Just 22 per cent of girls and 33 per cent of boys aged 10-17 report feeling very happy with their lives at present, new research by University of Galway has found.
Just over half (54 per cent) of 10-17 year-old girls report high life satisfaction, compared to 69 per cent of boys, the research found.
Commissioned by the Department of Health, the findings are from the latest Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey conducted in 2022.
More than 9,000 children, from a representative sample of 191 primary and post-primary schools nationwide, were asked to report on a series of questions related to their lifestyles, behaviours and experiences.
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The research found that among 10-17 year olds, 13 per cent had used vapes in the last 30 days while 18 per cent had “ever used” vapes or e-cigarettes.
However, the number of 10-17 year olds who reported having ever smoked reduced from 12 per cent in 2018, to 9 per cent.
Some 69 per cent of children reported “never drinking alcohol”, up from 66 per cent in 2018.
Older children were more likely to report cannabis use, with 6 per cent having stated they used cannabis in the last 12 months. This was also a decrease since 2018, when 8 per cent reported the use of cannabis.
The 2022 survey assessed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children aged 10-17, with 40 per cent reporting that the public health restrictions had “a negative impact on their mental health and school performance”.
Girls and older children were more likely to report these negative impacts.
Aoife Gavin, lead author of the report, said findings concerning wellbeing, happiness and life satisfaction, particularly among older teenage girls, were “deeply troubling”.
Ms Gavin said the findings are not unique to Ireland and have been reported across the international study network.
“Previous HBSC Ireland reports have documented this negative trend prior to the Covid-19 pandemic – so the findings are not surprising but may be exacerbated by the pandemic”, Ms Gavin said.
“In relation to specific interventions and what should be done to improve youth mental health, it was “important to implement comprehensive and gender-sensitive mental health programme, particularly in school”, she said.
There has been “significant investment by the government – year on year they have been investing more and we will monitor future data to assess the impact”.
On the topic of bullying, boys and children from the middle social class group were more likely to report bullying others at school once or more in the past couple of months.
Some 29 per cent reported being bullied once or more in the last couple of months.
Girls, younger children and children from lower social class groups were more likely to report being victims of cyberbullying once or more in the past couple of months.
Some 18 per cent report being cyberbullied, up from 15 per cent in 2018, and boys and those from lower socioeconomic groups were more likely to have reported taking part in cyberbullying.
There was a recurring finding of low numbers of children meeting physical activity guidelines of 70 minutes every day of the week. Only 24 per cent of children reported meeting this.
There were some positive findings around dietary behaviour, with more children eating fruit and vegetables every day (23 per cent).
However, 18 per cent report having gone to school or bed hungry because there was not enough food in the house. This was down by one per cent since 2018.
In the area of sexual health, there was a decrease in numbers reporting condom use during their last sexual intercourse (48 per cent, down from 62 per cent in 2018).
Some 34 per cent of those who report having sex also report that they or their partner used no contraception at their last sexual intercourse.
One in four 15-17 year-olds reported ever having sex.
Menstrual health and period poverty was reported for the first time as part of the survey in 2022, with 10 per cent of girls having stated they were unable to afford period products.
Professor Colette Kelly, joint principal investigator of HBSC Ireland, said the survey provided “a critical understanding of children’s health behaviours during a time of unprecedented challenges”.
“The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions and supports to ensure the wellbeing of Ireland’s youth, for example there are indications of a positive shift in healthy eating, yet far too many children go hungry at times”, she said.
“One concerning trend is that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds consistently report more negative health outcomes. This highlights the urgent need to address health disparities and to ensure equitable access to resources for all children”.
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