JOINT RESEARCH CENTER FOR PANEL STUDIESSELECTED DISCUSSION PAPER SERIESSDP2012-002
March, 2013

Overview of the Japan Child Panel Survey 2012
Chizuru Shikishima*【Abstract】
The Japan Child Panel Survey (JCPS) is a parent-child panel survey that began in 2010as a supplementary survey to the Japan Household Panel Survey (JHPS) and the KeioHousehold Panel Survey (KHPS). The survey subjects chosen were those parents among
the JHPS or KHPS participants who had children enrolled in elementary or junior highschool, as well as those parents’ children. In 2012, JCPS conducted its third survey(JCPS 2012) on children extracted from the households of JHPS participants. A total of
493 children participated in this survey. The cooperation rate per household was 57.5%.
The continuation rate from the first survey (JCPS 2010) was 70.3%. No difference wasobserved among the mean academic ability test scores measured in the JCPS 2010,2011, and 2012.. In comparison with data collected in the West, scores for children’s
behavioral problems measured in JCPS were higher. Prosocial scores were lower. In
addition, the tendency for children’s QOL to decline when they enrolled in higher grades
appeared more prominent in JCPS. The children’s inclinations to vote in the future werecorrelated with their interest in political and social issues. The children’s ownershiprates for rooms, study desks, and mobile phones noted in the JCPS 2012 increased whenchildren enrolled in higher grades. Children’s current and time of birth heights andweights were confirmed to be statistically representative in comparison with a large
public dataset. The incidence of obesity among elementary and junior high school
children was 1.4% calculated by BMI and 6.5% based on a calculation of standard
weights by heights. The performance of an analysis on the JCPS dataset in relation to
the rich household information collected by JHPS and KHPS will help us understandthe relationships that exist between children’s growth and their family backgrounds ina detailed and dynamic manner. We also discuss problems inherent in JCPS.

*

Project Lecturer, Keio Advanced Research Centers Keio University

Joint Research Center for Panel Studies
Keio University

Overview of the Japan Child Panel Survey 20121
Chizuru Shikishima*

Abstract

The Japan Child Panel Survey (JCPS) is a parent-child panel survey that began in 2010 as asupplementary survey to the Japan Household Panel Survey (JHPS) and the Keio Household Panel
Survey (KHPS). The survey subjects chosen were those parents among the JHPS or KHPS
participants who had children enrolled in elementary or junior high school, as well as those parents’children. In 2012, JCPS conducted its third survey (JCPS 2012) on children extracted from thehouseholds of JHPS participants. A total of 493 children participated in this survey. The cooperation
rate per household was 57.5%. The continuation rate from the first survey (JCPS 2010) was 70.3%.
No difference was observed among the mean academic ability test scores measured in the JCPS
2010, 2011, and 2012.. In comparison with data collected in the West, scores for children’s
behavioral problems measured in JCPS were higher. Prosocial scores were lower. In addition, thetendency for children’s QOL to decline when they enrolled in higher grades appeared more
prominent in JCPS. The children’s inclinations to vote in the future were correlated with theirinterest in political and social issues. The children’s ownership rates for rooms, study desks, andmobile phones noted in the JCPS 2012 increased when children enrolled in higher grades. Children’scurrent and time of birth heights and weights were confirmed to be statistically representative in*

Keio Advanced Research Centers(Panel Data Research Center), Keio University

1

Corresponding author: C. Shikishima (email: shikishima@kts.keio.ac.jp). This English version was translated

into by an external translation service supplier from the Japanese version DP2012-009 issued in March 2013. Notethat information included in this paper is as of March 2013.

comparison with a large public dataset. The incidence of obesity among elementary and junior highschool children was 1.4% calculated by BMI and 6.5% based on a calculation of standard weights byheights. The performance of an analysis on the JCPS dataset in relation to the rich household
information collected by JHPS and KHPS will help us understand the relationships that exist
between children’s growth and their family backgrounds in a detailed and dynamic manner. We also
discuss problems inherent in JCPS.

Section 1. Introduction

The Japan Child Panel Survey (JCPS) is a parent-child panel survey that was initiated in 2010. It
served as a supplementary survey to the Japan Household Panel Survey (JHPS) and the KeioHousehold Panel Survey (KHPS). The survey subjects were parents of children enrolled inelementary or junior high school, as well as those parents’ children.

As the nation’s interest in the relationships that exist between children’s academic abilities andfamily backgrounds increases, the trend of discussions in sociology and economics is to posit thatchildren’s academic abilities and educational achievements are dictated by the socioeconomic
backgrounds of their households (e.g, Mimizuka, 2007; Ojima & Below, 2010; Kariya, 2011). The
Japanese general public is becoming increasingly aware of educational inequality and its
reproductivity. However, with respect to Japan, the majority of these discussions have primarily
depended on either cross-sectional surveys conducted in schools or on the results of social surveythat relied on retrospective data based on adult samples. The majority of these discussions did not
rely on both types of data. Although a large amount of data related to children’s academic abilities
has been collected, a significant amount of information related to family backgrounds has also beenamassed. However, up to this time, these two datasets have not been properly linked.

Alternatively, beginning with Heckman et al. (2000), who noted the importance of non-cognitive
skills to the training of human resources, researchers in the fields of economics and sociology havebegun to study children’s attainment and adaptation of social skills. However, at the present time,studies related to the formation of non-cognitive skills in Japanese children have solely beenconducted from psychological viewpoints. No active examinations have been conducted to discover
the relationship that exists between children’s socioeconomic backgrounds and their achievement ofsocial skills.

