Background to the Research

• The HBSC, a unique cross-national research study conducted in collaboration with the European region of the World Health Organisation, aims to gain new insight into, and increased understanding of, the health behaviours and lifestyles of young people. This report is based on data from the 1997/1998 survey, involving a representative sample of 6,589 Primary 7 - Year 12 pupils throughout NI.
• This survey had a particular focus on psychosocial aspects of health and the school environment.
  

Research Approach

• The data relating to mental health and wellbeing was selected from the HBSC and analysed to provide an overview of certain aspects of mental wellbeing among school children in NI. It was analysed by age and gender, and used to explore how young people assess their own health, appearance, satisfaction with life, social relationships and confidence. Experiences of the school environment were also examined. The association between mental and emotional issues and alcohol/drugs and physical activity is also considered.
  

Main Findings

• Young people's perceptions of being healthy appear to decrease with age - three times as many Year 12 pupils described themselves as 'not very healthy' compared with Primary 7 pupils. Girls appear more likely to consider themselves as 'not very healthy', with this difference between boys and girls increasing with age. The youngest boys thought they were most healthy, and the oldest girls thought they were the least healthy.
• When asked how content they were in general with their current circumstances, the majority (89%) reported feeling happy. More young than older children reported this, but this age variation is more marked for girls than boys, as fewer older girls are happy than boys.
• 10% more Year 12 boys than girls reported being happy. Roughly three times as many girls than boys in this age group reported to feel 'not very happy' and nearly twice as many girls were 'not happy at all'.
• When compared with adolescents throughout Europe, NI pupils had a relatively negative assessment of their own health, and are among those who most often report feeling happy.
• Forty eight percent of young people reported feeling lonely sometimes, with the oldest girls most likely to feel lonely on a regular basis.
• One in four young people feel low on a weekly basis. Twice as many Year 12 girls as boys reported this. The older pupils were, the more frequently they reported feeling occasionally irritable or bad tempered.
• Around 1 in 4 boys and girls in Primary 7 reported never to feel irritable or bad tempered. This declined with age, dropping to 20% among boys and 10% among girls among the Year 12 pupils.
• One third of the young people feel helpless sometimes or more often.
• Boys of all ages were more likely to report 'never' feeling helpless, while girls more frequently reported feeling helpless 'sometimes'. Around 40% of the young people reported feeling 'nervous' on a weekly basis, and 8% felt this way daily. Girls of all ages reported feeling nervous more frequently than boys.
• One in three young people reported difficulties falling asleep on a weekly basis. Primary 7 boys most frequently reported sleeping difficulties, followed by Year 12 girls. Few of the young people reported taking medication for this.
• Girls were much more concerned than boys about their body image. This concern increases with age for both genders, but is more dramatic for girls. Views about their looks did not vary much (age or gender).
• Both genders reported it easier to communicate with their mothers than their fathers. Girls in all age groups find it more difficult than boys to talk with their fathers, with this difficulty increasing with age. Girls find it easier than boys to talk with their mothers, while both genders find it easy to talk with their older siblings. Communication with parents seems to become more difficult with age for both genders.
• Most young people (77%) find it easy to talk with friends of their own sex; communication with friends of the opposite sex tends to be more difficult, although it becomes easier with age.
• The vast majority of young people have three or more close friends. More than 80%, and both genders, find it easy or very easy, to make new friends. However, experiences of being left out of social relations seem to increase with age. The number of girls who felt left out 'often' was slightly higher in all age groups. Also, boys reported feeling confident more often than girls, although levels of confidence appear to decrease for both boys and girls with age.
• Young people in NI report that they like school, on average, with the same frequency as young people throughout Europe, although they perceive school rules as stricter and pupil participation as poorer.
• More girls than boys feel that they belong at their school, a feeling that declines for both genders. The vast majority thought their classmates enjoyed being together, and assessed them as kind and helpful. Three quarters of the pupils felt accepted as 'themselves' by their peers.
• One in four had been bullied during the current term, with the youngest boys most likely to report this.
• Older pupils experienced higher expectations than younger pupils from parents and teachers regarding schoolwork, with this increase being most marked in NI when compared to other European countries.
• More boys than girls felt their parents expected more of them, while young pupils and girls were more likely to think their parents and teachers were satisfied with their schoolwork.
• Older pupils reported more frequently that they had too much schoolwork and that this was tiring. Two thirds of all pupils reported feeling pressurised by their schoolwork; this figure increased with age. Seventeen percent of all pupils reported difficulties getting to sleep as a result of this pressure; this figure was greater for older pupils.
• Forty percent of the group had tried smoking at least once, the average age being 11. More of those who had tried smoking reported not feeling happy; this tendency was most marked in year 8-10 pupils and more noticeable among girls than boys. Among those who smoke daily, there were high proportions reporting feeling either 'always confident' or 'never confident'.
• Twelve percent of all pupils had tried drugs and 12% had tried solvents. Nearly one third had been worried or depressed after using drugs and a similar proportion had been sick. One in five reported trouble with parents, school, friends or police as a consequence of this.
• Seventy-four percent of the group had tasted alcohol; nearly half of these were regular drinkers. Girls and older children were more likely to choose psychosocial reasons for drinking.
• Slightly more of those who had been drunk more than 10 times reported feeling less happy than the others, although they also reported feeling less lonely and more confident.
• Those who drink, smoke or take drugs or solvents regularly reported spending time more frequently with their friends, finding it easy to form new friendships, and finding communication with parents marginally more difficult than others.
• Boys engage in physical activity outside school more frequently than girls, and this gender difference increases with age. A higher proportion of those who are 'very happy' exercise four times or more a week, while 17.7% of those who reported feeling unhappy take relatively little exercise. A higher proportion of those who consider themselves to be 'very healthy', than who see themselves as 'quite' or 'not very healthy' exercise daily or more than four times per week.
• Those who report feeling low daily/several times a week are less likely to engage in frequent exercise outside school, while those who consume most cigarettes and those who report having been drunk on many occasions are less likely to engage in frequent physical activity.

Conclusions

• The differences in health behaviours and attitudes among young people mean that interventions to improve or promote wellbeing may have to focus specifically on particular genders and age groups. The settings for such interventions should include the family and school environment and should address issues identified in this research.
• The report ends by acknowledging that it is unrealistic to aim to eliminate all such risky behaviour, as young people will continue to take risks and experiment with their health and social behaviour. It is possible to address issues and concerns, such as those highlighted in this report, and tackle these together with young people, their friends, families and schools.