Australian Temperament Project

• Professor Craig Olsson

  Research Group Leader

  Craig.Olsson@rch.org.au
  +61 3 9345 6250

Research Overview

The Australian Temperament Project (ATP) is one of Australia’s longest running studies of social and emotional development. The initial study sample comprised 2443 families from urban and rural areas of the state of Victoria. We recruited parents (Generation 1) and their children (Generation 2) at 4-8 months of age. We have followed these two generations for over 4 decades, collecting 17 waves of data so far. Two in three families are still participating after 4 decades.

In 2012 a new phase of ATP was launched: the Generation 3 study. Children born to Generation 2 participants were invited to take part in the Generation 3 study. This important and unique study allows us to answer questions about how the experiences of one generation affect the next.

Our current research is looking at health and wellbeing in mid and later life, and how this may be impacted by factors from earlier in life. From 2025, all Generation 1 and Generation 2 participants are invited to take part in the Wellbeing Survey. The ATP Health Check, a series of activities that assesses physical and cognitive health, is also underway. This new series of research will help answer questions about how experiences shape our health and future generations.

ATP is one of the few studies worldwide that is following the social and emotional development across three generations. It offers a unique opportunity to explore how patterns of health and wellbeing in one generation shape the patterns of health and wellbeing in future generations.

ATP has published over 200 papers on aspects of social and emotional development from childhood to adulthood, with findings broadly translated into practice, policy and educational settings.

See more at www.melbournechildrens.com/atp

Further information is available at http://lifecourse.melbournechildrens.com/cohorts/atp/#designgeneration2

Under the campus partnership, our research is embedded in MCRI. Prof Craig Olsson’s full research profile can be found at https://www.mcri.edu.au/users/craig-olsson or https://experts.deakin.edu.au/1131-Craig-Olsson

Staff

• Prof Craig Olsson,  Lead Investigator
• Dr Lisa Mundy, Senior Program Lead
• Elissa Phillips, Project Manager
• Liam Graeme, Data Manager
• Steph Aarsman, Data Analyst
• Paige Farrow, Research Assistant
• Fiona Olsson, Research Assistant
• Oliver Cotchin, Research Assistant
• Chloe Sidwell, Research Assistant

Collaborators

The ATP began as a collaboration between psychologists at La Trobe University and paediatricians at the Royal Children's Hospital. Over time the collaboration has expanded to include the University of Melbourne, the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and Deakin University.

• Prof Ann Sanson, Founding Investigator
• Prof Frank Oberklaid, Founding Investigator
• Prof Margot Prior, Founding Investigator
• Dr Diana Smart, Founding Investigator
• Dr Suzanne Vassallo, Founding Investigator
• Prof Craig Olsson, Lead Investigator
• Prof David Burgner, Investigator, MCRI
• A/Prof Joanne Ryan, Investigator, Monash University
• Prof Tim Slade, Investigator, Sydney Medical School
• Dr Liz Spry, Investigator, Deakin University
• Prof Peter Azzopardi, Investigator, MCRI
• Dr Primrose Letcher, Investigator, Deakin University
• Prof Suzanne Robinson, Investigator, Deakin University
• Prof Bob Hancox, Investigator, University of Otago
• Prof Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Investigator, Deakin University
• Prof Viviana Wuthrich, Investigator, Macquarie University
• Prof Peter Butterworth, Investigator, Deakin University
• Prof Peter Enticott, Investigator, Deakin University
• Dr Meredith O’Connor, Investigator, MCRI
• A/Prof Jacqui Macdonald, Investigator, Deakin University
• A/Prof Delyse Hutchinson, Investigator, Deakin University
• A/Prof Mihiri Silva, Investigator, University of Melbourne
• Dr Toby Mansell, Investigator, MCRI
• Mx Emily Unity, Investigator, MCRI
• A/Prof Alex Bahar-Fuchs, Deakin University
• Prof Ben Edwards, Collaborator, ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods
• Prof Jennifer McIntosh, Collaborator, La Trobe University
• Prof Sarah Whittle, Collaborator, University of Melbourne
• Dr Judith Solomon, Collaborator, Connecticut
• A/Prof Jonathan Mynard, Collaborator, MCRI
• Dr Peter Fransquet, Collaborator, Monash University
• A/Prof Martin Guhn, Collaborator, UBC Vancouver

