Six out of 10 teenagers who will be able to vote in the referendum do not think Scotland should be an independent country, according to a survey.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh questioned 1,018 people aged 14-17 for what is said to be the first representative survey of youngsters' attitudes in that age bracket.

When they were asked: "Should Scotland be an independent country?", 60% - described by those behind the study as a "substantial majority" - said no.

Almost 21% indicated they would say yes to independence, while nearly 19% said they were undecided.

When the "undecided" votes were excluded, and only the votes of those happy to make a decision at this point were considered, almost 26% said Scotland should be an independent country.

Of all the young people questioned, 67% said they would like more information before they make a final decision. The vast majority, 88%, of those who are currently undecided said they want more information.

Experts behind the study said its findings were highly relevant because the voting age will almost certainly be lowered to 16 for the referendum. This means that someone currently aged 14 and a half would be eligible to vote.

The one-off chance to help settle the constitutional future of Scotland and the UK next year is being extended to 16 and 17-year-olds through legislation at the Scottish Parliament.

According to other survey findings, the teenagers were found to be "very interested" in participating in the referendum, with only 13% stating that they are unlikely to take part. Some 94% said they were aware that a referendum on Scottish independence will be held next year and talk to others about it.

A large group of young people, 59%, said they were interested in politics generally, with only 7.8% saying they are not interested in it at all.

Those who conducted the research said it was "noteworthy" that when asked which political party they feel closest to, almost 59% of those quizzed said "none".

There was also found to be a substantial association between teenagers' voting intentions and those of their parents, with about 57% of children chose the same category as their parents.

National identity matters to some extent, according to the study. Those who identify solely as Scottish, excluding those who are undecided, have a greater likelihood of intending to vote yes, at 67.5%.

Among those who felt more British than Scottish, 96% would vote no. The more British a person identifies the less likely they are to vote in favour of independence.

Campaigners in favour of keeping the Union seized on the findings.

Scottish Labour's Patricia Ferguson MSP said: "This survey will be a huge blow to (Deputy First Minister) Nicola Sturgeon. Despite more than six months in charge of the campaign to break up Britain, she has failed to move the opinion polls and our young people remain deeply unconvinced by her assertions and bluster.

"It is refreshing to see young people showing the confidence to say no, despite the assumptions made about them."

A Scotland Office spokesman said: "This poll shows that younger people in Scotland are thinking through the issues and taking the positive view that Scotland should stick with the UK family.

"But the UK government will take nothing for granted. We are also providing a wide range of objective and fact-based evidence to inform decisions on the referendum and will continue to do so. It is up to the Scottish Government to match the quality and scale of our analysis by answering some of the many questions it has yet to answer."

And 17-year-old Michaella Drummond, a youth representative with Better Together, said: " I know that the overwhelming majority of my friends and the majority of people my age that I speak to simply cannot see the sense in Scotland going it alone."

But the Scottish Government said many still have open minds on the issue.

A spokesman said: "It is clear from this survey that a high proportion of the young people who took part have an open mind about how they are going to vote in the referendum - with two thirds keen to get more information about independence before they finally decide how they will vote.

"That is why the Scottish Government is publishing a series of papers and proposals showing how independence will give new opportunities to Scotland and its people. These will lead to a white paper this autumn that will set out in full the Government's case for independence.

"We also welcome that young Scots are clearly keen to engage in shaping Scotland's future by voting in the referendum. We believe 16 and 17 year olds should be able to vote in all elections - and we have introduced the legislation that will allow that to happen in the historic 2014 independence referendum."