HBSC Ireland 2010: Health and risk behavior among children in Kilkenny compared to the Irish children in
other parts of the country.
Jakub Gajewski and Saoirse Nic Gabhainn
HBSC Ireland, Health Promotion Research Centre
National University of Ireland, Galway
September 2013
Introduction:
The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study is a cross-national research study conducted in collaboration with
the WHO Regional Office for Europe and runs on a 4 year cycle. In 2010 Ireland participated for the fourth time in the HBSC
study (www.nuigalway.ie/hbsc). The overall aims of the HBSC study are to gain new insight into, and increase our understanding
of young people’s health and well-being, health behaviors and their social context. HBSC collects data on key indicators of
health, health attitudes and health behaviors, as well as the context of health for young people. The study is a school-based
survey with information collected from students through self-completion questionnaires in classrooms. HBSC Ireland is funded
by the Department of Health. Further information on the International HBSC study can be found at www.hbsc.org. The most
recent HBSC Ireland dataset comprises of 16,060 schoolchildren from 3rd class in primary school to 5th year in post-primary
school. In total 256 schools across Ireland participated in the HBSC 2010 study. The methods employed comply with the
International HBSC protocol and are detailed in the national report from the 2010 survey.
Focus of this report:
This short report provides a descriptive analysis of the 2010 HBSC survey data comparing children from Waterford to the rest of
the sample regarding several aspects of young people’s lives, such as: general health, risk behaviors, injury and violence, leisure
activities, local area, family and peer relationships, physical activity, eating behaviors and school environment. The questions
used for this report were as follows:
General health:
Would you say your health is…? With response options: ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘fair’, ‘poor’
Young people were asked to rate their life satisfaction using a visual scale, so called ‘Cantril ladder’. This scale has 11
steps (0-10), the top of the ladder indicates the best possible life and the bottom, the worst. This index was recoded for
the purpose of this report: 0-6 indicates low life satisfaction; 6-10 indicates high life satisfaction.
Risk behaviors:
On how many occasions (if any) have you done the following things in the last 30 days? a) Smoked a cigarette and b)
Drunk alcohol, c) take cannabis. With response options for each: ‘Never’, ‘Once or twice’, ‘3 to 5 times’, ‘6 to 9 times’, ‘10
to 19 times’, ‘20 to 39 times’, ‘40 times or more’.
Injury and violence:
During the past 12 months, how many times were you in physical fight? With response options: ‘I have not been in a
physical fight in the past 12 months’, ‘1 time’, ‘2 times’, ‘3 times’, ‘4 times or more’.
During the past 12 months, how many times were you injured and had to be treated by a doctor or nurse? With response
options: ‘I was not injured in the past 12 months’, ‘1 time’, ‘2 times’, ‘3 times’, ‘4 times or more’.
Leisure activities:
About how many hours a day do you usually watch television (including videos and DVDs) in your free time? (weekdays
and weekends separately) With response options: ‘none at all, ‘about half an hour a day’, ‘about 1 hour a day’, ‘about 2
hours a day’, ‘about 3 hours a day’, ‘about 4 hours a day’, ‘about 5 hours a day’, ‘about 6 hours a day’, ‘about 7 hours or
more a day’
About how many hours a day do you usually play games on a computer or games console (Playstation, Xbox, GameCube
etc.) in your free time? (weekdays and weekends separately) With response options: ‘none at all, ‘about half an hour a
day’, ‘about 1 hour a day’, ‘about 2 hours a day’, ‘about 3 hours a day’, ‘about 4 hours a day’, ‘about 5 hours a day’,
‘about 6 hours a day’, ‘about 7 hours or more a day
About how many hours a day do you usually use a computer for chatting on-line, internet, emailing, homework etc. in
your free time? (weekdays and weekends separately) With response options: ‘none at all, ‘about half an hour a day’,
‘about 1 hour a day’, ‘about 2 hours a day’, ‘about 3 hours a day’, ‘about 4 hours a day’, ‘about 5 hours a day’, ‘about 6
hours a day’, ‘about 7 hours or more a day.
Neighborhood:
Generally speaking, I feel safe in the area where I live…With response options: ‘Always’, ‘Most of the time’,
‘Sometimes’, ‘Rarely or never’
There are good places to spend your free time (eg. Leisure centre, parks, shops) With response options: ‘Strongly
agree’, ‘Agree’, ‘Neither agree nor disagree’, ‘Disagree’, ‘Strongly disagree’.
