Since 1979 Iranians have experienced a variety of events that reasonably will have lasting effects on their mental health. In 1979 the Islamic Revolution took place and in 1980 eight years of Iraq-Iran war started. In recent years there has developed conflicts between Iran and the International society because of the Iranian activities in developing nuclear energy. To these can be added the social and religious limitations on the behavior of people. These limitations are experienced especially strong in the life of adolescents and young people. This thesis covers four different aspects of the mental health of Iranians. General health questionnaire (GHQ-12) was utilized to investigate the mental health of 4599 Iranian 3rd grade high school students (aged 17-18 years). The GHQ cut off was taken 7 or more. A considerable proportion of the students were at risk of suffering from mental health problems (29.5 %), girls more than boys. Periodic mental health surveys in high schools are proposed to identify students at risk and activities to improve their coping skills and problem-solving abilities. To study the methods of poisoning used for deliberate self harm, 2039 medical records in Loghman Hospital in Tehran were reviewed (52.3 % were females). Loghman Hospital is a specialized hospital for intoxication cases. In both genders the greatest proportions of individuals were in the ages 20-29. Drugs, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals were the most commonly used methods in each age group regardless of gender. Females outnumbered males especially in the youngest age group of 10 to 19 years of age. In a cross sectional study of 214 subjects from Tehran the Attitude Towards Suicide (ATTS) instrument was translated and validated in Farsi language. The coefficient alpha for all sections was more than 0.70 except for the Attitude section which was 0.68. Ten latent factors were extracted from the attitude section accounting for 61 % of the variance in the data. It is concluded that the instrument can be used to study suicide ideation and attempts in Iranian populations, but new items with special attention to Iranian cultural characteristics should be added to the attitude section. To make a cross cultural comparison of personality using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) samples of 300 Germans, 300 Swedes and 316 Iranian subjects were studied. The factorial structural analysis using procrustes rotation method showed the structure of personality to be generally rather equivalent across cultures. It is apparent, however, that there are cultural differences between the Iranian and the European subjects mainly concerning character dimensions. These results support the theoretical assumptions that character development is mainly determined by socio-cultural factors during the socialization process. Based on our studies on independent samples in Iran a significant number of people are at risk of various mental health problems. A considerable number of young and adults are at risk of attempting self harm and suicide. Because of many limitations on specific topics of research in Iran including self harm and suicide we cannot present a realistic picture of this phenomenon in our society. There are different sources of tension in adolescent's life in Iran including familial and social sources. They are ever increasing in nature and in number. Besides these domestic sources of inconvenience our people is living in a kind of cold war situation which increases tension over life of all people.

