Self-rated health, symptoms and health behaviour of upper secondary vocational students by field of study

: Jaakkola J, Rantanen A, Luopa P, Koivisto AM, Joronen K

Publisher: WILEY

: 2019

: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences

: SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF CARING SCIENCES

: SCAND J CARING SCI

: 33

: 1

: 144

: 155

: 12

: 0283-9318

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12613

: https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85054308414

This article examines the self-rated health, symptoms and health behaviour of upper secondary vocational students in Finland. The data consist of the responses of first- and second-year vocational students (n = 34 554) to the 2013 School Health Promotion Survey. The data were analysed statistically and processed separately for girls and boys. Associations between self-rated health, symptoms and health behaviour and fields of study were examined by cross-tabulation. Statistical significance was measured using the chi-squared test. Self-rated health, symptoms and health behaviour were found to have a statistically significant association with field of study (p < 0.001). Vocational students in different fields had different experiences of health, different symptoms and different health behaviours. The results complement existing evidence about disparities in well-being among young people in the context of education.