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This paper presents findings from a survey among Norwegian K-12 teachers (n = 771), addressing their perceived collaboration with parents when students exhibit internalizing or externalizing behaviour. Positive teacher-parent collaboration is important to enhance student learning. However, behaviour difficulties among students may put the teacher-parent relationship under strain and affect the teachers' sense of self-efficacy. Through factor analysis, analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis, the paper identifies how individual teacher variables such as gender, years of experience and additional training in psychology or special needs, and school variables such as grade levels, the schools' participation in mental health training programmes and collective teacher efficacy, may affect perceived quality of collaboration. The findings showed that collective teacher efficacy is significant for positive teacher-parent collaboration, and that teachers perceived the collaboration as more conflictual when students show externalizing behaviour. Female teachers and teachers at grade levels 11-13 also reported less negative collaboration.

This study explores policy makers’, health-care professionals’ and senior volunteers’ perceptions of senior volunteers. Two Norwegian government white papers regarding older adult care and welfare services, which were published over a period of 19 years, were selected for close examination. Furthermore, focus group interviews with a purposeful sample of five senior volunteers and 15 health-care professionals were conducted. The study explores the discursive formations of senior volunteers in the government white papers and how they are negotiated in the senior volunteers’ and the health-care professionals’ narratives. Two dominant discourses were presented in the white papers: a prevention discourse (in which volunteering was presented primarily as a means to prevent volunteers’ loneliness and need for care services) and a sustainability discourse (in which the volunteers were presented as instrumental in future sustainable care services). Both discourses echo a common overarching discourse about a capacity crisis due to the ageing population. The senior volunteers were positioned as partners and active agents in both their own narratives and the health-care professionals’ narratives. Their position as independent and as spokespersons for the less empowered were evident only in the senior volunteers’ own narratives. Only the health-care professionals referenced the prevention discourse and capacity issues. The senior volunteers presented themselves as competent, efficient political actors, and they resisted both the prevention and sustainability discourses. In the senior volunteers’ narratives, social and political participation were interrelated. The study demonstrates that new discursive landscapes must be created to capture the diversity among senior volunteers and their efforts. While senior volunteers must be meaningfully involved in decision making, planning and design, their positions as independent and active agents must also be ensured. Authentic partnerships between senior volunteers and public care services involve a balance between involvement and independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, an experiment in human and more-than-human multi-vocality, derives from the contributing authors' experience of a Wild Pedagogies colloquium in Finse, Norway. Five creative responses to visiting the disappearing glacier, Midtdalsbreen, are offered. "Norway Grey" contrasts usual conceptions of drab grey with other colours that emerge from it upon closer examination. "We thought we needed" matches the imagined, wretched incompatibility of immediate human need with what a dying world can give. "Lonesome Wanderer," originally an audio file, tells the story of collegial and family glacier visits and poses questions about ethics and self-representation. In recounting an incident on the day of our visit, "Hope" explores the movement from sadness to trust within humans. "A Sense of the Sacred" weaves ecopsychology, emotion, and ancestral family together on a hike to Arne Naess's cabin.

This paper extends work on "intentionality", from philosophy, psychology and education to an exploration of learners' meaning-making in L2 classroom task-engagement. The paper draws on both phenomenological and folk-psychological perspectives on intentionality, and employs John R. Searle's intrinsic (mental) and derived (observable) intentionality as a key analytical distinction. The empirical focus of the paper is an exploration of learners' meaning-making using a longitudinal data set of classroom and learner discourse from a Norwegian primary English-language classroom. The analysis details the teacher's derived intentionality for the classroom activity, and then looks at how the learners generate their own intentionality through their joint task-engagement. The focus on learners' developing intentionality is presented as a promising theoretical perspective on meaning-making in the L2 classroom, and as an addition to the analytical toolkit available to researchers investigating the dynamic nature of L2 task-engagement.

Background: Students of clinical psychology and medicine experience high levels of mental distress and low levels of life satisfaction. Using adaptive coping strategies can modify the negative effect of stressors on health. Mindfulness, it has been claimed, more adaptive coping with stress, yet few studies have investigated whether mindfulness training influences the use of coping strategies in non-clinical populations. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mindfulness training on the use of engagement and disengagement coping strategies in a student population, here measured by problem-focused coping, avoidance-focused coping, and the seeking of social support. We also explored whether personality (neuroticism, conscientiousness and extraversion) moderated the effects of the mindfulness intervention on coping. Method: The design was a two-centre randomized controlled trial with pre- and post-intervention data collection. The main effects of this trial with regard to mental distress, study stress, burnout, subjective well-being, and mindfulness have been reported earlier. This paper represents additional analyses of main and moderated effects of the intervention on a new set of coping variables. Two hundred and eighty-eight students of psychology and medicine were randomized to receive either a 7-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programme or the continued standard study curriculum. Results: Students receiving mindfulness training increased their use of problem-focused coping, as compared to the control group. In addition, students with high scores on neuroticism benefitted from the intervention in terms of reduced avoidance-focused coping and an increase in seeking social support, compared to the control group. Conclusion: Mindfulness training may help to improve adaptive coping in students, but some of these effects may be limited to students with high emotional reactivity.

The present paper is a case study that explores the study experiences and possible costs of success for the students accepted into the professional program in psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway. In this highly competitive environment, between 500 and 1000 students compete for 36 places during the introduction year. The study is based on 31 students' written narratives about their studying experiences during the introductory year in psychology. The data were analysed from a qualitative phenomenological perspective, and resulted in four basic themes that describe the students' experiences. The main findings indicate sacrificing a normal social student life in order to deal with an excessive workload, a shift in motivation from intrinsic to extrinsic, and a declined interest in the subject and joy of studying. The students experienced considerable stress during the studies, partly caused by lack of informational feedback on their level of competence during the semesters prior to the final exams. The findings are discussed in relation to the learning environment, drawing on Self-Determination Theory and the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy and relatedness.