I media talas det ofta om att antalet ungdomar vilka provar och använder sig av drogen Ecstasy i samband med dans- och ravepartyn ökar drastiskt runt om i vår värld. Målet med denna forskningsöversikt är därför att med hjälp av forskningsstudier från 2003 och framåt, söka få en bild av viken grupp av ungdomar som befinner sig i riskzonen för att hamna i ett missbruk av Ecstasy, samt vilka riskfaktorer och risker som berör dessa ungdomar. Metoden som använts för att besvara dessa frågor är en forskningsöversikt som bygger på elva forskningsartiklar i ämnet. Studien berör i huvudsak tre olika länder i var sina världsdelar. Den teori som används i analysen av studien är ett globalt, socialt och kulturellt perspektiv, som inkluderar såväl sociala som kulturella teorier. Sammanfattningen av studien visar att såväl de psykiska, fysiska och sociala riskfaktorerna i stort sett är likartade för de berörda ungdomsgrupperna i samtliga av dessa länder. Det vill säga att ungdomar som brukar Ecstasy, eller ligger i riskzonen för ett missbruk av drogen, möter ungefär samma sociala problematik och att de psykiska och fysiska biverkningarna av drogen är de samma oavsett vilket land de bor i. Då det gäller sociala riskgrupper på global nivå, har det i översikten visat sig att den övervägande delen är de ungdomar som deltar i dans- och ravepartyn, oavsett etnisk bakgrund och kön, vilka under barndomen uppvisat symptom på ångest och/eller depression och kommer från medel- eller övre medelklass, löper störst risk att komma i kontakt med Ecstasy. Av dessa anledningar ökar även risken för dessa ungdomar att hamna i ett missbruk av drogen. En annan orsak till denna utsatthet beror på att ungdomar från denna samhällsklass i högre utsträckning deltar i så kallade ravepartyn och liknande tillställningar, än ungdomar från andra samhällsklasser.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka tonåringars upplevelser av att leva med diabetes och vilka problem de stöter på i vardagen. Tonårstiden är en omtumlande period då förvandlingen från att vara barn till att bli vuxen sker. Att samtidigt anpassa livet efter en kronisk sjukdom som innebär strikta regler och regelbunden vardag gällande mat och medicinering är påfrestande. En litteraturstudie har gjorts för att sammanställa forskning på området. Artiklarna hämtades i databaserna Cinhal och Medline. Sökorden som använts var: ungdomar, diabetes typ 1 och upplevelser. 14 artiklar valdes ut och analyserades. Två huvudteman definierades, det första var att leva med diabetes med underrubrikerna fritid, medicinering, kost och motion, skola och vård samt livskvalitet. Det andra var relationer med underrubrikerna familjen, vänner och frigörelse. Resultatet visar att tonåringar med diabetes typ 1 känner att de skiljer sig från sina vänner. De måste följa en regelbunden kost och medicinering. De kan inte vara spontana utan måste alltid planera sitt liv efter sin sjukdom. Frigörelseprocessen ser annorlunda ut för ungdomar med diabetes. Flickor och pojkar upplever sin sjukdom på olika sätt, pojkar har svårare att acceptera sin sjukdom och försöker dölja den, flickor identifierar sig mer med sin sjukdom men har svårare att följa de strikta och regelbundna rutinerna. / The aim of this study is to look into the experiences of adolescents living with diabetes and what problems they encounter in everyday life. Adolescence is a difficult period in life in which children grow up to become adults. At the same time it is stressful to adapt life to a chronic disease, with strict rules for food and medication on a regular timetable. A literature review has been made to compile research. Articles were retrieved in the databases Cinahl and Medline. The keywords used were: adolescent, type 1 diabetes and experiences. 14 Articles were selected and analyzed. Two main themes were defined, the first was to live with diabetes with subheadings leisure, medication, diet and exercise, quality of life, health care and school. The second was relationships with subheadings family, friends and emancipation. The result shows that teenagers with type 1 diabetes know that they are different from their friends. They must adhere to a regular diet and medication. They can not be spontaneous because they have to plan life to their illness. Emancipation process is different for adolescents with diabetes. Girls and boys experience their disease in different ways. Boys have more difficulties accepting their illness and try to hide it, girls identify more with it but find it harder to follow the strict and regular routines.

The aim of this essay was to acquire an enhanced knowledge about young immigrants’ point of view of integration. During a former practical training semester I became interested in what the young immigrants thought about their own integration, what their conception was about this issue. I found that it had different meaning to different persons, to some it meant assimilation, to others it meant being able to interact with the opposite gender. To examine this I used interviews and interviewed an amount of young immigrants in different stages of their studies in Swedish. The essential theme throughout the work was to determine what the young people’s point of view was. I found that there is a profound interest from the professionals working with integration, to make the integration process as good as possible for the individuals undergoing it. But the most frequent opinion was that communication is most essential in this issue, the newly arrived young people couldn’t learn Swedish fast enough so that they would be able to communicate with there peers and the rest of the society.

This study looked at two groups of adolescents aged 12-17 years who had participated in circus training. One group had some form of disability while the other had none. The study was carried out as a qualitative study with observations, interviews and a questionnaire used as methods of gathering data. A small part of the study was quantitative and an observation chart was used. The purpose was to examine the importance of teamwork, environmental factors and the necessary requirements during a learning situation. The results of the study showed that all of the factors, in combination with one another, were important during the learning situation. If the participants worked well together, the circus teacher was able to use relevant demands and the environment was stimulating and not stressful. The negative attitude towards the failure of others in the group became less prevalent and the participants felt more responsible with increased self esteem. Different approaches or theories about disability, or being different, were observed and had an effect on the participants’ self-esteem. The main conclusion was that a training situation is complex and that participants should be met with respect and with an attitude that no one should be afraid of failure. Another conclusion was that the approaches or theories about disability do not have to concur but should complement each other.

