News and opinion

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

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News

One in seven 11-year-olds have tried alcohol according to new study

9 March 2016

Researchers from University College London (UCL) and the London School of Economics have found that nearly 14% of 11-year-olds had drunk more than a few sips of alcohol at least once. Children whose mothers drank heavily were 80% more likely to drink than children whose mothers did not drink and boys were more likely to […]

News

The Life Project: Helen Pearson’s history of the UK’s birth cohort studies

22 February 2016

Author and journalist Helen Pearson tells the story of the UK birth cohort studies in her new book, The Life Project: The Extraordinary Story of Our Ordinary Lives. The studies, which follow people born in a single point in time throughout their lives, are tracking five generations of Britons, from the post-war baby boomers to […]

News

UK-wide reading campaign encourages parents in Northern Ireland to join their children at school

3 February 2016

Charities involved in the Read On. Get On. campaign have been working with a Belfast primary school to improve pupils’ reading skills.

Does the language of 11-year-olds predict their future?

1 February 2016

This research project aimed to apply automatic content analysis tools to transcribed self-reported essays, written by study members at age 11 and age 50 in order to undertake quantitative analysis of the words and concepts expressed by respondents.

News

Timing of parental divorce influences health of children when they reach middle age

18 December 2015

Children who see their parents divorce before age 7 are more likely than those who experience it at a later age to report health problems in their fifties, according to a new study.

Millennium Cohort Study Age 17 Survey: Consultative Conference

16 November 2015

An open consultative conference was held at the UCL Institute Of Education. It was open to all interested parties, including representatives of the MCS funders.

Parental wealth in childhood and its relationship with children’s development and predictors of wealth in adult life

1 October 2015

For the first time in the history of the UK birth cohort studies, a short measure of parents’ financial assets and debts is available in childhood (Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), age 11) alongside measures of income. This research project aims to understand how parents’ long-term financial position shapes their children’s outcomes from an early stage.

Cross Cohort Research Programme

1 July 2015

Incorporating seven projects, this programme explored two key themes which are both central to government policy: healthy lifestyles and the transmission of advantage and disadvantage from one generation to the next.

News

Breaking up is hard to do – separation can harm mother’s self-confidence as a parent

29 June 2015

The mental trauma of separation can damage a mother’s belief in her parenting ability, a new study has found.

News

Majority of fathers continue to see their child after separation, study finds

29 June 2015

More than four in five fathers still have contact with their child after they have separated from their partner, according to new research. However, dads who were more involved with parenting before a break-up are more likely to play a bigger role in their child’s future upbringing. The study, conducted by the University of Kent […]

News

Can’t help falling in love? Why divorce and separation might not be that bad for your health

11 June 2015

Middle-aged men and women who have experienced the upheaval of separation, divorce and remarriage are as healthy as couples in stable marriages, according to a new study.

News

Childhood self-control linked to enhanced job prospects in adulthood

7 April 2015

A new cross-cohort study has revealed that parents who work to instil self-control in their children will see them reap the benefits throughout their working life.

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Ryan Bradshaw
Senior Communications Officer

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

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