Understanding Change Through Australian Longitudinal Mixed-Method Multicohort Youth Research

In youth studies, particular attention is paid to how youth transitions unfold and vary across space and time. Longitudinal methods are a valuable resource for the examination of key issues in the field, including access to education, work, housing, relationships and family formation. This chapter reflects on the insights gained from Life Patterns, a major longitudinal study of young people and young adults in Australia conducted during the last three decades. Life Patterns is a mixed method, multi-state, multicohort longitudinal study of young Australians. The Life Patterns dataset includes data collected from surveys, interviews and dialogic workshops, making it amenable to both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The multimethod longitudinal design also makes it possible to use various types of mixed-method analysis, such as using descriptive information from survey responses to contextualise the in-depth analysis of interview data. On the empirical front, Life Patterns data has been used to identify important transformations in young lives and on the theoretical front, Life Patterns has supported conceptual development regarding new forms of adulthood and belonging. Longitudinal methods play a central role in analysing how young people’s lives are made and remade over time, both biographically and between successive groups of young people.