Behaviour In Britain Research Articles

Sexual identity, attraction and behaviour in Britain: The implications of using different dimensions of sexual orientation to estimate the size of sexual minority populations and inform public health interventions.

BackgroundSexual orientation encompasses three dimensions: sexual identity, attraction and behaviour. There is increasing demand for data on sexual orientation to meet equality legislation, monitor potential inequalities and address public health needs. We present estimates of all three dimensions and their overlap in British men and women, and consider the implications for health services, research and the development and evaluation of public health interventions.MethodsAnalyses of data from Britain’s third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, a probability sample survey (15,162 people aged 16–74 years) undertaken in 2010–2012.FindingsA lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) identity was reported by 2·5% of men and 2·4% of women, whilst 6·5% of men and 11·5% of women reported any same-sex attraction and 5·5% of men and 6·1% of women reported ever experience of same-sex sex. This equates to approximately 547,000 men and 546,000 women aged 16–74 in Britain self-identifying as LGB and 1,204,000 men and 1,389,000 women ever having experience of same-sex sex. Of those reporting same-sex sex in the past 5 years, 28% of men and 45% of women identified as heterosexual.InterpretationThere is large variation in the size of sexual minority populations depending on the dimension applied, with implications for the design of epidemiological studies, targeting and monitoring of public health interventions and estimating population-based denominators. There is also substantial diversity on an individual level between identity, behaviour and attraction, adding to the complexity of delivering appropriate services and interventions.

A Comparison of Residential Energy Demand Behaviour in Britain and Australia

This research highlights an interesting finding comparing energy use in the residential sector in the United Kingdom and Australia. Energy consumed per capita is largely similar, however the energy available is manifestly different. Australia is blessed with a greater abundance of energy than the United Kingdom. Particularly, in the main area of study in Australia, Victoria state, Brown coal is easy and cheap to access. It is therefore politically more difficult to argue that the population affords more expensive sustainable energy resources even though Australia is one of the countries that can readily produce this type of energy. Britain, however, is a net importer of energy. A large proportion of this energy is natural gas which is a fossil fuel, and therefore contributes to the negative effects of climate change. The findings of this research focus on what motivates residential users of energy to use energy more sustainably. It presents the conclusions of previous research as a backdrop, and reveals the complexity of occupant behaviour. Key drivers are financial incentives and the role of large organisations such as governments in influ-encing behaviour. This may take significant time.

External agents of change: a 10-year trend study of garden visitor behaviour in England

ABSTRACTChanges in people’s behaviour over time can be understood through three distinct elements: their age, a period of time and their birth cohort. Age is a key demographic in many leisure studies but less frequently a period of years is used in longitudinal studies. Changes to a birth cohort (a term often used synonymously with a generation) are rarely examined. This study adopts all three measures to demonstrate the complexity of change over time and also offers a greater understanding of change in people’s leisure behaviour, specifically those who visit gardens in England. A trend study consisting of two cross-sectional studies, 10 years apart, was undertaken through resident surveys (n = 341 and 392). These examined factors external to the individual which might influence their behaviour. The results demonstrate that changes in environmental, social and technological factors such as the weather, family and friends and the Internet have impacts that are complex and which are sometimes concealed within different age groups and cohorts over the decade. Notably, no single factor was identified where there was change across the period, all the age groups and all five cohorts, confirming that any change in people’s behaviour is not universal.

Anti-social Behaviour in Britain: Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives.Edited by Sarah Pickard

<i>Anti-social Behaviour in Britain: Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives.</i>Edited by Sarah Pickard

Book Review: Sarah Pickard (ed.) Anti-Social Behaviour in Britain: Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives

Book Review: Sarah Pickard (ed.) <i>Anti-Social Behaviour in Britain: Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives</i>

Is supplementary feeding in gardens a driver of evolutionary change in a migratory bird species?

Human activities are causing rapid environmental change at a global scale. Urbanization is responsible for some of the most extreme human-altered habitats and is a known driver of evolutionary change, but evidence and understanding of these processes is limited. Here, we investigate the potential underlying mechanisms contributing to the contemporary evolution of migration behaviour in the Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). Blackcaps from central Europe have been wintering in urban areas of Britain with increasing frequency over the past 60years, rather than migrating south to the Mediterranean. It has been hypothesized that the popularization of providing supplementary foods for wild birds within Britain may have influenced this marked migratory change, but quantifying the selective forces shaping evolutionary changes remains challenging. Using a long-term national scale data set, we examine both the spatial distribution and interannual variation in blackcap wintering behaviour in Britain in relation to supplementary food availability and local climate. Over a 12-year period, we show that blackcaps are becoming increasingly associated with the provision of supplementary foods in British gardens, and that the reliability of bird food supplies is influencing their winter distribution at a national scale. In addition, local climatic temperatures and broader scale weather variation are also important determinants of blackcap wintering patterns once they arrive in Britain. Based on our findings, we conclude that a synergistic effect of increased availability of feeding resources, in the form of garden bird food, coupled with climatic amelioration, has enabled a successful new wintering population to become established in Britain. As global biodiversity is threatened by human-induced environmental change, this study presents new and timely evidence of the role human activities can play in shaping evolutionary trajectories.

