Minister Foley launches new Growing Up in Ireland report on child well-being

Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley, has today launched a new Growing Up Ireland report on child well-being.

Growing Up in Ireland is the national study of over 28,500 children and young people which is designed to gain insight into their lives.

The study is now telling the continuing stories of three generations of children in Ireland: those born in 1998, 2008 and 2024.

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality, and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) jointly run the study, which follows the same children over time to see the impact of key transition points in their lives – such as moving from childhood to adolescence, and from adolescence to adulthood.

The study has also provided valuable insights into these children’s physical health, mental health and education.

Minister Foley has today launched a new publication which has distilled the key learnings on child well-being from over 300 papers based on Growing Up in Ireland.

Some of the key findings from the “What we know from Growing Up In Ireland” study (see link below) by researchers in University College Dublin include:

• Bullying and family adversity (such as lower socio-economic status, parental illness and stress) are significant risks to a child’s emotional development and well-being
• Strong relationships with parents and peers, safe local facilities, and structured sports are key protective factors for a child’s emotional development and well-being
• Adolescent girls in the study reported higher levels of anxiety and emotional difficulties, while adolescent boys demonstrate higher levels of anti-social behaviour
• Screen time for children has increased markedly during the study and is associated with lower levels of wellbeing and physical activity.
• Boys generally scored higher in maths at 9 and 13 years, but girls scored higher in literacy levels at 15 years and achieved higher overall Leaving Certificate results.
• Boys were consistently more physically active, while girls engaged in lower levels of physical activity, as did children with chronic illness, disabilities, developmental delays, higher Body Mass Index and those from more disadvantaged backgrounds.

Minister Foley said:

Minister Foley is today attending the 17th Growing Up in Ireland annual research conference in the Gibson Hotel in Dublin.

As part of the day’s schedule, the teams working on Growing Up in Ireland in both the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE), and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) will brief delegates on the latest updates in the study. This includes the recently completed first wave of interviews with the families of babies born in 2024. These interviews have been carried out when the babies are 9 months old.

Interviews have also recently commenced with young people who were born in 2008 to examine how they are doing now at the age of 17 or 18.

Minister Foley added:

Delegates will also hear from representatives from Comhairle na nÓg who will share their perspective on the issues of importance to young people in 2025.

The showcase on national research is complemented this year by a keynote lecture from Professor James Hall of the University of Southampton who will share some of his experience in the UK context in a talk entitled, “Mind the gap: Towards a better understanding of how structural inequalities are related to Early Childhood Education and implications for longitudinal research.”

Link to report:

What we know from Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) 2008-2024: Key Well-being Factors for Children and Young People

NOTES

2025 Conference details, including the programme: https://www.growingup.gov.ie/information-for-researchers/gui-conferences/

About the Growing Up in Ireland Study:

Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) is the national longitudinal study of children and young people, a joint project of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, and the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The GUI study was designed to gain insight into the lives and development of children in Ireland and the impacts of early childhood experiences on their lives. The goal is to gain insight into the lives of children in Ireland, in terms of children’s health, education, and cognitive and socio-emotional development, set within social, economic, and cultural contexts.

The GUI study is designed to longitudinally chart and explore the factors that contribute to, or undermine, the well-being of children in contemporary Ireland. The study data and findings allow Government to develop responsive, child-focused policies and improve the delivery of services for children and their families in Ireland.

‘What we know from GUI’ report:

Prepared by Dr Kaat Philippe, Dr Seaneen Sloan and Dr Ross D. Neville in University College Dublin, the Department has also commissioned a report that provides a comprehensive overview of the risk and protective factors for the wellbeing of children and young people (up to 22 years old). The report collates information available in published research (up to 5th June 2024) that utilised Growing Up in Ireland data. This report aimed to identify the key factors which impede or support child wellbeing, the extent to which these are socially patterned and the resulting policy opportunities. The report will serve as a useful resource for policymakers in the area and showcases the value of the data generated by Growing Up in Ireland.

About the GUI cohorts of children and where we are now:

Cohort ’24 – the newest generation, were born in 2024, and who have just finished their first family interviews with the CSO at age 9 months. Over 9,000 families participated. Planning is already underway for their age 3 visit in 2027.

Cohort ’08 – now the ‘middle’ cohort, and born in 2008, this group were first visited at 9 months with over 11,000 in the initial wave. Follow-up waves were completed when the child was aged 3 years, 5 years, 7/8 years (postal), 9 and at 13 years. Interviews have just started now that they are turning 17/18 years.

Cohort ‘98 - is the oldest cohort and started in 2007 with 8,500 children then aged 9 years (having been born in 1998). This cohort was revisited at age 13 years, 17/18 years, 20 years and age 25. The next visit to this cohort will be at age 30.

There was also a special survey on Covid 19 for the two older cohorts in 2020.

Wider context and background to GUI:

GUI is the National Longitudinal Study of Children in Ireland (NLSCI), as approved by Government in March 2002, and established in 2006 as Growing up in Ireland (GUI).

GUI, funded by the Government of Ireland, is carried out within the framework of the Statistics Act, 1993. It aims to examine the factors which support or undermine the well-being of children in families, in order to inform effective and responsive policy making and service development.

GUI was originally undertaken by the Economic Social and Research Institute (ESRI) under contract by the Department from 2006 to 2022. Since January 2023, Growing Up in Ireland is being carried out jointly by DCDE and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under a collaborative model for GUI developed by DCDE and the CSO, to build on and make best use of the expertise and remit of each organisation. The model involves DCDE and the CSO working in partnership to deliver GUI, each taking responsibility for leading on separate but interrelated phases of the work. In this collaboration, the CSO is responsible for the GUI Survey and DCDE leads on the GUI Study.

• The GUI Survey refers to the elements of GUI being undertaken by the CSO under the authority of the Statistics Act, 1993. This encompasses all stages of the survey life cycle as defined by the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM), namely: Identify Needs, Design, Build, Collect, Process, Analyse and Disseminate. The CSO ensures that the survey process is informed by the fullest possible engagement with key stakeholders, in particular, with DCDE.
• The GUI Study refers to those elements of GUI being undertaken by the DCDE. These encompass: engaging with policy and scientific stakeholders; consulting with children/young people; identification of research needs, data priorities and policy objectives; consulting on instrumentation development and design; enhancing awareness of GUI; building capacity in GUI data use; promoting the use of GUI data for research and policy development; and generating research analyses of the data in the GUI study. DCDE engages with the CSO throughout these processes.

Experts who previously worked on Growing Up in Ireland at the ESRI have moved to the CSO and to DCDE, so that the study continues to benefit from their expertise.

Aims and objectives

The primary aim of the Growing Up in Ireland study is to inform Government policy in relation to children, young people and families.

The founding objectives for the study are:

• to describe the lives of children in Ireland in the relevant age categories, to establish what is typical and normal as well as what is atypical and problematic
• to chart the development of children over time, to examine the progress and well-being of children at critical periods from birth to adulthood
• to identify the key factors that, independently of others, most help or hinder children’s development
• to establish the effects of early childhood experiences on later life
• to map dimensions of variation in children’s lives
• to identify the persistent adverse effects that lead to social disadvantage and exclusion, educational difficulties, ill health, and deprivation
• to obtain children’s views and opinions on their lives
• to provide a bank of data on the whole child
• to provide evidence for the creation of effective and responsive policies and services for children and families.