cohort

(noun)

A demographic grouping of people, especially those in a defined age group, or sharing a common characteristic.

Related Terms

Examples of cohort in the following topics:

  • Methods for Researching Human Development

    • In a longitudinal study, a researcher observes many individuals born at or around the same time (a cohort) and carries out new observations as members of the cohort age.
    • This method can be used to draw conclusions about which types of development are universal (or normative) and occur in most members of a cohort.
    • Also, because members of a cohort all experience historical events unique to their generation, apparently normative developmental trends may only be universal to the cohort itself.
    • A researcher observes members of different birth cohorts at the same time, and then tracks all participants over time, charting changes in the groups.
    • Microgenetic design studies the same cohort over a short period of time.

  • Depressive Disorders

    • DMDD was added to the DSM-5 in 2013 as a diagnosis for children and adolescents who would normally be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, as a way to limit the bipolar diagnosis in this age cohort.