Table 1.
Descriptive (unweighted) statistics of main sample, Scotland 1990–2014
| Boys | Girls | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | |
| School grade | |||
| Primary 7 (11-year-old) | 7489 (35.8) | 7408 (34.6) | 14,897 (35.2) |
| Secondary 2 (13-year-old) | 6984 (33.4) | 7183 (33.5) | 14,167 (33.5) |
| Secondary 4 (15-year-old) | 6424 (30.7) | 6824 (31.9) | 13,248 (31.3) |
| Total | 20,897 (100) | 21,415 (100) | 42,312 (100) |
| Survey year | |||
| 1990 | 1899 (9.1) | 2119 (9.9) | 4018 (9.5) |
| 1994 | 2378 (11.4) | 2525 (11.8) | 4903 (11.6) |
| 1998 | 2724 (13.0) | 2826 (13.2) | 5550 (13.1) |
| 2002 | 2238 (10.7) | 2153 (10.1) | 4391 (10.4) |
| 2006 | 3008 (14.4) | 3082 (14.4) | 6090 (14.4) |
| 2010 | 3288 (15.7) | 3402 (15.9) | 6690 (15.8) |
| 2014 | 5362 (25.7) | 5308 (24.8) | 10,670 (25.2) |
| Total | 20,897 (100) | 21,415 (100) | 42,312 (100) |
| Body size perceptiona | |||
| Perceived underweight | 3308 (15.8) | 2138 (10.0) | 5446 (12.9) |
| ‘About right’ | 12,556 (60.1) | 10,174 (47.5) | 22,730 (53.7) |
| Perceived overweight | 5033 (24.1) | 9103 (42.5) | 14,136 (33.4) |
| Total | 20,897 (100) | 21,415 (100) | 42,312 (100) |
| Confidence | |||
| Never | 646 (3.4) | 1137 (5.9) | 1783 (4.7) |
| Hardly ever | 152 (6.6) | 2799 (14.6) | 4051 (10.7) |
| Sometimes | 4432 (23.5) | 6586 (34.3) | 11,018 (29.0) |
| Often | 8114 (43.1) | 6301 (32.8) | 14, 415 (37.9) |
| Always | 4390 (23.3) | 2372 (12.4) | 6762 (17.8) |
| Total | 18,834 (100) | 19,195 (100) | 38,029 (100) |
| Happiness | |||
| I’m not happy at all | 263 (1.4) | 432 (2.3) | 695 (1.8) |
| I don’t feel very happy | 1115 (5.9) | 1973 (10.3) | 3088 (8.1) |
| I feel quite happy | 8410 (44.6) | 9480 (49.4) | 17,890 (47.0) |
| I feel very happy | 9079 (48.1) | 7301 (38.1) | 16,380 (43.0) |
| Total | 18,867 (100) | 19,186 (100) | 38,053 (100) |
| Psychological health symptomsb | 18,410 | 18,929 | 37,339 |
aBetween 1990 and 1998, participants could also select that “I don’t think about it”. For the purposes of analysis, this option is coded as ‘about right’. Those responding that they think their body is “a bit too thin” or “much too thin” are categorised ‘perceived underweight’, and those responding that their body is “a bit too fat” or “much too fat” are categorised ‘perceived overweight’
bPrincipal component analysis was used to generate an index of the following psychological symptoms: nervousness, bad temper, feeling low, and sleep difficulties