Public policies encourage the service system to work in new ways to promote health and increase social equality. This paper presents four categories that show the character of the low-threshold services in Norwegian family centres from the professionals' and parents' perspectives, focusing on accessibility and participation: easy access, low level of bureaucracy, collaborative competences and inclusive arena. This paper is based on an inductive study in three municipalities that have chosen to establish family centres as interdisciplinary co-located services that aim to offer low-threshold services for children and their families. Data were generated through a fieldwork, and participatory observation and interviews were the main source of data. The methodological framework for the analysis was grounded theory, in which the data generation and analysis interchanged throughout the study, and theoretical sampling set the focus for the fieldwork. Exploring the actor's perspective highlighted both strengths and challenges with the low-threshold services in the family centres. The four elements presented emphasize that the value of these low-threshold services are not found in one single hallmark; rather, the value depends on an interaction between different elements that must be addressed when establishing, evaluating and developing low-threshold services in family centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Norwegian public health nurses prevent diseases and promote health in children and young people aged 0–20 and their families. Public health nursing programs prepare students for their practical role and provide relevant theoretical knowledge. Objectives: To gain knowledge of the literature in the Norwegian public health nursing curricula, and to examine further the nursing base in these curricula. Design: An explorative and descriptive design was chosen. Sample: Reading lists based on syllabus documents from the 10 higher educational institutions in Norway offering programs in public health nursing. Measurements: A summative content analysis and a categorization of content from reading lists were performed. Results: Numerical information on the content and categorization of reading lists shows that social science and humanities literature dominates, followed by psychology and medicine. Nursing texts, theories and philosophy comprise only a minor part of the curricula. Conclusion: The paper provides valuable data on the theoretical focus in Norwegian public health nursing and raises important questions about the paucity of nursing texts in the curriculum. The imbalance in reading lists in Norway should be studied further and similar studies conducted in other countries to encourage reflection on the theoretical content of public health nursing education globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to address risks young people in the late 20th and 21st century are exposed to with regard to political participation. Based on qualitative data and ordinary language interviews with 27 Norwegian pupils in upper secondary school, we address how the construction of the political space is understood by young people themselves. By analysing how young people define political interest and engagement, the findings indicate that a gap exists in the perception of 'own' and 'institutionalised' political participation. This paper concludes that exploring the understanding of politics among the young may reduce vulnerability of this particular group in their democratic participation as well as facilitate their political empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons for unintended placement disruptions in foster care. Based on a semistructured survey, the paper presents the views of 132 Norwegian foster parents who have experienced placement disruption between 2013 and 2015. Foster parents rated several relevant causes of placement disruption: the child's behaviour, the need for care, concern for the well‐being of their biological children, and lack of support from the Child Welfare Service (CWS). Although the child's behaviour was the cause most frequently reported in the quantitative data, CWS‐related factors such as poor collaboration, not being valued and listened to, insufficient support and follow‐up, and a mismatch between the child's needs and the foster carers' capacity were reported most frequently in the qualitative data. Placement disruption appears to be caused by the sum and interaction of several coexisting causes. It may not be the child's behaviour per se but rather the combination of challenging behaviour, concern for one's biological children, and insufficient support from CWS that lead to disruption. Good collaboration with the CWS in the form of respect, recognition, support, and follow‐up appears to be of the utmost importance in reducing the risk of placement disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Managerial quality improvement (QI) in terms of accountability management has become central to healthcare institutions. Yet, managerial QI is largely considered irrelevant by healthcare professionals. In consequence, the implementation of managerial QI implementation is hampered. Knowledge brokering is discussed as a means to foster the implementation of (QI) knowledge in healthcare. Yet, the benefit of knowledge brokering for managerial QI has so far been neglected. Therefore, this research asks how knowledge brokering can support the implementation of managerial QI.Design/methodology/approach This article builds on a single case study approach as a unit of analysis. Qualitative data collection comprises 21 semi-structured interviews at the managerial and clinical levels, 220 h of participant observation and document analysis.Findings This paper identifies three strategies of how brokers implement managerial QI into a hospital by means of knowledge brokering: prioritizing, obscuring and redefining. The strategies help to transform multiple external QI demands into one managerial QI strategy. Yet the strategies also reduce non-managerial perspectives on QI, which generates frustration among healthcare professionals.Practical implications The paper works out the benefits and costs of managerial knowledge brokering. This allows to spell out practical implications for managers, nurses and clinicians who have to deal with managerial QI in healthcare organizations.Originality/value This paper fulfils an identified need to study managerial knowledge brokering practices as a means to implement managerial QI into healthcare organizations. By doing that, the article adds to the body of research on knowledge translation in healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe experiences of recovery among people with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions (co-occurring conditions) in a rural community in Norway.Design/methodology/approach In-depth individual interviews with eight persons with co-occurring conditions were conducted, audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using a phenomenological approach. This study is part of a research project investigating recovery orientation of services in a Norwegian district.Findings The analysis yielded four dimensions of recovery: feeling useful and accepted; coming to love oneself; mastering life; and emerging as a person. Insecure and inadequate housing and limited solutions to financial problems were described as major obstacles to recovery.Research limitations/implications Further research into the facilitation of recovery as defined by persons with concurrent disorders is needed, particularly regarding the facilitation of community participation.Practical implications This study supports an increased focus on societal and community factors in promoting recovery for persons with co-occurring conditions, as well as service designs that allow for an integration of social services and health care, and for collaboration among services.Social implications The results suggest that the community can