In a number of economic, sociological, and psychological studies conducted in other countries
that relied on large-scale panel surveys, researchers made detailed examinations of factors that
contribute to the formation of children’s cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, as well as aspects inchildren’s family backgrounds that contribute to children’s non-adaptability. For example, studies
were conducted using panel data collected from children of the National Longitudinal Surveys ofYouth or the Panel Study of Income Dynamics in the United States (e.g, Korenman, Miller, &Sjaastad, 1995; McLeod & Shanahan, 1996; Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; Duncan, Brooks-Gunn,& Klebanov, 1994). In Japan, the provision of empirical knowledge related to the relationship thatexists between children’s outcome and their household characteristics has become increasingly
important. Studies must now follow the same households collected from non-biased samples inwhich the entire nation is considered a population. To gain a better understanding, both the cognitive
and non-cognitive abilities of children should be measured and the details of family socioeconomic
information should be gathered simultaneously.

Therefore, JCPS is attempting to incorporate tests that measure the cognitive and non-cognitive
abilities of the children of subjects selected for household panel studies. Use of this design will help
researchers discover the dynamic reciprocal relationships that exist between family backgrounds andchildren’s development.

JCPS has conducted survey every other year on the JHPS and KHPS samples. JCPS has asked forthe cooperation of households that contain children of elementary or junior high school age. For the
first 2010 survey, (JCPS 2010), subjects drawn from the JHPS 2010 were asked to cooperate. For thesecond 2011 survey (JCPS 2011), subjects of the KHPS 2011 were asked to cooperate. For the latest
third 2012 survey (JCPS 2012), subjects of the JHPS 2012 were asked to cooperate.

This paper begins with an overview of the JCPS 2012. Section 2 provides an outline of the survey
and a description of the responses. Section 3 provides an explanation of the academic ability test andits use as a cognitive ability scale. Results for sociality, adaptability, and citizenship as they were
measured on a non-cognitive ability scale will also be discussed. Furthermore, this section focuseson the variables of study hours, educational environments, and physiques. With respect to some ofthese variables, this section provides a comparison of these results with the results collected from the
JCPS 2010 and 2011, large-scale public surveys, or statistics collected in the West. In Section 4,
some issues related to JCPS and possibilities for future development will be discussed.

Section 2. Outline and Responses to the JCPS 2012

The JCPS2012, a supplementary survey to JHPS, was conducted by extracting subjects (parents)
whose children began to attend elementary (1st through 6th grade studnets) or junior high school (7ththrough 9th grade children) in March 2012 (i.e., children born between April 2, 1996 and April 1,
2005) from individuals who participated in the JHPS 2012 (the fourth survey). The subjects of the
JCPS 2012 consisted of selected parents and their children. The survey was conducted between

March and April 2012,3 following the completion of the JHPS 2012. Survey forms were collectedfrom 315 households. In August 2012, survey cooperation was again requested from households thatfailed to state whether they were willing to cooperate with JCPS. The goal was to improve theresponse rate. As a result, survey forms were retrieved from an additional 27 households.

Households that served as subjects of the JCPS 2012 were identified by their children’s dates ofbirth. Families provided this information in response to a question contained in JHPS that inquired
about the composition of family members. Corresponding families were asked to participate in the
JCPS 2012 by surveyors during retrieval of questionnaires for the JHPS 2012. Families were asked
to return confirmation forms that stated whether or not they were willing to participate in the JCPS2012.

The potential number of children who could cooperate in the JCPS 2012 was 888. Their birthdates determined that they were first to ninth graders during the 2012 academic year based on
information that appeared in the family composition section of the JHPS questionnaire. Of thesechildren, 490 children responded to and returned children’s forms of the JCPS 2012. A total of 493
parents (136 fathers, 342 mothers, 15 unknown) responded to and returned the parent forms of the
JCPS 2012. The response rate for households, which included three cases in which only the parent
forms were returned, equaled 57.5%. The response rate per child equaled 55.5%. Similar values
were obtained in both the JCPS 20104 and JCPS 2011. These values are listed in Table 1.

3

With respect to instances in which the survey forms were returned in April or after the time that children had advanced to the next
grades, the children were considered members of the grades they attended until March.

4 Yamashita, Nakamura, Akabayashi, Naoi, and Shikishima (2011) discussed the relationship that exists between cooperation with

Table 1. Households and children surveyed in JCPS
Number of Number of Response Number Number of Response
targetcooperative
rate by of target cooperative rate byhouseholds households household children children
child
JHPS 1994/4/2 - 2003/4/1
644
312
48.4%
959
467(461,466) 48.7%
KHPS 1995/4/2 - 2004/4/1
730
434
59.5%
1126 662(659,660) 58.8%
JHPS 1996/4/2 - 2005/4/1
595
342
57.5%
888
493(490,493) 55.5%

Survey Subject
year sample
2010
2011
2012

Children's birthdates

Note: The number of children’s forms and the number of parents’ forms retrieved appear in parentheses.
Source: Based on JCPS 2010, JCPS 2011, JCPS 2012, JHPS 2009, KHPS 2010, and JHPS 2011.

Table 2. Children surveyed in the JCPS 2012 listed by grade

Number of target children
Grade
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
All

Male
53
40
56
35
58
51
57
45
63
458

Female
36
54
48
41
59
50
57
36
49
430

Total
89
94
104
76
117
101
114
81
112
888

Number of children who
participated
Male Female Total
25
22
47
25
30
55
43
29
72
22
25
47
37
31
68
23
25
48
26
31
57
28
19
47
31
21
52
260
233
493

Response rate
Male
47.2%
62.5%
76.8%
62.9%
63.8%
45.1%
45.6%
62.2%
49.2%
56.8%

Female
61.1%
55.6%
60.4%
61.0%
52.5%
50.0%
54.4%
52.8%
42.9%
54.2%

Total
52.8%
58.5%
69.2%
61.8%
58.1%
47.5%
50.0%
58.0%
46.4%
55.5%

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012 and JHPS 2011.

