PART 3: CHILDREN'S OUTCOMES - SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL

Self Esteem

The role of self-esteem in well-being has been conceptualised primarily as a protective factor against high risk behaviour.45

Measure

The percentage of children aged 9-17 who report feeling happy 'always' or 'very often' with the way they are.

Key findings

  • In 2006, 58.2% of children aged 9-17 reported feeling happy 'always' or 'very often' with the way they are (see Table 74).

Table 74: Percentage of children who report feeling happy 'always' or 'very often'
with the way they are, by gender, age and social class (2006)

  Boys Girls Total
Total 62.9 53.1 58.2
Age      
9 years 77.8 78.8 78.3
10-11 years 74.6 74.5 74.6
12-14 years 65.3 56.4 61.1
15-17 years 57.4 40.2 49.3
Social class      
SC 1-2 63.1 51.8 57.2
SC 3-4 63.2 53.1 58.2
SC 5-6 63.6 55.2 59.2

Source: HBSC Survey

Differences by gender, age and social class

  • The percentage of children who reported that they feel happy 'always' or 'very often' with the way they are is relatively stable across social class (see Table 74).
  • The percentage of children who reported that they feel happy 'always' or 'very often' with the way they are was higher among boys and younger children:
    • 62.9% of boys, compared to 53.1% of girls;
    • 78.3% of children aged 9, compared to 49.3% of those aged 15-17.

Differences by geographic area

  • Children in the South-West region are more likely (61.3%) to report feeling happy 'always' or 'very often' with the way they are, while children in the West region are least likely (55.4%) to report this (see Table 75).

Table 75: Percentage of children who report feeling happy 'always' or 'very often'
with the way they are, by NUTS Region (2006)

  2006
Border 60.0
Midlands 57.1
West 55.4
Dublin 58.0
Mid-East 58.0
Mid-West 54.0
South-East 58.3
South-West 61.3
Overall 58.2

Source: HBSC Survey

Technical notes
All data presented are drawn from self-report, self-completion questionnaires completed by children in schools. Thus, they are subject to potential biases in relation to self-presentation and memory. These measures may suffer from social desirability bias.

Percentage differences are presented for descriptive purposes only and may not reflect a statistically significant finding.

Social class (SC) is classified into one of the following groups (introduced in 1996 by the CSO), defined on the basis of occupation:
SC I: Professional
SC 2: Managerial
SC 3: Non-manual
SC 4: Skilled manual
SC 5: Semi-skilled
SC 6: Unskilled

NUTS is an acronym for the EU Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. This classification was legally established by EU Regulation No. 1059/2003 on 29 May 2003. In Ireland, NUTS is classified hierarchically as Level 1 – Ireland; Level 2 – Regions; and Level 3 – Regional Authorities. The 8 Regional Authorities in Ireland (NUTS 3 regions) were established under the Local Government Act, 1991 (see Appendix 2).

No international data are available for comparative purposes.

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45 OMCYA (2006) State of the Nation's Children: Ireland 2006, Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Dublin: The Stationery Office. Available at: www.childrensdatabase.ie OR www.omc.gov.ie