Outcome Research in Pediatric Psychoendocrinology and Sexology

Abstract

Outcome research is both biographical and statistical. The longitudinal data of biographical studies are multivariate and sequential. They provide the opportunity to tease out the conflation of factors that may be responsible for a given outcome. These factors may then be tested cross-sectionally, one or a few variables at a time, on a group of individuals statistically homogeneous for diagnosis, and for as many other variables as can be held constant. Biographical data should be collected and tabulated systematically, according to a planned schedule of inquiry, and not haphazardly. These data should include wide-ranging information, including some (e.g., handedness, color blindness, or natal sequence) that may not have self-evident significance. The computer program for processing statistical data should be planned ahead of time so as to ensure that no variable will be fortuitously overlooked and that there will be no overload of surplus data (e.g., on a questionnaire). Today, the logistics, continuity, and funding of longitudinal outcome research are more likely to be haphazard than predictably guaranteed.