External Publications Using GUI Data

Objectives
Migrant youths endure many challenges. Such challenges can be stressful and lead to psychological difficulties. We investigated the relationship between migration, psychopathology and stressful events in children and adolescents. We hypothesised that migrant youths would show higher levels of psychopathology and more stressful life events than non-migrant youths.

Method
Using the Child cohort (Cohort ‘98) of the ‘Growing up in Ireland’ study we investigated psychopathology, as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) at age 9 and 13 and stressful life events in migrant and non-migrant youths.

Results
There was no significant difference between the proportion of migrant and non-migrant youths reporting psychopathology in childhood (p>0.05) or adolescence (p>0.05). Analysis of the SDQ subscales revealed that a significantly greater proportion of migrant youths had hyperactivity problems in childhood (p = 0.04) but a greater proportion of non-migrant youths had emotional problems in early adolescence (p = 0.04). We found that migrant youths experienced significantly more stressful life events than their non-migrant counterparts (p<0.01), however, once ‘Moving house/country‘ was removed as a stressor, there was no difference between the groups (p>0.27).

Conclusions
Contrary to our hypothesis, we observed that there were few differences between migrant and non-migrant youths in the levels of psychopathology. Migrant youths experienced a greater number of stressful life events, however, this was attributable to stressors relating to moving. An increased understanding of the factors promoting resilience, as demonstrated by the migrant youths, could aid health professionals and policy makers to effectively tailor interventions for mental health promotion.

Keywords
Early life stress, immigration, migrants, psychopathology

Objective
This study examines the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and overweight/obesity in a large-scale longitudinal study of children, while controlling for a range of psychosocial factors.

Method
Data were obtained from Growing Up in Ireland, a nationally representative and longitudinal study of approximately 6500 children who were assessed at 9 and 13 years of age. Body mass index (BMI) was determined using measured height and weight, ADHD status was determined by parent reports of professional diagnoses and ADHD symptoms were measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

Results
The associations between ADHD status, ADHD symptoms (SDQ) and BMI category at age 9 and 13 years were evaluated using logistic regression. Adjustments were made for child factors (sex, developmental coordination disorder, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, birth weight and exercise) and parental factors (socio-economic status, parental BMI, parental depression, and maternal smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy). Logistic regression indicated that ADHD status was not associated with BMI category at 9 or at 13 years of age, but children with ADHD at 9 years were significantly more likely to be overweight/obese at 13 years than those without ADHD. However, when other child and parental factors were adjusted for, ADHD status was no longer significantly associated with weight status. Female sex, low levels of exercise, overweight/obese parents and prenatal smoking during pregnancy consistently increased the odds of childhood overweight/obesity.

Conclusions
While ADHD and overweight/obesity co-occur in general populations, this relationship is largely explained by a variety of psychosocial factors.

Keywords
ADHD, longitudinal, obesity, overweight, psychosocial

There is now fairly substantial evidence of a socioeconomic gradient in low birth weight for developed countries. The standard summary statistic for this gradient is the concentration index. Using data from the recently published Growing Up in Ireland survey, this paper calculates this index for low birth weight arising from preterm and intrauterine growth retardation. It also carries out a decomposition of this index for the different sources of low birth weight and finds that income inequality appears to be less important for the case of preterm births, while father’s education and local environmental conditions appear to be more relevant for intrauterine growth retardation. The application of the standard Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition also indicates that the socioeconomic gradient for low birth weight appears to arise owing to different characteristics between rich and poor, and not because the impact of any given characteristic on low birth weight differs between rich and poor.

Background
Childhood adversity (CA) is commonly associated with an increased risk of subsequent psychopathology. It is important to identify potential mediators of this relationship which can allow for the development of interventions. In a large population-based cohort study we investigated the relationship between CA and late adolescent psychopathology and early adolescent candidate mediators of this relationship.

