 7, respectively, we randomly selected in the fall of 1987 and 1988 about 1,100 boys in each of the three grades (1,165, 1,146, and 1,125 in Grades 1, 4, and 7, respectively) to be contacted. This number was chosen on the advice of the school district research department, expecting a 75% participation rate. The participant acquisition phase was spread over 2 school years. One third of the boys, called Cohort 1 (247, 249, and 247 in the youngest, middle, and oldest samples, respectively) were recruited and interviewed in the spring of 1987 for the screening assessment. The remaining two thirds of the participants, called Cohort 2 (602, 619, and 609 in the youngest, middle, and oldest samples, respectively), were recruited and interviewed in the spring of 1988. The participation rate of boys and their parents was 84.7% of the eligible subjects (see Table 2.1).
