The COVID-19 pandemic has shown varying effects on adolescents' mental health, psychosocial functioning, risk behaviours, and victimisation. This study aims to examine the changes reported by a sample of Swedish adolescents (N = 1607) at the end of the first year of the pandemic in relation to these factors. Data were collected with an electronic survey between September 2020 and February 2021, targeting upper-secondary high school students (aged 15-19 years). The results indicate a relatively low overall impact of the pandemic on Swedish upper-secondary school students, with notable gender differences. Compared to adolescent women, a higher percentage of adolescent men reported experiencing elevated levels of anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, anger, and increased illicit drug use as consequences of the pandemic. In contrast, women demonstrated an increase in several salutogenic behaviours. Victimisation rates generally decreased during this period. These findings underscore the importance of heightened awareness among professionals within schools, social services, and healthcare settings regarding the distinct challenges encountered by a larger portion of adolescent men during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.

Objectives:The aim was to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of reconciliation as a concept in palliative care. Terminal illnesses affect almost all aspects of life and being close to death may lead to a need for reconciliation. The end of life is stressful on an existential level for both patients and relatives. It can therefore be of relevance for palliative care nurses to understand the meaning of reconciliation.

Methods: This study used a design for a literature study in accordance with a hybrid model. A deductive qualitative content analysis of autobiographies about being seriously ill and in a palliative stage in life was used to test the meaning of reconciliation. Ethical aspects concerning the use of autobiographies and the ethical principles of the Helsinki Declaration were considered. The theoretical perspective was the caritative theory of caring.

Results: The result showed that for patients in palliative care, reconciliation can be described as a strive for acceptance, to live in a truthful way, to forgive and be forgiven. People wish to create meaning in their existence and reconcile as a whole in body, spirit, and soul. By striving to unite suffering, life, and death as well as a peaceful relationship with relatives, people can achieve reconciliation at the end of life. Reconciliation is something ongoing and can be a force in what has been, what is, and what will be.

Significance of results: We conclude that reconciliation is a concept of importance when caring for patients in end-of-life care. However, reconciliation can be expressed in different ways without necessarily using the concept itself. A broader and deeper understanding of the concept facilitates conversations about the meaning of reconciliation in palliative care and can enable patients who strive to achieve reconciliation to be more easily identified and supported.

Purpose 

Work readiness and the ability to change how work is conducted are key dimensions of employability. This study focuses on alumni from the social psychiatric care (SPC) programme at University West in Trollhattan, Sweden. As their work readiness and work-changing abilities have not been studied to this point, the purpose was to explore the eventual main employability profiles in these alumni.

Design/methodology/approach 

Between 8th November 2022 and 2nd January 2023, 94 SPC alumni responded to the Employee Agility and Resilience Short Swedish Version Measurement Scale, consisting of five subscales that represent different employability features. Cluster analysis was used to explore eventual employability profiles in these alumni.

Findings 

Three clusters of SPC alumni with different employability profiles were identified. Cluster 1: Highly employable profile, which is represented by SPC alumni who scored high on each of the five employability features. Cluster 2: Employability with alliance-creating profile; this cluster comprise SPC alumni whose strengths lie in creating collegial relationships. Cluster 3: Employability with a strong social support profile, which comprise SPC alumni with a strong social backing at work. We discuss that SPC alumni of these employability profiles are variously equipped to (1) follow and develop how work is conducted in their fields and (2) adapt to changes at work.

Originality/value 

The study presents employability profiles of SPC alumni and offers valuable insights that could enhance the prospects of these alumni becoming a recognised occupation within the realms of psychiatry, social services, institutional work and community work.

BACKGROUND: There has been a concerning rise in mental illness among children and adolescents. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, and depression are the most prevalent diagnoses in this field. Research suggests that yoga as a complementary treatment offers relief from mental symptoms and has already been successfully applied in adult healthcare settings.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to provide an integrative summary of the existing research on the feasibility and effectiveness of yoga as a school-based intervention and complementary intervention in psychiatric care for children and adolescents.

METHODS: An integrative literature review was conducted, employing a combined quantitative and qualitative approach. The review was based on 16 selected articles, which presented data from more than 1000 children and adolescents aged 5-19 years and encompassed a variety of study designs. Literature searches were carried out systematically and unsystematically in February 2023, across three chosen databases.

RESULTS: Yoga interventions consistently yielded positive outcomes in multiple domains. In this review, the findings are categorized into five themes: alleviated symptoms of psychiatric conditions; strengthened self-control and behavioral changes; improved cognitive functioning; refined relaxation; enhanced well-being. By improving psychiatric symptoms, enhancing self-control, promoting relaxation, and fostering overall well-being, yoga offers a multifaceted approach toward improving mental and physical health in children and adolescents.

