Professors Lesley McAra and Susan McVie reflect on the impact of the Edinburgh Study
Mon 17 June 2024
The Nuffield Foundation has commissioned a short film about the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime and the impacts of the Study on policy. The Edinburgh Study has been funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (grant numbers R000237157 and R000239150), and the Scottish Government.
Led by Professors Lesley McAra and Susan McVie, this longitudinal programme of research has explored pathways into and out of offending for a cohort of 4,300 people who started secondary education in the City of Edinburgh in 1998. The most recent phase of the Study examined outcomes at age 35, with a particular focus on the links between experiences of trauma, poverty and contacts with the juvenile justice system in childhood, and involvement in serious offending and the criminal justice system in the adult years.
The Study has provided a critical evidence base for transformations in youth justice policy in Scotland and internationally, including the recent decision in Scotland to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 (from age 8, one of the lowest ages globally) and to abolish the use of imprisonment for young people under the age of 18.
On the Nuffield Foundation’s impact on the Edinburgh Study, Professor McVie said: “The Nuffield Foundation has been a strong supporter of the Edinburgh Study over many years. We are delighted to be able to showcase the impact the Study has had on juvenile justice policy and practice in Scotland and beyond, and to celebrate our longstanding collaboration.”
On the success of the Edinburgh Study, Professor McAra said: “The success of the Edinburgh Study has been down to the willingness of our cohort members to share their lives with us over the last quarter of a century. For this we are deeply grateful and give our heartfelt thanks. We are also grateful to all the staff who have worked with us at various points. Susan and I are proud of what the Study has achieved in making a difference to the lives of children and young people.”
Watch the full interview with Professors McAra and McVie
Read more about the Edinburgh Study