Syftet med denna uppsats är att göra en analys av den skönlitterära gestaltningen av debutfenomenet i Wera von Essens roman En debutants dagbok. Utgångspunkten är en distinktion mellan två olika innebörder av benämningen ”författare” som jag identifierar i romanen: å ena sidan, den författare som utövar skrivakten och, å den andra, den författare som publiceras i den litterära offentligheten. Denna distinktion analyseras utifrån en teoretisk grund som dels består av en klassificering av romanen som metafiktiv självframställning, och dels av litteraturvetenskapliga begrepp, nämligen Pierre Bourdieus ”fält”, ”habitus” och ”kapital” samt Michel Foucaults ”författarfunktion”. Analysmetoden är närläsning av romanen med hjälp av dessa teoretiska verktyg. Resultatet visar att den skönlitterära gestaltningen av debutantfenomenet tyder på berättarens förståelse för mekanismen genom vilken en författargestalt konstrueras. Samtidigt tyder gestaltningen på att det litterära fältet som berättaren befinner sig i, till skillnad från hennes uppfattning, har en förmåga att förändra sig själv och välkomna nya aktörer  –  vilket romanens själva existens bevisar.

Bakgrund Upplevelserna hos närstående till en person som fått en tidigt debuterande demenssjukdom kan skilja sig från upplevelserna de närstående har vid en sent debuterande demenssjukdom. En tidig debut av demenssjukdom, till skillnad från en debut efter 65 års ålder, innebär större risk att närstående i yngre åldrar påverkas. Det behövs ökad kunskap kring vilka upplevelserna är hos de närstående, för att underlätta deras liv efter diagnosen tidigt debuterande demenssjukdom. Syfte Syftet var att belysa närståendes upplevelser av att leva med en person med tidigt debuterande demenssjukdom. Metod En icke-systematisk litteraturöversikt gjordes baserat på artiklar av en kvalitativ design. Genom sökorden demens, tidig diagnos, närstående samt upplevelser tillsammans med varianter av dessa begrepp, genomfördes sökningar i PubMed och CINAHL. Artiklarna sammanställdes därefter i en integrerad dataanalys. Resultat Utifrån de 16 artiklarna i litteraturöversikten framkom ett resultat som indikerade på att närstående upplevde svårigheter i vardagen, redan från tiden innan diagnostiseringen av en tidig demenssjukdom. I samband med att demenssjukdomen fortskred skapades nya varianter av roller och relationer. Dessa förändringar i livet påverkade på sikt ekonomin såväl som det sociala livet negativt. På det emotionella planet fanns rädslor som främst grundade sig i det otänkbara, att förlora någon i sin närhet för att senare fortsätta att leva på egen hand. Närstående upplevde även att tillgänglig information till personer som berörs av just en tidigt debuterande demenssjukdom var otillräcklig. Slutsats Brist på tillgänglig information minskade närståendes möjligheter till att hantera vardagen samt att få rätt sorts hjälp och stöd. Detta skapar svårigheter för närstående att hantera och uppleva meningsfullhet i livet tillsammans med personen med tidigt debuterande demenssjukdom. Mer kunskap hos personal inom vården behövs för att kunna ge ett personcentrerat stöd. / Background  The experiences of close family and friends to a person with a diagnosis of early-onset dementia can differ from the experiences the close family and friends has when it comes to a late onset dementia. An early-onset dementia diagnosis, unlike an onset after the age of 65, means that there is a bigger risk that relatives of a younger age are affected. There is a need for increased knowledge about the experiences of close family and friends, to make their lives easier after the diagnosis of early-onset dementia. Aim The aim of this study was to describe close families and friends’ experiences of living with a person with early-onset dementia. Method A non-systematic literature review was done based on articles of a qualitative design. Through the keywords dementia, early diagnosis, relatives and experience together with versions of these concepts, searches were conducted in PubMed and CINAHL. The articles were then compiled in an integrated data analysis. Results From the 16 articles in this literature review a result emerged that indicated that the family and friends experienced difficulties in everyday life, beginning even before the diagnosis of early-onset dementia. In connection to the progress of the dementia disease, new versions of roles and relations were formed. These changes in life eventually affected both the economy as well as the social life negatively. On the emotional level there were fears mainly based on the unthinkable, to lose someone standing close to oneself and to have to continue living life alone. Family and friends also experienced that the information available for the people affected by an early-onset dementia was insufficient. Conclusions  Lack of available information reduced the family and friends’ possibilities to cope with everyday life and to get the right kind of help and support. This creates difficulties for the family and friends to both cope with and experience meaningfulness in life together with the person with an early-onset dementia. More knowledge among care personnel is needed to be able to give person-centered care.

