Culture & Environment
DOI: 10.15154/z563-zd24 (Release 5.1)
List of Instruments
General Information
An overview of the ABCD Study® can be found at abcdstudy.org and detailed descriptions of the assessment protocols are available at ABCD Protocols. This page describes the contents of various instruments available for download. To understand the context of this information, refer to the release note Start Page.
Detailed information about the instruments, the constructs they are intended to measure, and relevant citations for each measure are provided in the following:
Zucker, R. A., R. Gonzalez, S. W. Feldstein Ewing, M. P. Paulus, J. Arroyo, A. Fuligni, A. S. Morris, M. Sanchez and T. Wills (2018). “Assessment of culture and environment in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study: Rationale, description of measures, and early data.” Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 32: 107-120. Find here
Gonzalez, R., Thompson, E. L., Sanchez, M., Morris, A., Gonzalez, M. R., Feldstein Ewing, S. W., Mason, M. J., Arroyo, J., Howlett, K., Tapert, S. F., & Zucker, R. A. (2021). An update on the assessment of culture and environment in the ABCD Study®: Emerging literature and protocol updates over three Measurement Visit Timepoints. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 52, 101021. Find here
Updates and Notes
Important Information about the Youth Delinquency Scale & Policing items
Statistical analyses of the Youth 10 Item Delinquency Scale revealed evidence of significant race/culture bias in this measure. The ABCD Mental Health Workgroup and the ABCD Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Workgroup 1 that oversees equitable and inclusive methods and assessments proposed not to release these data or a summary score for Release 4.0 onwards. The ABCD Steering Committee approved this proposal. These data no longer appear in ABCD Annual Data Releases. Furthermore, the decision was made to discontinue administration of the Youth 10 item Delinquency Scale starting at the 4-year follow-up. Note that the question from the Delinquency Scale about police contact is now contained in the Culture & Environment assessment domain (formerly in the Mental Health assessment domain).
Together with changes in the KSADS Conduct Disorder module described above, we feel these modifications reduce redundancy across measures in the ABCD dataset and ensure that a broader set of behaviors relevant to delinquency are assessed.
Instrument Descriptions
Youth Instruments
Acculturation Survey (PhenX)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_acc
Measure Description: The Acculturation questionnaire is a subset of questions from the PhenX Acculturation protocol. These items assess level of participant acculturation – that is, the process by which an individual from one cultural group adapts and borrows traits and values from another culture – by assessing proficiency and preferences for speaking a given language in different settings. The PhenX items come from questions used by the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS: Alegria et al., 2004), which were originally derived from the “Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics” (Marin, Sabogal, and Marin, 1987). These questions are answered independently by youth and parent.
ABCD Subdomain: Culture
Number of Variables: 7
Summary Score(s): No
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since the Baseline
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Alegria, M., Takeuchi, D., Canino, G., Duan, N., Shrout, P., Meng, X.-L., Gong, F., et al. (2004). Considering context, place, and culture: the national Latino and Asian American study. Int. J. Methods Psychiatr. Res. 13 (4), 208–22. Find here
Marin, G., F. Sabogal, B. V. Marin, R. Otero-Sabogal and E. J. Perez-Stable (1987). “Development of a Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics.” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 9(2): 183-205. Find here
Mexican American Cultural Values Scale
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_macv
Measure Description: This scale uses a subset of items derived from the Mexican American Cultural Values Scale (MACVS; Knight et al, 2010). The original measure consists of 9 subscales reflecting values associated with Mexican/Mexican American and contemporary mainstream American beliefs, behaviors, and traditions that are not part of the family’s ethnic, religious, or other cultural practices, but that are practiced often as part of “American” culture. We have retained 5 of the original subscales assessing Familism (Familism referent, Familism support, Familism obligation), Religion, and Independence/self-reliance that are applicable across numerous cultures, races, and ethnicities and are of relevance to substance use trajectories. This is applicable to all participants (not just participants of Mexican heritage). Parents complete all 5 subscales (28 items) while youth complete only the 3 subscales for Familism (16 items). The parent independently completes a similar questionnaire (Mexican American Cultural Values Scale).
