YOUNG PEOPLE IN Ireland argued more with their parents and siblings during the first year of the Covid pandemic.

The findings from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) draws upon a special inter-wave survey of the 2008 cohort of the ‘Growing up in Ireland’ study.

An online survey was conducted with this cohort in December 2020.

In this period, schools has re-opened and restrictions were easing, but further restrictions were reinstated in early 2021.

The CSO hosted the survey which invited 12-year-old children and their mothers to complete an online survey “in order to capture experiences of the pandemic”.

The ESRI analysis, titled “The effect of the pandemic on adolescent wellbeing in Ireland”, is based upon 2,947 cases where both the young person and their mother completed the survey.

43% of 12-year-olds reported that they were arguing more with their parents, while more than half (54%) said they were arguing more with their siblings.

Meanwhile, over a third of households reported that their incomes had fallen due to the pandemic.

In households where there was a loss of income during the pandemic, children were less likely to partake in sports and more likely to eat junk food.

40% of children in households which suffered income losses during the pandemic reduced their involvement in sports, compared to 35% amongst children from households where there was no income loss.

Where there was a loss of income, 33% of children ate more junk food and sweets, compared to 27% in households where there was no loss of income.

While young people had poorer wellbeing where one or both of their parents had lost their jobs, the ESRI researchers said the Pandemic Unemployment Payment “played a protective role”.

32% of the households analysed had received the PUP, while one or more parents lost a job during the pandemic in 36% of cases.

The researches also noted that young people who reported having a quiet place to study and a computer during the period of school closures had much better well-being than those who lacked such resources.

However, only 49% said it was “always true” that they had a quiet place to study, while 73% reported that it was “always true” that they had access to a computer for remote learning.

In households where there was financial strain during the pandemic, only 43% of young people had a quiet place to study, while 66% had access to a computer for remote learning.

In households where there was no financial strain, these figures were 50% and 74% respectively.

The ESRI researchers said the findings highlight “the need for ongoing support for more disadvantaged young people to overcome pandemic-related disruption to their learning”.