Syftet med studien var att beskriva hur ungdomar i åldersgruppen 16-19 år upplever sin livskvalitet samt att undersöka om det finns skillnader i hur flickor och pojkar upplever sin livskvalitet. Studien genomfördes på en gymnasieskola i Mellansverige i januari 2008 och är en empirisk kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie med beskrivande och jämförande design. Sammanlagt deltog 90 elever, 47 flickor och 43 pojkar. Författarna använde sig av instrumentet Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSQ). Huvudresultatet visade att hela undersökningsgruppen skattade högst livskvalitet i faktorn fysiska symtom. Lägst livskvalitet upplevde eleverna sig ha i faktorerna kvaliteten i vardagslivets meningsfulla och roliga aktiviteter. I jämförelsen mellan könen, fanns signifikanta skillnader i upplevd livskvalitet. Pojkarna upplevde signifikant färre fysiska symtom än flickorna. Flickorna i sin tur upplevde kvaliteten i relationer till vänner och närstående signifikant högre än pojkarna. Ungdomarna bedömde sina studieresultat och sin förmåga att klara av studierna som goda, flickor hade på dessa frågor skattat signifikant högre värden än pojkarna. De flesta eleverna upplevde sig inte som mobbade. På frågan om nedstämdhet hade en tredjedel av ungdomarna uppgett att de i viss utsträckning eller mer känt sig nedstämda. På denna fråga hade pojkarna skattat signifikant högre värden än flickorna. Nyckelord: Livskvalitet, / The purpose of this study was to describe how adolescents in the age of 16-19 experience their quality of life and to explore if there are any differences between the sexes. The study was carried out at a high school in Sweden during January 2008 and is an empirical, quantitative cross sectional study with a descriptive and comparative design. The final sum of participants were 90, 47 girls and 43 boys. The authors used the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. The results of the study showed that the highest scores were found in physical symptoms. The teenagers scored lowest in the everyday life’s fun and meaningful activities. The result showed differences between the sexes, boys rated significantly higher quality of life than girls in physical symptoms, whereas girls rated their quality of life significantly higher in relations to family members and friends. The teenagers estimated their study result and their ability to manage their studies as rather good, in these subjects, the girls rated significantly higher scores than the boys. The majority of the students did not feel harassed. A third of the adolescents stated that they had felt depressed in some degree or higher. In this question, the boys rated significantly higher scores than the girls. Keywords: Quality

Ungdomar genomgår en mognadsprocess innehållande ett flertal viktiga faktorer i dagens samhälle. Utvecklingen består av att bli självständig, forma personligheten, hantera känslor samt hantera sexualitet. I detta ingår att skydda sig mot den sexuellt överförbara infektionen Chlamydia trachomatis (CT). Syftet med studien var att beskriva gymnasieungdomars uppfattning om infektionen. Hur är kunskapen i ämnet? På vilket sätt tror de att ungdomar skyddar sig? Hur ser de på kärlek och sexualitet? Författarna har valt en kvalitativ ansats med fokusgrupps intervjuer och analyserat resultatet enligt innehållsanalys. Fyra intervjuer har utförts där två flickgrupper respektive två pojkgrupper medverkat. Fyra teman förekommer i resultatet; Uppfattning och kunskap kring att drabbas av CT, uppfattning om sex och kärlek, attityder till skydd samt sexualundervisning. Resultatet visar likheter och skillnader hos flickor och pojkar i författarnas intervjuer. Kunskap om CT varierar, men att konsekvensen av en obehandlad CT kan leda till infertilitet hade samtliga ungdomar kunskap om. Även psykologiska aspekter framkommer. Resultatet speglar skillnader gällande sex och kärlek. Det första samlaget är en ”milstolpe” enligt pojkarna medan flickor anser att det hör ihop. Skydd förknippas med ”lathet” och skydd mot oönskad graviditet, inte skydd mot CT. / Youths are going through a growing process involving many different factors.  The development consists of becoming independent, shape personality, handle feelings and sexuality.  This includes protecting yourself against the sexually transmitted disease, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT). The purpose of this study was to describe upper secondary school youths knowledge and understanding of the infection. How is the knowledge in the subject? In what way do they think youths protect themselves? What are their views about love and sexuality? The authors have chosen a qualitative approach with interviews in focus groups. The data was analyzed with content analyse. Four interviews have been done, where two groups of girls and two groups of boys participated. Four themes exist in the results; knowledge and understanding of CT, understanding of sex and love, attitudes towards protection and sexual education. The result shows similarities and differences between boys and girls in the interviews. The knowledge about CT fluctuates, but the knowledge about that a not treated CT can give rise to infertility did the group knowledge about. Even psychological aspects appear. The result reflects differences about sex and love. The first intercourse is a "milestone" according to the boys whereas the girls have the opinion that it belongs together. Protection is put together with "laziness" and unplanned pregnancy, not protection against CT.