ABCD Subdomain: Culture
Number of Variables: 41
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since 2-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Knight, G.P., Gonzales, N.A., Saenz, D.S., Bonds, D.D., German, M., Deardorff, J., Roosav, M.W., Updegraff, K.A., 2010. The Mexican American cultural values scale for adolescents and adults. J. Early Adolesc. 30 (3), 444–481. Find here
Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM-R)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_meim
Measure Description: The Multiethnic Identity Measure - Revised (MEIM-R) is a 6-item short-form that assesses ethnic identity (Phinney and Ong, 2007). It yields two subscales: Commitment and Exploration. (Multigroup Ethnic Identity-Revised Survey).
ABCD Subdomain: Culture
Number of Variables: 17
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 3-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Phinney, J. S., & Ong, A. D. (2007). Conceptualization and measurement of ethnic identity: Current status and future directions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(3), 271-281. Find here
Vancouver Index of Acculturation
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_via
Measure Description: The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) is a 20-item bi-dimensional measure developed to independently assess adherence to one’s Heritage and Mainstream culture on separate subscales (Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000). We used the 16-item adaptation of the VIA, which consists of 8 paired items asking the same question for each culture. Heritage culture is solicited from a 96-item drop-down menu that reflects a broad range of ethnic/cultural backgrounds. The drop-down menu was developed based on open-ended responses from the first n=~1000 participants at baseline. These open-ended responses were aggregated into a list of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds that was subsequently used for the remainder of the ABCD Study. Respondents are allowed to choose “other” and fill in a heritage not listed. However, write–in responses are not shared in this data release. This survey is also independently completed by the parent (Vancouver Index of Acculturation).
ABCD Subdomain: Culture
Number of Variables: 24
Summary Score(s): No
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 3-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: Starting in June, 2021, the VIA was administered only if youth has a parent or grandparent born outside of the U.S. and if they select family culture as other than “American.” That is, participants that do not identify with a family culture besides American culture (including African American respondents) are not administered the VIA. In an effort to maintain inclusivity, we made changes to the language of VIA items so that items pertaining to the heritage culture subscale now refer to “family culture” whereas items pertaining to the American subscale now refer to “other American.”
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Ryder, A.G., Alden, L.E., Paulhus, D.L., 2000. Is acculturation unidimensional or bidimensional? A head-to-head comparison in the prediction of personality, self-identity, and adjustment. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 79 (1), 49–65. Find here
Neighborhood Safety/Crime Survey (PhenX)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_nsc
Measure Description: The youth item is derived from the PhenX Neighborhood Safety Protocol (Find here) of a single statement assessing feelings about crime in the neighborhood. This is rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree (5)” to “strongly disagree.” The “neighborhood” is defined as “an area within about a 20-min walk (or about a mile) from your home.”
ABCD Subdomain: Community
Number of Variables: 24
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Baseline; 1-year follow-up; 2-year follow-up; 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Mujahid, M. S., Diez Roux, A. V., Morenoff, J. D., & Raghunathan, T. (2007). Assessing the measurement properties of neighborhood scales: from psychometrics to ecometrics. American journal of epidemiology, 165(8), 858–867. Find here
Discrimination Scale
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_dm
Measure Description: The first four items are from the 2006 Boston Youth Survey and query about being discriminated against due to race, ethnicity, color, country of origin, sexual identity, and body type during the past 12 months using a yes/no format. The remaining seven items come from the Measure of Perceived Discrimination (MPD) and query about frequency of being treated unfairly or negatively because of ethnic background by others, as well as general feelings of experiencing ethnic discrimination. MPD items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “Almost never” to “Very often.” The 7-items from the MPD yield an overall summary score reflecting the mean responses across all items, with higher scores reflecting a greater degree of perceived discrimination.
