Who I Am: The Meaning of Early Adolescents’ Most Valued Activities and Relationships, and Implications for Self-Concept Research

Self-concept research in early adolescence typically measures young people’s self-perceptions of competence in specific, adult-defined domains. However, studies have rarely explored young people’s own views of valued self-concept factors and their meanings. For two major self domains, the active and the social self, this mixed-methods study identified factors valued most by 526 young people from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds in Ireland (10-12 years), and explored the meanings associated with these in a stratified subsample (n = 99). Findings indicate that self-concept scales for early adolescence omit active and social self factors and meanings valued by young people, raising questions about content validity of scales in these domains. Findings also suggest scales may under-represent girls’ active and social selves; focus too much on some school-based competencies; and, in omitting intrinsically salient self domains and meanings, may focus more on contingent (extrinsic) rather than true (intrinsic) self-esteem

Sociodemographic correlates of food habits among school adolescents (12–15 year) in north Gaza Strip

Background: There is little information about meal patterns and food consumption of adolescents in Palestine. The objective of this study was to describe the association between sociodemographic factors and food intake, and meal patterns among Palestinian school adolescents (12–15 year) in North Gaza Strip. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2002 comprising 944 subjects in 10 schools in Gaza city, Jabalia village and Jabalia refugee camp. Self-administered questionnaires were filled in by students and parents to obtain data on frequency of meals, food intake and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: High household socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with the increased number of meals and the increased intakes of many nutritious foods such as; animal food items, fruits and vegetables and dairy foods. The percentage of adolescents having breakfast daily of high and low SES was 74.5% vs 55% in boys and 65.6% vs 45% in girls. The percentage of girls with refugee status who had lunch was higher (90.2%) compared to the local citizen girls (83.9%), (p = 0.03). Girls were less likely to skip daily lunch (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.36–0.87, p = 0.01) compared to boys. Risk of skipping lunch was three times higher among adolescents living in the village compared to Gaza well-off area (OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.72–6.31, p < 0.001). Adolescents who were having lunch daily were less likely to skip breakfast or dinner. Only 11.6% of boys and 16.2% of girls consumed fruits daily. In multivariate analysis, SES was positively associated with food frequency intake scores in both genders. Boys from the refugee camp and the village had a significant higher consumption of fruits and vegetables than boys from high and low income area in Gaza City, while it was the opposite in girls. Conclusion: Meal skipping is common, particularly among those of low SES and the intakes of many nutritious foods such as animal food items, fruits and vegetables and dairy foods seem to be low among adolescents of low SES. The results of this study could be used as an important baseline for future monitoring of the nutritional situation of adolescents.Abdallah H Abudayya, Hein Stigum, Zumin Shi, Yehia Abed and Gerd Holmboe-Ottese

Notions of Well-Being, the State of Child Well-Being Research and the MYWEB Project

There has been a growing interest among academics, policy makers and practitioners in the subjective well-being of children and young people (CYP). The recognition of CYP’s rights to having a good childhood and good future life chances, coupled with the injunction from the New Sociology of Childhood to consult with CYP as active agents have resulted in an increasing number of studies on children and young people’s well-being at national and international levels. However, the design, content, and modes of data collection used in these surveys are influenced by the question of the extent to which the researchers view children and young people as similar or different to adults and which participatory models they are undertaking for the young people in the study. However, the design, content, and modes of data collection used in these surveys are influenced by a number of factors including conceptual underpinning of well-being, its measurement and participatory model(s) used by the researchers for children in those surveys. This chapter reviews these aspects before describing the structure of this book with summaries of each subsequent chapter

The relationship between parental socio-economic status and episodes of drunkenness among adolescents: findings from a cross-national survey

BACKGROUND: Behavioral factors such as (excessive) alcohol consumption play a major role in the explanation of social inequalities in health. The unequal distribution of health risk behaviors among socio-economic groups has important consequences for both the current and future health status of the younger generation. However, little is known about socio-economic differences in unhealthy lifestyles during adolescence. The purpose of the present study is to investigate socio-economic differences in adolescent drinking behaviour among 11–15 year old adolescents in Europe and North America. METHODS: Data was obtained from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study 2001/02, a cross-national survey conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The present analysis is based on 69249 male and 73619 female students from 28 countries. The effect of parental occupation and family affluence on episodes of drunkenness was assessed using separate logistic regression models controlling for age. RESULTS: Socio-economic circumstances of the family had only a limited effect on repeated drunkenness in adolescence. For girls only in one out of 28 countries a significant association between family affluence and repeated drunkenness was observed, while boys from low and/or medium affluent families in nine countries faced a lower risk of drunkenness than boys from more affluent families. Regarding parental occupation, significant differences in episodes of drunkenness were found in nine countries for boys and in six countries for girls. Compared to family affluence, which was positively related to risk of drunkenness, a decreasing occupational status predicted an increasing risk of drunkenness. This pattern was identified within a number of countries, most noticeably for boys. CONCLUSION: Parental socio-economic status is only of limited importance for episodes of drunkenness in early adolescence, and this very limited role seems to apply for girls more than for boys and for parental occupation more than family affluence. For future studies it might be important to look at the effects of socio-economic status within the context of other peer, family and school related factors in order to assess to what extent those factors might mediate the effects of social class background

