Background and Objectives: Adolescence is a time of substantial change, bringing about the trans... more Background and Objectives: Adolescence is a time of substantial change, bringing about the transition from childhood into adulthood. Patterns for future health behaviors are developed and continue into adult life. Little is known about adolescents’ perceptions of health and help-seeking within healthcare services. The objective of this study was to explore adolescents’ attitudes to health and seeking help for health-related problems. Methods: A qualitative design was chosen. Interviews were conducted with 5 adolescents visiting a youth health clinic in Moss, Norway. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed according to systematic text condensation. Results: The participants were 2 boys and 3 girls, ranging from 17-19 years of age. We found that all adolescents incorporated psychological and social qualities in their view on health. Positive social connections with family and friends were the most important factors for good health for all participants. They all con...
Background Symptoms of depression are frequent in youth and may develop into more severe mood dis... more Background Symptoms of depression are frequent in youth and may develop into more severe mood disorders, suggesting interventions should take place during adolescence. However, young people tend not to share mental problems with friends, family, caregivers, or professionals. Many receive misleading information when searching the internet. Among several attempts to create mental health services for adolescents, technological information platforms based on psychoeducation show promising results. Such development rests on established theories and therapeutic models. To fulfill the therapeutic potential of psychoeducation in health technologies, we lack data-driven research on young peoples’ demand for information about depression. Objective Our objective is to gain knowledge about what information is relevant to adolescents with symptoms of depression. From this knowledge, we can develop a population-specific psychoeducation for use in different technology platforms. Methods We conduct...
Few areas of medicine demonstrate such international divergence as child development screening an... more Few areas of medicine demonstrate such international divergence as child development screening and surveillance. Many countries have nationally mandated surveillance policies, but the content of programmes and mechanisms for delivery vary enormously. The cost of programmes is substantial but no economic evaluations have been carried out. We have critically examined the history, underlying philosophy, content and delivery of programmes for child development assessment in five countries with comprehensive publicly funded health services (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Scotland and Sweden). The specific focus of this article is on motor, social, emotional, behavioural and global cognitive functioning including language. Variations in developmental surveillance programmes are substantially explained by historical factors and gradual evolution although Scotland has undergone radical changes in approach. No elements of universal developmental assessment programmes meet World Health Organizatio...
There is a lack of knowledge on how health problems in adolescence are connected to work marginal... more There is a lack of knowledge on how health problems in adolescence are connected to work marginalization in adulthood. The aim of this study was to study work marginalization in young adulthood, measured by use of long-term social welfare benefits, and its associations with self-reported health complaints, total symptom burden and self-rated general health at ages 15-16. We linked data from a youth health survey conducted during 1999-2004 to data from Norwegian registries that followed each participant through February 2010. Cox regression analysis was used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) for the use of long-term social welfare benefits in young adulthood, based on health measures in 15-16 year-olds. During the follow-up, 17% of the study population received some sort of long-term social welfare benefit. In the baseline survey, 95% of the adolescents reported one or more health complaints. The mean number of health complaints was 4.8. Girls reported a significantly higher mean number...
Depression in adolescents is a serious psychiatric illness. GPs play an important role in identif... more Depression in adolescents is a serious psychiatric illness. GPs play an important role in identifying adolescents with depression and those at risk of developing depression. Few validated tools are suitable for identifying adolescent depression in general practice. To determine if three verbally asked key questions are valid for identifying depression in adolescents. A cross-sectional, general practice multicentre, validation study was conducted in Oslo, Norway, and Aarhus, Denmark. A total of 294 adolescents answered three verbally asked key questions followed by a Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) for psychiatric diagnosis. Inclusion criteria were age (14-16 years) and fluency in the Norwegian or Danish language. The primary outcome was ROC curve statistics in terms of sensitivity and specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios of the three key questions. Secondary outcomes were Loevinger's H, Cronbach's α, and prevalence of depression. The three key questions met the criteria for construct and criterion validity for detecting depression among the adolescents. ROC curve statistics for the three key questions demonstrated an AUC of 0.79 for the answer 'yes' to either screening question and of 0.73 for the answer 'yes' to the help question. The positive predictive value was 31% and the negative predictive value was 97%. The three key questions are useful for identifying depression in adolescents in primary health care.