Furthermore, the number of children and the response rates for the JCPS 2012 were organized bygrades. These figures are shown in Table 2. With respect to children’s graduation grades, such as the
6th grade and the 9th grade, the response rate was low: 50% and below. However, response rates ofbetween 50% and 70% were observed for other grades. No apparent differences in response rates

the JCPS 2010 and household attributes.

were observed between genders. With respect to the number of children who participated fromsingle households, 206 households had one child that participated, 121 households had two childrenthat participated, and 15 households had three children that participated.

The children enrolled in the 1st through the 7th grades at the time of the JCPS 2010 were enrolled
in the 3rd through the 9th grades at the time of the JCPS 2012. If they participated in both surveys,
they formed a continuous sample. When the continuation rates by grade were calculated todetermine the number of children who participated in the JCPS 2010 that also participated in the
JCPS 2012, the continuation rates of children who participated during their enrollment in the 7th
grade in 2010 and enrollment in the 9th grade during the later survey was low: 57.9%. However, withrespect to all other grades, the continuation rates ranged between 66.0% and 76.3%. The overall
continuation rate was 70.3% (Table 3).

Table 3. Continuation rates between the JCPS 2010 and JCPS 2012
Grade
In 2010 In 2012

Continuing
Number ofRatechildren
47
74.6%

1st

3rd

nd

4th

33

75.0%

rd

th

47

74.6%

th

31

66.0%

th

2

3

5

th

4

6

th

43

69.4%

th

6

th

8

29

76.3%

7th

9th

33
263

57.9%
70.3%

5

7

Total

Source: Based on the JCPS 2010 and JCPS 2012.

Table 4. Participation patterns for the JCPS 2010 and JCPS 2012 and participants’ attributes
JCPS 2010
cooperation,
JCPS 2012
non-cooperation
n=111
Children’s genders (male: 1; female: 2)
JHPS subjects’ genders (male: 1; female: 2)
Number of childrenChildren’s birth orders
Fathers’ ages (as of 2010)
Mothers’ ages (as of 2010)
Fathers’ academic backgrounds(university or higher: 1; non-university
Mothers’ academic backgrounds(university or higher: 1; non-university
Mothers’ employment as of 2010
(employed: 1; unemployed: 0)
Mothers’ employment as of 2012
(employed: 1; unemployed: 0)
2010 household incomes (10,000 yen)2012 household incomes (10,000 yen)

1.51
1.42
2.19
1.60
42.40
40.70

JCPS 2010
cooperation,
JCPS 2012
cooperation
n=263

1.48
1.51
2.34
1.62
42.20
40.31

JCPS 2010
non-cooperation,
F value
JCPS 2012
cooperation
n=128

1.44
1.50
2.13
1.56
42.73
40.89

.49
1.09
3.77 **
.22
.30
.56

.28

.40

.33

2.54 *

.12

.13

.13

.08

.67

.59

.63

1.06

.64

.73

.75

2.11

667.73716.55639.96670.16649.72656.65.37
1.23

Note: ** and * indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant at 5% and 10% levels, respectively.
Source: Based on the JHPS 2010, JHPS 2012, JCPS 2010, and JCPS 2012.

Children enrolled in the applicable school grades during both the JCPS 2010 and JCPS 2012 who
participated at least once (children enrolled in the 3rd through 9th grade levels during the 2012 schoolyear) were divided into three groups: a group that participated in the JCPS 2010 that did notparticipate in the JCPS 2012 (111 children); a group that participated in both the JCSP 2010 and
JCPS 2012 (263 children); and a group that did not participate in the JCPS 2010 but did participate
in the JCPS 2012 (128 children). Following this division, the differences in sample attributes were
examined. The mean value per group was calculated based on the children’s genders, genders ofparents who served as JHPS subjects, the number of children per household (the number of siblings
including the subject children), the birth order of each child, parents’ ages, parents’ educational
attainment, mothers’ employment status during the 2010 and 2012 survey periods, and household

incomes for 2010 and 2012 (Table 4). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that, ingroups that participated in both surveys, the number of children was significantly higher (p < .05).
The fathers’ educational attainment was significantly higher (p < .10). However, no other significant
differences were observed in other attributes.

The JCPS survey form consisted of two sections: the children’s form and the parents’ form. The
children’s form included children’s basic academic ability tests in the subject areas ofarithmetic/mathematics, Japanese, and reasoning. The form also included questionnaires related toschools, studies, and quality of life (QOL). Although the questions related to mathematics andJapanese tests differed for each grade, the reasoning tests were the same for children enrolled in the
1st through 3rd grades and children enrolled in the 4th through 9th grades. With respect to academic
ability tests, the same batteries were used for each of the JCPS 2010, 2011, and 2012 (The test
question development process was detailed in Shikishima, Naoi, Yamashita, and Akabayashi, 2013).
With respect to questionnaire items, the same questions related to school and studies were used forchildren enrolled in the 1st through 3rd grades and children enrolled in the 4th through 9th grades.
Questions related to QOL were introduced for children enrolled in grade 3 and above. Questions
related to citizenship were introduced for children enrolled in grade 6 and above. Children wereasked to answer questions by themselves. The children had to complete the academic ability test
within 20 minutes. The children were asked to complete the survey forms by themselves after
completing the test. They then were asked to give the completed forms to their parents.

