B291 - Developing access to the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children a scoping study - 01/01/2003
In this note we describe the capability of ALSPAC to add to national data resources available for UK social scientists interested in studying patterns of social change over the post-war period.
The focus is on ALSPAC as a "missing cohort," i.e. its value in relation to the 1958, 1970 and Millennium Cohorts, rather than as a self-contained study. Therefore, we do not describe the full breadth of ALSPAC but rather draw out the common elements that might be of use in a cross-cohort study. We describe the data provided by these four cohort studies that may be of value to social scientists interested in studying and analysing national patterns and post-war trends in relation to the following related issues:
- child attainment and development
- the family and social contexts of children
- the characteristics and behaviours of families and parents
We describe some of the key variables that would be of use to social scientists interested in addressing these issues separately or jointly. This is far from being an exhaustive list of all the many domains of measurement in these four rich studies but is indicative of the breadth and commonality of measurement that social scientists could draw on in a cross-cohort study. We focus on construct measurement without providing any discussion of appropriate methods for any particular cross-cohort analysis.
To structure the discussion of variables and measurement we adopt a classification that we hope spans the different disciplines of social scientists who may wish to explore the cross-cohort issues. The following broad categories are used:
- Socio-economic and demographic factors
- Characteristics of the home & family
- Proximal processes within the home
- Child factors
- Other contexts
The variables described under these headings are specified below. For each of these variables the following sections then set out key measures in the four datasets.
Socio-economic and demographic factors
Family SEG
Parental employment status and details
Parental education
Household income
Family structure and family size
Age of parents
Ethnicity
Characteristics of the home & family
Housing
Pregnancy and birth of the study child
Parental physical health (as child)
Parental physical health (as adult)
Parental mental health
Parental attitudes, beliefs & values
Proximal processes within the home
Breastfeeding
Immunisations
Parenting
Home learning
Interpersonal relationships
Child factors
Ante-natal health
Child development measures
Physical health
Other contexts
Neighbourhood
Average income & education
Social capital
Pre-school & other child-care
Type & use
Age started formal care
Hours
Quality
Informal care
School factors
Characteristics of the child in school
Characteristics of the school
Peer group
Funding
Pedagogy
Ethos.