-
The impact of household energy poverty on the mental health of parents of young children
Background Energy poverty, typified by cold homes and/or an inability to afford energy bills, presents risks to the mental health of occupants. Parents of young children may be especially susceptible to a mental health toll from energy poverty since they have a significant care obligation and spend…
-
Young, poor, and sick: The public health threat of energy poverty for children in Ireland
Children, particularly those of preschool ages (below 3 years), spend the majority of time indoors in the family home. Home conditions can impact upon occupant’s health, with energy poverty identified as a public health concern in Europe and internationally. Children growing up in energy poor homes…
-
The impact of prescription drug co-payments for publicly insured families
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 p…
-
Educational achievement and bullying: The mediating role of psychological difficulties
Background Bullying has a profound and enduring impact on academic achievement. However, there is a lack of clarity surrounding the specific mechanisms of this relationship. Aims This study examined the link between bullying at age 9 and Numeracy/Literacy achievement at age 15 to determine if this r…
-
The relationship of parenting style to academic achievement in middle childhood
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 wh…
-
Biological risk versus socio-economic advantage: low birth-weight, multiple births and income variations among Irish infants born following fertility treatments.
The Growing Up in Ireland Infant Cohort dataset (n = 11,134) includes information on fertility treatments for over 400 infants. IVF (28.1 %) and IVF-related treatments (17.8 %) were the most frequent, but there was also a high percentage following clomiphene citrate alone (31.5 %). Infants born foll…
-
Does reading to infants benefit their cognitive development at 9-months-old? An investigation using a large birth cohort survey: An investigation using a large birth cohort survey
This study uses a nationally representative sample of 9-month-old infants and their families from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study to investigate if reading to infants is associated with higher scores on contemporaneous indicators of cognitive development independently of other language-based i…
-
Inequalities in Access to Early Care and Education in Ireland
Chapter 6 provides a detailed discussion of the history of childcare provision in Ireland throughout the 20th century before investigating trends in non-parental childcare for infants in the first few years of life. The role of the Free Pre-school Year, a major policy shift in the Irish context, is…
-
Determinants of uptake and maintenance of active commuting to school
The objective was to identify determinants of uptake and maintenance of active school travel (AST) over 4 years in children aged 9 at baseline. Data from wave 1 (n=8502) and 2 (n=7479) of the Growing Up in Ireland study were analysed. At 9- and 13-years 25% and 20% engaged in AST. Children were more…