Risk behaviour, parental background, and wealth: a cluster analysis among Swedish boys and girls in the HBSC study.

AIM

To analyse how health risk behaviours (HRB) are clustered and associated with parental background and family wealth among Swedish boys and girls.

METHODS

Data were collected from Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC), a global cross-sectional survey for 1997/98, 2001/02, and 2005/06. A total of 11,972 boys and girls in grades 5, 7, and 9 participated in the study. The pupils were categorised in subgroups according to parental background: Swedish (80.0%), mixed (10.6%), and foreign (9.4%). Cluster analyses were used to identify HRB profiles. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to estimate associations between cluster allocation, parental background, and family affluence.

RESULTS

In total 11,232 pupils were identified and allocated to five cluster profiles, half of them in the cluster profile of low-risk behaviour. The most disadvantaged cluster was multiple HRB, which was characterised by high prevalence of smoking, drunkenness, low physical activity, and high soft-drink consumption. The cluster profile of multiple HRB was associated with both mixed background and foreign background in girls and with mixed background in boys. The cluster profile of inadequate tooth brushing was associated with foreign background in both boys and girls. The cluster profiles of multiple HRB and inadequate tooth brushing were associated with low family affluence in girls.

CONCLUSIONS

The cluster profiles of multiple HRB and inadequate tooth brushing were associated with parental foreign extraction in boys and girls and with low family affluence in girls. Prevention programmes based on identified clusters of HRB, including consideration of impact of socio-demographic indicators, are needed.