The UK Millennium Cohort Study

1
The UK Millennium Cohort Study

• The Long View Longitudinal Studies in Scotland
• February 26 2004

Lisa Calderwood Centre for Longitudinal
Studies Institute of Education, University of
London
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British Birth Cohort Studies

• Previous UK/GB National Studies
• 1946 MRC National Survey of Health
  Development
• 1958 National Child Development Study
• 1970 1970 British Birth Cohort Study
• MCS the first national birth cohort study for
  30 years 2000-1
• 1958, 1970 MCS based at IOE

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Objectives of MCS

• To chart the initial conditions of the social,
  economic and health advantages and disadvantages
  facing new children in the new century
• To capture information for the future
• To compare patterns of development with other
  cohorts
• To collect information on previously neglected
  topics, such as fathers involvement, child
  care
  
  ./

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Objectives

• To chart the experience of mothers and fathers
• To emphasise intergenerational links
• To investigate the wider social ecology of the
  family, including community and services,
  splicing in geo-coded data when available.
• To provide evidence for the National Evaluation
  of Sure Start and of the Childrens Fund -in
  England.

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MCS Sponsors

• Economic Social Research Council
• ONS consortium of Government Departments
•       ONS
•       DfES
•       DWP
•       DoH
•       Welsh Assembly
•   Scottish Executive
•       NI Executive
• SureStart National Evaluation in England

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Government-funded enhancements

• Boosted original sample size 15,000 to 20,000
• Extending first interview of mother and father
• Incorporation of linkage of heath records
  neighbourhood data
• Further analyses and reports
• Supplementary surveys of fertility treatment
  Health Visitors
• Survey of older siblings at age 3

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Design Features of MCS

• Cohort born over 12 month period
• Season of birth effects
• Spread workload of professional interviewers
• Sampling necessitated
• Geographically clustered by electoral ward
• Wards being disproportionately stratified
• Better approach to issue of community local
  services
• Content multi-purpose multidisciplinary but
  with greater emphasis on social rather than
  medical

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MCS First Survey Fieldwork Data

• Birth dates
• England Wales September 2000 to Aug 2001
• Scotland N. IrelandDec 2000 to Jan 2002 ( 6
  weeks)
• Fieldwork child 9-10 months old
• England Wales June 2001 to Aug 2002
• Scotland N. IrelandSeptember 2001 to Jan 2003
• Data Archive Deposit May 2003

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Elements and content of the first survey Mother
(75 mins)

• Interview

• Self-completion

Babys temperament behaviour Relationship with
partner Previous relationships Domestic
tasks Previous pregnancies Mental
health Attitudes to relationships, parenting,
work, etc
Ethnicity language Babys father Lone
parenthood Pregnancy, labour delivery Babys
health development Childcare Grandparents,
friends social support Parental
health Education training Employment
earnings Housing, local community services Time
with without the baby Other interests
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Elements and content of the first survey Father
(30 mins)

• Self-Completion

• Interview

Babys temperament behaviour Relationship with
partner Previous relationships Children living
elsewhere Mental health Attitudes to
relationships, parenting, work, etc
Ethnicity language Fathers involvement with
baby Grandparents, friends social
support Parental health Education
training Employment earnings Time with
without the baby Other interests
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MCS1 sample size, by country
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MCS1 response, by strata and country

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MCS2 Design Fieldwork

• The second MCS survey is taking place around the
  time of the childrens third birthdays
• The survey will follow all those 18553 families
  who took part in MCS1
• Fieldwork started in September 2003 in England
  Wales and in December 2003 in Scotland Northern
  Ireland
• MCS2 includes Mums (60 mins), Dads (17mins), the
  cohort children themselves (30mins) and older
  siblings

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MCS2 Elements of the survey

• Cognitive assessments
• British Ability Scales (II)
• Bracken Basic Concept Scale Revised (BBCS-R)
• Measurement of Height Weight
• Sample of Saliva (not for DNA purposes)
• Interviewer observation of home environment
  neighbourhood
• Older Siblings

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Employment of MCS mothers by country and type of
area
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Parents Employment in Scotland
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Mothers Breast-feeding by country
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Fathers Involvement in Scotland

• 88 of Fathers in Scotland (85 UK) look after
  the cohort child at least weekly and 66 of
  Fathers in Scotland (57 UK) change a nappy at
  least once a day.
• Longitudinal Evidence
• A strong father figure is associated with
  academic success (Flouri et al 2003)
• Girls whose fathers are involved in their
  upbringing are less likely to have mental health
  problems in later life (Flouri and Buchanan 2002)

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MCS1 A Users Guide to Initial Findings.

• Household structure characteristics
• Ethnic identity
• Partnerships and parenthood
• Wider family
• Pregnancy, delivery and labour
• Babies health and development

• Parenting and parents psycho-social adjustment
• Parents health
• Parental employment and education
• Child care
• Income and Benefits
• Housing and the area
• Citizenship

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Analysis Possibilities

• MCS1 now
• MCS2 mid 2005
• Cross cohort analysis
• Cross source e.g. census,
• International comparisons
• Canada,
• Australia
• USA
• Young Lives Ethiopia, India, Vietnam, Peru
• Scandinavia

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MCS The Future of Data collection

• Future surveys are planned for
• Age 5 2005-6
• Age 7 2007-8
• etc.
• Possible future design elements
• Obtain info on or from daycare provider at 3
• At 5 and 7 Repeat interviews with resident
  parents
• Repeat cognitive and behavioural assessments with
  children
• Collect information from Schools?
• Collect information on childs hospital episodes?

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Useful Websites for Further Information

• http//www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/Cohort/MCS/mcsmain.htm
• Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) Main page
• Includes Rationale, Surveys, MCS Launch, Data
  Archive, Documentation, Contact details
•  
• http//www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/Cohort/MCS/Publications/m
  ainpubs.htm
• Annual report, Conference Papers, Journal
  Articles
•  
• http//ioewebserver.ioe.ac.uk/ioe/cms/get.asp?cid
  6186
• Bedford Group (BG) on the Institute of Education
  (IoE) Website
•  
• http//ioewebserver.ioe.ac.uk/ioe/cms/get.asp?cid
  61946194_08239
• MCS on BG/IoE Website including the MCS Users
  Guide to Initial Findings (Descriptive Report)