Australian Family Project, 1986

The Australian Family Project was established in 1985 to investigate the social, demographic and economic forces that have been changing the shape and nature of the Australian family over the last generation. To this end, a national survey program was initiated in 1986 to collect data which would facilitate this investigation. There are two waves of this survey: the survey of women aged 20 to 59 years, which was the first component of the national survey program; and the companion survey of men aged 20 to 59 years. The core of the women's questionnaire is a collection of detailed life histories, on marital unions, childbearing and children, contraception, work history and residential mobility. The use of a life history chart throughout the interview enabled the accurate recording of key events and changes in status, regardless of the number of events or changes for each respondent. Background information included date and country of birth; arrival in Australia; parents' country of birth, schooling; father's occupation; mother's age at marriage and subsequent work history; and details on respondent's childhood at age 14, such as place of residence and religious upbringing. Questions were also asked on respondent's schooling, both secondary and post-secondary, and qualifications gained. Further sections of the questionnaire dealt with marital unions: dates of commencement, background details of spouse, and attitudes to remarriage; childbearing and children: information such as age, sex, education and leaving home for each child, as well as responses to questions on numbers and timing of children; and contraception and health. Respondent's work history covered questions on all periods of work, whether full-time or part-time, changes to working hours, reasons for stopping and starting work, earnings and satisfaction with current job. The section on residential history included timing of moves, housing and rental issues, mortgages and financing and house acquisition. Questions were also asked on supplementary sources of income, division of household tasks and financial decision making. The interview concluded with a set of questions on the relative ease or difficulty of setting up a home and bringing up a family today, compared with twenty years ago, and more specific questions on decision making about the timing of first marriage and first birth. The men's questionnaire began with questions seeking attitudes towards sex roles within the family and towards home ownership. Other questions sought details of all marriages and cohabiting relationships and of the current divisions of labour and decision making within the home. Fertility histories and plans were then canvassed, followed by the 'leaving home' experience. The next section asked about activity in the housing market, after which details of labour force activity (past and current), income and position with respect to superannuation were sought. The final questions assessed current financial situation, personal wellbeing, perceptions of the relative ease or difficulty of raising a family and buying a home nowadays compared to a generation ago, and perceptions of the circumstances and decision making processes surrounding the transitions to marriage and parenthood. Background variables covering personal and parental characteristics include: age, education level, qualifications obtained, country of birth and religious observance. Also covered are respondent's childhood family circumstances and religious denomination, father's employment circumstances when respondent was aged 14, and parents' marital status. At ADA the data for the Australian Family Project are held in three files: Women's survey (File f), Men's survey (File m) and Household data (File hh).