Life at age 17: initial findings from the Growing Up in Scotland study (Sweep 11)

Executive summary

Introduction

Background

This report presents findings about the lives of 17-year-olds living in Scotland. It uses data collected from Birth Cohort 1 (BC1) of the Growing Up in Scotland study (GUS)^[1]. GUS BC1 was originally comprised of a nationally representative sample of 5217 children born between June 2004 and May 2005. A boost sample was added at sweep 9 when the cohort members were aged 12.

This report presents high level findings from the most recently available sweep of data collection (Sweep 11). The report aims to provide an overview of the data available and encourage other researchers to conduct further analysis. Data can be accessed through the UK Data Service^[2].

Methodology

Sweep 11 fieldwork was conducted in two phases: phase 1 between November 2021 and November 2022, and phase 2 between September 2022 and June 2023. Data were collected from 2649 families (including 2484 young people directly) through a mix of web, telephone and in-home interviewing. Sensitive questions were asked in a self-completion questionnaire either online or in a self-completion module during an in-home visit^[3].

Data were collected from the cohort member (referred to as the 'young person' throughout this report) and their main carer or parent (referred to as their 'parent'). This report only presents findings collected directly from the young people themselves. Subgroup analysis has been conducted according to the young person’s sex, disability status and level of area deprivation of their home address. Area deprivation was measured using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintiles. The findings in the report were adjusted by weighting to be representative of young people aged 17 who were living in Scotland in 2021/22 and who had also been living in Scotland when aged 10 months^[4].

Summary of key findings

Educational experiences

Just under half of young people (47.0%) said that they were still attending school.

Most young people were told by a teacher that their work was good – 82.5% said this happened 'very often' or 'often'. Young men were less likely than young women to receive praise from their teacher and more likely to be reprimanded for untidy or late work or for misbehaving. Compared with those in less deprived areas, those in more deprived areas were less likely to receive praise from their teachers and more likely to be reprimanded.

Most young people felt pressured by schoolwork, with 91.0% feeling 'a little pressure’, ‘quite a lot' or ‘a lot’ of pressure.

Four in ten (39.7%) young people ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that school did little to prepare them for life after school. Young disabled people were more likely to do so (48.7% compared with 33.9% of young non-disabled people). On the other hand, young disabled people were less likely to say that school had helped give them the confidence to make decisions (28.1% compared with 55.3% of young non-disabled people).

During the Covid-19 lockdown, whilst most (91.8%) young people had access to a computer, some faced challenges with support from teachers or from someone at home (39.0% ‘always’ had support from teachers and 35.8% from someone at home). Young people also had concerns about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their education and prospects, with 46.9% ‘agreeing’ or ‘strongly agreeing’ that they were worried about the impact on their qualifications and 39.9% about the impact on their job prospects.

Careers advice and post-school plans

Just over a quarter (27.2%) of young people were studying at college or university, with 21.7% at college and 5.5% at university. Young men were more likely than young women to be studying at college (25.9% compared with 17.8%), while young women were more likely than young men to be studying at university (7.5% compared with 3.4%).

When asked about post-school pathways, the majority (91.8%) ‘agreed’ or ‘agreed strongly’ that having a career or profession was important and 69.2% ‘agreed’ or ‘agreed strongly’ they had a clear idea of the career they wanted.

Parents or carers were the most common source of career advice when young people were deciding what to do after S4 (75.9%), followed by Pupil Support or Guidance teachers (55.4%). Young disabled people and those in the most deprived quintile were less likely than young non-disabled people and those in less deprived quintiles, respectively, to have taken advice from any of the sources listed in the study (13.8% and 13.7% compared with 7.1% and between 4.3% and 9.7% respectively).

Thinking about the future, 63.4% of young people still attending school said they wanted to go to university; others wanted to go to college (19.3%) or to begin an apprenticeship or other vocational training course (6.8%). Young people in more deprived areas were less likely than those in less deprived areas to report they wanted to go to university (39.9% in SIMD 1 compared with 76.1% in SIMD 5) and more likely to say they wanted to go to college (28.7% in SIMD 1 compared with 12.7% in SIMD 5).

Employment, apprenticeships and income

Just over two-thirds (68.2%) of young people had ever had a paid job and 62.1% had a job currently. Young women were more likely than young men to be working (52.4% compared with 40.6%). Most young people (68.7%) worked up to 20 hours per week. Young men were more likely than young women to be working full-time (35 hours or more a week) – 25.4% compared with 10.6%.

