My research brings together two areas of sociological inquiry. The first area involves the study of the welfare state and the second the determinants of health status. Drawing on Esping-Andersen's work concerning a particular aspect of the welfare state, decommodification, two questions are of interest. First, are individuals in countries with more decommodifying welfare states less likely to report poor self-perceived health than individuals in countries with less decommodifying welfare states? Second, does decommodification affect the health of various population groups in different ways? Gender and income groups are of interest here. Theoretically, I argue that the welfare state impacts the stratification order, that social inequality is tied to social cohesion, and that social cohesion is linked to health. I draw on sources of both country- and individual- level data, including the comparative welfare Entitlements dataset, the World Values Survey, and the European Values Study, to test hypotheses concerning the link between decommodification and self-perceived health. In general, I hypothesize that higher levels of decommodification will contribute to a decreased likelihood that individuals report poor self-perceived health. Given the miltilevel structure of my research questions and hypotheses, I use multilevel binary logistic regression to assess relationships of interest. My findings indicate that, for all groups, decommodification does not have a statistically significant relationship with self-perceived health. In other words, higher levels of welfare support do not decrease the likelihood that individuals report poor health. To elaborate, for all groups, those who are trusting, as compared to those who are not, are less likely to report poor health. Overall, the data do not support my hypotheses, revealing potential flaws in my theory linking the welfare state and health status. My research, then, has both theoretical and empirical implications.

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine a relationship between perceived health and sport participation with objectives as follows: (a) to examine how athletes perceive their health and understand its importance for sport and life; (b) to examine what strategies athletes use to enhance their health and under what conditions they put their health at risk in sport; (c) to analyse social influences on athletes related to sport and health and (d) to analyse a position of health among athletes’ perceived “benefits” and “costs” of athletic career in its relation to satisfaction with sport participation. The perceived health and sport participation working model (Stambulova, Johnson, Lindwall & Hinic, 2004) was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Thirty six competitive athletes – representatives of different sports - were interviewed using a structured interview guide with both qualitative and quantitative questions. Inductive and deductive analyses were used to treat the qualitative data and to develop category profiles. SPSS was used to treat the quantitative data (descriptive statistics). The results show that the athletes’ attitude to their health is double sided. A majority of the athletes value health as important for life but at the same time 69% of them put their health at risk in their athletic career (e.g, practicing or competing when ill or injured). A majority of the athletes also use self enhancing strategies (e.g., injury and overtraining prevention), but are at the same time draining their health related resources. Health was the second highest perceived benefit of sport participation, but it was also the second highest perceived cost. Social influences are also contradictive as the athletes significant others express positive opinions about the link between sport and health, but they also often “push” athletes to put their health under risk in sport. The results are discussed in relation to the corresponding literature and the perceived health and sport participation working model.</p>

<p>Athletes’ health in relation to sport participation has been rather unexplored from a holistic perspective. The objectives of this study were: a) to test the modified version of the Perceived Health & Sport Participation Profile (PHSPP) Questionnaire; b) to examine the relationship between athletes’ perceived health, sport satisfaction, goal orientation, athletic identity, self-esteem and physical self perception. The Perceived Health & Sport Participation model (PH&SP) (Stambulova, Johnson, Lindwal & Hinic, 2006) was used as theoretical framework. A package of five instruments was completed by 136 competitive athletes representing different sports and levels. A test-re-test was conducted on the PHSPP with 34 athletes. Descriptive statistics, factor analyses, oneway ANOVA and correlation analyses by SPSS were employed to analyze data. The results supported the PH&SP model in much but also suggested that the questionnaire still can be improved. Factor analyses resulted in eight extracted factors explaining 55.92% of the total variance. Based on factor analyses and the PH&SP-model, eight transformed component variables were created. Test-re-test reliability for these was good. The study also confirmed that there are significant relationships between the transformed component variables of the PHSPP, athletic identity, goal orientation, self-esteem and physical self perception. The results are discussed with reference to previous research and the PH&SP-model.</p>

Weak and osteoporotic bones are an increasing cause of mortality and painful physical impairment among the elderly, especially in the Western world. Bone mineral density (BMD, g/cm2) accrual during childhood and adolescence is thought to influence an individual’s risk of osteoporosis and the related fractures. A main aim of this thesis is to investigate the effects that various types of weight-bearing physical activity have on bone accretion in young males during their active sports careers and to study the effects that detraining has on BMD. The results suggest that bone is sensitive to loading after puberty in males, and important gains in BMD stemming from physical activity were observed during the 12-year follow-up period (papers I-III). These gains seem to be site-specific and related to the type and amount of physical activity in which individuals participate (papers I-III). For example, badminton, a sport that is characterized by jumps and rapid versatile moments in multiple directions was associated with greater gains in BMD than ice hockey was. In addition, our results indicate that with reduced training, exercise-induced bone benefits decline, predominantly at trabecular sites (paper II). In contrast, high bone density attained from previous physical loading was partially preserved at cortical bone sites after about eight years of reduced activity (papers I-II). In study IV, the associations between self-perceived health, BMD, and other lifestyle factors were studied in a well-defined group of women and men of varying ages. We found that self-perceived health was related to several lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, which were also related to BMD at the femoral neck. In summary, BMD in young males seem to be especially sensitive to activities associated with supposed high strains in unusual directions at specific bone sites. A high bone density stemming from previous weight-bearing physical activity is largely lost at trabecular bone sites with reduced physical activity levels. Finally, self-perceived health seems to be associated with several lifestyle factors that are also associated with BMD at the femoral neck.

