The Relationship Between Reported Health and Involvement in Bully/ Victim Problems among Male and Female Secondary Schoolchildren

The relationship between involvement in bully/victim problems at school and the reported health of adolescents was investigated using questionnaires completed anonymously by 819 Australian schoolchildren attending coeducational high school. From self-reports of their relations with peers at school, respondents were categorized as victims, bullies, bully-victims and 'others'. The students also completed a measure of mental health, the General Health Questionnaire, and answered questions to assess their frequency of physical complaints and perceived consequences of adverse treatment by peers at school. In general, peer- victimized girls reported a higher incidence of emotional distress and more perceived adverse health effects. Compared with 'others' , victims of both sexes indicated significantly worse mental and physical health. Among boys only, bullies consistently reported poorer health. Explanations for health effects and reported gender differences are discussed in relation to the consequences of stress engendered by peer victimization at school as well as suggested differences in the nature and implications of bullying behaviours employed by boys and girls.     

Childhood bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidal ideation among Finnish males

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the predictive association between childhood bullying behavior with depression and suicidal ideation at age 18. METHODS: The sample included 2348 boys born in 1981. Information about bullying was gathered at the age of 8 from self, parent and teacher's reports. Depression and suicidal ideation were assessed during the Finnish military call-up examination. RESULTS: Based on regression models, boys who were bullies frequently, but not merely sometimes, were more likely to be severely depressed and to report suicidal ideation compared to boys who were not bullies. When controlling for depression at age 8 the association between frequent bullying and severe depression was maintained but the association with suicidal ideation became non-significant. Boys who were only victimized were not more likely to be depressed or to report suicidal ideation at age 18. Boys who were frequently both bullies and victims were found to be at risk for later depression. LIMITATIONS: Our finding can only be generalized to boys who were involved in bullying at elementary school age. Data at age 18 was based only on self-reports and the bullying/victimization questions were very general. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood bullying behavior is a risk factor for later depression. Screening and intervention for bullying behavior in the early school years is recommended to avoid subsequent internalizing problem in late adolescence.     

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will make me feel sick: the psychosocial, somatic, and scholastic consequences of peer harassment.

This study examined associations among peer victimization, psychosocial problems, physical symptoms, and school functioning across the 1st year in middle school. An ethnically diverse sample of urban 6th graders (N=1,526) reported on their perceptions of peer victimization, psychosocial adjustment, and physical symptoms during fall and spring. Objective measures of school functioning (i.e., grade point average and absences) were also collected. In Model 1, peer victimization in the fall was associated with spring psychosocial maladjustment and physical symptoms, which in turn predicted poor spring school functioning. Model 2 suggested that psychosocial difficulties increase the risk of victimization, although physical symptoms did not predict victimization. No sex or ethnic group (African American, Asian, European American, and Latino) differences were found in the model structure or the strength of the path coefficients for either model, suggesting that the process is the same for boys and girls and students from different ethnic groups.     

Evaluation of a face-to-face psychosocial screening intervention for cancer patients: acceptance and effects on quality of life

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated a psychosocial screening intervention that offers cancer patients counselling. The assumption underlying the intervention was that barriers are often present that hamper patients' awareness of and active request for psychosocial care. An active yet unobtrusive approach was hypothesized to improve accessibility to psychosocial services. METHODS: In a sequential cohort design, patients newly admitted to the oncology department of an academic hospital were assigned to a usual care group (n=50) or a screening group (n=79). A retrospective, medical records group (n=89) was also included. At baseline and 4 weeks following discharge, the usual care and screening groups completed mental health and quality of life questionnaires. RESULTS: Half the screening group actually wanted and received counselling. At follow-up, the screening group reported significantly less pain, better mental health and better physical and role functioning than the usual care group. CONCLUSION: The face-to-face screening intervention appears an effective means of identifying patients interested in obtaining formal psychosocial counselling, and may result in improvements in physical and mental health outcomes. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This screening intervention may be particularly useful for hospitals that prefer a personal approach to psychosocial screening, but do not have sufficient resources to interview every new patient.     

