TEDS Data Dictionary

7 Year Measures

Contents of this page:

Introduction

The tables below summarise the measures used in the 7 Year study. Each measure is identified by the section heading and page number in the relevant booklet/questionnaire/score sheet, and by informal or formal names and descriptions. The number of items in each measure is shown, but note that some of these items have two or more parts, giving two or more item variables.

The final column of each table shows dataset scales that are related to each measure; each variable name here is a link that will take you to the relevant item in the 7 Year derived variables page.

Measures in the Child Telephone Tests

Refer to the annotated twin score sheet (pdf) for the sections referred to in the table below. See also the telephone interview script and the stimulus booklet (pdfs) for details of the conduct of these tests.

Twin score sheet section No. of items Description of measure References Related scales
Friends (first page),
Feelings (second page)		 11 Questions about friendship (4 items);
questions about emotions (7 items)		 (friendship questions included as warm-up items) -
Warm Up Section 5 Warm-up test questions (included as practice items for the main tests to follow) -
Conceptual Grouping 9 McCarthy Conceptual Groups test, adapted for telephone McCarthy, D. (1972): McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities; New York: The Psychological Corporation gcongrt1/2
Similarities 13 WISC Similarities test, adapted for telephone.

See the similarities test scoring guidance (pdf) for details of how each item was scored.		 Wechsler, D (1992): Wechsler intelligence scale for children (3rd Ed. UK); The Psychological Corporation gsimilt1/2
Test of Word Reading Abilities 4 TOWRE tests of Sight Word Efficiency ("Word" test) and Phonemic Decoding Efficiency ("Non-word" test). Torgesen, JK, Wagner, RK and Rashotte CA (1999): TOWRE (Test of Word Reading Efficiency); Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed gtowt1/2
Vocabulary 18 WISC Vocabulary test, adapted for telephone.

See the vocabulary test scoring guidance (pdf) for details of how each item was scored.		 Wechsler, D (1992): Wechsler intelligence scale for children (3rd Ed. UK); The Psychological Corporation gvocabt1/2
Picture Completion 21 WISC Picture Completion test, adapted for telephone Wechsler, D (1992): Wechsler intelligence scale for children (3rd Ed. UK); The Psychological Corporation gpicomt1/2

Composite cognitive ability scales, based on scores from four tests (Conceptual Grouping, Similarities, Vocabulary and Picture Completion): gcg1/2, gcl1/2, gcn1/2
Non Word Recognition 12 Non-word List Matching Test (dropped after cohort 1) Gathercole, SE, Pickering, SJ, Hall, M, and Peaker, SM (2000): Dissociable lexical and Phonological Influences on serial recognition and serial recall; The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2000, 53a gnwrt1/2

Measures in the Parent Booklet

Refer to the annotated parent booklet (pdf) for the section headings, page numbers and item variable names referred to in the table below. Some parents were interviewed by telephone - see the parent interview script (pdf) - but the measures used were identical to those used in the booklet.

Many of the measures in the parent booklet/interview are spread over several pages. Sometimes questions from different measures are interspersed with each other. Hence, the page numbers shown in the table below are often overlapping, and not in strict sequence.

The "number of items" shown is approximate. Where the same question is asked about each twin, this question is only counted once.

Booklet section heading, page numbers No. of items Description of measure References Related scales
About You and Your Family
(pages 1-2)		 9 Respondent and his/her partner; their relationships to the twins; marital status; other adults in the home. General demographic and background information Adult parents present:
gadults
Brothers and Sisters
(pages 1-2)		 17 Siblings of the twins: their names, birth dates, sexes and parentage These data were collected for admin reasons, in order to update our records of the twins' siblings, and to enable the Young Siblings sub-study. -
(pages 2-4) 20 Respondent's employment status, job title and employment categories;
same questions for respondent's partner		 These items are based on the requirements for SOC classification: see SOC 2000 (Standard Occupational Classification 2000) Mother and father employment categories:
gmosoc, gfasoc, gmojob, gfajob
(pages 3-4) 4 Educational qualifications of the respondent and respondent's partner Demographic information; for update on equivalent items in the 1st Contact booklet Mother and father highest qualification levels:
gmohqual, gfahqual

