Country-Level Investment in Cultural Opportunity Structures. A Potential Source of Health Differences Between 21 European Countries

Abstract Individual’s participation in cultural activities may positively affect healththrough a pathway mediated by social capital. We examine whether country-levelinvestment in cultural opportunity structures was associated with between-country differencesin self-rated health and, if so, whether these associations were mediated bycitizens’ confidence in societal institutions, i.e., by institutional trust, regarded as adimension of social capital. For 24,887 respondents in the European Social Survey, 2006,data on self-rated health, institutional trust (individual-level and country-level), andsociodemographic variables were linked with statistics-based country-level data on 10indicators of cultural opportunity structures and mediator variables (gross domestic product(GDP), Gini index, and welfare state regime). Over and above the sociodemographics, sixcultural indicators contributed to between-country health differences in logistic multilevelregression analysis: the percentage of arts students, the RC index, the percentage of writersand creative artists of total employment, exports of cultural goods, imports of culturalgoods, and the number of feature films produced per capita. Controlling, furthermore, fortrust, and country-level mediators, only imports of cultural goods contributed to betweencountrydifferences in health. No associations with other cultural indicators remained aftercontrolling for GDP or welfare state regime. Institutional trust may partially mediate thesignificance of cultural investments for self-rated health. However, both cultural investmentand trust may be concomitants of general prosperity and welfare policies. Futurestudies should investigate whether the countries’ welfare policies influence the transformationof cultural investment into institutional trust and which types of indicators bestdepict associations between investments and health.</p

Perhetaustaan liittyvät erot perusopetuksen oppilaiden hyvinvoinnissa Seinäjoella

Raportti jatkaa vuonna 2014 Seinäjoella aloitetun lapsiin ja nuoriin kohdistuneen tutkimuksen tulosten julkituomista. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin perusopetuksessa vuosina 2013-2014 toteutetun syrjäytymisen ehkäisemisen teemavuoden aikana. Vaikka ala- ja yläkoululaisten hyvinvointi näytti vuonna 2014 hyvältä sen kaikilla tutkituilla osa-alueilla, jotkut oppilaat kuitenkin kokivat vähäistä kiinnittymistä arkielämän ympäristöihin ja turvattomuutta niissä paikoissa ja ympäristöissä, joissa liikkuivat. Kaikki eivät myöskään tunteneet koulussa kuuluvansa muiden oppilaiden joukkoon tai kokeneet, että heidät hyväksytään aivan omana itsenään. Kiusaamista tapahtuu aina vain huolimatta kaikesta, mitä sen kitkemiseksi on tehty. Katsottiinkin tarpeelliseksi selvittää, onko olemassa kokonaisia oppilasryhmiä, joille oman paikan löytäminen koulussa ja muissa tärkeissä yhteisöissä on vaikeaa joidenkin sellaisten yhteiskunnallisten tekijöiden vuoksi, joihin he eivät itse pysty vaikuttamaan. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli saada selville, minkälaisia perheen sosioekonomisen aseman mukaisia eroja Seinäjoen perusopetukseen osallistuneilla oppilailla oli yleisessä ja kouluyhteisössä koetussa sosiaalisessa hyvinvoinnissa, tulevaisuuden voimavaroissa ja tulevaisuutta koskevissa ajatuksissa vuoden 2014 alussa. Sosioekonomisen aseman osoittimina käytettiin perheen materiaalisen varallisuuden indeksiä, tietoa siitä, olivatko vanhemmat kokeneet työttömyyttä tai olleet pakkolomalla viimeksi kuluneen vuoden aikana, perherakennetta sekä (vain yläkoululaisilla) vanhempien korkeinta koulutusta. Aineisto kerättiin maaliskuussa 2014 osana koulupäivää Internet-pohjaisella Webropol-kyselyllä, johon vastasi 399 neljäsluokkalaista (poikia 47 %, tyttöjä 53 %), 415 seitsemäsluokkalaista (49 %, 51 %) ja 448 kahdeksasluokkalaista (48 %, 52 %). Vastausprosentit laskettuna kunkin vuosiluokan oppilasmääristä olivat neljäsluokkalaisilla 49 % (N=811), seitsemäs- ja kahdeksasluokkalaisilla (yhteenlaskettuna) 64 % (N=1351)

