LifeCourse A Melbourne Children's Research Initiative

Australian Temperament Project (ATP)

The Australian Temperament Project (ATP) is one of Australia’s oldest longitudinal studies of social-emotional development that has followed a representative sample of over 2000 infants and their parents from 4 months (1983) to almost 40 years of age.

The study has collected detailed age-appropriate survey data on temperament, internalising (depression/anxiety), externalising (violence and addiction) and positive developmental outcomes over 16 waves. Parents, infant welfare nurses, teachers and young people (from 11-12 years) completed questionnaires at relevant time points. Parents (Generation 1) and their offspring (Generation 2) have now been followed over 3 decades (16 waves) from 4-8 months into the 30s.

Offspring of these original ATP participants were then recruited as part of the ATP Generation 3 Study. Bringing together data across three generations, the ATP now provides a rare opportunity to address key questions about how the experiences of one generation may affect the next, from grandparent to parent to child.

ATP will soon be described here with measure-level metadata.

ATPG3

Year	2012-2019	2014-2019	2012-2020	2015-Ongoing	2021-Ongoing
Wave	1	2	3	4	5
Age	32-40 weeks gestation	8-12 weeks	12-18 months	4-6 years	9-10 years
RELEVANT LIFECOURSE DOMAINS	Anthropometrics
	Community environment
	Demographics
		Education and childcare
	Environmental exposures
	Family environment
	Medications and supplements
	Mental health and behaviour problems
			Neurocognitive development
		Nutrition
			Other health information
	Pregnancy and birth
	Psychosocial wellbeing
	Romantic relationships		Romantic relationships
		Sleep
	Substance use		Substance use
			Temperament and personality

ATP
ATPG3

Study Summary
Study name	Australian Temperament Project
Study abbreviation	ATP
Current principal investigator/s	Professor Craig Olsson (Royal Children’s Hospital)
Current project manager	Lacey Chetcuti
Primary Institution/s	The Royal Children’s Hospital - RCH
Collaborating Institution/s	Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI The University of Melbourne - UoM Deakin University Australian Institute of Family Studies La Trobe University
Major funding source/s	National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC Australian Research Council - ARC Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI R.E. Ross Trust Crime Prevention Victoria Royal Automobile Club of Victoria - RACV Transport Accident Commission - TAC
Study website	https://www.melbournechildrens.com/atp/
Key reference for study	Vassallo, S. and Sanson, A. (Eds.). (2013). The Australian Temperament Project: The first 30 years. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.
Study focus	Young people’s psychosocial development from infancy to adulthood, investigating the contribution of individual (including temperament and behaviour), family, peer and broader environmental factors to adjustment and wellbeing.
Sampling frame	Families with a 4-8 month old child who attended local urban or rural maternal and child health centres in one of twenty LGA areas in Victoria between 22nd April and 6th of May 1983.
Primary study type	Longitudinal cohort
Year commenced	1983
Is this study ongoing?	Yes - the study is ongoing
Ongoing recruitment?	No
Sample size (N)	2443 families
Survey data available?	Yes
Imaging data available?	No
Linkage to administrative dataset/s?	No, no consent to link to administrative dataset(s) obtained
Biosamples available?	Yes
Are data available to others outside study team, with appropriate safeguards and structures in line with the cohort’s ethics and governance processes?	Yes
Are there any costs associated with data/sample access for approved requests?	There may be costs associated with access, evaluated on a case by case basis
Broadest type of participant consent available	Extended consent (can be used for future ethically approved research related to this project)

Study Summary
Study name	Australian Temperament Project: Generation 3 Cohort Study
Study abbreviation	ATPG3
Current principal investigator/s	Professor Craig Olsson (Royal Children’s Hospital)
Current project manager	Lacey Chetcuti
Primary Institution/s	The Royal Children’s Hospital - RCH
Collaborating Institution/s	Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI The University of Melbourne - UoM Deakin University Australian Institute of Family Studies
Major funding source/s	National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC Australian Research Council - ARC Murdoch Children’s Research Institute - MCRI
Study website	https://www.melbournechildrens.com/atp/
Key reference for study	Vassallo, S. and Sanson, A. (Eds.). (2013). The Australian Temperament Project: The first 30 years. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies
Study focus	Young people’s social-emotional development from infancy to adulthood, and transgenerational (pre-conception) determinants of infant mental health, attachment and wellbeing.
Sampling frame	Victorian families with a 4-8 month old child attending a maternal and child health; ATPG3: ATP participants who are pregnant (or partner is pregnant) or have a child aged 11-18 months.
Primary study type	Longitudinal cohort
Year commenced	2011
Is this study ongoing?	Yes - the study is ongoing
Ongoing recruitment?	Yes
Sample size (N)	1167 children from 703 families
Survey data available?	Yes
Imaging data available?	Yes
Linkage to administrative dataset/s?	No, consent to link to administrative dataset(s) obtained, but linkage not yet started
Biosamples available?	Yes
Are data available to others outside study team, with appropriate safeguards and structures in line with the cohort’s ethics and governance processes?	Yes
Are there any costs associated with data/sample access for approved requests?	There may be costs associated with access, evaluated on a case by case basis
Broadest type of participant consent available	Specific consent (can be used for this project only)

Wave	Year	Age	Sample size (N)
1	2012-2019	32-40 weeks gestation	N(Total)=737
2	2014-2019	8-12 weeks	N(Total)=555
3	2012-2020	12-18 months	N(Total)=1086
4	2015-Ongoing	4-6 years	IN PROGRESS
5	2021-Ongoing	9-10 years	IN PROGRESS

ATP
ATPG3

Study Contacts
Principal investigator/s	Professor Craig Olsson (Royal Children’s Hospital)
Project manager	Lacey Chetcuti
Study Contact	Phone: +613 9345 4129 Email: atp.nextgen@rch.org.au Postal address: Australian Temperament Project Department of Paediatrics University of Melbourne Level 2 West Royal Children’s Hospital 50 Flemington Road Parkville VIC 3052 Australia

Study Contacts
Principal investigator/s	Professor Craig Olsson (Royal Children’s Hospital)
Project manager	Lacey Chetcuti
Study Contact	Phone: +613 9345 4129 Email: atp.nextgen@rch.org.au Postal address: Australian Temperament Project Department of Paediatrics University of Melbourne Level 2 West Royal Children’s Hospital 50 Flemington Road Parkville VIC 3052 Australia