Knut-Andreas Christophersen

Predictors of health-related quality of life in a sample of children and adolescents: a school survey

AIM The aim is to study the health-related quality of life in a school sample of children and adolescents aged 8-18 years and to examine the relationship between health-related quality of life and the following variables; age, gender, perceived pain, body image, body mass index and bullying. BACKGROUND The study of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents have received little attention compared with adults in health care research and still little is known about the associations between health-related quality of life and other variables. DESIGN A cross-sectional design was chosen. METHOD We measured the health-related quality of life using the generic questionnaire KIDSCREEN-10. We administered the KIDSCREEN 52-item, and the 10 items were selected from this according to the KIDSCREEN manual. Multilevel regression models were used to evaluate the associations between health-related quality of life and the independent variables. RESULTS The sample included 1066 children and adolescents, 576 girls and 490 boys, with a response rate of 74%. The results show that body mass index was not significant associated with health-related quality of life in full model. However, in addition to age, being bullied, pain and body image were significant associated with health-related quality of life. Of these predictors, body image has the strongest impact in terms of explained variance in health-related quality of life. CONCLUSION The subjective sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with ones body, perceived body image, is a powerful predictor of health-related quality of life. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Knowledge about predictors of health-related quality of life is especially important for public health nurses. Health promotion and intervention programmes that aim to strengthen psychosocial well-being, especially those that strengthen body image, should be developed for both genders.

Health related quality of life in children and adolescents: Reliability and validity of the Norwegian version of KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire, a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND A number of health-related quality of life instruments for children and adolescents have been developed and used in European countries during recent years. However, few well-validated instruments have been translated into Norwegian. As part of a larger investigation about pain and health-related quality of life, the KIDSCREEN-52, a cross-cultural 10-scale questionnaire, was translated into Norwegian. The aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the first Norwegian version of KIDSCREEN, particularly reliability and construct validity. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out, and a cluster sample of 20 randomly selected schools was drawn. The final study sample encompassed 1123 children and adolescents, aged 8-18 years. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbachs alpha. Construct validity was examined by confirmatory factor analysis, and by analysing whether the KIDSCREEN scales correlated with comparable KINDL scales, another health-related quality of life instrument. The analyses were conducted using SPSS (16.0) and Lisrel (8.7). RESULTS The Cronbachs alpha value was above 0.80 for all KIDSCREEN scales, suggesting good internal consistency reliability for the instrument. Confirmatory factor analysis shows that most of the KIDSCREEN scales fit the data well. Fit statistics for the 10-factor model were satisfactory, although some scales displayed residual covariance. Several confirmatory factor analysis models were fitted to the data, and the model specified according to the 10-dimensional KIDSCREEN-52 measurement model with correlated first-order factors fitted the data well (RMSEA=0.04; CFI=0.99). The KIDSCREEN scales correlated sufficiently highly with comparable KINDL scales. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study indicate that the Norwegian version of the KIDSCREEN-52 seems to work well in a Norwegian context, and is a valid and reliable generic health-related quality of life instrument. It is considered appropriate for screening in the public health area, for example, in school health care.

Social exchange theory as an explanation of organizational citizenship behaviour among teachers

Primary processes in schools are hard to pin down despite attempts to measure central aspects of processes and outputs. For this very reason, it is important that teachers are motivated to go above and beyond their formal job responsibilities, a phenomenon called organizational citizenship behaviour. Social exchange theory is a theoretical explanation for organizational citizenship behaviour. This study examines a model of clear leadership and relational building between head and teachers as antecedents, and organizational citizenship behaviour as a consequence of teacher–school exchange. One purpose of this study is to explore the nature of exchanges between parties in the organization of teachers’ work and examine the relative impact of these aspects on organizational citizenship behaviour. The methodology adopted was a cross‐sectional survey of 234 secondary teachers. The structural equation analysis indicates a strong support for the importance of principal–teacher trust on social exchange and indirectly an impact on organizational citizenship behaviours. We also found some moderate support for the importance of clear leadership on organizational citizenship behaviours. This article presents suggestions for future research and possible implications for practice.

