The purpose of this study was to examine the mental health among young elite athletes aged16-19 years old at Växjö municipality sports high schools. The focus area was anxiety anddepression disorders, which were measured using the General Health Questionnaire. Theprimary issues was to examine how common these disorders are and whether it differsbetween individual and team athletes. By actualizing the subject, there are also hopes that thesubject will be less stigmatized.A quantitative method has been used to reach out to as many people as possible. Thequestionnaire included for example questions about injury background and amount oftraining, to have a material for an analysis. Some of the conclusions are that anxiety anddepression disorders are common among students at Växjö municipality sports high schoolsand that many students consider that they don’t receive sufficient support for mental illness.

Syftet med studien var att kvantitativt undersöka förekomsten av negativ kroppsuppfattning samt sambandet mellan negativ kroppsuppfattning och psykisk ohälsa hos unga män. Frågeställningarna var hur vanligt det var med negativ kroppsuppfattning hos unga män på gymnasieskolor i södra Sverige, samt om det fanns ett samband mellan negativ kroppsuppfattning och psykisk ohälsa hos samma målgrupp. Urvalet bestod av 116 deltagare ( M = 17 år), vilka besvarade en enkät där negativ kroppsuppfattning och psykisk ohälsa mättes med hjälp av mätinstrumenten Appearance Evaluation respektive Global Health Questionnaire 12 . Resultaten visade att 23 % av deltagarna hade en negativ kroppsuppfattning, och att det fanns ett signifikant samband med medium effektstorlek mellan negativ kroppsuppfattning och psykisk ohälsa. Slutsatsen blev att negativ kroppsuppfattning förekom hos unga män på gymnasieskolor i södra Sverige, samt att det fanns ett samband mellan negativ kroppsuppfattning och psykisk ohälsa hos de unga männen. Emellertid bidrog metodologiska svårigheter till att resultaten inte är generaliserbara. / The purpose of this study was to quantitatively investigate the prevalence of negative body image and the correlation between negative body image and psychological distress in young men. The research questions were how common negative body image was in young men in high schools in southern Sweden, and if negative body image correlated with psychological distress within the target group. The sample consisted of 116 participants ( M = 17 years), who answered a survey where negative body image and psychological distress was measured by Appearance Evaluation and General Health Questionnaire 12. Results showed that 23 % of the participants had a negative body image, and that there was a significant correlation with medium effect size between negative body image and psychological distress. The conclusion was that negative body image existed in young men in high schools in southern Sweden, and that there was a correlation between negative body image and psychological distress among these young men. However, the methodological difficulties contributed to the results not being generalizable.

The aim of this study was to explore whether general self–efficacy would moderate the relationship between stress and positive mental health in participants from an African context. Literature supported the concept that stress has a negative influence on mental health and that this interaction may be moderated by cognitive resources. General self–efficacy is a cognitive resource that may act as a moderator in the negative association between stress and positive mental health. Although general self–efficacy is thought to be a universal construct, little empirical research on it has been conducted in an African context. An African socio–cultural context is often described as more collectivistic and characterised by social harmony and interdependence. A sample of 1050 participants from both urban (n=451) and rural (n=599) settings completed Setswana versions of the four relevant questionnaires, i.e. the Mental Health Continuum - Short Form (MHC–SF, Keyes, 2006), used to measure positive mental health, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ, Goldberg & Hillier, 1979), used to measure the experience of stress, the Generalized Self–Efficacy Scale (GSE, Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1992) and the New General Self–Efficacy Scale (NGSE, Chen, Gully & Eden, 2001), both measuring general self–efficacy. Data were collected in a quantitative cross–sectional survey design with the aid of 16 trained bilingual (English and Setswana speaking) fieldworkers. Results showed negative correlations between the GHQ (SS, AS, SD, and DS) and MHC–SF (EWB, PWB, and SWB). Results indicated that general self–efficacy moderated the negative effect of manifestation of stress as shown by indices of psychological distress on emotional, psychological and social well–being. Thus, it is found that higher levels of self–efficacy are beneficial for the well–being of individuals in this African sample. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The aim of this study was to explore whether general self–efficacy would moderate the relationship between stress and positive mental health in participants from an African context. Literature supported the concept that stress has a negative influence on mental health and that this interaction may be moderated by cognitive resources. General self–efficacy is a cognitive resource that may act as a moderator in the negative association between stress and positive mental health. Although general self–efficacy is thought to be a universal construct, little empirical research on it has been conducted in an African context. An African socio–cultural context is often described as more collectivistic and characterised by social harmony and interdependence. A sample of 1050 participants from both urban (n=451) and rural (n=599) settings completed Setswana versions of the four relevant questionnaires, i.e. the Mental Health Continuum - Short Form (MHC–SF, Keyes, 2006), used to measure positive mental health, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ, Goldberg & Hillier, 1979), used to measure the experience of stress, the Generalized Self–Efficacy Scale (GSE, Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1992) and the New General Self–Efficacy Scale (NGSE, Chen, Gully & Eden, 2001), both measuring general self–efficacy. Data were collected in a quantitative cross–sectional survey design with the aid of 16 trained bilingual (English and Setswana speaking) fieldworkers. Results showed negative correlations between the GHQ (SS, AS, SD, and DS) and MHC–SF (EWB, PWB, and SWB). Results indicated that general self–efficacy moderated the negative effect of manifestation of stress as shown by indices of psychological distress on emotional, psychological and social well–being. Thus, it is found that higher levels of self–efficacy are beneficial for the well–being of individuals in this African sample. / Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Bakgrund: Daglig rökning och låg fysisk aktivitet på fritiden är betydligt högre bland individer med psykisk ohälsa.Syfte: Att undersöka dessa samband i ett köns- och socioekonomiskt perspektiv, samt eventuellt finna bakomliggande orsaker.Metod: Använder data från en tvärsnittsstudie (Folkhälsoenkät, Skåne 2000) med en representativ population (n = 11 304) i åldern 18-65. Huvudvariabler är självrapporterad daglig rökning och låg fysisk aktivitet, samt psykisk ohälsa som bedöms via General Health Questionnaire-12. Analyser gjordes med logistiskregression för att få oddskvoter och kontrollera för möjliga confounders.Resultat: Samband finns mellan psykisk ohälsa och daglig rökning, respektive låg fysisk aktivitet bland båda könen, och bland socioekonomiska grupper. Kvinnor har signifikant lägre oddskvoter gällande båda sambanden. Individer med psykisk ohälsa har fler ofördelaktiga levnadsvanor än de med ej psykisk ohälsa, oavsett socioekonomisk status. Ingen signifikant skillnad upptäcktes mellan socioekonomiska grupper vid jämförelse av oddskvoter gällande låg fysisk aktivitet, bland kvinnor med ej psykisk ohälsa.Slutsatser: Studien har bekräftat sambandet psykisk ohälsa och daglig rökning, respektive låg fysisk aktivitet, bland båda könen och inom olika socioekonomiska grupper. / Title: The relationship between mental ill-health and health related lifestyle habits among women and men in a scanian populationBackground: Daily smoking and low leisure time physical activity prevalence are higher among individuals with mental ill-health.Aim: To investigate these relationships in a gender- and socioeconomic perspective, together with possible underlying mechanisms.Methods: Using data from a cross-sectional survey (Scania public health survey, 2000) with a representative sample (n = 11 304), aged 18-65. Included were selfreported daily smoking, low leisure time physical activity, and mental health measured by the General Health Questionnaire-12. Logistic regression analyseswere performed to get odds ratios (OR), and to adjust for potential confounding factors.Results: Daily smoking and low leisure time physical activity were found to be associated with mental ill-health, among both sexes. Women had significantly lower OR than men with regard to both relationships. Individuals with mental illhealth had more unfavourable lifestyle habits than individuals without, independently of socioeconomic status. There were no significant differences between socioeconomic groups when comparing OR for low leisure time physicalactivity among women without mental ill-health.Conclusions: This study confirms the relationships of mental ill-health and dailysmoking, and low leisure time physical activity, among both sexes and within different socioeconomic groups.Key words: mental health; daily smoking; low leisure time physical activity; General Health Questionnaire-12; gender; socioeconomic status; etnicity; crosssectional study.

