[ Main Page of Report | Contents of Report ]
| Sponsor: | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (The World Health Organization (WHO) collaborates to disseminate results.) |
| Description: | The Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey is a cross-national
survey intended to help researchers better understand the well-being, health
behaviors and social context of children aged 11, 13 and 15, who are attending
school. Specifically, the survey seeks to monitor health-risk behaviors and
attitudes in youth throughout the adolescent school age years to provide
background and identify targets for health promotion initiatives. In addition,
the survey offers insight in the development of health attitudes and behaviors
through early adolescence. Although cross-national comparisons can only be
made with children aged 11, 13, and 15, the U.S. surveys also includes larger,
nationally representative samples of ages 11 through 15 with an over-sampling
of African-American and Hispanic children. The sample size in 2001-2002 is
approximately 14,800.
Questions in the survey address type of drug use (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, hallucinogens, and a number of other substances), ease of obtaining drugs, frequency of drug usage, and other health behaviors and personal history such as eating habits, family make-up, depression, stealing, fighting, bringing weapons to school, anger management, attention span at school, and opinions about school itself. The U.S. study also includes a survey of school administrators and health educators to provide contextual information about the school and health education programs in the school. The HBSC began in 1983 and has been conducted approximately every 4 years. The most recently available data for the United States are the 2001-2002 survey year data. |
| Relevant Policy Issues: | Measurement of Health Status, Health Disparities, Income Status, Measurement of Economic/Employment Disparities between AI/AN/NA and General Population, Factors Contributing to Educational Disparities, Factors Contributing to Well-being Disparities of Families, and Measures of Well-being for Children. |
| Data Type(s): | Survey |
| Unit of Analysis: | Individual |
| Identification of AI/AN/NA: | The survey question is phrased as follows: What is your race? (Mark one
or more races to indicate what you consider yourself to be.)
|
| AI/AN/NA Population in Data Set: | In 2001-2002 survey data: Total number of records: 14,818 AI/AN: 572 NH/PI: 116 |
| Geographic Scope: | The survey is cross-national and country of residence is the only geographic area identified. The U.S. portion of the data set does not provide any finer geographic detail. |
| Date or Frequency: | The survey has been conducted approximately every 4 years beginning in 1983-1984. |
| Data Collection Methodology: | Data are collected via self-completed questionnaires administered to children aged 11, 13, and 15 attending sampled schools. |
| Participation: | Optional, without incentives |
| Response Rate: | Of the 548 schools were selected to participate for the 2001-2002 survey year, 340 (62.5 percent) responded yielding 18,593 eligible students. Of the eligible students (after eliminating 637 absent on day of survey, 600 not providing consent when required, 518 parents declining their child permission, and 1,620 students declining to participate), 15,245 (82 percent) completed questionnaires. Of this sample, 62 students who had missing data on a significant number of key items and 365 students who were outliers (+1 percent) for age in grade were dropped, leaving a sample of 14,818 for further analyses. |
| Sampling Methodology: | The HBSC utilizes a three-stage cluster design where school counties are the primary sampling unit (PSU) or first stage, schools are the second stage, and classrooms are the third stage. |
| Analysis: | A SAS macro file, made available with the downloaded data set, enables the end user to calculate appropriate standard errors that adjust for design effects. |
| Strengths: | The 1997-1998 survey data include a large number of AI/AN/NA respondents. |
| Limitations: | The 58 percent school participation rate may impact the external validity (generalizability) of study findings to the overall population of school-aged children aged 11-17 in the U.S. |
| Access Requirements and Use Restrictions: | The data set is available to the public at no cost. |
| Contact Information: | The data for the United States and documentation can be downloaded through the University of Michigan’s Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research: http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/SAMHDA-SERIES/00195.xml. |
| Reports of Interest: | Summary Report Download:
http://www.euro.who.int/Document/e82923.pdf.
To obtain research protocol: http://www.hbsc.org/publications/research_protocols.html. |
Main Page of Report | Contents of Report
Home Pages:
Human Services Policy
(HSP)
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
(ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)