Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youth
IntroductionApplying variable-centered analytical approaches, several studies have found an association between civic engagement and youth mental health. In the present study, we used a person-centered approach to explore whether civic engagement was related to optimal trajectories of mental health...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1214141/full |
| _version_ | 1797655989760032768 |
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| author | Nora Wiium Sara Madeleine Kristensen Elisabeth Årdal Tormod Bøe Margarida Gaspar de Matos Kateryna Karhina Torill Marie Bogsnes Larsen Helga Bjørnøy Urke Bente Wold |
| author_facet | Nora Wiium Sara Madeleine Kristensen Elisabeth Årdal Tormod Bøe Margarida Gaspar de Matos Kateryna Karhina Torill Marie Bogsnes Larsen Helga Bjørnøy Urke Bente Wold |
| author_sort | Nora Wiium |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionApplying variable-centered analytical approaches, several studies have found an association between civic engagement and youth mental health. In the present study, we used a person-centered approach to explore whether civic engagement was related to optimal trajectories of mental health compared to other trajectories. We also examined how sociodemographic factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES), gender and age were related to youth mental health trajectories.MethodsOur sample comprised 675 students (aged 16–22) who had participated in three waves of data collection (Mage = 18.85, SD = 0.55; 43% males) in the COMPLETE project, a cluster-randomized controlled trial that involved Norwegian upper secondary schools.ResultsThe results revealed three trajectories of mental health (reflecting a combination of mental distress and mental well-being): optimal, intermediate, and sub-optimal. Contrary to our expectations, higher levels of civic engagement were not related to the optimal trajectory of mental health vs. other trajectories. However, we found that students who reported higher levels of SES and males were more likely to follow the optimal trajectory compared to other trajectories.DiscussionWhile the findings on civic engagement could be due to our measurement’s inability to capture the concept of “dugnad,” a well-established civic activity in the Norwegian society, the findings regarding the influence of SES and gender suggest that there is still more work to be done concerning the assessment and advancement of factors that can address mental health inequalities across SES and gender. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:23:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-77ab05e6f9ad4a779e4c4dee3fe300c6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:23:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-77ab05e6f9ad4a779e4c4dee3fe300c62023-10-19T08:06:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-10-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.12141411214141Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youthNora Wiium0Sara Madeleine Kristensen1Elisabeth Årdal2Tormod Bøe3Margarida Gaspar de Matos4Kateryna Karhina5Torill Marie Bogsnes Larsen6Helga Bjørnøy Urke7Bente Wold8Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayInstituto de Saúde Ambiental, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, PortugalDepartment of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayIntroductionApplying variable-centered analytical approaches, several studies have found an association between civic engagement and youth mental health. In the present study, we used a person-centered approach to explore whether civic engagement was related to optimal trajectories of mental health compared to other trajectories. We also examined how sociodemographic factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES), gender and age were related to youth mental health trajectories.MethodsOur sample comprised 675 students (aged 16–22) who had participated in three waves of data collection (Mage = 18.85, SD = 0.55; 43% males) in the COMPLETE project, a cluster-randomized controlled trial that involved Norwegian upper secondary schools.ResultsThe results revealed three trajectories of mental health (reflecting a combination of mental distress and mental well-being): optimal, intermediate, and sub-optimal. Contrary to our expectations, higher levels of civic engagement were not related to the optimal trajectory of mental health vs. other trajectories. However, we found that students who reported higher levels of SES and males were more likely to follow the optimal trajectory compared to other trajectories.DiscussionWhile the findings on civic engagement could be due to our measurement’s inability to capture the concept of “dugnad,” a well-established civic activity in the Norwegian society, the findings regarding the influence of SES and gender suggest that there is still more work to be done concerning the assessment and advancement of factors that can address mental health inequalities across SES and gender.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1214141/fullcivic engagementyouth mental health trajectoriesSESgenderNorway |
| spellingShingle | Nora Wiium Sara Madeleine Kristensen Elisabeth Årdal Tormod Bøe Margarida Gaspar de Matos Kateryna Karhina Torill Marie Bogsnes Larsen Helga Bjørnøy Urke Bente Wold Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youth Frontiers in Public Health civic engagement youth mental health trajectories SES gender Norway |
| title | Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youth |
| title_full | Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youth |
| title_fullStr | Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youth |
| title_short | Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youth |
| title_sort | civic engagement and mental health trajectories in norwegian youth |
| topic | civic engagement youth mental health trajectories SES gender Norway |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1214141/full |
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