Who are they?
Cohort 08 are young people who were born, mostly, in 2008 and were enrolled in the study when they were 9 months old. All the children were living in the Republic of Ireland when they were invited to take part. Interviews have taken place when they were aged 3 years, 5 years, 9 years, and 13 years. There was also a postal survey with their primary caregiver when they were 7/8 years old, and a special COVID survey was conducted online when they were around 12 years old in December 2020.
The young people were first directly interviewed when they were 9 years old.
What’s happening now and next?
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) have just started interviewing Cohort 08 young people and their parents/guardians as they turn 17/18 years old (October 2025). Interviews will continue into 2026.
The next wave of data collection for Cohort 08, after age 17/18, is planned for when they turn 20 years old.
Publications
You can see all official publications for Cohort 08 at this link:
You can also browse an index of external papers, for both cohorts, here:
Questionnaires
The questionnaires from previous waves of Cohort ’08 and Cohort ’98 are available here:
I’m a researcher, how do I get access to data from Cohort ’08?
Information on how to apply for all GUI datasets can be found here:
I’m a participant, where do I get more information about my involvement?
The survey part of the Growing Up in Ireland study is carried out by the Central Statistics Office. You can view their website for Cohort 08 here: