External Publications Using GUI Data

Technological advancement has seen a rise in computer-based and online gaming, and the online space has facilitated a proliferation in gambling options that increasingly adopt game-like features. There is a concern that gaming in childhood could predispose subsequent engagement with gambling behaviors, which has drawn the attention of parents, researchers, governments, and the European Union. To inform policy and legislation aimed at mitigating gambling-related harms, this research uses three waves of longitudinal data from Ireland to examine whether computer game engagement at 9-years-old (collected in 2007/8), and online gaming at 17 and 20, is associated with gambling participation in young adulthood. Multiple regression models, adjusting for a range of socio-economic and health characteristics, revealed that online gaming at 17 was associated with 1.4 higher odds of more frequent online gambling at 20 years (p = 0.011), while online gaming at 20 was associated with a 1.7 higher odds (p < 0.001). However, no association between early computer-based gaming at 9 years and subsequent gambling behaviors at 20 was uncovered for this cohort (born in 1998). Given more recent introductions of loot boxes and social casino games, continuous research is needed for future cohorts which may be greater affected by such developments.

Bullying can occur at all ages and has been associated with several negative impacts on the psychological and emotional well-being of victims. While the transition to adulthood may be an opportunity for victims to escape bullying, prior research has suggested some continuity of victimisation experiences into adulthood. However, research on victimisation among young adults remains scarce and no prior study has examined this issue in the Irish context. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the likelihood of victimisation at age 20 based on the respondent’s prior victimisation history and other risk factors, using data from 4693 respondents in the Growing Up in Ireland National Longitudinal Study at age 9, 13, 17 and 20. Moreover, the risk of depression and levels of global self-esteem at age 20 were examined in terms of (long-term) victimisation experiences. Respondents who were previously victimised in adolescence and respondents who were chronically victimised in childhood and adolescence were approximately 3.5 and 4 times more likely to be victimised at age 20 respectively than respondents who were never victimised. The negative outcomes of victimisation regarding the risk of depression and lower levels of self-esteem were more severe for respondents who experienced more persistent prior victimisation. In conclusion, more persistent long-term victimisation experiences are associated with more severe negative outcomes and an increased risk of continued victimisation throughout the transition to adulthood compared to less persistent or no prior victimisation. Therefore, supporting affected individuals to escape victimisation as early as possible is crucial.

This article investigates the dynamics of the gender pay gap using an administrative dataset of Irish graduate earnings. Although male and female graduates have similar earnings initially, a substantial gap emerges in the 10 years after graduation. We focus on three possible sources: childbirth, field of study, and job mobility. We find that the gap is driven by the earnings of mothers, which fall by 24 per cent relative to trend immediately after childbirth and this effect is evident for all field groupings. We examine and dismiss the possibility that the gender difference is driven by job mobility; in fact, almost all the difference arises for job stayers. Although there is a large and persistent reduction in average hours of work after childbirth, this does not seem to explain all of the emerging gap. Our results suggest that policy measures should focus on earnings dynamics within firms.

Keywords: gender pay gap; motherhood penalty; field of study.

Background
Tobacco use is closely linked to social and health inequalities, including economic vulnerability, morbidity, and premature death. Young adults with disabilities experience significant social and material hardships, which may be exacerbated by tobacco use. Limited research exists on smoking and e-cigarette use in this population. This study examines the prevalence of disability among young adults in Ireland, compares smoking and e-cigarette use between those with and without disabilities, identifies protective and risk factors, explores shared risk factors, and evaluates disability as an independent risk factor for smoking and e-cigarette use.

Methods
We analysed weighted data from 4,729 20-year-olds in the Growing Up in Ireland Cohort ’98 study who were present in Waves 1 (2008), 3 (2016), and 4 (2019). Current smoking, e-cigarette use, disability (excluding mental ill-health) and all other variables were assessed at Wave 4, while peer smoking data were drawn from Wave 3. Analyses were conducted using SPSS version 27.

Results
18.1% of participants reported a disability, which was associated with significantly higher smoking (41.8% vs. 36.7%) and e-cigarette use (16.1% vs. 12.9%). Protective factors against both behaviours included being female (OR 0.87 for smoking, OR 0.57 for e-cigarettes), later smoking initiation (OR 0.35, OR 0.62), living in two-parent families (OR 0.83, OR 0.70), and physical activity (smoking only). Risk factors included having peers who smoked (OR 3.67 for smoking; OR 2.36 for e-cigarette use) and caregivers who smoked (OR 1.48, OR 1.48), being employed at age 20 (OR 1.58, OR 1.48), and social media engagement (smoking only). Young adults with disabilities were significantly more likely to experience risk factors (e.g., earlier smoking initiation, caregivers who smoked, one-parent families, employment) but were less likely to have peers who smoked or engage with social media. Disability was independently associated with a higher likelihood of smoking (by 54%) and e-cigarette use (by 36%) after adjusting for protective and risk factors.

