About this series

Growing up in Scotland (GUS) is the largest long running study of its kind, with 10% of children and their families in Scotland taking part.

This important study plays a crucial role in helping the Scottish Government understand how to give children the best start in life and whether national objectives for children are being met.

Praise for GUS from the Scottish Government
'GUS is an evidence base that I value greatly, as it follows the same group of children over their life course, which allows us to explore the impact that early years experiences have on child development outcomes, and in the longer term, on later life outcomes.’
Adam Ingram MSP, Minister for Children and Early Years

Now find out more
The findings from GUS are published in a number of different reports. You can read headline finding from these reports here. Links to key reports from the first three years of GUS can be found at the bottom of this page. For a complete list of reports and where to find them, along with lots more information about GUS, click here.

Key areas covered by the study include:

How we're working
The study is run by ScotCen, in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at Edinburgh University and, from year 5, the MRC Social and Public Health Science Unit at the University of Glasgow.

Policy impact

Funded by the Scottish Government, GUS has a direct impact on policy formation and evaluation of Scotland’s performance against national objectives. It was pivotal in informing the development of the Early Years Framework and continues to influence the Scottish Government’s understanding of the early years and how inequalities in Scottish society might be addressed.

Methods

Parents are interviewed annually until their child reaches five, and then at key stages after that.

In the first year of the study, we interviewed around 8,000 parents – involving two cohorts of children (5,000 from birth and 3,000 from the age of two). By including two cohorts of children, we can compare the situations of different age groups over the years.

We cover the following key areas: childcare, education, social work, health and social inclusion.

In Years 2 and 4 of the study we took children’s height and weight measurements. In Year 3 the younger cohort of children were give cognitive assessments. These assessments will also happen in Year 5. In Year 2 we interviewed a resident partner of the main carer.

You can find out much more about how GUS is conducted here.