A range of childhood factors can influence a person’s educational attainment and financial wellbeing in adulthood. In this chapter, we explore a number of these potential factors reported when the respondent was aged 9 and their association with educational attainment and financial wellbeing at the age of 25.

In Wave 1 of Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) Cohort ‘98 when the respondents were aged 9, parents of respondents were asked questions relating to the child’s use of a public library, whether the child had a television in their bedroom and how far did they expect their child to go in their education or training. Statistically significant associations were found between these factors and the respondents’ level of education at age 25. Respondents whose parents reported in Wave 1 (when the respondent was aged 9) that they used the public library for the respondent were more likely to have a degree at age 25 compared with those whose parents did not use a public library for their child.

At Wave 1, when the respondents were 9-years-old, their parents were asked how far they expected their child to go in their education or training. Respondents whose parents reported that they expected the respondent to get at least a degree level qualification in the future increased the probability of the respondent having a degree at age 25 compared with those whose parents did not expect them to get a degree.

In Wave 5, when aged 25, respondents were asked the degree of difficulty they had in making ends meet. Statistically significant associations were found between the respondent’s ability to make ends meet at age 25 and the household's income when the respondent was age 9 (at Wave 1). Household income here is 'equivalised' or adjusted for family size and composition to allow for a fairer comparison. Approximately a quarter of respondents whose household had an income in the 4th or 5th quintile at the age of 9 had at least some difficulty making ends meet at age 25 (27.3% and 24.2% respectively) compared with 45.4% of those whose household income placed them in the first (lowest) quintile when they were 9-years-old.