P08.34 Number of sex acts matters for heterosexual transmission and control ofchlamydia trachomatis

Introduction Mathematical models are frequently used to assess the impact of control interventions for Chlamydia trachomatis and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Modelling approaches that stratify the population by the number of sex partners often assume the transmission risk per partner to be constant. However, sexual behaviour data suggests that people with many partners share less sex acts per partner than people with fewer partners. This should lower the risk of transmission per partner for highly sexually active individuals and could have important epidemiological consequences for STI transmission. Methods We devised a new epidemiological model that we fitted to chlamydia prevalence data from Natsal-2 and CSF, two population-based probability sample surveys of sexual behaviour in Britain and France. Results Compared to a standard model where the transmission risk per partner is constant, a model with realistic numbers of sex acts per partner provided a better fit to the data. The improved model provided evidence for strong assortative mixing (e = 0.83; 95% CI 0.46–0.96) among individuals with different numbers of sex partners. The basic reproduction number (R 0 ) exceeds the threshold of one for all individuals with one or more new heterosexual partners in the last year, and saturates around three for higher number of partners. Conclusion Our results suggest that all chlamydia infected individuals with one or more new heterosexual partners per year contribute significantly to ongoing transmission, underlining that control interventions should be aimed towards all sexually active young adults. Disclosure of interest statement CLA received funding through an Ambizione grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (project 136737). SA is funded by an ATIP-Avenir from CNRS and IN- SERM. SA and MC are also supported by the CNRS and the IRD. We declare no competing interests.

Book review: Anti-Social Behaviour in Britain: Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives

Book review: Anti-Social Behaviour in Britain: Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives

Special education and minority ethnic young people in England: continuing issues

ABSTRACTIn countries that have developed special education (SE) provision, whether in segregated settings or ‘included’ in mainstream, racial, ethnic and immigrant minorities continue to be disproportionately represented. Explanations for placement in SE programmes continue to centre round assumptions of deficiencies in student abilities to learn and ‘behave’, their family backgrounds and communities. Many policy-makers, politicians, schools and teachers ignore or are ignorant of the historical background and social contexts in which these students are expected to learn. The article overviews some of this history and policy responses concerned with SE, low attainment and troublesome school behaviour in England, including recent evidence and current explanations for the placement of the students. A premise here is that research, policy and literature are still separating what is happening in ‘special’ education from other areas of education. This cannot continue, as world-wide moves towards inclusive education have meant that mainstream schools and colleges now incorporate (or still exclude) a range of students regarded as having learning difficulties or disabilities, and all young people are now expected to acquire some kind of qualification or be prepared for independent living.

Subclinical psychosis and suicidal behavior in England: Findings from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

BackgroundPsychotic disorders have been associated with suicidality but information on the association between subclinical psychosis and suicidality in the general adult population is scarce. MethodsData from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (n=7403) were analyzed. This was a nationally representative survey of the English adult household population (aged ≥16years). Five types of psychotic symptoms (hypomania, thought control, paranoia, strange experience, auditory hallucination) occurring in the past 12months were assessed with the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire. Participants with probable or definite psychosis were excluded. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between psychotic symptoms and suicidal ideation and suicide attempt in the past 12months. ResultsThe prevalence of at least one psychotic symptom was 5.4%. After adjusting for potential confounders including mental disorders, each individual psychotic symptom was significantly associated with suicidal ideation with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 3.22 to 4.20. With the exception of thought control, all symptoms were also associated with significantly higher odds for suicide attempt (ORs 3.95 to 10.23). Having at least one psychotic symptom was associated with ORs of 3.13 (95%CI 2.09–4.68) and 3.84 (95%CI 1.67–8.83) for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt respectively. In addition, a greater number of psychotic symptoms was associated with higher odds for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. ConclusionsPsychotic symptoms, regardless of the type, were independently associated with higher odds for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. Assessment and management of suicide risk in individuals with psychotic symptoms may be important for suicide prevention.

Anti-Social Behaviour in Britain. Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives. Ed. by Sarah Pickard. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke2014. xx, 375 pp. £75.00.

Anti-Social Behaviour in Britain. Victorian and Contemporary Perspectives. Ed. by Sarah Pickard. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke2014. xx, 375 pp. £75.00.