ABCD Subdomain: Community
Number of Variables: 14
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 1-year follow-up; 2-year follow-up; 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Garnett, B. R., Masyn, K. E., Austin, S. B., Miller, M., Williams, D. R., & Viswanath, K. (2014). The intersectionality of discrimination attributes and bullying among youth: an applied latent class analysis. Journal of youth and adolescence, 43(8), 1225–1239. Find here
Phinney, J. S., Madden, T., & Santos, L. J. (1998). Psychological variables as predictors of perceived ethnic discrimination among minority and immigrant adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(11), 937–953. Find here
Children’s Report of Parental Behavioral Inventory
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_crpbi
Measure Description: The Acceptance Scale is a subscale of the Child Report of Behavior Inventory (CRPBI; Schaefer, 1965; Schludermann & Schludermann, 1988; see also Barber et al., 1994; Barber & Olsen, 1997). We use a shortened version of the original scale which had 10 items. We kept the 5 items with the highest factor loadings. The acceptance subscale examines children’s perceptions of caregiver warmth, acceptance, and responsiveness. The acceptance subscale can be reported on for any significant adult caregiver. First, the scale is answered for the “parent participant”, the adult who completes the parent surveys (variable names are labeled with “mom” below, even if this person is not the mother). Next, the survey should be answered for a second primary caregiver (variable names are labeled with “caregiver” below), a caregiver the child spends a significant amount of time with (e.g., other parent, step-parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle). If there is not a second primary caregiver, the child can skip the second administration of the questions.
ABCD Subdomain: Parenting
Number of Variables: 19
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Baseline; 1-year follow-up; 3-year follow-up; 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Schaefer, E.S., 1965. A configurational analysis of children’s reports of parent behavior. J. Consult. Psychol. 29, 552–557. Find here (Special thanks to Dr. Marco-Antonio Harman for providing this link)
Schludermann, E. H., & Schludermann, S. M. (1988). Children’s Report on Parent Behavior (CRPBI-108, CRPBI-30) for older children and adolescents. Winnipeg, MB, Canada: University of Manitoba. Find here (Special thanks to Dr. Marco-Antonio Harman for providing this link)
Barber, B. K., Olsen, J. E., & Shagle, S. C. (1994). Associations between parental psychological and behavioral control and youth internalized and externalized behaviors. Child development, 65(4), 1120-1136. Find here
Barber, B. K., & Olsen, J. A. (1997). Socialization in context: Connection, regulation, and autonomy in the family, school, and neighborhood, and with peers. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12(2), 287-315. Find here
Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_mnbs
Measure Description: This 8-item scale was adapted from the “LONGSCAN About My Parents” measure to assess neglectful parental behaviors via youth self-report. The ABCD adaptation includes items with the highest factor loadings from the Monitoring Supervision subscale, as well as age-appropriate items from the Educational Support subscale. Items query how often parents met the youth’s needs in a variety of areas in the last year. Responses range from “0 = never to 3 = a lot.” The measure yields one overall mean score, as well as two mean scores for each of the two subscales. The LONGSCAN measure was originally adapted from the Revised Neglectful Behavioral Scale (Dubowitz, et. al, 2011).
ABCD Subdomain: Parenting
Number of Variables: 12
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 3-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Dubowitz, H., Villodas, M. T., Litrownik, A. J., Pitts, S. C., Hussey, J. M., Thompson, R., … & Runyan, D. (2011). Psychometric properties of a youth self-report measure of neglectful behavior by parents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35(6), 414-424. Find here
Parental Monitoring
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_pm
Measure Description: The Parental Monitoring Survey is a subset of questions that assess a parent’s active efforts to keep track of a child’s whereabouts, both at home, and when they are not at home (e.g., who they are with; what they are doing). This measure is derived from two other measures (see Karoly, Callahan, Schmiege, & Feldstein Ewing, 2016; Statin & Kerr, 2000).
ABCD Subdomain: Parenting
Number of Variables: 9
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since Baseline
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Chilcoat, H. D., & Anthony, J. C. (1996). Impact of parent monitoring on initiation of drug use through late childhood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(1), 91–100. Find here
Karoly, H. C., Callahan, T., Schmiege, S. J., & Feldstein Ewing, S. W. (2015). Evaluating the Hispanic Paradox in the context of adolescent risky sexual behavior: the role of parent monitoring. Journal of pediatric psychology, 41(4), 429-440.
Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. (2000). Parental monitoring: a reinterpretation. Child development, 71(4), 1072–1085. Find here
Family Environment Scale (PhenX)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_fes
Measure Description: The youth respond to 2 subscales, Family Conflict and Family Coheision. The Family Conflict subscale from the Family Environment Scale (FES; Moos & Moos, 1994) consists of 9 items assessing the amount of openly expressed conflict among family members. The Family Cohesion subscale consists of 9 items assessing the degree of commitment, help, and support family members provide for one another. These subscales mirror those collected from the parent Family Environment Scale (PhenX).
ABCD Subdomain: Family
Number of Variables: 23
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since Baseline
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Moos, R.H., Moos, B.S. (1994). Family Environment Scale Manual. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.
Pet Ownership
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_pet
Measure Description: This single-item question was added to learn about current pet ownership among ABCD participants. Youth can endorse multiple selections among various types of animals listed or choose that they do not currently have a pet.
ABCD Subdomain: Family
Number of Variables: 8
Summary Score(s): No
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 3-year follow-up; 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Purweal, R., Christley, R., Kordas, K., Joinson, C., Meints, K., Gee, N., & Westgarth, C. (2017). Companion animals and child/adolescent development: A systematic review of the evidence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(3), 234-259. Find here
Peer Behavior Profile
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_pbp
Measure Description: The Peer Behavior Profile consists of the Prosocial Peer Involvement subscale and the Rule Breaking/Delinquent Peer Involvement subscale that assess the extent to which the youth’s friendship network consists of: (a) prosocial peers (e.g., friends who are excellent students), and/or (b) rule breaking/delinquent peers (e.g. friends who skip school, shoplift, etc.); the two sub-scales are not mutually exclusive.
ABCD Subdomain: Peers
Number of Variables: 13
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since 2-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Bingham, C. R., Fitzgerald, H. E., & Zucker, R. A. (1995). Peer Behavior Profile/Peer Activities Questionnaire. Unpublished questionnaire. Department of Psychology, Michigan State University. East Lansing.
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Jessor, R., & Jessor, S.L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. New York, Academic Press.
Peer Network Health: Protective Scale
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_pnh
Measure Description: Youth report on three of their close friends’ protective behaviors against substance use such as encouraging not using substances, or reducing use, and providing instrumental and psychological support.
ABCD Subdomain: Peers
Number of Variables: 10
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 2-year follow-up; 3-year follow-up; 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Mason, M., Light, J., Campbell, L., Keyser-Marcus, L., Crewe, S., Way, T., Saunders, H., King, L., Zaharakis, N.M., & McHenry, C. (2015). Peer network counseling with urban adolescents: A randomized controlled trial with moderate substance users. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 58, 16-24. Find here
Resistance to Peer Influence
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_rpi
Measure Description: A 10 item survey assessing how independent or persuadable the youth view themself.
ABCD Subdomain: Peers
Number of Variables: 12
Summary Score(s): No
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Steinberg, L., & Monahan, K. C. (2007). Age differences in resistance to peer influence. Developmental psychology, 43(6), 1531–1543. Find here
School Attendance and Grades
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_sag
Measure Description: Questions on School Attendance and Grades (SAG) obtain information from youth on self-reported number of unexcused school absences and grades. Unexcused absences are queried only for the “last 4 weeks” in order to facilitate accurate responding. Responses for current grades were adapted to allow reporting across various systems used in the United States. There is also a parent version of this questionnaire School Attendance and Grades.
ABCD Subdomain: School
Number of Variables: 3
Summary Score(s): No
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 2-year follow-up; 3-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: Scoring of variable asking about grades obtained in the last year assigns a value of 1 to the highest possible grade and a value of 12 to the lowest possible grade.
This measure is administered in more detail to caregivers and we anticipate no longer using this measure with youth at future Measurement Visit Timepoints. This was done to reduce participant burden and eliminate redundancy in the battery.
Reference: Zucker RA, Gonzalez R, Feldstein Ewing SW, Paulus MP, Arroyo J, Fuligni A, Morris AS, Sanchez M, Wills T. Assessment of culture and environment in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study: Rationale, description of measures, and early data. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2018 Aug;32:107-120 Find here
School Risk and Protective Factors (PhenX)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_srpf
Measure Description: The School Risk and Protective Factors (SRPF) Survey is derived from the PhenX School Risk and Protective Factors protocol (Find here). These items were derived from the “The Communities That Care (CTC) Youth Survey” (Arthur et al., 2007). Two items were cut due to redundancy across the battery (grade in school and skipping classes), and items were re-worded for age appropriateness. The SRPF examines youth’s perceptions of the school climate and school engagement and asks youth to report on school grades. Responses are used to derive three subscale scores: School Environment, School Involvement, and School Disengagement.
