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Shadow Education Uptake in Ireland: Inequalities and Wellbeing in a High-Stakes Context
This paper assesses the role of shadow education (SE), i.e., organised learning activities outside formal schooling, in the lives of secondary school students of different social backgrounds and in different school settings, in a high-stakes context. It draws on multilevel analysis of longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland data, alongside narratives from in-depth case study research…
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Caregiving among Young Adults in Ireland
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,…
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Is the association between infant regulatory problems and trajectories of childhood internalizing and externalizing symptoms moderated by early screen media exposure?
Background: Regulatory problems in infancy are associated with internalizing and externalizing symptom trajectories across childhood. It is unknown whether early screen media exposure exacerbates the association between infant regulatory problems and childhood internalizing and externalizing symptom trajectories. Methods: We studied 10,170 individuals from the Growing Up in Ireland ’08 cohort. Parents reported on their children’s…
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‘Embracing Diversity in all its Forms’: The Voluntary Secondary Sector in Irish Education
The Irish education system is undergoing significant change as it navigates the challenges of the 2020s. Schools are at the frontline of Ireland’s efforts to integrate migrant families, build an inclusive society and tackle generational socioeconomic inequality. They are also, increasingly, key sites of contestation over deep social questions like the place of faith and…
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Interacting adult-child relationships and school adjustment: Findings from growing up in Ireland
Although children’s relationships with their parents and teachers contribute to their school adjustment and achievement, few studies have examined interactions between these relationships, particularly for father-child relationships. Using the Growing Up in Ireland birth cohort (N = 7507, 50.3% male), we examined child-adult relationship quality – rated by parents at age 3 and by teachers…
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Pregnancy complications and childhood mental health: is the association modified by sex or adverse social circumstances? Findings from the ‘growing up in Ireland’ national infant cohort study
Specific pregnancy complications, socioeconomic position and sex have all been independently associated with child mental health outcomes, but their combined effects remain unclear. We examined whether total number of complications experienced in the pregnancy associated with mental health at 5 and 9-years, and whether this varied by sex or adverse social circumstances. Pregnancy complications were…
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Poverty trajectories and child and mother well-being outcomes in Ireland: findings from an Irish prospective cohort
Background Poverty is associated with poor outcomes, yet exposure to distinct poverty trajectories in early childhood is not well understood. Objective To understand the prevalence of different trajectories of household poverty and their association with mid-childhood and mother indicators of physical health and psychopathology in Ireland. Methods We used a nationally representative, prospective cohort (Growing…
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Bullying Victimization as an Adverse Experience for Psychosocial Adjustment among Irish Adolescents
This study investigates the long-term effects of victimization from middle adolescence to late adolescence and early adulthood, examining emotional and behavioral problems, peer relationships, and smoking habits and sleeping difficulties. The study also explores how these outcomes can persist into early adulthood, taking into consideration early victimization experiences, gender, cognitive ability, and family social class.…
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Longitudinal relations between child emotional difficulties and parent-child closeness: a stability and malleability analysis using the STARTS model
Background Past empirical evidence on the longitudinal relations between emotional mental health symptoms and parent-child close relationships has produced mixed and inconclusive results. Some studies suggest a unidirectional relation, whereas other studies point toward a bidirectional association. Additionally, most of the past research has been carried out with adolescent samples, rather than children. Hence, this…
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The Changing Social Worlds of 13-year-olds
This study draws on data on Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) Cohorts ’98 and ’08 to document changes in the lives of adolescents over the period 2011/12 to 2021/22, building on an earlier study (Smyth, 2022) which compared their experiences at nine years of age. This decade was a period of considerable social and policy…
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Housing, Health and Happiness: How Inadequate Housing Shapes Child and Parental Wellbeing
There has been a good deal of attention in Irish policy discourse to housing supply and affordability. However, there has been less focus on the extent to which the quality of housing impacts the wellbeing of children and their parents. This study addresses this gap in knowledge by using data from Growing Up in Ireland…
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The association of multidimensional household poverty with child and mother psychopathology wellbeing trajectories using a prospective longitudinal cohort in Ireland
Background The association between multidimensional household poverty (MHP) and child and mother psychopathology trajectories is not well understood. The aim of this paper is to explore this association. Methods We analysed 9241 infants and mothers recruited at 9-months (m) and 32-years (y) respectively from the Growing-up-in-Ireland study and followed up when the child was aged…