Parental violence and adolescent mental health

Being the target of parental violent acts decreases child adjustment and increases the likelihood of mental health problems in childhood and adolescence. Our study analyses how different types of parental violence ranging from verbal threats and swearing to hitting and kicking a child, are associated with child adjustment, indicated by strengths and difficulties scale (SDQ) total problem score, internalizing and externalizing problems as well as prosocial behaviour. We also study whether girls and boys and youths in two Nordic countries respond differently to parental violence. The data consists of a large-scale community sample of 15–16-year old Finnish (n = 5,762) and Danish (n = 3,943) adolescents. The representative data of continental Finland and its Finnish and Swedish speaking ninth graders as well as representative data of Danish ninth grade pupils were collected by the Police College of Finland and in Denmark by the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark. The results show a clear dose–response effect between parental violent behaviour and the adolescent’s problems. The more severe forms of parental violence were associated with higher levels of SDQ total difficulties and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. There was also a connection between parental violence and the deterioration of prosocial behaviour. The association was gender and nationality specific. The findings imply a high prevalence of parental violence and adverse mental health among the affected Finnish and Danish adolescents. Though the laws have been set in motion to prevent the use of parental physical violence the challenges remain in several domains of child protection, general health care, prevention and intervention

A Cohort Study on Meniscal Lesions among Airport Baggage Handlers

Meniscal lesions are common and may contribute to the development of knee arthrosis. A few case-control and cross-sectional studies have identified knee-straining work as risk factors for meniscal lesions, but exposure-response relations and the role of specific exposures are uncertain, and previous results may be sensitive to reporting and selection bias. We examined the relation between meniscal lesions and cumulative exposure to heavy lifting in a prospective register-based study with complete follow-up and independent information on exposure and outcome. We established a cohort of unskilled men employed at Copenhagen Airport or in other companies in the metropolitan Copenhagen area from 1990 to 2012 (the Copenhagen Airport Cohort). The cohort at risk included 3,307 airport baggage handlers with heavy lifting and kneeling or squatting work tasks and 63,934 referents with a similar socioeconomic background and less knee-straining work. Baggage handlers lifted suitcases with an average weight of approximately 15 kg, in total approximately five tonnes during a 9-hour workday. The cohort was followed in the National Patient Register and Civil Registration System. The outcome was a first time hospital diagnosis or surgery of a meniscal lesion. Baggage handlers had a higher incidence of meniscal lesions than the referents. Within baggage handlers spline regression showed that the incidence rate ratio was 1.91 (95% confidence interval: 1.29-2.84) after five years as a baggage handler and then decreased slowly to reach unity after approximately 30 years, adjusted for effects of potential confounders. This relation between baggage handling and meniscal lesions was present for work on the apron which involves lifting in a kneeling or squatting position, but not in the baggage hall, which only involves lifting in standing positions. The results support that long-term heavy lifting in a kneeling or squatting position is a risk factor for the development of symptomatic meniscal lesions

The concept and measurement of violence against women and men

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. The extent of violence against women is currently hidden. How should violence be measured? How should research and new ways of thinking about violence improve its measurement? Could improved measurement change policy? The book is a guide to how the measurement of violence can be best achieved. It shows how to make femicide, rape, domestic violence, and FGM visible in official statistics. It offers practical guidance on definitions, indicators and coordination mechanisms. It reflects on theoretical debates on ‘what is gender’, ‘what is violence’, and ‘the concept of coercive control’. and introduces the concept of ‘gender saturated context’. Analysing the socially constructed nature of statistics and the links between knowledge and power, it sets new standards and guidelines to influence the measurement of violence in the coming decades

The concept and measurement of violence against women and men

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. The extent of violence against women is currently hidden. How should violence be measured? How should research and new ways of thinking about violence improve its measurement? Could improved measurement change policy? The book is a guide to how the measurement of violence can be best achieved. It shows how to make femicide, rape, domestic violence, and FGM visible in official statistics. It offers practical guidance on definitions, indicators and coordination mechanisms. It reflects on theoretical debates on ‘what is gender’, ‘what is violence’, and ‘the concept of coercive control’. and introduces the concept of ‘gender saturated context’. Analysing the socially constructed nature of statistics and the links between knowledge and power, it sets new standards and guidelines to influence the measurement of violence in the coming decades