ABCD Subdomain: School
Number of Variables: 23
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since Baseline
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Arthur, M. W., Briney, J. S., Hawkins, J. D., Abbott, R. D., Brooke-Weiss, B. L., & Catalano, R. F. (2007). Measuring risk and protection in communities using the Communities That Care Youth Survey. Evaluation and program planning, 30(2), 197–211. Find here
Hamilton, C. M., Strader, L. C., Pratt, J. G., Maiese, D., Hendershot, T., Kwok, R. K., Hammond, J. A., Huggins, W., Jackman, D., Pan, H., Nettles, D. S., Beaty, T. H., Farrer, L. A., Kraft, P., Marazita, M. L., Ordovas, J. M., Pato, C. N., Spitz, M. R., Wagener, D., Williams, M., … Haines, J. (2011). The PhenX Toolkit: get the most from your measures. American journal of epidemiology, 174(3), 253–260. Find here
Wills Problem Solving Scale
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_y_wps
Measure Description: This scale was derived from earlier coping measures (Wills, Health Psychology 1986) and has good internal consistency in studies with children and adolescents from a variety of populations. It taps a systematic behavioral approach to deal with problem situations through gathering information about the problem, considering alternative solutions to the problem, deciding about a plan of action, and implementing an active approach to do something to resolve the problem. Different usages of the scale have had 6-8 items; items with the highest correlation with early substance use were selected for this study.
ABCD Subdomain: Cognition
Number of Variables: 10
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 1-year follow-up; 3-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: Note that some values in the early years for wps_q(1-6)_y have 0’s, which do not map to the data dictionary and need to be filtered out.
Reference: Wills, T. A., Ainette, M. G., Stoolmiller, M., Gibbons, F. X., & Shinar, O. (2008). Good self-control as a buffering agent for adolescent substance use: an investigation in early adolescence with time-varying covariates. Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 22(4), 459–471. Find here
Parent Instruments
Acculturation Survey (PhenX)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_acc
Measure Description: The Acculturation survey is a subset of questions from the PhenX Acculturation protocol. These items assess level of participant acculturation – that is, the process by which an individual from one cultural group adapts and borrows traits and values from another culture – by assessing proficiency and preferences for speaking a given language in different settings. The PhenX items come from questions used by the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS: Alegria et al., 2004), which were originally derived from the “Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics” (Marin, Sabogal, and Marin, 1987).
ABCD Subdomain: Culture
Number of Variables: 8
Summary Score(s): No
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since Baseline
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Alegria, M., Takeuchi, D., Canino, G., Duan, N., Shrout, P., Meng, X.-L., Gong, F., et al., 2004. Considering context, place, and culture: the national Latino and Asian American study. Int. J. Methods Psychiatr. Res. 13 (4), 208–22 Find here
Marin, G., Sabogal, F., Marin, B. V., Otero-Sabogal, R., & Perez-Stable, E. J. (1987). Development of a short acculturation scale for Hispanics. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9(2), 183-205. Find here
Mexican American Cultural Values Scale
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_macv
Measure Description: This scale uses a subset of items derived from the Mexican American Cultural Values Scale (MACVS; Knight et al, 2010). The original measure consists of 9 subscales reflecting values associated with Mexican/Mexican American and contemporary mainstream American beliefs, behaviors, and traditions. We have retained 5 of the original subscales assessing Familism (Familism referent, Familism support, Familism obligation), Religion, and Independence/self-reliance that are applicable across numerous cultures, races, and ethnicities and are of relevance to substance use trajectories. This is applicable to all participants (not just participants of Mexican heritage). The youth independently completed a similar scale (Mexican American Cultural Values Scale).
ABCD Subdomain: Culture
Number of Variables: 44
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since baseline
Modifications since initial administration: Please note that in early releases of ABCD data, lower values for summary scores indicated greater ethnic identity. This has since been recoded so that higher values for summary score in the ABCD dataset now indicate greater ethnic identity.