aid recovery by accepting persons with co-occurring conditions as fellow citizens and welcoming their contributions.Originality/value The paper provides an enhanced understanding of how persons with co-occurring conditions may experience recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore the associations between the economic, political, sociocultural and physical environments in kindergartens, along with the frequency and variety of vegetables served, and the amount of vegetables eaten. Method: The BRA Study collected data through two paper-based questionnaires answered by the kindergarten leader and pedagogical leader of each selected kindergarten, and a five-day vegetable diary from kindergartens (n = 73) in Vestfold and Buskerud Counties, Norway. The questionnaires assessed environmental factors, and the frequency and variety of vegetables served. The non-parametric Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to explore the associations between factors in the kindergarten environments and vegetables served and eaten. Results: Kindergartens that included expenditures for food and beverages in the parental fees served a larger variety of vegetables (p = 0.046). A higher frequency of served vegetables (p = 0.014) and a larger amount (p = 0.027) of vegetables eaten were found in kindergartens where parents paid a monthly fee of 251 NOK or more. Similarly, the amount of vegetables eaten was higher (p = 0.017) in kindergartens where the employees paid a monthly fee to eat at work. Furthermore, a larger amount (p = 0.046) of vegetables was eaten in kindergartens that had written guidelines for food and beverages that were offered. Conclusions: This study indicates that the economic environment in a kindergarten seems to be positively associated with the vegetables served and eaten there. This is of high relevance for public health policy as vegetable consumption is an important factor in reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Nurses employed in nursing homes have a unique insight into the lives of people with dementia (PwD) and into the factors that may support and possibly enhance their sense of coherence (SOC). It is currently not known precisely which factors contribute to supporting the SOC in PwD; therefore, in order to address the paucity of research in this area, the purpose of this paper is to identify and present these factors as they were perceived by nurses. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a qualitative explorative design. Participant observation and focus group interviews were the data collection methods. The participants were nurses employed in special dementia units from two Norwegian nursing homes. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings – Data analysis highlighted a main category, with additional three generic categories. The main category, “creating order out of chaos” concerns the nurses’ explanations about how they could create order in the lives of PwD lives. This main category is subdivided into three generic categories; “establishing continuity”, “ensuring predictability” and “building confidence”. These categories were assessed as “salutary” factors that may contribute to supporting the SOC in PwD. Originality/value – This paper highlights the importance of continuity, predictability and confidence as factors that may contribute to counterbalancing the state of chaos and to supporting the SOC in PwD. The findings add a salutogenic perspective to dementia care and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a sample of ninety-three child welfare workers' perceptions of emotional relations in risk assessment situations.Workers from England, Norway and California (USA) are interviewed about risk factors in a vignette. Seventy-three per cent of the total workers identify the emotional issues described in the vignette as a risk factor, but a lower percentage of the American workers do so. Nearly all of these workers identify the mother's lack of meeting her daughter's emotional needs as a risk factor; however, the analysis shows that only approximately one-third of these workers elaborate on the possibleconsequencesandreasons for this lack of attachment. Evenfewersuggest services that can improvethe situation.Thefindings suggest thatemotional issues havea relatively low importance in a risk assessment situation but that there are differences by country. Although the sample is small, it is likely that systemic factors in the child welfare system and the risk assessment approach explain some of these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is a rare genetic syndrome involving high risk of psychiatric disorders with average intellectual functioning in the lower borderline range. Due to the cognitive and social problems many adolescents with 22q11.2DS experience, adaptions may be needed to teach these adolescents cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills. The purpose of this paper is to assess psychosocial functioning in adolescents with 22q11.2DS and to adapt CBT with this group. Design/methodology/approach - Totally twelve adolescents (M age=14.5 years, SD=1.4, range 12-17 years; 25 percent boys) with 22q11.2DS were recruited from a competence center for rare disorders. Their parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist and the Kiddie SADS screening interview. The adolescents participated in 7×45-minute CBT group sessions, comprising emotional awareness, cognitive restructuring tasks, and problem-solving skills. Findings - Adolescents had poor parent-reported social and school functioning at onset. The most frequent disorders indicated by screening interviews were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (92 percent), anxiety (58 percent), depression (50 percent), autism spectrum disorders (50 percent), and potential post traumatic stress disorder (50 percent). Practical implications - The main adaptions made to CBT groups were shorter sessions, frequent breaks, and repetition of main points, limited use of written materials and items that could distract participants (e.g. balloons, papers), extensive and explicit use of turn taking, and two adult group facilitators per group. Originality/value - Offers practical advice on teaching CBT skills to adolescents with 22q11.2DS, which may also be applicable to other adolescents with lower borderline intellectual functioning or intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most Western countries have laws that prohibit the serving of alcohol to intoxicated and underage patrons in nightlife venues such as pubs and nightclubs. Despite laws and the implementation of server training programs, several studies have shown that intoxicated patrons are still likely to be served. This think-piece article attempts to shed new light on the tendency among bartenders to overserve patrons. Based on a selective review of the literature, we argue that future research on bartenders is in need of theoretical development and guidance as well as more rigorous cross-national comparisons. We propose that Michael Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats can deepen our understanding of bartenders and their serving practices. Bartenders may be conceptualized as street-level bureaucrats whose jobs are characterized by continuous interactions with different citizens asking for their attention and services. We argue that, just like street-level bureaucrats, bartenders have to deal with numerous people and their demands, and must make swift decisions based on their own discretion. Bartenders are encouraged by their managers to sell as much as possible, but at the same time they are supposed to obey the law against overserving alcohol to intoxicated and underage patrons. Previous research provides many examples of how bartenders develop shortcuts and bend rules in order to make their jobs more manageable and deal with the contradictory pressures they experience. The paper provides theoretical tools to understand how and why bartenders develop