| Total | Boys | Girls | Test statistic (boys vs. girls) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2002 | 2008 | 2002 | 2008 | 2002 | 2008 | 2002 | 2008 |
 | (N = 10549) | (N = 10097) | (N = 4929) | (N = 4949) | (N = 5620) | (N = 5148) |  |  |
Outcome measure | ||||||||
Demographic variables | ||||||||
Age (M, SD) | 15.98 (1.80) | 16.08 (1.69) | 16.20 (1.79) | 16.25 (1.69) | 15.79 (1.79) | 15.89 (1.66) | t(10017) = 11.67** | t(9836) = 10.89** |
Race (%) |  |  |  |  |  |  | χ2(df = 4, N = 10450) = 5.08 | χ2(df = 4, N = 10050) = 15.42 |
Black | 74.1 | 78.8 | 74.7 | 78.6 | 73.5 | 79.0 | Â | Â |
Coloured | 15.0 | 14.3 | 14.4 | 13.7 | 15.6 | 14.9 | Â | Â |
Indian | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.8 | Â | Â |
White | 8.7 | 5.2 | 8.4 | 6.1 | 8.8 | 4.4 | Â | Â |
Other | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | Â | Â |
Province (%) |  |  |  |  |  |  | χ2(df = 8, N = 10549) = 25.59** | χ2(df = 8, N = 10097) = 21.24* |
North West | 11.3 | 9.4 | 12.5 | 9.4 | 10.2 | 9.5 | Â | Â |
Gauteng | 11.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 12.8 | 11.1 | 11.9 | Â | Â |
Free State | 10.7 | 9.4 | 11.1 | 9.2 | 10.4 | 9.6 | Â | Â |
Limpopo | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.7 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.7 | Â | Â |
Mpumalanga | 11.9 | 11.5 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.7 | 11.3 | Â | Â |
Kwazulu-Natal | 11.2 | 12.3 | 11.0 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 12.3 | Â | Â |
Eastern Cape | 10.8 | 11.2 | 9.9 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 10.7 | Â | Â |
Northern Cape | 10.0 | 12.5 | 9.8 | 13.0 | 10.3 | 12.1 | Â | Â |
Western Cape | 13.5 | 11.8 | 13.0 | 10.5 | 14.0 | 13.0 | Â | Â |
School level (%) |  |  |  |  |  |  | χ2(df = 3, N = 10549) = 24.87** | χ2(df = 3, N = 10097) = 5.35 |
Grade 8 | 27.2 | 23.5 | 28.0 | 24.1 | 26.5 | 23.0 | Â | Â |
Grade 9 | 34.0 | 24.0 | 34.5 | 23.2 | 33.5 | 24.7 | Â | Â |
Grade 10 | 22.5 | 29.0 | 23.1 | 29.6 | 22.1 | 28.4 | Â | Â |
Grade 11 | 16.3 | 23.5 | 14.4 | 23.1 | 17.9 | 23.9 | Â | Â |
School performance (M, SD) | 4.10 (1.36) | 4.00 (1.40) | 4.11 (1.35) | 3.93 (1.40) | 4.09 (1.36) | 4.04 (1.40) | t(8875) = 0.37 | t(8875) = −3.44** |
Employment parents (%) |  |  |  |  |  |  | χ2(df = 2 N = 10392) = 1.23 | χ2(df = 2 N = 9901) = 20.93** |
-Father | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
 Unemployed | 50.8 | 52.4 | 50.3 | 50.4 | 51.4 | 54.5 |  |  |
 Parttime | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.6 | 9.2 | 8.5 | 7.4 |  |  |
 Fulltime | 40.6 | 39.3 | 41.1 | 40.5 | 40.2 | 38.1 |  |  |
-Mother |  |  |  |  |  |  | χ2(df = 2 N = 10420) = 10.32* | χ2(df = 2 N = 9962) = 4.65 |
 Unemployed | 11.8 | 12.4 | 12.6 | 12.7 | 11.1 | 12.1 |  |  |
 Parttime | 31.2 | 31.6 | 29.8 | 32.4 | 32.4 | 30.8 |  |  |
 Fulltime | 57.0 | 56.0 | 57.6 | 54.9 | 56.6 | 57.1 |  |  |
Suicide | ||||||||
Suicide ideation (M, SD) Nationwide | .18 (.34) | .19 (.34) | .16 (.32) | .17 (.33) | .20 (.36) | .21 (.35) | t(10454) = 5.99** | t(10016) = 5.14** |
North West | .15 (.32) | .17 (.33) | .13 (.29) | .16 (.33) | .17 (.34) | .18 (.33) | t(1175) = 2.54* | t(943) = 0.67 |
