Table 3.

Summary Characteristics of Interview/Focus Group Participants(n = 50)

Characteristic	Northern Ireland (N = 25)	Italy (N = 25)
Mean age (sd)	44 (4.9)	46 (4.2)
40–44	60 (15)	36 (9)
45–49	16 (4)	44 (11)
50–55	24 (6)	20 (5)
Gender
Male	40 (10)	36 (9)
Female	60 (15)	64 (16)
Occupation
Professional	44 (11)	64 (16)
Skilled	16 (4)	36 (9)
Unskilled	40 (10)	0
Education
Higher education	36 (9)	64 (16)
Further education	28 (7)	36 (9)
No formal qualifications	36 (9)	0
Marital status
Married	44 (11)	44 (11)
Co-habiting	4 (2)	4 (2)
Separated	4 (2)	4 (2)
Single	32 (8)	32 (8)
Widowed	4 (2)	4 (2)
Children in household
Yes	44 (11)	72 (18)
No	56 (14)	28 (7)

Education Level of education obtained within a discipline or profession. Higher education = undergraduate/postgraduate degree: Further education = any study after secondary school that does not include higher education, such as higher national diploma, higher national certificate, apprentices for industry such as hairdressing, plumbing, Sd standard deviation N = 50