| 1. |
- Berg, Noora, et al.
(författare)
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A 26-year follow-up study of heavy drinking trajectories from adolescence to mid-adulthood and adult disadvantage
- 2013
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Ingår i: Alcohol and Alcoholism. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0735-0414 .- 1464-3502. ; 48:4, s. 452-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: The aim of the study was to identify heavy drinking trajectories from age 16 to 42 years and to examine their associations with health, social, employment and economic disadvantage in mid-adulthood.METHODS: Finnish cohort study's participants who were 16 years old in 1983 were followed up at age 22, 32 and 42 (n = 1334). Heavy drinking was assessed at every study phase and based on these measurements trajectories of heavy drinking were identified. The trajectory groups were then examined as predictors of disadvantage at age 42.RESULTS: Five distinct heavy drinking trajectories were identified: moderate (35%), steady low (22%), decreasing (9%), increasing (11%) and steady high (23%). Frequencies of the trajectory groups differed by gender. Using the moderate trajectory as a reference category, women in the steady high trajectory had an increased risk of experiencing almost all disadvantages at age 42. In men, increasing and steady high groups had an increased risk for experiencing health and economic disadvantage.CONCLUSION: Steady high female drinkers and steady high and increasing male drinkers had the highest risk for disadvantage in mid-adulthood. By identifying heavy drinking trajectories from adolescence to mid-adulthood we can better predict long-term consequences of heavy alcohol use and plan prevention and intervention programmes.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Berg, Noora, et al.
(författare)
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Associations between unemployment and heavy episodic drinking from adolescence to midlife in Sweden and Finland
- 2018
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Ingår i: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 28:2, s. 258-263
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundUnemployment and alcohol use have often been found to correlate and to act as risk factors for each other. However, only few studies have examined these associations at longitudinal settings extending over several life phases. Moreover, previous studies have mostly used total consumption or medical diagnoses as the indicator, whereas subclinical measures of harmful alcohol use, such as heavy episodic drinking (HED), have been used rarely. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between HED and unemployment from adolescence to midlife in two Nordic countries.MethodsParticipants of separate cohort studies from Sweden and Finland were recruited at age 16 in 1981/1983 and followed up at ages 21/22, 30/32 and 43/42, (n = 1080/2194), respectively. Cross-lagged autoregressive models were used to determine associations between HED and unemployment.ResultsIn the Swedish cohort, HED at ages 16 and 30 in men and HED at age 21 in women were associated with subsequent unemployment. In the Finnish cohort, we found corresponding associations at age 16 in women and at age 22 in men. However, the gender differences were not statistically significant. The associations from unemployment to HED were non-significant in both genders, in both cohorts and at all ages.ConclusionsOur results suggest that heavy drinkers are more likely to experience unemployment in subsequent years. The associations from HED to unemployment seem to exist through the life course from adolescence to midlife. More emphasis should be put on reducing alcohol related harms in order to improve labour-market outcomes.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Berg, Noora J., et al.
(författare)
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Longitudinal prospective associations between psychological symptoms and heavy episodic drinking from adolescence to midlife
- 2019
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 47:4, s. 420-427
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: This study examined whether development of psychological symptoms (PS) differed between persons with different longitudinal profiles of heavy episodic drinking (HED) from adolescence to midlife. In addition, the reciprocal associations between PS and HED were studied. Methods: Participants of a Finnish cohort study in 1983 at age 16 (N = 2194) were followed up at ages 22 (N = 1656), 32 (N = 1471), and 42 (N = 1334). HED was assessed with frequency of intoxication (16-22 years) and having six or more drinks in a session (32-42 years). Using latent class analysis, the participants were allocated to steady high, increased, moderate, and steady low groups according to their longitudinal profiles of HED. The PS scale (16-42 years) covered five mental complaints. The latent growth curve of PS was estimated in the HED groups for comparisons. In addition, the prospective associations between symptoms and HED were examined using cross-lagged autoregressive models. Results: PS grew from 16 to 32 years, but declined after that, with women having higher level of PS than men. PS trajectory followed a path at highest and lowest level in the steady high and steady low HED groups, respectively. Symptoms predicted later HED, but the association in the opposite direction was not found. Conclusions: The more the HED trajectory indicated frequent HED, the higher was the level of PS throughout the follow-up. Results support the self-medication hypothesis, suggesting that alcohol is used to ease the burden of PS. More attention should be paid to alcohol use of people with mental symptoms in health services.
