Young people questionnaires From 1998 to 2003 the young people involved in the study were asked to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaires contained a core set of questions that were asked every year. However, in order to develop new areas of interests, some new questions were included every year. Questions were asked about leisure activities, family structure and relationships, health, neighbourhood characteristics, experience of offending and anti-social behaviour, friends, being a victim of crime, contact with official agencies such as the police, attitudes and aspirations for the future. Between sweeps one and six, most young people took part at school. In future years, questionnaires will be administered by a trained interviewer or completed online. Click here for further information on future fieldwork. The self report questionnaires can be accessed using the links below. (If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here to download it free). If you would like to use our data collection instruments in your own research please contact us and reference the Edinburgh Study in any reports you produce.

Sweep 1 Questionnaire 1998 Sweep 2 Questionnaire 1999 Sweep 3 Questionnaire 2000 Sweep 4 Questionnaire 2001 Sweep 5 Questionnaire 2002 Sweep 6 School Leavers' Questionnaire 2003 Sweep 6 School Pupils' Questionnaire 2003

Response rates: In order to maximize study validity, a priority of the research team is to ensure that as many cohort members as possible participate in the study at every sweep.  Response rates at each sweep: Sweep number Number of eligible  cohort members % response rate 1 4300 96.2 2 4299 95.6 3 4296 95.2 4 4144 92.6 5 3856 89.1 6 3531 80.5

Young people interviews To complement the quantitative aspect of the study a series of qualitative semi-structured interviews have been conducted with cohort members. The primary aim of these interviews was to add a qualitative component to the output of the Edinburgh Study. In 2000 interviews were carried out with 40 cohort members (24 boys and 16 girls) who were identified as at possible risk of offending. The interviews were intended to explore a range of issues which might provide a deeper understanding of the reasons why some young people offend while others don't. These interviews focused on activities, involvement offending behaviour, experience of victimisation, alcohol and drugs use, growing up, controls on behaviour, attitudes towards crime and hopes for the future. In 2004 interviews were carried out with 15 cohort members who had reported high levels of delinquency at age 15. These interviews have supplemented the statistical analysis of questionnaire data by providing more contextual detail about certain aspects of youth transitions and crime, such as motive for and changes in behaviour, young people’s feelings about crime and crime prevention, and how young people account for their own delinquent behaviour. These interviews focused on current, past and future behaviour (particularly delinquent behaviour) and motivations for these behaviours, reasons for alteration in behaviour,  opinions about crime, views on effective prevention of delinquency among young people, and their aspirations and hopes for the future.