Scottish Health Survey: content review outcomes report

Mental wellbeing

There was strong support for retaining the existing questions in the mental wellbeing module. Adults (aged 16+) are currently asked questions about mental wellbeing (WEMWBS), mental distress (GHQ-12), anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide in the self-completion booklets.

Based on feedback from the SG Mental Health Directorate we have updated the terminology used in the suicide and self-harm questions to replace the term ‘killing yourself’ with ‘taking your own life,’ and replaced the suicide question with more explicit wording, outlined in annex 9. We have also added an option of ‘in the last month’ to the suicide and self-harm timing questions that previously only asked about the last week, last month and ‘some other time’.

The charity BEAT requested we add new questions on eating disorders to the mental wellbeing module – this request is covered separately in the ‘new topics’ section below.

Other questions were also requested to be included in the mental wellbeing module, including use of mental health services, stigma around mental health and coping with stress, however a strong rationale for the need for this data was not provided and due to limitations with space in the survey these are not being pursued at this time.

For the suicide and self-harm module with the updated question wording see annex 9.