Föräldrastöd och hälsa hos svenska femtonåringar

Abstract

The health of human beings is affected by individual lifestyle factors but also by social, socioeconomic and cultural factors. Parents have the greatest responsibility for their children´s development and growth conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of perceived parental support among Swedish fifteen year olds, based upon the adolescents´ reported rate of verbal communication with their parents/step-parents, investigate the perceived health and how parents´ support relate to the adolescents´ perceived health. Data from the quantitative survey (n=3438) about health behavior in school-aged children, from the Swedish National Public Health Institute, were used to enable analysis and generalization of the result. The result showed that fifteen year olds that could talk to their parents/step-parents had parents that worked, a better family economy and a later alcohol debut. Furthermore, they were more physically active and liked school better. Adolescents with perceived parental involvement in school liked school better and also felt less stressed from their schoolwork. In the result and literature a good communication between child and parent/step-parent has showed to be important in several fields, which is brought up in the discussion. This verbal interaction in the home has an impact on how the child is affected by social values, the child´s own choice of lifestyle and it can also effect the child´s self-image positively. As a conclusion the result indicates the importance of society´s investment in parent-child support. Promoting interventions could prevent many of the psycho-social problems that cost the society a lot of money. It could also help the child to a safer socialization into society, which positively effects the child´s health.