Funding

• 2024 – 2029: NHMRC CTCS Grant. Olsson, Burger, Ryan, Slade, Greenwood, Spry, Azzopardi, Letcher, Robinson, Hancox: Extending lifespan and healthspan: A 40-year prospective cohort study of early life determinants of leading causes of mental disorder and chronic disease burden in populations
• 2024 – 2026: ARC Grant. Olsson, Butterworth, Enticott, Greenwood, Hancox, Letcher, Robinson, Ryan, Slade, Wuthrich: Wave 17 Drivers of ageing and adaptive ageing in middle-aged and older adults
• 2020 – 2024: NHMRC Investigator Grant. Olsson: Development and Trial implementation of a Comprehensive Intergenerational Mental Health Monitoring System
• 2020 – 2022: ARC Discovery Project. Olsson, Sanson, Enticott, McIntosh, Guhn, Macdonald: Intergenerational Determinants of Child Development on School Entry
• 2018 – 2020: ARC Discovery Project. Olsson, Patton, Hancox, McGee, Hutchinson, Youssef, McIntosh: The Intergenerational Origins of Childhood Emotional Security: A Cross Cohort Analysis Spanning Three Cohorts and Three Generations
• 2017 – 2019: Ian Potter Foundation Grant. Olsson, Nolan, Toumbourou: Trial of the Toddler Development Instrument
• 2016-2018: ARC Discovery (DP160103160) Olsson, Sanson, McGee, McIntosh, Hutchinson, Lewis, Macdonald, Ryan, Edwards: Intergenerational Prediction of Social and Early Emotional Development. $453,000
• 2015-2019: NHMRC Project Grant (APP1082406) Olsson, Sanson, Patton, McGee, McIntosh, George, Ryan, Hutchinson: Preconception determinants of child health and development: A 4-year follow-up of offspring born to the Australian Temperament Project. $1,020,945
• 2013-2015: ARC Discovery (DP1311459):  Olsson, Sanson, Toumbourou, Lewis, Hutchinson, McGee, Edwards -  Pre-conception predictors of early childhood social and emotional development: A 30-year longitudinal study of grandparents, parents and children. $961,000

Research Publications

For a full list of publications, see  https://www.melbournechildrens.com/atp/publications/

1. Prior, M., Sanson, A., Smart, D., & Oberklaid, F. (2000). Pathways from infancy to adolescence: Australian Temperament Project 1983-2000. Australian Institute of Family Studies, 1–83.
2. Edwards, B., Hawkins, M., Letcher, P., Little, K., Macdonald, J., Oberklaid, F., O’Connor, M., Olsson, C., Prior, M., Sanson, A., Smart, D., Toumbourou, J., & Vassallo, S. (2013). The Australian Temperament Project: the first 30 years. Australian Institute of Family Studies, 01–26.
3. Silins, E., Horwood, L. J., Patton, G. C., Fergusson, D. M., Olsson, C. A., Hutchinson, D. M., Spry, E., Toumbourou, J. W., Degenhardt, L., Swift, W., Coffey, C., Tait, R. J., Letcher, P., Copeland, J., Mattick, R. P., Allsop, S., Hall, W., Hayatbakhsh, R., Little, K., … Slade, T. (2014). Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: An integrative analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1, 286–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70307-4
4. Olsson, C. A., Letcher, P., Greenwood, C. J., McIntosh, J. E., Barker, S., Olsson, C. M., MacDonald, J. A., Spry, E. A., Hutchinson, D., Ryan, J., Edwards, B., McGee, R., Patton, G. C., & Sanson, A. V. (2022). The Australian Temperament Project Generation 3 study: a population-based multigenerational prospective cohort study of socioemotional health and development. BMJ Open, 12, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061854
5. Allen, K. A., Greenwood, C. J., Berger, E., Patlamazoglou, L., Reupert, A., Wurf, G., May, F., O’Connor, M., Sanson, A., Olsson, C. A., & Letcher, P. (2024). Adolescent School Belonging and Mental Health Outcomes in Young Adulthood: Findings from a Multi-wave Prospective Cohort Study. School Mental Health, 16(1), 149–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-023-09626-6