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Aims: Health-related behaviours are associated with social relationships. Adolescence is a time when healthy and unhealthy behaviours are established. There is a need to investigate adolescents' views on how social relationships are related to health-related behaviours of adolescents in the Scandinavian welfare system. This study aimed to explore Swedish adolescents' experiences and thoughts of how social relationships in different social environments are related to health-related behaviours. Methods : A total of 36 adolescents aged 15–16 years were interviewed in seven focus-group sessions. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysis of the transcribed interviews. Results : Two themes – social context and personal management – emerged. Swedish adolescents describe that their health-related behaviours as being partly shaped by their own personal management but mainly by the social contexts that surround them. Social contexts were expressed as playing a role in the adolescents' health-related behaviours, as they provide fellowship, pressure, dependability and engagement. Fellowship with friends and family was expressed as providing healthy behaviours and high levels of well-being. Fellowship with friends was particularly important for physical activity. Close relationships were stated to influence health-related behaviours. Pressure from friends, teachers and social media were described as mainly influencing unhealthy behaviours and, to some extent, low levels of well-being. However, adolescents' personal ability illustrated how adolescents shaped their own health-related behaviours. Conclusions : The study results contribute to the understanding of Swedish adolescents' views on how social relationships can shape their health-related behaviours. The findings may be useful to school professionals in supporting adolescents to improve well-being and healthy behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Unhealthy behaviours during adolescence constitute a major risk for numerous diseases in adulthood. Aim: To explore the associations between multiple unhealthy behaviours in adolescents and health behaviour information communicated by their parents and teachers, how much the adolescents cared about this information and whether adolescents went to schools with an annual health-themed week or not. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a self-reported questionnaire was delivered to pupils aged 15 and 16 (n = 492).The results were analysed using Poisson regression. Results: The number of unhealthy behaviours was lower in adolescents whose parents encouraged them to adopt healthy behaviours. Adolescents at schools with an annual health-themed week reported more unhealthy behaviours than other adolescents. In addition, attendance at such schools did not compensate for a lack of health behaviour information communicated by parents. Caring about health behaviour information communicated by parents was associated with fewer unhealthy behaviours. In contrast, the opposite was found when adolescents cared about health information communicated by teachers. Conclusion: It is important for parents to encourage their adolescent children to adopt healthy behaviours because this is particularly effective at lowering the number of unhealthy behaviours in adolescents. It also appears to be important for parents and teachers to develop credibility among adolescents regarding information communicated about health issues. The results also indicate the importance of involving parents in the school health work to influence them to encourage their adolescent children to adopt healthy behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: There is lack of evidence on the effects of health-promoting programmes among adolescents. Health behaviour models and studies seldom compare the underlying factors of unhealthy behaviours between different adolescent age groups. The main objective of this study was to investigate factors including sociodemographic parameters that were associated with vulnerability to health-damaging behaviours and non-adoption of health-enhancing behaviours in different adolescent age groups. Methods: A survey was conducted among 10,590 pupils in the age groups of 13-14, 15-16 and 17-18 years. Structural equation modelling was performed to determine whether health-damaging behaviours (smoking and alcohol consumption) and non-adoption of health-enhancing behaviours (regular meal habits and physical activity) shared an underlying vulnerability. This method was also used to determine whether gender and socio-economic status were associated with an underlying vulnerability to unhealthy behaviours. Results: The findings gave rise to three models, which may reflect the underlying vulnerability to health-damaging behaviours and non-adoption of health-enhancing behaviours at different ages during adolescence. The four behaviours shared what was interpreted as an underlying vulnerability in the 15-16-year-old age group. In the youngest group, all behaviours except for non-participation in physical activity shared an underlying vulnerability. Similarly, alcohol consumption did not form part of the underlying vulnerability in the oldest group. Lower socio-economic status was associated with an underlying vulnerability in all the age groups; female gender was associated with vulnerability in the youngest adolescents and male gender among the oldest adolescents. Conclusions: These results suggest that intervention studies should investigate the benefits of health-promoting programmes designed to prevent health-damaging behaviours and promote health-enhancing behaviours in adolescents of different ages. Future studies should examine other factors that may contribute to the underlying vulnerability in different age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to describe the variation of perceived expectations in daily life of adolescent girls suffering from eating disorders. Eighteen interviews with girls between the age of 15 and 19 years were analyzed according to the phenomenographic approach. The results could be summarized into three categories: expectations from others, self-imposed expectations, and conflicting expectations. Each of these could be further subdivided into two conceptions. Conflicting and unattainable expectations were severe stressors in the participants' lives. Many participants had problems identifying expectations that were not explicit. The participants internalized these expectations and interpreted them to be self-imposed. Clinical implications are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to longitudinally examine the role of personal standards, self-evaluation, perceived benefits of thinness and attitudes to eating and weight in the development of healthy versus disturbed eating in adolescent girls. In a longitudinal study, girls who participated in two assessments, four to five years apart, were divided into three groups according to the attitudes to eating that they manifested at the second evaluation: those with disturbed eating patterns (DE-group, n = 49), those with intermediate concerns about eating (IE-group, n = 260) and those with healthy eating attitudes (HE-group, n = 120). Variables concerning attitudes to eating and weight and physical self-evaluation emerged as risk factors, whereas personal standards or self-evaluation in general did not. Protective factors were a low BMI, healthy eating attitudes, an accepting attitude towards body size and a positive self-evaluation, particularly with regard to physical and psychological characteristics. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of early risk and protective factors for eating disturbances in girls. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine personal standards, self-evaluation and perceived benefits of thinness in Swedish females 14–21 years with disturbed eating (DE) and to compare these to a group with other psychosocial problems and to a symptom free group. Seventy subjects with DE-group, 65 subjects with psychosocial problems and 70 symptom free subjects were compared regarding items selected from four questionnaires. High personal standards expressed in a competitive way were specific for the DE-group. In comparison with the other groups the DE-group also reported significantly more perceived benefits of thinness and they more frequently believed that thinness would make them more popular. The DE-group also reported a more negative self-evaluation, although this was a trait shared with the subjects with other psychosocial problems and consequently not specific for the DE-group. Identifying specific factors that perpetuate DE habits is important in order to improve our understanding and enhance the treatment of eating disorders. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine parents' reported and desired frequencies (practices vs. attitudes) of their 6-year-old children's meals, nutritional intake and lifestyle components, as well as possible obstacles and desired support with respect to higher or lower educational backgrounds.Design: Cross-sectional questionnaire study.Setting: Five elementary schools in Uppsala, Sweden.Subjects: Parents of 176 6-year-old pupils attending the first grade. The total response rate was 89.7%.Results: Parents with a college degree reported that their 6-year-olds had a higher frequency of milk, fruit and vegetable intake, more physical activity and fewer hours watching television compared with parents with a secondary school degree. Congruent to these differences in reported practices, more parents with a college degree desired a higher frequency of milk, fruit and vegetable intake, more physical exercise and less television viewing for their children. Regarding parents' desired meal frequencies during the week, no differences between the groups with higher and lower levels of education were found. Despite similar attitudes, however, parents with a college degree reported that their children ate mostly all meals significantly more often during the week. Both parent groups stated lack of time as the most common obstacle in providing their children with desired lifestyle practices, although parents with a secondary school education added lack of money as a contributing factor.Conclusions: As attitudes are not always reflected in reported practices, it seems a fruitful approach to assess both, as well as obstacles perceived by parents, before planning interventions to enhance healthy lifestyle habits in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children residing in care (hereafter referred to as childcare residents) are a risk-group for emotional disturbances and behaviour problems. Based on existing knowledge of risk factors one would also expect this population to be a high-risk group for eating disorders and related body-image disorders. The objective of this study was to describe pathological eating behaviour, dysfunctional body focusing and psychological symptoms in a sample of childcare residents compared with a non-clinical sample. Sixty-one childcare residents (aged 14-21 years, mean 16.2) and a non-clinical comparison group (n = 196) completed the Eating Disorders Inventory - Child version (EDI-C). The childcare residents also completed an extended questionnaire, including questions regarding the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids. Our main findings were high scores on EDI-C symptom scales for boys in the childcare resident group; few differences between girls in the two samples; and a high frequency of having used anabolic-androgenic steroids among boys in care. Body-image problems among boys have hitherto been given little attention. The results call for increased efforts in describing and detecting pathological cognitions, emotions and behaviour concerning the body in males in general and, more specifically, in high-risk male groups, such as childcare residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the Swedish version of the Eating Disorder Inventory for Children (EDI-C) from a gender and developmental perspective and to provide normative data. Methods Data were collected within seven cross-sectional projects. Completed questionnaires, from 2070 boys and 2655 girls in grades 4–12, were included. Results The psychometric properties of EDI-C in non-clinical groups of girls and adolescent boys resemble those found for adolescent girls with an eating disorder. Significant differences were found between genders, grades and pre-adolescent and adolescent groups. An increase in drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction and problems with interoceptive awareness and impulse regulation characterized the adolescent girls. Maturity fears, interpersonal distrust and social insecurity decreased during adolescence for both genders. Conclusions The results indicate that the EDI-C could well be used for both boys and girls, although separate norms are recommended for pre-adolescents and adolescents as well as for boys and girls. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological factors associated with self-reported dieting behaviour and disordered eating were studied in 10–16-year-old Swedish students. A total of 458 girls and boys were eligible and 401 students completed the data collection. The study employed the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT), the Eating Disorders Inventory for Children (EDI-C), a questionnaire for the estimation of body size and a demographic and dieting questionnaire including a question about teasing. Dieters of both sexes scored significantly higher than non-dieters on six of the EDI-C subscales indicting more feelings of body dissatisfaction and ineffectiveness, a lesser awareness of interoceptive signals, less impulse regulation and more social insecurity. Dieters also reported that they had been teased because of their appearance more often than did the non-dieters. The results suggest that such psychological factors may precede the development of clinical eating disorders. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eating behaviours and attitudes to eating, dieting and body image were studied in 7-year-old Swedish girls. Sixty-four girls were eligible and 50 participated in individual interviews based on the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) modified for children, the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT), and a demographic and dieting questionnaire. Subjects also completed a questionnaire estimating their body size. A toad of 28 per cent wanted to be thinner, 22 per cent reported that they had tried to lose weight and 20 per cent admitted that they ate less with the purpose of losing weight. The girls who stated that they had tried to lose weight showed significantly higher ChEAT and DEBQ scores and estimated themselves to be significantly larger than those who had not. The results indicate that one-quarter of 7-year-old girls have concerns regarding their body weight and that they make attempts to lose weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]