The parents’ form was completed by the parents. The same questionnaire was used by parents ofchildren enrolled in all grades. Parents were asked to respond to questions related to educational
environments, childrearing, and children’s sociality. The parents were asked to complete a form foreach of their children. These slips were mailed to households that agreed to participate in bothsurveys. Once parents completed the forms, they returned them by mail.

Section 3. Summary of JCPS 2012 Results

1 Cognitive abilities(1) Academic ability test

Descriptive statistics were calculated based on scores per grade collected for the mathematics,
Japanese (questions differed by grade), and reasoning tests (questions asked were the same forchildren enrolled in the 1st through the 3rd grade, and for children enrolled in the 4th grade andhigher). The statistics for the JCPS 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively, are shown in Table 5. The
test scores for all subjects enrolled in all grades showed no differences in mean scores across thethree surveys at the 5% significance level. Thus, no differences in the levels of academic abilities
caused by differences that occurred during survey years were discovered.

No differences were observed in the mean scores between children enrolled in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
grades for test scores for reasoning in the JCPS 2012 (F(2, 170)=1.98, ns). The test scores for reasoning
for children enrolled in the 4th grade and higher revealed that only the scores of 4th grade children
were significantly lower than the other grades (F(5, 311)=3.34, p < .01). However, no significant
differences were observed between the scores of children enrolled in the 5th through 9th grades (F(4,265)=1.38, ns).

In response to the following question: “Did you try hard in this test?” that appeared on children’squestionnaire, 91.3% of the children stated: “Yes.”

Table 5. Mathematics, Japanese, and reasoning test scores listed by grade and survey year

Grade
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th

Mathematics
Survey
N ofyear
Min Max Mean
cases
2010
62
1
14 12.092011
58
7
14 12.412012
47
9
14 12.362010
44
12
19 17.072011
72
11
19 16.992012
55
7
19 16.49
2010
63
6
19 16.29
2011
90
6
19 16.22
2012
71
8
19 16.46
2010
47
2
10 7.83
2011
75
1
10 7.59
2012
47
4
10 7.60
2010
62
2
9 6.982011
74
0
9 6.182012
66
0
9 6.582010
38
0
10 6.122011
83
0
10 6.802012
48
0
10 7.35
2010
57
0
10 6.49
2011
67
1
10 6.43
2012
57
0
10 6.392010
46
0
11 7.61
2011
84
0
11 6.942012
47
0
11 7.022010
42
0
12 7.33
2011
56
0
12 7.702012
52
0
12 7.37

S.D.
2.03
1.65
1.58
2.13
2.16
2.93
2.34
2.50
1.99
1.91
2.08
1.78
2.03
2.60
2.19
2.70
2.24
2.07
2.50
2.32
2.66
2.78
3.55
3.37
4.12
3.60
3.61

Japanese

Reasoning

Min Max Mean S.D.

Min Max Mean S.D.

2
7
13
7
5
3
8
5
2
1
5
4
5
0
5
2
0
3
0
3
4
2
0
2
4
5
4

20
20
20
16
16
16
18
18
18
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
14
15
15
14
15
15

18.45
18.19
18.65
12.85
12.92
12.55
14.88
15.06
15.24
10.39
10.16
10.04
10.45
9.92
10.70
8.99
9.80
10.25
10.32
9.37
9.86
9.55
9.53
9.68
10.82
11.03
10.98

2.66
2.64
1.68
2.72
2.73
3.23
2.38
2.87
2.92
2.45
2.23
2.28
2.11
2.71
1.88
3.30
3.11
2.27
2.50
2.48
2.33
2.56
2.98
2.95
2.49
2.24
2.30

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

4 2.404 2.67
4 2.96
4 3.244 2.76
4 2.784 3.244 3.144 3.244 1.87
4 2.294 2.064 2.394 2.554 2.454 2.45
4 2.584 2.794 2.674 2.484 2.684 2.514 2.524 2.96
4 2.55
4 2.664 2.83

1.55
1.33
1.38
1.13
1.28
1.46
1.03
1.20
1.10
1.41
1.58
1.34
1.42
1.39
1.36
1.43
1.30
1.18
1.16
1.24
1.34
1.16
1.10
1.04
1.15
1.21
1.06

Source: Based on the JCPS 2010, JCPS 2011, and JCPS 2012.

When correlations between the scores of the three tests included in the JCPS 2012 werecomputed, the correlation coefficient for children enrolled in the 1st and 5th grades between
mathematics and Japanese was lower than .40. However, with respect to other grades, the coefficient
was between .54 and .63. This demonstrated a sufficient positive correlation (Table 6). A positivecorrelation coefficient at the .30-level between mathematics and reasoning existed for children
enrolled in the 1st through 3rd grades, and at the .20-level for children enrolled in the 7th and 9th
grades. Positive correlation coefficients that ranged between .30-.40-levels between Japanese andreasoning were observed for children enrolled in the 1st through 3rd grades, and at the .20-level forchildren enrolled in the 7th and 8th grades.

Table 6. Correlations between mathematics, Japanese, and reasoning test scores

Grade

Mathematics- MathematicsJapanese
Reasoning

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th

.36 **.57 ***.54 ***.56 ***.30 **.56 ***.63 ***.63 ***.57 ***.30 **.34 **.35 ***
.17
.20
.11
.24 *
.17
.29 **

JapaneseReasoning.47 ***.34 **.43 ***
.19
-.06
.08
.26 *
.29 **.16

Note 1: Based on Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Note 2: ***, **, and * indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant at 1%, 5%, and 10% levels,
respectively.
Source: Based on the JCPS 2012.