Shift work was common (55.1%), especially amongst young women (59.1% compared with 50.4% of young men), and 42.0% of those who had ever worked had zero-hours contracts. The most important attributes young people would consider when applying for a job were ‘an interesting job’ (62.0%), ‘high income’ (49.9%), and ‘flexible working hours’ (45.6%). Young men were more likely to prioritise high income (59.6% compared with 40.6%) and job security (17.4% compared with 13.2%) than young women, while young women valued flexible hours (49.9% compared with 41.2%) and jobs that help others (28.0% compared with 12.8%). 51.7% of young people in SIMD 1 (most deprived areas) valued an interesting job compared with 67.6% in SIMD 5.

Just under one in ten (9.2%) young people were in apprenticeships. Most apprenticeships involved some college or training centre study (70.5%). The main reasons for choosing apprenticeships were career progression (36.5%) and skill development (24.8%). Apprenticeships were more common among young men than young women (13.5% compared with 5.1%).

One in ten young people (10.2%) were not in education, employment, or training at the time of interview. Rates were higher among young disabled people than young non-disabled people (15.7% compared with 6.8%) and among those in more deprived areas compared with those in less deprived areas (15.7% in SIMD 1 compared with 6.0% in SIMD 5). The main reasons for being out of education, employment or training included health issues (23.1%) and difficulty finding suitable (19.9%) or interesting (19.9%) jobs.

Free time, social media usage and local area

In their free time, 88.6% of young people spent time with friends, 79.3% gamed, and 77.8% attended live events.

A third of young people (34.3%) checked their social media at least every half hour. Young women checked more often than young men (38.3% compared with 29.5%).

Views on social media varied: 18.4% of young people agreed that they felt anxious when unable to check social media, 17.0% that they cared about likes and comments, 28.4% agreed that other people’s social media posts sometimes made them feel worse. Young women were more likely than young men to report negative impacts - 41.4% of young women agreed that other people’s posts made them feel worse about their own life compared with 12.9% of young men. However, 93.1% of young people agreed it helped them stay in touch with friends.

Most young people were satisfied with the area they lived in (77.1%), but satisfaction was lower among young disabled people than young non-disabled people (65.1% compared with 80.2%) and among those in more deprived areas compared with those in less deprived areas (62.0% in SIMD 1 compared with 89.4% in SIMD 5). Just over half (55.6%) had a provisional driving license while 13.0% had a full license. Young disabled people (55.7% compared with 74.0% of young non-disabled people) and those in the most deprived areas were less likely to have a driving license (49.6% in SIMD 1 compared with 80.5% in SIMD 5).

Political attitudes and civic participation

In the Scottish Parliament election of May 2021, 58.1% of young people voted. Young women (63.1%) were more likely than young men (53.0%) to have voted, and participation was lower in more deprived areas, with 45.9% of those in the most deprived quintile voting compared with 74.2% of those in the least deprived quintile. Reasons for not voting included lack of interest in politics (40.6%) and not being registered (22.7%), with those in the most deprived areas less likely than those in the least deprived areas to be registered to vote (65.1% in SIMD 1 compared with 91.4% in SIMD 5).

Social media was the most popular source of political information (61.7%), followed by TV programmes (43.8%) and online news websites (36.7%).

Talking about politics was common, with 58.6% discussing it with their parents/carers, 49.4% with friends, and 34.0% with classmates or colleagues. Around half (53.4%) of young people ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that ‘Sometimes politics and government seem so complicated that a person like me cannot really make sense of it all’.

Perceptions of the impact of politics varied: 38.1% believed it made either ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of difference to their lives, whilst 30.7% believed it made ‘not very much’ of a difference or ‘none at all’.

Around half (51.1%) of young people had engaged in an activity in the last 12 months to register or demonstrate their opinion on an issue. This included 13.2% who had bought or refused to buy products for political or ethical reasons and 10.0% who had attended a protest or demonstration.

Relationships

Most young people felt their parent^[5] 'always' listened to them (57.2%), that they could 'always' count on them (66.0%), and that their parent 'always' paid attention to them (61.4%).

Around one quarter (24.2%) had a parent living in another household, usually their biological father. Nearly half (46.2%) saw this parent at least once a week, while 18.6% never saw them. Most (57.3%) young people were content with the frequency of contact.

Just over one in ten (11.6%) young people looked after or gave regular help or support to a family member, friend, or neighbour due to a health condition or old age. Most (66.3%) spent less than 10 hours per week on these activities, whilst 30.4% spent 10 hours or more.

Relationships with peers were generally positive – 83.4% of young people said that their friends often paid attention to them, 82.0% said their friends listened to them, and 77.5% felt their friends were supportive when they had a problem.

