Households are important health contexts, providing social, emotional, financial and material support, but little is known about the role of household composition in the social etiology of Indigenous health. Our research is framed by an Indigenous standpoint, using eight waves of data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children. We investigated whether household composition and change in household composition were associated with the self-reported general health of Indigenous children ...

Objective: Sport may promote academic performance through physiological and psychosocial mechanisms. We aimed to examine the association between sports participation and academic performance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Methods: Participants were from four successive waves of Australia’s Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (n ¼ 303, baseline age 5–6 y). Cumulative sports participation was regressed against academic performance from two standardised tests. Res...

Indigenous fathers play a central role in the lives of Indigenous children growing up strong. For Australia’s Indigenous people, growing strong includes the possessing heightened levels of health, education and cultural knowledge. This article focuses on Indigenous fathers and how they understand the importance of sharing cultural activities with their children. We argue that the sharing of Indigenous cultural practices, and the subsequent telling of this narrative, are key enablers for ...

To explore sleep patterns in indigenous Australian children and assess the role of sleep timing in longitudinal changes in body mass index (BMI). Latent profile analysis was conducted with the Australian Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) cohort data (wave 5), to determine distinct patterns of bed and wake timing, taking account of weekday sleep duration, weekday and weekend bedtimes, and weekday wake times. Multilevel models with a random intercept were used to investigate the ...

The present thesis explores the effects of racism on Aboriginal children’s social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) and Aboriginal pregnant women’s mental health and wellbeing. Identification of protective factors against the effects of racism on child wellbeing was also contemplated. The thesis comprises seven chapters. Chapter 1 includes a review of the literature on characteristics of the Aboriginal Australian population and the effects of racism across the lifespan. This chapter also contemp...

This paper provides a brief summary of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, a nationally representative household panel survey. It describes the survey’s key design features, provides an overview of its content, and reports on response rates and sample sizes. It also highlights a few examples of research utilising the data, discusses two challenges currently facing the study, and provides details on how to access the data.

Participation in sport and physical activity can improve academic outcomes and has been identified as a potential mechanism for addressing educational disadvantage and 'closing the gap' in Australian Indigenous communities. To explore this possibility in relation to sport and lifestyle we performed a cluster analysis on data from the Footprints in Time study (also known as the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children), using data from Waves 3-6 (2010-2013, ages 5-9 years) of this cohort stud...

This critical systematic review of Australian research literature provides insights into the aspirations of Indigenous communities to collaborate with schools in establishing local Indigenous language and cultural programmes. This systematic review investigates the body of Australian research into the cultural, social and educational impacts on those Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students who have had opportunities to engage with these school-based Indigenous languages and/or cultu...

In Australia and internationally, there are increasing calls for the use of strengths-based methodologies, to counter the dominant deficit discourse that pervades research, policy, and media relating to Indigenous health and wellbeing. However, there is an absence of literature on the practical application of strengths-based approaches to quantitative research. This paper describes and empirically evaluates a set of strategies to support strengths-based quantitative analysis. A case study abo...

We study the effects of inherited socioeconomic characteristics on markers of unhealthy bodyweight. Taking Australian microdata from 2007 to 2013, we show that approximately 4% of the variation in outcomes is determined by factors beyond an individual's control, such as their race, gender, and social class. Paternal socioeconomic status is the primary explanatory factor, with those born to more affluent fathers slightly less likely to be overweight in adulthood. Decompositions reveal that onl...

We provide an overview of the integration of refugees into the labor markets of a number of high-income countries. Discussing the ways in which refugees and economic migrants are differently selected and so might be expected to perform differently in a host country's labor market, we examine employment and wages for these groups over time after arrival. There is significant heterogeneity between host countries, but in general, refugees experience persistently worse outcomes than other migrant...

