ABSTRACT
In general, prospective panel data are labor intensive and expensive; most of the authors in this volume spent years collecting their data. Given the huge investment of time and resources these designs require, it is important to understand what can be learned from panel data that cannot be learned from onetime cross-sectional studies. The goal of this chapter is to illustrate what can be learned from panel data through the application of growth curve and autoregressive models. These two approaches to modeling change are the focus of attention because of their prominence in this book and in the larger developmental and family literature.
