health school

Figure 2.1: Young people who report their physical health to be ‘good’ or ‘excellent’
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
91%
90%
87% 85%
80% 78%
Boys
Girls
20%
10%
0%
11 years
13 years 15 years
Base: All respondents in 2014
Life satisfaction
Measure
• Life satisfaction was measured using the Cantril
Ladder (Cantril, 1965), where young people are
asked to pick a number from 0 (‘worst possible
life’) to 10 (‘best possible life’) presented as
steps on a ladder.
In previous use of the Cantril Ladder as a measure of life
satisfaction, high life satisfaction has been analysed on
the basis of a score on the Cantril ladder of 6 or above. In
this report the analysis has been adjusted to reflect new
research concerning the measurement of life satisfaction.
This new analysis is now considered to more accurately
reflect how subjective life satisfaction is experienced and
understood. 4 Consequently, the following cut-off points
were applied to the life satisfaction data:
Gender:
79% of boys and 69% of girls rated their life satisfaction as
high. Across all ages the proportion of girls who rated their
life satisfaction as 7 or above was lower than for boys and
this gendered difference becomes more pronounced with
age (Figure 2.2).
Age:
Younger adolescents were more likely to rate their life
satisfaction as 7 and above (Figure 2.2). Generally, 15 year
olds (remaining consistent with previous surveys) have the
lowest life satisfaction among all groups with both boys and
girls reporting a decrease since 2010 (Figure 2.3).
0 to 4 = Low life satisfaction, defined as suffering
5 to 6 = Medium life satisfaction, defined as potentially
struggling
7 to 10 = High life satisfaction, defined as thriving.
Overall, 74% of young people rated their life satisfaction
between 7 and 10 (high life satisfaction and were within the
thriving category.
4
http://www.gallup.com/poll/122453/understanding-gallup-uses-cantril-scale.aspx (Accessed 04/08/2015)
14
HBSC England National Report