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...

Detailed and current information on the social distribution of health across gradients of socioeconomic disadvantage and geographic remoteness in Australia is limited. Quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) is a useful summary measure of population health, combining mortality and health-related quality of life. This cross-sectional study estimates QALE by year age for the Australian population across sex, socioeconomic disadvantage, and remoteness groups, providing a baseline for equity-focu...

Mental health disorders are concerningly high among young people, with one in five beginning in early childhood. This study examined developmental trajectories of internalising and externalising symptoms in young Australians and identified social determinants that best predict these psychiatric symptom trajectories. Data from 5514 children in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analysed. Group-based trajectory modelling identified symptom trajectories using Strengths and Diffic...

During 2008 and 2009, the Australian Government increased the tax on ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages by 70% to discourage drinking among adolescents. To evaluate the tax, we use the difference-in-difference and comparative interrupted time series estimators, where age is used to define the control and treatment groups. This methodology is applied to the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. We show that the tax did not affect the alcohol consumption of those aged under ...

Background: Studies from Europe and the USA indicate that Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities experience higher rates of hearing loss. There are no data concerning Australia. Given that approximately one in four Australians has a CALD background, it is crucial to identify possible inequalities in hearing loss among Australians from CALD communities and identify factors that contribute to any inequalities. Objectives: The study aimed to (1) assess the prevalence of hearin...

Gender inequalities in Australia have steadily declined, but remain particularly visible in the labour market. Women in Australia have lower employment rates, hourly wages and hours worked than their male counterparts. Childbirth is particularly disruptive for their labour market experience. Reforms to the tax and benefits system, childcare and parental leave arrangements are all needed to reduce the barriers to female labour participation of mothers. At the same time, ensuring the ad...

Background and objectives: Overseas research suggested higher rates of hearing loss among children from migrant backgrounds, but there are no data in the Australian context which consists about 50% of the population. So, there is a compelling need to investigate whether inequalities in hearing loss is present among Australian children of migrant communities and what factors contribute to any observed inequalities. Rationale: The study provides quantitative evidence for hearing inequalities ...

Background: Studies from Europe and the USA indicate that Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities experience higher rates of hearing loss. There are no data concerning Australia. Given that approximately one in four Australians has a CALD background, it is crucial to identify possible inequalities in hearing loss among Australians from CALD communities and identify factors that contribute to any inequalities. Objectives: The study aimed to (1) assess the prevalence of hearin...

This is the first paper that studies the effects of including non-monetary income from housing (imputed rent) in the measure of income on intergenerational income mobility. Using national panel data sets for Australia, the United States and Germany, it is shown that only Australian society becomes 22% less mobile as measured by an intergenerational rank correlation. This decrease is also confirmed using the intergenerational transition matrices. As a result, cross-regional comparisons of inte...

Australia is a low tax country, with increasing demands for government spending. There is bipartisan support for increasing spending in areas such as defence, healthcare, and housing. At the same time, both politicians and pundits make frequent calls to reduce the budget deficit. This can be achieved by increasing taxation. Australia has a long history of taxing wealth lightly: it taxes capital gains concessionally; it does not have a wealth tax; nor does it have an inheritance tax. ...

Background The population-based classification of asthma severity is varied and needs further classification. This study identified clusters of asthma and related comorbidities of Australian children aged 12–13 years; determined health outcome differences among clusters; and investigated the associations between maternal asthma and other health conditions during pregnancy and the children’s clustered groups. Methods Participants were 1777 children in the birth cohort of the Longitudinal ...