Growing Up in Scotland: Cohort 1, Sweeps 1-11, 2005-2023: Special Licence Access

<P>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</P><div><div>The <span style="font-style: italic;">Growing Up in Scotland</span> (GUS) study is a large-scale longitudinal social survey which follows the lives of several groups of Scottish children from infancy through childhood and adolescence. It aims to provide important information on children, young people and their families in Scotland. The study forms a central part of the Scottish Government's strategy for the long-term monitoring and evaluation of its policies for children and young people, with a specific focus on the early years. The study seeks both to describe the characteristics, circumstances and experiences of children in their early years in Scotland and, through its longitudinal design, to generate a better understanding of how children's start in life can shape their longer term prospects and development</div><div><br></div><div>Since 2005 fieldwork has been undertaken by the Scottish Centre for Social Research. The survey design for Birth Cohort 1 consisted of recruiting an initial total of 5,217 parents of children aged 10 months old in 2005 and interviewing them annually until their child reached age six. Further fieldwork was then undertaken at ages 8, 10, 12, 14 and 17-18 with a sample boost added at age 12.</div><br>Data for sweeps 1-9 were collected via an in-home, face-to-face interview with self-complete sections. Fieldwork for sweep 10 was disrupted due to the COVID pandemic. As a result, the final portion of the data was collected via web and telephone questionnaires. Sweep 11 data were gathered via web, telephone and face-to-face surveys of cohort members and their parent/carer.</div><div><br>Further information about the survey may be found on the&nbsp;<a href="https://growingupinscotland.org.uk/" target="_blank">Growing Up in Scotland</a>&nbsp;website.<br><br></div><br><p><span style="font-style: italic;">Latest edition information</span><br>For the twenty-first edition (December 2024), data and documentation for Birth Cohort 1 Sweep 11 have been added to the study.<br></p><br><B>Main Topics</B>:<BR><br><p>Interviews with the cohort child's main carer have collected information about a range of issues including:</p>
<ul>
<li>characteristics and circumstances of children and their families in Scotland - including contact with non-resident parents</li><li>housing, neighbourhood and community - including accommodation characteristics, ownership of material goods, moving home, availability, use and assessment of local facilities, satisfaction with and child-friendliness of local area, feelings of safety, involvement in local groups</li><li>food and eating - including eating habits, main meals, types of food eaten, sources of advice on children’s diets/healthy eating</li><li>activities with others - including participation in educational, social or recreational activities at home and elsewhere, and visits to places or events, watching TV and videos, child's involvement in physical activity</li><li>child health and development - including general health, longstanding and acute illness, health service contact, use of Accident and Emergency, hospital admissions, anthropometric measurements, cognitive, physical and behavioural development indicators and assessments, immunisations, short-term illness, problems in the last 3 months</li><li>parenting styles and responsibilities - including awareness, use and appraisal of parenting techniques, parent-child activities, household division of labour, amount of children's media in household, parent-child attachment</li><li>parental support - including informal social networks, access to informal support, attendance at groups and classes, attitudes towards and use of formal support services, contact with and support from child's grandparents, access to informal support, attendance at groups and classes, use of formal support services, attitudes to help-seeking and formal support</li><li>early learning and childcare and work-life balance - including details of childcare used, cost, choice, employers' family friendly policies, and attitudes to work-life balance</li><li>experiences of primary and secondary school - including choice and enrolment at primary school, child’s adjustment and readiness, sources of advice and information, parental involvement in school events, child's support needs, educational aspirations, travel to and from school, breakfast and after-school clubs, homework, attitudes to schooling and education<br>
</li><li>parental physical and emotional health - including general health, long-standing illness, depression and stress, mental and physical well-being, couple relationships, parental alcohol, tobacco and drug use</li><li>child, parent and family social networks - including parental family and friendship networks</li><li>parental employment, income and education - including index of material deprivation</li></ul>
<p>Information obtained from the child from ages 8 to 18 include:</p>
<ul>
<li>experience of and attitudes towards school</li><li>relationships with parents, siblings and peers</li><li>physical and mental health and wellbeing&nbsp;</li><li>smoking, drinking and drug use</li><li>anti-social behaviour</li><li>social media and online activity</li><li>aspirations</li><li>gender identity and sexual orientation</li><li>post-school transitions, employment, apprenticeships and career choices</li></ul>
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<p>Objective measurements have also been taken of the child's height and weight and the child's cognitive ability.&nbsp;Cognitive assessments at ages 3 and 5 were carried out using the British Ability Scales 2nd Edition 'Picture Similarities' and 'Naming Vocabulary' assessments.&nbsp; At ages 10, 12, 14 and 17/18 the 'Listening Comprehension' subtest of the Weschler Individual Achievement Tests, 2nd Edition (WIAT-II) was used.</p>
<p>A summary topic guide covering all sweeps is available from the <a href="https://growingupinscotland.org.uk/topic-overview">study website</a>.</p>