External Publications Using GUI Data

Purposes
Dietary free sugars (FS) are the most important risk factor for dental caries and can contribute to excess energy intake. Measuring FS intake is limited by food composition databases and appropriate dietary assessment methods. The aim of this analysis was to estimate total sugar (TS) and FS intakes for Irish pre-schoolers and examine the proportion of dietary TS and FS captured using a short food questionnaire (SFQ).

Methods
This is a secondary analysis of 3-year-old children from two national surveys; Growing Up in Ireland (GUI), N = 9793 of whom 49% were girls and the National Preschool Nutrition Survey (NPNS), N = 126 and 52% were girls. GUI used SFQs and NPNS used semi-weighed food diaries to collect dietary data from 3-year-old children. Dietary intake databases were linked using an established approach. Mean daily TS and FS intakes and frequency were calculated, and consumption patterns from foods and meals are presented. The proportion of foods that were covered or non-covered by the GUI SFQ was calculated by comparison with the NPNS food diary.

Results
75% of 3 year-olds had FS intake greater than the maximum recommended by WHO guidelines for free sugar intake, while 4% met the lower threshold. The median frequency of TS and FS consumption was 5.0 (4.0–6.0) and 4.0 (3.0–5.0) times/day. Less than one-quarter of TS intake (g/day) was non-covered by the GUI SFQ while less than one-third of FS intake was non-covered.

Conclusions
A large majority of 3-year-old Irish children do not meet the WHO recommended guidelines for FS intake and almost none meet the desired conditional recommendation. SFQs only capture two-thirds of FS intake at this early age.

Collecting accurate and detailed dietary intake data is costly at a national level. Accordingly, limited dietary assessment tools such as Short Food Questionnaires (SFQs) are increasingly used in large surveys. This paper describes a novel method linking matched datasets to improve the quality of dietary data collected. Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is a nationally representative longitudinal study of infants in the Republic of Ireland which used a SFQ (with no portion sizes) to assess the intake of “healthy” and “unhealthy” food and drink by 3 years old preschool children. The National Preschool Nutrition Survey (NPNS) provides the most accurate estimates available for dietary intake of young children in Ireland using a detailed 4 days weighed food diary. A mapping algorithm was applied using food name, cooking method, and food description to fill all GUI food groups with information from the NPNS food datafile which included the target variables, frequency, and amount. The augmented data were analyzed to examine all food groups described in NPNS and GUI and what proportion of foods were covered, non-covered, or partially-covered by GUI food groups, as a percentage of the total number of consumptions. The term non-covered indicated a specific food consumption that could not be mapped using a GUI food group. “High sugar” food items that were non-covered included ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, fruit juice, sugars, syrups, preserves and sweeteners, and ice-cream. The average proportion of consumption frequency and amount of foods not covered by GUI was 44 and 34%, respectively. Through mapping food codes in this manner, it was possible, using density plots, to visualize the relative performance of the brief dietary instrument (SFQ) compared to the more detailed food diary (FD). The SFQ did not capture a substantial portion of habitual foods consumed by 3-year olds in Ireland. Researchers interested in focussing on specific foods, could use this approach to assess the proportion of foods covered, non-covered, or partially-covered by reference to the mapped food database. These results can be used to improve SFQs for future studies and improve the capacity to identify diet-disease relationships.

Purposes
Dietary free sugars (FS) are the most important risk factor for dental caries and can contribute to excess energy intake. Measuring FS intake is limited by food composition databases and appropriate dietary assessment methods. The aim of this analysis was to estimate total sugar (TS) and FS intakes for Irish pre-schoolers and examine the proportion of dietary TS and FS captured using a short food questionnaire (SFQ).

Methods
This is a secondary analysis of 3-year-old children from two national surveys; Growing Up in Ireland (GUI), N = 9793 of whom 49% were girls and the National Preschool Nutrition Survey (NPNS), N = 126 and 52% were girls. GUI used SFQs and NPNS used semi-weighed food diaries to collect dietary data from 3-year-old children. Dietary intake databases were linked using an established approach. Mean daily TS and FS intakes and frequency were calculated, and consumption patterns from foods and meals are presented. The proportion of foods that were covered or non-covered by the GUI SFQ was calculated by comparison with the NPNS food diary.