Conclusion
Higher smoking and e-cigarette use in 20-year-olds with disabilities adds further inequality to their lives. Increased awareness, targeted surveys and focused prevention and therapeutic interventions are required to reduce inequalities in this population and hasten the tobacco endgame.

Little is known about the link between childhood and adolescent mental health (MH) difficulties and political outcomes in adulthood. This represents an important knowledge gap in understanding early individual-level factors for future political outcomes. Using the Growing up in Ireland cohort, which follows 8568 children from 9 to 20 years, we examine how different MH difficulties, and their co-occurrence, are associated with various political outcomes. The results show childhood/adolescent MH difficulties are important predictors of political outcomes at age 20. Adolescents with chronic co-occurring MH difficulties starting in childhood report a lower interest in politics, lower trust in politicians, are less likely to register to vote, but if voting, are more likely to vote for an antiestablishment party. Adolescents with chronic emotional MH difficulties starting in childhood also report lower trust in politicians, are less likely to register to vote, and report a higher likelihood of voting for an antiestablishment party when voting. Additionally, they evidence lower levels of external political efficacy.

The experience of sexual intercourse for the first time is a significant life event, and influenced by a range of individual, cultural and societal factors. Age of first sexual initiation is a major area of policy and research focus, as the circumstances of first sex (e.g. whether contraception was used, whether it was perceived to have occurred ‘at the right time’), and the consequences of first sex for later outcomes (e.g. diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), early parenthood), have important implications for health and wellbeing. In this report, we use data from the ’98 Cohort of Growing Up in Ireland (GUI), the national longitudinal study of children and young people in Ireland, to examine the factors associated with age of sexual initiation among young adults, and the way in which age of first sex influences the circumstances of first sex and selected outcomes. Age and circumstances of first sex, and selected outcomes, are all based on data collected during the fourth wave of data collection for the ’98 Cohort of GUI, when the young people were 20 years of age.

BACKGROUND
Early studies show that children might be ‘resilient’ when families navigate economic crises and related job loss. What resilience means is unclear, though, and why and from whom resilience is required has seldom been examined.

OBJECTIVE
I theorise children’s prosociality – helping, supporting and comforting others – as a form of transformative resilience. From a social reproduction perspective, I also consider how prosociality imbues and is influenced by caregiving relationships within families. I examine how children’s prosociality/caregiving (unpaid labour) developed in response to parents losing and regaining employment (paid labour) amid the Great Recession in Ireland.

METHOD
I rely on cohort data from children’s early years to adolescence (Growing Up in Ireland, 2008-2022). I estimate growth-curve and OLS models for prosocial development and outcomes tapping into paid and unpaid labour. Associations with parental job loss are identified net of observables while outlining conditions for causal claims. FINDINGS Children whose mothers experienced job loss are rated more prosocial than their peers from middle childhood onwards. Girls with younger siblings drive this finding. At age 13, the same group is more likely to provide regular care within the household, while their mothers scale back caregiving and reprise paid work after heightened childcare responsibilities during the crisis.

CONTRIBUTION
The study contributes to debates on the formation of prosociality, the intergenerational consequences of job loss, and the household division of labour among adults and children. Findings suggest focusing on if and how families cope with a context unequally structured by (labour) markets and gender norms.

Background
At age 5, while only embarking on their educational journey, substantial differences in children’s cognitive ability will already exist. The aim of this study was to examine the causal association between below average cognitive ability at age 5 years and child-reported experience of school and self-concept, and teacher-reported class engagement and emotional-behavioural function at age 9 years.

Methods
This longitudinal cohort study used data from 7,392 children in the Growing Up in Ireland Infant Cohort, who had completed the Picture Similarities and Naming Vocabulary subtests of the British Abilities Scales at age 5. Principal components analysis was used to produce a composite general cognitive ability score for each child. Children with a general cognitive ability score more than 1 standard deviation (SD) below the mean at age 5 were categorised as ‘Below Average Cognitive Ability’ (BACA), and those scoring above this as ‘Typical Cognitive Development’ (TCD). The outcomes of interest, measured at age 9, were child-reported experience of school, child’s self-concept, teacher-reported class engagement, and teacher-reported emotional behavioural function. Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the association between BACA and these outcomes.