Gauteng | .20 (.35) | .19 (.33) | .16 (.31) | .17 (.31) | .23 (.37) | .20 (.35) | t(1149) = 3.32** | t(1245) = 1.64 |
Free State | .20 (.35) | .18 (.34) | .18 (.33) | .13 (.30) | .22 (.37) | .22 (.37) | t(1123) = 2.01 | t(934) = 3.92** |
Limpopo | .18 (.33) | .19 (.34) | .18 (.33) | .17 (.32) | .19 (.33) | .21 (.36) | t(995) = 0.08 | t(953) = 1.92 |
Mpumalanga | .21 (.34) | .21 (.35) | .18 (.33) | .21 (.35) | .23 (.36) | .22 (.35) | t(1245) = 2.61* | t(1153) = 0.50 |
Kwazulu-Natal | .18 (.34) | .18 (.33) | .17 (.34) | .18 (.33) | .19 (.35) | .18 (.33) | t(1166) = 0.65 | t(1230) = 0.12 |
Eastern Cape | .15 (.32) | .19 (.34) | .17 (.33) | .17 (.32) | .14 (.31) | .21 (.36) | t(1126) = 1.58 | t(1112) = 1.85 |
Northern Cape | .19 (.35) | .21 (.37) | .15 (.32) | .20 (.34) | .22 (.37) | .20 (.34) | t(1048) = 2.98* | t(1253) = 0.26 |
Western Cape | .18 (.34) | .21 (.37) | .13 (.30) | .16 (.32) | .22 (.37) | .25 (.39) | t(1411) = 4.70** | t(1177) = 4.50** |
Suicide attempt (%) | ||||||||
Nationwide | 18.5 | 21.8 | 17.3 | 20.8 | 19.5 | 22.7 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10498) = 8.37* | χ2(df = 1, N = 10028) = 5.54 |
North West | 18.3 | 21.0 | 17.5 | 21.5 | 19.2 | 20.6 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1182) = 0.57 | χ2(df = 1, N = 947) = 0.11 |
Gauteng | 16.5 | 21.5 | 13.8 | 20.9 | 18.8 | 22.1 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1159) = 5.30* | χ2(df = 1, N = 1244) = 0.28 |
Free State | 20.8 | 18.5 | 20.5 | 15.8 | 21.2 | 21.1 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1128) = 0.08 | χ2(df = 1, N = 944) = 4.34 |
Limpopo | 20.3 | 21.7 | 19.7 | 20.7 | 20.9 | 22.6 | χ2(df = 1, N = 999) = 0.24 | χ2(df = 1, N = 953) = 0.50 |
Mpumalanga | 22.9 | 24.4 | 20.4 | 22.5 | 25.1 | 26.3 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1251) = 3.93 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1156) = 2.28 |
Kwazulu-Natal | 16.5 | 22.5 | 14.9 | 23.7 | 17.9 | 21.3 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1180) = 1.89 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1231) = 1.00 |
Eastern Cape | 15.0 | 22.9 | 16.0 | 22.5 | 14.2 | 23.4 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1123) = 0.70 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1112) = 0.15 |
Northern Cape | 18.2 | 21.5 | 16.8 | 20.0 | 19.3 | 23.0 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1057) = 1.10 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1256) = 1.66 |
Western Cape | 17.8 | 21.4 | 16.0 | 18.4 | 19.2 | 23.6 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1419) = 2.41 | χ2(df = 1, N = 1185) = 4.70 |
Suicide hospitalization (%) | ||||||||
Nationwide | 19.9 | 20.0 | 21.3 | 20.6 | 18.6 | 19.4 | χ2(df = 1, N = 5511) = 6.38* | χ2(df = 1, N = 5069) = 1.12 |
North West | 18.4 | 23.9 | 17.2 | 23.3 | 19.8 | 24.6 | χ2(df = 1, N = 625) = 0.72 | χ2(df = 1, N = 435) = 1.00 |
Gauteng | 17.1 | 19.5 | 18.7 | 21.4 | 15.9 | 17.6 | χ2(df = 1, N = 630) = 0.91 | χ2(df = 1, N = 564) = 1.09 |
Free State | 18.3 | 15.6 | 18.2 | 11.6 | 18.4 | 19.1 | χ2(df = 1, N = 585) = 0.03 | χ2(df = 1, N = 495) = 5.28 |
Limpopo | 27.7 | 22.4 | 28.1 | 20.0 | 27.3 | 24.9 | χ2(df = 1, N = 520) = 0.04 | χ2(df = 1, N = 460) = 1.58 |