Self-harm in young people with perinatal HIV and HIV negative young people in England: cross sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Self-harm in adolescents is of growing concern internationally but limited evidence exists on the prevalence of self-harm in those living with HIV, who may be at higher risk of poor mental health outcomes. Therefore our aim was to determine the prevalence and predictors of self-harm among young people with perinatally-acquired HIV (PHIV) and HIV negative (with sibling or mother living with HIV) young people living in England. METHODS: 303 PHIV and 100 HIV negative young people (aged 12-23 years) participating in the Adolescents and Adults Living with Perinatal HIV cohort study completed an anonymous self-harm questionnaire, as well as a number of standardised mental-health assessments. Logistic regression investigated predictors of self-harm. RESULTS: The median age was 16.7 years in both groups, and 40.9% of the PHIV and 31.0% of the HIV negative groups were male. In total 13.9% (56/403) reported having ever self-harmed, with no difference by HIV status (p = 0.089). Multivariable predictors of self-harm were female sex (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 5.3, (95% confidence interval 1.9, 14.1), p = 0.001), lower self-esteem (AOR 0.9 (0.8, 0.9) per 1 point increase, p < 0.001) and having ever used alcohol (AOR 3.8 (1.8, 7.8), p < 0.001). Self-esteem z-scores for both PHIV and HIV negative participants were 1.9 standard deviations below the mean for population norms. CONCLUSIONS: Self-harm is common among PHIV and HIV negative adolescents in England. Reassuringly however, they do not appear to be at an increased risk compared to the general adolescent population (15-19% lifetime prevalence). The low level of self-esteem (compared to available normative data) in both groups is worrying and warrants further attention

Trends in drinking habits among adolescents in the Baltic countries over the period of transition: HBSC survey results, 1993–2002

BACKGROUND: The Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – are considered to be an example of regional homogeneity over the period of transition. The World Health Organization cross-national study on Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) allows a comparison and time trends analysis of behavioral patterns among adolescents in this region. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and trends of alcohol consumption and drunkenness among adolescents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in 1993/94, 1997/98, and 2001/02. METHODS: Representative samples of 5286 boys and 6485 girls aged 15 from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were surveyed in 1993/94, 1997/98, and 2001/02 school-year within the framework of HBSC study. The standardized survey methods were applied. The research focused on the following outcome variables: i) frequency of drinking beer, wine, and spirits; and ii) frequency of drunkenness. The same wording of questions on the consumption of alcohol was retained in each survey. RESULTS: Beer was the most frequently used alcoholic beverage across the Baltic countries among adolescents. The rate of weekly drinking of any alcoholic beverage increased considerably during the eight years of observation, especially among Estonian and Lithuanian students. In 2001/02, 25% of boys and 12.5% of girls have reported drinking alcohol at least weekly. The rate of regular alcohol drinking was two times higher in boys, while irregular drinking was more prevalent in girls. Two or more episodes of drunkenness in the lifespan were reported by 30% of boys and 15% of girls in 1993/94 and by 52% of boys and 36% of girls in 2001/02. The use of alcoholic beverages was related to the perceived family wealth: the students from the families perceived by them as wealthy were more likely to drink weekly as compared to the students from the families perceived by them as not wealthy. CONCLUSION: Over the period between 1993 and 2002 the prevalence of alcohol consumption among adolescents increased considerably across the Baltic countries. The efforts of dealing with this problem should employ a combination of measures, including the strategies relevant for the period of transition

Write, draw, show, and tell: a child-centred dual methodology to explore perceptions of out-of-school physical activity

Background Research to increase children’s physical activity and inform intervention design has, to date, largely underrepresented children’s voices. Further, research has been limited to singular qualitative methods that overlook children’s varied linguistic ability and interaction preference. The aim of this study was to use a novel combination of qualitative techniques to explore children’s current views, experiences and perceptions of out-of-school physical activity as well as offering formative opinion about future intervention design. Methods Write, draw, show and tell (WDST) groups were conducted with 35 children aged 10–11 years from 7 primary schools. Data were analysed through a deductive and inductive process, firstly using the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model as a thematic framework, and then inductively to enable emergent themes to be further explored. Pen profiles were constructed representing key emergent themes. Results The WDST combination of qualitative techniques generated complimentary interconnected data which both confirmed and uncovered new insights into factors relevant to children’s out-of-school physical activity. Physical activity was most frequently associated with organised sports. Fun, enjoyment, competence, and physical activity provision were all important predictors of children’s out-of-school physical activity. Paradoxically, parents served as both significant enablers (i.e. encouragement) and barriers (i.e. restricting participation) to physical activity participation. Some of these key findings would have otherwise remained hidden when compared to more traditional singular methods based approaches. Conclusions Parents are in a unique position to promote health promoting behaviours serving as role models, physical activity gatekeepers and choice architects. Given the strong socialising effect parents have on children’s physical activity, family-based physical activity intervention may offer a promising alternative compared to traditional school-based approaches. Parents' qualitative input is important to supplement children’s voices and inform future family-based intervention design. The WDST method developed here is an inclusive, interactive and child-centred methodology which facilitates the exploration of a wide range of topics and enhances data credibility