Emotional problems in preadolescents in Norway: the role of gender, ethnic minority status, and home- and school-related hassles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>"The gender gap" refers to a lifelong higher rate of emotional problems in girls, as compared to boys, that appears during adolescence. The gender gap is a well-replicated finding among older adolescents and is assumed to be a cross-cultural phenomenon. However, these cross-cultural studies have not investigated the gender gap in ethnic minorities but sampled ethnic majority adolescents in different countries. Some studies that investigated the gender gap across ethnic groups indirectly (by presenting emotional problem scores stratified by gender and ethnic group) indicate that the gender gap is less prominent or even absent among minorities. The aims of this study were to assess whether the gender gap is found in both majority and minority preadolescents, and to investigate whether a possible (gender and ethnic) group difference can be accounted for by differences in home or school hassles.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were 902 preadolescent students (aged 10 to 12) from two cities in Norway. We collected self-report measures of emotional problems and home and school hassles. Using mediated moderation analysis we tested whether the interaction effect between gender and ethnic minority background on emotional problems was mediated by home or school hassles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The gender gap in emotional problems was restricted to ethnic majority preadolescents. School hassles but not home hassles accounted in part for this effect.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The absence of the gender gap among minority as opposed to majority preadolescents may indicate that social circumstances may postpone or hamper the emergence and magnitude of the gender gap in ethnic minority preadolescents. In this study, school hassles partly accounted for the combined gender and ethnic group differences on emotional problems. This indicates that school hassles may play a role in the higher levels of emotional problems in preadolescent minority boys and consequently the absence of a gender gap found in our minority sample.</p

Migrant children within Europe: a systematic review of children’s perspectives on their health experiences

Objectives: To review the extant literature in order to explore what is known about children’s own perspectives on the ir health experiences , focusing upon children and young people who have migrated into, and within, Europe. Study Design: A systematic review with narrative synthesis. Methods: A review of English language articles was performed in June 2016 using the following databases: Medline, CINAHL, Coc hrane and Web of Science. Included papers had to report data generated directly with children, up to 18 years of age, who had migrated across national borders into, or within, Europe during their own lifetimes. Extraction from articles was undertaken by a ll authors and quality assessment of included reviews was performed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool ( MMAT ) . Results: The articles in the final dataset included research based on 4 broad areas: alcohol, smoking and substance use; diet, eating disorde rs and overweight; emotional, psychological and mental health issues and; children’s views and experiences of health and health services. The majority of studies were cross - sectional analytic or incidence or prevalence studies. Conclusion: There is a gene ral lack of clarity in the literature regarding the reporting of children’s own migration status. Children’s voices are often subsumed within those of their adult parents or carers. There is a need to promote more child - focussed research which gives voice to migrant children to better understand the complex and multidimensional factors that contribute to their (ill) health

Upper Secondary Teachers’ Experiences Promoting Belonging and Engagement in Culturally Diverse Classrooms

Formålet med studien var å undersøke hvilke erfaringer lærere hadde med å fremme tilhørighet og engasjement i flerkulturelle klasser i videregående skole. Lærerne som deltok i denne studien, var fra to videregående skoler og hadde lang erfaring fra fler­kulturelle klasser. De deltok i fokusgruppeintervju for å diskutere sine erfaringer. Tema som ble tatt opp i intervjuene var relasjoner i klassen, akademisk og sosial læring, diskriminering og mobbing, akademiske ressurser og forventninger, tilpasning og støtte i læringsaktiviteter. Intervjudata ble transkribert, analysert og diskutert ved bruk av tematisk analyse. Funnene viste at lærerne mente at 1) lærer-elev relasjoner, 2) aksept for mangfold og elev-elev relasjoner, og 3) deltakelse i læringsaktiviteter var viktige aspekt for elevenes opplevelse av tilhørighet og engasjement. Funnene indikerer videre at det er vanskelig å etablere kryss-kulturelle vennskap. For å løse dette trenger lærere strategier for å utvikle kryss-kulturelle vennskap mellom elever. Videre implikasjoner av funnene tilsier at lærere har behov for å vite hvordan og når de skal intervenere i situasjoner hvor det oppstår ekskludering eller segregering. For å forebygge eksklu­dering og segregering er det nødvendig med mer kunnskap om hvordan fremme til­hørighet og engasjement blant elever i flerkulturelle klasser.publishedVersio

