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Community violence exposure is associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescents. This study examined whether coping style moderates this relationship over time. Eighty-four low-income, urban adolescents (M age = 13.36, 50% female, 95% African American) participated in two waves of a longitudinal study. Youth reported on their community violence exposure and coping style at Wave 1, and their depressive symptoms at Waves 1 and 2 (17 months apart). Problem-focused coping attenuated the effect of community violence exposure on depressive symptoms (β = −.47, p <.05), whereas avoidant coping amplified the effect of community violence on depressive symptoms (β =.63, p <.05). Adolescents exposed to community violence are at an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms if they use low levels of problem-focused coping or high levels of avoidant coping. Interventions targeting coping strategies may improve psychological adjustment of urban youth exposed to community violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Exercise maximum flexibility in scheduling to optimize data collection. • Secure a variety of contact methods to support successful communication. • Study eligibility requirements should be well thought out and clearly defined. • Driving exposure should be measured frequently to explain changes in driving behaviors. Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of mortality among teenagers. Teen driving research has a longstanding history; however, much of this work is cross-sectional. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development funded a study, REACT (R oadway E xperiences and A ttentional C hange in T eens) which combined factorial and longitudinal designs to investigate the independent and joint effects of age and driving experience on driving attention over time among young drivers. Longitudinal methods offer important contributions to teen driving research by enabling characterization of driving trajectories. This paper describes methodological considerations for longitudinal studies of teen drivers. Such considerations are organized into overarching themes, including population, recruitment, enrollment, and retention, throughout this paper. These considerations were compiled as a combination of our own experiences in REACT and previous literature. We elaborate on these considerations below to illustrate the value of each consideration. Issues encountered are discussed and strategies for dealing with various issues are described. Transportation barriers, scheduling difficulties, and skipped study milestones were among the most frequent challenges; we outline these and other issues encountered in REACT and corresponding considerations for such issues in Table 2. Sharing these experiences should aid future longitudinal investigations of young drivers, which are critically needed to reduce teen MVCs. Studies similar to REACT are considerable undertakings due to the comprehensive nature of longitudinal design. Such investigations must maintain a delicate balance between appropriate amounts of rigor and flexibility in the development of thoroughly defined research questions and theoretically driven frameworks. Key considerations that have contributed to the success of REACT are outlined, challenges encountered throughout data collection are documented, and recommendations based on choices made and lessons learned to inform future longitudinal investigations on young drivers are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]