Staff Profile

Dr Ben Edwards
Executive Manager, Longitudinal Studies

BA (Monash), BA(Hons) Deakin, PhD (Deakin)

Biography

Dr Ben Edwards manages the Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children at the Institute. He is also involved in the management of Australian Temperament Project.

He is the project manager of the Rural and Regional Families study, a large study of 8,000 people focusing on the impact of the drought. 

He has undertaken consultancies for a wide range of organisations including the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), Prime Minister and Cabinet, the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, the NSW Department of Community Services, the Benevolent Society, The Smith Family, Carers Australia and Carers Victoria.

He joined the Australian Institute of Family Studies in 2004. His PhD focused on the psychological impact of a cancer diagnosis on patients and families and was supported by a scholarship from the National Health and Medical Research Council. Since joining the Institute he has investigated the influence of neighbourhoods and communities on children’s development using data from observational and experimental studies.

Current research activities

• Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
• Australian Temperament Project
• Rural and regional families: The impact of drought, economic and social change

Specialist areas

• Longitudinal studies
• Evaluation
• Neighbourhood and community influences on children’s development
• Drought
• Caring for a family member with a disability
• Statistical analysis of complex data

Selected recent publications

Reports

• Soloff, C., Sipthorp, M., Edwards, B., Smart, D., Misson, S. & Hosking, A. (2010). Characteristics of the between-wave survey respondents. LSAC Technical paper No. 7.
• Taylor, M., Edwards, B., & Gray, M. (2010). Unemployment and the wellbeing of children aged 5 to 10 years. A report for the Benevolent Society.
• Edwards, B., Gray M., Baxter, J., and Hunter, B. (2009). The tyranny of distance? Carers in regional and remote areas of Australia, Commissioned report, Carers Australia.
• Edwards, B., Wise, S., Gray, M., Hayes, A., Katz, I., Misson, S., Patulny, R. and Muir, K., (2009). Stronger Families in Australia study: The impact of Communities for Children. Occasional Paper No. 25, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
• Muir, K., Katz, I., Purcal, C., Patulny, R., Flaxman, S., Abello, D., Cortis, N., Thomson, C., Oprea, I., Wise, S., Edwards, B., Gray, M. and Hayes, A. (2009). National evaluation (2004–2008) of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2004–2009, Occasional Paper No. 24, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
  
• Smart, D., Sanson, A., Baxter, J., Edwards, B., and Hayes, A. (2008). Home-to-school transitions for financially disadvantaged children (PDF 623 KB), Commissioned report, The Smith Family.
• Edwards, B., Higgins, D. J., Gray, M., Zmijewski, N., & Kingston, M.  (2008). The nature and impact of caring for family members with a disability in Australia.  (AIFS Research Report No. 16).  Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies and Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. (140 pages).
• Hayes, A., Gray, M. C., & Edwards, B. (2008). Social inclusion: Origins, concepts and key themes. Canberra: Social Inclusion Unit, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Journal articles

• Edwards, B., Gray, M., Wise, S., Hayes, A., Katz, I., Muir, K., Patulny, R., (2011). Early impacts of Communities for Children on children and families: findings from a quasi-experimental cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 65(10), 909-914.
• Edwards, B., Taylor, M., & Fiorini, M. (2011). Who gets the ‘gift of time’ in Australia? Exploring delayed primary school entry. Australian Review of Public Affairs, 10(1), 41-60.
• Renda, J., Vassallo, S., & Edwards, B. (2011). Bullying in early adolescence and its association with anti-social behaviour, criminality and violence 6 and 10 years later. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 21(2), 117-127.
• Edwards, B., Gray, M., Wise, S., Hayes, A., Katz, I., Muir, K., & Patulny, R. (2011). Early impacts of Communities for Children on children and families: Findings from a quasi-experimental, cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
• Edwards, B., & Hayes, A. (2011). Commentary on ‘Time Demands of Caring for Children with Cerebral Palsy: What are the Implications for Maternal Mental Health?’ Developmental Medicine and Clinical Neurology, 53(4), 295-296.
• Edwards, B., Taylor, M., & Fiorini, M. (accepted for publication).  Who gets the “gift of time? Child, parent and education system factors that are associated with delayed primary school entry in Australia. Australian Review of Public Affairs.
• Edwards, B. (2009). Hard times. Family Matters, 83, 5-6.
• Edwards, B., Baxter, J., Smart, D., Sanson, A., and Hayes, A. (2009). Financial disadvantage and children’s school readiness. Family Matters, 83, 23-31.
• Gray, M., Edwards, B., Hayes, A., and Baxter, J. (2009). The impacts of recessions on families. Family Matters, 83, 7-14.
• Edwards, B., Gray, M., & Hunter, B. (2009). A sunburnt country. The economic and financial impact of drought on rural and regional families in Australia in an era of climate change. Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 12, 109-131.
• Edwards, B., & Gray, M. (2009). Determinants of the labour force status of female carers. Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 12, 5-21
• Edwards, B., & Higgins, D. J. (2009). Is caring a health hazard? The mental health and vitality of carers of a person with a disability in Australia. Medical Journal of Australia. 190(7), S61-S65.
• Edwards, B. (2009). Caring for families caring for a person with a disability.  Family Relationships Quarterly, 11, 3-9.
• Edwards, B., & Bromfield, L. M., (2009). Neighborhood influences on young children's conduct problems and pro-social behavior: Evidence from an Australian national sample (PDF 353 KB). Children and Youth Services Review, 31, 317-324.
• Gray, M., Edwards, B., & Zmijewski, N. (2008). Caring and women’s labour market participation.  Family Matters, 78, 28-35.
• Edwards, B., Higgins, D., & Zmijewski, N. (2007). The Families Caring for a Person with a Disability Study and the social lives of carers.  Family Matters, 76, 8-17.
• Edwards, B. (2006). Views of the village: Parents' perceptions of their neighbourhoods. Family Matters, 74, 26-33.
• Edwards, B. (2005). Does it take a village? An investigation of neighbourhood effects on Australian children's development. Family Matters, 72, 36-43.
• Gaitanis, P., Tooley, G., & Edwards, B. (2005). Physical activity, emotional stress, sleep disturbances, and daily fluctuations in chronic fatigue symptomatology.  Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 10(2), 69-82.
• Edwards, B., & Clarke V. (2004). The validity of the Family Relationships Index as a screening tool for psychological risk in families of cancer patients. Psycho-oncology, 14(7), 546-554.
• Edwards, B., & Clarke, V. (2004). The psychological impact of a cancer diagnosis on families: The influence of family functioning and patients' illness characteristics on depression and anxiety. Psycho-oncology, 13(8), 562-76.
• Edwards, B., & O'Connell, B. (2003). Internal consistency and validity of the Stroke Impact Scale 2.0 (SIS 2.0) and SIS-16 in an Australian sample. Quality of Life Research, 12, 1127-35.

Submissions

• Inquiry into implications of the proposed National Broadband Network Parliament of Australia. (PDF 477 KB). Parliament of Australia. Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network
• Inquiry into Government Drought Support, Social and economic impacts of drought on farm families and rural communities
  Productivity Commission (PDF 2.3 MB)
  Social Impacts Panel (PDF 1.9 MB)
• Inquiry into Better Support for Carers (PDF 2.0 MB). Parliament of Australia. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing & Youth