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Can the school make a difference? A multilevel analysis of adolescent risk and health behaviour

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  • Maes, Lea
  • Lievens, John

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to assess the relationship between the structural and (health) policy variables of the school and characteristics of the individual on the risk and health behaviour of adolescents. Individual and school level effects on seven health-related behaviours are simultaneously estimated, using multilevel modelling. The data are from the Flemish health behaviour in school-aged children study in Belgium. Data are used from 29 Flemish schools in which students (N=3225), school administrators (N=29) and teachers (N=1132) were surveyed with anonymous written questions. The analysis confirms previous findings concerning individual level effects. Although differences between schools in risk and health behaviour were found to originate mainly from differences in pupil characteristics, substantial variation between schools remained with regard to regular smoking, drinking habits and tooth brushing after controlling for individual effects. A wide range of school structure and policy variables were taken into account, but only few of them were found to influence the health and risk behaviour of young people. Moreover, the study could not detect an effect of health promotion policy at school. The analysis therefore only partially confirms the hypothesis that the school has an impact on the health behaviour of young people. The findings demonstrate the need for a more thorough examination of the paths by which schools can influence the health behaviour of their pupils.

Suggested Citation

  • Maes, Lea & Lievens, John, 2003. "Can the school make a difference? A multilevel analysis of adolescent risk and health behaviour," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 517-529, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:56:y:2003:i:3:p:517-529
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    1. Krølner, Rikke & Due, Pernille & Rasmussen, Mette & Damsgaard, Mogens Trab & Holstein, Bjørn E. & Klepp, Knut-Inge & Lynch, John, 2009. "Does school environment affect 11-year-olds' fruit and vegetable intake in Denmark?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(8), pages 1416-1424, April.
    2. Saab, Hana & Klinger, Don, 2010. "School differences in adolescent health and wellbeing: Findings from the Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 850-858, March.
    3. Avashia, Vidhee & Garg, Amit, 2020. "Implications of land use transitions and climate change on local flooding in urban areas: An assessment of 42 Indian cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Ruth Salway & Lydia Emm-Collison & Simon J. Sebire & Janice L. Thompson & Deborah A. Lawlor & Russell Jago, 2019. "A Multilevel Analysis of Neighbourhood, School, Friend and Individual-Level Variation in Primary School Children’s Physical Activity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-16, December.
    5. McVicar, Duncan, 2011. "Estimates of peer effects in adolescent smoking across twenty six European Countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(8), pages 1186-1193.
    6. Seong Yeon Kim & Myungwha Jang & Seunghyun Yoo & Jung JeKarl & Joo Youn Chung & Sung-il Cho, 2020. "School-Based Tobacco Control and Smoking in Adolescents: Evidence from Multilevel Analyses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-13, May.
    7. Ana Rodriguez-Ventura & Arturo Parra-Solano & Daniel Illescas-Zárate & Minerva Hernández-Flores & Carolina Paredes & Carmen Flores-Cisneros & Bernarda Sánchez & Maricruz Tolentino & Reyna Sámano & Dan, 2018. "“Sacbe”, a Comprehensive Intervention to Decrease Body Mass Index in Children with Adiposity: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-10, September.
    8. Daniela Weible, 2013. "Gender-Driven Food Choice: Explaining School Milk Consumption of Boys and Girls," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 403-423, December.
    9. Seon-Hui Kwak & Hyo-Jin Lee & Bo-Mi Shin, 2022. "Do School-Level Factors Affect the Health Behaviors of High School Students in Korea?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Alice Masini & Sofia Marini & Erica Leoni & Giovanni Lorusso & Stefania Toselli & Alessia Tessari & Andrea Ceciliani & Laura Dallolio, 2020. "Active Breaks: A Pilot and Feasibility Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Physical Activity Levels in a School Based Intervention in an Italian Primary School," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-15, June.
    11. Timo-Kolja Pförtner & Bart Clercq & Michela Lenzi & Alessio Vieno & Katharina Rathmann & Irene Moor & Anne Hublet & Michal Molcho & Anton Kunst & Matthias Richter, 2015. "Does the association between different dimension of social capital and adolescent smoking vary by socioeconomic status? a pooled cross-national analysis," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 60(8), pages 901-910, December.
    12. Nolan, Anne & Smyth, Emer, 2020. "Clusters of health behaviours among young adults in Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS101.

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