Growing up in Glasgow: the social context of adolescence

The adolescent population of Glasgow, the city with the highest mortality in the UK, has a higher prevalence of risk behaviours than elsewhere in Scotland. Previous research has highlighted the importance of social context in interpreting such differences. Contextual variables from the 2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Scotland survey were analysed. Glaswegian adolescents were more likely to live in low socioeconomic status, single-parent or step-families, or with neither parent in employment, less likely to share family meals, more likely to buy lunch outside school, and spend time with friends after school and in the evenings. They also had a poorer perception of their local neighbourhood. Family affluence only partially explained these differences.