Section Closure

The last phase of the current cycle of the Cohort '18 study has been completed with the participation of around 6,000 mothers of three-year-old children. This is the fourth wave of data collection, following the pregnant, six-month-old and 18-months-old phases, in which we interviewed families of children born in 2018-2019 to get a more nuanced picture of how children are growing up.

In addition to these, several additional data collections were also carried out. With the participation of approximately 250 families in the South Transdanubian region, we were able to gain more detailed insights into the psychological development of children at the age of one year. The data collection at the 18-months-old age was supplemented by a telephone survey cunducted with fathers. And mothers with children aged two and over answered additional questions, mainly related to employment, in a telephone survey.

The results of the pregnant and six-month-old study phases were presented in comprehensive research reports. Our publications summarising the results of the Southern Transdanubian Survey and the maternal employment-focused phases will be published soon. In addition, information on children at the 18-months-old age are being summarised.

We cannot be grateful enough to all those who made this study possible: the mothers and fathers who answered our questions with confidence and patience, the health visitors who conducted the first two data collection phases, the experts who reviewed our questionnaires and the staff of Inspira Kft. who conducted the second two face-to-face data collection phases in the shadow of the coronavirus. Thank you for your contribution to the success of our ambitious study!

The completion of the three-year-old data collection is also an important milestone in the life of the Cohort '18 study, as the first funding period allowed children to be followed up to this age. The Hungarian Demographic Research Institute, which conducted the research, aims to continue the project and to carry out a pre-school, a primary-school and a pre-adolescent survey as part of the next funding cycle.