Would you like to find out more about CATS? Or do you need some help with completing your measurements at home? Check out the videos below!
Do you have questions about your participation in CATS? Or questions specific to your questionnaire? Have a look at the FAQ documents below.
There are also some helpful resources and support services listed in the Student and Parent Resource sheets.
Want to know what CATS is all about? In the video above, our special reporter Katy Rummage visits the Murdoch Children's Research Institute at The Royal Children's Hospital to find out the truth about CATS.
In the video above, we will show you how to do the DIY (do-it-yourself) measurements at home. We also have a written version of the instructions. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us on (03) 9345 6732 or email us at cats@mcri.edu.au.
We know that families and students can sometimes experience difficulty in their lives. We have included some helpful support services if you would like some additional support or information.
Resources for Students
Resources for Parents
Dunn, A. (2017) The New Puberty. Melbourne University Press. Melbourne, Australia.
'The New Puberty' explores the big challenges and complex questions for school-aged children growing up in today's world. Amanda Dunn uses evidence-based research and input from the experts to lend a helping hand to young people and their parents, during this complicated stage of life.
Fact Sheet: Transitioning from childhood to adolescence
The CATS study, in conjunction with the Response Ability initiative, have produced a fact sheet about supporting students in the transition between childhood and adolescence.
If you have recently moved or have changed your contact details, please let us know by either calling (03) 9345 6732 or sending an email to cats@mcri.edu.au.
iCATS is an extension of CATS. The iCATS team are investigating the relationships between health and puberty by looking at brain development. iCATS collects information and takes images of the brain from 120 students who take part.
If you’d like any further information you can get in touch with the iCATS team:
SMS - 0405 581 085 | Phone - (03) 8344 1845 or 0405 581 085 | Email - i-cats@unimelb.edu.au
Yes! CATS takes on students from several different courses, although places are limited. If you're interested in a studentship, please get in touch with Dr Lisa Mundy (lisa.mundy@mcri.edu.au).
If you are a researcher and interested to collaborate with the CATS team please get in touch with Dr. Mundy.
Please see our useful Student FAQ Sheet for answers to many questions we commonly get about the questionnaire. If this doesn't answer your question, feel free to call us on (03) 9345 6732 or email us at cats@mcri.edu.au.
Please see our useful Parent FAQ Sheet for answers to many common questions about the Parent questionnaire and study in general. If this doesn't help, feel free to call us on (03) 9345 6732 or email us at cats@mcri.edu.au.
Yes, CATS has ethics approval from the Royal Children’s Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee. The study has also been approved by the DET (Department of Education and Training) and Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM). If you have any concerns and/or complaints about the project, the way it is being conducted or your rights as a research participant, and would like to speak to someone independent of the project, please contact: Director, Research Ethics & Governance, The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne on (03) 9345 5044.
CATS recruited 1,200 students in 2012 when they were in Grade 3. We are following this group of students as they transition through high school. Unfortunately we are not looking for any more participants, but thank you for your interest in the study!