Millennium Cohort Study: Fourth Survey, Physical Activity Data, 2008

<i>MCS4 Physical Activity Data, 2008</i><br>
The <i>MCS4 Physical Activity Data</i> study surveyed levels and patterns of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) among the MCS cohort. Children who took part in MCS4 (around age 7), were assessed using accelerometers issued to consenting child participants. These measurements were obtained primarily to understand the determinants and consequences of children's PA and SB in the context of the longitudinal biological, social, psychological, behavioural and environmental information collected earlier and to be collected subsequently at MCS home visits. Subsequently, an additional study investigating seasonal variation in levels and patterns of PA and SB was carried out in a sample of MCS children who had participated in the main accelerometer study during winter 2008/09. Repeat accelerometer measurements were obtained from these children during each of the three subsequent seasons during a single calendar year. For further information see the documentation and the main MCS4 survey, held at the UK Data Archive under SN 6411.<br>
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<i>Background</i>:<br>
The original objectives of the first MCS survey, as laid down in the proposal to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in March 2000, were:<ul><li>to chart the initial conditions of social, economic and health advantages and disadvantages facing children born at the start of the 21st century, capturing information that the research community of the future will require</li><li>to provide a basis for comparing patterns of development with the preceding cohorts (the <i>National Child Development Study</i>, held at the UK Data Archive under GN 33004, and the <i>1970 Birth Cohort Study</i>, held under GN 33229)</li><li>to collect information on previously neglected topics, such as fathers' involvement in children's care and development</li><li>to focus on parents as the most immediate elements of the children's 'background', charting their experience as mothers and fathers of newborn babies in the year 2000, recording how they (and any other children in the family) adapted to the newcomer, and what their aspirations for her/his future may be</li><li>to emphasise intergenerational links including those back to the parents' own childhood</li><li>to investigate the wider social ecology of the family, including social networks, civic engagement and community facilities and services, splicing in geo-coded data when available</li></ul>Additional objectives subsequently included for MCS were:<ul><li>to provide control cases for the national evaluation of Sure Start (a government programme intended to alleviate child poverty and social exclusion)</li><li>to provide samples of adequate size to analyse and compare the smaller countries of the United Kingdom</li></ul>The first sweep (MCS1) interviewed both mothers and (where resident) fathers (or father-figures) of infants included in the sample when the babies were nine months old, and the second sweep (MCS2) was carried out with the same respondents when the children were three years of age. The third sweep (MCS3) was conducted in 2006, when the children were aged five years old, the fourth sweep (MCS4) in 2008, when they were seven years old, and the fifth sweep (MCS5) in 2012-2013, when they were eleven years old. The sixth sweep (MCS6) was conducted in 2015 and 2016, when the children were 14 years old.<br>
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<i>Sub-sample studies</i>:<br>
Some studies based on sub-samples of MCS have also been conducted, including a study of MCS respondent mothers who had received assisted fertility treatment, conducted in 2003 (see SN 5559). Also, birth registration and maternity hospital episodes for the MCS respondents are held as a separate dataset (see SN 5614).<br>
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<i>Weighting</i>:<br>
Users should note that the weighting section in the 'Guide to the Datasets' document recommends analysis in Stata, as SPSS is not currently able to weight the data using the survey design factors. The depositor is working on a solution for SPSS, but this is not yet available. A Stata version of the dataset is available for download by registered users, alongside the SPSS and tab-delimited versions.<br>
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<i>MCS web pages</i>:<br>
Further information about the MCS can be found on the <a href="http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk" title="Centre for Longitudinal Studies" target="_blank">Centre for Longitudinal Studies</a> website.<br>
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<i>How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:</i><br>
A useful overview of the governance routes for applying for genetic and bio-medical sample data, which are not available through the UK Data Service, can be found at <a href="http://www.metadac.ac.uk/data-access-through-metadac/" title="Governance of data and sample access">Governance of data and sample access</a> on the METADAC (Managing Ethico-social, Technical and Administrative issues in Data Access) website.<br>
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