A clash in perception is taking place. Some perceive predictive genetic testing in young people to be too potentially harmful to allow. Others perceive it to be an opportunity for benefit, even an opportunity for the prevention of harm. In this thesis I consider the issue of potential harm to mature young people who seek predictive genetic tests. / There are two parts to this thesis. In part one (chapters 1-4) I provide a background to the current debate. I describe the prohibitive stance purported within current guidelines, the arguments used to justify this stance and the opposition that has arisen in response. I discuss the psychological and social ways in which young people differ from adults, arguing that it is likely young people will react differently from adults in response to predictive genetic tests. However, I conclude that the lack of empirical evidence means we are unable to determine if these differences will confer a greater potential for harm or benefit when young people are tested. Finally, I present a discussion of two fundamental gaps in our knowledge about testing in young people: a lack of knowledge about current practice and a lack of first-hand evidence about the effects of testing. I argue that empirical research is required. / In part two of this thesis (chapters 5-7) I present the findings of my own empirical research. Firstly, I describe the findings of an international survey of clinical geneticists. Secondly, I describe the outcomes of 18 in-depth interviews performed with young people who have experienced predictive genetic testing for either Familial Adenomatous Polyposis or Huntington Disease. These young people ranged in age from 14 to 25 years. / The international survey uncovered 49 cases where predictive genetic tests had been provided to young people for non-medical reasons. When such tests are provided, the impacts are rarely followed-up as part of a formal research protocol. Clinicians’ reasons for providing and refusing tests are highly varied and are driven more by the nuances of individual cases than by any one ethical principle or set of guidelines. / When young people talk about the predictive genetic tests they have experienced, they refer to the entire experience of being at risk of a genetic condition, not simply the time after receipt of their test result. Young people speak about a far more extensive range of harms and benefits associated with the testing process than have been previously researched. / I argue that some young people growing up at risk of a genetic condition suffer several harms prior to their request for predictive genetic testing, because of their risk status. I argue that when we understand this, it becomes clear that for these mature young people who seek such testing, the provision of a test may not only serve to alleviate some of these harms, but may in fact create benefits for them, irrespective of their test result. In these cases, the provision of a predictive genetic test is appropriate, logical and ethical.

The current study aimed to discover whether, and to what extent, children and adolescents at risk of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) perceive themselves as lacking competence, control, social support and self-worth. In addition, the study aimed to discover whether, and to what extent, children and adolescents at risk of DCD experience more trait and state anxiety than their peers. Fifty-eight children aged 8- to 10-years identified as being at risk of DCD were matched with 58 control children on age and gender, and fifty-one adolescents aged 12- to 14-years at risk of DCD group were matched with 51 control adolescents. Children and adolescent at risk of DCD were compared to the control group on measures of perceived competence, perceived control, perceived social support, self-worth and anxiety. Multivariate Analysis of Variance revealed that children and adolescents at risk of DCD performed significantly more poorly than the control group on measures of perceived competence, perceived control, perceived social support, self-worth and state and trait anxiety. In addition, significant differences were found on some measures for age, whilst only the self-perception profile differentiated gender.Based on the assumption that children and adolescents with poor motor coordination do have negative views of self and experience relatively high levels of anxiety, a second aim of the study was to test an aetiological model of anxiety. Harters (1987) model of the determinants of self-worth provided a sound theoretical basis for investigating the relationships between self-perceptions and affect. Self-perception, according to Harter, precedes emotional and behavioural outcomes. A series of path analyses conducted separately for each group revealed differences in the pattern of interrelationships between the dependent variables for children and adolescents at risk of DCD ++ / and the control group. The salient findings were that for both groups physical appearance was an important and consistent determinant of self-worth. Few significant pathways were identified for those in the DCD group limiting the conclusions that could be drawn from this study.Overall, given the negative consequences of poor motor coordination identified in the current study it would seem imperative that early assessment and diagnosis of DCD be introduced into the school system.

Primary hypertension in children is increasing in prevalence with many cases likely going undiagnosed. The prevalence is currently estimated at between 3%-5% in the United States and may be higher in certain ethnic groups. Primary hypertension once felt to be rare in children is now considered to be about five times more common than secondary hypertension. This review provides information to guide physicians through an organized approach to: 1) screening children and adolescents for hypertension during routine visits; 2) using normative percentile data for diagnosis and classification; 3) performing a clinical evaluation to identify the presence of co-morbidities; 4) initiating a plan of care including subsequent follow-up blood pressure measurements therapeutic lifestyle changes and pharmacologic therapies.