The aim of this paper is to summarise existing evidence and new analyses that shed light on the role of reconciliation in schools and early learning services in particular, and in education more broadly. We present the first analysis in Australia of the relationship between racism/discrimination and cognitive development among the Indigenous Australian population, showing a negative and statistically significant longitudinal relationship. We discuss the policy implications of these findings...

The aim of this paper is to summarise existing evidence and new analyses that shed light on the role of reconciliation in schools and early learning services in particular, and in education more broadly. We present the first analysis in Australia of the relationship between racism/discrimination and cognitive development among the Indigenous Australian population, showing a negative and statistically significant longitudinal relationship. We discuss the policy implications of these findings...

Background Schools are widely considered important agents of social control for young people. Consequently, school engagement, disengagement and the school environment are key to understanding behavioural outcomes during adolescence. This study addresses an empirical gap in longitudinal research by examining new types of school engagement, as well as school-level environmental factors. Aims To understand the role that school engagement and the school environment play in shaping trajector...

"Positive epidemiology" emphasizes strengths and assets that protect the health of populations. Positive mental health refers to a range of social and emotional capabilities that may support adaptation to challenging circumstances. We examine the role of positive mental health in promoting adolescent health during the crisis phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used four long-running Australian and UK longitudinal cohorts: Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (CATS; analyzed N = 809; Austr...

An increasing body of evidence supports associations between inflammation and mental health difficulties, but the onset and directionality of these relationships are unclear. Data sources: Barwon Infant Study (BIS; n = 500 4-year-olds) and Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; n = 1099 10-13-year-olds). Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire emotional symptoms at 4, 10-11 and 12-13 years, and circulating levels of two inflammatory biomarkers, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (...

Early childhood interventions have the potential to reduce children's developmental inequities. We aimed to estimate the extent to which household income supplements for lower-income families in early childhood could close the gap in children's developmental outcomes and parental mental health. Data were drawn from a nationally representative birth cohort, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107), which commenced in 2004 and conducted follow-ups every two years. Exposure was a...

Lower maternal education is associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and higher chronic inflammation in offspring. Childhood adversity potentially mediates these associations. We examined the extent to which addressing childhood adversity could reduce socioeconomic inequities in these outcomes. We analysed data from two early-life longitudinal cohorts: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; n=1873) and the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; n=7085). ...

Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds have poorer learning outcomes. These inequities are a significant public health issue, tracking forward to adverse health outcomes in adulthood. We examined the potential to reduce socioeconomic gaps in children's reading skills through increasing home reading and preschool attendance among disadvantaged children. We drew on data from the nationally representative birth cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107)...

Compared with most other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, information about the patterns of health service use for children from immigrant families in Australia is currently limited, and internationally, data on unmet healthcare needs are scarce. This study aims to examine the distribution of health service utilisation and unmet healthcare needs for immigrant children aged 10-11 years in Australia. We drew on data from the Longitudinal Study of Australi...

We aimed to estimate the association between exposure to adversity and inflammatory markers in mid (4 years) and late (11-12 years) childhood, and whether effects differ by type and timing of exposure. Data sources: Barwon Infant Study (BIS; N = 510 analyzed) and Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; N = 1156 analyzed). Exposures: Adversity indicators assessed from 0 to 4 (BIS) and 0-11 years (LSAC): parent legal problems, mental illness and substance abuse, anger in parenting resp...

Exposure to early adversity carries long term harmful consequences for children's health and development. This study aims to 1) estimate the prevalence of childhood adversity for Australian children from infancy to 10-11 years, and 2) document inequalities in the distribution of adversity according to socioeconomic position (SEP), Indigenous status, and ethnicity. Adversity was assessed every 2 years from 0-1 to 10-11 years in the nationally representative birth cohort of the Longitudinal Stu...

This study aimed to examine the continuity of internalising difficulties from childhood to adolescence, and determine if the influence of established risk factors on adolescent mental health differed depending on childhood internalising experiences. Data were used from the Kindergarten cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC, N = 4983, est. 2004). Internalising difficulties were measured via parent report on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at each wave...