Introduction Numerous preventive programmes have emerged, and need to be investigated to determine their effects on the normal population. Earlier studies have shown a decrease in depressive symptoms, positive effects on children’s disruptive behaviour problems, and an improvement in parental competence. About a fifth of the parents in previous studies had problem-oriented (targeted) reasons for enrolment, whereas the rest of the parents had general (universal) reasons. The results of those studies suggest that the programmes are cost effective in terms of Quality-Adjusted Life Years. Aim Four sub-studies were performed, and their aims were to investigate the effect of parental training programmes (PTPs) in a naturalistic setting on parents’ mental health in the general population, to investigate how PTPs affect parents’ sense of parental competence, to investigate how PTPs affect parental stress and analyse the parents open questions about the PTPs, and to investigate the feasibility and to measure the effect on depression, anxiety, and social problems of two preventive school programmes for pupils in grade 7. Method In a longitudinal quantitative study in a real-world setting, 279 parents from the general population in northern Sweden participated in five PTPs. A comparison group of 702 parents without intervention was included. Simultaneously, a community sample of 59 pupils in grade 7 participated in two preventive school programmes. Both studies were conducted from 2010 to 2013. Parents were assigned to professionally supported interventions that included 5-10 two-hour sessions. Respondents filled in a web-based questionnaire with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Parents Sense of Competence (PSOC) for parents who had children aged 0-17 years, and the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ) for parents who had children aged 0-10 years. The intervention groups’ results were compared to comparison group of 702 parents from northern Sweden that had not participated in any parental training programme. In the school study, one of the preventive programmes was an ongoing programme called “Life-Skills”, and the other was an implemented Canadian programme called “Choosing Healthy Actions and Thoughts” (CHAT). The pupils completed a test battery including the Sense of Coherence (SOC), the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), and the Youth Self-Report (YSR) instruments. Follow up of the parental programme study was done six months after the post-intervention measure, and follow up of the school study was at one year. Results The improvements in GHQ were statistically significant for the mean of the 279 parents in the intervention group compared to the mean of a comparison group of the 702 parents who did not receive any intervention. This suggests that evidence-based PTPs enhance parental well-being even for parents without problems. The intervention group showed a statistically significant improvement in parental competence compared to the comparison group over time. The intervention itself had a significant effect on parental satisfaction, but the efficacy effect was not sustained when taking into account potential confounders. In the SPSQ, the intervention group was smaller due to the fact that the instrument was not validated for children over the age of 10 and one of the parental training groups was only for parents of teenagers. A reduction of stress in the sub-scale of health problems was detected, but no other subscale showed the intervention to have a significant effect when controlling for confounding variables. In the school study, both programmes had good feasibility according to the stake- holders and had several positive mental health outcomes over time. Compared to Life-Skills, CHAT had more significant positive effects on reducing anxious/depressive symptoms and girls experienced significant positive effects on reduced anxious/depressive behaviour, while boys reduced their aggressive behaviours. Conclusions Earlier studies indicate that PTPs enhance perceived parental competence among referred parents. The present study shows that PTPs applied in the general population might also enhance perceived parental benefits such as improved health and satisfaction, suggesting that PTPs can be an important preventive strategy to enhance parenthood. The results suggest that parents who feel a need to increase their parenting competence might participate in PTPs based on lower scores than the comparison control group both before and after the intervention. The school-based programme shows that schools may be a suitable arena for preventive programmes because there was a significant short-term improvement in depression symptoms. Further studies need to explore how parents’ participation in PTPs affects children’s mental health in the general population in quantitative longitudinal studies in real-word settings. There is also a need for bigger studies and RCTs on school preventions and on how children’s health develops naturally in the population.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The aim of the present study was to determine whether it was possible to identify changes in levels of postpartum depression and maternal adjustment and attitude in primiparae before and after birth. It aimed, furthermore, at assessing certain risk factors that could provide an understanding of the etiological factors (causes, determinants) influencing postpartum levels of depression and maternal adjustment and attitude. The study focused on risk factors among married and unmarried primiparae (first time mothers), with a view to establishing vulnerability profiles of the respective groups. The specific risk factors that formed part of the investigation were social support, personality (neuroticism) and life events. All the subjects investigated were recruited from the Mitchells Plain Maternity and Obstetrics Unit. A sample of 70 subjects, in the third trimester of pregnancy, voluntarily participated in the first part of this study. Of these, 26 belonged to the married group and 44 belonged to the unmarried group. As a result of the attrition factor, 57 subjects constituted the final sample for analysis. The final sample comprised 20 married and 37 unmarried subjects. Subjects were followed up four to eight weeks postpartum. Results revealed that there were no significant changes in levels of depression between the married and unmarried groups, either before or after delivery. Of significance was that with the event of birth, the depression scores amongst women rated high in neuroticism decreased significantly. Married women with high social support satisfaction scores were found to have low depression scores. Similarly, married women who experienced fewer negative life events had lower levels of depression than did the unmarried women who experienced fewer negative life events. The maternal adjustment and attitude scores did not change before or after birth, except in the married group. The married group showed a significant increase in scores on the maternal adjustment and attitude scores after the birth of the child. Regarding personality (neuroticism), the high neuroticism scorers had significantly lower maternal adjustment and attitude than did the low neuroticism scorers. As was the case with social support and depression, married women with high social support had a higher maternal adjustment and attitude. A significant effect of negative life events on maternal adjustment and attitude was only found for the married women (after delivery) who experienced a low number of life events. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed, in order to yield a model in which the depression and maternal adjustment and attitude scores would be predicted by risk factors. The finding of this analysis for both depression and maternal attitude and adjustment was not significant. Social Identity theory was suggested as a possible interpretation of these results. Future research which views social identity as a factor in understanding postpartum depression and maternal adjustment and attitude has been proposed .