Week 14 Class Activity

Data

Download ASAP Sleep & Mood Data (.csv)


The Consultancy Brief

To: Junior Statistical Consultants

From: Principal Investigator, ASAP Study

Re: Data Analysis Request

Our research team has collected longitudinal data on 400 adolescents (Variables described in the Data Dictionary ). We have cleaned the data, but we are unsure which relationships are significant. Since you haven’t looked at the data, please think about what may be a relevant question to investigate. Once you have that question, we will approve it and then you can perform your data analysis followed by a “report” back to us.

Thank you,

Dr. E. Brown


Data Dictionary

Variable Prefix Meaning
T1_ Time 1 (Baseline, Ages 7-9)
T2_ Time 2 (1 Year Later)
T3_ Time 3 (2 Years Later)
Variable Name Description Scale
ID Participant ID 1-400
Sex Biological Sex 0=Male, 1=Female
SES Socioeconomic Status Z-score (0=Avg, High=Rich)
Age Age in years Continuous
Puberty Pubertal Development 0-8 (0=Child, 8=Adult)
SleepDur Objective Sleep Duration Hours (e.g., 9.5)
SleepQual Subjective Sleep Quality 0-20 (High = BAD sleep)
PeerStress Social Stress 0-20 (High = Stressed)
AcadStress School Stress 0-20 (High = Stressed)
Dep Depression Symptoms 0-60 (High = Depressed)
Anx Anxiety Symptoms 0-21 (High = Anxious)

Potential Questions

Below are some questions that we may explore if we have time.

  • Q1 (The “Socio-Economic Sleep Gap”): Does Socioeconomic Status (SES) predict better objective sleep duration (SleepDur) at Baseline (T1)?

  • Q2 (The “Stress Source” Debate): At Age 10 (T2), which is the stronger predictor of Anxiety: PeerStress or AcadStress?

  • Q3 (The “Puberty Effect”): Does advanced Puberty status (T1_Puberty) predict lower sleep duration (T1_SleepDur), even when controlling for T1_Age?

  • Q4 (The “Anxiety Trap”): Does Academic Stress (AcadStress) lead to Depression (Dep) because it increases Anxiety (Anx)? (Analyze at T1 or T2).

  • Q5 (The Original Hypothesis): Does Poor Sleep Duration at T1 lead to Depression at T3 via the mechanism of Peer Stress at T2?

  • Q6 (The “Gendered Buffer”): Does the relationship between Academic Stress (T2_AcadStress) and Depression (T3_Dep) depend on the child’s Sex? (e.g., Are girls more affected by academic stress?)

  • Q7 (The “Biological Sensitizer”): Does Puberty (T2_Puberty) amplify the effect of Peer Stress (T2_PeerStress) on Depression (T3_Dep)?