Results
Compared to those with TCD, those with BACA had significantly higher odds of never liking school [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.82, 95% CI 1.37–2.43, p &amp;lt; 0.001], of being picked on (AOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.09–1.48) and of picking on others (AOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.27–1.84). They had significantly higher odds of experiencing low self-concept (AOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02–1.42) and emotional-behavioural difficulties (AOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.10–1.63, p = 0.003). Compared to those with TCD, children with BACA had significantly higher odds of hardly ever or never being interested, motivated and excited to learn (AOR 2.29, 95% CI 1.70–3.10).

Conclusion
Children with BACA at school-entry had significantly higher odds of reporting a negative school experience and low self-concept at age 9. They had significantly higher odds of having teacher-reported poor class engagement and problematic emotional-behavioural function at age 9. The findings of this study suggest BACA has a causal role in these adverse outcomes. Early childhood policy and intervention design should be cognisant of the important role of cognitive ability in school and childhood outcomes.

Introduction
Compared to their more affluent peers, children of low socioeconomic position (SEP) are more likely to experience poor mental health. Correctly identifying factors that influence internalising and externalising symptoms is imperative for early, targeted intervention. Distinguishing between symptoms that are transient and chronic, and singular or co-morbid is important. We investigated how internalising and externalising behaviours co-occur in children from childhood to adolescence, and examined the association between these behaviours and childhood family- and child-level risk factors – including maternal characteristics, economic strain and experiences in childhood.

Method
Using the large, nationally representative, longitudinal sample from the Growing Up in Ireland study, two mixture modelling techniques were applied: Latent Class Analysis to unveil multidimensional family profiles by clustering subjects with similar familial, maternal and lived experiences, and Group-Based Multi-Trajectory Model to identify joint behavioural trajectories based on responses to the internalising and externalising subscales of the Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire, measured at three time points (age 9, 13 and 17).

Outcome
Half of the children (51%) showed no behavioural problems, however a large proportion of children experienced substantial economic strain while growing up in Ireland during the 2000s. Worse SEP conditions were linked to less advantageous maternal characteristics, e.g. mothers who were young, smoked and did not breastfeed. A clear gradient of troubled behaviour was seen as socio-economic difficulties increased. Changes in family profiles were associated with minor or modest alterations in behavioural outcomes. Implications for policy are discussed.

Background
Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is associated with a 30 to 50% increased risk of obesity in adolescence. The role of ACEs as a determinant of weight loss among overweight and obese children remains unclear.

Methods
Among 8568 nine-year-old children randomly sampled in 2007/2008 for the Growing up in Ireland cohort, 2210 were overweight or obese at 9 years and provided complete follow-up data at age 13 and 18 years. Structural equation and natural effects mediation models tested for a direct causal relationship between ACEs before 9 years and remission risk at 18 years, and indirect effects mediated via daily activity, diet quality, self-image and behavioural difficulties and BMI at 9 years.

Results
Among the 1676 adolescents that were overweight or obese at age 9, 46% achieved healthy weight status by age 18; 56% (n=618) of overweight children and 27% (n=153) of obese children), 13% experienced an ACE, and 41% were female. Exposure to an ACE was associated with a higher BMI Z at ages 9 (0.47 vs 0.36, p < 0.05) and 13 years (0.39 vs 0.29, p < 0.05) and reduced the odds of achieving healthy weight status at age 18 by 27% (OR: 0.73, 95% CI:0.54- 0.99). Overweight and obese children exposed to an ACE had lower household income, higher behavioural difficulties, and lower self-concept at ages 9, 13 and 18. Children exposed to an ACE were also 2 to 3-fold more likely to have started smoking before 12 years old and 50% more likely to smoke more than 10 cigarettes a week regularly vape. Behavioural difficulties, self-concept and baseline weight status, but not smoking or dietary habits, mediated the association between ACE exposure and achieving healthy weight at age 18.

Conclusion
Among overweight and obese children, exposure to ACEs indirectly reduces the likelihood of achieving healthy weight status at age 18, mediated by its effects on weight in childhood, and behavioural difficulties and self-concept in mid-adolescence. These findings highlight the complex factors that influence weight loss among overweight and obese children exposed to adverse experiences early in life.

New research, published by the ESRI and produced in partnership with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE), uses Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) data to look at the profile of fathers not living full-time with their children (termed non-resident fathers in the report). The GUI study has included both resident and non-resident fathers in almost all waves of the study. While the primary focus of this report is on how best to involve non-resident fathers in future waves of the new GUI birth cohort, the report provides interesting insights on non-resident fathers and their relationships with their children. It also draws on interviews with researchers from international child cohort studies and with separated parents and NGOs working with parents in Ireland.