Margareta Bohlin

Hearing, use of hearing protection, and attitudes towards noise among young American adults

The purpose of the present study was to investigate possible associations between college students’ attitudes, risk-taking behaviour related to noisy activities, and hearing problems such as threshold shifts or self-experienced hearing symptoms. The sample included 258 students aged between 17 and 21 enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. A questionnaire measuring attitudes towards noise, use of hearing protection, and self-reported hearing symptoms was distributed among the students. After completing the questionnaire a hearing screening, including pure-tone audiometry and tympanometry, was conducted. The result revealed that 26% had thresholds poorer than the screening level of 20 dBHL. Attitudes were significantly related to self-experienced hearing symptoms, but not to threshold shifts. Attitudes and noise sensitivity was, significantly related to use of hearing protection. Hearing protection use was found in activities such as using firearms, mowing lawns, and when using noisy tools but was less reported for concerts and discotheques. It can be concluded that the young adults in this study expose themselves to hearing risks, since the use of hearing protection is in general very low.

Adolescent girls’ and boys’ well-being in relation to online and offline sexual and romantic activity

The aims of this study were to determine links between adolescent’s well-being and their sexual and romantic activities off- and online. The study includes 245 mid-adolescents (15 years of age; 55 % girls) and 251 late-adolescents (18 years of age; 49 % girls). Of the 496 teenagers, 54 % had experiences of both online and offline sexual and romantic activities, while the remaining (46 %) had only offline experiences. Teenagers’ experiences with online sexual/romantic activities were associated with experiences of offline sexual/romantic activities. Multiple regressions showed that age (older) and risk behaviour contributed to higher engagement in offline sexual/romantic activities. In contrast, only higher risk behaviour contributed to higher engagement in online sexual/romantic activities for boys, but for girl several factors, such as age (younger), lower body esteem, higher risk- and problem behaviour contributed to higher engagement in online sexual/romantic activities. We discuss this result from a gender perspective.

Risks and music - Patterns among young women and men in Sweden

Music and high levels of sound have not traditionally been associated with risk-taking behaviors. Loud music may intensify and bring more power and meaning to the musical experience, but it can at the same time be harmful to hearing. The present study aims to increase the knowledge about young womens and mens risk judgement and behaviour by investigating patterns in adolescent risk activities among 310 adolescents aged 15-20 (143 women; 167 men). The Australian instrument ARQ was used with additional questions on hearing risks and a factor analysis was conducted. The main results showed that the factor structure in the judgement and behavior scale for Swedish adolescents was rather different from the factor structure in the Australian sample. Also, the factor structure was not similar to the Australian sample split on gender. The results are discussed from a gender- and existential perspective on risk taking, and it is emphasized that research on risk behavior needs to reconceptualize stereotypical ideas about gender and the existential period in adolescence.

Conceptions of Diabetes and Diabetes Care in Young People With Minority Backgrounds

Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) need stable self-care routines for good metabolic control to minimize future cardiovascular health complications. These routines are demanding, and might be particularly challenging in underprivileged groups. The aim of this study was to gain in-depth knowledge on the experience of adolescents with T1DM and a non-Swedish background regarding factors that might influence their ability to take care of themselves; in particular, factors that might influence diabetes management routines, their social situation, and the support they receive from caregivers. We interviewed 12 adolescents with T1DM and minority backgrounds. The results indicated resources and constraints in the adolescents’ social context and in the health care organization. The adolescents developed conceptions that helped to explain and excuse their self-care failures, and their successes. These findings highlight the importance of integrating T1DM as part of the individual’s personal prerequisites. We discuss implications for the organization of diabetes care for adolescents.

Boys’ Pubertal Timing Measured on the Pubertal Development Scale is Linked to Online Sexual Activities

ABSTRACT. We explored the link between boys’ pubertal timing and offline and online romantic and sexual activities using a sample of 142 Swedish early adolescent boys. Boys reported on two aspects of pubertal timing, a stage-normative (measured by five indicators of physical development related to puberty) and a peer-normative, and on offline and online romantic and sexual activities. Both aspects of pubertal timing was related to being romantically and sexually active offline, but only the stage-normative measure was linked to corresponding activities online. Thus, the implications of stage-normative pubertal timing on sexual activities seem to extend to online contexts.

