British cohort studies garner attention from world media

The British cohort studies managed by CLS have attracted a huge amount of attention from the world press over the past week. Research from two of the centre’s three studies – the National Child Development Study (NCDS) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) – has been covered by media from as far afield as America, Australia and Pakistan.

NCDS-based research conducted by the RAND Corporation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies has made a particular impact internationally. The study found that childhood psychological problems have a long-term economic and social impact. America’s TIME magazine and Australia’s ABC linked the findings to similar studies in their own countries that indicated that the effects of childhood psychological illness on adults’ income are greater than those of physical illness.

Another study by Oxford University researcher Mark Taylor also received extensive coverage both at home and abroad. The research drew its findings from BCS70 data, and suggested that teenagers who read for pleasure are more likely to get good jobs. Teenagers who only played computer games in their free time were less likely to go to university, but this didn’t seem to hurt their chances of being in a professional or managerial job as an adult.

Below is a selection of recent articles from around the globe that are based on these studies.

ABC (Australia): ‘Child’s mental health affects adult life’

FRANCE 24 (France): ‘Youth psychological problems persist: study’

TIME magazine (America): ‘Psychological problems in childhood affect earning power and relationships later’

The Age (Australia): ‘Gamers less likely to study at uni’

DAWN.com (Pakistan): ‘Computer gamers less likely to go to university: study’

Herald.ie (Ireland): ‘Why books beat sport for career success’