Results
75% of 3 year-olds had FS intake greater than the maximum recommended by WHO guidelines for free sugar intake, while 4% met the lower threshold. The median frequency of TS and FS consumption was 5.0 (4.0–6.0) and 4.0 (3.0–5.0) times/day. Less than one-quarter of TS intake (g/day) was non-covered by the GUI SFQ while less than one-third of FS intake was non-covered.

Conclusions
A large majority of 3-year-old Irish children do not meet the WHO recommended guidelines for FS intake and almost none meet the desired conditional recommendation. SFQs only capture two-thirds of FS intake at this early age.

Investigations into the wider bioecological understanding of dental problems in early childhood are limited in national surveys. Classification tree analysis (CTA) was used to explore multilevel interactions among key aspects of child and primary caregiver (PCG) psychosocial and physical health affecting dental problems in preschool children. Data were derived from the Growing Up in Ireland study, a nationally representative sample of 9-mo-olds (N = 11,134) in 2007/2008 followed up at age 3 y (N = 9,793) in 2010/2011. Analysis included PCG reports of children’s dental problems, general health, temperament, emotional and behavioral difficulties, and their own general health, stress and depression, relationship, and sociodemographic variables. Misclassification costs were specified for the model by applying a higher penalty for misclassifying those with a dental problem (minority class). Logistic regression analyses were carried out for comparison. Dental problems were reported among 302 infants (2.7%) at 9 mo of age and 493 children (5.0%) at 3 y. CTA identified infant temperament (Infant Characteristics Questionnaire unpredictable) as the primary predictor of dental problems at 9 mo and child global health at 3 y of age. First-level predictors were PCG depression score and use of a soother at 9 mo and PCG ethnicity and unscheduled hospital visits at 3 y of age. Regression analyses results supported the most important predictors at 9 mo and 3 y of age. The CTA model for 9-mo-old infants had a specificity of 90.4%, sensitivity of 31.2%, and overall accuracy of 88.8% while that for 3-y-olds had a specificity of 58.5%, sensitivity of 66%, and overall accuracy of 59%. Key aspects of infant/child and PCG health, as well as psychosocial characteristics associated with reported dental problems, should be considered in future multidisciplinary approaches to child health.

Knowledge Transfer Statement: The results of this data analysis should help raise awareness among clinicians of how primary caregiver and child psychosocial and general health factors are associated with early childhood dental problems, even before the primary dentition is complete. Classification tree analysis visually demonstrates how factors such as infant temperament (9 mo) and child global health (3 y) can interact at multiple levels and affect different subgroups of the child population. Future intervention strategies for oral health should involve consideration of the psychological and general health characteristics of the young child and PCG at both the patient and population levels. This knowledge could assist decision makers adopt an integrated multidisciplinary approach in formulating a coherent oral health policy for preschool children.

This paper, for the first time, presents estimates of the causal impact of overweight and obesity on self-rated health (SRH) using instrumental variables (IV) econometric methods. While a number of previous studies have sought to better understand the determinants of SRH, there is no consensus in relation to the impact of overweight and obesity. Using data from a large nationally representative sample of Irish parents and their children, we estimate a range of ordered probit models to isolate the causal effect of overweight and obesity on SRH. Our data includes independently and objectively recorded weight and height measures for parents and their children and we instrument for parental body mass index (BMI) status using the BMI of a biological child. After controlling for a range of individual, socioeconomic, health and lifestyle related variables, we find that being overweight has a negligible impact on SRH, while being obese has a practically and statistically significant negative impact on SRH, with these effects most pronounced for those who are most obese. We find only minor differences in these effects across gender.

