Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC): World ...

HBSC England National Report

Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC): World Health Organization Collaborative Cross National Study

family life health

peer relationships, friends and leisure activities

healthy behaviours

school well-being community life

Findings from the 2014 HBSC study for England

Authors Professor Fiona Brooks Josefine Magnusson Dr Ellen Klemera Kayleigh Chester Dr Neil Spencer Nigel Smeeton

Address for Correspondence CRIPACC University of Hertfordshire College Lane Campus Hatfield, AL10 9AB

Published by University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield. September 2015.

This report should be cited as: Brooks, F., Magnusson, J., Klemera, E., Chester, K., Spencer, N., and Smeeton, N. (2015) HBSC England National Report 2014. University of Hertfordshire; Hatfield, UK.

Young people's reference group Amelia (age 12) Anna (age 16) Ellise (age 12) Felix (age 11) Katie (age 16) Katie-Lou (age 16) Pippa (age 13) Roman (age 14) Sam (age 15) Tara (age 14) Tom (age 15) Vato (age 15) William (age 11)

Acknowledgements The team owe a debt of gratitude to all the schools, teachers and especially the young people who participated in this study. We are extremely grateful for the time and help they gave to this project.

Many thanks also go to our coders who worked so hard to enter all the data: Laura Hamilton, Rebecca Walker-Haynes, Lucy Burton, Joshua Scott, Holly Brooks, Julie Mace, and William Kendall.

We would like to thank our funders the Department of Health for their financial support for the study. Special thanks go to Richard Sangster, Elizabeth Kendall, Rachel Conner, Sarah Randall, Geoff Dessent and Danielle De Feo at the Department of Health, and Claire Robson at Public Health England for their continued guidance and support.

Foreword by Jane Ellison

Since 1997, the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study (HBSC) has provided key insights to help us better understand the health-related behaviour of our young people. The study examines a wide range of health, education, social and family measures that are determinants of young people's health and well-being.

I welcome the findings in this report and the survey results identify that many health trends for young people are going in the right direction. I am very encouraged to see decreasing levels of participation in risky behaviours including significant reductions in levels of smoking, regular alcohol consumption, and drunkenness. It is also positive to see that the proportion of 15 year olds reporting very early sexual activity has decreased significantly since 2002.

The findings relating to primary health care service use was predominantly positive with over 75% of young people saying they felt at ease with their GP. It was also encouraging to see that the proportion of young people reporting eating sweets daily has fallen since 2002 and the proportions eating breakfast on a school day and participating in family meal times with their parents have both increased since 2010.

However, this report does also highlight areas for concern.

While the majority of young people said that their physical health was either excellent or good, girls reported lower levels of life satisfaction than boys and higher symptoms of stress. The report suggests that girls feel more pressure to do well at school and to be popular but we need to look carefully at the underlying reasons and not speculate. It is of particular concern that new figures on self-harm show high rates among our young people with 32% of 15 year old girls reporting they had self-harmed. We have also yet to see widespread improvements in levels of physical activity with only 15% of girls and 22% of boys meeting the Chief Medical Officer's recommended daily amount of at least sixty minutes of activity per day. We need to look carefully across Government to consider what more we might do to address these issues so that young people feel better equipped to make the transition to adult life and to make a full contribution to society.

I am concerned to see that 22% of young people reported not having enough sleep to feel awake and concentrate on school work during the day. Lack of sleep can influence mental health and wellbeing and the report shows this is a factor. This suggests we need to build in opportunities for young people to learn techniques for managing stress and again emphasise the importance of physical activity.

We know that adolescence is a period when our approach to health and wellbeing begins to take shape and habits develop ? good and bad - which will have an impact on our health in later years. There are some really positive trends in this report but the report also highlights specific areas where we need to do more to help young people to make informed, healthy choices which develop into positive, lifelong habits.

Jane Ellison Public Health Minister

Foreward

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Contents

Acknowledgements Foreword

Chapter 1. Contexts: The HBSC study, methods and demographics Why adolescents? Note on terminology The HBSC study What aspects of young people's lives does HBSC ask about? Collaborations and England-only questions Methodology Recruitment strategy Conduct of the survey Ethics and consent Participation of young people Characteristics of pupils Response rates Grade and gender Ethnicity Free school meals Weighting Presentation of findings References

Chapter 2. Health and well-being Key messages Introduction Perceived health Self-rated health Life satisfaction Health complaints Multiple health complaints Emotional well-being Primary health care use Visited GP last year Feeling at ease with GP Respect from GP GP's explanations Discussing personal issues Long term condition or disability Type of condition or disability Taking medication School attendance Summary Young people's thoughts on health and well-being References

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HBSC England National Report

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Chapter 3. Health behaviours Key messages Introduction Diet and nutrition Eating breakfast Fruit and vegetable intake Consumption of sweets, sugary drinks and fast food Sleep Body image Physical activity Summary Young people's thoughts on health behaviours References

Chapter 4 Substance use Key messages Introduction Smoking Alcohol Cannabis Summary Young people's thoughts about substance use References

Chapter 5. Sexual health and well-being Key messages Introduction Love Sex Summary Young people's thoughts on sex and relationships References

Chapter 6. Injuries and Physical fighting Key messages Introduction Injuries Fighting Self-harm Summary References

Chapter 7. Family and community life Key messages Introduction Parental employment and family structure Parental employment

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HBSC England National Report

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