Millennium Cohort Study

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Millennium Cohort Study
Sub-brand to go here

• Heather Joshi
• Director
• Centre for Longitudinal Studies

CLS is an ESRC Resource Centre based at the
Institute of Education
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Aims of the presentation

• Introduce the Millennium Cohort Study
• Overview of data currently available
• Discussion of new 2008 surveys and data that will
  be available in 2009
• Overview of possible future developments
• Introduction to consultation

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Aims of MCS

• To provide a multi-purpose long-term resource for
  the research and policy community
• To chart the initial conditions of the social,
  economic and health advantages and disadvantages
  facing children in the new century and their
  consequences
• To observe intergenerational transmission of
  advantage and disadvantage and the processes
  involved
• To compare patterns of development with other
  British and international cohorts
• To collect information on previously neglected
  topics, such as fathers involvement, child
  care
• To investigate the wider social ecology of the
  family, including community and services,
  splicing in geo-coded data

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MCS Study Design

• Cohort born in all four seasons of the year
• Includes children in England, Scotland, Wales and
  Northern Ireland
• Geographically clustered by electoral ward
• Over represents children from different ethnic
  groups and those in deprived areas

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An initial snapshot

• MCS began as an infant cohort study of nearly
  19,000 children living at 9 months in 398 areas
  of the UK
• Children in England and Wales wereborn between
  September 2000 and August/2001
• one academic year
• Children in Scotland and Northern Ireland were
  born between 24/11/2000 and 10/1/2002
• spans two academic years

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MCS Surveys

• 9 month Survey fieldwork in 2001/2002
• Age 3 Survey fieldwork in 2003/2004
• Age 5 Survey fieldwork in 2006 (calendar year)
• Age 7 Survey fieldwork in 2008 (
  )
• Next follow-up likely at age 11, fieldwork 2012
• Age 14 2015
• Age 17 2018

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Number of Families responding in first 3 surveys

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MCS Response a longitudinal view
Note Productive families are those with some
data from at least one survey instrument at each
wave
So far, a total of 13802 (i.e.13234 568) have
participated in all sweeps that they were
eligible for. This is about 72 of the MCS
cohort At MCS3, 1444 unproductive families at
MCS2 were recovered (3rd row)
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The Millennium Cohort Study content at glance (
to date)
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Content of Parent Interviews

• Household questionnaire (Either Parent)
• Family Context (Main)
• Early Education, schooling childcare (Main)
• Child Family Activities (Main)
• Parenting Activities (Main Partner)
• Child Health (Main)
• Parents Health (Main
  Partner)
• Employment, Education and Income
  (Main Partner)
• Housing Local Area (Main) Interviewers
  Sweep2
• Social and Community Context (Main Partner)

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Direct Assessments on Child

• Cognitive Assessments
• Age appropriate eg BAS Naming Vocab at 3 and 5,
• BAS Pattern Construction at 5 and 7
• Self Completed Questionnaire
• New at age 7
• Physical Measurements
• Height
• Weight ( Body fat at age 7)
• Waist Measurement
• Physical Activity, age 7 ( WT funded)

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MCS Add-on Projects

• Linkage to administrative data
• Maternity and birth registration
• Hospital and primary care records
• School Records ( survey outside England)
• Benefit and NI Records
• Geo-coded data
• Assisted fertility treatment ( MCS1 postal
  survey)
• Oral fluid collection ( MCS2)
• Nursery Observations ( MCS2)
• Every Tooth Tells a Story ( postal collection)
• Prediction and Prevention of Non-response ( MCS4)
• Physical Activity ( MCS4)

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What are the results?

• 3rd descriptive report on MCS 3 due to be
  published on CLS website
• Data from MCS 3 and age 5 teacher data collection
  in UK data Archive
• Data from MCS 4 expected to reach Archive early
  2010
• With documentation and enhancements as
  available.
• The research community will help answer the
  question

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What will come next?

• Please join in the consultation about the
  proposed continuation on the survey into the
  adolescent years.
• Key ages have been suggested, but not necessarily
  funded.
• How should the follow-up balance between
  repeating content from the first 4 surveys and
  adapting to change
• in the cohorts
  lives
• in the world
  around them
• and in data
  capture technology
• How far and when should the balance of data
  collection shift from mother, father and teacher
  to the cohort member themselves?
• Are the issues facing those growing up in the
  21st Century still congruent with the studys
  original aims?

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Aims of MCS in the second decade

• A multi-purpose long-term resource for the
  research and policy community more or less
  emphasis on biomarkers?
• Charting the of the social, economic and health
  conditions facing the cohort and their
  consequences Which dimensions of development?
  Beyond uni-directional accumulation of cognitive
  attainment, academic attainments and avoidance of
  adult-reported behavioural difficulties, freedom
  from illness and disability identity,
  risk-taking, relationships, time use, physical
  activity, brain development ? The emergence of
  capabilities?
• Observation of intergenerational transmission of
  advantage and disadvantage and the processes
  involved Aspirations and expectations, agency of
  young person, role of school and peers.
• Comparison with other British and international
  cohorts
• Opportunities opening up, co-ordination through
  EUCCONET
• Collecting new information, eg fathers
  involvement ,- friends, internet, media,
  qualitative sub-studies, genetics, neuro-science?
  
• To investigate the wider social ecology of the
  family, including community and services,
  splicing in geo-coded data Schools, siblings

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We seek your views

• Thank-you for your attention

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Website
www.cls.ioe.ac.uk Please register for our
consultation