Læreres erfaringer med å fremme tilhørighet og engasjement i flerkulturelle klasser i videregående skole

Formålet med studien var å undersøke hvilke erfaringer lærere hadde med å fremme tilhørighet og engasjement i flerkulturelle klasser i videregående skole. Lærerne som deltok i denne studien, var fra to videregående skoler og hadde lang erfaring fra fler­kulturelle klasser. De deltok i fokusgruppeintervju for å diskutere sine erfaringer. Tema som ble tatt opp i intervjuene var relasjoner i klassen, akademisk og sosial læring, diskriminering og mobbing, akademiske ressurser og forventninger, tilpasning og støtte i læringsaktiviteter. Intervjudata ble transkribert, analysert og diskutert ved bruk av tematisk analyse. Funnene viste at lærerne mente at 1) lærer-elev relasjoner, 2) aksept for mangfold og elev-elev relasjoner, og 3) deltakelse i læringsaktiviteter var viktige aspekt for elevenes opplevelse av tilhørighet og engasjement. Funnene indikerer videre at det er vanskelig å etablere kryss-kulturelle vennskap. For å løse dette trenger lærere strategier for å utvikle kryss-kulturelle vennskap mellom elever. Videre implikasjoner av funnene tilsier at lærere har behov for å vite hvordan og når de skal intervenere i situasjoner hvor det oppstår ekskludering eller segregering. For å forebygge eksklu­dering og segregering er det nødvendig med mer kunnskap om hvordan fremme til­hørighet og engasjement blant elever i flerkulturelle klasser

Two Dimensions of Moral Cognition as Correlates of Different Forms of Participation in Bullying

The present study investigated the extent to which moral disengagement and the tendency to consider moral rules as socio-conventional rules are distinct dimensions of morality, and their association with three different forms of participation in bullying (perpetrating bullying, defending the victim and passive bystander behavior). These two types of moral cognitions have been theorized in different models of morality and are usually studied independently, even if research on moral shifts (the interpretation of a moral rule transgression as a socio-conventional rule transgression) suggests some possible overlaps. A group of 276 Italian students from primary and middle school (aged 8–15) completed self-reports assessing moral disengagement, socio-conventional perception of moral rules, and participation in bullying as bully, defender of the victim and passive bystander. Results from structural equation modeling analysis confirmed that moral disengagement and socio-conventional comprehension of aggressions are separate and moderately connected morality dimensions. Controlling for age, gender and SES, only moral disengagement was positively associated with perpetrating bullying. These results point to moral disengagement as the critical component of moral cognitions to be addressed in interventions

Of Reductionism and the Pendulum Swing: Connecting Toxicology and Human Health

In this contribution we will show that research in the field of toxicology, pharmacology and physiology is by and large characterised by a pendulum swing of which the amplitudes represent risks and benefits of exposure. As toxicology usually tests at higher levels than the populace routinely is exposed to, it reverts to mostly linear extrapolative models that express the risks of exposure, irrespective of dosages, only. However, as we will explicate in two examples, depending on dosages, it is less easy to separate risks and benefits than current toxicological research and regulatory efforts suggest. The same chemical compound, in the final analysis, is represented within the boundaries of both amplitudes, that is, show a biphasic, hormetic, dose-response. This is notable, as low-level exposures from the food-matrix are progressively more under scrutiny as a result of increasing analytical capabilities. Presence of low-level concentrations of a chemical in food is a regulatory proxy for human health, but in light of this hormetic dose-response objectionable. Moreover, given that an ecological threshold probably holds for most, if not all, man-made (bio)organic chemicals, these will be found to be naturally present in the food matrix. Both aspects require toxicology to close the gap between reductionist models and its extrapolative deficiencies and real-life scenarios