Assessing the impact of the National Cycle Network and physical activity lifestyle on cycling behaviour in England

This paper examines the association between access to National Cycle Network (NCN) routes in England and an individual’s cycling behaviour whilst accounting for their broader physical activity lifestyle and controlling for their socio-economic circumstances. It identifies a positive association between access to these routes and the total minutes of any form of cycling, and the number of days that cycling takes place primarily for recreational purposes. The broader physical activity of individuals also has a positive association with cycling. Walking appears most likely to be complementary to non-recreational cycling, whilst participation in sport with all forms of cycling, but not with longer duration utilitarian trips. The research also indicates that access to NCN routes has the potential to increase such cycling further, with the exception of longer utilitarian trips, as does a more physically active lifestyle, particularly walking. The main policy implications of the research are to recognise that cycling is intrinsically linked to other physical activity, notably, walking, but that the NCN routes measured in this study primarily support longer duration recreational activity, which is also affected by sporting activity. This suggests that one avenue for achieving the health benefits of cycling may be through promoting NCN routes to harness a more generally active lifestyle and particularly in leisure, whilst sustainability may be further promoted through being linked more to other active travel such as walking. There is a therefore a need to exploit the potential of such NCN route provision as part of this promotion.

Local Variation in Primary Care Prescribing Behavior in England: Ticagrelor.

Local Variation in Primary Care Prescribing Behavior in England: Ticagrelor.

Rural–urban area of residence and trajectories of children׳s behavior in England

Despite extensive studies of neighborhood effects on children׳s outcomes, there is little evidence on rural–urban impacts on child mental health. We modeled trajectories of emotional–behavioral problems of white majority children at ages 3, 5, and 7 in England in areas with varying levels of rural and urban settlement, using the Millennium Cohort Study. After adjusting for area selection, children in less sparse rural areas had fewer conduct and peer problems, and children in areas with a mix of rural and urban settlement had fewer emotional symptoms, explained by the quality of their schools. Area differences remained in emotional problems.

A time series evaluation of the FAST National Stroke Awareness Campaign in England.

ObjectiveIn February 2009, the Department of Health in England launched the Face, Arm, Speech, and Time (FAST) mass media campaign, to raise public awareness of stroke symptoms and the need for an emergency response. We aimed to evaluate the impact of three consecutive phases of FAST using population-level measures of behaviour in England.MethodsInterrupted time series (May 2007 to February 2011) assessed the impact of the campaign on: access to a national stroke charity's information resources (Stroke Association [SA]); emergency hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of stroke (Hospital Episode Statistics for England); and thrombolysis activity from centres in England contributing data to the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke UK database.ResultsBefore the campaign, emergency admissions (and patients admitted via accident and emergency [A&E]) and thrombolysis activity was increasing significantly over time, whereas emergency admissions via general practitioners (GPs) were decreasing significantly. SA webpage views, calls to their helpline and information materials dispatched increased significantly after phase one. Website hits/views, and information materials dispatched decreased after phase one; these outcomes increased significantly during phases two and three. After phase one there were significant increases in overall emergency admissions (505, 95% CI = 75 to 935) and patients admitted via A&E (451, 95% CI = 26 to 875). Significantly fewer monthly emergency admissions via GPs were reported after phase three (−19, 95% CI = −29 to −9). Thrombolysis activity per month significantly increased after phases one (3, 95% CI = 1 to 6), and three (3, 95% CI = 1 to 4).ConclusionsPhase one had a statistically significant impact on information seeking behaviour and emergency admissions, with additional impact that may be attributable to subsequent phases on information seeking behaviour, emergency admissions via GPs, and thrombolysis activity. Future campaigns should be a0ccompanied by evaluation of impact on clinical outcomes such as reduced stroke-related morbidity and mortality.

The implications of children's travel behaviour for their physical activity

Walking and cycling by children have decreased over time in many countries. Children have less choice than adults about where they go and often they are not allowed to travel unescorted by an older person. The factors that influence children's travel behaviour have changed in recent years, with the development of car-oriented lifestyles, increased numbers of mothers in employment, and changes in attitudes towards children's independent mobility. The purpose of this presentation is to examine the nature of children's travel behaviour in Britain and its implications for their volumes of physical activity.

The sociological and attitudinal bases of environmentally-related beliefs and behaviour in Britain

Whilst environmental issues are now a prominent part of the public policy agenda in Britain, less attention has been paid to the factors shaping contemporary public concern for the environment. The sources of environmentally-related beliefs and behaviours in contemporary British public opinion are assessed, using data from the British Household Panel Survey 2008–9. Exploratory data reduction analysis is undertaken on multiple indicators of environmental concern. Two multi-item scales relating to the perceived impacts of climate change and consumer behaviours are examined. Linear regression analysis shows that sociological and attitudinal factors have similar effects on beliefs and behaviour. The sociological factors showing consistent effects are gender, age, religious salience and education. Attitudinally, there are broadly consistent effects for partisanship and political engagement. The effects of other variables differ across beliefs and behaviours.

