A dichotomy dismantled : reflections on National Identity among supporters of third force political parties in Taiwan

This thesis explores Taiwanese national identity among supporters of so-called “Third Force” political parties that have emerged as an alternative to Taiwan’s two “old” parties, the KMT and the DPP. The Third Force parties are taken as a manifestation of a stronger Taiwanese identity in a society long characterised by competing Taiwanese and Chinese identities. Taiwanese identity has strengthened in surveys simultaneously with Taiwan’s deepening economic and political integration with China in 2008–2016, and the establishment of the Third Force parties can be seen as a counter-reaction to increasing Chinese influence over Taiwan. This thesis analyses these developments by examining how supporters of Third Force parties define and understand their Taiwanese identity and how this identity relates to Taiwan’s history and the recent socio-political developments, particularly the deepening integration with China. Based on a theoretical background of social constructionism and interdependence in international relations, this thesis uses secondary research to explore the history and contemporary developments of Taiwanese identity and primary research through qualitative semi-structured interviews with Third Force supporters, complemented by an interview with a Third Force politician. The national identity of the interviewees is examined through qualitative content analysis. Additionally, the study includes the author’s personal field observations from Taiwan in 2016–17. The results indicate that Third Force supporters construct their identity through democratic civic values. Thus, their rejection of Chinese identity arises from the lack of similar values in China. This sense of identity has evolved dynamically through societal functions such as education and life experiences within the context of contested official and popular nationalisms. Owing to this identity, the Third Force supporters wish that Taiwan could become a “normal” country whose existence is not defined in relation to China. A similarly broader focus is desired in domestic politics to break the old dichotomy of the KMT and the DPP. Through comparisons with earlier research, this study proposes a model of national identity among Third Force supporters. It depicts a civic community that governs a multitude of ethnicities, political actors, and international networks grounded in shared civic values. Adherents to this model reject ethno-nationalism and the dichotomous struggle between Taiwanese and Chinese identities by asserting an inclusive and flexible yet overtly Taiwanese civic identity. Further research should be conducted to establish the validity of this model and its relation to Taiwanese society in general

Socioeconomic differences in psychiatric treatment before and after self-harm : an observational study of 4,280 adolescents and young adults

Background: Individuals in higher socioeconomic positions tend to utilise more mental health care, especially specialist services, than those in lower positions. Whether these disparities in treatment exist among adolescents and young adults who self-harm is currently unknown. Methods: The study is based on Finnish administrative register data on all individuals born 1986–1994. Adolescents and young adults with an episode of self-harm treated in specialised healthcare at ages 16–21 in 2002–2015 (n=4280, 64% female) were identified and followed 2 years before and after the episode. Probabilities of specialised psychiatric inpatient admissions and outpatient visits and purchases of psychotropic medication at different time points relative to self-harm were estimated using generalised estimation equations, multinomial models and cumulative averages. Socioeconomic differences were assessed based on parental education, controlling for income. Results: An educational gradient in specialised treatment and prescription medication was observed, with the highest probabilities of treatment among the adolescents and young adults with the highest educated parents and low- est probabilities among those whose parents had basic education. These differences emerged mostly after self-harm. The probability to not receive any treatment, either in specialised healthcare or psychotropic medication, was highest among youth whose parents had a basic level of education (before self-harm 0.39, 95% CI 0.34–0.43, and after 0.29, 95% CI 0.25–0.33 after) and lowest among youth with higher tertiary educated parents (before self-harm: 0.22, 95% CI 0.18–0.26, and after 0.18, 95% CI 0.14–0.22). The largest differences were observed in inpatient care. Conclusions: The results suggest that specialised psychiatric care and psychotropic medication use are common among youth who self-harm, but a considerable proportion have no prior or subsequent specialised treatment. The children of parents with lower levels of education are likely to benefit from additional support in initiating and adhering to treatment after an episode of self-harm. Further research on the mechanisms underlying the educational gradient in psychiatric treatment is needed.Peer reviewe

Experience of maternal and paternal adversities in childhood as determinants of self-harm in adolescence and young adulthood

Introduction Previous studies suggest that childhood experience of parental adversities increases the risk of subsequent offspring self-harm, but studies on distinct paternal and maternal characteristics are few and it remains unclear how these interact with childhood social position. The study aims to assess whether paternal and maternal adversities have different associations with offspring self-harm in adolescence and young adulthood. Interaction by offspring gender and childhood income are investigated, as well as cumulative effects of multiple adversities. Methods The study uses administrative register data on a 20% random sample of Finnish households with children aged 0–14 years in 2000. We follow children born in 1986–1998 (n=155 855) from their 13th birthday until 2011. Parental substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, criminality and hospitalisations due to interpersonal violence or self-harm are used to predict offspring self-harm with Cox proportional hazards models. Results The results show a clear increase in the risk of self-harm among those exposed to maternal or paternal adversities with HRs between 1.5 and 5.4 among boys and 1.7 and 3.9 among girls. The excess risks hold for every measure of maternal and paternal adversities after adjusting for childhood income and parental education. Evidence was found suggesting that low income, accumulation of adversity and female gender may exacerbate the consequences of adversities. Conclusions Our findings suggest that both parents’ adversities increase the risk of self-harm and that multiple experiences of parental adversities in childhood are especially harmful, regardless of parent gender. Higher levels of childhood income can protect from the negative consequences of adverse experiences.Peer reviewe

The effect of low childhood income on self-harm in young adulthood : Mediation by adolescent mental health, behavioural factors and school performance

