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New participant website
We’ve created a new website for our Growing Up in Australia participants. It’s full of interesting information about the study, and shows how the data that we collect is used and the impact that the study is having on improving the lives of young Australians now and into the future. Check out the website here.
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National Centre for Longitudinal Data (NCLD) - Longitudinal Data Conference 2016
National Convention Centre, Canberra 25 – 27 October 2016
Early bird registrations are now open for the Longitudinal Data Conference 2016. The conference will showcase how survey and administrative longitudinal data, including LSAC, provide a powerful evidence base for policy development and assessment.
For more information on the conference please visit the website.
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Wave 8 design phase
The first phase of Wave 8 is due to go into the field in mid 2017 and we are currently in the process of developing and finalising content to go into our questionnaires. To assist with this process, we recently asked for content proposal submissions via our website. We received a number of great ideas which are now being considered as part of the design phase. A big thank you to all who submitted proposals.
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Wave 7 home visits
The second phase of Wave 7 home visits is now well underway and will continue throughout 2016. We look forward to catching up with all of our study families and learning what’s been happening since we spoke to them last.
Thank you to all of our study participants and interviewers for the time and effort you contribute to LSAC.
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Research based on LSAC continues to feature in the media. Some of the articles that have appeared recently are:
Parents’ ‘risky’ drinking encourages teens
The Age (19 June 2016)
This article reports on research that shows that risking drinking among parents has a strong influence on their teenager’s drinking behaviour. Additionally the research, which will be published in the upcoming LSAC Annual Statistical Report, shows that teenager’s friends are also influential.
Parents warned to have puberty chat with daughters as young as eight
Courier Mail (16 June 2016)
This article reports on research to be released in the upcoming LSAC Annual Statistical Report. The research into puberty finds that for girls, puberty can start as young as eight.
Mothers the key to whether babies are immunised
Sydney Morning Herald (12 June 2016)
This article reports on research that looked into why some children are not immunised, or only partially immunised. The research found that mothers’ attitudes towards immunisation was the biggest factor in why children are not immunised.
Children perceived as overweight ‘more likely to gain pounds’
The Guardian Australia (1 June 2016)
This article reports on research that found that if a parent perceives their child to be overweight, then the child on average will put on more weight compared to children not perceived as overweight.
Secret to happy children is respect and harmony at home, not money
Herald Sun (14 May 2016)
This article reports on research conducted by the University of Southern Queensland, published in the latest Demography journal, that found that positive parenting and the home environment is more important than money in terms of happy and better behaved children.
The research, which looked at children aged 5 to 13 years, also found that good neighbourhood characteristics, such as access to parks and services, are linked with fewer behaviour problems, and a higher parental income is associated with better educational outcomes for children.
More than half Australian infants have risk factors for adult mental illness
The Guardian Australia (27 April 2016)
This article reports on research by the University of South Australia into the risk factors associated with mental health. They found that just over half of infants have multiple risk factors for adult mental illness.
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Using Australian Childhood Immunisation Register data in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
This technical paper provides LSAC data users with information and advice on the immunisation data in LSAC. The report describes immunisation schedules and how immunisation status is assesed in Australia, and then details the variables on immunisation in the data set and how to use them.
Three-generation education patterns among grandparents, parents and grandchildren: Evidence of grandparent effects from Australia
This report by the Life Course Centre discusses how the educational attainment of grandparents and parents impacts on the reading and numeracy scores of children. The report finds that higher educational attainment among grandparents was associated with high levels of parent education, and also high levels of numeracy and reading in their grandchildren.
LSAC Annual Statistical Report
The 2015 LSAC Annual Statistical Report is due to be released in the second half of 2016. The report will look into various aspects of childhood wellbeing and development and will feature chapters on the following topics:
- Grandparent care
- Diverse family structures
- Parenting of young adolescents
- Screen time and extra-curricular activities
- Childhood immunisation
- School choice
- Puberty
Recent journal articles
Speech and Language Difficulties Along with Other Child and Family Factors Associated with Health Related Quality of Life of Australian Children
This paper examines how speech and language difficulties could potentially impact on a child’s health related quality of life.
Autism spectrum disorder: Presentation and prevalence in a nationally representative Australian sample
This paper seeks to identify the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in Australian children and examine how their development compares to their peers.
Early childhood profiles of sleep problems and self-regulation predict later school adjustment
This paper looks into sleep patterns of young children, and how this, along with self-regulation impact later on school adjustment.
Sleep and Self-Regulation from Birth to 7 Years: A Retrospective Study of Children with and Without Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at 8 to 9 Years
This paper examines the differences in sleep problems and self-regulation among children with and without attention-deficit disorder (ADHD).
Confectionery consumption and overweight, obesity, and related outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis
This paper looks into associations between the consumption of confectionary and obesity among children and adolescents.
Cyber and face to face bullying; who crosses over?
This paper looks into the prevalence of traditional bullying against cyber bullying and compares those involved in both traditional and cyber bullying against those only involved in traditional bullying.
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FloSse Research Database
You can find more publications and research using LSAC, and other Australian longitudinal data, from the Flosse research database. The database contains bibliographic details on approximately 1500 articles. Researchers are reminded to submit their work using LSAC data to the database. The database also includes research from:
- HILDA – The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia
- LSIC – Footprints in Time: The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children
- BNLA – Building a New Life in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Humanitarian Migrants
- Journeys Home – A Longitudinal Study of Factors Affecting Housing Stability
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LSAC data user workshops
The latest LSAC data user workshop was held on the 5th July 2016. The LSAC data user workshops are designed to assist users of the data, those considering becoming users, or those who are interested in learning more about LSAC data. The workshop enables attendees to gain confidence in understanding and navigating the dataset.
If you would like to attend a future LSAC data user workshop, please contact the AIFS LSAC team and your name will be placed on a waiting list to be contacted at a later date.
Online resources
The LSAC Wave 6 data set was released in December 2015. For information on how to apply for access to the data visit the National Centre for Longitudinal Data. Following the release of the data we have also uploaded new versions of documentation designed to assist data users onto our website. This includes our:
Data User Guide: The Data User Guide is designed as a reference tool for users of the LSAC data set. It aims to cover all the things you need to know to use the data.
Rationale documents: The Rationale documents are available to assist data users with information on the scales and items included in LSAC.
Data Dictionary: The Data Dictionary provides data users with information on all of the variables in the LSAC data set.
Our website also has technical papers, discussion papers and issues papers which have all been created to assist our data users. You can also find information on methodology and copies of the questionnaires used.
If you have any questions about the LSAC data set, please contact us at:
datamanager@aifs.gov.au
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