Table 2.
Descriptive Statistics of the Variables over time (Waves 5–15)
| Variable | Mean/Percent (total responses =121,410, N = 23,251) | Minimum Average across waves | Maximum Average across waves |
|---|---|---|---|
| SF36 Mental Health Component Score | 74.41 (17.08) | 73.61 | 74.99 |
| SF36 General Health Component Score | 68.46 (20.94) | 67.25 | 69.69 |
| SF36 Physical Functioning Component Score | 83.90 (22.92) | 83.43 | 84.60 |
| Household financial year gross total income ($) | 108,261.2 (102,164.1) | 81,929.9 | 126,464.0 |
| Age | 44.17 (18.54) | 43.4 | 44.9 |
| Life events in past year: Serious personal injury/illness (# of events) | 8.79 | 7.59 | 9.75 |
| Time spent (hrs/mins) per week Volunteer/Charity work | 0.99 (3.48) | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| Employment Status | |||
| Employed - works 35 hours a week (Base Category) | 42.46 | 40.82 | 44.34 |
| Employed - works less than 35 hours a week | 20.78 | 20.33 | 21.36 |
| Unemployed, retired, home duties, students & others | 36.76 | 34.99 | 38.20 |
| Carer Characteristics | 40.82 | 44.34 | |
| Actively cares for a household member/non-resident due to long-term health condition, elderly (%) | 6.93 | 6.24 | 7.66 |
| Time spent in (hrs/mins) per week Caring for disabled/elderly relative (n = 8416) | 14.55 (26.85) | 11.47 | 17.52 |
| Carers’ Age (n = 8416) | 51.65 (15.89) | 49.91 | 52.86 |
| Alcohol drinking status | |||
| Never drink/No longer drink (Base category) | 18.12 | 16.17 | 20.16 |
| Drink only rarely | 22.82 | 21.92 | 23.53 |
| Drink 2/3 days per month | 12.61 | 11.40 | 13.35 |
| Drink 1/2 days per week | 18.91 | 18.12 | 19.52 |
| Drink 3 or more days per week | 27.54 | 25.13 | 30.65 |
| Standard drinks per day | |||
| Don’t drink (Base Category) | 18.12 | 16.17 | 20.16 |
| 1 to 2 standard drinks | 42.82 | 41.92 | 44.67 |
| 3 to 4 standard drinks | 21.24 | 20.50 | 22.08 |
| 5 and more standard drinks | 17.82 | 16.96 | 19.20 |
| How often participate in Physical Activities? | |||
| Not at all (Base Category) | 10.52 | 9.17 | 11.18 |
| Less than once a week | 15.81 | 14.65 | 17.18 |
| 1 to 2 times a week | 23.66 | 22.72 | 24.41 |
| 3 times a week | 16.07 | 15.59 | 16.79 |
| More than 3 times a week | 33.94 | 33.09 | 35.39 |
| How often get together socially with friends/relatives? | |||
| Every Day | 3.91 | 3.08 | 4.73 |
| Several times a week | 23.65 | 21.92 | 26.37 |
| About once a week | 31.61 | 30.99 | 32.60 |
| 1 to 3 times a month | 29.89 | 28.02 | 32.07 |
| 1 or 2 times every 3 months | 5.78 | 4.64 | 6.46 |
| Less often than once every 3 months (Base Category) | 5.17 | 4.30 | 5.70 |
| Smoking Status | |||
| Never smoked/No longer smoke (Base Category) | 81.39 | 77.65 | 83.59 |
| Smoke less often than weekly | 1.53 | 1.36 | 1.82 |
| Smoke at least weekly (but not daily) | 1.80 | 1.53 | 2.26 |
| Smoke daily | 15.28 | 13.34 | 18.28 |
| Number of cigarettes usually smoked each week |
14.95 (42.47) |
12.9 | 17.2 |
Note: The Table 2 presents summary statics of the variables used in the fully-adjusted fixed effects models for the SF36 mental and general health outcomes across 11 waves (wave 5–15) of HILDA data