SES composite scale (from parent occupational and qualification data): gses
(page 4) 2 Changes in respondent's financial situation General demographic and background information -
(pages 5-6, 11-12, 15-16) 63 Behaviour trait measures
The 63 items appearing in three separate 'behaviour' sections in the parent booklet are supplemented by 2 items from the Health section (below) that are referenced here with the same measures.
Dataset items of each measure can now be identified by variable name prefix, as indicated below.
  1. 25 items: SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), variable name prefix gpsdq. Includes the item about stomach aches, headaches and sickness in the Health section.
  2. 21 items: ARBQ (Anxiety-Related Behaviours Questionnaire), variable name prefix gpanx. Includes the item about tics and twitches in the Health section. These items were originally described as belonging to the DSM-IV criteria for Anxiety Disorders and Depression; subsequently, the set of anxiety items has been labelled as ARBQ and published in the reference given.
  3. 9 items: APSD (Antisocial Process Screening Device), previously referred to as PSD (Psychopathy Screening Device), variable name prefix gpaps.
  4. 8 items: ASD, variable name prefix gpasd. The measure is referenced as the DSM-IV criteria for Asperger's Disorder and/or Autism.
  5. 2 items: Hyperactivity, variable name prefix gphyp. Added by Eric Taylor.
  1. SDQ. Goodman, R (1997): The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note; Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581-586
  2. ARBQ. Eley, T.C., Bolton, D., O’Connor, T.G., Perrin, S., Smith, P. and Plomin, R. (2003). A twin study of anxiety related behaviours in pre-school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44: 945-960.
  3. APSD. (a) Frick, P. J., & Hare, R. D. (2001). Antisocial Process Screening Device. Toronto: Multi Health Systems.
    (b) Frick, PJ, O’Brien, BS, Wootton, JM and McBurnett, K (1994): Psychopathy and conduct problems in children; Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103 (4), 700-707
  4. ASD. (a) Frith, U, Happé, F and Siddons, F (1994): Autism and theory of mind in everyday life; Social Development, 3, 108-124;
    (b) Hughes, C, Soares-Boucaud, I, Hochmann, J and Frith, U (1997): Social behaviour in Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Effects of group, informant and "theory of mind"; European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 6, 1-8;
    (c) Item 21 reworded from: Ehlers, S, Gillberg, C & Wing, L. (1999): A screening questionnaire for Asperger Syndrome and other high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in school age children; Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 129-141;
    (d) Items 25 and 58 derived from FH & CH previous work on theory of mind in everyday life: Fombonne, E, Siddons, F, Achard, S, Frith, U and Happé, F (1994): Adaptive behaviour and theory of mind in autism; European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 3, 176-186
  5. Hyperactivity: no published reference available.
 SDQ Scales:
gpsdqprot1/2, gpsdqhypt1/2, gpsdqcont1/2, gpsdqpert1/2, gpsdqemot1/2, gpsdqbeht1/2
ARBQ scales:
gpanxshyt1/2, gpanxocbt1/2, gpanxfeart1/2, gpanxnafft1/2, gpanxncogt1/2, gpanxt1/2
APSD scales:
gppsdnart1/2, gppsdcalt1/2
ASD-related scales:
gpasdsoct1/2, gpasdnont1/2
Health
(pages 6-10)		 55 Questions about twins' health. Note that 2 of these items are referenced under behaviour trait measures, above.
  1. Specific chronic illnesses, physical disabilities (11 items)
  2. Skin complaints, asthma, allergies (4 items)
  3. Hearing difficulties (3 items)
  4. Talking difficulties (6 items)
  5. Involuntary noises (3 items)
  6. Wetting or soiling (2 items)
  7. Tics or twitches (3 items)
  8. Fits (2 items)
  9. Hospital admissions, for twins, parents and siblings (6 items)
  10. Stomach aches, headaches and sickness (4 items)
  11. Dizziness, tiredness, aches and pains (8 items)
  12. Effect of symptoms on twin activities (1 item)
  13. Heights and weights (2 items)
 - Twin BMI derived from heights and weights:
gbmi1/2
Being a Parent (page 10) 6 Parental Discipline
 Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., and Pettit, G. S. (1998). Multiple risk factors in the development of externalising behaviour problems: Group and individual differences. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 469 - 493. Standardised twin-specific versions of items: gdiexpl1/2, gdismak1/2, gdisend1/2, gdishou1/2, gdiigno1/2, gdiprai1/2
Discipline scales: gpdisneg1/2, gpdispos1/2
Being a Parent of Twins (pages 12-13) 7 Parental Feelings Questionnaire
(same 7 items as in the 4 Year parent booklet, with some adaptations)		 Parenting and child behavioural adjustment in early childhood: A quantitative genetic approach to studying family processes. Child Development, 71, 468 - 484. Standardised twin-specific versions of items: gbpimpa1/2, gbphapp1/2, gbpamus1/2, gbpfrus1/2, gbpleav1/2, gbpangr1/2, gbpclos1/2
Parental feelings scales: gpparneg1/2, gpparpos1/2, gppar1/2
Education (pages 13-15) 26

