Growing Up in Australia
Newsletter No. 9, March 2005
Published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, ISSN 1448-9147 (Online)
Wave 1 Data Release
The Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator the Hon. Kay Patterson will launch the release of Wave 1 data with the first Growing Up in Australia Annual Report in May 2005. Both a hardcopy and a PDF version of this report will be available.
Data from the main study are also due to be released to researchers and policy makers in May. Application forms for access to the data will be available on our website towards the end of April. A full set of user documentation will accompany the release of data.
Between Waves Contact
We will shortly be contacting all the families who were interviewed during 2004, sending a newsletter updating them on the study's progress and enclosing a short mail back questionnaire. We will also offer an on-line service for completion of the questionnaire.
The mail-out will occur in 2 stages - one at the end of April and one in mid June - with results expected later in the year, though not due for public release until 2006.
The nested study by Dr Gillian Whitehouse from the University of Queensland, on parental leave and working conditions before and after the birth of a child, will be included with the mail-out for the infant cohort.
If you are interested in seeing copies of the questionnaires, please contact us.
Wave 1 Final Response Rates
Final response to the initial mail-out from the Health Insurance Commission was 54 per cent overall. The response rate was higher for the infant cohort, with 57 per cent of families agreeing to take part (resulting in 5,107 infants in the study), compared to 50 per cent for families with 4-5 year old children (4,983 children in the study).
The main sources of sample loss were refusals (31 per cent for the infants and 35 per cent for the 4-5 year olds) and non-contacts - people who had moved or for whom only a post office box address was available (10 per cent for the infants and 14 per cent for the 4-5 year olds). The most common reason given for refusing was "not interested/ too busy". Interviewers felt that there are many people who are very time pressured.
Although the response rate is lower than would be preferred, this is mainly an issue if the final sample is not representative of the target population. Non-response analysis has shown that the most significant difference between the study families and the target population is a higher proportion of mothers (and fathers) who have completed Year 12 at school.
Further details of the non-response analysis will be available in LSAC Technical paper no. 2 "Wave 1 weighting and non-response" which will be released at the same time as the Wave 1 data. The more significant differences between the target population and the sample are being compensated through differential weighting of the sample.
The response rates for the other study materials (for eligible children) were:
- 85 per cent for Parent 1 self-complete
- 78 per cent for Parent 2 self-complete
- 80 per cent for Time Use Diaries
- 68 per cent for Teacher self-complete
- 53 per cent for Infant Centre-based Carer self-complete
- 43 per cent for Infant Home-based Carer self-complete.
Wave 2 Development
Wave 2 development has continued at a rapid pace. A list of the new items being tested is given at the end of this newsletter.
A small pilot test of all Wave 2 study instruments will be conducted in late April/early May, mainly to obtain a broad indication of interview length and to test new measures. Pilot test questionnaires will be available on request from the end of April by contacting the LSAC team.
Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing will be used for the main interview. This offers a lot of benefits in terms of data quality, though a longer lead time is needed for the programming requirements.
Symposium at AIFS Conference
Presentations relating to Growing Up in Australia were given at the AIFS conference on 9-11 February 2005. A symposium was held that covered an overview of Wave 1 content, a first glance at the Wave 1 data, plans for data analysis, and details of the Outcome Index.
Papers that feature preliminary data analysis were presented in other sessions. Copies of the presentations and/or papers are available from the Growing Up in Australia Conference papers and presentations page.
Long Term Research Program
In order that the opportunities to use the LSAC data are thoroughly explored by Government and academic researchers, including partnerships between the two, a data analysis framework has been developed by the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS). The draft framework was developed in consultation with potential users and FaCS is currently undertaking a further round of consultation.
FaCS is also working on a report that presents some of the Wave 1 data to meet the immediate needs of policy makers, the content of this report having been developed from discussions with policy makers from State/Territory and Australian governments. The report will be available shortly after the launch of the data.
For further information, contact Jane Dickenson or phone (02) 6244 8568.
Contact us
Now that data collection is complete, the wave 1 questionnaires are available on our website. If you would like to use these in any studies you are undertaking, please contact us so that we can ensure the appropriate copyrights are acknowledged.
If you want further information on the Growing Up in Australia study, please visit our website at www.aifs.gov.au/growingup or contact us.
Proposed 'New' Wave 2 Content
Child health
2 year olds
- Toilet training
Both cohorts
- Impact of disability on family members
- Vision
- Coordination skills
Parent health
Both cohorts
- Additional item on diagnosis for depression/anxiety
Child functioning
2 year olds
- Learning/cognition
- New measure on functional communication 6/7 year olds
- Child's perception of wellbeing
- Additional communication skills items - functional language, grammar, non verbal
- School achievement
- Literacy/numeracy assessment by parent
- Child's perceptions of school adjustment
- Approach to learning
Child care
2 year olds
- Adjustment to separation/reunion
Education
2 year olds
- Some new activities parents do with child - type and frequency 6/7 year olds
- School type, grade, age started
- Alternative school attendance
- School choice
- School preference
- School mobility
- Parent contact with other parents at school
- Support from parent for child learning
- Parent involvement and contact with school
- Parent expectations about education
- Extra tuition
- Repeat of school grade
- Absenteeism
- Parent perceptions of child's school experience
- Bullying
- Teacher experience and field of qualification
- Classroom type and structure
- Classroom resources
- Classroom management
- Homework
- Curriculum
- Opportunities for parent involvement
- Specialised programs
- School size
- Group characteristics (eg class size, ATSI, CALD)
- Electronic games
Both cohorts
- New item on family rules re TV
- Parent literacy
Family functioning
Both cohorts
- Relationship history
- Presence of children who do not live in household
- Parental attitudes to family meals
- Regularity of meals/bedtime
- Father's parenting values
- Parent belief that child suffers if parents work if child not yet school age
- Family activities
- Couple communication
- Support for fathers
- Roles of family members
- Additional work/family items
- Family of origin (type of family, divorce)
- Parent had strict or authoritarian upbringing, moved frequently, poor family, normal upbringing
- Sibling relations
- Parental monitoring