[Self-reported health and life satisfaction in school-aged children in Poland and other countries in 2002].
OBJECTIVE
to present results of the study concerning: self-reported health, frequency of subjective complaints and life satisfaction among adolescents in Poland and 31 other countries.


METHODS
the survey was carried out in 2001/02, on representative for each country samples of pupils aged 11, 13, 15 years in the frame of HBSC survey (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: A WHO Collaborative Cross-national Study). The total sample size was 162306, in Poland it was 6383. The international standard questionnaire was used.


RESULTS
the majority of adolescents considered themselves as healthy or very healthy and satisfied with their life. These percentages were lower for girls and decreased with age. Every third pupil experienced two or more subjective complaints more than once a week or daily. The highest percentages of adolescents rating their health as fair or poor and unsatisfied with their life were in countries of the former Soviet Union. Multiple health complaints were experienced most often by adolescents in the Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy, Israel, Spain). In Poland, in comparison with other countries in the survey, adolescents more often rated their health as very good, but many pupils experienced subjective complaints and felt unsatisfied with their life.
Woynarowska
Barbara
B
Katedra Biomedycznych Podstaw Rozwoju i Wychowania Wydziału Pedagogicznego, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Mokotowska 16/20, 0-561 Warszawa, Poland. barwoy@pedagog.uw.edu.pl
Tabak
Izabela
I
Mazur
Joanna
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires