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Table 1 Demographic and pre-pubertal indicators by sample type and sex

From: Early pubertal onset and its relationship with sexual risk taking, substance use and anti-social behaviour: a preliminary cross-sectional study

  

Female

Male

  

n

Online

Paper

P

n

Online

Paper

P

Age at

16-24 years

840

42.0

85.6

***

506

48.6

91.9

***

Survey

≥ 25 years

560

58.0

14.4

 

183

51.4

8.1

 

Ethnicity

white

1339

96.6

94.8

0.100

650

93.5

95.4

0.271

 

other

58

3.4

5.2

 

37

6.5

4.6

 

Sexuality

heterosexual

1276

91.7

95.5

**

570

70.6

92.1

***

 

Lesbian/bisexual

93

8.3

4.5

 

117

29.4

7.9

 

Number of childhood

≤ 1

949

61.6

76.6

***

505

64.6

79.7

***

illnesses§

≥ 2

451

38.4

23.4

 

184

35.4

20.3

 

Overweight§

no

1197

85.7

85.4

0.872

617

91.8

88.3

0.129

 

yes

201

14.3

14.6

 

70

8.2

11.7

 

Father at

no

297

20.0

21.7

0.455

143

19.1

23.6

0.162

home§

yes

1070

80.0

78.3

 

517

80.9

76.4

 

Days off

≤ 10

1122

82.4

80.1

0.284

546

81.4

80.3

0.699

school per year§

≥ 11

256

17.6

19.9

 

130

18.6

19.7

 

In poorest socio-

no

916

64.0

78.0

***

482

68.7

78.3

**

economic grouping$§

yes

399

36.0

22.0

 

167

31.3

21.7

 
  1. $ Socio-economic grouping is based on highest ranking parents. Lowest grouping includes those whose parents' occupation was semi-routine and routine and those who never worked or were long-term unemployed (see methods for more details). §Questions refer to childhood before menarche/puberty (see methods for more details). **<0.01, ***<0.001.
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BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

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