Psychiatric and somatic health in relation to expereince of parental divorce in childhood

Background: The outcome of studies about experience of parental divorce and effects on mental and physical health differs in result possibly caused by the use of different questionnaires and instruments, varying length of time since the divorce and divergent drop-off of participants. Aims: To study the presence of psychiatric records and number of diagnosed somatic and mental health care visits in a group of young adults with childhood experience of parental divorce in comparison to a group without this experience. Methods: The presence of a record at the public psychiatric clinics and ten years of administrative health care data (somatic and mental) was checked for both groups. Results: Significantly more persons from the divorce group occurred in child and adolescent psychiatric care, most pronounced women. However, no significant difference between the groups in number of persons seeking adult psychiatry, or in number of psychiatric consultations was present. Experience of parental divorce was not either found to be an indicator of larger somatic health problems. Conclusion: Experience of parental divorce in childhood is not an indicator of adult psychiatric or somatic need of care.Grown-up children of divorce: Expereinces and healt

The Problem of Authenticity in Latvian Neofolklore Movement

Bakalaura darba mērķis ir apskatīt un analizēt jēdziena “autentisks” izpratni un nozīmi folkloras kustībā Latvijā, šīs izpratnes problemātiku un sekas. Darbā gaitā tika izvirzīta un pierādīta hipotēze — autentiskumam ir liela nozīme Latvijas folklorā, taču tā traktējums folkloras kustības kontekstā ir ideoloģisks un tā pielietojums ir diezgan nekonkrēts un subjektīvs. Autentiskums ir viens no konceptuāli nozīmīgākajiem atslēgvārdiem Latvijas folkloras kustībā. Autentiskuma problemātika un tās dažādie traktējumi ir ietekmējuši folkloras kustību, un šī ietekme būtu jāpēta kompleksi, no dažādu akadēmisko disciplīnu (socioloģijas, psiholoģijas, filozofijas, mākslas zinātnes, muzikoloģijas, tūrisma industrijas u. c) viedokļa, jo autentiskuma paradigmas ietekmi un refleksiju folkloras kustībā nav iespējams pētīt tikai no folkloristikas skatpunkta.The goal of this Bachelor's thesis is to inspect and analyse understanding and significance of the term “authentic” regarding neo-folklore movement in Latvia, as well as problems and consequences that stem from this understanding. In this work a hypothesis has been proposed and proven which suggests that authenticity has a great significance in Latvian folklore, however its definition in the context of the Latvian neo-folklore movement is ideological and its usage is fairly vague and subjective. Authenticity is one of the conceptually most significant keywords in the Latvian neo-folklore movement. Authenticity's problems and their different subjective definitions have made a huge impact upon the neo-folklore movement and this impact should be investigated as a complex topic from the point of view of different academic disciplines (such as sociology, psychology, philosophy, art science, musicology, tourism industry etc.) as the authenticity paradigm's influence and reflection on neofolklore movement can not be researched only from the single perspective of folkloristics

Fifteen years after parental divorce : mental health and experienced life-events

The children who experienced their parents divorce when the divorce rate in Sweden had begun to grow to higher levels than in preceding decades are today adults. The aim of this study was to investigate if adults who had experienced parental divorce 15 years before the time of our study, differed in mental health from those with continuously married parents, taking into account life events other than the divorce. Instruments used were the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) measuring mental health and the Life Event questionnaire capturing the number and experience of occurred events. Forty-eight persons, who were 7-18 years old when their parents divorced, constituted the divorce group, and 48 persons matched on age, sex and growth environment formed the study groups. The SCL-90 showed a limited difference between the groups, but not concerning total mental health. A main finding was a difference with regard to sex and age; women aged 22-27 in the divorce group displayed poorer mental health than other participants in both groups. The results from the Life Event questionnaire showed that the divorce group had experienced a significantly larger number of events, and more life events were described as negative with difficult adjustment. A regression analysis showed a significant relation between the SCL-90, Global Severity Index and life events experienced as negative with difficult adjustment, divorce events excluded, but not with the divorce itself. It seems highly desirable to pay more attention than has thus far been paid to girls with experience of childhood divorce at age 7-12.This is an electronic version of an article published in:Teresia Ängarne-Lindberg and Marie Wadsby, Fifteen years after parental divorce: mental health and experienced life-events, 2009, NORDIC JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY, (63), 1, 32-43.NORDIC JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY is available online at informaworldTM:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08039480802098386Copyright: Taylor & Francishttp://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.as

Motives and Manifestations of Sex as Self-Injury

To view destructive sexual behaviors as a form of self-injury is a new concept in the research field that needs further exploration and conceptualization. The aim of this study was to explore experiences of sex as self-injury to identify motives and manifestations of the behavior. An anonymous self-selected open-ended questionnaire was used for the study, and qualitative content analysis was used to identify patterns and themes in the text. A total of 199 informants participated in the study (M = 27.9, SD = 9.3 years), all of whom were recruited via a range of websites of Swedish nongovernmental organizations. Sex as self-injury was described as voluntary exposure to sexual situations including psychological and/or physical harm. Affect regulation and receiving positive or negative confirmation emerged as important motives for the behavior. Respondents described sex as self-injury as difficult to stop when it felt compulsive and addictive, with ever-higher risk-taking and self-harming described. Our findings indicate that sex as self-injury often includes deliberate sexual violence, and is similar to other self-injurious behaviors, including non-suicidal self-injury. Sex as self-injury needs to be addressed in healthcare, such as in psychiatry and gynecology departments, to prevent further traumatization

Life development for 20 pairs of children with and without psychosocial problems - A 16-year-long study with follow-up

The objective of the study was to describe 20 matched pairs of children born to psychosocial risk mothers who have been followed from early pregnancy through their first 16 years of life. Interviews and standardized behavior measurements with a focus on the children's development were used. When considering the overall data from the different measurements done over the 16-year study period, the study group has significantly more negative results. Nine of the families in the study group had been investigated for abuse, neglect and inadequate parenting during the 16 years. In the rest of the 11 families from the study group, two siblings had been placed in foster care because of maltreatment. The study group mothers' characteristics from the start had a significantly negative impact on the children's behavior and mental health throughout their lives and when they reached 16 years

Children of mothers at psychosocial risk growing up: A follow up at the age of 16

The aim of the present Study was to make a 16-year follow-up of children of psychosocial risk mothers as concerns emotional/behavioural problems, self-esteem, life events, and academic grades. Forty-three teenagers (index group) and 61 reference teenagers were personally interviewed and asked to answer the Youth Self-report (YSR), the Self-image questionnaire I Think I Am, and a Life Event questionnaire. Their final grades from the 9-year compulsory school were Studied. The results showed that boys, especially the sons from families with alcohol/drug problems, displayed poorer mental health, a more negative self-image, had experienced more negative life events, and had to a greater extent not successfully completed the 9-year compulsory school. More teenagers in the index group had been placed in foster care, had a less positive outlook about their future, were more often smokers, and more of them (girls) had seriously considered committing suicide than the teenagers in the reference group. It was concluded that boys of psychosocial risk mothers are less well off than teenagers of non-risk mothers at the age of 16 as concerns psychosocial well being. It is of great importance to devote attention to these children at an early stage of life in order to be able to provide them with the support that may prevent development of future problems. (c) 2006 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved