The Child and Youth Development Research Partnership (CYDRP) is a research partnership between the NT Government and the CCDE. The aim of the partnership is to support research and evaluation that informs child and youth wellbeing.

At the heart of the partnership, is a repository of de-identified, linked data about NT children and young people, born from 1994 onwards. The CYDRP data repository was refreshed in 2017 and the current version (Extract 2) contains information on 80 000 children and young people across 14 datasets including those in health, education, child protection, and youth justice. Data linkage for the repository is undertaken by SA NT DataLink, which is a dedicated research linkage facility.

Preparations are in progress for a refresh of the repository (Extract 3) which will push back the earliest data to 1986 and expand the collection to 24 datasets. Extract 3 should be available by June 2020. The Partnership supports the ongoing management of the CYDRP data repository by CCDE, as well as priority projects within the partnership.

The partnership also encourages research by other parties, where the research is consistent with the approved use of the repository.

Chief investigator:
Contact information:

For further information about the project, please email. 

Project dates:

The project commenced in January 2017 and will conclude on 31 December 2024.

CYDRP – current projects

The following are current projects, at 10 August 2021, that utilise the CYDRP data repository and have full approval for the conduct of the study. The projects are led by members of the Centre for Child Development and Education data linkage team unless otherwise stated.

Birth and early childhood development
  • Predictive modelling for developmental and educational outcomes in early childhood
  • Exposure to family violence in early childhood  Trends in preterm birth in the Top End, 2013-2018 (Dr Kiarna Brown, NT Department of Health)
  • Intergenerational patterns of preterm birth (Dr Holger Unger, Menzies School of Health Research)
  • Mobility from birth to school
  • Development of a predictive risk model for NT children referred to child protection services
  • Role of self-regulation and executive functioning in school readiness (Dr Georgie Nutton, Charles Darwin University)
  • Child protection system contact and child development – a multi-jurisdictional study (Dr Rhiannon Pilkington, University of Adelaide)
  • Influence of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) coverage and timeliness on risk of pneumonia hospitalisation among Australian children (Dr Michael Binks, Menzies School of Health Research)
  • Estimating the impact of alcohol restrictions on birth and child wellbeing outcomes (Professor Stefanie Schurer, University of Sydney)
  • Long term impact of income management on child wellbeing outcomes (Ms Mary-Alice Doyle, London School of Economics)
  • Seasonal patterns in birth outcomes (Ms Mary-Alice Doyle, London School of Economics)
  • Outcomes from Special Care Nursery admission (Professor Stefanie Schurer, University of Sydney
  • Multiple outcomes in early childhood (Dr Lucinda Roper, University of new South Wales)
Middle childhood
  • From Preschool to Year 3: School engagement of NT remote children (Dr Georgie Nutton, Charles Darwin University)
  • Opportunities for early intervention in middle childhood
  • Does otitis media increase the risk of conductive hearing loss in Aboriginal children living in the Northern Territory? (Dr Jiunn-Yih Su, Menzies School of Health Research)
Teenage years
  • Understanding the association between child maltreatment experience and youth offence
  • Barriers and facilitators for school retention to Year 9 & 10 for Aboriginal students
  • Trends in youth justice service contacts
  • Understanding child protection contacts with older Aboriginal girls (Ms Susan Moore, Menzies School of Health Research)
  • Characteristics of children with contact with child protection and youth justice services
  • Children in out-of-home care and contact with youth justice services
  • Mental health prevalence for adolescents with record of contact with child protection and youth justice services
  • Against the Odds: understanding the factors influencing wellbeing among Aboriginal youth (Prof Stefanie Schurer)
  • Understanding Pathways in Permanency Planning: Evaluating the impact of different out-of-home care arrangements on children’s long-term outcomes (Professor Stefanie Schurer, University of Sydney)
  • Needs and services for young people involved with youth justice services
  • Multiple outcomes in adolescence: Understanding the profile of adolescents involved with multiple services.
All age groups
  • Unintentional injury hospitalisation among NT children
  • Trends in child protection service contact
  • Predictive modelling for contact with youth justice services
Funders:

NT Government Departments:

