Samoprocjena zdravlja učenika i socioekonomsko okruženje [Pupils’ subjective health and socioeconomic surrounding]

Aim: To examine the inequalities in pupils’ subjective health connected to socioeconomic surrounding and health behaviours. ----- Materials and Methods: The Croatian sample (2,439 male and 1,630 female, age 11, 13 and 15) from international HBSC survey (2006) and Croatian census data (2001) were used. Logistic regression (multivariate) analysis was conducted (95% confidence intervals). ----- Results: Favourable subjective health was connected to: individual SES high/medium compared to low (13-year-old boys, girls all ages), school-class level SES high (15-year-old boys) and medium (15-year-olds, both sexes) compared to low, school-class level SES low compared to medium/high (11-year-old girls, 13-year-old boys), school-class homogeneity (11-year-old and 13-year-old girls) and heterogeneity (15-year-old boys), gymnasiums compared to other school types (both sexes), area level SES low compared to medium and high (girls age 13, both sexes age 15), combined higher SES (individual, school-class and area level) compared to combined low SES (15-year-old girls). Healthy behaviour which mostly contributed to boys' favourable subjective health was non-smoking; rare drunkenness and regular breakfast mostly contributed to girls' favourable subjective health. ----- Conclusion: Influence of independent and combined socioeconomic surroundings on subjective health depended on pupils' gender and age. Differences in socioeconomic surroundings enlarged inequality in pupils' subjective health. Healthy behaviours, contributing to favourable subjective health, had protective role