At A Glance
Noteworthy Characteristics
- Collects information on youth health behaviors and their social context (e.g., family, school, peer settings and relationships, and socioeconomic environment).
- Data can be used for cross-national comparisons and trends given the use of the same survey instruments in 42 other countries.
- Collects information on physical, social, and emotional health and wellbeing of adolescents and preadolescents.
- The U.S. study also includes a survey of school administrators to provide contextual information about the schools and their health education programs.
- Oversampling of African American and Hispanic students (in U.S. dataset), with large numbers of other racial /ethnic groups, such as American Indians.
Website
Purpose
To collect data about the health, health behaviors and their social context, and wellbeing of school-aged youths in the United States (U.S.) and 42 other countries.
Target Population
Children and adolescents in grades 6 through 10 who are attending school in the U.S.
Conducted
U.S. survey began in the 1997-1998 school year. Conducted every 4 years. Most recent year conducted was for the 2013-2014 school year, however, the U.S. did not participate in that survey. The most recent survey year the U.S. participated was 2009-2010.
Sponsor
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Health Resources and Services Administration in collaboration with the World Health Organization
Special Note(s)
HBSC is an international survey. Information here is provided for the U.S. survey only. The survey was initially conducted in 1983-1984 in five countries. The U.S. was the 30th country to implement the HBSC, and has been associated with the survey since 1993-1994. The U.S. has been a fully participating member since 1997-1998.
The HBSC international survey seeks to recruit 4,500 students from each country. Besides contributing to the international survey, the U.S. simultaneously conducts a nationally representative school-based survey of nearly 15,000 students in grades 6 through 10 using similar data collection methods, but with an enhanced protocol. This enhanced survey includes teacher and administrator surveys.
For general inquiries about the survey, contact:
HBSC International Coordinating Centre
Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit
University of St Andrews
Medical and Biological Sciences Building
St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TF
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1334 461 734
Email: info@hbsc.org
Twitter: @HBSCStudy
Sampling
Sample Design
Cross-sectional, three-stage cluster design that provides a nationally representative sample of students with mean ages of 11.5, 13.5 and 15.5 years for the international dataset. Primary sampling frame is the school. Oversampling of African American and Hispanic children in the U.S. national dataset. Learn more about the sampling design.
Sample Size
Approximately 3,900 for U.S. component of the international survey in 2006 (age 11 years = 1,100; age 13 years = 1,500; age 15 years = 1,300). The sample included approximately 1,900 boys and 2,000 girls. Approximately 9,000 youths completed a parallel, nationally representative school-based conducted only in the U.S.
During the 2005-2006 academic year, 9,011 students from 227 schools completed the enhanced U.S. HBSC survey. During the 2009-2010 academic year, 12,649 students from 314 schools completed the U.S. HBSC survey.
Approximately 14,800 U.S. youths and 300 schools participated in the 2001-2002 survey.
Special Note(s)
The international survey seeks to recruit 4,500 students from each country. Besides contributing to the international survey, the U.S. simultaneously conducts a nationally representative school-based survey of nearly 15,000 students in grades 6 through 10 using similar data collection methods, but with an enhanced protocol. This survey includes teacher and administrator surveys.
Key Variables
Demographic
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Family structure | Interview/questionnaire |
| Is family well off? (very, quite, average, not very, not at all) | Interview/questionnaire |
| Socioeconomic status | Interview/questionnaire |
| Sex | Interview/questionnaire |
| Grade | Interview/questionnaire |
| Month and year of birth | Interview/questionnaire |
| Race/ethnicity | Interview/questionnaire |
Diet-Related
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Dieting | Interview/questionnaire |
| Number of days per week respondent eats breakfast (week day or weekend day indicated) | Interview/questionnaire |
| Frequency of fruit consumption each week | Interview/questionnaire |
| Frequency of vegetable consumption each week | Interview/questionnaire |
| Frequency of sweets consumption each week | Interview/questionnaire |
| Frequency of soft drink consumption each week | Interview/questionnaire |
| Frequency of alcohol consumption (daily, weekly, less often, never) separated by type of alcoholic drink (e.g., beer, wine, spirits) | Interview/questionnaire |
Physical Activity-Related
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Frequency of physical activity in past 7 days | Interview/questionnaire |
| Number of hours of exercise per week | Interview/questionnaire |
| Number of hours per day watch TV/DVD (week day or weekend day indicated) | Interview/questionnaire |
| Number of hours per day play computer games (week day or weekend day indicated) | Interview/questionnaire |
Sleep-Related
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Schedule-related sleep environment: Other (list variable) | Interview/Questionnaire |
| Sleep disturbances and quality: Other (list variable) | Interview/Questionnaire |
| Sleep-related policies: Extracurricular activities (eg. timing, frequency, etc.) | Interview/Questionnaire |
| Social sleep environment: Shared bedroom/bed | Interview/Questionnaire |
Weight-Related
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Body image (self-reported thinness or fatness) | Interview/questionnaire |
| Height | Self-report |
| Weight | Self-report |
| BMI | Calculated |
Geocode/Linkage
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| School county | Interview/questionnaire |
Other
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Self-reported health | Interview/questionnaire |
| Life satisfaction | Interview/questionnaire |
| Family support | Interview/questionnaire |
| School environment | Interview/questionnaire |
Data Access and Cost
Data Availability
Access the HBSC Data Portal here
Cost
Free of charge.
Special Note(s)
Please read the license agreement for the use of data from the HBSC data bank here
HBSC data are given only to academic researchers, international organizations, and public sector researchers working in relevant fields. Data files are restricted for the use of member country teams for a period of 3 years, after which time the data are available for external use by agreement with the International Coordinator and the Principal Investigators.
Access to data is given only to specific mandatory variables and not to the entire dataset from any survey. Special requests for the entire dataset can be made, but must be granted by the entire HBSC Network Assembly. All requests for data access must be approved by the relevant HBSC International Coordinator, HBSC Data Manager, and relevant HBSC Network groups/members. This process can be lengthy in some instances.
To publish any work using HBSC data, at least one member of the HBSC Network must be a named author or have a consultative role in the publication and/or analyses.
The most recent year for which data are available is not necessarily the most recent year this survey was conducted.
Contact U.S. Principal Investigator Dr Ronald Iannotti at:
Prevention Research Branch
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
6100 Executive Boulevard, 7B05
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
Tel: 301 435 6951
Fax: 301 402 2084
Email: iannottr@mail.nih.gov
Geocode/Linkage
Geocode Variable(s)
School county
Existing Linkages
Quality Education Database (QED) (school characteristics)
Selected Publications
Click here for a full list of publications.
General
Currie C, Nic Gabhainn S, Godeau E, Roberts C, Smith R, Currie D, Pickett W, Richter M, Morgan A & Barnekow V (eds.) [Inequalities in young people's health: HBSC international report from the 2005-2006 Survey. Health Policy for Children and Adolescents, No. 5, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2008.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2008). [Health Behaviors in School-Age Children (HBSC) 2005/2006 Survey: School Report (NA). Washington (DC): U.S. Government Printing Office.
World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, WHO/HBSC Forum 2006: Addressing the socioeconomic determinants of healthy eating habits and physical activity levels among adolescents. Copenhagen (Denmark): WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2006.
Diet-Related
Janssen I, Katzmarzyk P, Boyce W, Vereecken C, Mulvihill C, Roberts C, Currie C, Pickett W, The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Obesity Working Group. Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged youth from 34 countries and their relationships with physical activity and dietary patterns. Obesity Reviews 2005;6(2):123-132.
Lazzeri G1, Giacchi MV, Spinelli A, Pammolli A, Dalmasso P, Nardone P, Lamberti A, Cavallo F. Overweight among students aged 11-15 years and its relationship with breakfast, area of residence and parents' education: results from the Italian HBSC 2010 cross-sectional study. Nutr J. 2014 Jul 5;13:69.
Ojala K, Vereecken C, Välimaa R, Currie C, Villberg J, Tynjälä J, Kannas L. Attempts to lose weight among overweight and non-overweight adolescents: A cross national survey. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2007;4:50.
Rovner A, Wang J, Nansel N, Iannotti RJ. School food environment and students' dietary behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health (in press).
Vereecken C, Dupuy M, Rasmussen M Kelly C, Nansel TR, Al Sabbah H, Baldassari D, Jordan MD, Maes L, Niclasen BV, Ahluwalia N, HBSC Eating and Dieting Focus Group. Breakfast consumption and its socio-demographic and lifestyle correlates in schoolchildren in 41 countries participating in the HBSC Study. International Journal of Public Health 2009;54(Suppl 2):S180-S190.
Warsh J, Pickett W, Janssen I. Are overweight and obese youth at increased risk for physical activity injuries? Obesity Facts, 2010;3(4):225-230.
Physical Activity-Related
Borraccino A, Lemma P, Iannotti RJ, Zambon A, Dalmasso P, Lazzeri G, Giacchi M, Cavallo F. Socioeconomic effects on meeting physical activity guidelines: Comparisons among 32 countries. Medicine and Sports Science in Exercise 2009;41(4):749-756.
Iannotti RJ, Janssen I, Haug E, Kololo H, Annaheim B, Borraccino A, the HBSC Physical Activity Focus Group. Interrelationships of adolescent physical activity, screen-based sedentary behaviour, and social and psychological health. International Journal of Public Health, 2009;54(Suppl2):S191-S198.
Iannotti RJ, Kogan MD, Janssen I, Boyce WF. Patterns of adolescent physical activity, screen-based media use, and positive and negative health indicators in the U.S. and Canada. Journal of Adolescent Health 2009;44(5):493-499.
Litt D, Iannotti R J, Wang J. Motivations for adolescent physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health (in press).
Melkevik O, Torsheim T, Iannotti RJ, Wold B. Is spending time in screen-based sedentary behaviors associated with less physical activity: A cross-national investigation. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2010;7:46.
Nichol M, Pickett W, Janssen I. Associations between school recreational environments and physical activity. Journal of School Health 2009;79(6):247-254.
Sigmundová D, Sigmund E, Hamrik Z, Kalman M. Trends of overweight and obesity, physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Czech schoolchildren: HBSC study. Eur J Public Health. 2014 Apr;24(2):210-5.
Weight-Related
Farhat T, Iannotti R J, Simons-Morton B. Overweight, obesity, youth, and health-risk behaviors. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2010;38(3):258-267.
Lissau I, Overpeck MD, Ruan WJ, Due P, Holstein BE, Hediger ML, the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Obesity Working Group. Body mass index and overweight in adolescents in 13 European countries, Israel, and the United States. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 2004;158(1):27-33.
Resources
Documentation/Codebook(s)
Data documentation 2005/06: http://www.uib.no/en/hbscdata/94259/data-documentation-20052006
Data documentation 2009/10: http://www.uib.no/en/hbscdata/103127/data-documentation-200910
