Caught in the net? Interdisciplinary perspectives on a longitudinal view of emotional and behavioural difficulties

This article explores some of the challenges of conducting longitudinal studies relating to emotional and behavioural difficulties, with reference to the small number of studies that exist in this area. The authors distinguish between longitudinal and follow up studies, drawing on examples from a range of disciplines. They then begin to explore the new avenues for researching the lives of young people presented by the growth in popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook. The article also breaks new ground by drawing on the disciplines of philosophy and neuroscience in order to begin to theorise the notion of time. This is a fundamental element of the longitudinal view, but one that is not generally addressed in studies that invite people to look back over their lives.