Family:
How easy is it for you to talk to the following person about things that really bother you? (Father, Mother) With response
options: ‘Very ease’, ‘Easy’, ‘Difficult’, ‘Very difficult’, ‘Don’t have or see this person’.
Physical activity:
How often do you usually exercise in your free time so much that you get out of breath or sweat? With response options:
‘Every day’, ‘4 to 6 times a week’, ‘2 to 3 times a week’, ‘Once a week’, ‘Once a month’, ‘Less than once a month’, ‘Never’.
Eating and dieting:
How often do you usually have breakfast (more than a glass of milk or fruit juice) weekdays? With response options: ‘I
never have breakfast during weekdays’, ‘One day’, ‘Two days’, ‘Three days’, ‘Four days’, ‘Five days’
How often do you usually have breakfast (more than a glass of milk or fruit juice) weekend? With response options: ‘I
never have breakfast during the weekend’, ‘I usually have breakfast on only one of the weekend (Saturday OR Sunday)’, ‘I
usually have breakfast on both weekend days (Saturday AND Sunday)
How many days a week do you usually eat or drink...?A)Fruits, B) Vegetables, C) Sweets (candy or chocolate), D) coke or
other soft drinks that contain sugar? With response options for each one: ‘Never’, ‘Less than once a week’, ‘Once a
week’, ‘ 2-4 days a week’, ‘5-6 days a week’, ‘Once a day, every day’, ‘Every day, more than once’
At present are you on a diet or doing something else to lose weight? With response options: ‘No, my weight is fine’, ‘No,
but I should lose some weight’, ‘No, but I should out on weight’, ‘Yes’.
Bullying:
How often have you been bullied at school in the past couple of months? With response options: ‘I have never been
bullied at school in the past couple of months’, ‘it has only happened once or twice’, ‘2 or three times a month’, ‘About
once a week’, ‘Several times a week’.
School:
In your opinion, what does your class teacher(s) think about your school performance compared to your classmates?
With response options: ‘Very good’, ‘Good’, ‘Average’, ‘Below average’
How do you feel about school at present? With response options: ‘I like it a lot’, ‘I like it a bit’, ‘I don’t like it very much’, ‘I
don’t like it at all’.
Friends:
At present, how many close male and female friends do you have? (Male and Female friends separately) With response
options: ‘None’, ‘One’, ‘Two’, ‘Three or more’.
Findings:
The findings are presented below in a series of tables. In each table participating children from County Kilkenny are presented
alongside those from the rest of the country. Findings are broken down by age-group.
Eating behaviours
Table 1. How often do you usually have breakfast (more than a glass of milk or fruit juice) weekdays, by age
Kilkenny school children
Zero days
One day
Two days
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
10.7%
0.0%
6.1%
6.1%
12.1%
3.0%
0.0%
3.8%
2.8%
2.8%
3.3%
6.1%
3.2%
5.3%
Three days
3.6%
0.0%
Four days
3.6%
3.0%
3.9%
4.6%
Five days
82.1%
81.8%
80.3%
71.7%
Table 2. How often do you usually have breakfast (more than a glass of milk or fruit juice) weekend, by age
Kilkenny school children
I never have breakfast
during weekend
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
6.9%
3.1%
4.6%
6.2%
3.4%
0.0%
9.8%
13.3%
89.7%
96.9%
85.6%
80.5%
I usually have breakfast on
only one day of the
weekend
I usually have breakfast on
both weekend days
Table 3. How many days a week do you usually eat fruits, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Never
7.1%
3.0%
3.8%
4.4%
Less than once a week
7.1%
3.0%
4.0%
6.5%
Once a week
14.3%
12.1%
7.9%
10.1%
2-4 days a week
32.1%
24.2%
22.9%
29.4%
5-6 days a week
17.9%
21.2%
14.7%
13.6%
Once a day, every day
7.1%
18.2%
22.7%
16.2%
Every day, more than once
