Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children: New report to be launched soon!

If you are interested in adolescent health, you surely are aware of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. For the few who might not know, HBSC is  a WHO collaborative, cross-national study that started back in 1982. Currently 44 countries in Europe and North America contribute data from 11, 13 and 15 year old children on health and well being, social environment and health behaviours. Data are collected every 4 years and a report is produced afterwards. The next report will be launched in one week from today, on March 15th in Brussels, Belgium.

Are you as excited as we are to see this new report? If yes, we have two suggestions to keep you warm!

• Play with previous data! How great it is that HBSC now offers open access to the 2006 dataset (and in a few months to the 2002 and 2010 datasets as well!). You can access the dataset here! There is still much to be explored within this dataset so it is certainly worth to have a look!
• Read some of our most recent papers that are based on HBSC data:
  • Socioeconomic inequality in emotional symptoms: it exists and it is partly mediated by inequality in self-efficacy)
  • Are Portuguese adolescents still increasing in weight?

  • Main meal frequency measures: agreement with 7-day 24-h recalls

  • Social capital may act both as a protective and a risk factor for adolescent smoking.

  • Test–retest reliability of the scale of participation in organized activities

  • Soft drink consumption and aggressive behaviour in adolescents
  • Hunger reported by 25% of young Canadians (available Open Access)
  • Encouraging adolescents to consider an academic future may achieve public health benefits

• Follow HBSC on Twitter!

This should keep you busy! Let’s see what the next report will bring!