Malgré une abondante littérature scientifique consacrée aux valeurs en tant que croyances et préférences partagées, les valeurs des adolescent.e.s sont peu étudiées. Ainsi, l’objectif de cette thèse consiste à contribuer à une meilleure compréhension des valeurs, à travers l’analyse des déterminants du changement des valeurs à l’adolescence. Nous avons réalisé trois études auprès des élèves à l’aide du questionnaire des valeurs de Schwartz. La première étude porte sur l’analyse du lien entre le facteur âge et l’évolution des valeurs chez les adolescent.e.s. La deuxième étude analyse le rôle des variables personnelles et sociodémographiques sur le changement des valeurs. La dernière étude porte sur l’impact des événements de vie inopinés sur l’évolution des valeurs. A partir de l’examen de la littérature proposée à ce sujet et des résultats de ces trois études, un modèle théorique de l’évolution des valeurs est proposé. De même, l’implication pratique de cette recherche préconise une approche holistique et dynamique d’aide à l’élaboration des projets des adolescent.e.s. / Despite a wealth of scientific literature on values as shared beliefs and preferences, adolescent values are poorly studied. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to contribute to a better understanding of values, through the analysis of the determinants of change in values in adolescence. We conducted three student studies using the Schwartz Values Questionnaire. The first study deals with the analysis of the link between the age factor and the evolution of values in adolescents. The second study analyzes the role of personal and sociodemographic variables in changing values. The last study focuses on the impact of unplanned life events on the evolution of values. From the review of the literature proposed on this subject and the results of these three studies, a theoretical model of the evolution of values is proposed. Similarly, the practical implication of this research advocates a holistic and dynamic approach to assist in the development of adolescent projects.

Background: Individuals who experience negative life events may be at increased risk for suicidal behavior. Intrapersonal characteristics, such as basic psychological needs, however, may buffer this association. Aims: To assess the potential moderating role of overall basic psychological needs, and the separate components of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, on the association between negative life events and suicidal behavior. MethodOur sample of 439 college students (311 females, 71%) completed the following self-report surveys: Life Events Scale, Basic Psychological Needs Scale, Beck Depression Inventory ; II, and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. Results: In support of our hypotheses, negative life events were associated with greater levels of suicidal ideation and attempts, and satisfaction of basic psychological needs, including autonomy, relatedness, and competence, significantly moderated this relationship, over and above the effects of the covariates of age, sex, and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Suicidal behavior associated with the experience of negative life events is not inevitable. Therapeutically bolstering competence, autonomy, and relatedness may be an important suicide prevention strategy for individuals experiencing life stressors.

Objective: We tested a hypothesized model consistent with the notion that self-compassion mediates the association between negative life events and suicidal risk (viz., depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors) in college students. Method: The sample was comprised of 331 college students. Self-compassion facets (viz., self-kindness, self-judgment, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and overidentification) were used in testing for multiple mediation, controlling for sex. Results: Common humanity, mindfulness, and overidentification were found to mediate the association between negative life events (NLE) and depressive symptoms. However, common humanity was found to be the only mediator of the association between NLE and suicidal behaviors. Conclusion: These findings suggest that there are specific facets of self-compassion that account for the association between NLE and suicidal risk in college students and that (loss of) common humanity plays a central role in this process.

The objective of this study was to examine the combined moderating effects of life stress and loneliness on the association between social problem solving ability (SPS) and suicidal behaviors. We assessed SPS, suicidal behavior, loneliness, and stressful life events in a sample of 385 ethnically diverse college students. Overall, only loneliness moderated the association between SPS and suicidal behaviors. Across ethnic groups, loneliness moderated the association between SPS and suicidal behavior for Blacks, Whites, and Asians; life stress was a moderator for Hispanics. For most individuals, loneliness increases the strength of the association between poor problem-solving and suicidal behaviors. For Hispanics, life stress exacerbates this relationship. Ethnically-specific prevention strategies targeting loneliness and life stress may promote effective problem-solving, reducing suicide risk.