Antalet personer som diagnostiseras med en kognitiv sjukdom ökar i världen. De kognitiva sjukdomarna är vanligare i hög ålder men även yngre människor insjuknar. Sjukdomarna ger ett ökat behov av stöd i vardagen och den största delen av vård och omsorg ges idag av de anhöriga.  Syftet var att beskriva upplevelsen av att leva tillsammans med en partner som drabbats av enkognitiv sjukdom med tidig debut. Metoden som använts har varit en litteraturstudie med induktiv ansats. Sökningar i databaserna Pubmed, Cinahl och PsycInfo gjordes med begränsningen artiklar som publicerats mellan 2012 – 2023 för att endast inkludera aktuell forskning. Studien baserades på 15 kvalitativa forskningsartiklar som bedömdes kunna svara på syftet.  Resultatet presenteras i sex kategorier. Det visar att partners till personer med kognitivasjukdomar med tidig debut upplever svårighet för den sjuke att få en diagnos. De upplever även okunskap och bristfälligt stöd från hälso-och sjukvårdspersonal. Känslorna är svåra och rollerna i relationen förändras. Stigmatiseringen kring sjukdomarna är stor och det sociala livet berörs negativt. Även den egna hälsan, ekonomin och arbetslivet påverkas och de vårdande partnerna känner en oro inför framtiden. Slutsatsen är att stigmatiseringen och okunskapen är stor, både hos samhället och inom hälso- och sjukvård och påverkar livet för de som lever tillsammans med en partner med en kognitiv sjukdom. Kunskaperna om kognitiva sjukdomar med tidig debut behöver ökas för att minska skamkänslor och social isolering hos dem som drabbas. Det stöd som finns idag behöver ses över och utgå mer från behoven hos den som är sjuk och dennes anhöriga. / The number of people diagnosed with a cognitive disease are increasing worldwide. Cognitive disorders are more common in the elderly, but younger people also fall ill. The diseases givesan increased need for support in everyday life, and most of the care is provided by the family. The aim was to describe the experience of living together with a partner who was affected byan early onset cognitive disease. The method used has been a literature study with an inductive approach. Searches in thedatabases PubMed, Cinahl and PsycInfo were made with the limitation of articles published between 2012 - 2023 to include only current research. The study is based on 15 qualitative research articles that we considered able to answer to the purpose.  The results are presented in six categories. It shows that partners of people with an early onset cognitive disease experience difficulties for the person affected by the disease to get a diagnosis. They also experience ignorance and lack of support from health professionals. The emotions are difficult and the roles in the relationship change. The stigma surrounding the diseases is big and the social life is negatively affected. Their own health, finances and working life are also affected, and the caring partners are worried about the future. The conclusion is that the stigma and ignorance is substantial both in society and in health care and affects the lives of those who live with a partner with a cognitive disorder. Knowledge of cognitive disease with an early onset needs to be increased in order to reduce feelings of shame and social isolation in those affected. The support that exists today needs to be reviewed and based more on the needs of the person who is ill and their family.

Guided by the limited previous literature of adolescent sexual debut and father behaviors, this study examined the influence of father warmth, involvement, and monitoring on adolescent age of sexual debut and likelihood of sexual debut before age 16. Participants and measures were drawn from the Flourishing Families Project and included 346 families and variables from measures completed by adolescents and their parents. A zero-inflated Poisson model was used to test the relationship between father variables and adolescent sexual debut. Gender differences were also analyzed. The findings indicate that an increase in father warmth correlates with a decreased age of sexual debut for adolescent sons and daughters. Results also suggest that an increase in father engagement is related to an increase in the age of debut. However, this variable was also associated with increasing the likelihood of debut for adolescent sons. No significance was found between father monitoring and the age or likelihood of debut. Findings suggest that father variables, independent of mother behaviors, uniquely influence adolescent sexual debut; these effects seem to be protective in some circumstances, while increasing risk in other instances. Implications for future research is considered.