Athletes’ health in relation to sport participation has been rather unexplored from a holistic perspective. The objectives of this study were: a) to test the modified version of the Perceived Health & Sport Participation Profile (PHSPP) Questionnaire; b) to examine the relationship between athletes’ perceived health, sport satisfaction, goal orientation, athletic identity, self-esteem and physical self perception. The Perceived Health & Sport Participation model (PH&SP) (Stambulova, Johnson, Lindwal & Hinic, 2006) was used as theoretical framework. A package of five instruments was completed by 136 competitive athletes representing different sports and levels. A test-re-test was conducted on the PHSPP with 34 athletes. Descriptive statistics, factor analyses, oneway ANOVA and correlation analyses by SPSS were employed to analyze data. The results supported the PH&SP model in much but also suggested that the questionnaire still can be improved. Factor analyses resulted in eight extracted factors explaining 55.92% of the total variance. Based on factor analyses and the PH&SP-model, eight transformed component variables were created. Test-re-test reliability for these was good. The study also confirmed that there are significant relationships between the transformed component variables of the PHSPP, athletic identity, goal orientation, self-esteem and physical self perception. The results are discussed with reference to previous research and the PH&SP-model.

The purpose of this study was to examine a relationship between perceived health and sport participation with objectives as follows: (a) to examine how athletes perceive their health and understand its importance for sport and life; (b) to examine what strategies athletes use to enhance their health and under what conditions they put their health at risk in sport; (c) to analyse social influences on athletes related to sport and health and (d) to analyse a position of health among athletes’ perceived “benefits” and “costs” of athletic career in its relation to satisfaction with sport participation. The perceived health and sport participation working model (Stambulova, Johnson, Lindwall & Hinic, 2004) was used as the theoretical framework for this study. Thirty six competitive athletes – representatives of different sports - were interviewed using a structured interview guide with both qualitative and quantitative questions. Inductive and deductive analyses were used to treat the qualitative data and to develop category profiles. SPSS was used to treat the quantitative data (descriptive statistics). The results show that the athletes’ attitude to their health is double sided. A majority of the athletes value health as important for life but at the same time 69% of them put their health at risk in their athletic career (e.g, practicing or competing when ill or injured). A majority of the athletes also use self enhancing strategies (e.g., injury and overtraining prevention), but are at the same time draining their health related resources. Health was the second highest perceived benefit of sport participation, but it was also the second highest perceived cost. Social influences are also contradictive as the athletes significant others express positive opinions about the link between sport and health, but they also often “push” athletes to put their health under risk in sport. The results are discussed in relation to the corresponding literature and the perceived health and sport participation working model.

Official-language minorities in Canada may face specific issues in accessing health care services that can lead to negative consequences on their health, utilization of health care services and satisfaction with the health care system. A secondary data analysis of the 2006 Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities revealed significant differences between the Anglophone minority (n=5,161) and the Francophone minority (n=12,029) with regards to general health, and access to and use of health care services. Important predictors of these outcomes included age, education level, household income, marital status and place of residence (urban/rural). Access to health care services in the minority language was associated with self-perceived health in the Anglophone minority only. Health policy recommendations elaborated in light of the findings include working on both the supply and the demand of health care services offered in the two official languages, while taking into consideration important contextual differences between regions.

Official-language minorities in Canada may face specific issues in accessing health care services that can lead to negative consequences on their health, utilization of health care services and satisfaction with the health care system. A secondary data analysis of the 2006 Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities revealed significant differences between the Anglophone minority (n=5,161) and the Francophone minority (n=12,029) with regards to general health, and access to and use of health care services. Important predictors of these outcomes included age, education level, household income, marital status and place of residence (urban/rural). Access to health care services in the minority language was associated with self-perceived health in the Anglophone minority only. Health policy recommendations elaborated in light of the findings include working on both the supply and the demand of health care services offered in the two official languages, while taking into consideration important contextual differences between regions.

<p>Härtill 6 uppsatser</p> / digitalisering@umu

Abstract Background: World Health Organization highlights an increasing world-wide problem regarding mental ill health, disorders and difficulties among children and adolescent. Research has found that health-related impairments do not only affect the children suffering from it, but their parents as well who report negative influences on their own health and burdens of different kinds. Play therapy is suitable when treating children with mental ill health, disorders and difficulties. To improve the parents´ health as well, there is a need for research looking into which kinds of interventions that is beneficial for both children and their parents. Purpose: The aim with this study was to investigate whether children´s participation in play therapy also could be beneficial for their parent´s perceived health. It was also of interest to investigate if these parents experienced the intervention as stress-reducing and social support increasing. Method: Four parents whose children had been treated or were currently treated in play therapy participated in an individual, semi-structured interview. The collected material was processed through a thematic analysis and interpreted based on the Theory of social support. Result: Four out of four participants considered themselves at better perceived health since the child´s participation in play therapy. All participants also experienced a stress-reducing effect and three out of four considered the intervention as considerably social support increasing.