routines that are different from those intended by policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low level of physical activity is common among hospitalized older adults and is associated with worse prognosis. The aim of this paper is to describe the pattern and level of physical activity in a group of hospitalized older adults and to identify factors associated with physical activity.Methods: We measured physical activity on day three after admission using accelerometer based activity monitors and time in upright position as outcome measure. We collected data of physical function (Short Physical Performance Battery, SPPB. 0-12), cognitive function (Mini Mental Status Examination, MMSE, 0-30 and diagnosis of cognitive impairment at discharge, yes/no), personal Activities of Daily Living (p-ADL, Barthel Index, BI, 0-20) and burden of disease (Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, CIRS, 0-56). We analyzed data using univariable and multivariable linear regression models, with time in upright position as dependent variable.Results: We recorded physical activity in a consecutive sample of thirty-eight geriatric patients. Their (mean age 82.9 years, SD 6.3) mean time in upright position one day early after admission was 117.1 min (SD 90.1, n = 38). Mean SPPB score was 4.3 (SD 3.3, n = 34). Mean MMSE score was 19.3 (SD 5.3, n = 30), 73% had a diagnosis of cognitive impairment (n = 38). Mean BI score was 16.4 (SD 4.4, n = 36). Mean CIRS score was 17.0 (SD 4.2, n = 38). There was a significant association between SPPB score and time in upright position (p = 0.048): For each one unit increase in SPPB, the expected increase in upright time was 11.7 min. There was no significant association between age (p = 0.608), diagnosis of cognitive impairment (p = 0.794), p-ADL status (p = 0.127), CIRS score (p = 0.218) and time in upright position. The overall model fit was R2 0.431.Conclusion: Participants' mean time in upright position one day early after admission was almost two hours, indicating a high level of physical activity compared to results from similar studies. Physical function was the only variable significantly associated with physical activity indicating that SPPB could be a useful screening tool and that mobilization regimes should be delivered routinely for patients with reduced physical function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Healthcare policies often state that complex conditions are to be treated outside hospital in various forms of public-private partnership. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD) is a progressive illness that includes episodes of serious acute exacerbations characterised by extreme breathlessness. There is limited knowledge about COPD exacerbations from the perspective of family caregivers and implications of the changing boundary between hospital care and care at home. In this paper, we explore how caregivers negotiate their role as caregivers with patients and healthcare professionals during acute exacerbations. We conducted 10 qualitative interviews with family caregivers of COPD patients in 2011, all were spouses over the age of 60. The participants were recruited through the patient pool of ambulatory pulmonary services of two hospitals in Oslo, Norway. Data were interpreted using thematic analysis. The caregivers described a lack of understanding and support from health professionals in some situations. They shouldered considerable responsibility, but were not always acknowledged as competent carers by professionals. Caregivers had to balance their involvement. They noted that they could lose the professionals' co-operation if their involvement was perceived as interfering or preventing the professionals from exercising their expertise. However, by not sharing their personalised knowledge about the patients, they risked that the professionals would not understand the severity of the exacerbation, which could undermine their own ability to maintain a sense of safety and control. The negotiations caregivers participated in and the uncertainty they experienced shed new light on the complexity of their role, and the discrepancy between practice and ideals in healthcare policy regarding collaboration of care. It is crucial to develop further knowledge about structural, interactional and communicational facilitators and barriers for reaching shared understandings and facilitating mutual trust in these demanding situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The English language term ‘permanence’ is increasingly used in high income countries as a ‘short-hand’ translation for a complex set of aims around providing stability and family membership for children who need child welfare services and out-of-home care. From a scrutiny of legislative provisions, court judgments, government documents and a public opinion survey on child placement options, the paper draws out similarities and differences in understandings of the place of ‘permanence’ within the child welfare discourse in Norway and England. The main differences are that in England the components of permanence are explicitly set out in legislation, statutory guidance and advisory documents whilst in Norway the terms ‘stability’ and ‘continuity’ are used in a more limited number of policy documents in the context of a wide array of services available for children and families. The paper then draws on these sources, and on administrative data on children in care, to tease out possible explanations for the similarities and differences identified. We hypothesise that both long-standing policies and recent changes can be explained by differences in public and political understandings of child welfare and the balance between universal services and those targeted on parents and children identified as vulnerable and in need of specialist services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective The aim of this paper was to internally validate previously reported relations (Knoph Berg et al., Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 42, 396-404, 2008) between psychosocial factors and bulimia nervosa (BN) outcomes during pregnancy. Method This study is based on the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Participants were women enrolled during pregnancy ( N = 69,030). Internal validity was evaluated by way of bootstrapped parameter estimates using the overall sample and a split sample calibration approach. Results Bootstrap bias estimates were below the problematic threshold, and extend earlier findings (Knoph Berg et al., Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 42, 396-404, 2008) by providing support for the validity of the models at the population level of all pregnant women in Norway. Bootstrap risk ratios indicated that prevalence, incidence, and remission of BN during pregnancy were significantly associated with psychosocial factors. The split sample procedure showed that the models developed on the training sample did not predict risks in the validation sample. Discussion This study characterizes associations between psychosocial exposures and BN outcomes among pregnant women in Norway. Women with lifetime and current self-reported psychosocial adversities were at a much higher risk for BN during pregnancy. Psychosocial factors were associated with BN remission during pregnancy, inviting the prospect of enhancing therapeutic interventions. We consider the findings in the context of reproducibility in science. