Mental well-being among schoolchildren in Scotland : age and gender patterns, trends and cross-national comparisons

The HBSC study in Scotland is funded by the Health Education Board for ScotlandPublisher PDFPublisher PD

News from the international study Control of Adolescent Smoking : Smoking in Scottish schools

This study was funded by EC BIOMED II grant BMH4-CT98-3721,Transnational variation in prevalence of adolescent smoking: the role of national tobacco policies and the school and family environments.Publisher PD

News from the internation study Control of Adolescent Smoking. : Smoking and other health-related behaviours and health indicators in Scottish adolescents

This study was funded by EC BIOMED II grant BMH4-CT98-3721, Transnational variation in prevalence of adolescent smoking: the role of national tobacco policies and the school and family environments.Publisher PD

News from the international study Control of Adolescent Smoking : Parental influences on smoking among Scottish adolescents

This study was funded by EC BIOMED II grant BMH4-CT98- 3721, Transnational variation in prevalence of adolescent smoking: the role of national tobacco policies and the school and family environments.Publisher PD

News from the international study Control of Adolescent Smoking : Smoking, school achievement and educational aspirations among Scottish adolescents

This study was funded by EC BIOMED II grant BMH4-CT98-3721, Transnational variation in prevalence of adolescent smoking: the role of national tobacco policies and the school and family environments.Publisher PD

Family structure and breakfast consumption of 11-15 year old boys and girls in Scotland, 1994-2010

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The benefits of breakfast during childhood and adolescence have been reported previously though few studies have considered family structure inequalities in breakfast consumption. The proportion of young people living in non-traditional family types has increased in recent years, strengthening the need to describe and monitor the impact of the changing family unit on adolescent breakfast consumption. This study aimed to describe changes in daily breakfast consumption among adolescents in Scotland between 1994 and 2010, while also considering family structure inequalities, and the degree to which these have changed over time.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from the 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 Scottish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys were analysed using logistic multilevel regression models for binary outcome variable daily breakfast consumption.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Daily breakfast consumption among adolescents increased between 1994 and 2010, although there were differences by age and sex. In fact those aged over 14.5 years saw decreases in breakfast consumption, and girls saw significantly larger increases than boys. Daily breakfast consumption was more prevalent among adolescents from 'both parent' families, with lowest prevalence among those from single parent families. Trends in daily breakfast consumption between 1994 and 2010 also varied by family structure. While prevalence of daily breakfast consumption increased among those living with 'both parents', the largest proportion of the population, prevalence decreased over time among adolescents of single parent families, and particularly among those living with their father.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Family structure inequalities in daily breakfast consumption increased between 1994 and 2010, while breakfast consumption across the population as a whole increased. As the proportion of young people living in an alternative family structure continues to grow it is important to understand why these inequalities have increased and how these may be overcome. Possible reasons for family structure inequalities and their increase in recent years are discussed.</p

Key findings from the 2006 Scottish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study

The HBSC study in Scotland is funded by NHS Health Scotland.Publisher PD

FAMILY DEMENTIA CAREGIVERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE VIRTUAL DEMENTIA TOUR®: A CHANGED REALITY

Family dementia caregiving involves many challenges that often lead to stress and frustration. A subjective understanding of the daily struggles associated with dementia is not possible unless one has the disease; therefore, the family dementia caregiver's perception of dementia might be incongruent with their family member's lived experience. The Virtual Dementia Tour®(VDT) provides a vicarious first-person perspective for six of the most common symptoms of dementia. Although extensive evidence supports the use of the Virtual Dementia Tour® in the healthcare profession and education, no research studies were found investigating the Virtual Dementia Tour® with family dementia caregivers. This hermeneutic phenomenological study discovered family dementia caregivers' perceptions of the VDT® and its impact on family dementia caregivers' perceived reality of their family member living with dementia. Ten participants were recruited for in-depth open semi-structured interviews following participation in the Virtual Dementia Tour® at a community event. Data analysis was performed using a modification of Colaizzi's (1978) method for phenomenological analysis. One over-arching theme, It Changed Me, described the culmination of the participants' experiences leading to a changed reality of their family member living with dementia. Four supporting subthemes described the participants' internal processes toward empathic understanding, interpretation, and responsiveness. The findings suggest that family dementia caregivers interpreted their experience in the Virtual Dementia Tour® with empathic understanding and responsiveness. The VDT® had a powerful impact that led to an eye-opening epiphany about the lived experience of dementia and served as a "call to action" to change expectations and approach to caregiving. This study begins to fill a gap in the body of nursing knowledge and research about the value of the Virtual Dementia Tour® with family dementia caregivers in community settings. Moreover, it highlights the need to combine this experience with formal training to improve the quality of family dementia care

Conceptualizing, measuring and evaluating constructs of the adolescent neighbourhood social environment : a systematic review

This work was supported by the 600th Anniversary PhD Scholarship which was awarded to Gina Martin by the University of St Andrews.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Gender inequality and sex differences in physical fighting, physical activity, and injury among adolescents across 36 countries

Purpose: Sex differences in adolescent health are widely documented, but social explanations for these sex differences are scarce. This study examines whether societal gender inequality (i.e., men’s and women’s unequal share in political participation, decision-making power, economic participation and command over resources) relates to sex differences in adolescent physical fighting, physical activity, and injuries. Methods: National-level data on gender inequality (i.e. the United Nations Development Program’s Gender Inequality Index) were linked to health data from 71,255 15-year olds from 36 countries in the 2009/10 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. Using multilevel logistic regression analyses, we tested the association between gender inequality and sex differences in health while controlling for country wealth (GDP per capita). Results: In all countries, boys reported more physical fighting, physical activity, and injuries than girls, but the magnitude of these sex differences varied greatly between countries. Societal gender inequality positively related to sex differences in all three outcomes. In more gender unequal countries, boys reported higher levels of fighting and physical activity, compared to boys in more gender equal countries. In girls, scores were consistently low for these outcomes, however injury was more common in countries with less gender inequality. Conclusions: Societal gender inequality appears to relate to sex differences in some adolescent health behaviors and may contribute to the establishment of sex differences in morbidity and mortality. To reduce inequalities in the health of future generations, public health policy should target social and cultural factors that shape perceived gender norms in young people