REPORT NUMBER 2020-3 Growing Up in Ireland National Longitudinal Study of Children COHORT ’98 (CHILD COHORT) The Growing Up in Ireland Child Cohort Come of Age: Review of the Literature Pertaining to the 17/18 Year Wave Growing Up in Ireland National Longitudinal Study of Children The Growing Up in Ireland Child Cohort Come of Age: Review of the Literature Pertaining to the 17/18 Year Wave Aisling Murray, Eoin McNamara, Daráine Murphy, Caoimhe O’Reilly, Martha Neary and Oscar James Name Title Institution Aisling Murray Senior Research Officer ESRI Eoin McNamara Research Analyst ESRI Daráine Murphy ESRI (Alumna) Caoimhe O’Reilly ESRI (Alumna) Martha Neary ESRI (Alumna) Oscar James ESRI (Internship Alumnus) The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders or of either of the two institutions involved in preparing the report. GROWING UP IN IRELAND • THE CHILD COHORT COME OF AGE: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE PERTAINING TO THE 17/18 YEAR WAVE Copyright © Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, April 2020 Department of Children and Youth Affairs Block 1 Miesian Plaza 50-58 Baggot Street Lower Dublin 2 D02 XW14 Tel: +353 (0)1 647 3000 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.dcya.gov.ie All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder. For rights of translation or reproduction, applications should be made to the Head of Communications, Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Block 1, Miesian Plaza, 50-58 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 XW14, Ireland. 2 GROWING UP IN IRELAND • THE CHILD COHORT COME OF AGE: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE PERTAINING TO THE 17/18 YEAR WAVE Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 1.1 Purpose of this review ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 1.2 About Growing Up in Ireland at 17/18 years -------------------------------------------------------------- 8 1.2.1 Data collection -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 1.3 Conceptual framework ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 1.3.1 Domains -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 1.4 The Growing Up in Ireland Child Cohort comes of age ------------------------------------------------ 13 1.4.1 National and international context ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 1.5 Being 17/18 years ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 1.5.1 Health ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 1.5.2 Socio-emotional development ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 1.5.3 Education and cognitive development ------------------------------------------------------------------ 17 1.5.4 Economic and civic participation ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 1.6 About this review ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 2 EMERGING ADULTHOOD AND ECONOMIC AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION ----- 20 2.1 Adolescent, adult or ‘emerging’? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 2.1.1 Legal and socio-economic status ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 2.1.2 Late adolescence/emerging adulthood as a stage of the life-course ---------------------------- 20 2.1.3 Generation effects ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23 2.1.4 Changing relationships with parents -------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 2.1.5 Growing Up in Ireland at 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 2.2 Volunteering ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 26 2.2.1 Rates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 26 2.2.2 Characteristics of volunteers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 27 2.2.3 Why young people volunteer ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 2.2.4 Do young people benefit from volunteering? --------------------------------------------------------- 29 2.2.5 Growing Up in Ireland at 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 2.3 Young people and the post-school labour market ----------------------------------------------------- 31 2.3.1 Youth unemployment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32 2.3.2 Economic returns of employment versus third-level education in the post-school period 35 2.3.3 Growing Up in Ireland at 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 3 EDUCATION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 3.1 Early school leaving --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 40 3.1.1 Socio-economic factors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41 3.1.2 Individual level factors -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 3.1.3 School perspective ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 42 3.1.4 Interventions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 43 3 GROWING UP IN IRELAND • THE CHILD COHORT COME OF AGE: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE PERTAINING TO THE 17/18 YEAR WAVE 3.1.5 Growing Up in Ireland at 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------------- 44 3.2 Factors associated with performance in the Leaving Certificate ----------------------------------- 44 3.2.1 Socio-economic factors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45 3.2.2 Individual factors --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46 3.2.3 School factors ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 47 3.2.4 Growing Up in Ireland at 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 3.3 Factors influencing college and course choice ---------------------------------------------------------- 49 3.3.1 Applications to further and higher education in Ireland ------------------------------------------- 49 3.3.2 Individual factors --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51 3.3.3 Family and contextual factors ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51 3.3.4 School and College related factors ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 52 3.3.5 Growing up in Ireland at 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------------- 54 4 SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT -------------------------------------------------- 56 4.1 Mental health challenges in late adolescence ----------------------------------------------------------- 56 4.1.1 Overview of research---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56 4.1.2 Depression ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 57 4.1.3 Other mental health challenges in adolescence ------------------------------------------------------ 59 4.1.4 Growing Up in Ireland at 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------------- 60 4.2 Relationships with peers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61 4.2.1 Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61 4.2.2 Peer relationships as support networks ---------------------------------------------------------------- 62 4.2.3 The negative influence of peers -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63 4.2.4 Growing Up in Ireland at 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------------- 65 4.3 Socio-emotional aspects of romantic and intimate relationships during adolescence ------ 66 4.3.1 Frequency ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 66 4.3.2 Nature and context of relationships --------------------------------------------------------------------- 67 4.3.3 Impact of romantic relationships in adolescence ---------------------------------------------------- 69 4.3.4 Growing Up in Ireland at age 17/18 years ------------------------------------------------------------- 70 4.3.5 Positive socio-emotional development ----------------------------------------------------------------- 70 5 HEALTH -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 73