4.3 Topics from Comparable Studies

A review of the instrumentation used by comparable international studies indicates

quite a high degree of consistency with material already used with Cohort 08 at age

For the child’s socio-emotional development, a majority of studies had items on the

child’s temperament, psychological adjustment and behavioural difficulties (such as

the SDQ). Questions on relationships with siblings only featured in one other study,

but this may be because larger families are more common in Ireland than elsewhere

(O’Toole & Slaymaker, 2024). There were no topics in the area of socio-emotional

well-being that were common in other studies but not already covered by Growing

Up in Ireland, although ‘child’s early self-concept’ and ‘experience of traumatic life

event’ featured in one study each.

In terms of parental well-being, nearly all studies (including Cohort 08 at age 3) had a

measure of depression and/or anxiety. Measures of parenting stress and self-efficacy

were less common but did feature in multiple studies. Three studies had a measure

relating to parental satisfaction with their life, job or finances but most other new

topics only featured in a single other study – such as family mental health history and

expectations about parenting.

Among topics on relationships, questions on parenting style, grandparent

involvement, and receipt of social support were reasonably common in other studies

as well as Growing Up in Ireland. Questions on the child’s own friends did not

previously feature in Cohort 08 at 3, but did feature in one of the international

studies (and arose in the consultation with 3-year-olds and one of the advisory

groups). Four studies also featured questions relating to parental beliefs about values

and qualities for children. In terms of relationships between parents, most studies

(including Growing Up in Ireland) asked about marital status; a majority also collected

data on the quality of the parental relationship. Five studies, including Cohort 08 at 3,

asked something about a non-resident parent where relevant. A couple of studies

asked about sharing of parental tasks. Just one study included physical abuse in the

parental relationship.

4.4 Summary of Continuing Topics