External Publications Using GUI Data
Authors | Year | Title | Link | Journal/Book ↑ | Abstract |
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Burke, L.A. | 2020 | Childhood Psychological Health During the Great Recession in Ireland | Open | The Economic and Social Review | |
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. | |||||
Hyland, M., Layte, R., Lyons, S., McCoy, S., Silles, M. | 2015 | Are Classroom Internet Use and Academic Performance Higher after Government Broadband Subsidies to Primary Schools? | Open | The Economic and Social Review | |
Smyth, E. | 2016 | Social relationships and the transition to secondary school | Open | The Economic and Social Review | |
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. | |||||
Cullinan, J., Roddy, A. | 2015 | A Socioeconomic Profile of Childhood Disability | Open | The Economics of Disability | |
This chapter presents a socioeconomic profile of childhood disability in an Irish context. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) survey, it considers a range of dimensions. These include an analysis of the associations between the childhood disability status of a household and a range of socioeconomic indicators relating to labour market outcomes, levels of parental education, social class, income and economic hardship. The chapter compares households with and without a child with a disability on the basis of these socioeconomic measures. The primary carer of a child with a disability is considerably less likely to participate in the labour market and considerably more likely to turn down work opportunities, when compared to a primary carer of a child without a disability. Parents of a child with a disability are less likely to be educated at third level and more likely to be in the lowest social class. | |||||
Mohan, G., Nolan, A. | 2020 | The impact of prescription drug co-payments for publicly insured families | Open | The European Journal of Health Economics | |
Co-payments for prescription drugs are a common feature of many healthcare systems, although often with exemptions for vulnerable population groups. International evidence demonstrates that cost-sharing for medicines may delay necessary care, increase use of other forms of healthcare and result in poorer health outcomes. Existing studies concentrate on adults and older people, particularly in the US, with relatively less attention afforded to paediatric and European populations. In Ireland, prescription drug co-payments were introduced for the first time for medical cardholders (i.e. those with public health insurance) in October 2010, initially at a cost of €0.50 per item, rising to €1.50 in January 2013, and further increasing to €2.50 in December 2013. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study of children, and a difference-in-difference research design, we estimate the impact of the introduction (and increase) of these co-payments on health, healthcare utilisation and household financial wellbeing. The introduction of modest co-payments on prescription items was not estimated to impinge on the health of children and parents from low-income families. For the younger Infant Cohort, difference-in-difference estimates indicated that the introduction (and increase) in co-payments was associated with a decrease in GP visits and hospital nights, and a decrease in the proportion of households reporting ‘difficulties with making ends meet’. In contrast, for the older cohort of children (the Child Cohort), co-payments were associated with an increase in GP visiting, and an increase in household deprivation. While the parallel trends assumption for difference-in-difference analysis appeared to be satisfied, further investigation revealed that there were other time-varying observable factors (such as exposure to the economic recession over the period) that affected the treatment and control groups, as well as the two cohorts of children differentially, that may partly explain these divergent results. For example, while the analysis suggests that the introduction of the €0.50 co-payment in 2010 was associated with an increase in the probability of treated families in the Child Cohort being deprived by 9.4 percentage points, the proportion of treated families experiencing unemployment and reductions in household income also increased significantly around the time of the co-payment introduction. This highlights the difficulty in identifying the effect of the co-payment policy in an environment in which assignment to the treatment (i.e. medical cardholder status) was not randomly assigned. | |||||
Roddy, Á. | 2022 | Income and conversion handicaps: estimating the impact of child chronic illness/disability on family income and the extra cost of child chronic illness/child disability in Ireland using a standard of living approach | Open | The European Journal of Health Economics | |
Child chronic illness/ disability can present significant challenges for children, families and society that require appropriate policy responses; yet little is known about the demands placed on families resources from an economics perspective in terms of its impact on household income and the extra income required to achieve the same standard of living as families who do not have a child with a chronic illness/disability. The paper uses data from the Growing Up in Ireland National survey dataset for nine year olds. It is the first study to empirically investigate the impact of child chronic illness/disability on earnings, standard of living and the extra cost of disability together. It is also the first study to explicitly address endogeneity in the standard of living model by using a two-stage process where residuals were harvested to provide efficient estimates. The findings show that families experience significant disadvantage and economic hardship due to reduced household income and a lower standard of living due to the extra cost of disability that would require considerable income to compensate. Policy implications of these findings suggest that a tiered approach to disability support payments which encompass broader criteria for inclusion based on varying severity levels be introduced to alleviate the financial hardship and compromised economic wellbeing of families affected. In addition, more innovative policies are required to implement appropriate timely access to health and social care services and flexi parental employment, which in turn requires the provision of adequate access to high quality educational and care facilities. | |||||
