DOI: 10.5255/ukda-sn-7473-3
title: 1970 British Cohort Study: Age 42, Sweep 9, 2012
title: 1970 British Cohort Study – Survey and Biomeasures Data
title: BCS70

description: &lt;p&gt;The &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;1970 British Cohort Study&lt;/span&gt; (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 surveyed 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.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Since 1970, cohort members have been surveyed at ages 5, 10, 16, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46, and 51. 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.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;BCS70 is run by the &lt;a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/1970-british-cohort-study/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;Centre for Longitudinal Studies&lt;/a&gt; (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 &lt;a href="https://discovery.closer.ac.uk/item/uk.cls.bcs70/75fe4705-0c94-4f75-b1e6-ad9c61ffde26" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;CLOSER Discovery&lt;/a&gt; website.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;em&gt;How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br&gt;For information on how to access biomedical data from BCS70 that are not held at the UKDS, see the &lt;a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/data-access-training/genetic-data-and-biological-samples/" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;CLS Genetic data and biological samples&lt;/a&gt; webpage.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Polygenic Indices&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;Polygenic indices are available under Special Licence SN 9439. Derived summary scores have been created that combine the estimated effects of many different genes on a specific trait or characteristic, such as a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease, asthma, substance abuse, or mental health disorders, for example. These polygenic scores can be combined with existing survey data to offer a more nuanced understanding of how cohort members' outcomes may be shaped.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Secure Access datasets&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Secure Access versions of BCS70 have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard Safeguarded Licence.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;The &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;1&lt;span&gt;970 British Cohort Study: Age 42, Sweep 9, 2012&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, comprised two parts: a 'core' face-to-face interview and a paper self-completion questionnaire. The survey sought to update information gathered in previous surveys in order to explore the factors central to the formation and maintenance of adult identity in each of the following domains:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;lifelong learning&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;relationships, parenting and housing&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;employment and income&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;health and health behaviour&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;citizenship and values.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
The 2012 follow-up also included questions on a number of new topics that have either not previously been covered at all or not covered in adulthood, including: housing costs and housing equity; sexuality; cultural consumption - books, television, newspapers; religious beliefs - belief in God, belief in the after life; experience of the menopause; fertility intentions; diet - consumption of ready-meals, convenience foods, take-aways and home-cooked meals; sleep.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Latest edition information&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;For the third edition (September 2022), a derived dataset (bcs70_age16_school_type) has been added, which includes age 16 school type data for the entire BCS cohort. This is derived from STYPE (BCS4), B9SC16TP (BCS9) and the 1986 School Census. A user guide describing this variable in full has also been added. In addition, five other data files have been updated with minor labelling updates (derived, flatfile, persongrid, relationships and unfolding).&lt;br&gt;