News and opinion

Welcome to our news and blogs section. Here you’ll find the latest developments and insights from across our longitudinal studies.

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News

Poorest children have worse health and educational outcomes in adolescence

24 March 2023

Generation Z children born into the poorest fifth of families in the UK are 12 times more likely to experience a raft of poor health and educational outcomes by the age of 17 compared to more affluent peers, finds a new report led by UCL researchers.

News

Eliminating sexual violence could reduce teenage mental ill health

5 October 2022

The prevalence of serious mental health problems among 17-year-olds could drop by as much as 16.8% for girls and 8.4% for boys if they were not subjected to sexual violence, such as sexual assault and harassment, according to estimates from UCL researchers.

News

Inequalities in early child development remained stubbornly high through the 2010s

23 June 2022

Inequalities in the early cognitive, social and emotional development of children in the UK, which are so important in shaping later life outcomes, have changed little between those born in the early 2000s and those born in the early 2010s. Researchers from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies […]

News

One in 11 males have carried or used a weapon at age 17

30 June 2021

At age 17, 9% of males have carried or used a weapon, with one in four of those involved in this form of serious offending reporting they are gang members, according to UCL researchers.

Initial findings from the Millennium Cohort Study Age 17 Sweep

8 March 2021

Our initial findings from the Millennium Cohort Study Age 17 Sweep cover a range of themes, including mental health, obesity, substance use and antisocial behaviours.

News

10% of teenagers have tried hard drugs by age 17

10 February 2021

Almost a third of 17-year-olds have tried cannabis and one in 10 have tried harder drugs, such as cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, with similar rates of experimentation regardless of parents’ education level, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

News

Poorer teens at substantially greater risk of obesity

17 December 2020

More than one third of UK teenagers are starting adult life with excess weight (either overweight or obese), and rates are even higher among the poorest, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. 

News

High levels of serious mental health difficulties among 17-year-olds

20 November 2020

16% of teenagers report high levels of psychological distress at age 17, finds a new study led by UCL researchers based on data collected in 2018-19. The findings also show 24% of young people report self-harming and 7% report self-harming with suicidal intent by age 17.

The Age 17 Sweep – Millennium Cohort Study Webinar

13 November 2020

Data from the age 17 Sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) are now available to download from the UK Data Service. This introductory webinar looked at what was new in the this survey. Our researchers answered questions from data users.  

News

Millennium Cohort Study age 17 data now available

2 October 2020

The data cover a comprehensive range of topics, including education and training, transitions to the job market, mental health and wellbeing, physical development, personality, identity, attitudes and expectations, engagement in risky behaviours, and social media activity.

Harmonising mental health measurements from the British birth cohorts

23 April 2019

At this event, organised by CLOSER, we will present results on the measurement properties of mental health measures, before and after harmonising these so that they can be compared across time and study.

Train the trainer: a workshop to explore longitudinal data to inform your teaching in quantitative social science subjects

23 April 2019

CLS are pleased to be presenting at this CLOSER workshop aimed at lecturers. This free one-day workshop will give an overview of longitudinal data available to lecturers who teach and supervise students in quantitative social science subjects.

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Ryan Bradshaw
Senior Communications Officer

Phone: 020 7612 6516
Email: r.bradshaw@ucl.ac.uk

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