Hadfield, K., Nixon, E. | 2012 | Comparison of relationship dynamics within stepmother and stepfather families in Ireland | Open | The Irish Journal of Psychology | |
Although an increasing proportion of people in Ireland are living in stepfamilies, little research has explored the dynamics within these families. Drawing on data from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study (9-year-old cohort), this paper aims to compare family processes within stepmother (n=89) and stepfather families (n=295). No stepfathers were primary caregivers to their stepchild(ren), whereas stepmothers tended to assume this role. Stepmothers were less romantically happy than either stepfathers or biological mothers in stepfather families and experienced more interparental conflict than stepfathers. They also had less close and more conflicted relationships with their stepchild(ren) than mothers in stepfather families. These findings are in line with previous research and point to the applicability of international research to stepfamilies in Ireland. The findings suggest that stepmother families may face particular challenges and may benefit from parenting and relationship support. | |||||
Brady, A.M., Hennessy, E., Polek, E. | 2015 | Teenage parenthood and child externalising and internalising problems: evidence from the 'Growing Up in Ireland' study | Open | The Irish Journal of Psychology | |
Previous research has suggested that the children of teenage parents are at a high risk of developing both internalising and externalising behaviour disorders. The current study aimed to explore pathways through which children of teenage mothers show more externalising and internalising psychopathology than their peers whose parents were older. The present study used data from the first wave of the ‘Growing Up in Ireland’ 9-year-old cohort and employed structural equation modelling to assess the explanatory value of a model informed by previous research findings. Goodness-of-fit indices indicated that many aspects of the familial environment of Irish teenage families did indeed place children at a substantial risk of problematic developmental outcomes. In particular, the results implicated the influential power of economic stability and familial conflict on the well-being of teenage families and related child outcomes, results similar to those reported in international studies. Keywords: teenage mothers in Ireland, economic stability, externalising problems, internalising problems | |||||
Murray, A. | 2012 | The relationship of parenting style to academic achievement in middle childhood | Open | The Irish Journal of Psychology | |
Parenting style has been highlighted as an important factor in child and adolescent outcomes for a range of indicators including health and educational achievement. The fostering of a positive self-concept and closer parental monitoring of school involvement are two of the suggested mechanisms by which parenting style may affect educational achievement. In recent years, much research has tended to focus on adolescents and there is considerably less information for middle childhood. This paper looks at the role of maternal parenting style (based on child-reports) on academic achievement for a large sample of 9-year-old children who took part in the Growing Up in Ireland study. It shows that an authoritative parenting style was associated with higher scores on measures of reading and maths relative to neglectful or uninvolved styles, however the expected advantage over an authoritarian parenting style did not emerge (and tended to reverse post-adjustment for mediators), and other socio-demographic characteristics such as maternal education were stronger predictors. Adjustments for possible mediating variables had a complex effect on the earlier models and suggest that authoritative parenting may have an indirect effect through both parental monitoring and the promotion of positive self-concept, especially the latter. Keywords | |||||
Murray, A. | 2012 | What can children’s fears tell us about childhood? An exploration of data collected as part of Growing Up in Ireland, the National Longitudinal Study of Children. | Open | The Irish Psychologist | |
Kong, K. | 2020 | Academic Resilience of Pupils from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds | Open | The Journal of Behavioral Science | |