Today, school bullying does not just stop in the schoolyard. When children return home after a school day filled with bullying incidents they are oftentimes tormented by a new phenomenon: cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is the willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. Today, more adolescents and teens have access to technological mediums than ever before. Although different forms of technology can be used in productive manners, they are often misused by youth to torment their peers. Some researchers believe that cyberbullying can be even more detrimental than traditional bullying because cyberbullies can target victims through a variety of mediums, at any time. Cyberbullying can lead to harms ranging from short to long-term physical, psychological, intrapersonal and interpersonal effects in bullies, victims, and even cyberbystanders. School administrators struggle with the desire to help protect students from cyberbullying but are unsure of how they can intervene in activities involving off-campus behavior. These administrators have to find balance between protecting victims and avoiding violating the legal rights of bullies. Therefore, legislation and school policies must be updated and implemented to offer more guidance to administrators and protect students against cyberbullying. The purpose of this capstone project is to synthesize cyberbullying research among school-aged children and describe current policies in place to address this problem. Finally, policy recommendations for the state of Georgia will be offered so that systems and programs created to respond to and prevent cyberbullying may effectively reduce the occurrence of this behavior.

In this study the focus is set on parental rules for digital gaming and Internet use. First a review of the field is presented followed by analyses of adolescents’ media use and parental strategies for regulation. Data was derived from a Swedish survey of parents—Predominantly mothers—of adolescents aged 9-16 complemented with data from a separate survey of adolescents aged 9-16. Analyses are presented using gamma coefficients for bivariate correlations and linear regression models for multivariate analyses. We conclude that parents in this study are involved in their adolescents’ gaming and Internet by restricting access to these media. Boys and young adolescents are controlled more than girls and older adolescents. Mothers made use of restrictive mediation more than fathers. Parents harbour quite negative views on gaming which might interfere with a more active role of parents in mediating their children’s gaming

Aims: To identify factors, which were related to being smoke-free and snus-free, respectively, among adolescents in relation to adolescents who were smoking and/or using snus, and de-termine if there were any sex differences. Me- thods: A questionnaire study was performed among students in year two in upper secondary schools (17-years-old) in southern Sweden in 2009. More than 2200 students completed the questionnaire regarding health and living habits anonymously. The variables were tested by χ²-test, before selection into the logistic model. Because of the salutogenic approach in the study, the results of the logistic regression analyses were expressed as Positive Odds Ratio (POR). Results: The prevalence of being smoke- free was 75.6 percent for girls and 70.2 percent for boys, whilst the prevalence of being snus- free was 95.1 percent for girls and 70.2 percent for boys. Having a tobacco-free best friend was the most important factor that correlated with being smoke- and snus-free as an adolescent, for both boys and girls. Good living habits, such as drinking less alcohol, were also central to being smoke-free and snus-free. Conclusions: The results show that a tobacco-free environ-ment has a great influence on whether or not adolescents stay tobacco-free. As the environ-ment has a big impact, the school has a big challenge to work with the school environment and policies but also with family responsibility, norms and attitudes to tobacco.