<p>In Sweden, there are considerable health differences between social groups and between women and men. Regardless of social position, women often report more symptoms than men. The aim of this study was to investigate how education is related to job satisfaction and to different aspects of well-being and symptoms in a nationally representative cohort of middle-aged women and men with children. Moreover, the study aimed to investigate the associations between education, job satisfaction, working-hours, partner status, number of children and various aspects of health. Regardless of gender, a long education was associated with significantly higher levels of general job satisfaction, sense of coherence, self-acceptance, purpose in life, personal growth and fewer physical and mental symptoms. General job satisfaction was a significant predictor of all health-related measures, apart from purpose in life. On the whole, men reported a better health compared to women who reported significantly more physical as well as psychological symptoms.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-99).

Today, health problems are likely to have a complex and multifactorial etiology, whereby psychosocial factors interact with behaviour and bodily responses. Women generally report more health problems than men. The present thesis concerns the development of women’s health from a subjective and objective perspective, as related to psychosocial living conditions and physiological stress responses. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were carried out on a representative sample of women. Data analysis was based on a holistic person-oriented approach as well as a variable approach. In Study I, the women’s self-reported symptoms and diseases as well as self-rated general health status were compared to physician-rated health problems and ratings of the general health of the women, based on medical examinations. The findings showed that physicians rated twice as many women as having poor health compared to the ratings of the women themselves. Moreover, the symptom ”a sense of powerlessness” had the highest predictive power for self-rated general health. Study II investigated individual and structural stability in symptom profiles between adolescence and middle-age as related to pubertal timing. There was individual stability in symptom reporting for nearly thirty years, although the effect of pubertal timing on symptom reporting did not extend into middle-age. Study III explored the longitudinal and current influence of socioeconomic and psychosocial factors on women’s self-reported health. Contemporary factors such as job strain, low income, financial worries, and double exposure in terms of high job strain and heavy domestic responsibilities increased the risk for poor self-reported health in middle-aged women. In Study IV, the association between self-reported symptoms and physiological stress responses was investigated. Results revealed that higher levels of medically unexplained symptoms were related to higher levels of cortisol, cholesterol, and heart rate. The empirical findings are discussed in relation to existing models of stress and health, such as the demand-control model, the allostatic load model, the biopsychosocial model, and the multiple role hypothesis. It was concluded that women’s health problems could be reduced if their overall life circumstances were improved. The practical implications of this might include a redesign of the labour market giving women more influence and control over their lives, both at and away from work.

In Sweden, there are considerable health differences between social groups and between women and men. Regardless of social position, women often report more symptoms than men. The aim of this study was to investigate how education is related to job satisfaction and to different aspects of well-being and symptoms in a nationally representative cohort of middle-aged women and men with children. Moreover, the study aimed to investigate the associations between education, job satisfaction, working-hours, partner status, number of children and various aspects of health. Regardless of gender, a long education was associated with significantly higher levels of general job satisfaction, sense of coherence, self-acceptance, purpose in life, personal growth and fewer physical and mental symptoms. General job satisfaction was a significant predictor of all health-related measures, apart from purpose in life. On the whole, men reported a better health compared to women who reported significantly more physical as well as psychological symptoms.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine psychosomaticsymptomsissuesamongst children and adolescents between the ages of 0-18 years and to clarify the underlying factors.Method: Literature study based on 10 scientific articles.Results: Psychosomatic issues amongst children and adolescents, due to stress, were common in Europe and Scandinavia. The symptoms varied between gender and age. The underlying factors were mainly school environmental issues, home conditions, socio-economic situations and disputes with teachers and peers. The symptoms varied from headache, gastro intestinal problems and insomnia to eating disorders, depression and pounding heart.               Conclusion: The future of children’s psychosomatic health depends on interventions on all levels of society since they are affected by everything from school environment and home conditions to unemployment and recession. / Syftet med denna studie var att belysa psykosomatiska symptom hos barn och ungdomar i åldrarna 0-18 år samt tydliggöra bakomliggande orsaker.Metod: Litteraturstudie baserat på 10 stycken vetenskapliga artiklar.Resultat: Barn i Europa, främst Skandinavien, upplevde olika psykosomatiska symptom till följd av stressande händelser och dessa symptom varierade även mellan ålder och kön. Skolmiljön var en stor utlösande faktor, likväl som hemförhållanden, socioekonomisk situation och osämja med lärare, jämnåriga och familjemedlemmar. Symptomen var allt från huvudvärk, mag- tarmproblem och sömnsvårigheter till nedstämdhet, ätstörningar och hjärtklappning.Slutsats: Barns framtida psykosomatiska hälsa är beroende av insatser på alla nivåer i samhället, då de påverkas av allt från skolmiljöerna de befinner sig i och hemförhållanden, till arbetslöshet och lågkonjunktur.

No description available.

Erkrankung ist mit mehr oder weniger eindeutigen körperlichen Beschwerden verbunden. Welche Bedeutung die Person diesen Beschwerden gibt, mit welchen Gedanken sie diese Beschwerden verknüpft, wird mit dem Begriff “Krankheitsrepräsentation” zusammengefasst. Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der inneren Systematik solcher Krankheitsrepräsentationen und möglichen Einflussfaktoren, durch die es zu sehr unterschiedlichen Krankheitseinschätzungen und zu einem unterschiedlichen Krankheitsverhalten kommt. / The emergence of a physical disease is announced by more or less explicit physical complaints. The importance of these complaints for an individual person and the thoughts which are attached to them are summarised in the term “disease representation”. This article deals with the internal system of such disease representation and with influencing factors which may be responsible for differing disease evaluations and different behaviour in connection with diseases.

No description available.

This thesis comprises three main sections: a literature review, research report and a critical appraisal of the research process. The literature reviewed is the current scientific literature relating to shame and guilt. The review attempts to clarify the conceptual confusion regarding shame and guilt and in particular attempts to delineate the distinctions between the two constructs whilst acknowleding the intricate and entwined relationship. The review also attempts to clarify the confusion regarding the role of guilt and its capacity to elicit both adaptive and maladaptive responses according to the way in which it is operationalised and conceptualised. The importance of the relationship between shame, guilt and mental health problems is presented with supporting empirical evidence. It is concluded that a new shame and guilt measure is required to show how shame and the maladaptive and adaptive aspects of guilt can be operationalised. It is hoped that this will enable future researchers to consider incorporating a profile approach to guilt in particular and that clinicians will consider the multiple and complex roles of shame and guilt in relation to psychological symptoms. The research report (Section 2) comprises two studies. Study 1 is the design, development and piloting of the new questionnaire assessing dispositional shame and guilt. The new measure is constructed and validity tested using an inductive approach. Study 2 is the use of the new measure with a forensic clinical sample and the relationship between guilt, shame and psychological symptoms is examined. It is hoped that this study will encourage researchers to locate future investigations within the clinical population. The final section is the researcher's critical appraisal of the research process based on her personal diary. This section is reflective and considers the impact of the research process on the researcher, the highs and lows of the research process and what changes the researcher might make.