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2015; 48:654-662) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Current interventions designed to facilitate return to work (RTW) after long-term sick leave show weak effects, indicating the need for new approaches to the RTW process. The importance of social relationships in the workplace is widely recognized in existing RTW literature, but very little is known about the role of the interpersonal problems of the returning worker. Current research indicates that a subset of these – hostile-dominant interpersonal problems – give particular disadvantages in several life areas. This prospective cohort study aims to test whether higher levels of interpersonal problems predict lower likelihood of RTW when controlling for symptom levels (H1); and whether higher levels of hostile-dominant interpersonal problems specifically predict lower likelihood of RTW (H2). Methods: 189 patients on long-term sick leave completed a 3½-week transdiagnostic RTW program. Before treatment, self-reported interpersonal problems, chronic pain, insomnia, fatigue levels, anxiety and depression were collected. RTW data for the following year were collected from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration. Results: A multivariable binary logistic regression analysis found that (H2) hostile-dominant interpersonal problems significantly predicted RTW (OR = 0.44, [95% CI: 0.19, 0.98], p =.045), while a corresponding analysis (H1) found that general interpersonal problems did not. Conclusion: Hostile-dominant interpersonal problems negatively predict RTW after long-term sick leave, suggesting an overlooked factor in the field of occupational rehabilitation. The findings could open up new avenues for research and interventions entailed to individuals in the field of occupational rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the prevalence of multiple symptoms and the relationships between future expectations and multiple symptoms in a cross-sectional study of 100 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A questionnaire was used to examine the patients' symptoms of breathlessness, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, fatigue, and pain, and their outlook for the future. All patients reported breathlessness, 64% anxiety, 69% depression, 28% sleeplessness, 72% fatigue, and 45% pain. Those with anxiety reported significant depression ( P < 0.001), and those with fatigue reported significant depression ( P = 0.004). Patients who reported pain also reported significant sleeplessness ( P = 0.022). A negative outlook for the future was reported by 42% of patients who also reported significantly more anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, fatigue, and pain ( P ≤ 0.049). Multiple symptoms are common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and patients with a pessimistic view of the future reported more symptoms. Those with multiple symptoms and a negative outlook toward the future may benefit from interventions to help them achieve a more positive outlook for the future, which may relieve symptom burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coping has traditionally been measured with inventories containing many items meant to identify specific coping strategies. An alternative is to develop a shorter inventory that focusses on coping expectancies which may determine the extent to which an individual attempts to cope actively. Purpose: This paper explores the usefulness and validity of a simplified seven-item questionnaire (Theoretically Originated Measure of the Cognitive Activation Theory of Stress, TOMCATS) for response outcome expectancies defined either as positive ('coping'), negative ('hopelessness'), or none ('helplessness'). The definitions are based on the Cognitive Activation Theory of Stress (CATS; Ursin and Eriksen, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29(5):567-92, ). The questionnaire was tested in two different samples. First, the questionnaire was compared with a traditional test of coping and then tested for validity in relation to socioeconomic differences in self-reported health. Methods: The first study was a comparison of the brief TOMCATS with a short version of the Utrecht Coping List (UCL; Eriksen et al., Scand J Psychol, 38(3):175-82, ). Both questionnaires were tested in a population of 1,704 Norwegian municipality workers. The second study was a cross-sectional analysis of TOMCATS, subjective and objective socioeconomic status, and health in a representative sample of the Swedish working population in 2003-2005 ( N = 11,441). Results: In the first study, the coping item in the TOMCATS questionnaire showed an expected significant positive correlation with the UCL factors of instrumental mastery-oriented coping and negative correlations with passive and depressive scores. There were also the expected correlations for the helplessness and hopelessness scores, but there was no clear distinction between helplessness and hopelessness in the way they correlated with the UCL. In the second study, the coping item in TOMCATS and the three-item helplessness scores showed clear and monotonous gradients over a subjective socioeconomic status (SES) ladder. Positive response outcome expectancy ('coping') was related to high subjective SES and no expectancy ('helplessness') to low subjective SES. In a model including age and sex, TOMCATS scores explained more variance ( r = 0.16) in self-reported health than both subjective ( r = 0.08) and objective SES ( r = 0.02). Conclusion: The brief TOMCATS questionnaire showed acceptable and significant correlations with a traditional coping questionnaire and is sensitive enough to register systematic differences in response outcome expectancies across the socioeconomic ladder. The results furthermore confirm that psychological and learning factors contribute to the socioeconomic gradient in health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

alstveit m., Severinsson E. & karlsen b. (2011) Readjusting one's life in the tension inherent in work and motherhood. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(9), 2151-2160. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report on a study undertaken to interpret employed first-time mothers' experiences of returning to work after maternity leave, in a Norwegian context. Background. Despite the increasing rate of employed fertile women and increasing welfare benefits to support the work-life balance, the first years after giving birth are described as being the most demanding on mothers' health. However, little is known about mothers' experiences of returning to work after maternity leave. Methods. The study included nine Norwegian employees who were individually interviewed during the first months after their return to work following maternity leave. The interviews were conducted during 2009 and interpreted using a method grounded in hermeneutics. Findings. Overall, the meaning of returning to work was interpreted as 'Readjusting one's life in the tension inherent in work and motherhood'. This comprehensive theme was based on three sub-themes: (a) Striving to manage the workload and taking responsibility for the best interests of the child, (b) Struggling with feelings of not being a good enough mother, and (c) Maintaining a balance between sensitivity and self-confidence. Conclusion. Returning to work after maternity leave appears to be a transitional phase that can be critical to the well-being of first-time mothers. To support women during this phase, employers and public health nurses should monitor the work in relation to the women's capacity and value their competence both as employees and mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. This paper is a report of an observation study designed to describe and evaluate nurses' immediate responses to fibromyalgia patients' expressions of negative emotions in first consultations at a pain clinic. Background. Providing comfort to patients in emotional distress is an important task for nurses. Empathic accurate perception of patients' emotions is a precondition for empathic accurate responses. Methods. We analysed 58 videotaped assessment consultations with patients with fibromyalgia performed from April 2005 to June 2007. Implicit and explicit negative emotional expressions were identified with the Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences. Nurses' responses were coded with the Hierarchical Coding System for Sensitivity of Comforting