This paper presents the findings of two independent studies which examined the test-retest reliability and the fall-off effects of the Munich Life Event List (MEL). The MEL is a three-step interview procedure for assessing life incidents which focusses on recognition processes rather than free recall. In a reliability study, test–retest coefficients of the MEL, based on a sample of 42 subjects, were quite stable over a 6-week interval. Stability for severe incidents appeared to be higher than for the less severe ones. In the fall-off study, a total rate of 30% fall-off was noted for all incidents reported retrospectively over an 8-year period. A more detailed analysis revealed average monthly fall-off effects of 0.36%. The size of fall-off effects was higher for non-severe and positive incidents than for severe incidents. This was particularly evident for the symptomatic groups. Non-symptomatic males reported a higheroverall number of life incidents than females. This was partly due to more frequent reporting of severe incidents. The findings of the fall-off study do not support the common belief that the reliability oflife incident report is much worse when the assessment period is extended over a period of several years as compared to the traditional 6-month period.

The main objective of this study was to examine the vulnerability factors of Obsessive Compulsive Symptomatology (OCS) in a non-clinical sample. On the basis of Salkovskis&rsquo / cognitive model of OCD, the present study aimed to investigate the role of perceived parental rearing behaviors, responsibility attitudes, and life events in predicting OCS. Furthermore, the mediator role of responsibility attitudes in the relationship between perceived parental rearing behaviors and OCS was examined. Finally, the specificity of these variables to OCS was evaluated by examining the relationship of the same variables to depression and trait anxiety. Analysis of covariance results showed that subjects with higher OCS scores perceived their mothers&rsquo / and fathers&rsquo / rearing behaviors as more overprotective than the subjects with lower OCS scores. The results of the regression analysis showed that perceived mother overprotection, responsibility attitudes and life events significantly predicted OCS. Furthermore, responsibility attitudes mediated the relationship between perceived mother overprotection and OCS. The predictive role of perceived mother overprotection was found to be OCS specific. On the other hand, for depression, perceived mother rejection and father emotional warmth, and for trait anxiety, perceived mother emotional warmth had significant predictive effects. While responsibility attitudes were found to be a common predictor for OCS and trait anxiety, its mediator role was OCS specific. OCS, depression and trait anxiety were all significantly predicted by life events. The results of the study were discussed within the relevant literature, and limitations of the study, suggestions for future studies, and clinical implications of the findings were presented.

Current literature suggests that family stressors are positively related to adolescent psychopathology; however, few studies have examined the relationship between family stressors and positive indicators of mental health, such as life satisfaction. Additionally, past literature has found support for life satisfaction as a mediating variable between environmental experiences (i.e., parent-child relationships, major life events) and adolescent psychopathology. Research questions answered in the current study pertain to: (a) the relationship between family stressors (i.e., socio-economic status, family structure, major life events, interparental conflict) and adolescents' life satisfaction, (b) the overall contribution of family stressors to life satisfaction and which stressors are most strongly associated with life satisfaction, and (c) whether life satisfaction mediates the relationship between family stressors and substance use. To answer these questions, self-report surveys from 183 middle school students were analyzed. Results indicate that experiencing major life events and interparental conflict were unique predictors of life satisfaction, and all the family stressors combined accounted for 37% of the variance in life satisfaction. Additionally, the relationship between these two family stressors and substance use was shown to be mediated by life satisfaction. Implications for school psychologists and future directions are discussed.

Suicidal Behavior in the U.S. Army is a problem that persists despite significant efforts to promote help-seeking behaviors and the investment of millions of dollars to develop resilience-building interventions. Evidence-based literature supports the use of reasons for living as a protective factor against suicidal behavior in clinical and nonclinical samples, yet it has rarely been studied in an active duty (AD) Army population. This study examined the relationship between self-reported reasons for living and self-reported suicidal behavior, to determine if high levels of reasons for living correlated with low risk of suicidal behavior, over and above demographics, depression, stressful life events, and social support, using standardized questionnaires. The study sample consisted of 244 AD Army soldiers attending the Warrior Leadership Course in Germany. The results analysis showed that reasons for living were inversely related to suicidal behavior among this sample. Although African American soldiers scored higher on measures of reasons for living and suicidal behavior, demographic variables did not significantly predict suicidal behavior. Reasons for living accounted for a unique amount of variance in suicidal behavior; however, depression, stressful life events, and social support were better predictors. This study demonstrates the benefits of incorporating reasons for living in military research and practice, as efforts are made to identify AD Army personnel at risk for suicide. The study findings also support the claim that examining protective and risk factors supersedes efforts to study risk factors alone. It promotes positive social change by informing efforts to develop comprehensive suicide prevention policies, programs, and procedures aimed at effectively reducing the rate of suicide in the U.S. Army.