Parental stress in mothers of boys with duchenne muscular dystrophy

OBJECTIVE: To examine parental stress in mothers of boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). METHOD: Stress and its predictors were examined in mothers of boys with DMD (n = 112). Comparisons were made with mothers of healthy children (n = 800), children with cerebral palsy (CP; n = 28), siblings of boys with DMD (n = 46), and longitudinally (n = 16). RESULTS: The presence of problem child behaviors consistently predicted maternal stress. Stress related to child behavior was higher in the DMD versus the normative group. No differences in stress were found in the DMD versus CP groups. Stress related to boys with DMD versus siblings was not significantly different. Over time, maternal stress related to child variables diminished. CONCLUSION: Stress in mothers of boys with DMD is elevated, possibly due to increased problem behaviors, particularly in social interactions, rather than due to the physical demands of the disease alone.     

Hemophilia Growth and Development Study: caregiver report of youth and family adjustment to HIV disease and immunologic compromise

OBJECTIVE: To assess differences in caregiver report of youth and family psychosocial adjustment associated with HIV infection and greater immune compromise in youths with hemophilia. METHODS: Caregivers of 162 boys with hemophilia 8 to 20 years old completed three youth and family questionnaires (Personality Inventory for Children, Revised [PIC-R]; Questionnaire on Resources and Stress [QRS]; Family Environment Scale). RESULTS: Caregivers of HIV positive (HIV+) youths reported greater health concerns, social withdrawal (PIC-R), physical and adaptive limitations associated with illness (QRS) in their sons, and more pessimism about their sons' future and negative attitudes about parenting (QRS). Caregivers of HIV+ youths with greater immune compromise reported greater concerns about their sons' health and greater pessimism about their futures, as well as lower levels of family integration and more limited family opportunities. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest caregivers perceive psychosocial problems in HIV+ youths with hemophilia and their families; some problems are specifically associated with greater immune compromise.     

Parental physical illness as a risk for psychosocial maladjustment in children and adolescents: epidemiological findings from a national survey in Germany

The authors assessed the risk for psychosocial maladjustment in a population-based sample of dependent children of parents with serious physical illness. In the context of The Hamburg Health Survey, a wide range of data on current life situation and health status was collected from a representative sample of families with children and adolescents between 4 and 18 years old (N=1,950). For 4- to 18-year-old children and adolescents in Germany, the prevalence of a serious physical illness in a parent was 4.1%. The adjusted risk of psychosocial maladjustment in this target group, depending on the case definition, is elevated, with internalizing problems being more prevalent than externalizing problems. Although problems for affected boys decline with puberty, they increase for girls. In this age-group, girls and boys appear to be under particular strain when the respective same-sex parent has a serious physical illness. Exposure to serious parental physical illness is an epidemiologically relevant risk factor for psychosocial maladjustment in children and adolescents that needs to be better recognized by medical professionals.     

Patterns of daily physical activity during school days in children and adolescents

The purpose of this study was to examine the weekday patterns of moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in school children and adolescents and determine if there are periods of the day that are representative of their typical MVPA. The sample comprised 84 subjects (boys, n = 30; girls, n = 54), age 8–15 years old. Daily totals for the physical activity variables were calculated by summing the values from 13hr of physical activity (PA) measurements (9:00–22:00), with 60‐min time blocks comprising each day. The MVPA data values were categorized in four daily periods: morning (9:00–11:59), noon (12:00–14:59), late afternoon (15:00–17.59), and evening (18:00–21.59). Our data show that boys participated significantly more in MVPA than girls. Despite no clear patterns or differences among sex being found, girls showed higher percent of time engaged in MVPA during the morning and early afternoon periods (sum of two periods 51.0%), while boys' percent of time engaged in MVPA is higher at late afternoon and evening periods (sum of two periods 53.8%). The principal components analyses showed four distinct components that accounted for 67% of the variance, as follows: school hours (component 1); lunchtime and outside‐school activities (component 2); morning time before school period (component 4); and period before bedtime (component 3) appear as distinct periods of the day. In conclusion, the present study shows that boys engaged more in MVPA than girls. Girls tend to be more active during school periods, while boys are more active after school. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:547–553, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