Questions about twins' education and learning difficulties:

  1. Twin schools and classrooms; feelings about school (4 items)
  2. Specific learning difficulties (11 items)
  3. Special Educational Needs; extra support for twins in school (9 items)
  4. Time taken off school (2 items)
 - -
(page 15) 12 Life Events
 - Count of reported life events:
glecount

Measures in the Teacher Questionnaire

The teacher questionnaire was printed on just two pages, without headings for different sections. The table below therefore simply lists the measures in the same order as they appear in the questionnaire. Refer to the annotated teacher questionnaire (pdf) for the content of the measures.

No. of items Description of measure References Related scales
4 Type of school; how well teacher knows twin; referrals for special education
 - -
4 Comparison of twin with typical pupils of the same age
 - -
60

Behaviour trait measures
Dataset items of each measure can now be identified by variable name prefix, as indicated below.

  1. 25 items: SDQ (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), variable name prefix gtsdq.
  2. 17 items: ARBQ (Anxiety-Related Behaviours Questionnaire), variable name prefix gtanx. These items were originally described as belonging to the DSM-IV criteria for Anxiety Disorders and Depression; subsequently, the set of anxiety items has been labelled as ARBQ and published in the reference given.
  3. 8 items: APSD (Antisocial Process Screening Device), previously referred to as PSD (Psychopathy Screening Device), variable name prefix gtaps.
  4. 8 items: ASD, variable name prefix gtasd. The measure is referenced as the DSM-IV criteria for Asperger's Disorder and/or Autism.
  5. 2 items: Hyperactivity, variable name prefix gthyp. Added by Eric Taylor.
 Same references as for the parent-rated behaviour measures (see table above). SDQ Scales:
gtsdqprot1/2, gtsdqhypt1/2, gtsdqcont1/2, gtsdqpert1/2, gtsdqemot1/2, gtsdqbeht1/2
ARBQ scales:
gtanxshyt1/2, gtanxocbt1/2, gtanxfeart1/2, gtanxnafft1/2, gtanxncogt1/2, gtanxt1/2
APSD scales:
gtpsdnart1/2, gtpsdcalt1/2
ASD-related scales:
gtasdsoct1/2, gtasdnont1/2
6 Difficulties affecting the twin at school
 - -
6 Educational Achievement: English and Maths National Curriculum levels
 QCA (2001): National Curriculum in Action, English/Mathematics/Science Level Descriptions
(no longer available online) 		gt2ac1/2, gtmat1/2, gteng1/2