Socioeconomic factors and mental health of Swedish adolescents – a cross-sectional study among Stockholm high-school students aged 15–19 years

Abstract

Adolescence is a period of rapid biological and behavioral changes that may increase the risk of mental health problems. This study investigates the path between self-reported mental health, feeling of alienation, and self-reported physical health by examining the role of demographic factors and socioeconomic variables. Participants were recruited from high schools in Stockholm, Sweden. In total, 445 students participated, aged 15–19 years (SD = 1.01, mean = 17.00); 263 (59.4%) were female and 180 were (40.6%) male. The Nottingham Health Profile and Jessor and Jessor alienation scale were used, and statistical analysis was performed by using regression and path analysis. The results revealed a significant correlation between feeling of alienation and mental health, and found alienation to be a mediating factor between mental health problems and physical health. Female students reported more problems than males. The relationship between neighborhood characteristics (geographical location and type of home) and mental health was also significant. An immigrant background was also found to be one of the important variables for self-reported mental health. The results indicated that having a Swedish mother and father was associated with lower mental health problems, whereas having a father and mother from the Middle East was associated with greater self-reported mental health problems.

Keywords:

• alienation
• adolescent
• mental health
• self-reported health
• Sweden