Family Time spent with family (Nurtured, Included) Secondary pupils were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with a number of statements about family life. Table 2.3.1a Time spent with family Strongly agree Tend to agree Neither Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Weighted bases Unweighted bases Row Percentages My parents/carers treat me fairly 69 23 5 2 1 3851 3851 I enjoy spending time with my family 58 28 8 4 2 3813 3813 Members of my family shout at each other a lot 8 13 15 20 44 3800 3797 I get to decide on how I spend most of my spare time 56 31 7 3 2 3944 3942 Source: RCS secondary school survey, Falkirk 2017 Overall, the responses suggest that family life and relationships are viewed positively by most young people. Nearly all pupils (92%) agreed (either strongly or tend to agree) that their parents or carers treated them fairly and 86% agreed that they enjoyed spending time with their family. Most pupils (88%) also agreed that they get to decide how to spend most of their spare time. As pupils got older, they were more likely to agree that their family shout a lot (17% in S1, rising to 24% in S4). There were also differences by age in relation to the other statements, younger pupils were more likely to agree that they enjoy spending time with their family (93% of those in S1 declining to 81% in S4) and to agree that their parents treat them fairly (95% in S1 compared with 91% in S4). There was no association with age and pupils deciding how they spend their spare time. On a perhaps less positive note, around a fifth (21%) agreed that members of their family shout at each other a lot – although, of course, shouting is not in itself an indicator of highly problematic family relationships. Those living in two parent households were less likely to say their families shout a lot (17% compared with 26-44% in other household types). Shouting also increased with deprivation, reported by 15% of those in the least deprived quintile, rising to 25% in the most deprived quintile. Similarly, it was reported more frequently by those eligible for free school meals (29% compared with 20% of those not eligible).
In receipt of children’s services Pupil is in receipt of any children’s social work services. This includes being looked after at home or in any form of care, on the child protection register, receiving through care and after care, or looking for prospective adopters. Taken from the local authority SWIFT, SWIS, or in-house social work database. Derived variables Note that variables which are created from combining answer categories as provided in the questionnaire are not noted below. Household type (all surveys) Derived from questions about who the child lived with (secondary school questionnaire Q21a / primary school questionnaire ChHome1) Derived from questions about relationships between household members (parent survey questionnaire Relation) Two parent households were defined as those in which the child reported living with both a mother and father One parent households were defined as those in which the child reported living with either a mother or a father, but not both, and not someone described as the mother or father’s partner Step-families were defined as those in which the child reported living with either the mother or father, and the mother or father’s partner Other household types were those in which the child reported living with neither their mother nor father. This could include living with grandparents, in foster care, in a care home, or with someone else. In some cases, children reported living with both parents and one of their parents’ partners. This was taken to be a step-family, as it was assumed the mother’s partner and the father were the same person, but not the biological father (and similarly for father’s partner). Similarly, those who reported living with parents and foster parents were assumed to be a foster family (hence ‘other’ household type). The questionnaire did not allow someone to say they lived with two mothers or two fathers. Such
measurements (Birweig1, Birweig2) Parent’s physical health Derived from questions about general health and physical health (parent PSF12Gen PSF12Lim1 PSF12Lim2 PSF12Lim3 PSF12Lim4 PSF12Lim7) 6 of the 12 questions from the SF-12 health questionnaire were used to create a scale of physical health. Answer categories were reversed where appropriate, and all questions were standardised, to create a scale with an average of 0 and higher scores indicating better physical health. ‘Below average’ physical health was taken as one or more standard deviations below the mean. Parent’s mental health Derived from questions about mental health (parent PSF12Lim5 PSF12Lim6 PSF12Clm PSF12En PSF12Dwn PSF12Soc) The other 6 questions from the SF-12 health questionnaire were used to create a scale of mental health. Answer categories were reversed where appropriate, and all questions were standardised, to create a scale with an average of 0 and higher scores indicating better mental health. ‘Below average’ mental health was taken as one or more standard deviations below the mean. Parent life satisfaction Banded question (parent psatis) Life satisfaction was asked on a 0-10 scale. 0-3 was recorded as ‘dissatisfied’, 4-6 ‘neither’ and ‘satisfied’. Risky drinker Derived from questions about frequency of drinking (parent PAuditC1, PAuditC2, PAuditC3) Three questions taken from the AUDIT scale developed by the WHO for assessing risky drinking behaviour were summed to form a scale of 3-15. A score of 8 or above for men and 7 or above for women was recorded as risky drinking behaviour, which roughly equates to drinking two glasses of wine 2-3 times a week and rarely or never binging. Parent-child attachment (Condon & Corkindale) Derived from questions about quality of relationship with child (parent QualAt1 to Nine questions from Condon & Corkindale’s parent-child attachment scale for parents of children aged 0-2. Responses were summed (with questions reversed as appropriate) to form a scale 9-37. Scores of 36 and 37 were recorded as ‘high’, equating to reported strong feelings of attachment in response to nearly all of the questions. Scores of