  • Chief Minister and Cabinet
  • Treasury and Finance
  • Territory Families, Housing and Communities
  • Health
  • Education
  • Attorney General and Justice
  • Police, Fire and Emergency Services
  1. Leckning, B., He, V., Condon, J. R., Hirvonen, T., Milroy, H., & Guthridge, S. (2021). Patterns of child protection service involvement by Aboriginal children associated with a higher risk of self-harm in adolescence: A retrospective population cohort study using linked administrative data. Child abuse & neglect, 113, 104931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.104931
  2. Su, J., Guthridge, S., He, V., Howard, D., & Leach, A. (2020). The impact of hearing impairment on early academic achievement in Aboriginal children living in remote Australia: a data linkage study. BMC Public Health, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09620-6
  3. Su, J., Guthridge, S., He, V., Howard, D., & Leach, A. (2020). Impact of hearing impairment on early childhood development in Australian Aboriginal children: A data linkage study. Journal Of Paediatrics And Child Health, 56(10), 1597-1606. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.15044
  4. Su, J., He, V., Guthridge, S., & Silburn, S. (2020). The Impact of Hearing Impairment on the Life Trajectories of Aboriginal Children in Remote Australia: Protocol for the Hearing Loss in Kids Project. JMIR Research Protocols, 9(1), e15464. https://doi.org/10.2196/15464
  5. Su, J., He, V., Guthridge, S., Howard, D., Leach, A., & Silburn, S. (2019). The impact of hearing impairment on Aboriginal children’s school attendance in remote Northern Territory: a data linkage study. Australian And New Zealand Journal Of Public Health, 43(6), 544-550. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12948
  6. He, V., Su, J., Guthridge, S., Malvaso, C., Howard, D., Williams, T., & Leach, A. (2019). Hearing and justice: The link between hearing impairment in early childhood and youth offending in Aboriginal children living in remote communities of the Northern Territory, Australia. Health & Justice, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-019-0097-6
  7. He, V., Guthridge, S., Su, J., Howard, D., Stothers, K., & Leach, A. (2020). The link between hearing impairment and child maltreatment among Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory of Australia: is there an opportunity for a public health approach in child protection?. BMC Public Health, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8456-8
  8. Leckning, B., Robinson, G., Guthridge, S., & He, V. (2019). Exploring risk profiles of young people with self-harm hospital admissions in the Northern Territory. Darwin: Menzies School of Health Research.
  9. He, V.,  Guthridge, S., & Leckning, S. (2019). From Birth to Five: A multiagency data-linkage study to inform a public health response to child protection in the Northern Territory. Darwin: Menzies School of Health Research.
  10. He, V.,  Guthridge, S., & Leckning, S. (2019). Protection and Justice: A study of the crossover of Northern Territory children between two services. Darwin: Menzies School of Health Research.
  11. McHugh, L., Andrews, R., Leckning, B., Snelling, T., & Binks, M. (2019). Baseline incidence of adverse birth outcomes and infant influenza and pertussis hospitalisations prior to the introduction of influenza and pertussis vaccination in pregnancy: a data linkage study of 78 382 mother–infant pairs, Northern Territory, Australia, 1994–2015. Epidemiology And Infection, 147. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0950268819001171
  12. Silburn S, Guthridge S, McKenzie J, et al. (eds) (2018). Early Pathways to School Learning: Lessons from the Northern Territory Data-Linkage Study. Darwin: Menzies School of Health Research. 
  13. Doyle, M., Schurer, S., & Silburn, S. (2017). Do welfare restrictions improve child health? Estimating the causal impact of income management in the Northern Territory. LCC Working Paper Series: 2017-23. Life Course Centre.
  14. Guthridge, S., He, V., & Silburn, S. (2017). A statistical overview of children’s involvement with the NT child protection system, Royal Commission into Protection and Detention of Northern Territory Children Exh 512.00 2017
  15. Cobb-Clark D, Kettlewell N, Schurer S, Silburn S. (2017). The effect of quarantining welfare on school attendance in Indigenous communities. LCC Working Paper Series: 2017-22. Life Course Centre.
  16. McEwen, E., Guthridge, S., He, V., McKenzie, J., Boulton, T., & Smith, R. (2018). What birthweight percentile is associated with optimal perinatal mortality and childhood education outcomes?. American Journal Of Obstetrics And Gynecology, 218(2), S712-S724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2017.11.574
  17. Guthridge, S., Li, L., Silburn, S., Li, S., McKenzie, J., & Lynch, J. (2016). Early influences on developmental outcomes among children, at age 5, in Australia’s Northern Territory. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 35, 124-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.12.008
  18. Guthridge, S., Li, L., Silburn, S., Li, S. Q., McKenzie, J., & Lynch, J. (2015). Impact of perinatal health and socio-demographic factors on school education outcomes: A population study of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in the Northern Territory. Journal of paediatrics and child health, 51(8), 778–786. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.12852