Documentation Variable List  Keywords  Publications  Related Studies

Title:
Young Lives: an International Study of Childhood Poverty: Rounds 1 and 2, 2002-2006

Subject Categories:
International micro data - Major studies
General - Health
Social indicators and quality of life - Society and culture
Child development and child rearing - Social stratification and groupings
Equality and inequality - Social stratification and groupings
Family life and marriage - Social stratification and groupings
Youth - Social stratification and groupings

Depositor(s):
Garlick, C., University of Reading. Statistical Services Centre
Yates, A., University of Oxford. Department of International Development

Principal Investigator(s):
Boyden, J., University of Oxford. Department of International Development
Huttly, S., London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Jones, N., Save the Children

Sponsor(s):
Department for International Development

Grant Number:
R8358

Other Acknowledgements:
The Statistical Services Centre, University of Reading, were responsible for overall data management in Round 1. For Round 2, data management was coordinated by Anne Yates of the Young Lives team based at the University of Oxford's Department of International Development.

The following organisations collected data for Round 1: Department of Economics, University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Ethiopian Development Research Institute, Addis Ababa; Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), India; Grupo De Analisis Para El Desarroll (GRADE), Peru; Instituto de Investigacion (IIN), Peru; Research and Training Centre for Community Development (RTCCD), Vietnam; and the General Statistical Office, Government of Vietnam.

The following organisations collected data for Round 2: Ethiopian Development Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; CESS, India; GRADE, Peru; IIN, Peru; Centre for Analysis and Forecast, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences (CAF-VASS), Vietnam; General Statistical Office, Government of Vietnam.

Further information about research partners for the survey can be found on the Young Lives web site.

Acknowledgement:
The depositor has supplied the following text for users as an example of the acknowledgement that should be used in publications resulting from use of the Young Lives study:

“The data used in this publication come from Young Lives, a 15-year survey investigating the changing nature of childhood poverty in Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh), Peru and Vietnam, based at the University of Oxford (www.younglives.org.uk). Young Lives is core funded by the UK Department for International Development. The views expressed here are those of the author(s). They are not necessarily those of the Young Lives project, the University of Oxford, DFID or other funders.”

Abstract:
The Young Lives survey is an innovative long-term project investigating the changing nature of childhood poverty in four developing countries. The purpose of the project is to improve understanding of the causes and consequences of childhood poverty and examine how policies affect children's well-being, in order to inform the development of future policy and to target child welfare interventions more effectively.

The objectives of the study are to provide good quality long-term data about the lives of children living in poverty, trace linkages between key policy changes and child welfare, and inform and respond to the needs of policy makers, planners and other stakeholders. Research activities of the project include the collection of data on a set of child welfare outcomes and their determinants and the monitoring of changes in policy, in order to explore the links between the policy environment and outcomes for children.

The study is being conducted in Ethiopia, India (in the Andhra Pradesh state), Peru and Vietnam. These countries were selected because they reflect a range of cultural, geographical and social contexts and experience differing issues facing the developing world; high debt burden, emergence from conflict, and vulnerability to environmental conditions such as drought and flood.

The Young Lives study aims to track the lives of 12,000 children over a 15 year period. This is the time-frame set by the UN to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. Round 1 of the study followed 2,000 children (aged approximately one-year-old in 2002) and their households, from both urban and rural communities, in each of the four countries (8,000 children in total). Data were also collected for the baseline survey from 1,000 children aged eight-years-old in each country, in order to provide a basis for comparison with the younger children when they reach that age. Round 2 of the study returned to the same children who were aged one-year-old in Round 1 when they were aged approximately five-years-old, and to the children aged eight-years-old in Round 1 when they were approximately twelve-years-old. It is envisaged that subsequent survey waves will take place once every three to four years. The younger children are being tracked from infancy to their mid-teens and the older children through into adulthood, when some will become parents themselves.

Further information about the survey, including publications, can be downloaded from the Young Lives web site.

For the third edition (August 2009), two of the Peru data files were updated. Firstly, a new version of file 'PEChildLevel5YrOld', which includes corrections to variables language1, language2, source, score_ppvt, score_cog, rscore_cog, and rscorelang_ppvt. Secondly, a new version of file 'PEChildQuest12YrOld', which includes corrections to variables language1, language2, source, score_ppvt, rscorelang_ppvt, score_math, and rscorelang_math. Users are advised to download the new versions of these files. For a full edition history, see READ file (link below).