Mpumalanga | 24.9 | 24.7 | 24.8 | 23.2 | 25.1 | 26.4 | χ2(df = 1, N = 694) = 0.01 | χ2(df = 1, N = 611) = 0.83 |
Kwazulu-Natal | 21.1 | 21.1 | 21.5 | 26.3 | 20.8 | 15.4 | χ2(df = 1, N = 516) = 0.04 | χ2(df = 1, N = 626) = 11.18** |
Eastern Cape | 21.4 | 17.8 | 25.0 | 20.2 | 18.3 | 15.1 | χ2(df = 1, N = 495) = 3.33 | χ2(df = 1, N = 641) = 2.78 |
Northern Cape | 17.2 | 18.8 | 19.0 | 19.7 | 15.7 | 17.8 | χ2(df = 1, N = 598) = 1.09 | χ2(df = 1, N = 605) = 0.33 |
Western Cape | 15.7 | 20.0 | 21.2 | 18.1 | 11.0 | 17.2 | χ2(df = 1, N = 848) = 16.61** | χ2(df = 1, N = 632) = 0.08 |
Psychological measures | ||||||||
Feeling hopeless (%) | 32.5 | 32.5 | 31.6 | 32.6 | 33.4 | 32.4 | χ2(df = 1, N = 8009) = 3.07 | χ2(df = 1, N = 7447) = 0.03 |
Body dissatisfaction (M, SD) | 2.80 (0.90) | 2.71 (0.95) | 2.65 (0.87) | 2.57 (0.94) | 2.93 (0.91) | 2.85 (0.93) | t(8310) = 14.02** | t(7650) = 13.16** |
Feeling unsafe (%) | 36.1 | 34.5 | 36.9 | 32.9 | 35.4 | 33.7 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10521) = 2.77 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10073) = 2.92 |
Health risk behaviours | ||||||||
Violence (%) | ||||||||
Carry a weapon | 21.3 | 17.8 | 33.1 | 26.5 | 11.0 | 9.5 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10513) = 761.81** | χ2(df = 1, N = 10080) = 499.34** |
Involvement physical fight | 39.0 | 37.3 | 47.3 | 45.6 | 31.8 | 29.4 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10522) = 263.69** | χ2(df = 1, N = 10073) = 282.76** |
Violent behaviour victim | 55.6 | 53.6 | 56.1 | 55.4 | 55.2 | 51.9 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10538) = 0.81 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10086) = 12.54*** |
Violent behaviour actor | 30.6 | 35.1 | 37.0 | 41.7 | 25.0 | 28,8 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10521) = 177.46** | χ2(df = 1, N = 10082) = 183.62** |
Substance use (%) | ||||||||
Smoking | 25.0 | 21.9 | 31.8 | 27.7 | 19.2 | 16.4 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10398) = 219.02** | χ2(df = 1, N = 10009) = 188.04** |
Alcohol | 37.1 | 41.0 | 43.5 | 47.5 | 31.4 | 34.7 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10541) = 163.07** | χ2(df = 1, N = 10047) = 170.62** |
Marijuana | 10.0 | 9.8 | 14.9 | 13.7 | 5.8 | 6.0 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10471) = 242.30** | χ2(df = 1, N = 9966) = 166.72** |
Illegal drugs | 22.4 | 20.2 | 26.4 | 25.2 | 18.9 | 15.2 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10460) = 85.13** | χ2(df = 1, N = 9540) = 146.83** |
Unsafe sex (%) | 64.0 | 55.1 | 64.3 | 57.0 | 63.5 | 52.4 | χ2(df = 1, N = 4217) = .29 | χ2(df = 1, N = 3813) = 7.962** |
Unhealthy eating (M, SD) | 3.22 (1.24) | 3.22 (1.26) | 3.20 (1.28) | 3.23 (1.29) | 3.24 (1.21) | 3.21 (1.24) | t(10291) = 1.56 | t(9618) = 0.59 |
Exercise (M, SD) | 2.95 (2.20) | 2.78 (2.21) | 3.30 (2.22) | 3.07 (2.25) | 2.64 (2.13) | 2.50 (2.12) | t(10477) = 15.47** | t(9918) = 12.85** |
Unsafe driving | ||||||||
Seatbelt use (M, SD) | 2.44 (1.34) | 2.75 (1.47) | 2.46 (1.31) | 2.84 (1.42) | 2.42 (1.37) | 2.66 (1.51) | t(10513) = 1.46 | t(10513) = 1.46 |
Drunk driving (%) | 38.0 | 41.9 | 43.2 | 46.8 | 33.4 | 37.3 | χ2(df = 1, N = 10495) = 107.04** | χ2(df = 1, N = 10084) = 93.62** |