Strategies, with three levels of response to the person's perspective: (i) denial, (ii) implicit recognition or approval and (iii) explicit recognition of the expressed emotion. Results. We identified 801 expressions of negative emotions, 591 implicit and 210 explicit, on average 14 per consultation. Nurses responded with implicit recognition, mostly using minimal encouragement, to 75% of emotional expressions, with explicit recognition to 13% of expressions while 12% of responses were not within the perspective of the patient. Nurses responded with a higher degree of explicit recognition (Level 3 responses) to patients' explicit negative emotional expressions. Conclusion. The effects of empathic accurate response to implicit and explicit expressions of negative emotions should be explored further. The combination of coding systems used appears to be valid and reliable for assessing verbal empathic accuracy by observers in nursing settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports the results of a multilevel structure equation model predicting general and fraction specific self-reported recycling behaviour. The model was tested on a sample of 697 undergraduate students from four Norwegian universities who each reported their degree of participation in the local recycling schemes for paper/cardboard, glass, metal, and plastic. It was demonstrated that variance in recycling behaviour can be divided into a smaller general part that is relatively stable across waste fractions and a specific part that depends on the respective fraction. General recycling behaviour is well predicted by intentions to recycle and recycling habits, whereas perceived behavioural control is to a large extend fraction specific and influences the fraction specific recycling. Perceived behavioural control mediates the influence of the recycling scheme type, distance to recycling containers, and transport mode used to reach the recycling containers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Transferring clinical knowledge and bringing various representations of clinical knowledge together is crucial as support for clinical decision-making. While previous scholarship has elaborated patients' trust of healthcare providers as well as the healthcare system, this article emphasizes trust as a catalyst for clinical knowledge production. Using an observational study of a surgical department at a large Norwegian hospital, the article focuses on knowledge transfer between surgeons in a surgical department. The surgeons' confidence to initiate knowledge requests and the perceived trustworthiness of knowledge by colleagues is significant. There is a distinct underuse of medical patient records, both paper-based and electronic, which results in an oral transferring and sharing of clinical knowledge. Significantly this oral knowledge-transfer is dynamic and effective, meeting demands for timely patient information. By studying knowledge-intensive work very closely from a perspective that suggests that knowledge is local and developed through trust and dependence, this study identifies how work practices have developed to be effective with little support of formal information systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper conceptualizes two contradictory discourses, both used by ethnic minority drug dealers in a street drug market in Oslo, Norway. Oppression discourse includes personal narratives of unemployment, racism and psycho-social problems, often combined with stories about the government and city council being unwilling to help. Drug dealers use the discourse to justify drug dealing and violence, both for themselves and in meetings with welfare organizations. Gangster discourse, on the other hand, includes a series of personal narratives emphasizing how hard, smart, and sexually alluring the young men are. Drug dealers use this discourse to gain self-respect and respect from others, and it dominates interactions on the street. An important argument in this paper is that the discursive practice of criminals inspires theoretical perspectives on criminal practice. Oppression and gangster discourses have inspired, respectively, neutralization and subculture theory. When the same people use both discourses, however, the picture becomes more complicated. The ‘bilingual’ discursive practice of the street drug dealers reflects the ambivalent role of the researcher, and a Scandinavian institutional and social context where street drug dealers have extensive contact with a welfare state apparatus. The paper still suggests that similar interdiscursivity may have been sacrificed in previous research to produce more coherent theoretical frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present issue of JIP-OP brings together an intriguing range of papers that cover a wide range of aspects of testimony and aspects of investigative interviewing. They show how the considerations of how testimony is obtained is broadening out from the memory improvement strategies that once dominated this area with attempts to detect deception, to cover many aspects of how testimony is obtained. This draws attention to the need for more careful examination of the variations in testimony eliciting processes that will be responsive to differences in context and crime. A research agenda is therefore proposed that draws on developments in the understanding of psychological differences between crimes. This research would study the relationship between the psychological processes underpinning offence actions and the interview behaviour of suspects or witnesses. With regard to suspects, recent developments in the modelling of offence style have indicated a narrative basis (narrative action system model) for understanding the patterns of offence actions and the perpetrator's psychological background and characteristics that can be inferred from these. It is therefore suggested that the Hero's Quest, Professional's Adventure, Revenger's Tragedy, and Victim's Irony offending narratives and the Object, Vehicle, and Person victim roles assigned within these, may provide a fruitful link to different patterns of interview behaviour, with consequent implications for approaches to interviewing. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with how police detectives experience, understand, and think about the process of doing serious and complex criminal investigations. Imagination and creativity are considered inevitably essential components of this process. Investigative thinking by detectives is classified into four styles: method, challenge, skill and risk style. Some of these styles are expected to require more creativity than other styles. Our research proposition suggests that more creative detectives apply higher investigative thinking styles. Support for this proposition was found in empirical evidence collected among police investigators in Norway, as both the skill style and risk style were significantly related to the extent of creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will be concerned with the phenomenon of vitality, which emerged as one of the main findings in a larger grounded theory study about life and death decisions in hospitals' neonatal units. Definite signs showing the new-born infant's energy and vigour contributed to the clinician's judgements about life expectancy and the continuation or termination of medical treatment. In this paper we will discuss the normative importance of vitality as a diagnostic cue and will argue that vitality, as a sign perceived by doctors and nurses, has moral significance and represents a legitimate contribution to clinical decision-making in difficult cases where the child's life is at stake. We will argue that these clinical intuitions can be justified on a moral basis but only with certain qualifications that accounts for a certain objectivity and intersubjective reliability in the therapeutic judgements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social alarms are considered an appropriate