This chapter presents a socioeconomic profile of childhood disability in an Irish context. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) survey, it considers a range of dimensions. These include an analysis of the associations between the childhood disability status of a household and a range of socioeconomic indicators relating to labour market outcomes, levels of parental education, social class, income and economic hardship. The chapter compares households with and without a child with a disability on the basis of these socioeconomic measures. The primary carer of a child with a disability is considerably less likely to participate in the labour market and considerably more likely to turn down work opportunities, when compared to a primary carer of a child without a disability. Parents of a child with a disability are less likely to be educated at third level and more likely to be in the lowest social class.

Purpose
This study examines the expressive language and speech of twins, relative to singletons, at 3 and 5 years, with the aim of determining if a twinning effect occurs during this developmental period. The possibility of twins outgrowing a twinning effect was investigated.

Method
A weighted population-based sample of 185 twins and 1,309 closely spaced singletons who participated in the Growing Up in Ireland study was analyzed. Their development was compared using a standardized expressive vocabulary assessment and parent interview at 3 and 5 years as well as teacher reports at 5 years. Causal steps mediation analyses were subsequently conducted to determine if gestation and birth weight mediated twin–singleton differences in expressive vocabulary development.

Results
Twins’ expressive vocabulary scores were slightly lower than those of singletons at 3 years, but there was no significant difference at 5 years. More parents of twins reported “a little” concern about their child’s expressive language and speech skills at 3 years, although there was no significant twin–singleton difference 2 years later. Teachers’ ratings of twins’ and singletons’ expressive language and speech skills at 5 years were comparable. Shorter gestations and lower birth weights mediated twins’ lower expressive vocabulary scores at 3 years.

Conclusions
A very small twinning effect on expressive vocabulary development exists at 3 years and is outgrown by 5 years. Twins born after shorter gestations or at a lower birth weight are at an increased risk of having less developed expressive vocabulary skills at 3 years.

In the current study, we investigated the developmental dynamics between positive youth development, being bullied in adolescence, gender, and sociocultural risk factors. Participants were 3,509 males (49%) and 3,656 females (51%) studied longitudinally across the ages of 9, 13, and 17 years in the Growing Up in Ireland study. Using structural equation modeling, we discovered that being bullied in early adolescence was most strongly predicted by having fewer close friends, higher family poverty, and living in neighborhoods with higher levels of disorder. However, the social disadvantage of a young person’s school did not impact being bullied. More positive reports of connection and caring in early adolescence were negatively predicted by neighborhood disorder and family poverty, and being female had positive association with relationships with teachers. Developing confidence, competence, and character in late adolescence was notably related to having fewer experiences of family trauma and transitions in childhood and to having higher levels of rapport with parents in early adolescence. The results highlight the importance of studying relationships and psychological development in sociocultural context.

To date, studies using cross-sectional methodologies make up a majority of the literature surrounding children with autism spectrum disorders and participation in physical activity and screen time. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine how physical activity and screen time behaviors co-develop for children with and without an autism spectrum disorder. To address this research gap, this study compared how physical activity and screen time levels changed over time (9 to 18 years of age) between youth with autism spectrum disorder and youth with neurotypical development. Data on the levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, light physical activity, television-, and video game-based screen time, collected as a part of the “Growing up in Ireland” study, were compared between youth with autism spectrum disorder and a propensity-matched sample of youth with neurotypical development (n = 88 per group; 176 in total). Robust regression analyses indicated that children with autism spectrum disorder became less active over time compared to children with neurotypical development and that video game screen time also differed significantly between the groups when children were 9 years old. These findings elucidate important disparities present between these groups of children during pivotal developmental times.

This report explores factors influencing attitudes to, and the use of, the Irish language on the island of Ireland. In so doing, the report draws, first and foremost, on 2013 Irish Language Survey. In order to explore changes in attitudes over time, the study also draws on earlier (2001) survey data. Further insights into overall trends will be provided by the analysis of Census data. Given that attitudes are often shaped by schooling, the study also draws on the Growing Up in Ireland study (9-year-cohort) as well as the Irish Post Primary Longitudinal Study (PPLS) which indicate student perspectives on Irish.