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Phinney, J.S., Ong, A.D., 2007. Conceptualization and measurement of ethnic identity: current status and future directions. J. Couns. Psychol. 54 (3), 271. Find here
Multigroup Ethnic Identity-Revised Survey
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_meim
Measure Description: The Multiethnic Identity Measure - Revised (MEIM-R) is a 6-item short-form that assesses ethnic identity (Phinney and Ong, 2007). It yields two subscales: Commitment and Exploration.
ABCD Subdomain: Culture
Number of Variables: 23
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Baseline; 2-year follow-up; 3-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: Please note that in early releases of ABCD data, lower values for summary scores indicated greater ethnic identity. This has since been recoded so that higher values for summary score in the ABCD dataset now indicate greater ethnic identity.
Notes and special considerations: None
Reference: Phinney, J.S., Ong, A.D., 2007. Conceptualization and measurement of ethnic identity: current status and future directions. J. Couns. Psychol. 54 (3), 271. Find here
Vancouver Index of Acculturation
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_via
Measure Description: The Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA) is a 20-item bi-dimensional measure developed to independently assess adherence to one’s Heritage and Mainstream culture on separate subscales (Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000). We used the 16-item adaptation of the VIA, which consists of 8 paired items asking the same question for each culture. Heritage culture is solicited from a 96-item drop-down menu that reflects a broad range of ethnic/cultural backgrounds. The drop-down menu was developed based on open-ended responses from the first n=~1000 participants at baseline. These open-ended responses were aggregated into a list of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds that was subsequently used for the remainder of the ABCD Study. Respondents are allowed to choose “other” and fill in a heritage not listed. However, write-in responses are not shared in this data release. This survey is also independently completed by youth (Vancouver Index of Acculturation).
ABCD Subdomain: Culture
Number of Variables: 24
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Baseline; 2-year follow-up; 3-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: Starting in June, 2021, the VIA was administered only if youth has a parent or grandparent born outside of the U.S. and if they select family culture as other than “American.” That is, participants that do not identify with a family culture besides American culture (including African American respondents) are not administered the VIA. In an effort to maintain inclusivity, we made changes to the language of VIA items so that items pertaining to the heritage culture subscale now refer to “family culture” whereas items pertaining to the American subscale now refer to “other American.”
Notes and special considerations:
Reference: Ryder, A.G., Alden, L.E., Paulhus, D.L., 2000. Is acculturation unidimensional or bidimensional? A head-to-head comparison in the prediction of personality, self-identity, and adjustment. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 79 (1), 49–65. Find here
Community Cohesion (PhenX)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_comc
Measure Description: The PhenX Neighborhood Collective Efficacy - Community Cohesion and Informal Social Control measure (referred to herein as the “Collective Cohesion” scale) is a 10-item self-report measure. Collective efficacy refers to the level of social cohesion in a neighborhood and willingness of neighbors to work together toward common goals and social good. Items on this measure provide a 5-point Likert scale for responses (strongly agree to strongly disagree; very likely to very unlikely), some of which are reverse scored, to generate two subscales (Community Cohesion and Community Control) and an overall summary score (Collective Efficacy). Questions on Community Cohesion focus on trust and unity in a community (e.g., “This is a close-knit neighborhood;” “People in this neighborhood can be trusted”). Items that contribute to the Community Control subscale reflect neighbors’ willingness to intervene in the face of socially undesirable behaviors (e.g., “If there was a fight in front of your house and someone was being beaten or threatened, how likely is it that your neighbors would break it up?”).
ABCD Subdomain: Community
Number of Variables: 19
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 2-year follow-up; 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Community Survey 1994-1995. Information here
PhenX Protocol - Neighborhood Collective Efficacy - Community Cohesion and Informal Social Control. Find here
Neighborhood Safety/Crime Survey (PhenX)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_nsc
Measure Description: The Neighborhood Safety/Crime measures consist of three items assessing feelings about safety and presence of crime in the respondent’s neighborhood. The PhenX items were derived from “Safety from Crime” items from scales assessing neighborhood characteristics (Echeverria, Diez-Roux, & Link, 2004; Mujahid et al., 2007).
