Understanding Society collects information on a wide range of social, economic and behavioural factors. The Study represents a unique opportunity to conduct novel research on pregnancy and early childhood, as we collect annual information from before and after children are born and on the whole family, providing family context on children growing up. In addition, all children in the household are Understanding Society participants, so the data includes information on siblings; and at age 10 we start collecting data directly from children.
To help data users who want to study pregnancy and early childhood we have developed a new data file. The PEACH (Pregnancy and Early Childhood) dataset will improve access to key information on pregnancy and early childhood, bringing information on these areas together in one place.
The PEACH file has been created using all children ever reported in the child file (main survey, Waves 1 to 10), according to their eligibility for the child development questions. Information is provided at the child level, using the child’s identifier to uniquely identify each row. All the variables in each category are time-specific, not changing across time. For example, child’s birthweight, the amount of fussing or crying when the child was a newborn, or how often the parent reads to the child when they are 3, 5 and 8 years old are specific to the age of the child, not changing over time or waves.
Information about children is asked to all parents or responsible adults and so the variables reflect both the information collected and the source of the information. Over 18,000 children are included in the file. The PEACH file will be updated after each wave release.
For more information read the User Guide and watch this presentation: Introduction to the PEACH dataset
Access the beta version of the PEACH datafile
A beta version of the PEACH datafile is now available for researchers to use and to give feedback on the file to the Understanding Society team.
To request the beta version of the datafile please email Dr Edith Aguirre – edith.aguirre@essex.ac.uk
Send us your comments on the new file
We are keen to hear from researchers working in child development about any improvements we could make to this data file. When you have used the PEACH dataset please send any feedback to Dr Edith Aguirre, Senior Research Office at Understanding Society and lead researcher for the PEACH project.
Family and households
