Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
www.aifs.gov.au/growingup
Participant information
Welcome to Growing Up in Australia and thank you for agreeing to take part in this exciting new study! Over 10,000 families across Australia have now joined the study.
Some interesting information about the study
Growing Up in Australia is the first-ever national longitudinal study of Australian children.
The study will help to make sure that all children have a good start in life by providing government, policy makers, researchers and service providers with comprehensive information about different aspects of children's lives.
In total, the study will involve about 5,000 babies and 5,000 four-year olds and their families.
With the permission of parents, information will also be gathered from child carers, pre-school and school teachers and, in time, the children themselves.
The study will give you the opportunity to sit down for a while every year or so and reflect on your child's development and think about how your child's life is going.
Funding for the study is being provided by the Australian Government Department of Family and Community Services, as part of the Government's Stronger Families and Communities Strategy.
What questions will you be asked?
The study is interested in all aspects of children's development. The information you give will help provide an overall picture of how Australia's children are getting on these days. You will be asked questions about:
Your child and their development. There will be questions about:
- your child's birth;
- your child's general health and any specific medical or health conditions;
- your child's development including language skills, physical development and social skills;
- what your child's life is like at home, at child care or at preschool, and school.
Your own health and wellbeing, your family life and about any non-parental child care your child has.
Services you use to provide support for your family and child such as health and education services, and about your local community.
What questions will child carers and teachers be asked?
To help us understand all aspects of childrens' lives we would also like to gather information on how child care, pre-school, kindergarten and the early school years contribute to their development. To make this possible, we will be asking parents' permission to contact your child's carer and/or teacher. They will be asked questions about:
The availability of educational and learning materials for your child.
The facilities and equipment that are available for your child.
The relationship between your child and their carer/teacher.
Teaching practices and programs offered to your child.
Who is conducting the study?
The Australian Institute of Family Studies, an independent Australian Government research agency, is the lead agency in a group of leading researchers from other research centres and universities around Australia. A Project Operations Team oversees the day-to-day management of the study. The team is located at the Australian Institute of Family Studies in Melbourne.
Interviews in your home will be conducted by highly-trained interviewers from I-View. All interviewers will need to present appropriate identification before the interviews take place.
Your involvement with the study
After you agreed to participate in the study, the Health Insurance Commission forwarded your name and contact details to our data collection agency, I-View who sent a letter to you saying when an interviewer would be in your area. The interviewer from I-View will be in touch to make an appointment for a convenient time to interview you in your home.
Participation in the study is voluntary and you can withdraw at any time by calling 1800 005 508. You may also choose not to take part in any aspect of the study. However the success of the study depends on valuable information provided by families like yours.
After the first interview, we will ask your permission to contact you again the following year to fill out a short questionnaire. Every second year we would like an interviewer to visit you to see how your child is developing.
What about privacy?
We would like to assure you that the study has very strict guidelines to make sure that your identity is protected and the information you provide is kept in strict confidence at all times. Any information that could identify you or your child will be deleted before any researchers can use the data.
If you would like more details about the privacy guidelines please contact us (Email: growingupinaustralia@iview.com.au ; Freecall 1800 005 508).
How will the information you provide be used?
The information you provide will help government policy makers plan for future policies and services that will benefit families and their children. By following children over time, the study will be able to determine the individual, family, and broader social and environmental factors that affect children's development.
Research papers and conference papers will also be prepared to inform the general community about findings from the study.
How will you benefit from the study?
Being part of Growing Up in Australia will be interesting and fun! You will have the sense of satisfaction from knowing that you are part of an important and unique study that will improve the life chances of present and future generations of Australian children.
You will receive regular newsletters informing you about progress of the study as well as major findings from the study. We will also send your child birthday and greeting cards as well as small gifts as tokens of our appreciation.
Time lines for the study
The first stage of the study commenced with around 500 families in August 2003. The next stage, where another 10,000 families (5000 infants and 5000, 4 year olds) started in January 2004 when families began to receive letters of invitation from the Health Insurance Commission. Data collection for Wave 1 started in March 2004 and is in its final stages.
Change in address and other contact details
We hope that you will continue to participate in the study. To help us keep in touch, please let us know if your contact details change. Please contact our data collection agency I-View if your details change by:
- Filling out the 'change in address' reply-paid form that is included in your study folder; or
- Sending an email with your old and new address to: growingupinaustralia@iview.com.au ; or
- Calling freecall 1800 005 508
More information about the Growing Up in Australia Study is available on the Publications page including newsletters, discussion papers, articles and brochures, and publicity material.