14.3%
18.2%
24.1%
19.8%
Table 4. How many days a week do you usually eat vegetables, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
3.1%
5.4%
6.1%
Less than once a week
6.9%
0.0%
6.2%
3.3%
4.4%
Once a week
20.7%
6.2%
6.1%
6.1%
2-4 days a week
27.6%
9.4%
21.1%
22.1%
5-6 days a week
17.2%
21.9%
18.7%
19.4%
Once a day, every day
10.3%
34.4%
24.5%
21.1%
Every day, more than once
17.2%
18.8%
21.0%
20.7%
Never
Table 5. How many days a week do you usually eat sweets, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Never
3.4%
3.4%
1.8%
1.1%
Less than once a week
10.3%
6.9%
7.1%
4.6%
Once a week
44.8%
44.8%
18.3%
10.5%
2-4 days a week
6.9%
10.3%
30.0%
30.6%
5-6 days a week
20.7%
20.7%
12.4%
18.0%
Once a day, every day
13.8%
13.8%
17.9%
17.8%
Every day, more than once
3.4%
3.4%
12.5%
17.4%
Table 6. How many days a week do you usually drink coke or other soft drinks containing sugar, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Never
3.6%
13.3%
9.9%
7.0%
Less than once a week
21.4%
20.0%
23.8%
18.8%
Once a week
32.1%
16.7%
23.4%
18.1%
2-4 days a week
10.7%
20.0%
21.5%
24.3%
5-6 days a week
14.3%
10.0%
6.8%
11.1%
Once a day, every day
7.1%
6.7%
6.0%
7.8%
Every day, more than once
10.7%
13.3%
8.6%
13.0%
Table 7. At present are you on a diet or doing something else to lose weight, by age
Kilkenny school children
No, my weight is fine
No, but I should lose some
weight
No, because I need to put
on weight
Yes
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
78.6%
84.8%
71.3%
62.9%
14.3%
6.1%
14.3%
18.7%
3.6%
6.1%
4.5%
5.9%
3.6%
3.0%
10.0%
12.5%
General Health
Table 8. Would you say your health is…, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Excellent
14.3%
42.4%
39.4%
34.4%
Good
71.4%
51.5%
53.9%
54.5%
Fair
10.7%
5.4%
9.5%
Poor
3.6%
6.1%
0.0%
1.2%
1.6%
Table 9. Life satisfaction, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Low
7.1%
3.0%
9.0%
12.1%
High
92.9%
97.0%
91.0%
87.9%
Risk Behaviors
Table 9. On how many occasions (if any) have you done the following things in the last 30 days?
Smoked a cigarette, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Never
96.4%
98.2%
90.9%
Once or twice
1.1%
4.1%
3 to 5 times
3.6%
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
1.3%
6 to 9 times
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.8%
10 to 19 times
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.7%
20 to 39 times
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.5%
40 times or more
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
1.7%
Table 10. On how many occasions (if any) have you done the following things in the last 30 days? Drunk alcohol, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Never
92.9%
96.9%
93.5%
79.2%
Once or twice
3.6%
5.1%
13.4%
3 to 5 times
0.5%
4.0%
6 to 9 times
3.6%
0.0%
3.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
1.4%
10 to 19 times
0.0%
0.0%
0.2%
1.0%
20 to 39 times
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.3%
40 times or more
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
0.7%
Table 11. On how many occasions (if any) have you done the following things in the last 30 days? Take cannabis, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
100.0%
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
99.2%
97.5%
1.0%
3 to 5 times
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
6 to 9 times
0.0%
0.0%
10 to 19 times
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
20 to 39 times
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
0.1%
40 times or more
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
0.7%
Never
Once or twice
0.2%
0.2%
Violence and Injury
Table 12. During the past 12 months, how many times were you injured and had to be treated by a doctor or nurse, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
