Abstract
This paper is written as a background to the concept of establishing a national research collaboration to enable better and more constructive research to underpin public policies which aim to improve family, child and adolescent health and wellbeing. It was initiated from an epidemiological perspective with input from a behavioural scientist interested in developmental psychopathology. It concludes that multi-disciplinary approaches are required to properly address complex pathways to a variety of outcomes, only some of which are specifically health related.
There is currently a debate (mostly in the United States literature) about causal thinking which is yet to have an impact on much of mainstream epidemiology and public health and certainly on government departments who may be setting policy. And certainly it is far away from the view of the media who continue to love simple answers and single risk factors. To paraphrase H.L. Mencken: “To every complex problem there is always a simple answer – and it is always wrong.”
The paper is also written to encourage broader thinking around what kind of study or studies are needed to advance best a national research and policy agenda for families in Australia.