Milk, mothers and marriage : family policy formation in Norway and its neighbouring countries in the twentieth century

Aineisto on Opiskelijakirjaston digitoimaa ja Opiskelijakirjasto vastaa aineiston käyttöluvist

Own and parental war experience as a risk factor for mental health problems among adolescents with an immigrant background: results from a cross sectional study in Oslo, Norway

BACKGROUND: An increasing proportion of immigrants to Western countries in the past decade are from war affected countries. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of war experience among adolescents and their parents and to investigate possible differences in internalizing and externalizing mental health problems between adolescents exposed and unexposed to own and parental war experience. METHOD: The study is based on a cross-sectional population-based survey of all 10(th )grade pupils in Oslo for two consecutive years. A total of 1,758 aadolescents were included, all with both parents born outside of Norway. Internalizing and externalizing mental health problems were measured by Hopkins Symptom Checklist-10 and subscales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, respectively. Own and parental war experience is based on adolescent self-report. RESULTS: The proportion of adolescents with own war experience was 14% with the highest prevalence in immigrants from Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. The proportion of parental war experience was 33% with Sub-Saharan Africa being highest. Adolescents reporting own war experience had higher scores for both internalizing and externalizing mental health problems compared to immigrants without war experience, but only externalizing problems reached statistically significant differences. For parental war experience there was a statistically significant relationship between parental war experience and internalizing mental health problems. The association remained significant after adjustment for parental educational level and adolescents' own war experience. CONCLUSION: War exposure is highly prevalent among immigrants living in Oslo, Norway, both among adolescents themselves and their parents. Among immigrants to Norway, parental war experience appears to be stronger associated with mental health problems than adolescents own exposure to war experience

Diagnosis of depression among adolescents – a clinical validation study of key questions and questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of the study is to improve general practitioners' diagnoses of adolescent depression. Major depression is ranked fourth in the worldwide disability impact.</p> <p>Method/Design</p> <p>Validation of 1) three key questions, 2) SCL-dep6, 3) SCL-10, 4) 9 other SCL questions and 5) WHO-5 in a clinical study among adolescents. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) is to be used as the gold standard interview. The project is a GP multicenter study to be conducted in both Norway and Denmark. Inclusion criteria are age (14–16) and fluency in the Norwegian and Danish language. A number of GPs will be recruited from both countries and at least 162 adolescents will be enrolled in the study from the patient lists of the GPs in each country, giving a total of at least 323 adolescent participants.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The proportion of adolescents suffering from depressive disorders also seems to be increasing worldwide. Early interventions are known to reduce this illness. The earlier depression can be identified in adolescents, the greater the advantage. Therefore, we hope to find a suitable questionnaire that could be recommended for GPs.</p

Intellectual disability and mental health problems: a qualitative study of general practitioners' views

Vitenskapelig, fagfellevurdert artikkelObjectives: To investigate general practitioners’ (GPs) experiences in managing patients with intellectual disabilities (ID) and mental and behavioural problems (MBP). Design: Qualitative study using in-depth interviews. Setting: General practice in Hedmark county, Norway. Participants: 10 GPs were qualitatively interviewed about their professional experience regarding patients with ID and MBP. Data were analysed by all authors using systematic text condensation. Results: The participants’ knowledge was primarily experience-based and collaboration with specialists seemed to be individual rather than systemic. The GPs provided divergent attitudes to referral, treatment, collaboration, regular health checks and home visits. Conclusions: GPs are in a position to provide evidence-based and individual treatment for both psychological and somatic problems among patients with ID. However, they do not appear to be making use of evidence-based treatment decisions. The GPs feel that they are left alone in decision-making, and find it difficult to find trustworthy collaborative partners. The findings in this study provide useful information for further research in the field

The course of life of patients with childhood atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis mainly covers the period of infancy to adulthood, an important period in the development of an individual. The impairment of quality of life and the psychological wellbeing of children with atopic dermatitis have been well documented but so far no data exist about the impact of atopic dermatitis in childhood on fulfilling age-specific developmental tasks and achieving developmental milestones during this period, referred to as the course of life. The aims of this study were to: (i) assess the course of life and define the disease-related consequences in young adult patients with childhood atopic dermatitis and (ii) determine whether the severity of atopic dermatitis is predictive for the course of life, the disease-related consequences and quality of life later in life. Adult patients who grew up with atopic dermatitis were asked to complete a medical history questionnaire, the Skindex-29, the "course of life" questionnaire and a subjective disease-specific questionnaire. Patients with severe atopic dermatitis in childhood showed a significant delayed social development in their course of life. The results of the disease-specific questionnaire demonstrated remarkable high percentages of psycho-social consequences and physical discomfort caused by atopic dermatitis in childhood. Patients showed a severely negative impact of atopic dermatitis on their current quality of life. This is the first study that applied the "course of life" questionnaire in atopic dermatitis. More insight in the course of life, disease-specific consequences and quality of life of atopic dermatitis is of high importance, especially in case of severe atopic dermatitis. © 2009 The Authors

Is relatively young age within a school year a risk factor for mental health problems and poor school performance? A population-based cross-sectional study of adolescents in Oslo, Norway

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that children who are relatively young within a school year are at greater risk for poorer school performance compared with their older peers. One study also reported that relative age within a school year is an independent risk factor for emotional and behavioral problems. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that relatively younger adolescents in the multiethnic population of Oslo have poorer school performance and more mental health problems than their relatively older classmates within the same school year. METHODS: This population-based cross-sectional study included all 10(th)-grade pupils enrolled in 2000 and 2001 in the city of Oslo. The participation rate was 88%. Of the 6,752 pupils in the study sample, 25% had a non-Norwegian background. Mental health problems were quantified using the abbreviated versions of Symptom Check List-25 (SCL-10) and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Information on school performances and mental health problems were self-reported. We controlled for confounding factors including parental educational level, social support, gender, and ethnicity. RESULTS: The youngest one-third of pupils had significantly lower average school grades than the middle one-third and oldest one-third of their classmates (p < 0.001). Of the mental health problems identified in the questionnaires, the groups differed only on peer problems; the youngest one-third reported significantly more problems than the middle and oldest groups (p < 0.05). Age within a school year and gender showed significant interactions with total SDQ score, SDQ peer problems score, SDQ pro social score, and SCL-10 score. After stratifying for gender, the peer problem scores differed significantly between age groups only among boys. The SCL-10 score was significant, but only in girls and in the opposite direction to that expected, with the oldest pupils having significantly higher scores than the other two groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In adolescents from a multicultural city in Norway, relative age within a school year significantly influenced academic performance. In contrast to data from Great Britain, relative age within a school year was not an important risk factor for mental health problems in adolescents in Oslo