The factors that contribute educational outcomes of adolescents placed in care due to severe behavioral problems

According to multiple studies, adolescents placed in out-of-home care (OOHC) are less well-educated than their peers in the general population. Reform school (RS) is an institution for youth placed in OOHC due to severe behavioral problems. The educational outcomes of former RS residents are not known. We examined the possible differences in educational level by comparing Finnish national register data for 814 former RS residents in four cohorts (placed in out-of-home care in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006) to 4021 of their peers in the general population matched by gender, age, and place of birth. The educational level differences were analyzed by the chi(2) test of association. Logistic regression models were performed to identify the predictors of having a basic education only. Based on the results, individuals with an RS background have a high risk of low education. Among the RS population, being in the youngest cohort, lack of aftercare provided by RSs, and a diagnosis of substance-related disorders predict lower levels of education. These results call for immediate action. Long-term aftercare programs should be provided for former RS residents. Extending compulsory school attendance to upper secondary study is likely to improve the educational level of the RS population. In addition, effective programs for intervening substance abuse problems should be provided both in RS and aftercare. By these actions, it may be possible to reduce current social exclusion and poor long-term prognosis associated with RS placement.Peer reviewe

Reform school adolescents : psychiatric symptoms and prognosis

Adolescents placed in reform school system are a high risk population for substance use disorders, antisocial lifestyle and severe mental illness. The aim of this thesis is to explore the psychological and psychiatric profile of the reform school adolescents, and compare the results to those of an extensive control group matched by age. In addition, the predictive value of psychological factors for later criminality and later psychiatric illness in a five-year follow-up period is studied. The data were gathered during 2004-2005. Fifty-three (M/F 33/20) adolescents participated in the study. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed by multiple questionnaires and an interview. The participants were also administered an extensive neuropsychological test battery. Background information was gathered from the reform school archives. The outcome measures for the five-year follow-up were obtained from the criminal records and hospital discharge register. The control group for the psychiatric symptoms was the Northern Finland 1986 birth cohort. A control group from a public school in Helsinki provided normative data on the cognitive test measures. According to the results, reform school adolescents suffer from a wide spectrum of psychiatric symptoms, both on internalizing and externalizing spectrum. Boys depression, adolescents social problems and prepsychotic symptoms might not be recognized by the foster parents. Many reform school adolescents have considerable difficulties in emotion processing; especially girls do not recognize depression. The reform school adolescents overall cognitive performance is weaker than in the control group. The most important deficits are found on the verbal domain. During the five-year follow-up, 75 % of reform school boys had a new entry in the criminal registry, and half of the boys had entries due to violent crime. The criminality among the reform school girls was considerably less frequent. For boys, weak verbal performance predicted both any type of criminality, and violent crime. During the five-year follow-up the prevalence of psychoses was higher among the reform school adolescents than in the same-age population. Prepsychotic symptoms did not predict later psychosis, but were associated with later hospital treatment for mood disorder or conduct disorder. The knowledge on specific risk factors facilitates screening and early intervention procedures. According to this study, recognizing psychiatric symptoms, problems in processing emotions and cognitive deficits is important, and it facilitates addressing intervention methods to those most in need.Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitoksen (THL) tutkija, PsM Marko Manninen selvitti väitöstutkimuksessaan koulukotiin sijoitettujen nuorten neuropsykologista ja psykiatrista profiilia ja niiden yhteyttä sekä myöhempään rikollisuuteen että myöhempään psykiatriseen sairastuvuuteen. Tulosten perusteella koulukotiin sijoitetuilla nuorilla esiintyi selvästi muuta väestöä enemmän eri tyyppisiä mielenterveyden ongelmia. Koulukodin työntekijät tunnistivat nuorten oireilua melko hyvin. Ongelmana ovat etenkin poikien masennusoireet, jotka jäävät helposti huomaamatta, jos pojat käyttäytyvät aggressiivisesti. Myös ongelmat sosiaalisissa suhteissa sekä esipsykoottiset oireet jäivät helposti piiloon. Lisäksi monilla nuorilla oli vaikeuksia omien tunteidensa tunnistamisessa: etenkään tytöt eivät tunnistaneet masennusta. Kognitiivinen suoriutuminen oli kokonaisuudessaan heikompaa kuin saman ikäisessä vertailuryhmässä. Ongelmia esiintyi etenkin sanallisen suoriutumisen alueella. Viiden vuoden seuranta-aikana 75 prosenttia pojista sai uuden merkinnän rikosrekisteriin. Erityisen huolestuttavaa on, että puolet pojista syyllistyi väkivaltarikokseen. Jos poikien sanallinen suoriutuminen oli koulukotiaikana heikkoa, tämä ennusti parhaiten sekä väkivalta- että muuta rikollisuutta viisi vuotta myöhemmin. Tyttöjen rikollisuus oli huomattavasti vähäisempää. Tutkimuksen perusteella koulukotiin sijoitettujen nuorten psykiatrisia oireita, tunteiden käsittelyvaikeuksia sekä neuropsykologisia erityisvaikeuksia erityisesti sanallisen suoriutumisen alueella olisi tärkeää tunnistaa riittävän varhaisessa vaiheessa. Ongelmien tunnistaminen mahdollisimman varhaisessa vaiheessa auttaa koulukodissa tarjottavan hoidon suunnittelua

Lifetime psychiatric diagnoses among adolescents with severe conduct problems-A register-based follow-up study