危险及有害饮酒、酒依赖与适量饮酒引起各种损害的比较

目的：比较危险及有害饮酒组，酒依赖组在酒精所致损害方面与正常饮酒和酒依赖组的区别。方法：使用AUDIT量表和ICD-10诊断标准对420例被测查者进行了筛查和评定。将其分为“危险及有害饮酒”组，酒依赖组和正常饮酒组。比较了三组之间酒精所致损害的差别。结果：三组之间饮酒量，饮酒频率及发生中种损害的情况均有显著性差异。危险及有害饮酒者发生各种损害的机率明显高于正常饮酒组，损害的发生直接与饮酒量和饮酒频度相关。结论：危险及有害饮酒者降低饮酒量，减少饮酒频度已势在必行。不但有望减少一系列躯体损害的相关。结论：危险及有害饮酒者降低饮酒量，减少饮酒频度已势在必行。不但有望减少一系列躯体损害的发生。减少国家的医疗开支；而且可能减少多种社会问题的发生。减少犯罪。这也是使社会安定的因素之一。     

Stress,psychological distress,psychosocial factors,menopause symptoms and physical health in women

Objectives

Relatively few studies have evaluated relationships between stress, psychological distress, psychosocial factors and menopause symptoms, and none have evaluated emotional intelligence (EI) in relation to menopause. In this study, direct and indirect relationships were evaluated between stress, psychological distress, psychosocial factors (e.g. social support, coping, EI), menopause symptom severity and physical health in middle-aged women.

Methods

One hundred and sixteen women aged 45–55 years were recruited through women's health centres and community organizations. They completed a short questionnaire asking about stress, psychological distress (i.e. anxiety, depression), EI, attitude to menopause, menopause symptoms and physical health.

Results

Low emotional intelligence was found to be related to worse menopause symptoms and physical health, and these associations were partly mediated by high stress, anxiety and depression, a negative attitude to menopause and low proactive coping.

Conclusions

Women with high EI appear to hold more positive attitudes to menopause and experience less severe stress, psychological distress and menopause symptoms and better physical health. These results suggest that women who expect menopause to be a negative experience or are highly stressed or distressed may be more likely to experience a more negative menopause.     

不同攻击及受害类型农村儿童的自我感受和学校调节

目的：对农村地区不同攻击、受害类型儿童的自我感受、学习成绩和对学校的态度进行比较。方法：用提名等方式对774名三到五年级农村学校儿童进行测试，并比较不同攻击、受害类型儿童的自我感受、学习成绩和对学校的态度。结果：攻击性受害儿童的学习成绩最差，对学校的正向态度最低，自我感受最差，普通受害儿童的学习成绩稍差，普通攻击儿童的学习成绩与正常儿童差异不显著，普通受害和普通攻击儿童的自我感受和对学校的态度与普通对照儿童差异不显著。结论：攻击性受害儿童具有最多的学校适应问题和最差的自我感受。     

内地民族初中生心理健康状况和结构特征调查研究

目的探析内地民族初中生心理健康状况及特征。方法采用中学生心理健康量表(MSSMHS)对215名内地民族初中生进行测试。结果①内地民族初中女生焦虑和抑郁显著高于男生(t=6.10,6.73;P<0.05);②不同年级的内地民族初中生心理健康10个方面均差异显著(F=3.9～7.9,P<0.05、P<0.01或P<0.001),多重比较结果显示了八年级得分均显著高于七年级和九年级;③内地民族初中生心理健康各因子得分普遍显著高于城市初中生与流动学生(t=2.3～9.31,P<0.05、P<0.01或P<0.001)但低于山区初中生(t=2.21～5.91,P<0.05或P<0.001);④各因子呈中等以上显著相关(r=0.41～0.79,P<0.001),因素分析抽取了1个因子。结论内地民族初中生心理健康问题明显且心理健康结构复杂、变化剧烈,女生比男生问题严重,八年级问题突出。     

Does escaping victimization in elementary school lead to improved health in high school: a comparison of victimization profile groups

This study examined whether children follow unique victimization trajectories during elementary school and whether these paths predict differential psychological and physical health outcomes during high school. Participants included 1,073 children from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Peer victimization was assessed in the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 9th grades, and psychological and physical health outcomes (e.g., depression, loneliness, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, physical health markers, and health habits) were measured in the 9th grade. Growth mixture modeling revealed three groups: non‐victims (n  =  886), persistent victims (n  =  52), and escaped victims (n  =  70). Generally, persistent victims experienced poorer physical functioning and health, higher levels of psychological maladjustments, and poorer health habits (i.e., sleep problems, disordered eating) compared to non‐victims. Using case–control matching, escaped victims and non‐victims did not differ on health behaviors and most physical health measures, with the exception of adiposity. Escaped victims experienced higher levels of psychological issues than non‐victims comparable to those observed in persistent victims. These findings underscore the heterogeneity of both victimization experiences and health outcomes following aversive peer experiences.     

