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Emotional & behavioural difficulties (July 2020)

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Co-SPACE Ireland

Focus of this report

This report provides longitudinal data (data from more than one time period) from 194 parents/carers in Ireland who took part in both the baseline questionnaire and the first follow up questionnaire.

This report provides longitudinal data (data from more than one time period) from 194 parents/carers who took part in both the baseline questionnaire and the first follow up questionnaire. These participants

completed the baseline questionnaire between 10/04/2020 and 22/05/2020. Each participant completed the follow up questionnaire approximately one month after having completed their baseline questionnaires.

In this report, we examined changes in parent/carer and adolescent self-reported emotional, behavioural and restless/attentional difficulties over a one-month period as COVID-19 restrictions have progressed.

This was examined for the following specific groups:

  1. The whole sample
  2. Primary school aged children
  3. Secondary school aged children (parent and adolescent report)
  4. Children by gender
  5. Children with special educational needs
  6. Children with a pre-existing mental health and/or neurodevelopmental
  7. condition
  8. High- and low-income households
  9. Parent working status (working or not working)
  10. Family ethnicity (White Irish or other ethnicities)

Key findings

Over a one-month period of COVID-19 restrictions:

  • Parents/carers of primary school age children and parents/carers of secondary school age children report no change in their child’s emotional, behavioural, and restless/attentional difficulties.
  • Adolescents report a reduction in their own restless/attentional difficulties.
  • Parents/carers of children with SEN and those with a pre-existing mental health difficulty report a reduction in their child’s emotional difficulties and no change in behavioural or restless/attentional difficulties.
  • Parents/carer of children with a pre-existing mental health condition report a reduction in their child’s emotional difficulties and no change in behavioural or restless/attentional difficulties.