Living with parents suffering from mental illness can influence adolescents' health and well-... more Living with parents suffering from mental illness can influence adolescents' health and well-being, and adverse effects may persist into adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parents' mental health problems reported by their 15-16-year-old adolescents, the potential protective effect of social support and long-term dependence on public welfare assistance in young adulthood. The study linked data from a youth health survey conducted during 1999-2004 among approximately 14 000 15-16-year-olds to data from high-quality, compulsory Norwegian registries that followed each participant through February 2010. Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios for long-term welfare dependence in young adulthood based on several risk factors in 15-16-year-olds, including their parents' mental health problems. Of the total study population, 10% (1397) reported having parents who suffered from some level of mental health problems during the 12 mo...
According to the World Health Organization, depression ranks as a major contributor to the global... more According to the World Health Organization, depression ranks as a major contributor to the global burden of disease. A large proportion of adult depressions had their first appearance in adolescence. Brief and reliable rating scales are needed for early detection. The aim of this study is to validate the WHO-5 and the HSCL-6 for detection of depression among adolescents. The project is a GP multicentre study conducted in Denmark and Norway. A total of 294 adolescents (14-16 years) responded by answering a paper- or web-based questionnaire and later completed a Composite International Diagnostic Interview, which was used as the gold standard. Depression was defined by ICD-10 criteria. Criterion validity was examined, the likelihood ratios measured and cut-offs for depression were calculated using the Youden index. The prevalence of depression was 11.8% in our sample. The optimal cut-off point was 11 for the WHO-5 test and 9 for the HSCL-6 test. There were no gender differences. For t...
Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række, Jan 20, 1997
This review presents the relationship between serious life events, chronic family difficulties an... more This review presents the relationship between serious life events, chronic family difficulties and illness, and focuses on how healthy children cope. Hospitalised children had experienced about twice as many serious life events as children in healthy environments. Known diseases related to stress are eczema, upper respiratory tract infections, asthma, ulcerative colitis, heart disease in adults, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and juvenile diabetes. Research on healthy children at risk (resiliences) has revealed a number of social and interpersonal protective factors. A modified biopsychosocial model, for the purpose of understanding the health status and care of children at high risk, is presented. More research is needed to understand these multietiological diseases in order to develop strategies for the promotion of good health.
Background and Objectives: Adolescence is a time of substantial change, bringing about the trans... more Background and Objectives: Adolescence is a time of substantial change, bringing about the transition from childhood into adulthood. Patterns for future health behaviors are developed and continue into adult life. Little is known about adolescents’ perceptions of health and help-seeking within healthcare services. The objective of this study was to explore adolescents’ attitudes to health and seeking help for health-related problems. Methods: A qualitative design was chosen. Interviews were conducted with 5 adolescents visiting a youth health clinic in Moss, Norway. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed according to systematic text condensation. Results: The participants were 2 boys and 3 girls, ranging from 17-19 years of age. We found that all adolescents incorporated psychological and social qualities in their view on health. Positive social connections with family and friends were the most important factors for good health for all participants. They all con...
Background Symptoms of depression are frequent in youth and may develop into more severe mood dis... more Background Symptoms of depression are frequent in youth and may develop into more severe mood disorders, suggesting interventions should take place during adolescence. However, young people tend not to share mental problems with friends, family, caregivers, or professionals. Many receive misleading information when searching the internet. Among several attempts to create mental health services for adolescents, technological information platforms based on psychoeducation show promising results. Such development rests on established theories and therapeutic models. To fulfill the therapeutic potential of psychoeducation in health technologies, we lack data-driven research on young peoples’ demand for information about depression. Objective Our objective is to gain knowledge about what information is relevant to adolescents with symptoms of depression. From this knowledge, we can develop a population-specific psychoeducation for use in different technology platforms. Methods We conduct...
Few areas of medicine demonstrate such international divergence as child development screening an... more Few areas of medicine demonstrate such international divergence as child development screening and surveillance. Many countries have nationally mandated surveillance policies, but the content of programmes and mechanisms for delivery vary enormously. The cost of programmes is substantial but no economic evaluations have been carried out. We have critically examined the history, underlying philosophy, content and delivery of programmes for child development assessment in five countries with comprehensive publicly funded health services (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Scotland and Sweden). The specific focus of this article is on motor, social, emotional, behavioural and global cognitive functioning including language. Variations in developmental surveillance programmes are substantially explained by historical factors and gradual evolution although Scotland has undergone radical changes in approach. No elements of universal developmental assessment programmes meet World Health Organizatio...
