Life Span psychological and life course sociological perspectives have long acknowledged that individual functioning is shaped by historical and sociocultural contexts. Secular increases favoring later-born cohorts are widely documented for fluid cognitive performance and well-being (among older adults). However, little is known about secular…

Numeracy and literacy skills have become increasingly important in modern labour markets. The large gender differences that several studies have identified have therefore sparked considerable attention among researchers and policy makers. Little is known about the moment in which such gaps emerge, how they evolve and if their evolution differs…

The current study demonstrates the application of an analytic approach for incorporating multiple time trends in order to examine the impact of cohort effects on individual trajectories of eight drugs of abuse. Parallel analysis of two independent, longitudinal studies of high-risk youth that span ages 10 to 40 across 23 birth cohorts between 1968…

This study examines recent trends and factors in school dropout at the upper secondary education level across Latin America. The methodology employs repeated cross sections of data to track the life cycle path of cohorts of individuals in 18 countries. A key finding is that while upper secondary enrollment rates increased in the region, dropout…

Debates about the national high school graduation rate have heated up as various national high school graduation estimates based on the Common Core of Data (CCD) and the Current Population Survey (CPS) do not coincide with one another partially due to different assumptions about graduation age. This study found that (a) while graduation rate by…

We estimate trends in intergenerational economic mobility by matching men in the Census to synthetic parents in the prior generation. We find that mobility increased from 1950 to 1980 but has declined sharply since 1980. While our estimator places greater weight on location effects than the standard intergenerational coefficient, the size of the…

Since the mid-1960s, when illicit drug use burgeoned in the normal youth population, substance use by American young people has proven to be a rapidly changing phenomenon. Smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use are leading causes of morbidity and mortality, both during adolescence as well as later in life. How vigorously the nation responds to…

Examined timing of completion of childbearing in cohorts of American women born in 1906-15, 1916-25, 1926-30, and 1931-35. Revealed large changes in timing of completion of childbearing. Among whites, found 50 percent reduction in proportion finishing after age 37. Among blacks, found large reductions in proportion ending before age 25 and…

Examined impact of age, period, and cohort effects on United States white male suicide rates between 1933 and 1978. Employed Shazam ordinary-least-squares computer package to estimate logit coefficients for seven models. Results revealed that period effects were weaker than age and cohort effects for explaining shifts in white male suicide…

Examined images of older people held by adults of all ages in 1974 (n=4,254) and 1981 (n=3,427). Cohort changes in such perceptions over time were examined. Multivariate analysis indicated that social class and health status evaluations of older adults declined between the two surveys, principally because of the assessment by more recent cohorts.…

To explore the different trends of suicide incidence among Blacks and possible contributing factors, the current study compared national epidemiologic data of suicide in the United States from 1981 to 2002. For the first time, period and birth-cohort effects on the incidence trends of Black suicide were evaluated using an age-period-cohort…

A longstanding debate focuses on whether suicide and homicide rates walk hand in hand or whether they are reciprocally related. Much of the research on this issue investigates whether suicide or homicide predominates in certain geographic areas or whether they trend together over time. We theorize that the degree of social integration and social…

Conducted as part of the Monitoring the Future project, this study used a cohort-sequential design to examine period, age, and cohort effects on substance use among American youth between the ages of 18 and 28 from the high school classes of 1976 to 1986. This manuscript supersedes Paper 14 in the series which reported on American youth from 18-24…

Studied white and blue-collar men and women using a questionnaire seeking designation of the most suitable ages for various role transitions and age-related attributes. Comparisons with 1950s findings indicated loosening of the norms, but with continuing adherence to a prescriptive timetable and with persistent socioeconomic differences. Results…

This research focuses on generational aspects of political alienation specifically on whether there is a generational basis to recent patterns of political alienation. (Author/AM)