In migratory vertebrates, the optimal timing of successive life history stages is relatively inflexible. As a result, life history trade-offs that occur during breeding may influence individual success in subsequent stages because there is little time to mitigate negative costs that are incurred, or because the onset of subsequent stages is delayed. In migratory songbirds, understanding how breeding events carry over to influence individual success has been challenging because individuals are difficult to track once breeding is complete. I studied an island breeding population of migratory Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) and tracked individuals from breeding up until the onset of autumn migration. In Chapter 1, I investigated the effects of early life events on body condition during the pre-migratory period and first year apparent survival. I found that juveniles fledging from larger broods were in poorer condition at fledging, had lower fat stores prior to migration, and had lower first year apparent survival. In Chapter 2, I examined the effects of life history trade-offs made by adults during breeding on pre-migratory body condition and annual apparent survival. I did not find evidence for a trade-off between reproductive effort or date of breeding completion with annual apparent survival or body condition during the pre-migratory period, but instead found that adults with the highest reproductive effort and later dates of breeding completion were more likely to survive until the following year. In Chapter 3, I examined the effect of timing of breeding completion and fledging on the date of fall migration. I found that both variables had strong positive effects on date of departure. Together, my results suggest that successful migration in juveniles is influenced by early life events, but that any potential costs incurred by adults during the breeding season likely has little influence on survival during migration.

BAKGRUND: De som drabbats av svåra livshändelser (här begränsade till skilsmässa eller make/makas död) betraktas som en riskgrupp när det gäller både allmän hälsa och munhälsa. SYFTE: Att undersöka om och i vilken mån svåra livshändelser (skilsmässa eller make/makas död) påverkar den allmänna hälsan och munhälsan, samt vilka aspekter av munhälsa som en global munhälsofråga kan fånga upp. MATERIAL OCH METOD: Studien utfördes som en kvantitativ studie med en enkät om munhälsa som delades ut till samtliga födda 1942 i Örebro och Östergötlands län under 2007. Svarsfrekvensen var 73,1% av totalt 8313 individer. Både allmän hälsa och munhälsa mättes med hjälp av en global fråga. Munhälsan mättes dessutom med sex ytterligare frågor. Deskriptiv analys gjordes, skillnader mellan grupper testades och kompletterades med logistiska regressionsanalyser. RESULTAT: Det finns en statistiskt signifikant skillnad mellan dem som är frånskilda och/eller änka/änkling jämfört med dem som är gifta/sambo. De som inte drabbats av skilsmässa eller make/makas död hade bättre allmän hälsa och munhälsa. Skillnaden är systematisk och signifikant. Skillnaden mellan grupperna är statistisk signifikant även vid användandet av endast en fråga, den globala munhälsofrågan. Den globala munhälsofrågan förefaller i första hand spegla de delar av munhälsan som anknyter till patientens uppfattning om utseende och tuggförmåga. Studien antyder också att den försämrade hälsan kvarstår lång tid efter händelsen. SLUTSATSER OCH REKOMMENDATIONER: Den här studien påvisar vikten av en adekvat anamnes som även inkluderar frågor om civilstånd. En global fråga om självupplevd munhälsa är också ett möjligt komplement för att bättre kunna bedöma såväl patientens munhälsa som behov av preventiva insatser. / BACKGROUND: Individuals who have experienced difficult life events, limited here todivorce or death of a spouse, show elevated risk regarding general and oral health. AIM: This study investigated how and to what extent difficult life events, i.e., divorce ordeath of a spouse, affect general and oral health. I also sought to determine whether a globalquestion can identify different aspects of oral health. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This cross-sectional quantitative study used an existingquestionnaire already distributed to all (8,313) 65-year-old citizens in two Swedish counties.Within the questionnaire, a global question measured general as well as oral health, and sixadditional questions assessed oral health. Descriptive analysis sought to determinedifferences between groups, and logistic regressions were used to compare them further. RESULTS: The questionnaire response rate was 73.1%. The results showed statisticallysignificant differences in general and oral health among individuals who experienceddivorce or death of a spouse compared with individuals without such experiences. Thedifferences among groups, i.e., better general and oral health among individuals withoutdivorce or death of a spouse, were significant and systemic, p&lt;0.05. Further, differencesremained statistically significant even when using a global question on oral health. However,this global question focused mainly on chewing capacity and appearance. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the importance of accurate anamnesis, includingquestions on civil status. A global question about self-perceived oral health providesimportant information for judging patients’ oral health and determining preventive actions.The study also suggests that risk for deteriorating oral health lingers long after difficult lifeevents have occurred. / <p>ISBN 978-91-85721-48-1</p>