The CDS of the PSID has publicly released the “Transition into Adulthood” Data. The data are comprised of 745 of the CDS children who have reached the age of 18+ and have
graduated from high school. Topical questions include: health and emotional well-being, time use, community involvement, self identity and perception, expectations for the future, family, peer, and romantic relationships, work, schooling, and more. Please read the overview (PDF file) of the Transition into Adulthood (TA) data. PRI researchers may request this data from the Data Archivist.

Living Arrangements of Children: 2004 (PDF) is the latest report in the Household Economic Studies series of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Reports (P70-114). It uses SIPP data to examine the variety of living arrangements of US children.

Growing up poor alters brain development, and new research presented at the annual meeting of American Association for the Advancement of Science could help ameliorate the effects of poverty on academic achievement, according to a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education. (Note: The Chronicle article is available online to subscribers. PRI affiliates can read the Chronicle in the PRI Library or request online access from library@pop.psu.edu.)

Citation: Farah, M.J., Betancourt, L., Shera, D.M., et al. (in press). Environmental Stimulation, Parental Nurturance and Cognitive Development in Humans. Developmental Science. (available online)

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has announced that it plans to add more locations to the National Children’s Study, “a large, long-term longitudinal study of environmental influences on children’s health and development.” The NICHD plans to issue an RFP within the next month.

NPR’s “Your Health” this morning focused on emerging adulthood. Read a transcript of the segment or listen at npr.org.

The story highlights the work of Larry Nelson at Brigham Young University, who surveyed college students and their parents and found that most of the parents did not consider their 18- to 26-year-old children adults.  His work is forthcoming in the Journal of Family Psychology.

Drug use among US teens has declined, but ecstasy use has increased and prescription drug abuse remains a problem, according to researchers working on the Monitoring the Future Survey for the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) (Reuters).