Methods
We used data from three waves (n = 6039) of Cohort 98′ of the Growing up in Ireland Study (age 9, 13 and 17). We used doubly robust counterfactual analyses to investigate the relationship between CA (reported at age-9) with psychopathology (internalizing and externalizing problems), measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at age-17. Counterfactual and traditional mediation was used to investigate the mediating effects of the parent-child relationship, peer relations, self-concept, computer usage and physical activity.

Results
CA was associated with an increased risk of internalizing and externalizing problems at age-17. Parent-child conflict mediated 35 and 42% of the relationship between CA and late adolescent externalizing problems and internalizing problems, respectively. Self-concept and physical activity mediated an additional proportion of the relationship between CA and internalizing problems. These results were robust to unmeasured confounding.

Conclusions
Parent-child conflict explains more than a third of the relationship between CA and later psychopathology. Self-concept and physical activity explain the additional proportion of the relationship between CA and internalizing problems. This suggests that these factors may be good targets for intervention in young people who have experienced CA to prevent subsequent psychopathology.

Keywords
Childhood adversity, parent-child conflict, psychopathology, self-concept and physical activity

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors associated with occupational stress and job satisfaction among Irish primary school principals. A principal’s job has become increasingly demanding and complex in recent decades. However, there is little current research into their levels of stress and job satisfaction, particularly based on nationally representative data. In order to understand how principals perceive their job and how best to support them, new insights into factors contributing to job satisfaction and stress of school principals are warranted.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on an analysis of Growing up in Ireland data, a national representative study of nine-year-old children in Ireland. In order to explore the simultaneous impact of individual and school factors on stress and job satisfaction of principals in Irish primary schools, multivariate analysis was used. Analyses in this paper are based on responses from principals in 898 schools.

Findings
The results of the study indicate that a significant number of primary school principals in Ireland are not very satisfied and feel stressed about their job. Regression analysis revealed that job satisfaction and occupational stress were related to a complex set of personal characteristics, working conditions, school context and teacher climate.

Research limitations/implications
The data are limited to primary school principals. However, this is in itself an advantage since it allows for greater insights into variation across principals in job satisfaction and stress, holding the effect of school level constant.

Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind in the Irish context that explores the simultaneous effect of a number of factors on school principals’ stress and job satisfaction.

Keywords
Job Satisfaction, Ireland, Occupational stress, Primary schools

A large body of international literature has documented a correlation between nontraditional family structure and poorer child outcomes, yet researchers continue to disagree as to whether the association represents a true causal effect. This article extends this literature by employing propensity score matching using the first wave of data from the Growing up in Ireland child cohort study. We argue that the Irish case is of particular interest given the highly selective nature of non-marriage. We find that, on average, non-marriage has negative effects on a child educational development at age 9 but the effects are smaller in relation to health outcomes and the child’s self-concept. However, selection effects account for a non-trivial proportion of the differences in child outcomes across lone-mother and cohabiting families although hidden bias remains an important issue. This has important implications for policies which promote marriage as the key to child development as it appears that much of the benefits of marriage are not related to marriage per se but to the socio-economic background of mothers.

In the literature on the links between socio-economic status (SES) and child health, there is evidence that the SES gradient is weaker for objective indicators of child health (e.g., height) than for subjective indicators (e.g., parental-assessed health). In this paper, we use crosssectional micro-data from the Growing Up in Ireland study to examine the SES gradient in height, weight, general health status and chronic illness incidence. Using household income and mother’s education as indicators of SES, we find only limited support for the contention that the SES gradient in child health in Ireland is stronger for more subjective indicators of child health.

This paper explores the role of antenatal care in determining mode of birth in the Irish healthcare system using data from the Growing Up in Ireland study. Results indicate that midwifery-led antenatal care is independently associated with significantly higher rates of normal delivery and significantly lower rates of elective caesarean section relative to consultant-led care in both the public and private sectors. Given concerns over increasing rates of caesarean section, our results are consistent with calls nationally and internationally for further investment in midwifery-led antenatal care services, and for stricter regulation of the actors, both providers and patients, engaged in the private antenatal care pathway.