A Chronic Disease in Adolescence and Selection to an Educational Path—A Longitudinal Study

Chronic disease may affect adolescents’ educational success. We study whether adolescents with a somatic chronic condition have lower school performance, lower odds for academic education, and a delayed start of upper-secondary studies. Seventh graders and ninth graders in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region, Finland, were invited to participate in a school survey in 2011 and 2014, respectively. The respondents (2011, N = 8960; 2014, N = 7394) were followed using a national application registry until 2017. The chronic conditions were asthma, diabetes, and epilepsy. Outcomes were grade point average (GPA), study place in an academic school, and delayed start of secondary education. Adolescents with a chronic disease needing medication had lower GPAs in both grades. Chronic disease with medication in the seventh grade predicted higher odds for the non-academic track (OR = 1.3) and the delayed start (OR = 1.4). In the ninth grade, chronic disease predicted non-academic studies univariately (OR = 1.2) and was not associated with the delayed start. The somatic chronic condition with medication, particularly epilepsy, slightly lowers students’ school performance, which is a mediator between the chronic condition and selection into educational paths. Compared to gender and parents’ education, and particularly to GPA, the role of chronic conditions on educational outcomes is small

Psychosocial Reserve Capacity, Family Background and Selection of an Educational Path – A Longitudinal Study From Finland

Finnish students start academic or vocational track in upper secondary education at age 16 years. Track placement is based on grades, but family background and psychosocial resources may have influences. Using 2014 survey data of Grade 9 students in Helsinki Metropolitan area linked to the Joint Application Registry data as of 2017, we fitted two-level, sex-stratified, generalized structural equation models to determine how reserve capacity (academic self-efficacy and social support), family background, and the comprehensive schools predict track placement. Adjusting for the effect of grades, low reserve capacity and disadvantaged family background increased probabilities of vocational track and non-placement of students. Schools also affected track placement, suggesting differences among comprehensive schools in the area. Findings imply that building reserve capacities of adolescents, through enhancing academic self-efficacy and social support, particularly in those with disadvantaged backgrounds, could increase chances of academic track placement in upper secondary school

Social determinants of adolescent smoking over three generations

Aim: We studied how multigenerational socioeconomic circumstances influence adolescents’ smoking. Previous studies have shown that low academic achievement as well as parents’ low socioeconomic circumstances are associated with adolescents’ smoking, but there are few studies on grandparents’ influence on their grandchildren’s smoking. For the chain of three generations, we hypothesised that high socioeconomic circumstances of both parents and grandparents decrease the probability of smoking and adolescents’ own education and circumstances contribute to this association. We further investigated the role of intergenerational social mobility. Method: Survey data from 1979 to 1997 on 12- to 18-year-old Finns (n=54,487) were linked with 1970–2009 registry-based data of their grandparents, parents and themselves. Socioeconomic circumstances among parents and grandparents were measured by socioeconomic status, education and material resources and among adolescents by academic achievement, educational orientation, family structure and parental smoking. Logistic regression analysis was used to study the associations. Results: Associations of adolescent smoking with grandparental socioeconomic circumstances were weak and mediated through parental circumstances. Parental smoking and divorce and living in a non-intact family increased smoking. Adolescents’ low academic achievement and orientation to low education level were the most important predictors of smoking. Upward intergenerational social mobility between fathers and children decreased the risk of smoking, whereas downward mobility increased it. Conclusions: The influence of grandparents’ low socioeconomic circumstances on grandchildren’s smoking is mediated through parents’ socioeconomic circumstances. Low academic achievement in adolescence is a strong predictor of smoking and adolescents orient towards the group of their future education level, not that of their parents.</p