2. Non-cognitive abilities(1) Sociality

Children’s sociality was assessed based on responses provided by parents on the Strengths andDifficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997) for each child enrolled between the 1st and 9th
grades. SDQ is a Likert-style psychometric scale that asks parents to rate children’s difficulties in theareas of “emotional symptoms”, “conduct problems”, “hyperactivity/inattention”, and “peerrelationship problems”. These areas are measured on a 5-point scale. In addition, “prosocial behavior”
was measured on an additional 5-point scale. This questionnaire has been employed by the Ministryof Health, Labour, and Welfare as a continuous variable scale to screen children for problematic
behaviors and to discover mild developmental disorders 6 (Matsuishi et al., 2008).

The SDQ data collected in the JCPS 2012 were allocated among the normal range, borderline
range, or critical range, as advocated by Matsuishi et al. (2008). Their research was based on datacollected in elementary schools from 2,899 parents of children between the ages of 4 and 12 years.
Then, the proportion of frequency distribution for each range was calculated (Table 7). This is not adetailed comparison because the age groups of the child subjects were not the same. More than 80%of the children were categorized into the normal range for the following dimensions: “emotional
symptoms”, “conduct problems”, “hyperactivity/inattention”, and “peer relationship problems”.
Child subjects who fell within the borderline and clinical ranges amounted to less than 10% of thechildren in each category. Therefore, the cutoff point was confirmed to be appropriate. However,with respect to “prosocial behavior”, only about two-thirds of all cases fell within the normal range.
The frequency of cases that fell within the borderline range was high. Approximately 20% of thechild subjects also fell within the clinical range. This indicates the possibility that the screening
standard may have been too strict (Figure 1). Similar results were also been obtained from the JCPS
2011 data (Shikishima, Yamashita, & Akabayashi, 2012).

6

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/bunya/kodomo/boshi-hoken07/h7_04d.html

Table 7. Screening based on the Japanese standard score cut-off for each dimension of children’ssociality

Emotional symptoms
Conduct problems
Hyperactivity/inattention
Peer relationship problems
Total difficulties
Prosocial behavior

Normal range
Corresponding
Score
percentage
0－3
84.0 (84.3)
0－3
82.2 (84.3)
0－5
83.6 (83.6)
0－3
87.1 (90.1)
0－12
78.7 (80.6)
6-10
62.9 (71.2)

Borderline range
Corresponding
Score
percentage
4
7.0 (7.2)
4
9.0 (8.6)6
6.8 (6.8)
4
5.7 (5.5)
13－15
10.7 (9.9)
5
17.2 (15.5)

Clinical range
Corresponding
Score
percentage
5-10
9.0 (8.5)
5-10
8.8 (7.1)
7-10
9.6 (9.7)
5-10
7.2 (4.4)
16-40
10.7 (9.5)
0-4
19.9 (13.3)

Note: Cutoff standards are based on a study conducted by Matsuishi et al. (2008). The numbers enclosed
in parentheses represent data collected from children between the ages of 4 and 12 years old reported by
Matsuishi et al. (2008).
Source: Based on the JCPS 2012 and Matsuishi et al.(2008).

Figure 1. Frequency distribution of prosocial behavior scores and Japanese screening standards
Number of cases

Borderline

NormalClinicalProsocial behaviors (score)

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012.

In the 2001 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted by the National Center for
Health Statistics (NHIS), a part of the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), responses related to SDQ were solicited from parents of children aged 18 years and younger.
The mean values and the standard deviations of those scores were then categorized by the genders ofchild subjects aged between 8 and 10 years (male: 1,026; female: 1,038) and child subjects aged
between 11 and 14 years old (male: 1,426; female: 1,344). 7 It was impossible to avoid the existenceof differences in concepts measured that resulted from translations because versions written indifferent languages were used. However, when this data was compared with data collected from
JCPS-applicable age subjects, scores for both countries in the dimension of difficulties wereconsistently higher for males than for females, and consistently higher for children enrolled in higher
grades than for children enrolled in lower grades. The individual differences tended to be very high.
However, a tendency was demonstrated for JCPS subjects to have slightly higher mean values thansubjects collected from American NCHS data (Figure 2). In addition, with respect to prosocial
behavior, scores for both countries demonstrated a tendency for females to score higher than males.
However, scores for subjects in the American NCHS tended to have higher mean values thansubjects in the JCPS.

Figure 2. Comparisons between JCPS and American NCHS mean values by gender for sociality
dimensions of children enrolled in the 2nd through 4th grades and for children enrolled in the 5th
through 8th grades

7

Normative SDQ data collected from the USA on http://www.sdqinfo.org/USNorm.html

ScoreMale 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade

Female 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade

Male 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade

Female 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
JCPS

U.S.A.

Emotional symptoms

JCPS

U.S.A.

Conduct problems

JCPS

U.S.A.

Hyperactivity/inattention

JCPS

U.S.A.

Peer relationshipproblems

JCPS

U.S.A.

Total difficulties

JCPS

Prosocial behavior

Note: The error bar indicates the standard deviations.
Source: Based on the JCPS 2011, JCPS 2012, and “Normative SDQ Data from the USA” shown on the
SDQ homepage.

(2)

Adaptability

The adaptability of children enrolled in the 3rd grade and higher was measured based on theirself-reports by the use of the elementary school children’s edition and the junior high school
children’s edition (Matsuzaki, et al.,2007) of “KINDLR” (Ravens-Sieberer et al., 2006), a QOL scale
for children developed by Bullinger et al. (1994) in Germany. KINDLR multilaterally measures QOL
based on six subscales: “physical health”, “emotional well-being”, “self-esteem”, “family”, “friends”,
and “school”. KINDLR is a 24-item Likert-style psychometric scale that measures each of six areasby the use of four items. The total scores represent children’s QOL scores. Figure 3 illustrates thechanges in the mean values for each dimension per grade when the levels of adaptability wereconverted to scores based on 1 through 100.