technology to ensure the safety and independence of older adults, but limited research has been conducted on their actual use. We, therefore, explored the access, experiences, and use of social alarms among home-bound people with dementia and their informal caregivers (dyads). Methods: From May 2019 to October 2021, the LIVE@Home.Path mixed-method intervention trial collected data from semi-quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews conducted among home-dwelling people with dementia and their informal caregivers in Norway. The study focused on data from the final assessment at 24 months. Results: A total of 278 dyads were included, and 82 participants reached the final assessment. The mean age of the patients was 83 years; 74.6% were female; 50% lived alone; and 58% had their child as a caregiver. A total of 62.2% of subjects had access to a social alarm. Caregivers were more likely to answer that the device was not in use (23.6%) compared to patients (14%). Qualitative data revealed that approximately 50% of the patients were not aware of having such an alarm. Regression analyses assessed that access to a social alarm was associated with increasing age (86-97 years, p = 0.005) and living alone (p < 0.001). Compared to their caregivers, people with dementia were more likely to answer that the device gave them a false sense of security (28% vs. 9.9%), while caregivers were more likely to answer that the social alarm was of no value (31.4% vs.14.0%). The number of social alarms installed increased from 39.5% at baseline to 68% at 24 months. The frequency of unused social alarms increased from 12 months (17.7%) to 24 months (23.5%), and patients were less likely to feel safe during this period (60.8% vs. 70%). Conclusion: Depending on their living situation, patients and family members experienced the installed social alarm differently. There is a gap between access to and the use of social alarms. The results indicate an urgent need for better routines in municipalities with regard to the provision and follow-up of existing social alarms. To meet the users' changing needs and abilities, passive monitoring may help them adapt to declining cognitive abilities and increase their safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of copayment on the utilization of the GP service in Norway. We use a regression discontinuity design to study two key aspects of the policy. First, we examine the overall effect of copayments on total utilization of the GP service. Second, we look at how this effect varies across different patient groups according to medical necessity. Data consists of 5,5 million GP visits for youths aged 10–20 over the 6 year period 2009–2014. We find that the introduction of a co-payment leads to an overall reduction of GP visits of 10–15%. The effect is heterogeneous across patient groups. Patients with an acute condition exhibit low price sensitivity. Patients with general complaints and symptoms, chronic diseases and psychological diseases all react strongly to the copayment. The two latter groups capture patients with conditions that typically warrant medical attention. This paper thus suggests that the current flat fee copayment policy is inefficient at targeting unnecessary use of the GP service at the cost of patients with real medical concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous studies have increased our knowledge of how employees’ perceptions of development practices influence employee outcomes, the role of potential contingencies in this relationship remains relatively unexplored. In the present study, we set out to contribute to this research by exploring whether congruence or lack of congruence between perceived employee development practices and the perceived motivational climate at work influence employee performance and turnover intention. A field study among 169 employees from a Norwegian financial organization revealed that lack of congruence may be detrimental in terms of work performance and turnover intention. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The secret ballot is considered a central feature of democratic elections, but its practical implications may be contested when Internet voting (and remote voting in general) is introduced. How do citizens understand the principle of the secret ballot in practice? The issue was brought to the fore in a trial with Internet voting that was conducted in 12 Norwegian municipalities for the 2013 parliamentary election. Based on a representative population survey, we explore how Norwegian voters approached the principle of the secret ballot in the context of Internet voting. A large majority supported the general principle, but the picture became more nuanced when it was put to the test of concrete situations. Unless the situation involved coercion or undue influence, many people were willing to accept that voting can be observed by others – even if this was a breach of legal regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aims to test the nomological validity of the People Performance Scales (PPS) using the job demands‐resources (JD‐R) model. All employees at two large companies in Norway (a governmental agency and a worker's union) were invited to complete the PPS questionnaire electronically. A total of 2,469 respondents completed the questionnaire, resulting in an 87 percent response rate. Data was analyzed Structural Equation Modelling. First, all 15 scales included in the PPS showed excellent internal and construct validity. PPS was also found to have configural‐, construct‐level metric‐ and scale‐level metric invariance across age groups and genders. Second, findings indicate that the PPS can be used for both research and consultancy based upon the JD‐R model, while simultaneously assessing constructs of particular importance in Norwegian and Scandinavian legislation. The PPS represents a short and efficient questionnaire which measures the most relevant working environment constructs in a reliable and distinct way. The questionnaire has great psychometric characteristics and is well suited for use in organizations to measure employees' experience of working environment factors, allowing organizations to identify areas of improvement and to support organizational development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the theoretical background and results of a focus group study on determinants of energy related behaviour in Norwegian households. 70 Norwegians between 18 and 79 years of age participated in eight focus-groups in four Norwegian cities. The aim of the study was to identify behaviours that Norwegians consider relevant with respect to energy use, the main determinants of those behaviours, as well as barriers against and facilitators of energy efficiency. The most important behaviours from the participants' perspectives were heating, water heating, use of white ware and mobility. The main motivators named were minimising behavioural costs, value orientations, perceived consumer efficacy and social norms. The most important barriers were structural misfits, economic, effort, time consumption, low consumer efficacy and lack of relevant and trustworthy information. The most potent facilitators were economic incentives, gains in comfort, reduced effort, tailored practical information, individual feedback and legislative actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fifth version of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children is designed to measure five distinct aspects of intelligence, incorporating a new fluid reasoning index to the four indexes of the previous fourth version. Several factor analyses, however, have failed to support the fifth factor. The Scandinavian version is the only national version not showing clear superiority for the five‐factor solution in the Manual. In the present study, we analyze WISC‐V protocols from a clinical sample of 237 children tested with the new Scandinavian version. We perform six confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) testing three hierarchical‐, two bifactor‐, and one correlated candidate factor models. The study shows that the three‐factor model does not fit the data, and that all four‐ and five‐factor models showed good fit. The four‐factor bifactor model was somewhat better than the five‐bifactor and hierarchical models, but the correlated five‐factor model was the superior model. Finding support for five‐factors in a clinical sample representative of those most probable to be tested with the test, strengthen the claim that also the Scandinavian version measure a distinct fluid factor as intended by the test owners, and thus that clinicians may use the index scores as their main level of analysis. Review of previous CFAs show that the choice of statistical methods for CFA, bifactor or hierarchical/correlated, influence whether second order factor models are better than g‐factor models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A key question in an ongoing debate about voting age is whether people below the age of 18 are politically mature enough to take part in elections. Previous research indicate that 16- and 17-year-olds are not as mature as other voters when the voting age is at 18 (Chan and Clayton, 2006), but that such age-differences are evened out when 16-year olds are given the right to vote (Wagner et al., 2012). This paper tests that hypothesis by utilizing data from a Norwegian trial in which the voting age was lowered from 18 to 16 in some municipalities. The results are that there is a significant gap in maturity between 16- and 17- year olds and older voters. There is no evidence to indicate that adolescent maturity levels go up when the voting age is lowered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the results of an interview-based study of the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) among dyslexic students. Interviews were carried out with 12 informants who had been formally diagnosed as dyslexic. The informants were either enrolled in a university or college programme, or had graduated less than a year before the interview. The findings reveal that dyslexic students experience a number of challenges associated with VLE use, including information overload, imperfect word processing tools, inadequate search functions, and having to relate to more than one system at a time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial introduction to the issue is presented, highlighting featured contributions by Brahm Norwich, Carmel Cefai, and Joan Mowat.

senneseth m., alsaker k. & natvig g.k. (2012) Health-related quality of life and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in accident and emergency attenders suffering from psychosocial crises: a longitudinal study. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(2), 402-413. Abstract Aims. This paper is a report of a study of health-related quality of life and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in patients attending an Accident and Emergency department because of psychosocial crises. Background. Psychosocial crises are commonplace globally, but there is little knowledge about patients attending Accident and Emergency departments because of psychosocial crises. Methods. Data were collected at an Accident and Emergency department in Norway from September 2008 to June 2009. A total of 99 adults participated in the baseline study and 41 of these participated at 2 months follow-up. The Short Form-36 Health Survey and the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale were used to obtain data. Findings. Participants reported significantly lower scores in all health-related quality of life domains at baseline compared with the general Norwegian population. The mental health score was two standard deviations below the norm. Health-related quality of life scores were improved and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were reduced after 2 months. High levels of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were reported by 78% of the participants at baseline and 59% at follow-up. Participants with high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms at follow-up also reported low health-related quality of life scores. Conclusion. This study suggests a need for an acute psychosocial intervention and an opportunity to receive follow-up support at Accident and Emergency departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal deviations in normal eating habits have been associated with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Two studies on seasonal variation in eating habits are reported in this paper. In Study 1, seasonal patterns of eating disturbances were measured cross-sectionally in 6313 participants using an eating disturbance scale (EDS-5) and a modified version of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). Eating disturbance scores were predicted by seasonal sensitivity scores from the SPAQ, gender, age, and light. Study 2 used a longitudinal design in which 908 participants were given the EDS-5 every month from November 1993 to January 1995. Scores on the EDS-5 fluctuated with the season of the year, with higher EDS-5 scores in winter and lower in summer. The results suggest that seasonal fluctuations affect only a subset of the total population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a brief view of current trends in Norwegian social psychology. The ultimate test of any educational system is the practice of those educated within it. Therefore everyone now rushes to comment upon current research in social psychology in Norway. To make the present review a potentially useful guide, the author first draws a map at the institutional level, indicating where social psychological research is being conducted. The degree to which social psychology in Norway has won the status of an applied social science has been mentioned in the article.

The paper describes group reactions among survivors, relatives and hospital staff participating in a crisis intervention programme following a bus accident in Norway. The survivors and the dead were brought to the regional hospital. The groups gathered were injured children and adults, and relatives of injured and dead victims. The participating hospital staff were mainly members of the intensive care unit, staff from two surgical wards and personnel from the psychiatric service unit. Group reactions observed were suggestibility and helplessness; a lack of autonomous functioning as individuals followed by group reinforcements of emotional outbursts, and subsequently, fight/flight reactions and intergroup rivalry, parallel to an idealization of the Norwegian crisis team. Similar reactions were to a lesser extent also seen among members of staff groups. There was a reduction in the hospital's capacity to maintain its ordinary treatment programmes during the crisis intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we support the use of poetic representations to study experiential and existential meaning-making. We do so by presenting five spoken-word poems, which we created out of the transcriptions of 14 in-depth interviews with Norwegian older adults, prior to their enrollment in a biographical writing course. The poetic representations which have been named by themes from the transcript are (a) Where love takes us, (b) Relax during catastrophes, (c) Learning to see humankind as one common humanity, (d) Listen inward, (e) Life is, indeed, too short. Each poetic representation condenses diverse meanings and perspectives about life. They also maintain the anonymity of participants, as the plurality of their voices becomes one within the stanzas. While presenting this creative form of qualitative inquiry and providing some methodological reflections, we also discuss the implications of this approach for the theoretical development of the notions of personal life philosophies and existential pathways in cultural psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]