The internet provides opportunities for social interactions which first occur in an online environment that can lead to meeting up in real life. However, growing concerns around safety and privacy warrant greater study of this modern-day phenomenon. Using a longitudinal dataset of approximately 4,30…

Although there is a wealth of research addressing the association between mental health and school absenteeism, there are calls for a better understanding of how mental health difficulties might predict SAPs (Egger et al., 2003; Finning et al., 2022; Ingul et al., 2019; Wood et al., 2012). The aim o…

This study investigates the relationship between multidimensional household poverty and cognitive and behavioural development during the formative years of childhood (from 9 months to 9 years), using nationally representative longitudinal data from Ireland for the cohort of children born in 2007-200…

International research has shown that civic engagement, that is, volunteering in local services, can benefit both young people and their communities, while political engagement can strengthen a society’s democratic culture. The Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures (2019) policy framework highlights the…

Background Children with a parent who smokes are more likely to become substance users than those who do not have a parent who smokes. In this study, we examined whether childhood or early adolescent exposure to primary parent smoking increased the risk of subsequent teenage alcohol and drug use at…

While research has investigated the effects of the Great Recession on the Irish economy using economic indicators or cross-sectional household-level data, this research note applies group-based multitrajectory modelling to provide a more nuanced approach. Using nationally representative, longitudina…

A small minority of Irish students attend fee-charging second-level schools. However, media analyses of the backgrounds of those students who go on to more sought-after tertiary educational institutions or degree courses suggest that a disproportionate number of them were attendees at fee-charging s…

Aims Multiple studies have connected parenting styles to children’s internalising and externalising mental health symptoms (MHS). However, it is not clear how different parenting styles are jointly influencing the development of children’s MHS over the course of childhood. Hence, the differential ef…

Introduction Despite a growing body of research on associations between adolescent digital use and well-being, few studies have investigated these associations a) longitudinally and b) across socioeconomic status. The present study uses high-quality longitudinal data to examine how digital engagemen…

Background Ireland has one of the lowest BF rates in the world. This study investigates the association between breastfeeding and infant health in Ireland. Methods A cross-sectional, secondary analysis of data collected from Growing Up in Ireland (GUI): the National Longitudinal Study of Children wa…

Self-harm in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) is the result of a complex interaction of biological, psychiatric, psychological, social, and cultural risk factors. A lot of research has already been conducted to identify the risk factors for self-harm in AYAs. On the other hand, there has been les…

For the first time, data on children and adolescents with disabilities in Ireland are reported based on the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance Para Report Card methodology. The most recent data from the last 10 years were used in the grading process (A+ to F), and indicators with insufficient data…