CONCLUSION: This comprehensive review presents compelling evidence of the positive benefits of yoga as a complementary intervention for a wide range of psychological symptoms and cognitive functions in children and adolescents. In order to further validate and consolidate these findings, there is a pressing need for future studies to provide more robust evidence and a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention in this context.

This work studied self-reports from adolescents on how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed their behaviors, relationships, mood, and victimization. Data collection was conducted between September 2020 and February 2021 in five countries (Sweden, the USA, Serbia, Morocco, and Vietnam). In total, 5114 high school students (aged 15 to 19 years, 61.8% females) responded to our electronic survey. A substantial proportion of students reported decreased time being outside (41.7%), meeting friends in real life (59.4%), and school performance (30.7%), while reporting increased time to do things they did not have time for before (49.3%) and using social media to stay connected (44.9%). One third of the adolescents increased exercise and felt that they have more control over their life. Only a small proportion of adolescents reported substance use, norm-breaking behaviors, or victimization. The overall COVID-19 impact on adolescent life was gender-specific: we found a stronger negative impact on female students. The results indicated that the majority of adolescents could adapt to the dramatic changes in their environment. However, healthcare institutions, municipalities, schools, and social services could benefit from the findings of this study in their work to meet the needs of those young people who signaled worsened psychosocial functioning, increased stress, and victimization.

Background: Individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can experience obstacles in traditional health care situations due to difficulties associated with their impairment. Objective: This controlled study aims to investigate the feasibility of an internet-based support and coaching intervention (IBSC), including 2 weekly chat sessions and 2 complementary clinic visits with coaches over the course of 8 weeks, for adolescents and young adults with ADHD and/or ASD in 2 naturalistic routine care settings. Methods: Individuals with ADHD and/or ASD aged 15-32 years were recruited in 2 clinical settings, where they received either IBSC (n=24) or treatment as usual (TAU; n=20). Outcome measures included self-report questionnaires assessing quality of life (Manchester Short Assessment for Quality of Life), sense of coherence (Sense Of Coherence 29), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), and anxiety and depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS] and Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale-Self-reported, respectively). Results: Significant between-group effects were observed in measures of anxiety (HADS) at postintervention (P=.02) as well as at the 6-month follow-up (P=.004). Significant between-group effects were also noted for depressive symptoms (HADS) postintervention (P=.04). The between-group effects were partially explained by a deterioration in the TAU group. A significant increase in self-esteem (P=.04) as well as a decrease in anxiety (P=.003) at the 6-month follow-up was observed in the intervention group following IBSC. Findings from a qualitative study of the intervention are consistent with the results. Conclusions: The findings from this study suggest that IBSC holds promise as a feasible complement or alternative to traditional face-to-face health care meetings.

Health care for people with severe mental illness is often divided into physical health care and mental health care despite the importance of a holistic approach to caring for the whole person. Mental health nurses have an important role not only in preventing ill health, but also in promoting health, to improve the overall health among people with severe mental illness and to develop a more person-centred, integrated physical and mental health care. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe mental health nurses' experiences of facilitating aspects that promote physical health and support a healthy lifestyle for people with severe mental illness. Interviews were conducted with mental health nurses (n = 15), and a qualitative content analysis was used to capture the nurse's experiences. Analysis of the interviews generated three categories: (i) to have a health promotion focus in every encounter, (ii) to support with each person's unique prerequisites in mind and (iii) to take responsibility for health promotion in every level of the organization. The results show the importance of a health promotion focus that permeates the entire organization of mental health care. Shared responsibility for health and health promotion activities should exist at all levels: in the person-centred care in the relation with the patient, embedded in a joint vision within the working unit, and in decisions at management level.

People with severe mental illness (SMI) experience an increased risk of physical ill health and premature death, which appears to be partly related to unhealthy lifestyle habits. The aim of this study was to describe the distribution of health-related lifestyle habits and perceived health among people with severe mental illness. A further aim was to explore if there were any gender differences or differences based on degree of sense of coherence. The study adopted a cross-sectional design based on data from 65 people with SMI. The results show that degree of Sense of Coherence (SOC) does have relevance for perceived health and for dimensions of Quality of Life (QOL). Furthermore, among the participants with strong SOC, there were less daily smokers and they seemed to have less sedentary leisure time than those with low SOC. Men reported more anxiety/depression than women and women ate fruit more often than men, otherwise there were no gender differences. In comparison with the general population, people with SMI show a higher Body Mass Index are more sedentary, more often daily smokers, have lower SOC and perceive a lower QOL. This emphasizes the importance of health-promotion support that focuses on lifestyle changes, and support for strengthening SOC and QOL for people with SMI. © 2018 Elsevier Inc.

Background: Studies on mental health are scarce from Arab countries, especially studies focusing on adolescents. In addition to the neurobiological and physiological changes that occur during adolescent development, psychological, societal and cultural influences have strong effects on adolescents’ behavior and on their somatic and mental health. The present study aimed (1) to describe the mental health profile, operationalized as psychological distress, of a sample of Moroccan adolescents, and (2) to investigate how specific psychosocial factors (parental alcohol use problems and the experience of physical and/or psychological abuse) may affect adolescents’ mental health. Methods: The sample included 375 adolescents from conveniently selected classes of four high schools in the city of Tetouan in Morocco. The participants responded to an anonymous survey containing, beside other inventories, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and identified those reporting parental alcohol use problems and/or the previous experience of abuse. The sample characteristics were defined using descriptive statistics. The effects of the defined psychosocial factors were identified using the Kruskal-Wallis test, followed by the post hoc Fisher’s least significant difference test. Results: The most common problems found in high school students from an urban region of Morocco were memory problems, concentration difficulties, restlessness, fear, nervosity and feelings of inadequacy during interpersonal interactions. The female students reported significantly higher psychological distress levels when compared to the male students (p < 0.001). The adolescents reporting parental alcohol use problems and the experience of physical/psychological abuse showed significantly higher levels of psychological distress (p = 0.02), especially symptoms of somatization (p < 0.001), hostility (p = 0.005) and anxiety (p = 0.01), than those not reporting any of these psychosocial factors. Conclusion: The mental health profile of female adolescents from an urban area of Morocco is worse than that of their male fellow students. Adolescents reporting parental alcohol use problems and/or the experience of physical/psychological abuse need synchronized support from social- A nd healthcare services. © 2019 The Author(s).

The program in Social Psychiatric Care is a three-year program at the university level leading to a vocational qualification in social psychiatric care and a bachelor's degree in the field of Health Sciences. Until the spring of 2018, six litters have graduated. Students in the social psychiatric care program often have personal interest, previous professional experience from the business areas or inspiration from related friends working in the field of activity. Personal experiences of problems in the fields of activity are also prominent among the students. Students believe that personal experience, willingness and ability is important in order to work within the profession. Characteristics of the students are also an interest and a clear empathetic willingness to work with people and they consider that the profession primarily requires characteristics such as altruism, empathy, social skills and deeper knowledge and understanding in the field. Upon completion of education, students want a career role where they can help other people, feel motivated, or they aim for specific positions or areas of activity. Both managers and alumni from the Social Psychiatric Care program value the broad professional competence that the program leads to. Psychiatric competence is emphasized as particularly valuable by both alumni and managers. This competence means that they also complement the other professions in the activities. Students consider themselves possessed a professional identity that involves introducing psychiatric and custody skills to organizations that previously lacked these perspectives. Something that also brings new approaches to patients, users and clients. Being able to use knowledge from several disciplines are considered to be a strength and competence that are well-needed in environments where people with mental ill health are cared for. The alumni perceive their knowledge as both interdisciplinary and interprofessional.

Programmet i Socialpsykiatrisk vård är ett treårigt program på högskolenivå som leder till en yrkesexamen inom socialpsykiatrisk vård och en kandidatexamen i huvudområdet Vårdvetenskap. Fram till våren 2018 har sex kullar tagit sin examen. Studenter i programmet för Socialpsykiatrisk vård har ofta ett personligt intresse, tidigare yrkeserfarenhet från verksamhetsområdena eller inspiration från närstående/vänner som arbetar inom verksamhetsområdet. Även personliga erfarenheter av problem inom verksamhetsområdena är framträdande bland studenterna. Studenterna anser att den personliga erfarenheten, viljan och förmågan är viktigt för att kunna verka inom yrket. Utmärkande egenskaper hos studenterna är också ett specifikt intresse och en tydlig empatisk vilja av att arbeta med människor och de anser att yrket framförallt kräver egenskaper som altruism, empati, social kompetens samt en fördjupad kunskap och förståelse inom området. Efter avslutad utbildning önskar studenterna få möjligt till en yrkesroll där de kan hjälpa andra människor, eller så har de sikte på en specifik befattning eller ett speciellt verksamhetsområde. Såväl chefer som alumner från programmet Socialpsykiatrisk vård värdesätter den breda yrkeskompetens som programmet leder till. Den psykiatriska kompetensen betonas som särskilt värdefull av både alumner och chefer. Denna kompetens innebär att de också utgör ett komplement till övriga professioner inom verksamheterna. Studenterna anser sig ha erövrat en professionell identitet som handlar om att föra in psykiatriska och vårdande kunskaper till organisationer som tidigare saknat dessa perspektiv. Något som också medför nya förhållningssätt till patienter, brukare och klienter. Att kunna använda kunskap från flera discipliner anses som en styrka och en kompetens som är välbehövd i miljöer där personer med psykisk ohälsa vårdas. Alumnerna uppfattar sin kunskap som både tvärdisciplinär och interprofessionell.