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MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Contributed by Doctor A.J.Costello, M.A., M.B., B.Ch., D.P.M., D.Obst. R.C.O.G.
FAMILY SURVEY - M.R.C. UNIT FOR THE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS IN MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ILLNESS
The unit's work in the Borough during 1968 has been steadily expanding. Three
projects which had been started earlier were completed. The first of these, the "The
Toddlers Day" which began some time ago is still in the course of analysis, but some
interesting findings have already emerged and some have been published.* The study consists
of over fifty mothers with two children who were first seen when they were expecting the
second child and they and their children were followed until the youngest child was fourteen
months old. The mothers were interviewed to obtain a detailed account of what happened to
the child throughout the preceding twenty-four hours on three occasions of six month intervals.
Perhaps the most interesting finding is the predictability of the mother's behaviour from one
child to the other, and the consistency from day to day, in spite of the fact that different
mothers have very different patterns of child care, particularly in the attention they give to the
child.
In a co-operative study with the Health Department we undertook a controlled trial of
the affect of attending a Play-Group. Unfortunately, the time period chosen for assessment
has to be limited to only six weeks, and although the Play-Group children were rated by their
mothers as, 'happier' after attendance, no more specific changes could be shown in so short
a time, though direct observation confirmed that some individuals showed marked changes for
the better.
Another project involved Health Visitors in a search for families of two children under
five born close together. Some of these families agreed to come to our observation room where
the two children could be watched in play and later both children attended Play-Groups. The
aim of this study was to investigate the effect of being first or second born on the relationship
of the child with the mother. First born children are known to do better at school, other things
being equal, but it is uncertain if this is due to the stimulus of the second child or the advantage
of having the parents' undivided attention in the earlier years. We could find no evidence
that the mothers showed more attention to first borns than second borns, but the first born
children did attract more attention from the adult supervisor of the Play-Group. This suggests
a quite different explanation; that the advantage of being first born lies in learning to develop
a special relationship with adults. This explanation is consistent with other work on older
children in schools.
Of the new work which has been started in this year perhaps the project of most
interest is an attempt to construct and up date a comprehensive register of the children in the
Borough. The rate of migration of young families in and out of the Borough makes it difficult
to keep track of individual children and to make soundly-based plans for the provision of
services. This register is based on the notification of births and uses other information
including direct enquiries to parents to update the file at regular intervals. The record is
stored on a computer to provide speed of access and manipulation, and to ensure confidential
ity. It is hoped that the use of the file wiII bring improvements to the infant vaccination
and immunisation rate and to the running and evaluation of the 'At Risk' register. It is also
planned to use it for several research studies in particular in the construction of a developmental
scale to improve the diagnosis and detection of abnormal or delayed development in
children.