Harvard Grant Study of Adult Development: 1938–2022.

FUCHSMAN, KEN

The Harvard Grant Study began in the late 1930s and continues to this day, but now under the name of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. It began as an initiative of the five-and-dime mogul W.T. Grant. He wanted a study that would follow men over their entire life span. The project selected over 200 males from the Harvard undergraduate classes of 1939-1944. It followed them throughout their lives. Except in a few cases, their identities have been kept confidential. The two that are known are President John F. Kennedy and Washington Post editor Ben Bradley. Bradley self-identified and Kennedy’s file is kept separate and the file but not the contents was discovered. This paper is a history and examination of the Grant Study from its beginnings until early in the 21st century. It was started to find what was healthy in individuals and has kept that focus down to the present day. One thing that is considered here is: are the methods the study employed sufficient for them to achieve their goals?

HARVARD University; ADULT development; KENNEDY, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963; WASHINGTON Post, The (Newspaper); ASSASSINATION; LIFE spans; GRANTS (Money); TWENTY-first century

Journal of Psychohistory, 2023, Vol 51, Issue 1, p27

0145-3378

Academic Journal