Five-year-old children from socially disadvantaged homes in Ireland have much higher levels of ‘screen time' - including watching TV and playing electronic games - than children from advantaged homes, new research has found.

The findings are based on the latest results from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study, an ongoing study which began in 2006. It involves 11,000 children who were nine months of age at the beginning of the study and 8,500 children who were nine years of age.

These latest findings look specifically at five-year-olds and their families.

They show that the vast majority of five-year-olds are in good health and most have a positive relationship with their parents.

Overall, girls appear to score better when it came to social skills such as empathy, self-control, taking responsibility and assertiveness.

Just 1% of the children had been diagnosed by a doctor as having a problem with their emotions, behaviour or concentration. Although, almost 4% were reported by their mothers as having definite or severe difficulties in these areas.

The research noted that ‘screen time' was higher among children from socially disadvantaged homes. This referred to watching TV and DVDs, playing electronic games and the use of Ipads, smart phones and computers.

The study found that 8% of five-year-olds whose mother had a degree spent three hours or more in front of a screen on an average weekday. However, among the children of mothers who had a Junior Certificate or less, this figure jumped to 20%.

Children who spent longer in front of a screen also tended to have poorer eating habits, opting more often for things like crisps and biscuits. This was irrespective of the family's income.

The researchers found that 15% of the five-year-olds were overweight and 5% were obese. Girls were more likely than boys to have a higher body mass index (BMI).

The children's socio-economic background was associated with excess weight, with this being more common in poorer families. Some 9% of children whose mother had a Junior Certificate or less were found to be obese. However, if the mother had a degree, this figure fell to 4%.

Meanwhile the study also found that the majority of five-year-olds live in two-parent families and overall, one-parent families are the most disadvantaged.

It also noted that the recession has had a major impact on families, with 43% stating that they could not afford, or had to cut back on, basics. Almost one in six said they were behind with their utility bills and one in eight were behind with their rent or mortgage.

Overall, in 2013, one in four families with five-year-old children said they were making ends meet ‘with great difficulty or with difficulty'.

The study also looked at pre-school and the transition to primary school. It found that the vast majority of five-year-olds who started school had availed of the free pre-school year. One in four families said they would not have been able to send their children to pre-school had it not been for this free scheme.

Most parents said their children had adjusted well to school, with girls being more positive than boys.

Around one in 10 families registered their children for school in the year they were born, while over half waited until the year the child started school. One in five families registered their children for more than one school, although this was less common among socially disadvantaged families.

According to GUI principal investigator, Prof James Williams, these findings ‘continue to shed light on the changing circumstances of children in all aspects of their lives'.

"Five-year-olds appear to be adjusting well to the new challenges they face as they make the transition to school. Although in overall terms their health is very good, overweight and obesity continue to be a major cause of concern at five years of age. The effects of the economic downturn and the financial and other stresses which it imposes on families are also very evident from the figures," he commented.