Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS)

The Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) is a population-based longitudinal cohort study of adolescents (12-18) living in Lucas County, Ohio in 2001 who have been followed for eight waves of data collection, most recently 2022. The primary objective of the TARS has been to specify the nature and meaning of adolescent and young adult relationship experiences and to determine how variations in these experiences influence developmental outcomes. The TARS research team has over 100 published papers and 50 theses/dissertations using the data.

TARS explores the relationship qualities and the subjective meanings that motivate adolescent and adult behavior. More specifically, these data seek to examine the nature and meaning of adolescent and adult relationship experiences (e.g., with family, peers, and dating partners) in an effort to discover how these relationships influence a variety of outcomes (such as HIV risk, fertility experiences and decision-making, delinquency and crime, and intimate partner violence).  Specific waves of the study have emphasized a range of other topics including COVID related stress, effects of parental incarceration, desistance from crime, and parenting behaviors.

Research Team

Do you have a question? Email us at tars@bgsu.edu

*TARS has been supported by awards from the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U. S. Department of Justice (2009-IJ-CX-0503, 2010-MU-MU-0031, 2016-IJ-CX-0012, & 2019-R2-CX-0032), awards from the National Science Foundation (1558755, 2028429), grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD036223, R01HD044206, R01HD066087, R03HD109404, & R15HD109798), and an award from the Department of Health and Human Services (5APRPA006009). This project has also benefitted from support provided by the Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, which received core funding from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD050959). The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these publications are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Department of Justice, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, or the Department of Health and Human Services.