LONGSCAN is a consortium of research studies operating under common by-laws and procedures. It was initiated in 1990 with grants from the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect through a coordinating center at the University of North Carolina and five satellite sites. Each site is conducting a separate and unique research project on the etiology and impact of child maltreatment. While each project can stand alone on its own merits, through the use of common assessment measures, similar data collection methods and schedules, and pooled analyses, LONGSCAN is a collaborative effort.

The coordinated LONGSCAN design permits a comprehensive exploration of many critical issues in child abuse and neglect on a combined sample of sufficient size for unprecedented statistical power and flexibility. Built into the design is also the ability to replicate and extend findings across a variety of ethnic, social and economic subgroups.

The goal of LONGSCAN is to follow the children and their families until the children themselves become young adults. Comprehensive assessments of children, their parents, and their teachers are scheduled to occur at child ages 4, 6, 8, 12, 14, 16, and 18. Maltreatment data is collected from multiple sources, including record reviews, at least every two years. Yearly telephone interviews allow the sites to track families and assess yearly service utilization and life events. The National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) makes a restricted dataset available to members of the research community who meet eligibility criteria and agree to the requirements of the data license.

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