Maxwell Smith

New South Wales Child Development Study (NSW-CDS): an Australian multiagency, multigenerational, longitudinal record linkage study

Purpose The initial aim of this multiagency, multigenerational record linkage study is to identify childhood profiles of developmental vulnerability and resilience, and to identify the determinants of these profiles. The eventual aim is to identify risk and protective factors for later childhood-onset and adolescent-onset mental health problems, and other adverse social outcomes, using subsequent waves of record linkage. The research will assist in informing the development of public policy and intervention guidelines to help prevent or mitigate adverse long-term health and social outcomes. Participants The study comprises a population cohort of 87 026 children in the Australian State of New South Wales (NSW). The cohort was defined by entry into the first year of full-time schooling in NSW in 2009, at which time class teachers completed the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) on each child (with 99.7% coverage in NSW). The AEDC data have been linked to the childrens birth, health, school and child protection records for the period from birth to school entry, and to the health and criminal records of their parents, as well as mortality databases. Findings to date Descriptive data summarising sex, geographic and socioeconomic distributions, and linkage rates for the various administrative databases are presented. Child data are summarised, and the mental health and criminal records data of the childrens parents are provided. Future plans In 2015, at age 11 years, a self-report mental health survey was administered to the cohort in collaboration with government, independent and Catholic primary school sectors. A second record linkage, spanning birth to age 11 years, will be undertaken to link this survey data with the aforementioned administrative databases. This will enable a further identification of putative risk and protective factors for adverse mental health and other outcomes in adolescence, which can then be tested in subsequent record linkages.

The 2015 Middle Childhood Survey (MCS) of mental health and well-being at age 11 years in an Australian population cohort

Purpose The Middle Childhood Survey (MCS) was designed as a computerised self-report assessment of children’s mental health and well-being at approximately 11 years of age, conducted with a population cohort of 87 026 children being studied longitudinally within the New South Wales (NSW) Child Development Study. Participants School Principals provided written consent for teachers to administer the MCS in class to year 6 students at 829 NSW schools (35.0% of eligible schools). Parent or child opt-outs from participation were received for 4.3% of children, and MCS data obtained from 27 808 children (mean age 11.5 years, SD 0.5; 49.5% female), representing 85.9% of students at participating schools. Findings to date Demographic characteristics of participating schools and children are representative of the NSW population. Children completed items measuring Social Integration, Prosocial Behaviour, Peer Relationship Problems, Supportive Relationships (at Home, School and in the Community), Empathy, Emotional Symptoms, Conduct Problems, Aggression, Attention, Inhibitory Control, Hyperactivity-Inattention, Total Difficulties (internalising and externalising psychopathology), Perceptual Sensitivity, Psychotic-Like Experiences, Personality, Self-esteem, Daytime Sleepiness and Connection to Nature. Distributions of responses on each item and construct demarcate competencies and vulnerabilities within the population: most children report mental health and well-being, but the population distribution spanned the full range of possible scores on every construct. Future plans Multiagency, intergenerational linkage of the MCS data with health, education, child protection, justice and early childhood development records took place late in 2016. Linked data were used to elucidate patterns of risk and protection across early and middle child development, and these data will provide a foundation for future record linkages in the cohort that will track mental and physical health, social and educational/occupational outcomes into adolescence and early adulthood.

Widening participation in medicine? New insights from school students’ aspirations

Students from lower socio‐economic status backgrounds continue to be under‐represented in medical education. Although various initiatives have been implemented by universities to widen participation, their effectiveness and their timing remain contentious. Prior studies have primarily focused on students already on a medical pathway, with little analytical attention given to the aspirations of primary and secondary school‐aged students. The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of students who express early interest in medicine and ascertain the degree to which diversification of the future medical student cohort is indicated.

When higher education is possible but not desirable: Widening participation and the aspirations of Australian Indigenous school students

Indigenous students remain vastly under-represented within higher education in Australia. While aspirations have been a key focus of the widening participation agenda, the aspirations of Indigenous students have largely been overlooked. Drawing on survey data collected as part of a mixed methods longitudinal study conducted with students in Years 3 to 12 (n = 6492) from New South Wales government schools, this study investigated the occupational and educational aspirations of 432 Indigenous school students. While we found that Indigenous and non-Indigenous students held similar occupational aspirations, Indigenous students were much less likely to aspire to attend university. Most starkly, high-achieving Indigenous students were significantly less likely to aspire to university than their high-achieving non-Indigenous peers. Given this evidence, we argue that both the possibility and desirability of higher education must be addressed if the widening participation agenda is to meet equity targets for Indigenous students.

Cohort Profile: The New South Wales Child Development Study (NSW-CDS)—Wave 2 (child age 13 years)

The New South Wales Child Development Study (NSW-CDS) was established to enable a life course epidemiological approach to identifying risk and protective factors for childhood and adolescent-onset mental health problems, and other adverse outcomes (e.g. educational underachievement, welfare dependence, criminality). The study methodology entails repeated waves of record linkage for a population of Australian children in the state of NSW, funded by competitive funding awards (see Funding), and conducted in partnership with multiple NSW government departments. Table 1 summarizes the study phases (waves of record linkage) and measurements...

Validation of a two-factor model of the Best Start Kindergarten Assessment of literacy and numeracy:

This study examined the structure of the Best Start Kindergarten Assessment (Best Start) of literacy and numeracy, with the aim of confirming a two-factor measure of attainment at school entry comparable in structure to standardised measures of literacy and numeracy administered in later school years. Administrative data from the 2009 Best Start were obtained from the New South Wales Department of Education for 37,734 children aged ∼5 years (i.e. as they entered their first year of compulsory schooling) as part of the New South Wales Child Development Study. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on the 11 Best Start scales using a split half methodology, with the findings supporting a two-factor solution underpinning literacy and numeracy attainment. The availability of this two-factor Best Start measure of literacy and numeracy at school entry, which precedes the repeated national assessments conducted later in the primary and high school years, facilitates research to examine pathways of academic performance over time.

Short- and medium-term impacts of the Just Like You disability awareness program: A quasi-experimental comparison of alternative forms of program delivery in New South Wales’ primary schools:

Given the demands for inclusive and more equitable education, this evaluation compared two versions of the Just Like You disability awareness program delivered in primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, by Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Participants included 297 students from three schools in the Hunter region in the established program and 327 students from four schools in the Sydney region in the newer version of the program. Compared with the established program, the new format comprised a single presenter with a disability, two shorter sessions (rather than one long session) delivered at least one week apart, revised content mapped to the Australian rather than the NSW curriculum and a non-compulsory ‘homework’ activity offered at the discretion of the presenter. Longitudinal data included three successive administrations (i.e. pre-test, post-test and delayed follow-up) of the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps scale. Quasi-experimental comparisons produced intake-adjusted effect sizes favouring the newer program over the established program both in terms of post-test (d = 0.47) and delayed follow-up (d = 0.42) Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps scores. The program evaluation demonstrated the efficacy and sustainability of effects in this short-term focussed disability awareness intervention, with the newer version producing greater improvements in student attitudinal change towards people with a disability than the established version.