Making the best out of youth-The Improve the Youth project

What factors do young people define as determinants of their well-being? findings from the improve the youth project

BACKGROUND

The UN has recognised well-being as a main goal of The Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016-2030).

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to identify the areas of mental health that are the most significant to teenagers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The mixed-method approach was applied. Quantitative research included adolescents aged 11-15 years (6,026 in Portugal; 4,545 in Poland). HBSC study results (2013/2014) were analysed in terms of the following variables: self-rated health, life satisfaction (Cantril Ladder, KIDSCREEN-10 Index), and psychosomatic complaints (SCL scale). Focus workshops took place in 2018, with 72 teenagers aged 14 to 16.

RESULTS

16.6% of the Polish participants and 12.7% of the Portuguese participants were concerned about their health. Polish participants were less satisfied with their life [KIDSCREEN score: 25.48 for Poland (SD=6.39), and 29.96 (SD=6.03) for Portugal]. Both nations associated mental health (MH) with the family setting and relationships with friends. An additional association among Portuguese teenagers involved social issues, whereas Polish adolescents were more focussed on relationships with various people in their environment, as well as on experiencing issues at school and in the family.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescent MH is determined by stress, environmental pressure and high expectations. The viewpoints of adolescents are the most valuable source of knowledge for specialists, researchers and youth institutions, who can benefit greatly from taking advantage of this resource.

Trends in multiple health complaints in Polish adolescents in light of data from 30 European countries and Canada (2002-2018)

Background

Adolescence is a sensitive period accompanied by rapid developmental changes that can result in health complaints. The aim of the study was to describe the trend of subjective health complaints (HBSC-SCL) of Polish adolescents compared to their peers from 30 other countries and to rank all countries based on a proposed standardised measure.

Material and Methods

Data from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study collected from 2002 to 2018 were used. The overall number of respondents from 30 countries in the combined sample from five quadrennial rounds was 773,356, including 49.2% boys and 50.8% girls. The HBSC-SCL is a non-clinical measure consisting of eight health complaints, usually analysed in two dimensions of psychological and somatic symptoms. Linear regression analysis was applied to assess the significance of trends of the total index and two subindices in the combined sample and individual countries.

Results

A significant increasing trend for the eight-item index appeared in Poland only in 13- and 15-year-olds, while only among 15-year-olds in the combined sample from 30 countries. Standardised country rank varied between -1.85 and 2.48 (worst). The countries that achieved extreme negative values (>=1) are France, Hungary, Italy, and Sweden, and the rank for Italy is considerably higher than for other countries. In Poland, the standardised rank for psychological symptoms exceeded the threshold of +1 in 2018.

Conclusions

The HBSC-SCL index could be useful for monitoring change in adolescent mental health. The proposed method of ranking may allow a broader view of the differences and similarities between countries and help to identify those performing unfavourably against cross-country patterns.