Children and adolescents are now using online communication to form and/or maintain relationships with strangers and/or friends. Relationships in real life are important for children and adolescents in identity formation and general development. However, social relationships can be difficult for those who experience feelings of loneliness and social anxiety. The current study aimed to replicate and extend research conducted by Valkenburg and Peter (2007b), by investigating differences in online communication patterns between children and adolescents with and without selfreported loneliness and social anxiety. Six hundred and twenty-six students aged 10-16 years completed a questionnaire survey about the amount of time they engaged in online communication, the topics they discussed, who they communicated with, and their purposes of online communication. Following Valkenburg and Peter (2007b), loneliness was measured with a shortened version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) developed by Russell (1996), whereas social anxiety was assessed with a sub-scale of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (La Greca & Lopez, 1998). The sample was divided into four groups of children and adolescents: 220 were “non-socially anxious and non-lonely”, 139 were “socially anxious but not lonely”, 107 were “lonely but not socially anxious”, and 159 were “lonely and socially anxious”. A one-way ANOVA and chi-square tests were conducted to evaluate the aforementioned differences between these groups. The results indicated that children and adolescents who reported being lonely used online communication differently from those who did not report being lonely. Essentially, the former communicated online more frequently about personal things and intimate topics, but also to compensate for their weak social skills and to meet new people. Further analyses on gender differences within lonely children and adolescents revealed that boys and girls communicated online more frequently with different partners. It was concluded that for these vulnerable individuals online communication may fulfil needs of self-disclosure, identity exploration, and social interactions. However, future longitudinal studies combining a quantitative with a qualitative approach would better address the relationship between Internet use and psychosocial well-being. The findings also suggested the need for further exploration of how such troubled children and adolescents can use the Internet beneficially.

Medical spa in the Czech Republic has a long tradition. Spa treatment of children and adolescents has its position in the therapeutic process and shows very good results for the chronically ill children. Several changes of the conditions for thermal treatment of children and adolescents have occurred in the Czech legislation. They might affect its future development. The aim of thesis is to provide a comprehensive view on the Czech spa for children and adolescents, analyze its development in recent years, describe its main characteristics and to detect problems in Czech spa for children and adolescents. Spas for children and adolescents have been examined from the perspective of the balneologic institute, health Insurance, association of spas and from the perspective of parents of children. Balneologic institutes for children and adolescents will probably deal with problems in the next years and their further development will not be easy. Uneven capacity utilization, tightening of the rules for complex spa care, reducing length of stay, less repeated stays for some clients and the recent increase in regulatory fees will complicate the future of Czech spas for children and adolescents.

Introduction: Bone strength is dependent on stimulation by skeletal muscles. To diagnose reduced bone strength and density in children and adolescents is therefore important not only to assess the physical and geometric parameters of bones using densitometric methods, but also to objectively assess parameters of muscle function. "Jumping mechanography" is one of the new techniques used for assessment of muscle force and power. The aim of the thesis was to create the gender-specific pediatric reference data on the main parameters of mechanography, muscle force (Fmax) and muscle power (Pmax). And to increase our knowledge of mechanography by defining relations between indicators mentioned above and basic anthropometrical parameters. Material and Methods: The study population included 796 healthy individuals (432 girls and 364 boys) aged 6-18 years. All probands were examined by a "single two-legged jump" and they were measured for their height and body mass. "Multiple one-legged hopping" was performed in a subgroup of 376 children. The participants were recruited from five primary schools and three high schools. Motoric tests were performed using a portable force platform ("Leonardo Mechanograph® GRFP", Novotec Medical GmbH, Pforzheim). LMS method was used to generate smooth centile curves for parameters...

My thesis deals with the very complicated topic of juvenile crime. The circumstances that result in socially pathological phenomenons and crime are now-days relatively easy to happen. The questions of juvenile crime are more frequently discussed not only by the scientists but also by the general public. The goal of my thesis is to outline the problems of the juvenile crime development in the district Klatovy and to use the acquired information in crime prevention and to focus the care on difficult individuals. In the theoretical part, the thesis presents the development of juvenile crime in the Czech Republic and factors that shape and influence it. The practical part of my thesis describes the performed research that is a type of quantitative research from the sociological point of view. The method of questioning, the method of data secondary analysis and the method of model casuistics were used. The targeted group is represented by children and adolescents living in the district Klatovy. The respondents´ principal residence in Klatovy district and the age under 18 are the main criteria of categorization. All respondents were chosen with the method of random stratification. The research was held from January to March of the year 2009. Following hypothesis were determined: Hypothesis 1: The rate of juvenile crime is higher in towns than in villages. Hypothesis 2: Socially pathological features are side-effects of the juvenile crime. Hypothesis 3: Child crime in the district Klatovy is ascending in comparison to adolescent crime in the district Klatovy. I believe that all three hypotheses were confirmed. Based on the OSPOD (Department for juvenile care) reports we can assume that there is na increase in educational problems and subsequently the crime is gradually increasing. If we consider the crime committed by children in the district Klatovy from 2004 to 2008, we find that the year 2007 is a year with the lowest crime rate monitored. We are witnessing the gradually decreasing development trend. Lately, the total development of child crime has been slightly increasing and adolescent crime slowly decreasing.

