Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of the total study sample (n = 13 976), those unexposed to a parent with mental health problems and those exposed to such problems (n = 1397) at baseline, 2000–2004
| Total population % (n) | Unexposed group % (n) | Exposed group % (n) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | |||
| Girls | 50.1 (7004) | 48.3 (5873) | 66.2 (925) |
| Boys | 49.9 (6972) | 51.7 (6275) | 33.8 (472) |
| Social support | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) |
| Family support | 3.59 (0.54) | 3.64 (0.50) | 3.23 (0.74) |
| Friends’ support | 3.60 (0.49) | 3.61 (0.47) | 3.53 (0.56) |
| Classmates’ support | 3.08 (0.69) | 3.11 (0.67) | 2.84 (0.79) |
| Teacher support | 2.91 (0.73) | 2.93 (0.72) | 2.72 (0.80) |
| Self-reported health measures | |||
| General health | % (n) | % (n) | % (n) |
| Very good | 34.0 (4688) | 35.6 (4264) | 21.9 (302) |
| Good | 54.3 (7482) | 54.2 (6499) | 54.6 (752) |
| Not that good | 10.9 (1508) | 9.5 (1137) | 22.5 (310) |
| Bad | 0.7 (100) | 0.7 (80) | 0.9 (13) |
| Mental health | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) |
| HSCL-10-score | 1.45 (0.49) | 1.40 (0.45) | 1.85 (0.65) |
| Socio-demographic charactristics | % (n) | % (n) | % (n) |
| Household income | |||
| Very good | 9.6 (1313) | 9.6 (1157) | 7.0 (97) |
| Good | 54.0 (7422) | 56.1 (6730) | 37.5 (517) |
| Mediocre | 33.1 (4554) | 31.7 (3798) | 45.7 (630) |
| Poor | 3.3 (459) | 2.5 (305) | 9.7 (134) |
| Parents’ educational level | |||
| Highest level of education (>4 years) | 14.0 (1934) | 14.2 (1707) | 13.1 (183) |
| High level of education (≤4 years) | 31.1 (4279) | 31.3 (3746) | 31.1 (435) |
| High school | 41.4 (5697) | 41.5 (4974) | 41.0 (565) |
| Junior high school | 13.5 (1865) | 13.0 (1558) | 14.8 (204) |
| Parents’ marital status | |||
| Married or living together | 66.8 (9256) | 68.9 (8318) | 48.6 (672) |
| Divorced/separated | 24.7 (3424) | 23.1 (2794) | 38.9 (538) |
| Single parent | 3.5 (489) | 3.4 (413) | 4.2 (58) |
| One or both dead | 3.0 (421) | 2.9 (348) | 4.2 (58) |
| Other | 2.0 (275) | 1.7 (206) | 4.1 (57) |