Main Topics:
Round 1:
This dataset comprises the baseline household surveys for the main sample of one-year-old and eight-year-old children. For each country, two files are included at the household and child level for both ages. The data for the older children also include information from the child questionnaire. In addition, several files are included at lower levels (i.e. where there are several records per household). These include the household roster and activity schedules for livelihoods.

Topics covered include: household composition; child health; caregiver background; livelihoods; economic changes; socio-economic status; social capital and anthropometry. In addition, the information gathered for younger children also includes details from the caregiver on pregnancy, delivery, breastfeeding, mental health, and child care. Topics specific to the older eight-year-olds survey include child's schooling and work; child mental health (not available for Peru or Ethiopia), and child development.

Round 2:
This dataset comprises the data from the five-year-olds and twelve-year-olds household surveys and the twelve-year-olds child survey carried out in 2006. For each of the four countries the dataset contains two files at the household/child level (one for the five-year-olds survey and one for the twelve-year-olds survey). The household/child level data file for the twelve-year-olds survey also includes data from the child questionnaire. In addition there are several files at lower levels (i.e. where there are several records per household). These include the household roster and activity schedules for livelihoods.

Topics covered in the dataset include: parental background; household education; livelihoods and asset framework; household food and non-food consumption and expenditure; social capital, economic changes and recent life history; socio-economic status; child care, education and activities; child health; anthropometry; caregivers perceptions and attitudes; school and activities, child time use; social networks, social skills and social support; feelings and attitudes; parents and household issues; child development; perception of the future, environment and household wealth.

Both Round 1 and 2 also include calculated indices such as a wealth index, various social capital scores, and mental health scores, which are all detailed in the documentation. The SPSS syntax code files that show methods of calculation for the composite indices are also included in the dataset.

Standard Measures:
Child development for the eight-year-olds was measured through use of:
Ravens, J.C. (1988) Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, Oxford: Harcourt Assessment.

Coverage:
Time Period Covered: This varies between questions. Some of the data asks for a review of the last 24 hours/week/month/12 months/3 years etc, while other questions ask about the time between Round 1 and Round 2.
Dates of Fieldwork: Round 1: 2002 Round 2: 2006
Country: Ethiopia; India; Peru; Vietnam
Geography: Andhra Pradesh
Spatial Units: Countries; data for India cover only Andhra Pradesh
Observation Units: Individuals; Families/households
Kind of Data: Numeric data; Alpha/numeric data; Individual (micro) level

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:Cross-national; Subnational
Population:Children aged approximately one-year-old and their households, and children aged eight-years-old and their households, in Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh), Peru and Vietnam, in 2002. Round 2 of the study re-interviewed these children in 2006 when they are aged approximately five-years-old and twelve-years-old respectively. See documentation for details of the exact regions covered in each country.

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Longitudinal/panel/cohort
It is intended that data will be collected once every three or four years.
Sampling Procedures: Purposive selection/case studies
See documentation for details.
Number of Units: Round 1: Ethiopia: 1,999 (one-year-olds), 1,000 (eight-year-olds); India: 2,011 (one-year-olds), 1,008 (eight-year-olds); Peru: 2,052 (one-year-olds), 714 (eight-year-olds); Vietnam: 2,000 (one-year-olds), 1,000 (eight-year-olds)
Round 2: Ethiopia: 1,912 (five-year-olds), 980 (twelve-year-olds); India: 1,950 (five-year-olds), 994 (twelve-year-olds); Peru: 1,963 (five-year-olds), 685 (twelve-year-olds); Vietnam: 1,970 (five-year-olds), 990 (twelve-year-olds)
Method of Data Collection: Face-to-face interview
Weighting: No weighting used.

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English; some consent forms and fieldwork instructions documents are also provided in the languages of the countries concerned.

Access:
Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required and standard conditions of use apply. The depositor may be informed about usage. See terms and conditions for further information.
Availability: ESDS International, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: international@esds.ac.uk

Date of Release:
First Edition: 13 February 2006
Latest Edition: 18 August 2009 ( 3rd Edition )

Copyright:
Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queens Printer for Scotland

READ File

Download Acrobat PDF Reader