The Impact of SES, Family and Housing on Achievement and Wellbeing

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    The Impact of Socioeconomic Status, Family and Housing on Achievement and Wellbeing

  • IRAS ID

    237658

  • Contact name

    Gerard Leavey

  • Contact email

    g.leavey@ulster.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Ulster University

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    3 years, 10 months, 30 days

  • Research summary

    Despite growing concerns for youth mental health and its impact on education and later adult life, contributing factors to youth mental health remains under-researched in Northern Ireland. The aim of this research is to conduct an analysis of contributing factors to youth mental health and academic achievement in Northern Irish adolescents. Based on previous research, this analysis will include the following predictor variables: socioeconomic status, housing tenure, neighbourhood deprivation, overcrowded housing, joint/single parent households, number of siblings, parental education, parental health, sibling health, the health of the young person and family bereavement.

    This is an ambitious research project which aims to investigate a considerable number of predictors to adolescent mental health and achievement in Northern Ireland. It is the hope of the research team that by looking at multiple predictor variables in tandem, we can identify the most significant contributors to adolescent mental health and achievement in Northern Ireland which will be of use in future interventions. However, there is currently no available dataset of Northern Irish adolescents and their households that would provide the quantity of individuals and specifically requested predictor variables as the currently requested database. Analysing census data linked with other datasets would not only result in a study that is high in population validity, but would afford the research team the ability to look at a number of key predictors of wellbeing and achievement that have been identified in previous studies.

  • REC name

    London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    18/LO/1571

  • Date of REC Opinion

    5 Nov 2018

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion