Comparison of study respondents with 1996 Australian population census data and with the 1995 National Health Survey sample
| Variable | % Study (n=1784) | % Census (18–59 years) | p Value* (census) | % NHS data (18–59 years) | p Value* (NHS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *From χ2 goodness of fit test. †The “defacto” category was not an option in the census, therefore a statistical comparison cannot be made on this variable. ‡Postcodes of 1.5% of respondents did not have a SEIFA score. §ARIA not available from NHS, as postcode was not provided. | |||||
| Age | |||||
| 18–29 | 28.7 | 30.7 | 30.3 | ||
| 30–39 | 27.4 | 27.1 | 28.0 | ||
| 40–49 | 25.7 | 24.9 | 25.0 | ||
| 50–59 | 18.3 | 17.3 | 0.287 | 16.6 | 0.207 |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 49.1 | 49.9 | 49.0 | ||
| Female | 50.9 | 50.1 | 0.501 | 51.0 | 0.931 |
| Marital status | |||||
| Married | 55.9 | 55.4 | 58.8 | ||
| Defacto | 11.5 | † | 6.8 | ||
| Separated | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.2 | ||
| Divorced | 2.1 | 7.1 | 4.8 | ||
| Widowed | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.1 | ||
| Never married | 26.0 | 32.4 | † | 25.3 | <0.001 |
| Country of birth: | |||||
| Australia | 84.0 | 70.7 | 73.7 | ||
| Other | 16.0 | 29.3 | <0.001 | 26.3 | <0.001 |
| Age first left school | |||||
| Never went | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 | ||
| Under 15 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 9.3 | ||
| 15–17 | 72.5 | 69.3 | 70.7 | ||
| 18 or more | 20.8 | 21.7 | 0.002 | 19.7 | <0.001 |
| Currently studying | |||||
| No | 81.8 | 87.9 | 86.9 | ||
| Full time | 6.5 | 6.2 | 5.2 | ||
| Part time | 11.7 | 5.9 | <0.001 | 7.8 | <0.001 |
| Employment status | |||||
| Currently employed | 81.4 | 68.8 | <0.001 | 75.6 | <0.001 |
| Quintiles of socioeconomic disadvantage (SEIFA)‡ | |||||
| First (lowest) | 11.1 | 20.0 | 17.5 | ||
| Second | 28.0 | 20.0 | 19.3 | ||
| Third | 23.6 | 20.0 | 17.7 | ||
| Fourth | 19.6 | 20.0 | 21.8 | ||
| Fifth (highest) | 17.7 | 20.0 | <0.001 | 23.6 | <0.001 |
| Geographical remoteness (ARIA) | |||||
| Highly accessible | 80.9 | 80.8 | § | ||
| Accessible | 12.3 | 12.1 | |||
| Moderately accessible | 4.7 | 4.3 | |||
| Remote/very remote | 2.1 | 2.9 | 0.146 | ||