The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ms Coughlan, today welcomed the results of a report on the development of children over a period of 10 years.
The report, From Child to Adult: a Longitudinal Study of Irish Children and their Families, attempted to study the development of 185 children who displayed symptoms of significant psychiatric disorder after an initial survey in 1990, when they were approximately 11 years of age.
However, the final study in 2000 only evaluated the progression of 97 children as the Department was unable to locate approximately 50 per cent of the remaining 88. The rest did not wish to take part in the second study.
The department did admit that many of those it was not able to locate had shown higher incidences of anti-social behaviour in the past.
Economic circumstances of the family, maternal health and inadequate social support were all deemed to be factors in the social progress of those found to be at risk from varying disorders. Paternal factors were ignored in the second study, having not been included in the first.
The Department 's Families Research Programme found that "overall" those contacted had overcome the behavioural difficulties they displayed in 1990.
Ten per cent of the 97 had recovered from past incidences of psychological issues, while 13 per cent of the remainder (circa 88) had experienced difficulties in the last year.
Minister Coughlan welcomed the results of the report and emphasised the importance of future studies to discover the impact of a rapidly changing society on modern youth.
"I have long believed that there is a need for more quality research into the lives of children and their experiences of the changing nature of childhood itself," said Minister Coughlan.
"The research project . . . follows on from a 1990 study when over 2,000 children were assessed for intellectual and behavioural attributes. A more detailed study of 185 of these children was then conducted and it is the development of these children that this report sought to examine.
"Reassuringly, once again the results of a Families Research Programme report point to the resilience of children and this report concludes that overall, those behavioural difficulties that exhibited ten years ago proved to be short term," Minister Coughlan added.
"Children are, of course, the building blocks of our society's future and it is especially important to understand the issues that impact on child development both in the short term and over time," she said.