Health care to empower self-care in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus and an immigrant minority background:

Background: The pediatric diabetes team aims to support health, quality of life, and normal growth and development among adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Adolescents with an immigrant background have been found less successful in self-care. Previous research indicated that adolescents who had integrated the disease as a part of their self-image reasoned differently about their self-care to those who had not. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify elements in the patient–pediatrician consultations that might influence such integration of the disease among adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods: A total of 12 pediatrician–adolescent consultations were video-recorded and analyzed. The adolescents all had an immigrant background. Results: Integration of the disease appeared enabled when responsibility was shared; when hope, autonomy, and emotions were confirmed; and when the pediatrician asked probing questions. Letting objective data dominate the adolescent’s experiences, using risk as a motivator, neutralizing emotions in relation to having diabetes, and confirming forgetfulness, may instead inhibit disease integration. Conclusion: An extended person-centered approach with focus on the adolescent’s experiences of everyday life with a chronic disease and less attention on physical parameters in the pediatrician–adolescent consultations may increase integration of the disease.

Aspects of the parent–adolescent relationship and associations with adolescent risk behaviors over time.

Parents’ actions and knowledge of adolescents’ whereabouts play key roles in preventing risk behaviors in early adolescence, but what enables parents to know about their adolescents’ activities and what links there are to adolescent risk behaviors, such as substance use and delinquent behavior, remain unclear. In this study, we investigated whether different aspects of the parent–adolescent relationship predict parental knowledge, and we examined the direct and indirect longitudinal associations between these aspects of the parent–adolescent relationship and adolescents’ self-reported delinquent behavior and substance use. The participants were 550 parents and their adolescent children from two small and two midsized municipalities in Sweden. Parental data were collected when the adolescents were 13 years old (mean), and adolescent data on risk behaviors were collected on two occasions, when they were 13 and 14 years of age (mean). Structural path analyses revealed that adolescent disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control predicted parental knowledge, with adolescent disclosure being the strongest source of parental knowledge and the strongest negative predictor of adolescent risk behaviors. Parenting competence and adolescents’ connectedness to parents were indirectly, through adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation and parental control, associated with substance use and delinquent behavior. Some paths differed for boys and girls. In conclusion, confident parenting and a close parent–adolescent relationship in which adolescent disclosure is promoted, seem protective of adolescent engagement in risk behaviors.

Structural relations between sources of parental knowledge, feelings of being overly controlled and risk behaviors in early adolescence

ABSTRACT In this study, we have investigated parental knowledge and its sources, namely adolescent disclosure, parental control, and parental solicitation; and how they relate to adolescents’ feelings of being overly controlled, and to three types of adolescent risk behaviors, namely bullying, substance use, and delinquent behavior. This was studied in a sample of 1520 Swedish early adolescent boys and girls (M age = 13.0). A structural equation path model showed that adolescent disclosure and parental control were positively associated with parental knowledge, which in turn related to all three risk behaviors. Adolescent disclosure was related to lower levels of risk behaviors, while parental solicitation was linked to higher levels of adolescent engagement in risk behaviors, especially for boys, through feelings of being overly controlled. The findings support the idea of a functional role of open communication, as well as adequate levels of autonomy granting, for managing boys’ and girls’ risk behavior.

Adolescents’ Self-Defining Internet Experiences

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate how young women and men perceive the Internet as a phenomenon and what role and meaning they ascribe to the Internet as an arena for defining themselves and for shaping their identity. Methodology/approach The empirical data consist of narratives written by Swedish adolescents. Using content analysis the analysis was carried out in three steps: (1) finding categories and themes, (2) calculation of statistical differences in category frequencies, (3) a theoretically informed interpretation of central themes, using Bourdieu’s concept of different forms of capital, and Giddens’ concept of “pure relations.” Findings The narratives exemplify how computer literacy and technological competence can be converted into social, cultural, and symbolic capital. Gender differences occur both in statistical differences between category frequencies in girls’ and boys’ narratives and in the interpretation of central themes. But there are also several examples that show more complex and contradictory tendencies, exceeding or transformative of gender differences and hierarchy. Originality/value This study considers adolescents’ own perspectives on an arena of great importance. The analyses have been performed both qualitatively and quantitatively, which gives a nuanced picture of young people’s self-defining experiences on the Internet.