Urban–rural contrasts in the physical fitness of school children in Oaxaca,Mexico

The physical fitness of school children resident in an urban colonia and in a rural indigenous community in Oaxaca, southern Mexico, was compared. Two measures of performance‐related fitness (standing long jump, 35‐yard dash [32 m]) and four measures of health‐related fitness (grip strength, sit and reach, timed sit‐ups, distance run) were taken on 355 rural (175 boys, 184 girls) and 324 urban (163 boys, 161 girls) school children, 6–13 years of age. Urban children were significantly taller and heavier than rural children. Absolute grip strength did not consistently differ between rural and urban children, but when adjusted for age and body size, strength was greater in rural children. Explosive power (standing long jump) and abdominal strength and endurance (timed sit‐ups) were better in urban than in rural children without and with adjustment for age and body size. Urban–rural differences in running speed (dash) and flexibility (sit and reach) varied by age group and sex. Younger rural children and older urban girls performed better in the distance run, whereas older rural and urban boys did not differ in endurance. The size advantage of urban children does not necessarily translate into better levels of performance‐ and health‐related physical fitness. The observed differences may be related to activity habits associated with school physical education and lifestyle in the respective communities. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:800–813, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

239名高中男生儿童期性虐待调查

目的：了解高中男生中儿童期性虐待发生情况，探讨性虐待经历对学生心理健康的影响。方法：用自境式问卷，对某中学以班级为单位整群抽取的239名高中男生就有关儿童期性虐待经历进行不记名横断面回顾性调查。结果：在被调查的239名男生中，有55人(23．0％)报告16岁前曾经历过非情愿的或非身体接触或身体接触的性虐待；其中3人(1．3％)经历过被试图性交，2人(0．8％)经历过被强行性交。49．1％的儿童期性虐待首次发生年龄在11岁及以下。与没有儿童期性虐待经历的男生比较，有儿童期性虐待经历的男生抑郁情绪量表得分高；自尊量表得分和健康状况自我感觉评价得分低，差异有显著性。结论：本研究结果提示我们应重视男童中儿童性虐待问题的研究；儿童期性虐待经历是影响受害者心理健康的一个重要因意。     

Can patient-centered attitudes reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care?

PURPOSE: Patient-centeredness has been advocated to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in health care quality, but no empirical data support such a connection. The authors' purpose was to determine whether students with patient-centered attitudes have better performance and are less likely to demonstrate disparities with African American compared with white standardized patients (SPs). METHOD: Third-year medical students were assessed by SPs at the Clinical Educational Center of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2002. One African American and one white actor were trained as SPs for each of four case scenarios; students were randomly assigned to interact with either SP for each case. Before the exam, students were surveyed about their attitudes towards patient-centered medicine. Students with and without patient-centered attitudes were compared with regard to their performance with African American and white SPs. Outcome measures were student exam scores in interpersonal skill, history taking, physical exam, and counseling. RESULTS: All 177 of eligible students participated in all four case scenarios. With white SPs, students with patient-centered attitudes performed similarly to students without patient-centered attitudes in all four areas. However, with African American SPs, students with patient-centered attitudes performed significantly better than students without patient-centered attitudes in interpersonal skills (71.4 versus 69.4, P = .010), history taking (63.8 versus 61.1, P = .003), and counseling (92.1 versus 88.7, P = .002) and not significantly different in physical exam performance (73.6 versus 68.6, P = .311). CONCLUSIONS: Patient-centered attitudes may be more important in improving physician behaviors with African American patients than with white patients and may, therefore, play a role in reducing disparities.     