U.S.A.

Figure 3. Changes observed for each adaptability dimension by school grade
Score

100

90
80
70

身体的健康
Physical health60

情動的well-being
Emotional well-being

50

自尊感情
Self-esteem

40

家族
Family30

友だち
Friends

20

学校
School

10
0
小3

3rd

小4

4th

小5

5th

小6

6th

Grade

中1

7th

中2

8th

中3

9th

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012.

Although scores decreased for children enrolled in the 6th through 8th grades, scores tended torecover for children enrolled in the 9th grade. A similar trend was seen with QOL (Figure 4). The
results of the JCPS 2011 (Shikishima et al., 2012) and another large-scale school survey (Shibata,Matsuzaki, & Nemoto, 2008) confirmed that a trend for adaptability appeared to decline as children
progressed through the academic years. However, no recovery was seen for children enrolled in the
9th grade. This could be attributed to the fact that, because the JCPS 2012 was conducted during
March and April, the possibility exists that 9th grade children may have temporarily experienced
heightened satisfaction because they had decided on their future courses. The JSPCS 2011 was
conducted during April and May of the following academic year.

Figure 4. Changes in QOL by school grade
Score

100

90
80
70
60

50
40
30

20
10
0
小3

3rd

小4

4th

小5

5th

小6

6th

Grade

中1

7th

中2

8th

中3

9th

Note: The error bar indicates the standard deviations.
Source: Based on the JCPS 2012.

Is this decline in adaptability based on children’s advancement during the academic year atendency particular to Japan? Mean scores and standard deviations for each gender for eachdimension of adaptability and QOL (the total score) for 918 4th grade children (mean age: 9.7) andfor 583 8th grade children (mean age: 14.1), who were surveyed during a health check conducted ina school in Hamburg, Germany, and published in the KINDLR manual8, were compared with data forcorresponding school grades collected by the JCPS 2011 and 2012 (Figure 5). A number ofdifferences were notable: Different language versions were used (i.e., Japanese and German
versions) and differences existed in methodologies (i.e., the JCPS child subjects were a random
household sample selected throughout Japan; the Hamburg survey reviewed children that attended a

8

KINDLR available on http://kindl.org/

specific school). However, a similar declining trend in scores in several dimensions was observed in
the grades of children enrolled in higher grades in Germany. Nevertheless, prominently low scores
were observed for Japanese junior high school children of both genders. In particular, Japanese
junior high school children demonstrated low adaptability in “physical health”, “self-esteem”, and“school” areas.

Figure 5. Comparison between mean values of adaptability dimensions by gender for children
enrolled in the 4th grade through 8th grades in the JCPS and Hamburg survey

Score

Male 4th grade

Female 4th grade

Male 8th grade

Female 8th grade

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
JCPS

Hamburg

Physical health

JCPS

Hamburg

Emotional wellbeing

JCPS

Hamburg

Self-esteem

JCPS

Hamburg

FamilyJCPS

Hamburg

Friends

JCPS

Hamburg

SchoolJCPS

Hamburg
QOL

Note: The error bar indicates the standard deviations.
Source: Based on the JCPS 2011, JCPS 2012, and the KINDLR manual.

(3)

Citizenship

Sixth grade and junior high school children were asked to rate the extent to which the following
two social attitudes applied to them: “I will always vote during elections when I become an adult;”
and “It is important to stay informed about political and social issues.” Table 8 displays thefrequency distribution for these two items.

Table 8. Two-dimensional citizenship cross-tabulation

I will always vote during elections when I become an adult.
I slightly don't
I slightly
I don't agree.
I agree.
agree.
agree.
I don't agree.
11482
It is important to stay
I slightly don't agree.
6
14
10
4
informed about political
I slightly agree.
5
18
44
17
and social issues.
I agree.
4
5
18
29
Total
26
41
80
52

Source: Based on the JCP 2012.

With respect to children’s inclinations to vote in the future, the percentage of children who stated,“I agree” or “I slightly agree,” equaled 66%. This value approximately matched the voting rate for
adults in national elections held in recent years. The percentage of children who stated, “I agree,” or“I slightly agree,” with respect to the importance of staying informed about political and social
issues equaled 70%. This value equaled more than twice the number of children who stated, “I don’t
agree,” or “I slightly don’t agree” (Table 8).

The cross-tabulation of the two items revealed that children who demonstrated strong inclinations
to vote in the future tended to place a great deal of importance on staying informed about politicaland social issues. On the other hand, children who demonstrated weak inclinations to vote in the
future tended to place limited importance on staying informed about political and social issues(Table 8). The correlation coefficient between the two attitudes equaled .43 (p < .001, Spearman’srank correlation coefficient).

Total
25
34
84
56
199

3. Study hours

Figure 6 illustrates the distribution of study hours that parents stated their children engaged inoutside of school on normal days (hours spent at cram schools and with personal tutors were
included in study hours). The distributions are organized in groups of three grades. During
elementary school, study time for the majority of children equaled about 30 minutes. For one-thirdof the children enrolled in junior high school, study time equaled about 1 hour. The number ofchildren enrolled in junior high school who studied for two or more hours increased by almost 40%.
However, children who rarely studied also increased by 17%. As children enrolled in advanced
grades, the centralized tendency decreased and prominent individual differences in study hours
depended on individual children.