There is a lack of knowledge on how health problems in adolescence are connected to work marginal... more There is a lack of knowledge on how health problems in adolescence are connected to work marginalization in adulthood. The aim of this study was to study work marginalization in young adulthood, measured by use of long-term social welfare benefits, and its associations with self-reported health complaints, total symptom burden and self-rated general health at ages 15-16. We linked data from a youth health survey conducted during 1999-2004 to data from Norwegian registries that followed each participant through February 2010. Cox regression analysis was used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) for the use of long-term social welfare benefits in young adulthood, based on health measures in 15-16 year-olds. During the follow-up, 17% of the study population received some sort of long-term social welfare benefit. In the baseline survey, 95% of the adolescents reported one or more health complaints. The mean number of health complaints was 4.8. Girls reported a significantly higher mean number...
Depression in adolescents is a serious psychiatric illness. GPs play an important role in identif... more Depression in adolescents is a serious psychiatric illness. GPs play an important role in identifying adolescents with depression and those at risk of developing depression. Few validated tools are suitable for identifying adolescent depression in general practice. To determine if three verbally asked key questions are valid for identifying depression in adolescents. A cross-sectional, general practice multicentre, validation study was conducted in Oslo, Norway, and Aarhus, Denmark. A total of 294 adolescents answered three verbally asked key questions followed by a Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) for psychiatric diagnosis. Inclusion criteria were age (14-16 years) and fluency in the Norwegian or Danish language. The primary outcome was ROC curve statistics in terms of sensitivity and specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios of the three key questions. Secondary outcomes were Loevinger's H, Cronbach's α, and prevalence of depression. The three key questions met the criteria for construct and criterion validity for detecting depression among the adolescents. ROC curve statistics for the three key questions demonstrated an AUC of 0.79 for the answer 'yes' to either screening question and of 0.73 for the answer 'yes' to the help question. The positive predictive value was 31% and the negative predictive value was 97%. The three key questions are useful for identifying depression in adolescents in primary health care.
Living with parents suffering from mental illness can influence adolescents' health and well-... more Living with parents suffering from mental illness can influence adolescents' health and well-being, and adverse effects may persist into adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parents' mental health problems reported by their 15-16-year-old adolescents, the potential protective effect of social support and long-term dependence on public welfare assistance in young adulthood. The study linked data from a youth health survey conducted during 1999-2004 among approximately 14 000 15-16-year-olds to data from high-quality, compulsory Norwegian registries that followed each participant through February 2010. Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios for long-term welfare dependence in young adulthood based on several risk factors in 15-16-year-olds, including their parents' mental health problems. Of the total study population, 10% (1397) reported having parents who suffered from some level of mental health problems during the 12 mo...
According to the World Health Organization, depression ranks as a major contributor to the global... more According to the World Health Organization, depression ranks as a major contributor to the global burden of disease. A large proportion of adult depressions had their first appearance in adolescence. Brief and reliable rating scales are needed for early detection. The aim of this study is to validate the WHO-5 and the HSCL-6 for detection of depression among adolescents. The project is a GP multicentre study conducted in Denmark and Norway. A total of 294 adolescents (14-16 years) responded by answering a paper- or web-based questionnaire and later completed a Composite International Diagnostic Interview, which was used as the gold standard. Depression was defined by ICD-10 criteria. Criterion validity was examined, the likelihood ratios measured and cut-offs for depression were calculated using the Youden index. The prevalence of depression was 11.8% in our sample. The optimal cut-off point was 11 for the WHO-5 test and 9 for the HSCL-6 test. There were no gender differences. For t...
Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række, Jan 20, 1997
This review presents the relationship between serious life events, chronic family difficulties an... more This review presents the relationship between serious life events, chronic family difficulties and illness, and focuses on how healthy children cope. Hospitalised children had experienced about twice as many serious life events as children in healthy environments. Known diseases related to stress are eczema, upper respiratory tract infections, asthma, ulcerative colitis, heart disease in adults, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and juvenile diabetes. Research on healthy children at risk (resiliences) has revealed a number of social and interpersonal protective factors. A modified biopsychosocial model, for the purpose of understanding the health status and care of children at high risk, is presented. More research is needed to understand these multietiological diseases in order to develop strategies for the promotion of good health.
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