None of the many critical moments in Ireland’s often tumultuous history was more significant or defining than the Easter Rising of 1916. Central to the Rising was the Proclamation of Independence, in which Pádraig Pearse declared the new nation’s resolve to cherish all its children equally. CHERISHING ALL THE CHILDREN EQUALLY? brings together contributions from a range of disciplines to shed light on the processes of child development and to investigate how that development is influenced by a variety of demographic, family and socio-economic factors. Making extensive use of research and data that have emerged over recent years from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study of children, the book considers whether or not all children can participate fully and equitably in contemporary Irish society. It asks whether or not we do, in fact, cherish all our children equally in modern Ireland, regardless of their family circumstances, health or ethnic background.

TABLES OF CONTENTS:

1. Introduction
2. Changing Perceptions and Experiences of Childhood, 1916-2016
3. Children and Families, Then & Now
4. Is Family Structure a Source of Inequality in Children’s Lives?
5. Parental Investment & Child Development
6. Inequalities in Access to Early Care and Education in Ireland
7. Inequalities from the Start? Children’s Integration into Primary School
8. Insights into the Prevalence of Special Educational Needs
9. The Experiences of Migrant Children in Ireland
10. Social Variation in Child Health & Development: A Life-course Approach
11. Child Access to GP Services in Ireland: Do User Fees Matter?
12. Anti-Social Behaviour at Age 13
13. Child Economic Vulnerability Dynamics in the Recession
14. Concluding Observations

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors associated with occupational stress and job satisfaction among Irish primary school principals. A principal’s job has become increasingly demanding and complex in recent decades. However, there is little current research into their levels of stress and job satisfaction, particularly based on nationally representative data. In order to understand how principals perceive their job and how best to support them, new insights into factors contributing to job satisfaction and stress of school principals are warranted.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on an analysis of Growing up in Ireland data, a national representative study of nine-year-old children in Ireland. In order to explore the simultaneous impact of individual and school factors on stress and job satisfaction of principals in Irish primary schools, multivariate analysis was used. Analyses in this paper are based on responses from principals in 898 schools.

Findings
The results of the study indicate that a significant number of primary school principals in Ireland are not very satisfied and feel stressed about their job. Regression analysis revealed that job satisfaction and occupational stress were related to a complex set of personal characteristics, working conditions, school context and teacher climate.

Research limitations/implications
The data are limited to primary school principals. However, this is in itself an advantage since it allows for greater insights into variation across principals in job satisfaction and stress, holding the effect of school level constant.

Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind in the Irish context that explores the simultaneous effect of a number of factors on school principals’ stress and job satisfaction.

Keywords
Job Satisfaction, Ireland, Occupational stress, Primary schools

Drawing on curriculum differentiation theory, this paper discusses exemptions from learning Irish granted to Irish post-primary students. In order to explore the profile of students granted such exemptions, the study utilises data from a national longitudinal study, Growing Up in Ireland. Additional information is provided by administrative data collected by the Department of Education and Skills to show trends in the number of exemptions granted over time. The findings show that factors impacting on being exempt include gender, social class, having a special educational need at primary school and being born outside Ireland.

Keyword(s): post-primary schools, curriculum differentiation, exemptions from Irish, Ireland

This chapters addresses digital inequalities in young people’s daily lives and well-being. The chapter examines how adolescents’ digital engagement differs across family socioeconomic status (SES) and gender, and how it relates to their mental health outcomes. Analyses use longitudinal data from the Growing Up in Ireland study from age 9 to 18, combined with cross-national data from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged survey on adolescents aged 11-15 across 35 industrialised countries. Longitudinal analyses reveal that low-SES adolescents and girls experience higher mental health problems as they increase their time using digital devices, compared to high-SES adolescents and boys. Cross-national analyses indicate that, while boys spend more time in digital activities, girls are at higher risks of experiencing mental health problems from engaging with digital activities. However, the magnitude of these gendered patterns differs markedly across national contexts. Cross-country comparisons on SES yield mixed results: in some countries low-SES adolescents are mentally more harmed by their digital engagement (i.e., Switzerland, Austria, Norway), but in other countries high-SES adolescents are those at higher mental health risks from using digital devices (i.e., Portugal, Czech Republic, Bulgaria). The chapter findings are discussed within the existing literature on digital inequalities and young people’s well-being.

