The WHO Cross-National Study on Health Behavior in School-Aged Children from 28 Countries: Findings from the United States

World Health Organization

The Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC) originated in 1982 as a collaborative project among researchers from Finland, Norway, and England (United Kingdom). Subsequently, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the project, and the first WHO-sponsored survey was conducted in 1983-1984 with the three original countries plus Austria. Since 1985, surveys have been conducted at four-year intervals in a growing number of countries.

The 1997-1998 survey involved more than 128,000 students in 28 countries. The survey examined the attitudes and experiences of 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old children concerning a variety of health behavior and lifestyle issues. Participating countries included Austria, Flemish- and French-speaking Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and Wales. The next international survey will be conducted in 2001-2002.

The United States joined the HBSC in 1998. The following summary data concerning US students were collected during the 1997-1998 survey. The US component of the study was funded and coordinated by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health. The survey was conducted in US schools by Macro International, Inc.

Health and Well-Being

According to the HBSC, 91.8% of 11-, 13-, and 15-year-olds consider themselves healthy, with US children ranking 21st in this survey category, compared to the other countries. Students in …

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Publication information: Article title: The WHO Cross-National Study on Health Behavior in School-Aged Children from 28 Countries: Findings from the United States. Contributors: Not available. Journal title: Journal of School Health. Volume: 70. Issue: 6 Publication date: August 2000. Page number: 227. © 1999 American School Health Association. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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