Adversity

Participants in the BrainWaves Cohort study were asked “Has an adult hit, beaten, kicked or physically tried to hurt you in any way?”

The graphs show the distribution of responses to this question about physical abuse, and split by sex, on the first occasion that they completed the BrainWaves Cohort Study questionnaire.

21.9% of the responders to the BrainWaves survey stated that they have been physically assaulted by an adult, and this was higher for female respondents (23.1%) than for male respondents (20.1%).

The BrainWaves Cohort Study has collected responses from over 24,000 people aged 16-18 in schools across the UK, over three time points in 2024 and 2025.