Individualism, Collectivism and Ethnic Identity: Cultural Assumptions in Accounting for Caregiving Behaviour in Britain

Britain is experiencing the ageing of a large number of minority ethnic groups for the first time in its history, due to the post-war migration of people from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent. Stereotypes about a high level of provision of informal caregiving among minority ethnic groups are common in Britain, as in the US, despite quantitative studies refuting this assumption. This paper reports on a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with older people from five different ethnic groups about their conceptualisation of their ethnic identity, and their attributions of motivations of caregiving within their own ethnic group and in other groups. It is argued that ethnic identity becomes salient after migration and becoming a part of an ethnic minority group in the new country. Therefore, White British people who have never migrated do not have a great sense of ethnic identity. Further, a strong sense of ethnic identity is linked with identifying with the collective rather than the individual, which explains why the White British participants gave an individualist account of their motivations for informal care, whereas the minority ethnic participants gave a collectivist account of their motivations of care. Crucially, members of all ethnic groups were providing or receiving informal care, so it was the attribution and not the behaviour which differed.

Cancer awareness among adolescents in Britain: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundLittle is known about adolescents’ cancer awareness and help-seeking behaviour in Britain. This study assessed adolescents’: awareness of cancer symptoms, common cancers, and the relationship between cancer and age; anticipated delay and perceived barriers to seeking medical advice; and examined variation by age, gender, ethnicity and whether individuals knew someone with cancer.MethodsA survey was conducted using a modified paper version of the Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM). The sample included 478 adolescents (male: n = 250, 52.3%) aged 11–17 years old (mean = 13.8, SD = 1.24) recruited from four British schools between August and October 2011.ResultsAdolescents’ cancer awareness was low. Half of all adolescents did not know the most common childhood (51%) or teenage (49%) cancers and most (69%) believed cancer was unrelated to age. Awareness of cancer symptoms was significantly higher among older adolescents (aged 13–17 years) (p = 0.003) and those who knew someone with cancer (p < 0.001). Three-quarters (74%) of adolescents indicated they would seek help for a symptom they thought might be cancer within 3 days, and half (48%) within 24 hours. The most endorsed barriers to help-seeking were ‘worry about what the doctor might find’ (72%), being ‘too embarrassed’ (56%), ‘too scared’ (54%) and ‘not feeling confident to talk about symptoms’ (53%). Endorsement of these emotional barriers was significantly higher among females (p ≤ 0.001).ConclusionThere are certain groups of adolescents with poor cancer awareness. Cancer messages need to be targeted and tailored to particular groups to prevent the emergence of health inequalities in adulthood. Interventions to raise adolescents’ cancer awareness have the potential for a life-long impact on encouraging early diagnosis and survival.

Very low rate and light smokers: smoking patterns and cessation‐related behaviour in England, 2006–11

There is a growing interest in very low rate [fewer than one cigarette per day (CPD)] and light (one to nine CPD) smokers and in some parts of the world their numbers appear to be increasing. This paper examined changes in prevalence over the past 5 years, cessation patterns, and smoking and demographic characteristics of very low rate, light and moderate-to-heavy (10+ CPD) smokers in England. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data from aggregated monthly waves of a household survey: the Smoking Toolkit Study. England. A total of 23,245 smokers interviewed between November 2006 and May 2011 and 4147 who provided data at 6-month follow-up. We compared the demographic and smoking characteristics between the three groups of smokers at baseline, and the rate of attempts to quit, use of aids to cessation and success of quit attempts at follow-up. Very low rate smoking remained extremely rare (1.9% of smokers in 2006 to 2.8% in 2011), but light smoking became increasingly common (23.9-32.8%). Compared with moderate-to-heavy smokers, very low rate and light smokers were younger, more often female and from a higher socio-economic background. They were more motivated to quit and enjoyed smoking less. During the 6-month follow-up period, light smokers, but not very low rate smokers, were more likely to attempt to quit than moderate-to-heavy smokers. When they tried to quit, very low rate and light smokers used aids to cessation less than moderate-to-heavy smokers but still used them to a substantial degree: 18%, 31% and 44% used over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy in their most recent quit attempt for the three types of smoker, respectively. Even very low rate smokers had a substantial failure rate: 65% failed in their most recent quit attempt within 6 months. Very low rate (fewer than one cigarette per day) and light (one to nine cigarettes per day) smokers in England are at least as motivated to quit as heavier smokers. Although they use cessation medication less than heavier smokers and are more likely to succeed, they still use such medication and fail in quit attempts to a substantial degree.