Psychosocial adaptation of middle childhood boys with hypospadias after genital surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the psychosocial adaptation of boys with hypospadias after genital surgery to a community sample. METHODS: Boys (6 to 10 years) with a history of hypospadias repair (n = 175) were compared with a community sample (n = 333) in a postal questionnaire survey using the Child Behavior Checklist. RESULTS: Few significant differences between cases and controls emerged. Boys with hypospadias were (slightly) lower in social involvement but did not perform more poorly in school. Boys with hypospadias displayed fewer externalizing behavior problems than controls, but a significant difference in nocturnal enuresis was not detected. Level of behavior problems did not differentiate hypospadias severity subgroups, but greater surgical and hospitalization experiences were associated with increased internalizing problems. Poorer cosmetic appearance of the genitals was associated with worse school performance. CONCLUSIONS: Surgically corrected hypospadias should not be considered a risk factor for poor psychosocial adaptation in childhood, but emotional problems increase with the number of hospital-related experiences.     

Psychosocial and demographic characteristics relating to vaccine attitudes in Australia

Objective

Distrust in vaccination is a public health concern. In responding to vaccination distrust, the psychosocial context it occurs in needs to be accounted for. But this psychosocial context is insufficiently understood. We examined how Australians’ attitudes to childhood vaccination relate to broader psychosocial characteristics pertaining to two key areas: health and government.

Body dimensions, exercise capacity and physical activity level of adolescent Nandi boys in western Kenya

The aim of this study was to characterize untrained Nandi boys (mean age 16.6 years) from a town (n = 11) and from a rural area (n = 19) in western Kenya (altitude approximately 2000 m.a.s.l.) in regard to their body dimensions, oxygen uptake and physical activity level. The town boys had a mean maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2 max)) of 50 (range: 45-60) mL kg(-1) min(-1), whereas the village boys reached a value of 55 (37-63) mL kg(-1) min(-1) ( p<0.01) in VO(2 max). The running economy, determined as the oxygen cost at a given running speed, was 221 mL kg(-1) km(-1) (597 mL kg(-0.75) km(-1)) for town as well as for village boys. The body mass index (BMI) was very low for town as well as for village boys (18.6 vs 18.4 kg m(-2)). The daily mean time spent working in the field during secondary school and doing sports were significantly higher in village boys compared to town boys (working in the field: 44.2 (0-128) vs 1.3 (0-11) min, p<0.01; sports: 32.0 (11-72) vs 12.8 (0-35) min, p<0.01, respectively). A positive correlation between the daily time spent doing sports and VO(2 max) was found when pooling the data from the town and the village boys (R = 0.55, p<0.01). It is concluded that the body dimensions of adolescent Nandi town and village boys corresponds well with findings in Kenyan elite runners. They are very slender with relatively long legs. In addition, the VO(2 max) of the village boys was higher than that of the town boys, which is probably due to a higher physical activity level of the village boys during secondary school.     

Body fatness and physical activity levels of young children

BACKGROUND: The decline in physical activity levels of young children seems to be combined with a high prevalence of obesity and overweight and a reduction in the participation in organized sport. With the ever-increasing interest in exploring the relationship between physical activity and obesity amongst children, it is important to provide a more precise estimate of both physical activity and body fatness. A significant proportion of previous research on this topic has relied on self-report methods to assess physical activity and body mass index as a proxy for actual body fatness. There is a need to investigate the relationships between physical activity and fatness in children using objective methods. AIM: This study was conducted in order to explore the relationship between physical activity patterns and percentage body fat amongst a group of primary school children. Subjects and methods: Forty-seven primary school children (boys, n = 23; girls, n = 24) participated in this study. They were randomly selected from children in years 5 and 6 (9-11 year olds) of four schools drawn from the same catchment area in the city of Birmingham, UK. The frequency, intensity and duration of physical activity were determined using continuous heart rate monitoring from 8:30 am to 8:30pm over three separate days (two weekdays and one weekend day). Percentage body fat was assessed using air displacement plethysmography. RESULTS: Results indicated that 52% of children did not achieve a single 15-min bout of sustained moderate physical activity over the three days of monitoring. Independent t-tests revealed that girls were significantly fatter (t44 = -3.126, p=0.003) than boys. There was no significant difference (t45 = 0.225, p > 0.05) between boys and girls in accumulated time spent with heart rates above the moderate physical activity threshold. Pearson's product moment correlation coefficients revealed no significant (r= -0.017, p> 0.05) relationship between per cent body fat and average daily time spent in moderate and vigorous activity. CONCLUSION: Despite the prediction to the contrary, there was no evidence of a significant relationship between percentage body fat of children and time spent in moderate and vigorous activity. Additionally, while there were no significant gender differences in physical activity patterns, children were more physically active during weekdays than weekends.