NEXT is a 7-year longitudinal assessment of a representative sample of U.S. adolescent and young adults starting at grade 10. The goals of NEXT include:
- Identifying the trajectory of adolescent health status and health behaviors from mid-adolescence through the post high school years
- Examining individual predictors of the onset of key adolescent risk behaviors and risk indicators during this period
- Identifying genetic, personal, family, school, and social/environmental factors that promote or sustain positive health behaviors
- Identifying transition points in health risk and risk behaviors and changes in family, school, and social/environmental precursors to these transitions
- Examining the role of potential gene-environment interactions in the development of health status and health behaviors
Assessments are conducted annually for 7 years beginning in the 2009-2010 school year. African American youth are oversampled to provide a better population estimate and to provide an adequate sample to examine racial/ethnic differences in longitudinal predictors of health, health behaviors, and health behavior change. Self-reports of health status, health behaviors, and health attitudes are collected by in-school and online surveys. Anthropometric data, genetic information, and neighborhood characteristics are gathered on all participants as well. The study also incorporates a School Administrator Survey and other data files to obtain related information on school-level health programs and community-level contextual data.
A subsample of students participates in more objective extensive assessments of factors affecting cardiovascular health including:
- Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep patterns
- Adolescent diet and nutrient intake
- Biological markers for obesity and cardiovascular disease
Driving performance is evaluated in 150 young adults.
NEXT is supported by NICHD; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Institute on Drug Abuse; the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA); and the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Principal Investigator
Division Collaborators
- Stephen E. Gilman, Sc.D.
- Leah Lipsky, Ph.D., M.H.S.
- Tonja Nansel, Ph.D.
- Bruce Simons-Morton, Ed.D., M.P.H. (Scientist Emeritus)
- Jing Yu, Ph.D.
NIH Collaborators
- Tsz (Kelvin) Choi, Ph.D., M.P.H, National Institute on Minority Health and Disparities
- Ralph Hingson, Sc.D., M.P.H., NIAAA
- Danping Liu, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute
- Jeremy Luk, Ph.D., NIAAA
External Collaborators
- Ronald Iannotti, the CDM Group
- Daniel Lewin, Ph.D., DABSM, Children’s National Medical Center
- Mary Kay Kenney, Ph.D., HRSA
- Kaigang Li, Ph.D., M.P.H., Colorado State University
- Frederico Vaca, M.D., M.P.H., Yale University
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Selected Publications
- Courtney, J. B., Li, K., Nelson, T. L., Nuss, K. J., Haynie, D. L., Iannotti, R. J., & Simons-Morton, B. G. (2021). Autonomous motivation and action planning are longitudinally associated with physical activity during adolescence and early adulthood. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 56, 101974.PMID: 33616239
- Luk, J. W., Haynie, D. L., Vaca, F. E., Li, K., Hingson, R., & Simons-Morton, B. G. (2019). Close friends' drinking and personal income as mediators of extreme drinking: A prospective investigation. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 80(6), 669–678. PMID: 31790357
- Fairman, B. J., Simons-Morton, B. G., Haynie, D. L., Liu, D., Goldstein, R. B., Hingson, R. W., & Gilman, S. E. (2019). State alcohol policies, taxes, and availability as predictors of adolescent binge drinking trajectories into early adulthood. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 114(7), 1173–1182. PMID: 30830991
- Lipsky, L. M., Haynie, D. L., Hill, C., Nansel, T. R., Li, K., Liu, D., Iannotti, R. J., & Simons-Morton, B. (2019). Accuracy of self-reported height, weight, and BMI over time in emerging adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 56(6), 860–868. PMID: 31003807
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