PART 4: FORMAL AND INFORMAL SUPPORTS
Community Characteristics
An important measure of community is the extent to which children feel safe and secure in their local community. 63
Perceived safety in the community
Measure
The percentage of children aged 9-17 who report feeling safe
in the area where they live.
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Key findings
- In 2006, 90.4% of children aged 9-17 reported feeling safe in the area where they live (see Table 94).
Table 94: Percentage of children who report feeling safe in area where they live,
by gender, age and social class (2002 and 2006)
| 2002 | 2006 | |||||
| Boys | Girls | Total | Boys | Girls | Total | |
| Total | 86.7 | 87.8 | 87.4 | 90.4 | 90.4 | 90.4 |
| Age | ||||||
| 9 years | - | - | - | 90.5 | 89.8 | 90.2 |
| 10-11 years | 86.1 | 88.4 | 87.4 | 90.0 | 89.8 | 89.9 |
| 12-14 years | 86.5 | 88.4 | 87.6 | 90.6 | 90.8 | 90.7 |
| 15-17 years | 87.4 | 86.9 | 87.1 | 90.7 | 90.6 | 90.7 |
| Social class | ||||||
| SC 1-2 | 90.6 | 91.5 | 91.1 | 93.7 | 94.0 | 93.9 |
| SC 3-4 | 87.7 | 87.7 | 87.7 | 90.8 | 90.2 | 90.5 |
| SC 5-6 | 84.1 | 87.6 | 86.0 | 88.8 | 88.2 | 88.5 |
Source: HBSC Survey
Differences by gender, age and social class
- The percentage of children who reported feeling safe in the area where they live is relatively stable across gender and age groups (see Table 94).
- A higher percentage of children from SC 1-2 (93.9%) report feeling safe in the area where they live compared to those from SC 3-4 (90.5%) and SC 5-6 (88.5%).
Differences by geographic area
- Children in the Border and West regions are more likely (94.2%) to report feeling safe in the area where they live, while children in the Dublin region are least likely (83%) to report this (see Table 95).
Table 95: Percentage of children who report feeling safe in area where they live, by NUTS Region (2006)
| 2006 | |
| Border | 94.2 |
| Midlands | 91.2 |
| West | 94.2 |
| Dublin | 83.0 |
| Mid-East | 89.6 |
| Mid-West | 93.6 |
| South-East | 92.1 |
| South-West | 91.5 |
| Overall | 90.4 |
Source: HBSC Survey
Differences by geographic area
- From the 2006 HBSC Survey, using the ages of 11, 13 and 15 only to draw international comparisons, 91.2% of Irish children reported feeling safe in the area where they live (see Figure 36). This compared with the HBSC average of 89.5%.
- Among the 8 countries and regions that used this HBSC item in 2006, the lowest percentage for this indicator was found among children from Poland (82.2%) and the highest among children from Belgium (Flemish) (93%). Overall, Irish children ranked 3rd.
- Among the 15 countries and regions that used this HBSC item in 2002, Irish children ranked 11th (86.5%).
Figure 36: Percentage of children who report feeling safe in area where they live, by country (2006)
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).
63 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