Figure 6. Distribution of study hours

Rarelyほとんどしない
studies

Approx.
30分ぐらい30min

Approx.
1時間ぐらい1hr

1st – 3rd 小1～小3
grades1047

4th – 6th 小4～小6
grades1242

7th – 9th 中1～中3
grades

17

0%

10%

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012.

Approx.
3時間ぐらい
3hrs

32

29

30%

Approx.
4時間ぐらい4hrs

5hrs or
5時間以上
more

34

15

20%

Approx.
2時間ぐらい
2hrs

40%

6

24

50%

60%

70%

80%

8

2

4

31

10

4 1

90%

100%

4. Educational environment

To assess children’s educational environments, the survey asked parents whether their children
studied in their own rooms and whether they owned study desks. The subjects were divided into
three groups: 1st through 3rd grade children, 4th through 6th grade children, and junior high school
children. Figure 7 shows the frequency distribution of their responses to the following three options:“I have my own room,” “I share a room (with my sibling);” and “no.” The same questions wereasked for study desks as well. Distributions are displayed in percentages. The rate of children who
possessed their own rooms was less than half among elementary school children. The rate was 60%
for junior high school children. However, if the rates of children who shared rooms with theirsiblings were included, the values were high: 78% of lower elementary school children had theirrooms and 90% of junior high school children had their rooms. The ownership ratio of personal
study desks was between 70% and 80% for elementary school children. However, for junior highschool children, the ownership ratio increased to 95%.

An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to discover whether a difference occurred instudy hours (Figure 6) based on whether a child had a personal room, shared a room, or did not havea room. No significant difference was observed in any of the three groups of school grades (F(2,169)=.68, ns; F(2, 156)=.86, and ns; F(2, 147)=.05, ns, respectively).

Figure 7. Children’s ownership rates for personal rooms/study desks

Children's room

Study desk

100%

100%

90%

90%

80%

80%

70%

70%
Did
not own a room/desk60%

Did not own a room/desk

50% with sibling(s)Shared40%

Shared with sibling(s)20%30% a personal
Owned
room/desk
20%

Owned a personalroom/desk

10%

10%

60%
50%
40%
30%

0%

0%
1st-3rd grade 4th-6th grade 7th-9th grade

1st-3rd grade 4th-6th grade 7th-9th grade

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012.

Ownership rates for personal mobile phones were calculated by grade and compared withinformation obtained in a survey conducted in August 20129 of 2,614 parents of elementary throughhigh school students that was published on the Benesse education information website. Figure 8
displays both datasets. The results of the JCPS 2012 revealed that 16% of 1st through 3rd grade
children, 33% of 4th through 6th grade children, and 60% of junior high school children owned
mobile phones. When children entered higher grades, the ownership rate increased significantly.
This tendency to increase resembles the results of the Benesse survey. However, although JCPS
placed 4th grade children’ ownership at 39%, the Benesse survey placed it at 20%. For 9th grade
children, JCPS placed the ownership rate at 75%. Alternatively, the Benesse survey placed it at 49%.
Thus, JCPS demonstrated higher ownership rates. One possible reason for this difference may relate
to the month when the surveys were conducted. The Benesse survey was conducted in August,during the middle of the academic year. The JCPS 2012 was conducted during and after March, at

9

http://benesse.jp/blog/20121004/p2.html

the end of the school year or in the beginning of the following school year. According to the Benesse
survey, the most common reason for ownership of a mobile phone was “to advance to a higher grade
or to enter a more advanced school.” Tenth grade students who attended high school showedownership rates of 93%.

Figure 8. Changes in personal mobile phone ownership by grade
(%)
80

75.0
JCPS

70
60

Benesse

Grade

52.7

50.0

50
39.1

40

30
20

17.0

14.5

16.7

2nd

3rd

29.4

31.1

5th

6th

10
0
1st

4th

7th

8th

9th

Grade
Source: Based on the JCPS 2012 and information published on the Benesse educational information site.

5. PhysiqueParents provided children’s current heights and weights. The mean values for each grade andgender were calculated. These results are shown, along with the results of the School Health
Examination Survey (conducted between April and June 2012 on 4.9% of all infants, schoolchildren,and students in Japan by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology) inFigures 9 and 10. Although the data was collected from the same school grades, because the survey
periods differed by almost one year between JCPS and School Health Examination Survey, theschool grades shown on the graph for the School Health Examination Survey were increased by one
year to match the school grades used in JCPS.

Almost no differences between genders were observed in both the heights and weights ofelementary school children. However, values were greater for male junior high school children in
JCPS. Values continued to increase even when these children enrolled in the 9th grade. A tendency
was observed for differences between genders to increase.

Because the survey periods for JCPS and the School Health Examination Survey for school ages
in which growth was rapid did not match, it is impossible to make a close comparison of both sets ofstatistics. However, the values for heights were extremely close. With respect to weights, children in
the JCPS sample for junior high school children weighed slightly less.

Figure 9 Changes in height by grade

Male JCPS
Female JCPS
Male School Health Examination Survey
Female School Health Examination Survey

(cm)
180
160
140
120
100
80

60
40
20
0
1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

Grade

6th

7th

8th

9th

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012 and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, andTechnology’s School Health Examination Survey (data collected from 2nd through 10th grade students).

Figure 10. Changes in weight by grade

Male JCPS
Female JCPS
Male School Health Examination Survey
Female School Health Examination Survey

(kg)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Grade
Source: Based on the JCPS 2012 and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, andTechnology’s School Health Examination Survey (data collected from 2nd through 10th grade students).

Figure 11 presents Body Mass Index (BMI) results calculated by equating weights (kg) andheights (m)2 for each grade, as well as mean values for each gender. As children advanced grades,
they demonstrated a tendency to gain weight. However, values that surpassed 25, the standard used
to measure adult obesity, occurred infrequently. That value equaled 1.4% (male: 1.9%; female:0.9%) for all samples.