55.6%
60.6%
66.4%
62.0%
1 time
18.5%
27.3%
20.2%
22.9%
2 times
22.2%
9.1%
7.7%
9.0%
3 times
3.7%
3.0%
2.6%
3.2%
100.0%
100.0%
2.9%
2.8%
I was not injured in the
past 12 months
4 times or more
Table 13. During the past 12 months, how many times were you in physical fight, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
76.9%
69.7%
66.4%
65.2%
15.2%
15.1%
17.6%
2 times
19.2%
0.0%
3.0%
7.8%
7.7%
3 times
0.0%
6.1%
3.9%
3.5%
4 times or more
3.8%
6.1%
6.7%
6.0%
I have not been in a
physical fight
1 time
Leisure activities
Table 14. About how many hours a day do you usually watch television (including videos and DVDs) in your free time (Weekdays), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
12-14
10-11
12-14
None at all
10-11
0.0%
3.2%
6.7%
6.4%
About half an hour a day
25.0%
22.6%
18.4%
14.8%
About 1 hour a day
32.1%
9.7%
26.7%
24.8%
About 2 hours a day
10.7%
22.6%
22.4%
25.5%
About 3 hours a day
17.9%
19.4%
13.4%
14.5%
About 4 hours a day
3.6%
9.7%
5.6%
6.7%
About 5 hours a day
3.6%
0.0%
9.7%
0.0%
2.3%
3.3%
1.1%
1.1%
7.1%
3.2%
3.3%
2.9%
About 6 hours a day
About 7 or more hours a
day
Table 15. About how many hours a day do you usually watch television (including videos and DVDs) in your free time (Weekends), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
12-14
10-11
12-14
None at all
10-11
0.0%
0.0%
4.0%
4.2%
About half an hour a day
24.0%
25.8%
14.5%
10.0%
About 1 hour a day
28.0%
19.4%
20.2%
16.1%
About 2 hours a day
16.0%
6.5%
21.2%
23.3%
About 3 hours a day
12.0%
12.9%
17.8%
19.2%
About 4 hours a day
12.0%
12.9%
8.6%
12.0%
About 5 hours a day
4.0%
6.5%
5.6%
7.2%
About 6 hours a day
4.0%
3.2%
2.9%
3.2%
0.0%
12.9%
5.2%
4.7%
About 7 or more hours a
day
Table 16. About how many hours a day do you usually play games on a computer or games console (Playstation, Xbox, GameCube etc.) in your free time
(Weekdays), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
None at all
25.9%
25.8%
27.9%
35.7%
About half an hour a day
37.0%
16.1%
29.7%
20.3%
About 1 hour a day
14.8%
32.3%
20.3%
19.5%
About 2 hours a day
11.1%
11.4%
12.1%
About 3 hours a day
5.0%
5.9%
About 4 hours a day
7.4%
0.0%
22.6%
0.0%
0.0%
2.2%
2.6%
About 5 hours a day
0.0%
1.3%
About 6 hours a day
3.2%
0.0%
1.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.7%
3.7%
0.0%
2.3%
2.0%
About 7 or more hours a
day
Table 17. About how many hours a day do you usually play games on a computer or games console (Playstation, Xbox, GameCube etc.) in your free time
(Weekends), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
None at all
12.5%
21.9%
17.9%
24.9%
About half an hour a day
37.5%
15.6%
26.3%
18.4%
About 1 hour a day
29.2%
18.8%
21.0%
18.1%
About 2 hours a day
8.3%
21.9%
15.5%
15.4%
About 3 hours a day
8.3%
0.0%
15.6%
8.1%
9.6%
3.1%
4.3%
5.6%
4.2%
0.0%
3.1%
0.0%
1.8%
3.0%
1.1%
1.5%
0.0%
0.0%
4.0%
3.4%
About 4 hours a day
About 5 hours a day
About 6 hours a day
About 7 or more hours a
day
Table 18. About how many hours a day do you usually use a computer for chatting on-line, internet, emailing, homework etc. in your free time
(Weekdays), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
None at all
44.8%
48.5%
41.9%
25.8%
About half an hour a day
24.1%
27.3%
25.2%
25.0%
About 1 hour a day
20.7%
12.1%
17.6%
22.7%
About 2 hours a day
6.1%
7.1%
12.0%
About 3 hours a day
3.4%
0.0%
3.0%
3.5%
6.4%
About 4 hours a day
3.4%
1.5%
3.5%
About 5 hours a day
3.4%
0.0%
3.0%
0.0%
0.5%
1.3%
0.0%
0.5%
0.7%
0.0%
2.1%
2.7%
About 6 hours a day
About 7 or more hours a
day
0.0%
Table 19. About how many hours a day do you usually use a computer for chatting on-line, internet, emailing, homework etc. in your free time
