Prevalence of Parental Alcohol Problems among a General Population Sample of 28,047 Norwegian Adults: Evidence for a Socioeconomic Gradient

publishedVersio

Risky Lives? Self-Directed Violence and Violence From Others Among Young People Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET)

publishedVersio

A mediational analysis of adverse experiences in childhood and quality of life in adulthood

Objectives: This study examined associations of three prevalent adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) - parents' problematic alcohol use (PPAU), parental separation/divorce, and lack of support from a trusted adult-with adult quality of life (QoL), and potential mediators of associations. Methods: Data were from a representative survey (N = 28,047) in Norway that assessed ACEs, QoL, and potential mediators: enduring perceptions of childhood hardships (Difficult Childhood Questionnaire; DCQ), current mental distress, and current social isolation. Latent regression analyses examined potential mediators. Results: Each ACE was positively associated with perceptions of childhood as difficult (higher DCQ scores). In turn, ACEs were negatively associated with adult QoL through indirect effects. Lack of support from a trusted adult had the strongest negative association with adult QoL, compared to PPAU and parental separation/divorce. The association between the ACEs and QoL was explained through the mediators of mental distress and social isolation. Conclusions: Of the examined ACEs, lack of support from a trusted adult had the strongest negative impact on adult QoL. Adult support to vulnerable children could potentially ameliorate adult consequences of ACEs. In addition, adults reporting difficulties due to childhood adversities may benefit from therapeutic interventions that address both psychological distress and isolation.A mediational analysis of adverse experiences in childhood and quality of life in adulthoodpublishedVersio

The significance of the social and material environment to place attachment and quality of life: findings from a large population-based health survey

Background: There is an international public health interest in sustainable environments that promote human wellbeing. An individual’s bond to places, understood as place attachment (PA), is an important factor for quality of life (QoL). The material environment, such as access to nature (AtN), access to amenities (AtA), or noise, and the social environment, such as social support or loneliness, has the potential to infuence PA. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between these factors and QoL. Methods: The study relied on data from 28,047 adults from 30 municipalities in Southern Norway obtained from the Norwegian Counties Public Health Surveys in 2019. Latent regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the material and social environmental factors and QoL, mediated by PA. Results: We found a relationship between social and material environmental factors and PA. Higher AtN and AtA scores were related to an increase in PA, whereas higher perception of noise problems was related to decreased PA scores. When social environment factors were added to the model, they were even stronger predictors of PA and, in turn, QoL through mediated efects. We also found a strong positive association between PA and QoL (unstandard‑ ized β=0.88, 95% CI=0.87–0.90, p<0.001). The whole model explained 83% of the variance in PA and 65% of the variance in QoL. Conclusions: Taken together, the fndings suggest the relevance of material and social environmental factors for PA and QoL. Therefore, research on public health and QoL should include place-sensitive variables.publishedVersio

Do young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) have more health problems than their peers? A cross-sectional study among Norwegian adolescents

publishedVersio

Associations between parenting and substance use, meal pattern and food choices: A cross-sectional survey of 13,269 Norwegian adolescents

Identifying factors that affect adolescent lifestyle behaviors is essential in order to develop effective generic prevention approaches. This study aimed to investigate the association between parental monitoring, parental emotional support, parental-adolescent conflict and adolescent substance use, meal pattern and food choices. The study included data from 13,269 Norwegian adolescents aged 13–16 years collected in 2016. Multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for gender, age and parental education were applied. Results show that low parental monitoring was associated with increased substance use (Odds ratios (OR) ranging from 2.8; 95% Confidence intervals (CI) 2.1–3.6 to OR 3.8; 95% CI, 2.7–5.3) and irregular meal patterns (1.7; 1.3–2.1 to 2.6; 2.1–3.3), low fish intake (1.3;1.0–1.7), and high intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, diet beverages and energy drinks (1.4;1.1–1.7 to 2.1;1.6–2.8). Low parental emotional support was associated with increased substance use (1.8;1.5–2.1 to 2.5;1.9–3.2), irregular meal patterns (2.0; 1.8–2.3 to 2.1;1.9–2.3), low intake of vegetables, fruits and fish (1.3; 1.1–1.5 to 1.5; 1.3–1.7) and high intake of salty snacks, candy, cakes, sugar-sweetened beverages, diet beverages and energy drinks (1.4; 1.2–1.6 to 2.1;1.7–2.5). Finally, high parent-adolescent conflict was associated with increased substance use (2.3; 2.0–2.7 to 2.7; 2.3–3.1), irregular meal patterns (1.6 ;1.5–1.8 to 1.9;1.7–2.1), low intake of fruits and fish (1.3; 1.1–1.5 to 1.5; 1.3–1.7) and high intake of salty snacks, candy, cakes, sugar-sweetened beverages, diet beverages and energy drinks (1.5; 1.3–1.7 to 2.1; 1.8–2.5). Overall, parenting was associated with a range of lifestyle outcomes among adolescents. Family-strengthening interventions may have an impact on multiple public health domains