Background: Both delinquency and out-of-home care (OOHC) are associated with a wide spectrum of psychiatric disorders. Reform schools (RS) are Finnish OOHC institutions for adolescents with severe conduct problems. Objective: We investigated the prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses among individuals with a history of RS placement. Participants and setting: The data consisted of individuals placed in a RS on the last day of the years 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 or 2011 (N = 1074) and a matched comparison group (N = 5313). Methods: Information on lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, grouped into eight categories, was collected from the nationwide health care registry. The follow-up time ranged from 17 to 44 years. Results: Among RS population, 59.5 % had some psychiatric diagnosis, which was 12-fold compared to general population peers (hazard ratio HR = 12.4). The most prevalent categories were Conduct disorders and/or ADHD (30.7 %, HR = 41.5), Substance use disorders (29.3 %, HR = 16.8,), Other childhood disorders (8.6 %, HR = 11.9) and Personality disorders (10.9 %, HR = 11.6) followed by Mental retardation (6.4 %, HR = 8.4), Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (9.7 %, HR = 7.9), Affective disorders (17.9 %, HR = 7.3), and Disorders of psychological development (6.1 %, HR = 4.4). All differences were statistically significant (p < .001). Conclusions: RS background associates with an excess of psychiatric disorders, which adds to the burden of other known risk factors for adult age well-being. Effective screening and intervention for psychiatric problems should be available both during the RS placement and after-care.Peer reviewe

Method for constructing an AOD-related atmospheric correction time series for the CLARA-A2 SAL data record

In the Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) project, financially supported by EUMETSAT, the 34-year long (1982-2015) broadband albedo time series CLARA-A2 SAL (the Surface ALbedo from the CM SAF cLoud, Albedo and RAdiation data record, second version) was produced from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) measurements. CLARA-A2 SAL data record uses a Simplified Method for Atmospheric Correction algorithm SMAC for correcting for atmospheric effects. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) is the main input of the algorithm. Because there were no global AOD time series for the whole needed time period (1982-2015), the AOD-related time series were constructed, and the method for calculating it is described in this report

Stepping into Other People's Shoes Proves to be a Difficult Task for High School Students : Assessing Historical Empathy through Simulation Exercise

Peer reviewe

Constructing Narrative Identity and Capabilities of Finnish Reform School Adolescents

Most studies of adolescents placed in foster care due to severe conduct problems have focused on their problems, while adolescents with healthy adulthood condition remain understudied. In Finland, adolescents with severe conduct problems are placed in reform schools (RS). The purpose of this study was to examine how former RS adolescents' narrative identity and capability construction interact in different phases of their life-stories. Semi-structured life-story interviews were conducted with 13 former RS adolescents with healthy adulthood condition. Data were analyzed using a narrative constructivist method. We found a story in which the theoretical elements found from the research material were especially rich and thick and decided to present it as a case example of our findings-Anna's story. The analysis showed that capabilities were closely related to RS adolescents' identity construction and well-being. Strengthened capabilities provided material for identity construction, such as identities of meaning making, agency, redemption, and communion. The findings of the study point out that out-of-home care adolescents' stable and trusting relationships should be supported as they may strengthen capabilities and help develop feelings of meaningfulness, belonging, experienced parity of participation and senses of coherence

Characteristics of new-particle formation at three SMEAR stations

We analyzed the size distributions of atmospheric aerosol particles measured during 2013-2014 at Varrio (SMEAR I) in northern Finland, Hyytiala (SMEAR II) in southern Finland and Jarvselja (SMEAR-Estonia) in Estonia. The stations are located on a transect spanning from north to south over 1000 km and they represent different environments ranging from subarctic to the hemi-boreal. We calculated the characteristics of new-particle-formation events, such as the frequency of events, growth rate of nucleation mode particles, condensation and coagulation sinks, formation rate of 2 nm and 3 nm particles, and source rate of condensable vapors. We observed 59, 185 and 108 new-particle-formation events at Varrio, Hyytiala and Jarvselja, respectively. The frequency of the observed events showed an annual variation with a maximum in spring. The analysis revealed size dependence of growth rate at all locations. We found that the growth rate and source rate of a condensable vapor were the highest in Jarvselja and the lowest in Varrio. The condensation sink and particle formation rate were of a similar magnitude at Hyytiala and Jarvselja, but several times smaller at Varrio. Tracking the origin of air masses revealed that the number concentration of nucleation mode particles (3-25 nm) varied from north to south, with the highest concentrations at Jarvselja and lowest at Varrio. Trajectory analysis indicated that new-particle-formation events are large-scale phenomena that can take place concurrently at distant stations located even 1000 km apart. We found a total of 26 days with new-particle-formation events occurring simultaneously at all three stations.Peer reviewe

Koulutuksen ja työn ulkopuolella olevien nuorten ja nuorten aikuisten mielenterveys- ja päihdehoito : Suosituksia perusterveydenhuollon toimijoille

NEET-tilanteessa olevalla nuorella tarkoitetaan 15 29-vuotiaita koulutuksen ja työn ulkopuolella olevia nuoria ja nuoria aikuisia. Näillä nuorilla on muita nuoria enemmän syrjäytymisen riskitekijöitä ja heille on niukasti palveluja tarjolla. Tämä opas antaa konkreettisia ohjeistuksia ja malliehdotuksia siitä, millaista mielenterveyden hoitoa ja päihdehoitoa NEET-tilanteessa oleville nuorille tarjotaan perusterveydenhuollossa, ehkäisevä työ mukaan lukien. Oppaaseen on koottu sellaisia toimintamalleja ja interventioita, jotka edistävät monialaista yhteistyötä ja ottavat huomioon NEET-tilanteessa olevien nuorten erityistarpeet. Opas on tarkoitettu käytännön työn tueksi. Se soveltuu myös hyvin erityisesti palveluista vastaavien hyvinvointialueiden käyttöön niiden muodostaessa palvelukokonaisuuksia. Samalla opas kiinnittää huomiota NEET-tilanteessa olevien nuorten ja nuorten aikuisten joukkoon ja heidän yleisimpiin terveysongelmiinsa