A cross-sectional study of Health Related Quality of Life and body mass index in a Norwegian school sample (8–18 years): a comparison of child and parent perspectives

BackgroundBecause consequences of pediatric overweight and obesity are largely psychosocial, the aim of this study was to describe health related quality of life (HRQoL), the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and to examine the relationships between HRQoL and body mass index (BMI), age, and gender in a Norwegian sample of schoolchildren. In addition, because children are dependent upon their parents’ judgment of their condition, the aim was also to compare child- and parent-reported HRQoL and BMI, age, and gender.MethodsThis cross-sectional study involved 1238 children (8–18 years) and 828 parents. HRQoL was measured with the Norwegian version of the KIDSCREEN-52, child and parent version. Child BMI was calculated based on objective measures of height and weight, and adjusted for age and gender. Multiple regressions were used to determine how variations in BMI, age, and gender affected child- and parent-reported HRQoL.ResultsHRQoL decreased significantly with age and girls had lower HRQoL than boys on the majority of the KIDSCREEN subscales. Of the total sample, approximately 16% were overweight and 3% were obese. BMI contributed significantly to explaining the variations in the KIDSCREEN subscales of Physical well-being and Self-perception. Higher BMI was associated with lower HRQoL scores. Although there were significant differences between child and parent ratings on most KIDSCREEN subscales, the direction of the differences varied. In some scales, parents rated their child’s HRQoL higher than the child, and in some scales lower. Increasing age of the child seems to increase the differences, while gender and the child being overweight and/or obese affected the differences to a smaller extent.ConclusionsThis study showed that almost 20% of the children and adolescents in a representative Norwegian school sample were overweight or obese. Age and gender were the most significant factors associated with variations in HRQoL in the sample; however, increasing BMI added to the negative effect of other factors. The study also found substantial differences between the child and parent ratings of the child’s HRQoL. Misinterpretations of the child’s well-being might result in less targeted actions to improve the child’s HRQoL.

Mentor education: challenging mentors’ beliefs about mentoring

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight university-based mentor education as a negative antecedent to mentors’ beliefs which are consistent with judgementoring (Hobson and Malderez, 2013). The concept of beliefs consistent with judgementoring (evaluative or judgemental mentoring) is introduced as a quantitative construct which is then used as a dependent variable. The concept of “folk mentoring” is introduced to theorise why and how mentor education may challenge mentors’ beliefs about mentoring. Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modelling of cross-sectional survey data is used to estimate and compare the strengths between mentors’ perceived self-efficacy, role clarity, experience and education as independent variables and beliefs about mentoring aligned with judgementoring as the dependent variable. The survey was completed by 146 mentors who attended mentor education programmes in universities and university colleges across Norway. Findings – The findings indicate that mentor...

A generalizability study of the Norwegian version of KINDLR in a sample of healthy adolescents

PurposeThe aim in the present study was to illustrate generalizability theory by exploring some psychometric aspects of the Norwegian version of KINDLR (KINDL-N). This questionnaire is a measure of quality of life in adolescents. It consists of 24 items arranged in six subscales or aspects, corresponding to six domains of adolescents’ health-related quality of life.MethodA total of 239 healthy adolescents completed the questionnaire. The analysis was performed in line with generalization theory, and this analysis yields among other things so-called generalizability and dependability coefficients, which are analogous to reliability coefficients in classical test theory. The preferred design was a mixed two-facet design, with the six aspects as a fixed facet and the items nested within aspects as a random facet. For comparison, a random two-facet design and a one-facet design were also analyzed.ResultsThe generalizability and dependability coefficients for KINDL-N are satisfactory, but the coefficients can be markedly improved by increasing the length of the instrument while keeping it to a manageable size. The mixed two-facet design resulted in somewhat higher coefficients than a one-facet design and much higher coefficients than a random two-facet design.ConclusionIf the items within a questionnaire are arranged in distinct subscales, a two-facet design analyzed by generalizability theory gives more sophisticated results than classical test theory. Moreover, the results may depend considerably on whether a mixed or random two-facet design is chosen. Hence, the choice of an appropriate measurement design in line with the intended use of the questionnaire is essential.