ABCD Subdomain: Community
Number of Variables: 7
Summary Score(s): No
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Baseline; 1-year follow-up; 2-year follow-up; 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Echeverria, S. E., Diez-Roux, A. V., et al. (2004) Reliability of self-reported neighborhood characteristics. J Urban Health 81(4): 682-701. Find here
Mujahid, M. S., Diez Roux, A. V., Morenoff, J. D., & Raghunathan, T. (2007). Assessing the measurement properties of neighborhood scales: from psychometrics to ecometrics. American journal of epidemiology, 165(8), 858–867. Find here
Parental Monitoring Survey
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_pm
Measure Description: The Parental Monitoring Survey assesses a parent’s active efforts to keep track of a child’s whereabouts, both at home, and when they are not at home (e.g., who they are with; what they are doing). The subset of items in this measure were derived from two other measures (see Karoly, Callahan, Schmiege, & Feldstein Ewing, 2016; Statin & Kerr, 2000).
ABCD Subdomain: Parenting
Number of Variables: 10
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: 4-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: Item 8 (parental_monitor_q8_p) asks, “Do you know which places your child visits when they are out with friends at night?”. A notably larger percentage of parents choose “decline to answer” as their response to this question than the percentage of parents who do so for other items on this scale. The percentage of “decline to answer” responses on item 8 decreases longitudinally, which might indicate that parents were selecting “decline to answer” because they do not allow their parents to be out with friends at night at younger ages - in other words, they see the question as inapplicable. We cannot confirm this possibility, but bring the larger percentage of “decline to answer” responses on item 8 to users’ attention when considering a summary score.
References: Karoly, H. C., Callahan, T., Schmiege, S. J., & Feldstein Ewing, S. W. (2015). Evaluating the Hispanic Paradox in the context of adolescent risky sexual behavior: the role of parent monitoring. Journal of pediatric psychology, 41(4), 429-440. Find here
Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. (2000). Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child development, 71(4), 1072-1085. Find here
Family Environment Scale (PhenX)
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_fes
Measure Description: The Conflict subscale from the Family Environment Scale (FES; Moos & Moos, 1994) consists of 9 items assessing the amount of openly expressed conflict among family members. This subscale mirrors that collected in the youth. The additional subscales of the FES assess the extent to which the family has an Intellectual-Cultural orientation, an Active-Recreational orientation, is Organized, is Supportive/Cohesive (Cohesion), and is Expressive in style. These subscales evaluate the three underlying dimensions of the family environment: Family Relationships, Personal Growth, and System Maintenance and Change, and have excellent external validity (Moos & Moos, 2009; Sanford, et al., 1999).
ABCD Subdomain: Family
Number of Variables: 85
Summary Score(s): Yes
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since Baseline
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: None
References: Moos, R.H., Moos, B.S. (1994). Family Environment Scale Manual. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA.
Sanford, K., Bingham, C.R., & Zucker, R.A. (1999). Validity Issues with the Family Environment Scale: Psychometric Resolution and Research Application with Alcoholic Families. Psychological Assessment, 11(3),315‑325. Find here
School Attendance and Grades
Release 5.0 Data Table: ce_p_sag
Measure Description: Questions on School Attendance and Grades (SAG) obtain information from the parent on the number of youth excused and unexcused school absences, grades, and whether the youth has a current or past IEP. Unexcused absences are queried for the “last 4 weeks” and the “last 12 months.” Responses for current grades were adapted to allow reporting across various systems used in the United States. There is also a youth measure of this instrument (School Attendance and Grades).
ABCD Subdomain: School
Number of Variables: 8
Summary Score(s): No
Measurement Visit Timepoints Administered: Annually since the 2-year follow-up
Modifications since initial administration: None
Notes and special considerations: Scoring of variable asking about grades obtained in the last year is coded such that lower values reflect better grades and higher values reflect poorer grades.
Reference: Zucker RA, Gonzalez R, Feldstein Ewing SW, Paulus MP, Arroyo J, Fuligni A, Morris AS, Sanchez M, Wills T. Assessment of culture and environment in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study: Rationale, description of measures, and early data. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2018 Aug;32:107-120 Find here