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Background: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) is one of the largest international studies on child and adolescent health and cooperates with the World Health Organization (WHO). In Germany, adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15 are surveyed every four years about their health, health behaviour and social conditions. This article describes the HBSC study and in particular the methodology of the current 2022 survey and prior surveys conducted between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
Method: 174 schools with a total of 6,475 students participated in the 2022 survey. The survey was conducted using questionnaires and covered a wide range of topics (including mental health, physical activity, bullying experiences, social determinants of health and experiences related to COVID-19). The 2022 survey was complemented by a school principal survey (N = 160). In addition to the current sample, the samples of the three previous surveys with representative data for Germany are presented: 2009/10 (N = 5,005), 2013/14 (N = 5,961) and 2017/18 (N = 4,347).
Discussion: The health of children and adolescents is of great public health importance. The HBSC study makes a substantial contribution by providing internationally comparable results, analysing trends, and providing stakeholders with comprehensive and representative health monitoring data.
Prior research into bystander responses to hate speech has utilized variable-centered analyses — such approaches risk simplifying the complex nature of bystander behaviors. Hence, the present study used a person-centered analysis to investigate latent hate speech bystander profiles. In addition, individual and classroom-level correlates associated with the various profiles were studied. The sample included 3225 students in grades 7–9 (51.7% self-identified as female; 37.2% with immigrant background) from 215 classrooms in Germany and Switzerland. The latent profile analysis revealed that four distinct profiles could be distinguished: Passive Bystanders (34.2%), Defenders (47.3%), Revengers (9.8%), and Contributors (8.6%). Multilevel logistic regression models showed common and distinct correlates. For example, students who believed that certain social groups are superior were more likely to be Revengers and Contributors than Passive Bystanders, students who felt more connected with teachers were more likely to be Defenders, and students who were more open to diversity were less likely to be Contributors than Passive Bystanders. Students were less likely Defenders and more likely Revengers and Contributors than Passive Bystanders in classrooms with high rates of hate speech perpetration. Further, in classrooms with high hate speech intervention, students were more likely to be Defenders and less likely to be Contributors than Passive Bystanders. In classrooms with stronger cohesion, students were more likely to be Defenders and less likely to be Contributors than Passive Bystanders. In conclusion, the findings add to our understanding of bystander profiles concerning racist hate speech and the relevance of individual and classroom-level factors in explaining various profiles of bystander behavior.
Loneliness in childhood and adolescence. On the prevalence of a risk factor for mental health
(2023)
Background: Loneliness is an increasingly present topic in both public and health psychology discourse. There is increasing research on the prevalence and health-related correlates of loneliness in adults. There are only a few findings on loneliness in childhood and adolescence in Germany. Therefore, this study aims to present findings on the prevalence of loneliness among 11- to 15-year-old German schoolchildren and examines associations with socio-demographic characteristics.
Methods: The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study is a global research collaboration under the auspices of the World Health Organization. In the state of Brandenburg, the study used a cross-sectional design to collect data from 3,819 children and adolescents at general education schools in grades 5, 7, and 9 (Mage = 13.5, SD = 1.6). Loneliness was assessed using the University of California Los Angeles Scale (UCLA). Calculations were made using SPSS 29. Bivariate correlations were tested using a cross-tabulation and Chi2 test, and logistic regression was used for multivariate validation of the correlations.
Findings: 10.8 % of the respondents stated that they felt lonely. Loneliness was more pronounced among girls and non-binary (χ² (2) = 72.72, p < 0.001), as well as among older adolescents (χ² (2) = 35.21, p < 0.001, V = 0.107) and students with lower socioeconomic status (χ² (2) = 16.94, p < 0.001).
Discussion: The findings indicate that loneliness is widespread among children and adolescents. The fact that girls, older pupils and children and adolescents with lower family wealth are more lonely is consistent with findings from other countries and provides starting points for planning prevention measures. Further research is needed in Germany on possible health-related correlates of loneliness.