Background: Sweden has a considerable population originating from countries outside of Europe. Many of them are children and adolescents. The knowledge that nurses and medical doctors have of how to assess and treat skin conditions on melanin-rich skin in children and adolescents is, in many cases, insufficient. Aim: The aim was to explore how nurses and medical doctors experience the assessment, treatment and diagnosing of skin conditions in children and adolescents with melanin-rich skin. Method: A qualitative interview study with a semi structured interview guide. Six nurses and five medical doctors from different hospitals and primary care facilities in Uppsala and Malmö participated. Results: The analysis of the participants’ experiences resulted in three different categories: The Care takers feelings of insecurity, Lack of knowledge/experience and Negative Consequences for the child as patient. The participants believed that their lack of knowledge and experience in assessing and treating skin conditions in children and adolescents with melanin-rich skin is due to the fact that this is not taught in nursing and medical training. As a result patients, children and adolescents, are many times made to suffer. Conclusion: Nurses and medical doctors need more knowledge of and experience in how to assess, treat and diagnose children and adolescents with melanin-rich skin. This can be obtained by including training materials at nursing- and medical schools, texts as well as imagery, on how melanin- rich skin looks in its different variations, how it differs from white skin and how it reacts to various conditions. / Bakgrund: Sverige har en betydande befolkning av människor från utomeuropeiska länder. Många av dessa är barn och ungdomar. Kunskapen som sjuksköterskor och läkare har om hur man bedömer och behandlar åkommor på barn och ungdomar med melaninrik hud är i många fall otillräcklig. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att utforska sjuksköterskors och läkares upplevelser av att undersöka, bedöma och diagnosticera hudåkommor hos barn och ungdomar med melaninrik hud.  Metod: Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod där semistrukturerade intervjufrågor användes för att besvara studiens syfte. Sex sjuksköterskor och fem läkare från olika sjukhus och primärvårdsinrättningar i Uppsala och Malmö deltog. Resultat: Deltagarnas upplevelser delades in i tre olika kategorier: Osäkerhet i bemötandet hos vårdgivaren, Saknad av kunskap/erfarenhet samt Negativa konsekvenser för barnet som patient. En majoritet av deltagarna upplevde att deras brist på kunskap och erfarenhet av hur man på bästa sätt bedömer och behandlar barn och ungdomar med melaninrik hud beror på att detta inte tas upp och lärs ut på ett adekvat sätt under deras respektive utbildningar. Resultatet blir i många fall att barnen och ungdomarna som patienter får lida. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskor och läkare behöver mer kunskap och erfarenhet av att bedöma, behandla och diagnosticera barn och ungdomar med melaninrik hud. Detta kan uppnås genom att utbildningar och program för sjuksköterskor och läkare inkluderar utbildningsmaterial i text och bild om hur melaninrik hud skiljer sig från vit hud, hur den, i sina olika variationer, ser ut sig, ter sig och reagerar på skilda åkommor.

abstract: The overarching goal of this dissertation was to contribute to the field’s understanding of young children’s development of ethnic-racial identification. In particular, Study 1 presented the adaptation of three measures that are developmentally appropriate for assessing young children’s ethnic-racial attitudes, ethnic-racial centrality, and ethnic-racial knowledge, and tested the psychometric properties of each measure. Findings from Study 1 provided limited initial support for the construct validity and reliability of the measures; importantly, there were many differences in the descriptives and measurement properties based on the language in which children completed the measures. In addition to measurement of ethnic-racial identification, Study 2 used the measures developed in Study 1 and tested whether Mexican-origin mothers’ adaptive cultural characteristics (i.e., ERI affirmation, ethnic-racial centrality, and involvement in Mexican culture) when children were 3 years of age predicted greater cultural socialization efforts with children at 4 years of age and, in turn, children’s ethnic-racial identification (i.e., children’s ethnic-racial attitudes, ethnic-racial centrality, ethnic-racial knowledge, and identification as Mexican) at 5 years of age. Furthermore, children’s characteristics (i.e., gender and skin tone) were tested as moderators of these processes. Findings supported expected processes from mothers’ adaptive cultural characteristics to children’s ethnic-racial identification via mothers’ cultural socialization across boys and girls, however, relations varied by children’s skin tone. Findings highlight the important role of children’s individual characteristics in cultural socialization and young children’s developing ethnic-racial identification over time. Overall, given the paucity of studies that have examined ethnic-racial identification among young children, the results from Study 1 and Study 2 have the potential to stimulate growth of knowledge in this area. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Family and Human Development 2016