Antecedents of student teachers’ affective commitment to the teaching profession and turnover intention

Abstract Several European countries have experienced both a dearth of and reduction in the quality of applicants to teacher education study programmes. There is also significant leakage from these programmes. The rationale for this study therefore lies in the need to reduce teacher attrition. Research indicates that affective commitment to a profession is an important factor in sustaining good professional practice. This study explores the antecedents of both commitment and turnover intention among student teachers in Norway. The analysis indicates that there are stronger associations between commitment and experiences (particularly from dialogues with school mentors) gained during and after teaching practice in schools than is the case for the more campus-based elements of training. One implication is that there may be justification for placing emphasis on improving the preparation of school mentors and on points of contact between teacher educators and school mentors.

The strength of accountability and teachers’ organisational citizenship behaviour

Purpose – Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) involves discretionary behaviour advantageous to the organisation that goes beyond existing role expectations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between the strength of accountability and teachers’ OCB within three different management systems in which teachers are working: a system of assessment‐based accountability; a system of the gradual introduction of accountability devices; and a system with no tests or examinations.Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modelling of cross‐sectional surveys from the three different management systems was used to estimate the path coefficients and to compare the strength of relationships between concepts in the models.Findings – The analysis shows that the factors that influence OCB in an accountability regime are clearly different from those in a regime with weak or no accountability devices.Research limitations/implications – A cross‐sectional study does not allow us to test causal rela...

Protest and Parents A Retrospective Survey of Sixties Student Radicals in Norway

In this study, we examine factors assumed to have disposed students to radicalism in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The data are from a recent retrospective survey of 1,246 former University of Oslo students born between 1940 and 1950. The unprecedented number of radical respondents allows for analyses that could not be done in earlier studies, especially of the extreme left. The results reflect the preponderant influence of parents’ political preferences. Variations in political orientation between different fields of study and between cohorts, with students born towards the end of the 1940s being more radical than students born earlier in the decade, suggest influence by peers, although this is hard to gauge. Urban upbringing is found to be significant, pointing to the possible importance of exposure to radical world-view carriers. Neither gender nor class has significant controlled predictive power. Since most students were men, and students were far more likely to protest than extramural youth, males dominated the protest movement. Students from the working class were more radical than middle-class students, but apparently this was due not to any independent effect of class but to differences in the world-view to which they were exposed at home, manifested in parents’ political preferences.

Teaching evaluation as a contested practice: Teacher resistance to teaching evaluation schemes in Norway

Norwegian education authorities pursue the objective that students in upper secondary schools should evaluate teaching. This kind of evaluation scheme has, however, elicited resistance from teachers. The aims of this article are to explain the advent of teaching evaluation policies in Norway and to explore which factors explain teacher resistance to teaching evaluation schemes. Structural equation modelling of teacher survey data shows which factors are statistically associated with the concept of teacher resistance to teaching evaluation. Teacher stress and resistance are positively associated with the perceived controlling purpose of teaching evaluation rather than the evaluation itself. Teacher resistance is clearly negatively associated with their acknowledgement of students’ feedback and their perception of the communication with leadership. Further, the model shows moderately strong negative pathways between the perceived control purposes of teaching evaluation and acknowledgement of students’ feedback on the one hand and the perceived control purposes of teaching evaluation and perception of clear communication of goals on the other hand. Teachers’ acknowledgement of the students’ feedback is weakly negatively associated with teacher stress. The implications for practice and further research are discussed.