Andres Vikat

Neck or shoulder pain and low back pain in Finnish adolescents.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and determinants of self-reported neck or shoulder pain (NSP) and low back pain (LBP) among 12-18-year-olds. A questionnaire was mailed to a nationally representative sample of 11,276 12-, 14-, 16- and 18-year-olds in 1991. The response rate was 77%. NSP was perceived at least once a week by 15% of 12-18-year-olds and LBP by 8%. Both symptoms were more prevalent among girls than among boys, and the prevalence increased with age. Among the determinants investigated, the number of perceived psychosomatic symptoms had the strongest association with NSP and LBP. Our study confirmed the co-morbidity of NSP and LBP, and indicated that NSP is more frequent than believed among 16-18-year-old girls. The strong association of psychosomatic symptoms with NSP and LBP suggests that the latter two pain states could be more psychosomatic than nosiceptive in character.

Stepfamily fertility in contemporary Sweden: The impact of childbearing before the current union

We focus on the fertility of Swedish men and women who lived in a consensual or marital union in the 1970s and 1980s, and where at least one of the partners had children before they entered that union. Couples without any children before the current union were included for contrast. We find clear evidence that couples wanted a shared biological child, essentially regardless of how many children (if any) they had before their current union. The shared child seems to have served to demonstrate commitment to the union, as did its conversion into a formal marriage. We have not found much support for the hypothesis that our respondents sought to enter parenthood to attain adult status. A second birth might have been valued because it provided a sibling for the first child - a half-sibling acting as a substitute for a full sibling - but our evidence for such effects is contradictory. Our analysis makes it very clear that parity progression depends on whose parity we consider.

Sociodemographic differences in the occurrence of teenage pregnancies in Finland in 1987–1998: a follow up study

Study objective: To analyse sociodemographic differences in the occurrence of pregnancies to 14 to 19 year olds and changes in these differences from 1987 to 1998. Design: Follow up of adolescent survey respondents using registers. Setting and subjects: The dataset includes information on all registered pregnancies (abortions, births, and miscarriages, n=2743) of the female respondents (n=28 914) to the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey (AHLS) from 1987 to 1998. In the AHLS, self administered questionnaires were mailed every second year to independent samples of 12, 14, 16, and 18 year olds representative for Finland. Main outcome measure: Relative risk (hazard) of becoming pregnant at teenage. Main results: Girls from lower socioeconomic background had a higher pregnancy risk. Girls who did not live with both parents at the baseline survey had higher pregnancy risk than those who did, and girls who lived in a stepfamily had a higher risk than those who lived in a one parent family. Swedish speaking girls had a lower pregnancy risk than the Finnish speaking girls. There was no systematic change from 1987 to 1998 in most sociodemographic differentials in the teenage pregnancy risk, however, there was some increase in the differences by family structure. Changes in the sociodemographic structure did not explain the levelling off of the downward trend in teenage pregnancy risk, nor did the regional socioeconomic differences explain regional differentials in teenage pregnancy risk. Conclusion: Although the reduction of socioeconomic and regional differences has been a general objective in Finnish social and health policies, the relative differences in teenage pregnancies have not decreased.

Settlement size and fertility in the Nordic countries

While the variation in childbearing patterns across countries and between socio-economic groups within a country has been studied in detail, less is known about the differences in fertility patterns across settlements within a country. Using aggregate and individual-level register data, we examine fertility variation across settlements in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. We observe a significant variation in fertility level by settlement size in all four of these Nordic countries—the larger the settlement, the lower the fertility. Second, the variation in fertility level has decreased over time, but significant differences in fertility between settlements of different size persist. Third, the timing of childbearing also varies across settlements—the larger the settlement, the later the peak of fertility. Fourth, our analysis of parity-specific fertility in Sweden shows that the major socio-economic characteristics of women account for only a small portion of fertility variation across settlements.

Childrearing Responsibility and Stepfamily Fertility in Finland and Austria

We investigate the hypothesis that the propensity of a step family couple to have a shared child is inversely related to the responsibility for rearing pre-union children. We compare effects of coresident pre-union children to those of nonresident, and effects of the womans children to those of the mans. Shared children and stepchildren reduce the risk of a birth to a couple, and the reduction is larger for each shared child than for a stepchild. We find larger effects of coresident pre-union children than of nonresident children, and larger effects of a womans pre-union children than of a mans. The differences are more pronounced in Austria where public support for childrearing and gender equality is lower than in Finland. Our study demonstrates that in addition to the number of pre-union children, coresidence and parentage of pre-union children also need to be considered in future fertility research.

Teenage pregnancies and abortions in Finland in the 1990s

Aims: This study analyses trends and regional variation in teenage pregnancy, abortion, and fertility rates in Finland in the 1990s, by single-year age group. Methods: Individual-level data from Finnish abortion and birth registers maintained by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) were used to calculate the rates and the abortion ratio. The abortion ratio was also calculated using conception as the time reference. Results: Teenage pregnancy rates and abortion rates reverted from decrease to increase in the mid-1990s. This was accompanied by an increase in the share of teenage pregnancies that ended in an abortion. The increase in abortions started first among older teenagers, and spread gradually to younger girls. Regional variation in the rates remained the same throughout the study period. Conclusions: The observed trends refl ect a change towards less effective use of contraceptive methods among teenagers. There is also evidence of the earlier start of teenage sexual activity at the end of the 1990s. The possible explanations for less effective contraceptive use include cutbacks in healthcare and family planning services in the first half of the 1990s and the reduction of sex education in schools.