2000 Stories

Stories: The Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study (VAHCS) is a landmark longitudinal study spanning nearly years. The project began in 1992, when a group of around Year 9 students (14-15 years of age) were selected to participate. Our participants completed six interviews at school age (from Years 9 - 12), and three interviews in young adulthood (aged around 21, 24 and 29). Thanks to the support of our dedicated participants, we also completed our tenth round of interviews as our participants turned 35. We are now interviewing our participants for an 11th time in their early forties to better understand how mental health and behaviours in adolescence impact on mid-life. The first six surveys alone created one of the most comprehensive pictures of adolescent development to date. We looked at many aspects of teenage health and behaviour, including mental health, personality and behaviour, school, family, and drug and alcohol use. This information has been used to improve the health of future generations by influencing policy and informing prevention programs. More recently, we have focused on how teenage experiences, health and lifestyles may affect physical and emotional health in adulthood and in the next generation. Our findings have helped bring global attention to the important role of adolescence in shaping future health.