NATIONAL

HEALTH BEHAVIOUR IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN:
WHO COLLABORATIVE CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY (HBSC)
2014 SURVEY IN SCOTLAND NATIONAL REPORT
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THE REPORT
HBSC surveys in Scotland have produced a wealth of data on the health of the nation’s youth over the last 24 years.
This report provides up-to-date information on young people’s health and behaviour in Scotland, as well as the social
contexts affecting their lives. Where data are available, patterns are traced back to the early 1990s. The data presented
capture all the key priority areas of mental health, physical activity, eating habits, substance use and sexual behaviour. Less
commonly-reported issues are also examined; examples include how young people feel about their bodies, their efforts
at weight control, their experience of bullying and fighting, how they get along with friends and family, their perception of
their neighbourhood environment and relationships at school. HBSC places young people’s health in social and economic
context and gathers data on family structure and socioeconomic circumstances. The report therefore also shows how
the social context of young people’s lives has changed over recent years. New topics included in the national report for
the first time in 2014 include: health-related quality of life, stress, cyberbullying, serious injury, location and activity during
injury, family and peer support, and teacher support. Analyses assessing the role that contextual factors play in explaining
young people’s health and well-being in Scotland are reported in briefing papers and journal publications listed on the
CAHRU website i .
STUDY METHODOLOGY
QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN
The Scottish HBSC questionnaire follows the international HBSC survey protocol 9 , developed by the HBSC international
network of researchers. The questionnaire is designed by network members working in scientific focus groups according
to area of expertise in various aspects of adolescent health. The study methods are outlined briefly below, with a more
comprehensive description available elsewhere 9 . For each survey round, a full research protocol is developed which includes
the scientific rationales for topic areas included in the international standard questionnaire. While some items remain
from each survey year to the next, others may change and others still may be dropped entirely according to national and
international priorities and methodological developments. Items are subject to validation procedures in several countries
(e.g. 10,11,12,13,14 ).
INTRODUCTION AND METHODS
The HBSC 2013/14 international mandatory questionnaire comprised 74 questions that were considered ‘core’ to the
international study. These questions are mandatory for all member countries of the network, including Scotland, to ensure
that international comparisons can be made on a number of key social, health and behavioural measures. In addition to
the mandatory questions required by the HBSC network, optional thematic packages validated internationally are made
available.
The Scottish version of the HBSC questionnaire comprised the international mandatory items, selected optional packages
and in addition, items of specific interest to national stakeholders such as indicators which are used by Scottish Government
to monitor mental health and child poverty.
The questionnaires for the three age groups differ slightly: for example, the questionnaire for Primary 7 pupils is shorter in
length than those used in secondary schools, and some questions (such as those about sexual health) are only asked of
15-year olds. The 2014 Scottish questionnaire was designed to take approximately 40 minutes to complete by all age
groups and included 116 questions (259 items) for S4 pupils, 102 questions (217 items) for S2 pupils and 84 questions (176
items) for P7 pupils. The Scottish national questionnaire was piloted in the autumn term of 2014.
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