The purpose of the study was, 1) to identify risk and protective factors that predict academic achievement in low socioeconomic status (SES) pupils in Ireland; and 2) to establish if these predicting factors are unique and applicable only in low-SES pupils. Using two waves of the Irish nationally representative longitudinal data, a multi-informant design was applied to analyse data from over 7,000 children along with their caregivers and teachers. A series of multilevel regression analyses were performed to compare data from low-SES and high-SES pupils. After controlling for prior achievement, findings suggested that academic achievement in both low and high-SES pupils are promoted by educational aspirations, attentional skills and being in the rural area. The strength of the association between protective factors and academic achievement, however, varies between the two groups. Nonetheless, close parent-child relationship in low-SES female pupils appears to be a unique factor that promotes academic resilience that does not apply to the rest of the pupils. The study contributes credible evidence and fresh insights into protective factors that exclusively promote academic resilience in low-SES pupils. From the perspective of policy and intervention, the differentiated knowledge gained is useful to inform the provision of targeted efforts aimed at closing the gap in achievement between pupils from different socioeconomic backgrounds. | |||||
Neville, R.D., McArthur, B.A., Eirich, R., Lakes, K.D., Madigan, S. | 2021 | Bidirectional associations between screen time and children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors | Open | The Journal of Child Psyhology and Psychiatry | |
Background Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
D'Urso, G., Symonds, J., Pace, U. | 2020 | Positive Youth Development and Being Bullied in Early Adolescence: A Sociocultural Analysis of National Cohort Data | Open | The Journal of Early Adolescence | |
In the current study, we investigated the developmental dynamics between positive youth development, being bullied in adolescence, gender, and sociocultural risk factors. Participants were 3,509 males (49%) and 3,656 females (51%) studied longitudinally across the ages of 9, 13, and 17 years in the Growing Up in Ireland study. Using structural equation modeling, we discovered that being bullied in early adolescence was most strongly predicted by having fewer close friends, higher family poverty, and living in neighborhoods with higher levels of disorder. However, the social disadvantage of a young person’s school did not impact being bullied. More positive reports of connection and caring in early adolescence were negatively predicted by neighborhood disorder and family poverty, and being female had positive association with relationships with teachers. Developing confidence, competence, and character in late adolescence was notably related to having fewer experiences of family trauma and transitions in childhood and to having higher levels of rapport with parents in early adolescence. The results highlight the importance of studying relationships and psychological development in sociocultural context. | |||||
Neville, R.D., Guo, Y., Boreham, C.A., Lakes, K.D. | 2021 | Longitudinal Association Between Participation in Organized Sport and Psychosocial Development in Early Childhood | Open | The Journal of Pediatrics | |
Objective Study design Results Conclusions | |||||
Jabakhanji, S.B., Boland, F., Ward, M., Biesma, R. | 2018 | Body mass index changes in early childhood | Open | The Journal of Pediatrics | |
Objective Study design Results Conclusions Keywords | |||||
Palmer, R., Layte, R., Kearney, J. | 2019 | The maternal health behaviour of non-Irish nationals during pregnancy and the effect of time living in Ireland | Open | The Journal of Public Health | |
Objectives Study design Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
Sunday, S., Clancy, L., Hanafin, J. | 2023 | Associations between parental smoking and teenage alcohol and drug use in the Growing Up in Ireland cohort study: a longitudinal observational study | Open | The Lancet | |
Background Methods Findings Interpretation Funding | |||||
Butler, M.I., Bastiaanssen, T.F.S., Long-Smith, C.M., et al. | 2023 | The gut microbiome in social anxiety disorder: evidence of altered composition and function | Open | Translational Psychiatry | |
The microbiome-gut-brain axis plays a role in anxiety, the stress response and social development, and is of growing interest in neuropsychiatric conditions. The gut microbiota shows compositional alterations in a variety of psychiatric disorders including depression, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia but studies investigating the gut microbiome in social anxiety disorder (SAD) are very limited. Using whole-genome shotgun analysis of 49 faecal samples (31 cases and 18 sex- and age-matched controls), we analysed compositional and functional differences in the gut microbiome of patients with SAD in comparison to healthy controls. Overall microbiota composition, as measured by beta-diversity, was found to be different between the SAD and control groups and several taxonomic differences were seen at a genus- and species-level. The relative abundance of the genera Anaeromassillibacillus and Gordonibacter were elevated in SAD, while Parasuterella was enriched in healthy controls. At a species-level, Anaeromassilibacillus sp An250 was found to be more abundant in SAD patients while Parasutterella excrementihominis was higher in controls. No differences were seen in alpha diversity. In relation to functional differences, the gut metabolic module ‘aspartate degradation I’ was elevated in SAD patients. In conclusion, the gut microbiome of patients with SAD differs in composition and function to that of healthy controls. Larger, longitudinal studies are warranted to validate these preliminary results and explore the clinical implications of these microbiome changes. | |||||
Corrigan, O. | 2014 | Watch them Grow: Unmarried-cohabitant and Solo parenthood in Ireland An Analysis of the Growing Up in Ireland infant cohort data Waves 1 and 2 | Open | Treoir Report | |
Corrigan, O. | 2013 | See how they grow: Solo and unmarried-cohabitant parenthood and crisis pregnancy in Ireland. An analysis of the Growing Up in Ireland 9-month old infant cohort data | Open | Treoir Report | |