The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
Annual statistical report 2010

Foreword

I am pleased to introduce the first of the Annual Statistical Report series for Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). This is a new series of reports produced by the Australian Institute of Family Studies that will provide policy-makers, researchers, practitioners and others with a valuable introduction to the wealth of information collected by the study.

This report examines the multiple facets of children's lives that influence their wellbeing, including their family characteristics and their experiences of the broader social environment. Children's early development is an important precursor for their outcomes in later childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Children's families form the predominant environment in which early development takes place, and characteristics of their families influence many aspects of their lives. Their experiences within the broader environmental context also interact with their family environments and their developmental outcomes to influence their wellbeing.

Using data from children aged 0-9 years, chapters in the report make use of the study's longitudinal nature to investigate children's experiences over time. This provides insight into the experience of prolonged disadvantage and the critical points of transition in children's lives. Sections of the report examine how experiences and developmental outcomes vary for different demographic groups of children, including children from different socioeconomic backgrounds and different family structures.

The results presented in this report provide a foundation for further research and information that can inform government policies and programs that support the wellbeing of children and their families.

Alan Hayes

Director, Australian Institute of Family Studies

Acknowledgements

The Australian Institute of Family Studies thanks the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) for funding this report, and the FaHCSIA LSAC Team for their contributions.

We are also grateful to the following reviewers for their comments on earlier versions of specific chapters:

• Professor Donna Berthelsen, School of Early Childhood, Queensland University of Technology;
• Professor Deborah Brennan, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales;
• Associate Professor Boyd Hunter, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University;
• Professor Ariel Kalil, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago;
• Dr Gehan Roberts, Centre for Community Child Health, The Royal Children's Hospital;
• Professor Peter Whiteford, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales; and
• employees of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, the Department of Health and Ageing, and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

For more information about the study, see the Growing Up in Australia website.

This report uses unit record data from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The study is conducted in partnership between the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), and Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The findings and views reported in this report are those of the individual authors and should not be attributed to FaHCSIA, AIFS or the ABS.

Full contents