Euroscepticism in Scotland is at a record high, according to research that challenges claims that the country is significantly more pro-European than the rest of the UK.

The authoritative study for NatCen Social Research uncovers widespread Euroscepticism throughout the UK, but with a majority unlikely to vote to leave the EU unless they are persuaded of the economic case for Brexit.

In an apparent contradiction of SNP claims that the forthcoming referendum could take Scotland out of the EU against its will, the study also found that 60% of Scots can be classed as Eurosceptic, with only one-fifth happy to “leave things as they are”.

According to the research, based on the annual Scottish Social Attitudes survey carried out between July 2015 and January this year, 43% of respondents want the EU’s powers reduced and 17% want to leave, more than at any time since 1999. This compares with 43% favouring reduced powers and 22% wanting to leave the UK as a whole.

Prof John Curtice, of the University of Strathclyde, who authored the report, said the mood in favour of a looser relationship with Brussels was pervasive across the UK. He said: “This kind of scepticism is even quite common in Scotland, where both previous survey research and more recent opinion polls have suggested that those living north of the border hold a rather more favourable view of the EU.

“It shows that 60% of people in Scotland can also be classified as Eurosceptic, just five points below the figure for Britain as a whole and higher than recorded by any previous Scottish Social Attitudes survey. It appears that the mood for a looser relationship with the EU is pervasive throughout Britain.”