Several approaches frame childbirth as an event that can reduce partnership quality, generate work-family conflicts, intensify financial pressures, and increase separation risk. The present study discusses theories of separation in relation to pregnancy intentions leading to a birth and analyses data from Growing Up in Ireland. Transition rate models of parental separation nine months to five years after childbirth show higher risks of separation after pregnancies described as “somewhat too early”, “much too early” and after “unwanted” pregnancies. These differences are due partly to sociodemographic factors that influence unplanned pregnancies and subsequent separation. Increases in workfamily conflicts after birth do not increase separation risk.

The aim of this paper is to quantify the effect of economic, parental and lifestyle factors on the psychological health of children at significant points in recent economic history in Ireland. The paper uses data from the Growing Up in Ireland study and employs a dynamic random effects ordered logistic regression model to test the magnitude of these effects. The results indicate that proxy income variables, such as ability to make ends meet and homeownership, are relevant in predicting child psychological health outcomes. Equally important are intergenerational health associations between the mother and the psychological health of children.

International research has pointed to the social and academic adjustment required of young people moving to secondary education and the importance of social support in easing this transition. However, studies have rarely looked at the simultaneous impact of different social networks on this process and how these networks may mediate the influence of social background. This paper draws on Growing Up in Ireland data to look at the influence of parents, peers and teachers on two dimensions of the transition process, which capture social, socio-emotional and academic aspects of the adjustment: the ease of settling into secondary education, as measured by parents’ reports of transition difficulties among their children, and academic adjustment to secondary education, as reflected in changes in young people’s academic self-image. Parental support is found to play a crucial role in helping young people adjust to the new school setting but, contrary to much previous research, formal involvement in their children’s schooling, especially in helping with homework, plays a much less important role. Over and above supportive relations, parental cultural, economic and social resources are found to play a direct role in improving young people’s confidence as learners and in enhancing transition experiences. Peer networks typically grow larger over the transition to secondary education but those young people who were more socially isolated at primary level experience greater difficulties. In keeping with previous research, the quality of relations with teachers emerges as a key driver of academic and social adjustment to secondary education.

In this paper we make use of the first and second waves of the 2008 and 1998 cohorts of the Growing Up in Ireland study, to develop a multidimensional and dynamic approach to understanding the impact on families and children in Ireland of the Great Recession. Economic vulnerability is operationalised as involving a distinctive risk profile in relation to relative income, household joblessness and economic stress. We find that the recession was associated with a significant increase in levels of economic vulnerability and changing risk profiles involving a more prominent role for economic stress for both the 2008 and 1998 cohorts. The factors affecting vulnerability outcomes were broadly similar for both cohorts. Persistent economic vulnerability was significantly associated with lone parenthood, particularly for those with more than one child, lower levels of primary care giver (PCG) education and, to a lesser extent, younger age of PCG at child’s birth, number of children and a parent leaving or dying. Similar factors were associated with transient vulnerability in the first wave but the magnitude of the effects was significantly weaker particularly in relation to lone parenthood and level of education of the PCG. For entry into vulnerability the impact of these factors was again substantially weaker than for persistent and transient vulnerability indicating a significantly greater degree of socioeconomic heterogeneity among the group that became vulnerable during the recession. The findings raise policy and political problems that go beyond those associated with catering for groups that have tended to be characterized by high dependence on social welfare.

The increasing emphasis on inclusive education internationally has broadened the definition of special educational needs (SEN) and greatly affected national prevalence estimates. In line with these international trends, in Ireland the EPSEN Act (2004) defines SEN as any “restriction in the capacity of a person to participate in or benefit from education”. Taking this broad definition, this study draws on the first longitudinal study of children in Ireland, Growing Up in Ireland, to generate a new estimate of SEN prevalence among Irish nine-year-old children. The analysis combines detailed information, collected from parents and teachers, encompassing diverse types of SEN, including physical disabilities, speech impairments, learning disabilities and emotional/behavioural difficulties. In doing so, the study establishes a SEN prevalence rate of 25 per cent among children in the mid-primary years, a rate very much in line with recent research in other European contexts. Additionally, the study details the diversity of data collected on children and young people with SEN and disabilities across agencies and government departments, the potential value of this data and directions for improved learner databases.