(Weekends), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
None at all
50.0%
45.2%
38.9%
21.9%
About half an hour a day
12.5%
19.4%
24.3%
19.6%
About 1 hour a day
29.2%
19.4%
16.9%
21.4%
About 2 hours a day
3.2%
9.2%
15.6%
About 3 hours a day
8.3%
0.0%
6.5%
4.2%
8.4%
About 4 hours a day
0.0%
0.0%
2.0%
5.2%
About 5 hours a day
0.0%
3.2%
1.6%
2.9%
About 6 hours a day
0.0%
3.2%
0.4%
1.5%
0.0%
0.0%
2.4%
3.5%
About 7 or more hours a
day
Local area
Table 20. Generally speaking, I feel safe in the area where I live, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Always
64.3%
60.6%
59.2%
55.4%
Most of the time
36.4%
31.5%
35.6%
Sometimes
35.7%
0.0%
7.0%
7.4%
Rarely or never
0.0%
3.0%
0.0%
2.4%
1.6%
Table 21. There are good places to spend your free time (eg. Leisure centre, parks, shops) With response options, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Strongly agree
40.7%
21.2%
29.4%
24.1%
Agree
22.2%
48.5%
35.8%
32.1%
Neither agree nor disagree
29.6%
24.2%
17.1%
18.1%
Disagree
7.4%
0.0%
3.0%
12.2%
17.8%
3.0%
5.5%
7.9%
Strongly disagree
Family
Table 22. How easy is it for you to talk to the following person about things that really bother you (Father), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Very easy
40.7%
21.2%
40.6%
27.5%
Easy
22.2%
48.5%
30.7%
37.3%
Difficult
29.6%
24.2%
17.3%
20.2%
Very difficult
7.4%
3.0%
5.7%
8.8%
0.0%
3.0%
5.7%
6.2%
Don`t have or see this
person
Table 23. How easy is it for you to talk to the following person about things that really bother you? (Mother), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Very easy
64.3%
37.5%
56.4%
46.2%
Easy
25.0%
50.0%
29.0%
35.1%
Difficult
10.7%
0.0%
9.4%
8.2%
11.6%
0.0%
2.2%
4.1%
0.0%
3.1%
4.2%
3.1%
Very difficult
Don`t have or see this
person
Physical activity
Table 24. How often do you usually exercise in your free time so much that you get out of breath or sweat, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Every day
31.0%
40.6%
36.1%
28.5%
4 to 6 times a week
27.6%
25.0%
25.6%
25.7%
2 to 3 times a week
31.0%
25.0%
23.0%
27.2%
Once a week
6.9%
0.0%
3.1%
9.0%
11.3%
3.1%
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
2.0%
2.6%
3.1%
3.3%
2.7%
Once a month
Less than once a month
Never
3.4%
0.0%
Bullying
Table 25. How often have you been bullied at school in the past couple of months, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
77.8%
71.9%
70.2%
74.8%
11.1%
21.9%
19.5%
16.9%
2 or 3 times a month
0.0%
3.1%
4.5%
3.7%
About once a week
3.7%
2.7%
2.1%
Several times a week
7.4%
3.1%
0.0%
3.1%
2.4%
I haven`t been bullied at school
the last couple of months
It has only happened once or
twice
School
Table 26. In your opinion, what does your class teacher(s) think about your school performance compared to your classmates, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
Very good
35.7%
12.1%
31.6%
28.4%
Good
39.3%
51.5%
47.2%
46.2%
Average
21.4%
30.3%
18.2%
21.7%
Below average
3.6%
6.1%
3.0%
3.7%
Table 27. How do you feel about school at present, by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
I like it a lot
21.4%
27.3%
28.9%
28.1%
I like it a bit
42.9%
51.5%
47.4%
45.3%
I don`t like it very much
21.4%
15.2%
14.8%
15.9%
I don`t like it at all
14.3%
6.1%
8.9%
10.7%
Friends
Table 28. At present, how many close male and female friends do you have (Male), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
None
14.3%
15.2%
13.2%
8.2%
One
10.7%
3.0%
6.8%
4.8%
Two
14.3%
12.1%
10.6%
10.4%
Three or more
60.7%
69.7%
69.5%
76.5%
Table 29. At present, how many close male and female friends do you have (Female), by age
Kilkenny school children
Rest of the sample
10-11
12-14
10-11
12-14
None
17.2%
9.1%
11.4%
6.7%
One
6.9%
3.0%
7.0%
5.4%
Two
6.9%
15.2%
10.0%
8.4%
Three or more
69.0%
72.7%
71.6%
79.5%