This dissertation called "Influence of adult addictions and addictive behavior on children and adolescents" is divided into two parts: theoretical one and a practical one. In the theoretical part, there will be defined the addiction and the addictive behavior, after they will be put into the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Then we will analyse concrete psychoactive substances that causes the addiction, types of addictive behavior, factors that encourage genesis of addiction and addictive behavior, influence of addictions and addictive behavior on children and adolescents. The last chapter of theoretical part occupies with possibilities of therapy of addiction and addictive behavior. The practical part proceeds from anonymous questionnaire survey that took place at an elementary school and at a high school. In the end there is a discussion about influence of adult addictions and addictive behavior on children and adolescents.

Objective: This study aims to ascertain once and for all whether children and adolescents affected by ADHD show a higher risk for accidents, as well as investigating a possible association between the administration of ADHD-specific medication and the occurrence of accidents. Method: Two exceptionally large sets of data were implemented in this analysis. Participants included children and adolescents representative of the entire German population. Data for Survey 1 was collected through extensive administration of questionnaires. Data for Survey 2 stemmed from the records of a leading German health insurance company. In terms of statistical analysis, chi-square tests as well as logistic regression analyses were applied and odds ratios (ORs) were determined. Results: Innovative results are presented showing a significantly higher likelihood for ADHD-affected youngsters to be involved in accidents compared with their nonaffected counterparts (Survey 1: OR = 1.60; Survey 2: OR = 1.89) but lacking an overall significant influence of medication regarding the occurrence of accidents (Survey 1: OR = 1.28; Survey 2: OR = 0.97). Frequency of accidents could be predicted by ADHD, gender, and age in both samples. Medication intake served as a weak predictor only in Survey 2. Conclusion: It has been determined in two representative and independent German samples that youngsters with ADHD are at a significantly higher risk of being involved in accidents. In the future, this should always be considered when setting up a treatment plan to ensure a safer and healthier coming of age without relying solely on specific effects of medication.

Det finns en brist på orosanmälningar av brottsoffer som befinner sig i riskfyllda omständigheter, det är dock viktigt att det trots allt sker orosanmälningar även på brottsoffer för att socialtjänsten ska få en underrättelse över situationen och försöka lokalisera adekvata åtgärder och minimera ungdomars utsatthet. Det har även framkommit att det återfunnits missnöje mellan polisen och socialtjänsten. Mot bakgrund av detta ämnar den aktuella studien att undersöka samarbetet mellan polisen och socialtjänsten gällande SoL 14-anmälningar. Tillika ämnas polisens samt socialtjänstens uppfattning på bristen av SoL 14-anmälningar på brottsoffer att utforskas. För att undersöka detta har följande frågeställningar besvarats: hur upplever polisen och socialtjänsten tillämpningen av anmälningsskyldigheten gällande barn som utsatts för brott? Hur fungerar samarbetet mellan polisen och socialtjänsten avseende orosanmälningar? Hur kan problem med hantering av orosanmälningar förklaras och åtgärdas? Resultatet åskådliggör att det finns delade meningar om samverkan med socialtjänsten bland poliserna, medan socialsekreteraren anser att samverkan fungerar bra. De poliser som är missnöjda upplever bland annat att de inte får den återkoppling de hade velat ha. Förbättringar som nämnts inkluderar att etablera medel för direktkontakt med lämpliga aktörer inom respektive myndighet för att främja arbetet med unga, således även att mer kommunikation/återkoppling ska ske. Dessutom vad det gäller anmälningsskyldigheten på brottsoffer som befinner sig i riskfyllda omständigheter menar de flesta att den inte uppfylls och att det sällan utförs SoL 14-anmälningar på brottsoffer. Somliga menar att det beror på okunskap eller att det inte ännu är en del av arbetskulturen. Även tidsbrist eller att det rentav “glöms bort” nämns, de menar på att detta sker för att fokuset ofta är riktat på gärningspersoner och inte brottsoffer. / There is a lack of reports of concern on victims of crime who are in risky circumstances, however, it is important that reports of concern are also done on victims of crime in order for social services to be informed of the situation and try to locate adequate measures and minimize adolecents vulnerability. It has also emerged that dissatisfaction was found between the police and social services. In light of this, the current study intends to investigate the cooperation between the police and social services regarding SoL 14-reports. Furthermore, the police and social services' perception of the lack of SoL 14-reports on crime victims is intended to be explored. To examine these phenomenons, the following questions were answered: how do the police and social services perceive the practice of the reporting obligation regarding children who have been victims of crime? How does the cooperation between the police and social services work regarding reports of concern? How can problems with the handling of reports of concern be explained and remedied? The result illustrates that there are divided opinions about cooperation with the social services among the police, while the social secretary believes that the cooperation works well. The police officers who are dissatisfied feel, among other things, that they do not get the feedback they would have liked. Improvements mentioned include establishing means for direct contact with appropriate actors within the respective authorities to further and improve the work regarding young people, thus also that more communication or feedback should take place. With regard to the reporting obligation on victims of crime who are in risky circumstances, most informants believe that it is not fulfilled and that SoL 14-reports on crime victims are rarely carried out. Some informants believe that it is due to ignorance or that it is not yet part of the work culture. Additionally is lack of time or that it is "forgotten" mentioned, the informants mean that this happens because the focus is often directed at the perpetrators and not the victims.