Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is a longitudinal birth cohort study, following a nationally representative sample of over 17,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in a single week of 1970. Cohort members have been sureveyed throughout their childhood and adult lives, mapping their individual trajectories and creating a unique resource for researchers. It is one of very few longitudinal studies following people of this generation anywhere in the world.Since 1970, cohort members have been surveyed at ages 5, 10, 16, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42 and 46. Featuring a range of objective measures and rich self-reported data, BCS70 covers an incredible amount of ground and can be used in research on many topics Evidence from BCS70 has illuminated important issues for our society across five decades. Key findings include how reading for pleasure matters for children's cognitive development, why grammar schools have not reduced social inequalities, and how childhood experiences can impact on mental health in mid-life. Every day researchers from across the scientific community are using this important study to make new connections and discoveries.BCS70 is run by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), a research centre in the UCL Institute of Education, which is part of University College London. The content of BCS70 studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the CLOSER Discovery website.How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:For information on how to access biomedical data from BCS70 that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.Secure Access datasetsSecure Access versions of BCS70 have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard End User Licence (EUL).
1970 British Cohort Study: Age 26, Sweep 5, 1996 The 26-year follow-up was the fourth full national follow-up of the BCS70 cohort. This follow-up was designed to review and evaluate young adults' (26 year) health, education, social and family environment throughout Britain. The comprehensive nature of the data gathered in this longitudinal study enables study of the effects on the 26-year old's education, health and general progress, of perinatal problems, serious childhood illnesses and critical episodes in the family or social environment. For the fifth edition (June 2016) a small number of primary identifiers (BCSID) have been changed to realign them to previous sweeps of data. See the documentation for full details of the work done.
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The questionnaire included the following topics: qualifications and skills; training; employment and earnings ; unemployment and periods out of the labour market; relationships, marriage and children; housing and household; health and health-related behaviour; and the views of cohort members about topics such as law and order, politics, jobs, and marriage and family. Standard Measures The attitude questions included in the questionnaire employ Likert-like scales, and the coding of occupation includes Cambridge and Hope-Goldthorpe scale scores.
No sampling (total universe)
Postal survey
