Briefings and impact

Briefing papers

Mental health during lockdown: evidence from four generations – initial findings from COVID-19 survey

Author: Morag Henderson, Emla Fitzsimons, George Ploubidis, Marcus Richards and Praveetha Patalay

This briefing paper reports on the mental health of four different generations of people in Britain in May 2020, amid the national lockdown.

Podcasts

Podcast series: 50 Years of Life in Britain – Episode 6

Our last episode of the series examines how BCS70 and our study members have been faring during the pandemic and looks to the future of longitudinal research. We find out more about the COVID-19 survey, sent to over 50,000 participants in five of Britain’s cohort studies, including BCS70, and we speak to study participants about their experiences of lockdown. We also find out more about the benefits of launching a new cohort study in the coming years.

Briefing papers

Parental involvement in home schooling and developmental play during lockdown – initial findings from COVID-19 survey

Author: Aase Villadsen, Gabriella Conti, and Emla Fitzsimons

This briefing, based on the COVID-19 Survey in Five National Longitudinal Studies, looks at the time parents spent on home schooling and doing other interactive activities with their children during the nationwide lockdown, in May 2020. We examine differences between parental involvement based on gender, socioeconomic background, and other characteristics and circumstances.

Briefing papers

Finances and employment during lockdown – initial findings from COVID-19 survey

Author: Bozena Wielgoszewska, Francis Green and Alissa Goodman

This briefing, based on the COVID-19 Survey in Five National Longitudinal Studies, looks at the scale of the changes in employment and the unequal effects of the pandemic on household finances, as perceived by the four different generations who took part in the survey.

Podcasts

Podcast series: 50 Years of Life in Britain – Episode 5

In this episode, we move into the 2010s to find out how our study members were faring in their forties. We learn how BCS70 cast light on increasing rates of mental ill-health among men, and find out more about the most recent biomedical survey where participants were given a health MOT. We also chat to one of our in-house study detectives about the role they play tracing long lost study participants.

Podcasts

Podcast series: 50 Years of Life in Britain – Episode 4

In this fourth episode, we move into the new millennium, when the study enjoyed a golden decade. With BCS70 greatly valued by scientists and policymakers, the study was funded to meet participants on three occasions and was regularly cited by New Labour in government policy. With this new-found recognition, researchers across the globe started using BCS70 in conjunction with other birth cohort studies to see how members of Generation X were faring compared to other generations. We also speak to study participants about their careers and lives in their thirties.

Podcasts

Podcast series: 50 Years of Life in Britain – Episode 3

In this third episode, we move into the 1990s to find out how the study and its staff survived the lean years of the 80s and early 90s, and managed to get back in contact with study participants after a 10 year gap. We learn about the study’s stark findings on adults’ numeracy and literacy, which led to the government’s Skills for Life adult learning programme. We also ask study participants what it was like to join the study again as adults and find out how they were getting on in the big wide world after the boom and bust years.

Podcasts

Podcast series: 50 Years of Life in Britain – Episode 2

In this second episode, we move into the 1980s to find out how Neville Butler kept the 1970 British Cohort Study going during a decade of austerity. We learn about the benefits of reading for pleasure for children’s English and maths skills. We also ask study participants about their teenage years and find out what it was like sharing their 19th birthday with 4,000 other people at Alton Towers.

Podcasts

Podcast series: 50 Years of Life in Britain – Episode 1

Join us as we celebrate 50 years of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) with a new podcast series. Over the course of six weeks, ‘50 Years of Life in Britain’ explores the contribution BCS70 participants have made to improving British science and society. The six-part series tells their story, and charts the first five decades of the study. In our first episode, we explore the first decade of BCS70 and the impact of its early years research on policy many years later.

Videos

Celebrating the first 60 years of the National Child Development Study

This short film takes a look back at the first 60 years of NCDS and highlights just some of the important discoveries that have been made.