Half of young people (50.2%) had experienced some form of victimisation in the last 12 months. Most commonly this involved insults, name-calling, threats, or shouting (34.6%) or gossip, being ignored, or other emotional abuse (29.4%). Young women were more likely than young men to have experienced emotional abuse (36.0% compared with 21.5%), unwelcome sexual advances (20.9% compared with 4.3%), harassment via mobile phone, email or social media (15.9% compared with 8.7%), and sexual assault (9.1% compared with 1.0%).

Discrimination was reported by 23.7% of young people, with sex or gender (8.3%) and age (7.0%) being the most common reasons young people felt they had been treated unfairly. Young women were more likely than young men to have experienced several types of discrimination and young disabled people were more likely than young non-disabled people to have experienced discrimination.

Regarding gender identity, 52.1% identified as young women/girls, 45.0% as young men/boys, and 2.9% in another way. Additionally, 4.1% considered themselves trans or having a trans history.

Around a third of young people had some sexual experience such as oral sex (34.9%) and/or sexual intercourse (35.9%). Of those who had some sexual experience, 71.3% had engaged in sex without a condom and 53.1% without any form of protection or contraception. Young people in more deprived areas with sexual experience were more likely than those in less deprived areas to have had sex without any form of protection or contraception – 65.6% in SIMD 1 compared with 50.3% SIMD 5.

Risky behaviours

Prevalence of drinking, smoking and drug use varied among young people, with 90.1% having ever tried alcohol, 63.6% having ever tried an e-cigarette or vaping device, and 47.9% having ever tried a cigarette. A third of young people had ever tried cannabis (33.6%) and over one in ten had ever tried other drugs (12.8%).

Just over one in five (22.0%) young people had engaged in at least one form of anti-social behaviour, with young men (28.3%) more likely than young women (16.5%) to have done so. Contact with the police was experienced by 17.3% of young people since their last GUS interview, with young men (23.1%) more likely than young women (12.4%) to have had any form of contact.

Mental health and life satisfaction

Over a quarter (28.2%) of young people reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms, with young women (38.2%) and young disabled people (52.9%) more likely to report this than young men (16.5%) and young non-disabled people (21.2%) respectively. Severe anxiety was reported by 11.6% while 15.2% had been diagnosed with depression or serious anxiety by a doctor. This was more commonly reported by young women than young men (21.6% compared with 7.5%) and much more commonly reported by young disabled people than by young non-disabled people (42.5% compared with 9.3%). Around one fifth (21.2%) had self-harmed since their last GUS interview, with young disabled people (43.7%) more likely to report having self-harmed than young non-disabled people (14.8%).

Almost six in ten (57.3%) young people reported feeling lonely at least some of the time in the last week. Loneliness was more commonly reported by young women (61.4%) than young men (52.1%) and more commonly by young disabled people (73.9%) than young non-disabled people (52.5%).

The most common significant life events experienced since the last GUS interview were a death or other serious event amongst close family (38.3%), death of a grandparent (27.2%) and death of a pet (19.2%).

The majority (95.0%) of young people felt they ‘usually have a free choice and control over their life’.

General health, physical activity and sleep

Over half of young people rated their general health as either 'excellent' (13.0%) or 'very good' (39.8%). Those living in more deprived areas were less positive about their health than those in less deprived areas – 45.5% in SIMD 1 rated their health as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ compared with 63.4% in SIMD 5. Around half (51.9%) of young people were usually physically active for under 7 hours a week – less than the NHS recommended average. Young men were more active than young women – for example, 54.9% of young men were active for 7 or more hours per week compared with 41.3% of young women.

Regarding body image, 43.0% of young people felt they were 'about the right size', and 67.1% felt either ‘quite happy’ or ‘very happy’ with the way they looked. Young women were more likely than young men to view themselves as ‘a bit too fat’ or ‘much too fat’ (51.5% compared with 30.6%). Conversely, young men were more likely than young women to view themselves as ‘a bit too thin’ or ‘much too thin’ (24.4% compared with 7.4%).

Around a quarter (27.9%) of young people consumed energy drinks at least once a week. Energy drink consumption was higher among young men (31.3%) than young women (24.5%). Daily consumption was more common among young disabled people (6.7%) than young non-disabled (2.7%) people, and more common among those in more deprived areas than those in less deprived areas (8.5% in SIMD 1 compared with 1.9% in SIMD 5).

Two thirds of young people (67.7%) got between 6 and 8 hours of sleep on school or work nights, while one in ten (10.5%) slept for more than 8 hours. On days when they did not have school or work the next day, 54.9% slept more than 8 hours.