Low childhood income is an established risk factor of self-harm in adolescence and young adulthood, and childhood income is additionally associated with various correlates of self-harm. How these correlates, such as psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, violent behaviour and school problems, mediate the effect of childhood income on self-harm, is less understood. The purpose of the current paper is to examine this mediation. The study is based on administrative register data on all Finnish children born in 1990-1995. An analytical sample of 384,121 children is followed from age 8 to 22. We apply the parametric g-formula to study the effect of childhood income on the risk of self-harm in young adulthood. Adolescent psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, prior self-harm, violent criminality and victimization, out-of-home placements, not being in education, employment or training and school performance are considered as potential mediators. We control for confounding factors related to childhood family characteristics. As a hypothetical intervention, we moved those in the lowest childhood income quintile to the second-lowest quintile, which resulted in a 7% reduction in hospital-presenting self-harm in young adulthood among those targeted by the intervention (2% reduction in the total population). 67% of the effect was mediated through the chosen mediators. The results indicate that increases in childhood material resources could protect from self-harm in young adulthood. Moreover, the large proportion of mediation suggests that targeted interventions for high-risk adolescents may be beneficial. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to use the parametric g-formula to study youth self-harm. Future applications are encouraged as the method offers several further opportunities for analysing the complex life course pathways to self-harm.Peer reviewe

Tunne kiinalainen patnerisi (1): Kiinan korkeakoulu- ja tutkimusjärjestelmä

Kiinan merkitys korkeakoulujen kansainvälisessä yhteistyössä on vahvistunut vuosi vuodelta, mutta Kiinan korkeakoulujärjestelmän tuntemus on Suomessa vielä varsin pinnallista. Kiinan kanssa yhteistyötä suunnitellessa ja tehtäessä on hyvä tietää partnerin asema korkeakoulu- ja tutkimusjärjestelmässä: sen taso, rahoituslähteet ja hallinnollinen asema. Myös korkeakoulujen hallinto- ja ohjausjärjestelmässä on paljon erityispiirteitä, joista on hyvä olla tietoinen. Tämän tekstin tarkoituksena on tarjota taustatietoa kiinalaisista yliopistoista yhteistyön suunnittelun tueksi. Taustoituksen toinen osa (julkaistaan 2021 loppuvuodesta) keskittyy korkeakoulujen</p

Adjustment for survey non-participation using record linkage and multiple imputation: A validity assessment exercise using the Health 2000 survey

Aims: It is becoming increasingly possible to obtain additional information about health survey participants, though not usually non-participants, via record linkage. We aimed to assess the validity of an assumption underpinning a method developed to mitigate non-participation bias. We use a survey in Finland where it is possible to link both participants and non-participants to administrative registers. Survey-derived alcohol consumption is used as the exemplar outcome. Methods: Data on participants (85.5%) and true non-participants of the Finnish Health 2000 survey (invited survey sample N=7167 aged 30-79 years) and a contemporaneous register-based population sample (N=496,079) were individually linked to alcohol-related hospitalisation and death records. Applying the methodology to create synthetic observations on non-participants, we created 'inferred samples' (participants and inferred non-participants). Relative differences (RDs) between the inferred sample and the invited survey sample were estimated overall and by education. Five per cent limits were used to define acceptable RDs. Results: Average weekly consumption estimates for men were 129 g and 131 g of alcohol in inferred and invited survey samples, respectively (RD -1.6%; 95% confidence interval (CI) -2.2 to -0.04%) and 35 g for women in both samples (RD -1.1%; 95% CI -2.4 to -0.8%). Estimates for men with secondary levels of education had the greatest RD (-2.4%; 95% CI -3.7 to -1.1%). Conclusions: The sufficiently small RDs between inferred and invited survey samples support the assumption validity and use of our methodology for adjusting for non-participation. However, the presence of some significant differences means caution is required.Peer reviewe

Socioeconomic differences in children’s victimization to maternal and paternal violence : a register-based study

Aims: To explore the potential of administrative data in assessment of the association between parental socioeconomic position (SEP) and children’s violent victimization by biological parents. Methods: A longitudinal register-linkage study based on child–mother and child–father data, including all children born in Finland between 1991 and 2017. The data included 1,535,428 children, 796,335 biological mothers, and 775,966 fathers. We used logistic regression with person-years as observations and cluster-robust standard errors to predict children’s violent victimization in 2009–2018 and assessed effect modification by child’s age and gender. Results: For the SEP indicators, lower maternal education (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.90, secondary education OR 1.99) and lower paternal education (OR 2.24, secondary education OR 1.59) were risk factors for violent victimization. Parental social assistance receipt (OR 2.4) and non-employment (OR 1.8–1.9) increased the risk of victimization to maternal and paternal violence. Income was associated with victimization in a gradient-like manner, with ORs ranging from 1.14 to 1.98 among mothers and from 1.29 to 2.56 among fathers. Children with low parental SEP were at the highest risk of parental violence, particularly paternal violence, at ages 3−8 years. Conclusions: All indicators of low SEP increased the risk of children experiencing both maternal and paternal physical violence, especially at ages 3–8 years. Longitudinal register data—because of large samples, no nonresponse or self-report bias, and the possibility to analyze violence committed by mother and father and age-groups separately—have great potential for comprehensive research on the risk factors of parental violence that are difficult to reliably assess with other types of data.Peer reviewe

Neurofilament light level correlates with brain atrophy, and cognitive and motor performance

Peer reviewe