Figure 11. Changes in BMI listed by grade
Index
25

20

15
男子
Male

10

Female
女子

5

0
小1

小2

小3

小4

小5

小6

中1

中2

中3

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012.

Although many different types of indices, other than BMI, can be used to assess childhood
obesity, the index introduced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, andTechnology beginning in academic year 2006 as a nationwide unified method10 that could be used todetermine obesity trends for school children and students relies on the following equation to
calculate obesity levels by age, gender, and height.

Obesity level (%) = (measured weight (kg) – standard weight11 by height (kg))/standard weight byheight (kg)*100.

10Published in the “Health Examination Manual for School Children” (Created by the Japanese Society of School Health andsupervised by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology).
11

This is calculated by the use of a standard formula that uses two coefficients assigned to age and gender fromthe measured height.

Then, values between 20% and 30% are classified as “slight obesity,” values between 30% and
50% are classified as “medium obesity,” and values of 50% and above are classified as “advanced
obesity.” The obesity levels for individuals were calculated by the use of data obtained from the
JCPS 2012 and the frequency distribution presented in Figure 12. The occurrence rate of slightobesity was 4.0%, 2.3% for medium obesity, and 0.2% for advanced obesity. The occurrence rate ofobesity in its broadest term was 6.5% of all samples (male: 7.1%; females: 5.9%).

Figure 12. Obesity level distribution calculated from standard weights by heights
Number of cases

SlightobesityMediumobesity

Advanced
obesity

Obesity level (%)

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012.

Parents were asked to provide their children’s heights and weights at time of birth after theyreferred to material such as maternity health record books. The mean values were calculated for eachgender (Table 9). The average heights for children in the JCPS 2012 were 49.3cm for males and48.6cm for females. These values were extremely close to the values included in the Ministry ofHealth, Labour, and Welfare’s Longitudinal Survey of Babies in 21st Century results12 (i.e., 49.2cm
for males and 48.7cm for females). In addition, the mean weight for males was 3,104g and 2,965g
for females. These values were close to the values released by the Ministry of Health, Labour, andWelfare (i.e., male: 3,076g; females: 2,990g).

Table 9. Children’s heights and weights at time of birth
Male

Height (cm)Weight (g)FemaleJCPS 2012

Longitudinal
Survey of Babiesin 21st Century

JCPS 2012

Longitudinal
Survey of Babiesin 21st Century

49.3
3104

49.2
3076

48.6
2965

48.7
2990

Source: Based on the JCPS 2012, and the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare’s Longitudinal Surveyof Babies in 21st Century.

Section 4 Conclusion

Beginning in 2010, JCPS conducted parent-child surveys three times. However, no differenceswere observed in children’s academic ability levels measured during each survey. Furthermore, theJCPS 2010 and 2012 included the children of JHPS participants. The cooperation/non-cooperation
pattern for the two surveys and for sample attributions revealed that households that possessed highcooperative levels tended to contain more children. In addition, the analysis clarified that these12

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/saikin/hw/syusseiji/tokubetsu/kekka03.html

households demonstrated stronger tendencies for fathers’ educational attainment to be high.
However, no relationship was found among mothers’ employment, mothers’ educational attainment,household incomes, parents’ ages, parents’ genders and children’s genders, and children’s birthorders. Furthermore, when ownership rates for mobile phones, children’s current heights and weight,
and children’s heights and weights at time of birth were compared with large-scale public statistics,
the results confirmed that the statistics obtained from JCPS were representative. On the other hand,with respect to children’s non-cognitive abilities, differences were observed between this survey andWestern and Japanese levels obtained from published school research. Future research should
investigate the causes of these differences.

JSPC adopted a two-layer structure to extract households from the household panel survey that
included elementary and junior high school children. It then followed up with the selected parents
and children for the purposes of supplementary research. In so doing, JSPC dynamically captured therelationship that exists between changes in household characteristics and children’s growth. This
research design created an unparalleled valuable dataset that would not have been gathered from asingle survey. However, some limitations can be found in this design.

First, the present format requires that existing household panel survey participants respondvoluntarily to an additional survey. Therefore, many subjects might feel burdened by the expectationthat they cooperate with overlapping research surveys. One pressing task would be to improve thecooperation rate, which was not high for the past three surveys.

Furthermore, participating households were limited to JHPS or KHPS samples. Therefore, even if
all corresponding children had participated, the maximum participants for each single survey would

have amounted to approximately 1,000 (Table 1) or, approximately, 100 participants per grade(Table 2). This represents a small sample. Because mathematics and Japanese academic ability tests
that reflect government curriculum guidelines differ for each grade, comparisons of test scores mustbe limited to participants within the same grades. Efforts must be made to increase the number ofsamples and to ensure statistical power that can withstand quantitative data analysis. Efforts could
include combining school surveys or supplementing them with randomly selected child samples.

Furthermore, the current design involves a biennial survey in which subject children’s ages werelimited to students enrolled in the 1st through 9th grades. Therefore, the continuous sample represents
only a portion of this entirety. Hence, even if subjects continue to cooperate in the research, thesurvey effectively ends when these children enter 8th or 9th grade. No method has been determined to
discover outcomes related to these children in the future. It would be desirable to transfer thesesubjects from the children’s panel survey to an adolescent panel survey to allow researchers tofollow these subjects.

Yet, although JCPS has many issues, it is likely that it will continue to receive additional
attention, because it is a rare data source that allows interdisciplinary research that might provide
valuable resources to the fields of economics, sociology, psychology, and educational science.

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