Executive summary
This report presents an analysis of the data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to explore the wellbeing of 5,107 children in the infant cohort of the study and the 4,983 children, aged 4 to 5 years, in the child cohort. Wave 1 of LSAC includes measures of multiple aspects of children's early development. These developmental measures are summarised in the LSAC Outcome Index, a composite measure which includes an overall index as well as three separate domain scores, tapping physical development, social and emotional functioning, and learning and cognitive development.
This report explores five specific aspects of infants' and children's experiences, exposures and environments in relation to their Outcome Index scores:
- key sociodemographic characteristics covering the child, mother, family and neighbourhood
- non-parental care experiences
- child health—prenatal and postnatal experiences and exposures
- maternal physical and mental health
- the early educational experiences of the child cohort in the home and out-of-home contexts.
This executive summary provides an overview of key emergent themes of the analyses.
Most children are doing well and few have pervasive difficulties
- Most of the children in both cohorts were making good developmental progress. Around two-thirds of infants and children did not score below the negative cut-off (that is, in the bottom 15 per cent of the distribution) on any of the three domains, and around one-quarter of the children in both cohorts were below the negative cut-off on only one domain.
- The findings revealed that development does not occur uniformly across all domains at these ages. Less than 1 per cent of infants and less than 2 per cent of children showed pervasive developmental difficulties, being below the cut-off on all three domains.
The findings highlight the dangers in drawing conclusions about children's developmental status from information on limited aspects of their early development.
Sociodemographic factors are more strongly related to child than infant developmental outcomes
- In the infant cohort, child, family and neighbourhood characteristics had minor associations with outcomes. This may in part reflect less sensitivity in the Outcome Index itself for this age group, but also the fact that contextual factors impact on children's development in a cumulative process over time.
- Girls in the child cohort consistently had more positive outcomes than boys. This well-replicated finding is thought to involve both biological dispositions and differences in parenting practices and societal expectations for boys and girls. Policy consideration of the implications of these sex differences for early childhood services may be warranted.
- In the child cohort, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had poorer outcomes in all but the physical domain; and children in families where a language other than English was spoken tended to have poorer outcomes. These data suggest that these children are encountering environmental circumstances which are not optimally supporting their development. An important task will be to track these children's trajectories in future waves of LSAC.
- Children in the child cohort were more likely to have positive outcomes in the context of higher maternal education, higher family income, higher parental occupational status, and in the absence of financial stress.
- Family type (single or two-parent family) and neighbourhood disadvantage did not make unique contributions to child outcomes for the child cohort, suggesting that their influence is mediated through family variables such as income, financial stress and family functioning.
These data provide clear evidence of a socioeconomic gradient, with poorer outcomes in the context of greater family disadvantage.
Different forms of non-parental care and early education programs have differential effects on developmental outcomes
- Children in the infant cohort participating in group-based child care programs were at most risk for impaired physical outcomes in the first year, probably due to exposure to infectious diseases. Later waves of LSAC will be very valuable in determining the longer-term implications of this.
- Children in the infant cohort who experienced only informal care tended to have higher learning scores than infants not in care. Since most of this care was provided by grandparents, this finding suggests the value of further research on the influences of extended family as care givers.
- Children in the child cohort attending pre-Year 1 early education programs had higher overall and learning outcomes than children who had only informal care arrangements. These results highlight the possible beneficial effects of attendance at programs with more strongly focused educational curricula.
Child health variables affect developmental outcomes
- While most mothers had breastfed their children, few mothers had met the current National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months. The majority of the children had diets that did not meet nutritional guidelines and many preferred less physical activities. These findings suggest the need for ongoing public health initiatives regarding breastfeeding and nutrition.
- Many child health variables were associated with child social–emotional and learning outcomes, emphasising the importance of children's health to all aspects of their functioning and wellbeing.
Breastfeeding is associated with better health in both cohorts
- Being breastfed for more than six months reduced the risk of wheeze in the infant cohort compared to no breastfeeding. Mothers' daily intake for fruit and vegetables, child low birth weight and maternal smoking also predicted infant wheeze.
- Asthma was strongly predicted by the duration of breastfeeding in the child cohort.
Maternal physical and mental health affects child outcomes
- Mothers of LSAC children were broadly representative of all Australian mothers on parameters such as smoking and alcohol in pregnancy, mental health status, and prevalence of overweight and obesity.
- Current maternal general health, serious psychological distress and enjoyment of physical activity were related to children's outcomes, especially in the physical and social–emotional domains of the Outcome Index.
Family learning environments are strongly associated with children's learning outcomes
- For the child cohort, children's overall and learning outcomes were associated with family factors such as being read to by a family member, the number of children's books in the home, and the child's access to a computer at home.
- Overall Outcome Index scores tended to decrease as time spent watching television increased.
These findings highlight the significance of a home environment which encourages and supports early learning, and imply an important role for parenting education.
Overall implications: children's environments do matter
- The pattern of results supports an ecological model of child development in which the child's own attributes, along with their family and community context, exert influence on developmental trajectories. While the effects were weaker for the infant cohort, this is likely due to the smaller amount of time such influences had to impact on development. The findings underscore the importance of using a broad conceptual framework when trying to understand the complex nature of children's development.
- The findings indicate that most children are faring well. However, a considerable number of children do show poorer developmental outcomes, and the distribution of these children is not evenly spread across the Australian population. Policy initiatives should ensure that there are effective systems to ensure family, community and service-based support for parenting and early child development across all families, particularly those encountering disadvantage and distress. Early intervention to support optimal outcomes for children in the early years is essential.