Avoidance behaviors and negative psychological responses in the general population in the initial stage of the H1N1 pandemic in Hong Kong

Table 1 Background characteristics of the respondents (n = 999).

	%^#
Socio - demographic characteristics
Gender
Male	43.4%
Female	56.6%
Age
<30	25.0%
30 - 39	20.1%
40 - 49	27.1%
50 - 60	27.7%
Education level
Form 3 or below	18.5%
Form 4 - matriculation	46.4%
College or above	35.1%
Marital status
Single	33.5%
Married/cohabited	65.0%
Divorced/widowed	1.5%
Full-time employed
No	44.0%
Yes	56.0%
Being health care workers
No	98.1%
Yes	1.9%

*Basing on end-2008 Census data (Census & Statistics Department HKSAR, 2009), the proportions of male and female of age 18-60 in Hong Kong were respectively 46.02% and 53.98%; the proportions of the 4 age groups in Hong Kong (<30, 30-39, 40-49, and 50-60) were respectively 24.75%, 23.78%, 27.33%, and 24.14%.
^#Less than 0.5% missing cases exist for the listed variables.

ISSN: 1471-2334