The 6th Annual Growing Up in Ireland research conference took place on Wednesday 26th November 2014, in the Croke Park Conference Centre Dublin. To download a copy of the conference brochure please click here.
The conference was opened by Dr James Reilly T.D., Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, who launched the latest Growing Up in Ireland report, Dynamics of Child Economic Vulnerability and Socio-Emotional Development: An Analysis of the First Two Waves of the Growing Up in Ireland study.
The opening presentation, Dynamics of Child Economic Vulnerability and Socio-Emotional Development was presented by Dr Dorothy Watson, Associate Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute and can be downloaded by clicking here.
Keynote Speaker
The keynote address on The impact of educational experience and school exclusion on criminal careers: Findings from the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime, was given by Professor Susan McVie. Her paper looks at the critical role played by schools in diverting many of our young people away from a life of crime and highlights the challenges and benefits of conducting a longitudinal study which connects the events of childhood with adulthood, while understanding the various transitional points along the way. This is available to download by here.
Susan is Professor of Quantitative Criminology at the University of Edinburgh, Co-Director of the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions & Crime, and Director of the Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN) Research Centre. Susan’s research interests and published work predominantly focus on: youth crime and justice; crime patterns and trends; criminal careers and developmental criminology.
Conference Presentations
24 papers were presented at the conference. These were based on Growing Up in Ireland‘s Child and Infant Cohorts and were focused on a range of topics including health, parenting, education and socio-emotional well-being.
Presentations from the conference can be downloaded below and a Book of Abstracts is available by clicking here.
Session A
Joanne Banks, Selina McCoy and Denise Frawley
Jude Cosgrove
Session B
Does time spent watching television in early childhood affect socio-emotional development?
Suzanne Egan and Aisling Murray
Are classroom internet use and academic performance higher after government broadband subsidies to primary schools?Sean Lyons, Marie Hyland, Richard Layte, Selina McCoy and Mary Silles
Session C
Use of the Public Health Nurse Service in Ireland during the first nine months of life
Anne-Marie Brooks and Sinead Hanafin
Planned home birth and breastfeeding in Ireland
Clare Quigley, Cristina Taut, and Lina Zgaga
Session D
Identifying factors contributing to school disaffection among primary school pupils
Maeve Thornton and Merike Darmody
Age or stage? Influences on the transition to junior cycle education
Emer Smyth
Ann Devitt, Joe Condon, Gene Dalton, Jane O’Connell and Melanie Ni Dhuinn
Session E
Sophie Gallagher, Eilis Hennessy and Ela Polek
Not difficult, just sick: The relationship between temperament and early childhood illness
Brian Merriman
The effect of a disability on siblings
Grainne Collins and Cliona Doherty
Session F
On the construction of a health-wellbeing index for 9-month-old Irish infants
Cristina Taut, Alan Kelly and Lina Zgaga
Prevalence of longstanding health conditions among three-year-old children
Steve Barron, Kevin Balanda and Lorraine Fahy
Session G
Maternal and child psychosocial factors associated with dental-problems during early childhood
Michael Crowe, June Nunn , Colman McGrath, Lorraine Swords, Alan Kelly , Michael O Sullivan
Low mood among 13-year-olds in Ireland
Mark Morgan, James Williams and Maeve Thornton
A psychometric measure of social capital among Irish adolescents
Oona Kenny
Session H
Involved fatherhood – The quiet revolution
Barbara Moore
How open are the Irish? Exploring inter-cultural family formation in Ireland
Carmel Hannan, Antje Roeder and Merike Darmody
Patricia Keilthy
Session I
Exploring the association between sleep duration and overweight and obesity in infants
Laura Mangan and Lina Zgaga
Where you live matters: The local environment and physical activity among children
Mark Ward