Children’s parent and teacher relationships contribute to school adjustment and achievement, yet few studies have examined interactions between these relationships, particularly for father-child relationships. Using the Growing Up in Ireland birth cohort (N = 7,507 children, 50.3% male), we examined child-adult relationship quality – rated by mothers and fathers at age 3 and teachers at age 5 – as predictors of behavioural adjustment (rated by teachers) and academic achievement (formal reading assessments and self-reported academic self-concepts) at age 9. Controlling for prior levels of problem behaviours, verbal ability, and family SES, results indicated small and comparable independent effects of children’s parent and teacher relationships on school adjustment and achievement. For mothers and teachers, moderation analyses showed a cumulative risk pattern for conflictual relationships and a compensatory pattern for close relationships. Children are likely to benefit from improving closeness and reducing conflict in adult-child relationships and interventions that involve mothers, fathers, and teachers.

Digital technologies have become an increasingly prominent feature of children’s lives both within and outside educational environments (McCoy, Quail, and Smyth 2012. Influences on 9-Year-Olds’ Learning: Home, School and Community. Dublin: Department of Children and Youth Affairs). Despite considerable media debate, we have little robust evidence on the impact of technology use on children’s development, both academically and socially. Much of the literature in this area relies on small-scale cross-sectional studies. Using longitudinal data on 8500 9-year-old children in Ireland, we examine the influence of early mobile phone ownership on children’s performance in reading and maths between 9 and 13 years of age. Across both reading and maths domains, children who already report owning a phone by the age of nine fare less well in terms of their academic development as they move into adolescence. The measured effects are sizeable, implying about 4 percentile lower ranking on standardised tests for an average student. Our results are consistent with the idea that there may be significant educational costs arising from early mobile phone use by children. Parents and policymakers should consider whether the benefits of phone availability for children are sufficiently large to justify such costs. We suggest a range of direct and indirect cognitive effects that could help explain these results.

KEYWORDS: Mobile phone ownership; child development; academic outcomes; early owners; longitudinal data

Children live in a technology-mediated world, and most young people use a variety of technologies in their daily lives. However, despite intense public discourse, we have little empirical evidence on how technology use impacts on children’s development across a number of psycho-social domains. Research that has been conducted tends to be largely small-scale or cross-sectional in nature and most often focused on (young) adults rather than children. Using longitudinal data on one-in-eight Irish children, we use econometric methods to test for associations between early mobile phone ownership and two measures of children’s psycho-social development between 9 and 13 years of age. We examine the Piers Harris Self-Concept Scale, reported by children, and the Strengths and Difficulties (SDQ) score, completed by the primary caregiver. We find no generalised associations between early mobile phone ownership and psycho-social outcomes. However, there is evidence that associations differ by gender and across psycho-social sub-domains. We find no robust associations affecting boys, but girls who receive phones earlier fare less well in terms of their behavioural adjustment and academic self-concept scores at 13 years of age, all else being equal. Further research is needed to identify causal mechanisms and explore possible mediating effects of family/social context.

KEYWORDS: Mobile phone ownership; psychological adjustment; self-concept; gender; longitudinal data; Piers Harris; SDQ

This study examined whether being breastfed predicts handedness. Two large representative samples from Britain (n=13,421) and Ireland (n=8,426) were used. Multivariate probit models are estimated, reporting the marginal effects of covariates on the probability of a child being right-handed. For both datasets, children who have been breastfed for a minimum period (between 1 month and 6 weeks) are significantly less likely to be left-handed. The results are robust to a variety of controls. Hence breastfeeding is an environmental factor that predicts handedness in a non-linear way, although the mechanism is unknown.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; Lactation;b Handedness; Laterality