B3185 - Assessment and harmonisation of cognitive measures in Britsih Cohort Studies - 25/09/2018

B number: 
B3185
Principal applicant name: 
Vanessa Moulton | Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) UCL
Co-applicants: 
Emla Fitzsimons Prof, Gabriela Conti, George Ploubidis Prof, Marcus Richards Prof, Alice Sullivan Prof, Dr Eoin McElroy
Title of project: 
Assessment and harmonisation of cognitive measures in Britsih Cohort Studies
Proposal summary: 

A widely-used feature of the British birth cohorts is the wealth of cognitive measures collected throughout childhood, and in adult life. Nevertheless, the cognitive tests vary widely, both within and between cohorts. This project will test the cognitive measures in the cohort studies, including their relationship across a range of outcomes: subsequent cognitive scores; educational attainment; occupational attainment and income; mental health and wellbeing; physical health. We will assess the extent to which common scales, and/or scales assessing whether they measure the same construct. We will assess to what extent cognitive scales within the studies can reliably be used in cross-cohort analyses, and which scales are best suited to such comparisons. We will also assess whether socio-economic origins, cognitive scores, educational attainment, and socio-economic destinations has changed over time, and what implications this has for wider inequalities.

Impact of research: 
Guidance describing all the cognitive tests across all the cohort studies. This will include availability of the measures across studies and sweeps, what they intended to measure, reliability and validity measures, how to construct (including syntax) and interpret the measures, along with appropriate references and illustrations of previous work applying the variables. We will also provide a set of derived cognitive measures, with syntax and documentation, including harmonized measured for cross-cohort analysis. This will make the data more accessible to new groups of users, and facilitate cross-cohort analysis. As well as providing guidance for analysts on these measures, this exercise will be valuable for future cohorts, by identifying which cognitive measures are likely to add most value to future datasets, and which add little value. We will disseminate our findings and guidance via: academic journal articles; CLS webinars; and press releases and writing for a general audience, as appropriate. We anticipate that our substantive findings regarding cognition and socio-economic differentials will have wider impact.
Date proposal received: 
Monday, 24 September, 2018
Date proposal approved: 
Tuesday, 25 September, 2018
Keywords: 
Mental health - Psychology, Psychiatry, Cognition, Mental health, Statistical methods, Cognition - cognitive function