ABSTRACT
The present study examines the 10-year time-trend changes of adolescent psychiatric symptoms, smoking and alcohol use. Representative population-based samples with same methods at two time-points, same age range and with 10-year period between the time points were gathered in Finland to investigate secular changes in adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems. Seventh and ninth grade students filled in the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and questions regarding alcohol use and smoking anonymously during a school lesson in 1998 (n = 1458) and 2008 (n = 1569). The self-reports of SDQ showed substantial stability in emotional and behavioral problems from 1998 to 2008. There was no increase between the two timepoints in self-reports of SDQ total, conduct, hyperactivity, emotional or peer problems when using the 90th percentile clinical cut-off points. However, there was a trend showing decreasing prosocial behavior among girls indicating that proportions of adolescent boys and girls having problems in prosocial behavior have converged, The self-reported alcohol use, drunkenness and cigarette smoking decreased within the 10-year time period. Of alcohol use, the number of non-users increased from 44 to 63 % between the years 1998 and 2008. Similarly, the proportion of non-smokers increased from 56 to 68 %. Although rates of substance use declined within the 10-year study period, drunkenness-oriented alcohol use and regular smoking are still prevalent among Finnish adolescents.
Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology , Alcohol Drinking/trends , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Smoking/epidemiology , Smoking/trends , Adolescent , Age Distribution , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/epidemiology , Female , Finland/epidemiology , Humans , Logistic Models , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Prevalence , Risk Factors , Sex Distribution , Social AdjustmentABSTRACT
This article presents an overview of the Finnish Prenatal Study of Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders (FIPS-A), a new study designed to examine the relationship between prenatal serologic factors, mediating and moderating developmental antecedents, and risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The FIPS-A is based on register linkages between births from 1987 to 2005 ascertained from the Finnish Medical Birth Register (FMBR) and other national registers on treatment for this group of disorders. All subjects were members of the Finnish Maternity Cohort (FMC), which consists of virtually all births in Finland from 1983 to the present, and which includes archived maternal serum samples. This study also capitalizes on other registry information, such as systematically collected data on pregnancy, prenatal and neonatal complications and manual data collection from well-child clinics providing developmental data from birth to the age of 7 years. In this paper, we describe the methods used in the FIPS-A study, including a description of the national registers, available data and case ascertainment procedures. Finally, we discuss implications of the data for future work on uncovering putative aetiologies of ASD and key strengths and limitations of the design.
Subject(s)
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/etiology , Child , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/blood , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Neonatal Screening , Pregnancy , Prenatal Care , Registries , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
CONTEXT: To our knowledge, no population study examining psychosocial and psychiatric risk factors associated with cyberbullying among adolescents exists. OBJECTIVE: To study cross-sectional associations between cyberbullying and psychiatric and psychosomatic problems among adolescents. DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study. SETTING: Finland. PARTICIPANTS: The sample consists of 2215 Finnish adolescents aged 13 to 16 years with complete information about cyberbullying and cybervictimization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reports of cyberbullying and cybervictimization during the past 6 months. RESULTS: In the total sample, 4.8% were cybervictims only, 7.4% were cyberbullies only, and 5.4% were cyberbully-victims. Cybervictim-only status was associated with living in a family with other than 2 biological parents, perceived difficulties, emotional and peer problems, headache, recurrent abdominal pain, sleeping difficulties, and not feeling safe at school. Cyberbully-only status was associated with perceived difficulties, hyperactivity, conduct problems, low prosocial behavior, frequent smoking and drunkenness, headache, and not feeling safe at school. Cyberbully-victim status was associated with all of these risk factors. Among cybervictims, being cyberbullied by a same-sex or opposite-sex adult, by an unknown person, and by a group of people were associated with fear for safety, indicating possible trauma. CONCLUSIONS: Both cyberbullying and cybervictimization are associated with psychiatric and psychosomatic problems. The most troubled are those who are both cyberbullies and cybervictims. This indicates the need for new strategies for cyberbullying prevention and intervention.
