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Adaptations to a cohort study in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from Growing Up in Ireland
Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is the national longitudinal study of children and young people in the Republic of Ireland and has followed two cohorts for over ten years to date: Cohort ’98 who were recruited into the study at age nine years and Cohort ’08, recruited at age nine months. The study aims to…
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A comparison of home learning environment of families at risk of socio-economic disadvantage to national norms in Ireland
The present study investigated the home learning environment of three to five-year-old children (n = 429) living in an area designated as socio-economically disadvantaged, involved in the Area Based Childhood (ABC) programme, compared to a nationally representative sample of three-year-old children (n = 9793), from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) Study. Statistical analysis of the frequency of engagement…
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The impact of obstetric mode of delivery on childhood behaviour
Purpose We investigated the hypothesis that mode of delivery affects childhood behavior and motor development and examined whether there are sex-specific associations, i.e., whether males and females have different risk estimates. Methods Families with infants born between December 2007 and May 2008 (N = 11,134) were randomly selected and recruited to the Growing Up in…
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Academic Resilience of Pupils from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds
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…
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The influence of ethnicity on breastfeeding rates in Ireland: a cross-sectional study
Background Historically, breastfeeding rates in Ireland have been low compared with international averages. It has been suggested that maternal ethnicity and citizenship may influence breastfeeding rates, with ethnic minorities thought more likely to breast feed. Aim The aim of this study is to investigate the association among maternal citizenship, ethnicity, birthplace and breast feeding. It…
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Screen time increases risk of overweight and obesity in active and inactive 9 year old Irish children: a cross sectional analysis
Background Independent associations between screen time (ST)/physical activity (PA) and overweight (OW)/obesity have been demonstrated but little research exists on the role of ST among sufficiently active children. Purpose To examine the combined influence of ST and PA on risk of OW/obesity in a nationally representative sample of 9-year-old Irish children. Methods The sample in…
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Social class variation in the predictors of rapid growth in infancy and obesity at age three years.
Objective To examine the extent to which early child nutrition, maternal antenatal lifestyle behaviours and child diet and lifestyle explain social class inequalities in the risk of rapid weight gain between birth and 3 years and obesity at age 3 years. Design A longitudinal and prospective birth cohort study. Subjects Nationally representative sample of 11 134…
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Testing competing models of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire’s (SDQ’s) factor structure for the parent-informant instrument
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief 25-item instrument that has been widely employed in clinical and epidemiological studies to assess children’s psychological adjustment. Despite its widespread application in child and adolescent research, concerns have been expressed regarding the construct validity of the instrument and whether it might be tainted by a method…
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Paediatric chronic illness and educational failure: the role of emotional and behavioural problems
Background Chronic illness in childhood is associated with worse educational outcomes. The association is usually explained via lowered cognitive development, decreased readiness to learn and school absence. However, this paper examines whether worse psychological adjustment may also play a role. Methods We use data from the Growing Up in Ireland study, a cohort study, which…
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Child Access to GP Services: Do User Fees Matter?
Chapter 11 discusses healthcare use among children and the extent to which the current system of healthcare financing in Ireland leads, in particular, to differences in patterns of the use of GP services by children that are not predicted by their need for healthcare. The analysis investigates not only variations in use levels but also…
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Children’s mathematical lives and the influence of gender: The importance of cultivating positive attitudes towards mathematics
This collection brings together various cutting-edge and accessible perspectives and insights into the rich, complex and intriguing stage of life that is childhood. Contributions here relate specifically to the Irish context, with many seamless connections also made to the universal themes of childhood and their relevance within the international context. The chapters are organised into…
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Unique effects of book-reading at 9-months on vocabulary development at 36-months: Insights from a nationally representative sample of Irish families
It is well-established that participation in shared book reading interactions with caregivers supports children’s early language and literacy development. Most of this literature focuses on reading experiences during the preschool period. Less is known about the nature and importance of such practices during infancy. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine literacy practices…