Suchergebnisse

The Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine was commissioned by the " Swiss Federal Surveys of Adolescents ch-x" to carry out a survey entitled "Survey on Personal Develoment, Health, Leisure and Sport" (this study will be referred to below as " ch-x 2002/03"). This was the second survey of the institute within this survey series. A first survey was conducted in 1993 on the topic of "Health" (Wydler et al., 1996). This survey is known under the old title of "Pedagogical Recruitment Exams, PRP 93". Part of the requirement of the Swiss Federal Surveys of Adolescents ch-x was the choice of the survey method. It is a questionnaire survey whose instruments could be used as self-explanatory as possible in the context of the interviews as well as in the postal survey of the representative sample. The framework for the design of the survey was a requirements resource model that includes external requirements and resources as well as various internal mental resources. At the same time, a range of health outcomes are identified that can be related to requirements and resources. In designing this survey, the authors were given a lot of leeway. However, the survey had to include the topic of sports. The survey instruments related to sports were transmitted to us by the Federal Office of Sport in Magglingen (chapter "Exercise and Sport"). This section was supplemented by instruments regarding leisure time (chapter "How to spend your free time") and questionnaires on body perception and body concepts (chapter "Body Experiences and Beauty"). Another aspect was to capture time trends of important determinant factors. The survey context of the 1993 survey was largely identical to the present one, allowing for the recording of time trends due to a repeated cross-sectional survey.

The Optimus Study is a cross-national initiative on child sexual victimization in the context of other forms of maltreatment, and aims to provide much-needed evidence on the risks and protective factors for children and youth. Its goal is ultimately to reduce the incidence of abuse and improve services for those affected by applying the best social science research methods available to create an evidence base in order to influence policy, practice, and funding. The Optimus Study has successfully developed a research model that integrates standardized population-based survey methods with health and social statistics tracking to assess prevalence and response rates (Agency Survey), as well as a framework to advance the field through translating the knowledge generated by the research into policy and practice. It also strives to advance international epidemiology research on violence against children. The population survey in Switzerland collected lifetime and previous-year prevalence of sexual victimization experiences for a nationally representative sample of youth from 15-17, as well as information on other types of maltreatment, risk factors, protective factors, and consequences of victimization.

Background:Prevalence rates of child maltreatment (CM) can differ substantially between countries and ethnicities. Reasons, however, are complex and not sufficiently understood.Method:This epidemiological study examined prevalence and risk factors of various types of CM in a population-based representative sample of native and immigrant adolescents in Switzerland ( N = 6,787).Results:The prevalence of CM in general was lowest in the native group, higher in the Western immigrant group, and highest in the non-Western immigrant groups. An immigrant background was related to an overrepresentation of several risk factors for CM. Adjusted odds ratio of an immigrant background were still significant for physical and emotional abuse but not for neglect and sexual assault.Conclusions:Differences in the prevalence of CM across ethnographic origins are at least partially related to socioeconomic and ecologic risk factors. The distribution of risk factors may vary depending on the contexts of migration.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), and sensation seeking (SS) have been consistently related to a higher risk of substance use (SU) and substance use disorder (SUD). <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> To investigate the relationship between ADHD and prevalence rates in males at age 20 and age 25, the initiation of SU and SUD after age 20, and the escalation of SU from age 20 to age 25, and to explore the role of CD and SS in the relation of ADHD with SU and SUD initiation and escalation. <b><i>Method:</i></b> Data were obtained as part of the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF), which focused on young Swiss men aged 20 years at baseline and 25 years at follow-up. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Participants who screened positive for ADHD at baseline exhibited a higher rate of SU and SUD than participants who screened negative. The presence of ADHD symptoms at age 20 predicted initiation of all SU between age 20 and age 25, except for alcohol and smoking. After controlling for self-reported CD and SS, ADHD still predicted this late initiation of use of hallucinogens, meth-/amphetamines, and ecstasy/MDMA; non-medical use of ADHD medication and sedatives, and alcohol use disorder (AUD). No escalation of weekly drinking and smoking or annual cannabis use was observed from age 20 to age 25. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Screened-positive ADHD is an independent predictor of late SU and AUD, along with self-reported CD and SS. From a public health perspective, identifying ADHD is not only important in childhood and adolescence but also in early adulthood to guide specific interventions to lower risks of drug use initiation and the development of AUD in early adulthood.

This study investigates the potential stages of drug use. Data from the longitudinal Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors were used ( N = 5,116). Drug use (alcohol, tobacco, and 16 illicit drugs) over the previous 12 months was assessed at two time points. Patterns and trajectories of drug use were studied using latent transition analysis (LTA). This study's substantive contributions are twofold. First, the pattern of drug use displayed the well-known sequence of drug involvement (licit drugs to cannabis to other illicit drugs), but with an added distinction between two kinds of illicit drugs ("middle-stage" drugs: uppers, hallucinogens, inhaled drugs; and "final-stage" drugs: heroin, ketamine, GHB/GBL, research chemicals, crystal meth, and spice). Second, subgroup membership was stable over time, as the most likely transition was remaining in the same latent class.

Abstract. Aim: To summarize published findings in peer-reviewed journals of the first two waves of the Swiss Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF), a longitudinal study assessing risk and protective factors of 5,987 young men during the phase of emerging adulthood (20 years at baseline, followed-up 15 months later). Methods: Included were 33 studies published until November 2014 focusing on substance use. Results: Substance use in early adulthood is a prevalent and stable behavior. The 12-month prevalence of nonmedical use of prescription drugs (10.6 %) lies between that of cannabis (36.4 %) and other illicit drugs such as ecstasy (3.7 %) and cocaine (3.2 %). Although peer pressure in the form of misconduct is associated with increased substance use, other aspects such as peer involvement in social activities may have beneficial effects. Regular sport activities are associated with reduced substance use, with the exception of alcohol use. Young men are susceptible to structural conditions such as the price of alcohol beverages or the density of on-premise alcohol outlets. Particularly alcohol use in public settings such as bars, discos or in parks (compared with private settings such as the home) is associated with alcohol-related harm, including injuries or violence. Being a single parent versus nuclear family has no effect on alcohol use, but active parenting does. Besides parenting, religiousness is an important protective factor for both legal and illegal substance use. Merely informing young men about the risks of substance use may not be an effective preventive measure. At-risk users of licit and illicit substances are more health literate, e. g., for example, they seek out more information on the internet than non-at-risk-users or abstainers. Discussion: There are a number of risk and protective substance use factors, but their associations with substance use do not necessarily agree with those found outside Europe. In the United States, for example, heavy alcohol use in this age group commonly takes place in private settings, whereas in Switzerland it more often takes place in public settings. Other behaviors, such as the nonmedical use of prescription drugs, appear to be similar to those found overseas, which may show the need for targeted preventive actions. C-SURF findings point to the necessity of establishing European studies to identify factors for designing specific preventive actions.