New research, conducted by the ESRI and funded by the Arts Council, shows that young people become less involved in cultural activities as they prepare for the Leaving Certificate and leave school. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland study, the report charts a decline in reading for pleasure and taking music/drama/dance lessons between 13 and 17 years of age.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of background and school factors on second-level students’ attitudes toward Irish as a school subject drawing on the Growing Up in Ireland study. The study focuses on the perceptions of the core subjects, English, Mathematics and Irish, and presents a profile of students who find the Irish language interesting or difficult. The study enables us to investigate the attitudes of teenagers towards the language in a systematic way, including personal, school and other characteristics that may have an impact on attitudes towards the Irish language.

This report explores factors influencing attitudes to, and the use of, the Irish language on the island of Ireland. In so doing, the report draws, first and foremost, on 2013 Irish Language Survey. In order to explore changes in attitudes over time, the study also draws on earlier (2001) survey data. Further insights into overall trends will be provided by the analysis of Census data. Given that attitudes are often shaped by schooling, the study also draws on the Growing Up in Ireland study (9-year-cohort) as well as the Irish Post Primary Longitudinal Study (PPLS) which indicate student perspectives on Irish.

Care is fundamental to the fabric of social relationships and a significant proportion of the adult population is engaged in regular care for children and/or adults with illnesses or disabilities. Increasing attention internationally is being paid to the role of young carers (those under 18) and young adult carers (usually 18–25 years of age). However, much of the research conducted has been cross-sectional in nature and has focused on care for those with illnesses, rather than the full spectrum of care for others. This report draws on rich data on over 4,000 young people from Cohort ’98 of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study to take a longitudinal perspective, documenting the profile of young adult carers at 17 and 20 years of age and exploring the implications of such caregiving for their wellbeing, relationships and educational pathways.

In this study, we address the following research questions:

1. What is the profile of young adult carers, in terms of gender,social background, family size and structure, migrant status, urban/rural location, and own and parental illness/disability? To whom do they provide care and how much time do they allocate to caregiving?

2. What factors predict young people’s caring at ages 17 and 20?

3. How are care responsibilities associated with young people’s wellbeing, physical health and family relationships?

4. How are care responsibilities at age 17 associated with the post-school pathway pursued at age 20 (higher education, further education and labour market entry), controlling for other factors?

Does a care role constrain postschool choices, either directly through ongoing involvement in care, or indirectly via a potential effect on academic performance?

None of the many critical moments in Ireland’s often tumultuous history was more significant or defining than the Easter Rising of 1916. Central to the Rising was the Proclamation of Independence, in which Pádraig Pearse declared the new nation’s resolve to cherish all its children equally. CHERISHING ALL THE CHILDREN EQUALLY? brings together contributions from a range of disciplines to shed light on the processes of child development and to investigate how that development is influenced by a variety of demographic, family and socio-economic factors. Making extensive use of research and data that have emerged over recent years from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study of children, the book considers whether or not all children can participate fully and equitably in contemporary Irish society. It asks whether or not we do, in fact, cherish all our children equally in modern Ireland, regardless of their family circumstances, health or ethnic background.

TABLES OF CONTENTS:

1. Introduction
2. Changing Perceptions and Experiences of Childhood, 1916-2016
3. Children and Families, Then & Now
4. Is Family Structure a Source of Inequality in Children’s Lives?
5. Parental Investment & Child Development
6. Inequalities in Access to Early Care and Education in Ireland
7. Inequalities from the Start? Children’s Integration into Primary School
8. Insights into the Prevalence of Special Educational Needs
9. The Experiences of Migrant Children in Ireland
10. Social Variation in Child Health & Development: A Life-course Approach
11. Child Access to GP Services in Ireland: Do User Fees Matter?
12. Anti-Social Behaviour at Age 13
13. Child Economic Vulnerability Dynamics in the Recession
14. Concluding Observations