The Statistical Challenges of Designing Accelerated Longitudinal Cohort Studies: Insights from the Guide Project

Massimo Ventrucci
Francesca Tosi, University of Bologna
Giulio Ecchia, University of Bologna
Giovanni Righetto , Univesity of Bologna
Matthew J Wakefield, University of Bologna

The Growing Up in Digital Europe (GUIDE) project is currently in its preparatory phase. It will generate high-quality comparative data on children’s well-being across Europe through a multicountry accelerated longitudinal cohort (ALC) design. A piloting phase is underway in Italy to test survey instruments, sampling procedures, and field operations that will inform the design of future waves. This paper describes the structure of the accelerated design, outlines the main statistical challenges that must be addressed—such as mode effects, stratification, and attrition—and presents ongoing work using model-based simulations to evaluate the robustness of developmental curve estimation under different attrition scenarios.

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 Presented in Session P8. Demographic Trends, History, Data and Methods