Study design and timeline

Study design

Three groups or ‘cohorts’ of children have been taking part in Growing Up In Scotland (GUS). The table below provides an overview of when data was collected from each cohort and at what age:

Birth cohort 1

This cohort contains 5217 children, born between June 2004 and May 2005. Data was collected annually from their families from between the ages of 10 months and just under 6 years, then every 2 years until the children were aged 14 and mostly in their third year of secondary school. Data collection at age 17, which is the eleventh sweep of face-to-face data collection for this cohort, commenced in November 2021 and will be complete in early 2023.

In 2018, as part of sweep 9/age 12 fieldwork, an additional group of 502 children were recruited to the cohort to improve the representativeness of the data. The additional sample was drawn from Child Benefit records held by HMRC. Children born between 1st June 2004 and 31st May 2005 and in at least one of the two key sub-groups (i.e. mother aged 16-24 at birth; living in 15% most deprived data zones in Scotland) were eligible for inclusion. Further details can be found in the Sweep 9 User Guide (PDF).

Birth cohort 2

This cohort contains around 6127 children born between March 2010 and February 2011. Data was collected from their families when the children were 10 months old, just under 3 years old, and just under 5 years old. The last sweep of data collection was conducted in 2015/16. There are no current plans to collect further data from this group.

Child cohort

This cohort contains 2858 children born between June 2002 and May 2003. Four sweeps of data were collected from their families from between the ages of just under 3 years to just under 6 years. There are no current plans to collect further data from this group.

Sample selection

Our families were selected at random from Child Benefit records provided by DWP and HM Revenue and Customs and received a letter inviting them to take part in the study. Each year, participants are contacted by letter and invited to take part in the latest sweep, with participation on an entirely voluntary basis.

Participant location

Families from every Local Authority area in Scotland are taking part in the study. Together, these families are representative of all families in Scotland with young children.

Sources of data

Data has been collected from a main carer/parent at each sweep, with ad-hoc surveys also conducted with teachers and the main carer/parent’s partner. In addition, data from GUS has been securely linked to data sets including health and school records. For more information on the data collected and how to access it, see the ‘Using GUS data’ pages.

For further information on the types and sources of data we collect, please visit our topic overview page.

Ethical approval

The initial sweep of data collection was subject to medical ethical review by the Scotland ‘A’ MREC committee (application reference: 04/M RE 1 0/59). Up until and including sweep 8, subsequent annual sweeps have been reviewed via substantial amendment submitted to the same committee. Sweeps 9, 10 and 11 were subject to ethical review by the NatCen Research Ethics Committee.

Timeline

2023

All data collection for sweep 11 completed by June.

2022

Data collection continues for Phase 1 of the sweep 11 interviews, with Phase 2 due to launch in Autumn 2022 and run until Spring 2023.

2021

Launch of the eleventh sweep of GUS data collection with Birth Cohort 1. This sweep launched as a remote online and telephone survey approach, with provision made to allow a switch to face-to-face interviewing as soon as that was permissible. Young people were invited to complete a web questionnaire and participate in a telephone or face-to-face interview. Where the interview was completed in-home it was also possible that the young person's web survey could be conducted as a self-complete questionnaire on the interviewer's laptop.  Parents/carers were asked to complete a web questionnaire, delivered either as a telephone interview or a self-complete on the interviewer’s laptop. In addition, young people were invited as part of sweep 11 to take part in a physical activity exercise which involved wearing an activity monitor and GPS device.

2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic face-to-face fieldwork in Phase 2 was paused in March 2020 and the remaining cases were subsequently issued to online and telephone surveys later that year.

2019

Launch of the tenth sweep of face-to-face data collection with Birth Cohort 1, when the children were aged around 14 and most were in their third year of secondary school. Data was collected from children, their main carer and their main carer’s partner.

2018

Completion of sweep 9 data collection with Birth Cohort 1 families where the child had started secondary school in August 2017.

2017

Launch of the 9th sweep of face-to-face data collection with Birth Cohort 1, when the children were aged between 12 and 13 and most were in their first year of secondary school. In-home interviews with Birth Cohort 1 families whose children started secondary school in August 2016. Interviews were undertaken with a main carer, cohort child and the main carer’s partner.

Short web and telephone survey for Birth Cohort 1 families whose children are in their last year of primary school.

2016

The Scottish Government commission the Scottish Centre for Social Research to carry out the next two sweeps of data collection: Birth Cohort 1 at S1 (age 12) and S3 (age 14).

Completion of a third wave of face-face data collection from Birth Cohort 2 families when the children are nearly 5 years old.

Short web and telephone survey for Birth Cohort 1 families whose children are in their last year of primary school.

2015

Launch of third sweep of face-to-face data collection with Birth Cohort 2 families when the children are aged nearly 5 years old.

Phase 2 of eighth wave of face-to-face data collection with Birth Cohort 1 families when the children are in the first term of Primary 6.

GUS celebrated its 10th birthday with an event in October. In addition to reflections on the first 10 years of the study, new findings comparing the circumstances and experiences of both cohorts of children at age 3 years were published.

2014

Sweep 2.5, involving telephone and on-line interviews with parents of Birth Cohort 2 children at age 4, launched January 2014.

Publication of findings from seventh wave of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 parents and children (age 8 years) June 2014.

Phase 1 of the eighth sweep of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 families when children are in Primary 6. Interview with main carer, child questionnaire and cognitive assessments for children. Teachers’ survey for the same children. Children are invited to participate in a follow-up study where they are asked to wear devices to capture objective data on their activity levels and the places they visit over the course of a week.

Second phase of sweep 7.5 web/telephone interviews with main carers of children in Birth Cohort 1. Launched in September 2014 again corresponding with time children were aged around 9 years old and mostly in Primary 5.

2013

Second sweep of data collection from Birth Cohort 2. Data was collected around 6 weeks before the cohort child’s 3rd birthday.

Publication of first findings from Birth Cohort 2 providing detailed insight into circumstances and experiences at 10 months of age with comparison to Birth Cohort 1 data from the same stage.

Initial phase of sweep 7.5 involving telephone and online interviews with main parents/carers of Birth Cohort 1 children. Launched September 2013 corresponding with the time children were aged around 9 years old and mostly in Primary 5.

2012

Seventh sweep of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 families when the cohort children were around the age of 8. Interviews with the main carer and a child questionnaire.

2010

Launch of the first round of data collection from Birth Cohort 2 with data captured when cohort children were around 10 months of age. Interviews with the main carer only.

Launch of the sixth ‘sweep’ of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 families when the children were around the age of 6. Interviews with the main carer only.

2009

Launch of the fifth sweep of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 families when the children were around the age of 5. Interviews undertaken with the main parent/carer only.

2008

Launch of the fourth sweep of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 and Child Cohort families when the children aged just under 4 years old and 6 years old respectively. Interviews undertaken with the main carer only. This was the final sweep of data collection with the Child Cohort.

2007

Launch of the third sweep of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 and Child Cohort families when the children were aged just under 3 years old and 5 years old respectively. Interviews undertaken with the main carer only.

2006

Launch of the second sweep of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 and Child Cohort families when the children were aged just under 2 years old and 4 years old respectively. Interviews undertaken with the main carer and their partners.

2005

Launch of the first sweep of data collection with Birth Cohort 1 and Child Cohort families when the children were around 10 months old and just under 3 years old respectively. Interviews undertaken with the main carer only.