As the number of marathons offered in the United States continues to increase, so does the number of marathon participants, including first time marathon runners. The purpose of this study was to examine race motivators for newbie marathoners and their likelihood of adherence to the sport of marathoning. A total of 906 first time marathon participants, who ran their debut race within the past year, were included in this study. Participants were chosen on the basis of their willingness to complete an online survey. The survey consisted of demographic questions and the Motivation of Marathoners Scales (MOMS) (Masters et al., 1993). Through a frequency analysis of the MOMS, mean values revealed participants utilized primarily personal goal achievement, self-esteem, and health orientation as reasons for training for and running a marathon. In terms of gender comparisons and the MOMS, males had higher means for personal goal achievement and competition; females had higher means in the remaining seven categories. Females and males also had significant differences in response means on seven of the MOMS subscales to run a marathon. A significant difference was also found between charity and non charity runners with the MOMS for weight concern. Significance was found in the intended time frame to run another marathon for females and males. A frequency count showed the top three reasons to run another marathon were to lower my finish time (82.9%), to include the race as part of a vacation weekend (73.8%), and to improve upon my training (62.9%). Significance was found between females and males in their chosen reasons for running another marathon. Gender differences were significant for to lower my finish time, attempt a different course, to raise money for charity, to run with family or friends, to include the race as part of a vacation weekend, and to improve upon my training. Significance was also found between charity and non charity runners and running another marathon to stay in shape, to have fun, to attempt a different course, as part of a vacation weekend, and to improve upon training. Based upon input from the `other' category, 21 additional categories were created for reasons to run another marathon. / Kinesiology

This dissertation tests if a young adult’s social location determines what type of information he or she will receive about sexual health from parents and formal sexual education programs. I also test whether sexual education mediates direct associations between social location and 4 protective sexual health behaviors: condom communication, consistent condom use, delaying sexual debut, and reducing the number of lifetime sexual partners. Using the 2011-2013 wave of the National Survey of Family Growth, I look for differences in sexual education and engaging in protective sexual health behaviors among white, Hispanic, and African American men and women ages 15-24. I find that communication about sex from parents and formal sex education programs varies by race and gender. I also find that direct associations exist between social location, parental communication, formal sexual education, and protective sexual health behaviors. However, all of these operate independently from one another, and I find that parental communication and formal sexual education does little to mediate the direct associations between social location and protective sexual behaviors. Policy implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.

Introduction: Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV/AIDS, continue to be a major burden in the United States. Sexual partnering behaviors contribute to the spread of STDs. Sexual concurrency has been shown to exponentially increase STD prevalence in populations. Serial monogamy with short periods between sexual partners also introduces risk. Methods: We identified sexually active men and women from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) and used sub sets for each particular study. Sexual partnering was defined as being concurrent, serially monogamous or monogamous in the previous year. Polytomous logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the associations between age of sexual debut among adult men, age of menarche and discordant heterosexual identity and behavior among all women and sexual partnering patterns. Descriptive, mediation, subpopulation and stratified analyses were also conducted. Results: Sexual debut < 15 and 15-17 years was associated with concurrency (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)<15: 2.19; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.36-3.55; aOR 15-17: 1.69; 95% CI: 1.04-2.75). This association was mediated by lifetime number of partners (further adjusted for lifetime partners: OR<15: 1.26; 95% CI: 0.74-2.22; OR15-17: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.67-1.92). Age of menarche was not associated with subsequent concurrent sexual partnering (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)early: 1.09; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.57-2.09; aORaverage: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.64-1.99) or serial monogamy (aORearly: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.41-1.38; aORaverage: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.39-1.29). A subanalysis among currently unmarried women did not alter this relationship. Heterosexually discordant women who had both male and female partners in the previous year were 5.5 times as likely to report having a concurrent relationship (95% CI: 2.77-11.09) and 2.43 times as likely to report engaging in serially monogamous relationships (95% CI: 1.19-4.97) with their male partners than concordant women. Conclusions: Sexual partnering behaviors are potentially modifiable and reducing risky partnerships will contribute to a decrease in STD acquisition and transmission. Our findings have important implications. Clinically, they support the provision of comprehensive services, regardless of sexual identity. For policy, they confirm the need for early, inclusive and thorough sexual and reproductive health programming for our youth, in particular focusing on the benefits of lifetime partner reduction.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a major public health problem in the US, and have been linked to risky sexual behavior and psychopathology. However, studies examining the link between the wide range of ACEs and sexual health outcomes and behaviors, and the associated mediational role of psychopathology are lacking. Objectives: The main objectives of this dissertation project were: 1) To determine the association between ACEs and sexual health outcomes and behaviors (early sexual debut, intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, and HIV/STIs); 2) To examine the disparities among selected populations; and 3) To assess the mediational role of psychopathology in the association between ACEs and sexual health. Methods: Data were obtained from Wave 2 (2004-2005) of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Logistic and linear regression models were used to determine the association between ACEs (neglect, physical/psychological abuse, sexual abuse, witnessing parental violence, and parental incarceration/psychopathology) and early age at sexual debut by sex and sexual orientation. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to determine the mediational role of psychopathology (PTSD, substance abuse, and depression) in the association between ACE constructs and IPV perpetration, and the role of psychopathology, early sexual debut and IPV perpetration in the association between ACEs and HIV/STIs. Results: The association between ACEs and early sexual debut was generally stronger for women and sexual minorities. Among men, PTSD mediated the association between sexual abuse and IPV perpetration (z=0.004, p = 0.018). However, among men and women, substance abuse mediated the association between physical/psychological abuse and IPV perpetration: z=0.011, p=0.036 and z=0.008, p=0.049, respectively. Among men, PTSD mediated abuse (physical/psychological, and sexual) and parental incarceration/psychopathology; substance abuse mediated abuse and neglect; depression and early sexual debut mediated abuse; and IPV perpetration mediated sexual abuse, and HIV/STIs. Among women, substance abuse mediated neglect and physical/psychological abuse, and depression mediated physical/psychological abuse and HIV/STIs. Conclusions: Intervention and prevention programs geared towards preventing sexual health outcomes and behaviors should employ a life course approach and address ACEs. Treatment components addressing PTSD, substance abuse, and depression should also be added to IPV perpetration and HIV/STI prevention programs.

