Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, 1990-2003: Social Science Sampler Datasets

UKDA study number:6147

Principal Investigator

University of Bristol. Department of Social Medicine. Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Sponsors

Economic and Social Research Council
University of Bristol
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Home Office
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health

Distributed by

UK Data Archive, University of Essex, Colchester.

June 2009

Bibliographic Citation

All works which use or refer to these materials should acknowledge these sources by means of bibliographic citation. To ensure that such source attributions are captured for bibliographic indexes, citations must appear in footnotes or in the reference section of publications. The bibliographic citation for this data collection is:

University of Bristol. Department of Social Medicine. Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, 1990-2003: Social Science Sampler Datasets [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], June 2009. SN: 6147, http://dx.doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-6147-1.

Acknowledgement

Any publication, whether printed, electronic or broadcast, based wholly or in part on these materials, should acknowledge the original data creators, depositors or copyright holders, the funders of the Data Collections (if different) and the UK Data Archive, and to acknowledge Crown Copyright where appropriate.
Any publication, whether printed, electronic or broadcast, based wholly or in part on these materials should carry a statement that the original data creators, depositors or copyright holders, the funders of the Data Collections (if different) and the UK Data Archive bear no responsibility for their further analysis or interpretation.

Copyright:
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Disclaimer

Although all efforts are made to ensure the quality of the materials, neither the original data creators, depositors or copyright holders, the funders of the Data Collections, nor the UK Data Archive bear any responsibility for the accuracy or comprehensiveness of these materials.

All rights reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the UK Data Archive.

UK Data Archive
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester
Essex C04 3SQ
United Kingdom
www.data-archive.ac.uk

6147 . Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, 1990-2003: Social Science Sampler Datasets
(ALSPAC; Children of the 90s)

Depositor:

University of Bristol. Department of Social Medicine. Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Principal Investigator:

University of Bristol. Department of Social Medicine. Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Sponsors:

Economic and Social Research Council
University of Bristol
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Home Office
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health
Grant Number: RES-587-47-0001

Other Acknowledgements:

Throughout the lifetime of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), many organisations have provided funding for specific aspects of data collection and processing. These include but are not limited to: the Medical Research Council (MRC); South West Regional Health Authority; Cow and Gate; Meat and Livestock Commission; British Gas; Milupa; Department of Health; Department for Employment and Education (DfEE); Hewlett Packard; Clothworkers' Guild; British Heart Foundation; Northern Region Research and Development Directorate; Smith's Charities; the Wellcome Trust; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF); Special Trustees of United Bristol Health Trust (UBHT); March of Dimes Foundation; and Remedi.

Abstract:

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, and also known as the 'Children of the 90s' study), which is based at the University of Bristol, is an ongoing longitudinal study of a population of children born to mothers resident in one geographic area in England. The overall objectives of the study are to understand the ways in which the physical and social environments interact over time with genetic inheritance to affect health, behaviour and development in infancy, childhood and then into adulthood. Information has been collected at regular and frequent intervals from pregnancy and throughout childhood concerning the child's physical environments, parental characteristics (including economic and educational indicators), social circumstances, and family relationships. ALSPAC recruited more than 14,000 pregnant women with estimated dates of delivery between April 1991 and December 1992, who were living in the Avon Health Authority area, to take part in the study. These women, the children arising from the index pregnancy and the women's partners have been followed up since then and detailed data collected throughout childhood.

The datasets held at the UKDA are sampler datasets, and have been compiled using various questionnaire and assessment data from the ALSPAC study. Further information may be found in the documentation, and for the wider study, on the ALSPAC web site.

Main Topics:

The ALSPAC study collects data using a variety of methods, including:

• self-completion questionnaires completed by the child's mother
• self-completion questionnaires completed by the mother’s partner
• assays of biological samples, including genetics
• medical records
• educational records
• information from teachers and head teachers
• self-completion questionnaires completed by the study child
• hands-on assessments

For the UKDA sampler datasets I-IV and VI (covering household, neighbourhood, housing, social/economic and employment/occupational information), data from the mothers' and partners' questionnaires were used, and for dataset V (height), data from the hands-on assessments were included. These files include data gathered between 1990 and 2003 only.

Further details may be found in the documentation, and the ALSPAC questionnaires may be found on the study web site.

Coverage:

Time Period Covered: 1990 - 2003
Country: England
Geography: Avon
Spatial Units: No spatial unit
Observation Units: Individuals; Families/households
Kind of Data: Numeric data; Alpha/numeric data; Individual (micro) level

Universe Sampled:

Location of Units of Observation: Subnational
Population: ALSPAC recruited more than 14,000 pregnant women with estimated dates of delivery between April 1991 and December 1992 who were living in the then Avon Health Authority area (now Avon NHS Trust). These women, the children arising from the index pregnancy and the women's partners have been followed up since then and detailed data collected throughout childhood.

Methodology:

Time Dimensions: Longitudinal/panel/cohort
Data have been collected regularly from 1990 onwards. The UKDA datasets comprise data from 1990-2003.
Sampling Procedures: No sampling (total universe); Quasi-random (eg random walk) sample
Method of Data Collection: Postal survey; Self-completion; Educational measurements; Clinical measurements; Physical measurements; Compilation or synthesis of existing material
Data Sources: Child height data were transcribed from the Avon Health Authority area Child Health Database.
Weighting: No weighting used

Language(s) of Written Materials:

Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English

Access:

Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required and standard conditions of use apply. The depositor may be informed about usage. See terms and conditions for further information.
Availability: ESDS Longitudinal, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: longitudinal@esds.ac.uk

Date of First Release:

8 June 2009

Copyright:

Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

File last updated:

31 October 2011