Study sample

The Ten to Men study cohort was initially recruited using a stratified, multi-stage, cluster random sample design. It selected Australian males, aged 10 to 55 from the target population based on clusters of geographical units defined by the Australian Statistical Geographic Standards (ASGS).

The sample plan was designed based on several key factors including decisions to:

• conduct face-to-face interviews with boys aged 10 to 14 – using a simple, random sample instead of clustering would be too costly
• oversample regional males – it was necessary to stratify the sample by region
• adopt a household recruitment methodology – requiring defined geographical units and clustering
• draw sample population at a national level instead of stratifying by state and territory.

To ensure an adequate sample size for analysis, and to continue to be representative of Australian males born in 1956 – 2003 (i.e, aged between 10 and 55 years old at Wave 1), the Ten to Men study recruited a top up sample in 2023-2024 to add to the original sample.

Learn more about the sampling method.

Participant recruitment

In Wave 1, to recruit study participants, fieldworkers approached households in selected SA1s to determine if any residents were eligible for inclusion in the study.

The initial sample recruited for Wave 1 consisted of 3 cohorts, the: 

1. boy cohort (ages 10 to 14 years), 
2. young men cohort (ages 15 to 17 years),
3. adult cohort (ages 18 to 55 years).

For the Sample Top Up in 2023/2024, the study participants were recruited using: 

• address-based sampling (A-BS) (mail-out recruitment approach)
• advertising on social media platforms (internet-based recruitment approach) targeted at groups underrepresented in Ten to Men including:
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men aged between 18 and 55 years
  • culturally and linguistically diverse men aged between 18 and 55 years
  • non-tertiary educated men aged between 18 and 55 years
  • men aged between 18 and 34 years
  • men who reside in remote or very remote locations aged between 18-55 years.

Participant retention

All wave 1 participants were invited to participate in subsequent waves, but not all participants completed the survey due to withdrawal, death or other reasons. The response rates of participants for subsequent waves were:

• wave 2 – 74% (n = 11,936; N = 16,021) 
• wave 3 – 53.8% (n= 7,919; N=14,731) 
• wave 4 – 48.9% (n= 7,050; N= 14,418).

Data collection

To date, 4 waves of data have been collected. The next data collection, Wave 5, is underway. Data were collected in:

• October 2013 to July 2014 (recruitment and wave 1)
• November 2015 to May 2016 (wave 2)
• July 2020 to February 2021 (wave 3)
• August to December 2022 (wave 4)
• September 2023 to early 2024 (sample top up).

See the study questionnaires.