Comparison of risk-behaviors among young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) versus high school students. A cross-sectional study

Background: Young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) have been identified as a vulnerable group at risk of poor social functioning, lower educational achievement, limited job opportunities and financial hardship. Being NEET has also been associated with increased risk of mental and physical health problems, but only a few studies have identified the prevalence of certain health-risk behaviors among NEET youth. The present study contributes to fill the existing knowledge gaps by investigating a broad range of risk behaviors in this vulnerable group compared to their high school peers. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 96 NEET youth and 384 age and gender-matched high school students. A self-report questionnaire was used to assess differences in several risk behaviors, including substance use, low consumption of healthy food and high consumption of unhealthy food and beverages, low leisure time physical activity and low sleep duration. Logistic regression models were adjusted for gender, age and parental education. Results: NEET youth had higher odds of using cannabis (OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.1-4.3), smokeless tobacco (1.7;1.0-2.8), smoking cigarettes (2.6;1.5-4.4), having an irregular consumption of breakfast (2.6;1.5-4.5), lunch (3.1;1.8-5.4) and dinner (1.9;1.1-3.2), having low consumption of vegetables (3.0;1.3-6.7), fruit and berries (5.3;1.6-18.1) and fish (3.0;1.8-5.1) and short sleep duration on weekends (2.6;1.4-4.9) than students. On the other hand, being NEET was associated with decreased odds of short sleep duration on weekdays compared to their high school peers (0.3;0.2-0.5). No differences in alcohol intoxication, consumption frequency of evening meals, consumption of unhealthy food items and beverages and leisure time physical activity were shown between these groups. Conclusions: NEET youth have higher odds of using tobacco, short sleep duration on weekends and lower consumption of healthy food items including vegetables, fruit and fish compared to high school students. These results contribute to identify risk behaviors that are more prevalent among NEET youth compared to students and needs to be addressed through targeted intervention studies

Lifestyle habits and depressive symptoms in Norwegian adolescents: a national crosssectional study

publishedVersio

Effects of a brief pre‑admission telephone reminder on no‑show and dropout rates in substance use disorder treatment: a quasi‑experimental study

publishedVersio

Patterns of unhealthy behaviours during adolescence and subsequent anxiety and depression in adulthood: a prospective register linkage study of the HUNT survey and health registries

Background There is increasing need for prospective investigations in the preventing role of health-related behaviours on mental health problems. The aim of this study is to identify patterns of health-related behaviours in adolescence, and the association between the behavioural patterns and the subsequent diagnoses and/or drug treatment for anxiety and/or depression in adulthood. Methods This prospective study consisted of 13–19-year-old participants in the Trøndelag Health Study (Young-HUNT3) in 2006–2008 (n = 2061, 1205 females and 856 males) in Norway, who also participated in HUNT4 (2017–2019). Survey data on health-related behaviours in adolescence, including low level of physical activity, low consumption of wholegrain bread, fish, fruit, vegetables and high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and insomnia were linked on an individual level to prospective information on drug use and diagnosis in national health registries. The different patterns of health-related behaviours were identified through latent class analysis. Subsequent anxiety or depression was defined as at least one recording in either of three registries covering recorded diagnosis in primary and specialist healthcare, or dispensed prescription drugs during 2008–2019. Additionally, self-reported psychological distress measured in young adulthood was applied as a supplemental outcome measure. Results Four patterns of health-related behaviours were identified: high risk behaviours (class 1), moderate to high risk behaviours (class 2), low to moderate risk behaviours (class 3) and low risk behaviours (class 4). Adolescents in class 3 showed higher odds of subsequent diagnoses for anxiety and/or depression in primary and specialist healthcare compared to class 4 participants. In addition, both class 1 and class 4 participants had higher odds for self-reported psychological distress than those class 4 (OR = 1.56 and OR = 1.86, respectively). Conclusions Our findings suggest that health-related behaviours are clustered among Norwegian adolescents. The patterns of unhealthy behaviours during adolescence only partly increased the risk of anxiety and depression in adulthood. Promoting healthy behaviours during adolescence may potentially reduce the burden of mental illness in adulthood, but further research is needed to clarify the nature of the relationships.publishedVersio