The main objective of the study is to better understand the factors that influence children’s well-being and development. It will be used to produce enlightening statistics on the needs of Québec children and families. Social policies and programs can then be better adapted to their reality.
Foire aux questions
The Institut de la statistique du Québec is a government agency whose mission is to produce, analyze and disseminate official, objective and quality statistics on various aspects of Québec society.
It’s a study that follows the same people over time. The information gathered in this way allows us to better understand changes in living situations, the development (or non-development) of certain behaviours, and the various transitions experienced.
An interviewer from the Institut de la statistique du Québec will call your family to explain this year’s data collection activities and answer your questions. You can choose where we meet with your child: at school or at home. If we meet with your child at school, the interview with you will be done remotely, and if we meet with your child at your home, the interview with you will also take place at your home. We will schedule the interview at a time that is convenient for you.
If the meeting with your child takes place at home: During the visit, the interviewer will complete a questionnaire with you. Your child will do the usual activities (including weight and height measurements) and will complete a questionnaire.
If the meeting with your child takes place at school: The interviewer will complete a questionnaire with you during the remote interview. We will schedule an appointment to meet with your child at school to do the usual activities (including weight and height measurements) and complete a questionnaire.
Once the appointment has been scheduled, each parent will receive an email containing the information they will need to complete their online questionnaire, which should take about 25 minutes.
To complete the online questionnaire:
- Go to the following web address: statistique.quebec.ca/parents-en
- Enter your identifier
- Create a password
- Complete the online questionnaire
If necessary, you can exit the questionnaire and return to finish it at a more convenient time.
3a) I got an error message when trying to access the online questionnaire. What do I do?
Make sure you entered your identifier and password correctly.
You can contact Institut de la statistique du Québec by phone at 1-866-433-7828 or by email at growingupinquebec@stat.gouv.qc.ca.
Please mention the name of the study (Growing Up in Québec), your name, your family number, and your contact information.
We will respond to your request within 24 hours during our office hours: Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Parents separating is something that we sometimes need to take into account during the study. If it happens, we stay in touch with both parents throughout the study. Depending on the family’s situation, each parent’s involvement may vary and will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Your child was selected at random when he or she was about 5 months old, like thousands of other children of the same age.
Your participation in this study is voluntary, but important, since it will allow us to better understand the development of Québec children. Your family is unique, and if you drop out of the study, we unfortunately won’t be able to replace you.
The teacher’s participation is important to gather information on certain aspects of your child’s school life. Your child’s teacher is well positioned to answer questions about certain activities done by your child in class and how he or she behaves at school. The teacher’s contribution will add to the study by providing more information about your child’s experiences.
You have nothing to prepare for the interview, but since some of the information collected during last year’s data collection round will be updated this year, you can gather the information that was useful to you last year.
The questions will concern various aspects of your child’s life (e.g., living environment, health, eating and sleep habits, behaviour) and family (e.g., parents’ employment situation, language spoken at home). Most questions will be multiple choice, and response cards will be provided as a visual support if needed.
For quality and training purposes, conversations with Institut de la statistique du Québec interviewers are recorded. If you don’t want the conversation to be recorded, you can let the interviewers know.
The Act respecting the Institut de la statistique du Québec guarantees that the information you provide will be kept confidential and will only be used for statistical purposes. All Institut employees have taken an oath before a commissioner and are bound to secrecy and confidentiality.
The Institut de la statistique du Québec will send de-identified responses to its Growing Up in Québec partners and collaborating researchers. This means the responses won’t include any information allowing your family to be directly identified, such as names, phone numbers or addresses. Before they can receive the data files, these partners and researchers must sign a confidentiality agreement that meets the Institut de la statistique du Québec’s standards. All of your information will be kept confidential and will only be used for statistical purposes.
Yes. The ethics committee mandated by the Institut de la statistique du Québec has assessed the study to ensure participants are treated with respect and dignity.
You can call Institut de la statistique du Québec toll-free at 1-866-433-7828.
For more information about the study, please contact the Direction de la gestion de la collecte by e-mail at growingupinquebec@stat.gouv.qc.ca or by phone at 1-866-433-7828 (toll-free). You can reach us Monday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Additional information is also available on the website of the study: statistique.quebec.ca/growingupinquebec.