Kunskap om ungdomars alkohol- och drogvanor är en viktig aspekt i förhållande till socialt arbete. Kunskaperna kan bidra till verktyg för att kunna göra rätt bedömningar och insatser. Med detta som utgångspunkt har denna studie utförts med syftet att undersöka uppfattningar om alkohol och droger hos ungdomar mellan 13-15 år. Studien är utförd med en kvantitativ ansats. Ett utskick av 164 enkäter gick ut till högstadieelever på en skola i Mellansverige. Studien bygger bland annat på faktorer som könskillnader, debutålder, hur och var eleverna får tag på alkohol och droger samt om det finns samband mellan dessa. De signifikanta resultaten från studien har visat att ungdomar med högre konsumtion av alkohol eller en allt lägre debutålder för alkoholdrickande löper en högre risk för att testa droger än de ungdomarna med en högre ålder för alkohol debut och en lägre konsumtion av alkohol. Studien visade också att ungdomar som får alkohol utköpt av någon i hemmet löper en högre risk för att ha en intensivkonsumtion av alkohol jämfört med ungdomar som ej fick alkoholen utköpt av någon i hemmet. Resultaten har sedan jämförts med tidigare nationell- och internationell forskning. Gällande könskillnader visade resultaten visade bland annat att pojkarna i studien hade en lägre debutålder för alkohol än flickorna. / Knowledge of youth alcohol and drug habits is an important aspect in relation to social work. Knowledge can contribute to the tools to make the right judgments and actions. With this in mind, this study has been performed with the intent to investigate the perceptions of alcohol and drugs among young people aged 13-15 years. The study was conducted with a quantitative approach and was distributed to 164 to students at a school in the middle of Sweden. The study is based on factors such as gender differences, onset/debut age, how and where students get hands on alcohol and drugs, and if there were a correlation between them. The significant findings of the study has shown the link between young people with higher consumption of alcohol or a lower onset age of alcohol drinking are at higher risk for testing drugs and showed that young people who get alcohol out bought by someone in the home are at higher risk of having a binge of alcohol. The results were then compared with previous national and international research. Concerning gender differences the results showed that the attending boys in the study had a lower debut age of alcohol drinking compared to the girls.

<p>The present study predicted that gender, relationship status, sexual orientation, and sexual debut would have an impact on number of sexual partners, which would then affect self-esteem, sexual satisfaction, and sexual self-efficacy. Through an online survey, participants anonymously responded to statements related to these concepts in order to test relationships among demographics and the number of sexual partners as well as among the number of sexual partners and self-esteem, sexual satisfaction, and sexual self-efficacy. Overall, men were much more influenced by their relationship status and number of sexual partners than women, implying that the men are still affected by the sexual double standard through the praise they receive for having many sexual partners.</p>