Research on the Danish Longitudinal Survey of Children (DALSC) at the Danish National Centre for Social Research

Introduction: This article reviews research results obtained using the Danish Longitudinal Survey of Children born in 1995 (DALSC), which is placed at SFI, the Danish National Centre for Social Research. DALSC aims to gain insight into children’s growing-up conditions in contemporary society. DALSC consists of three subsamples: (1) children of Danish mothers; (2) children of ethnic minority mothers; and (3) children in out-of-home care. Four waves of data collections have been carried out since 1996. Being designed with the purpose of obtaining rich and detailed information about children’s development and family life, register data was not connected to DALSC before 2006. Research topics: By using three categories of children as examples (ethnic minority children, vulnerable children, and children in out-of-home care), the article shows how register data gradually has gained ground in research upon children’s health conditions. Conclusion: We expect to see a more extensive use of administrative registers as basis for the analyses in future research.