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| 12. |
- Berg, Noora, et al.
(författare)
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Pathways from poor family relationships in adolescence to economic adversity in mid-adulthood
- 2017
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Ingår i: Advances in Life Course Research. - : Elsevier. - 1040-2608. ; 32, s. 65-78
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous studies have found that troubled childhood family conditions have long-term detrimental effects on a person’s economic situation in adulthood. However, the mechanisms behind these effects are unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between poor adolescent family relationships and the economic adversity in mid-adulthood and whether different adversities in early adulthood mediate this association.Participants of a Finnish cohort study at 16 years in 1983 were followed up when aged 22, 32 and 42 (N = 1334). Family relationships were measured according to adolescents’ perceived lack of emotional parental support (e.g. My mother is close to me (reversed)), lack of parental support in the individuation process and poor atmosphere at home. We analysed the direct effects of poor family relationships at age 16 on the economic adversity at age 42 and also indirect effects via various adversities at ages 22 and 32. The examined adversities were poor somatic and mental health, lack of an intimate relationship, low education and heavy drinking.Poor adolescent family relationships were associated with economic adversity in mid-adulthood. For women, poor relationships were associated with their economic adversity (42y) through poor mental health and low education in early adulthood. For men, the effect was transmitted via low education, although this was not the case after adjusting for school achievement in adolescence.The quality of family relationships in adolescence is associated with an individual’s economic situation well into mid-adulthood in women. Moreover, this association was not explained by family structure and parental SEP in adolescence. Early promotion of parent-child interaction, as well as health and education of individuals from troubled family conditions, might reduce economic inequality in adulthood.
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| 13. |
- Berg, Noora, et al.
(författare)
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Pathways from problems in adolescent family relationships to midlife mental health via early adulthood disadvantages – a 26-year longitudinal study
- 2017
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 12:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Poor childhood family conditions have a long-term effect on adult mental health, but the mechanisms behind this association are unclear. Our aim was to study the pathways from problematic family relationships in adolescence to midlife psychological distress via disadvantages in early adulthood. Participants of a Finnish cohort study at the age of 16 years old in 1983 were followed up at ages 22, 32 and 42 years old (N = 1334). Problems in family relationships were measured with poor relationship with mother and father, lack of parental support in adolescent's individuation process and poor home atmosphere, and mental health was assessed using Kessler's Psychological Distress Scale (K10). We analyzed the indirect effects of adolescent family relations on mental health at age 42 years old via various disadvantages (somatic and psychological symptoms, relationship/marital status, low education/unemployment and heavy drinking) at ages 22 and 32 years old. Problematic adolescent family relationships were associated with midlife psychological distress in women (0.19; 95% CI 0.11, 0.26) and men (0.13; 95% CI 0.04, 0.21). However, after adjustment for adolescent psychological symptoms, the association was only significant for women (0.12; 95% CI 0.04, 0.20). Poor family relationships were associated with various disadvantages in early adulthood. The association from poor family relationships (16 years old) to psychological distress (42 years old) was in part mediated via psychological symptoms in women (0.03; 95% CI 0.01, 0.04) and men (0.02; 95% CI 0.00, 0.04) and in women also via heavy drinking in early adulthood (0.02; 95% CI 0.00, 0.03). Adolescent family relationships have a role in determining adult mental health. Targeted support addressing psychological well-being and hazardous drinking for adolescents with problematic family relationships might prevent disadvantages in early adulthood, and further prevent poor midlife mental health.
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| 14. |
- Berg, Noora, et al.
(författare)
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Social relationships in adolescence and heavy episodic drinking from youth to midlife in Finland and Sweden : examining the role of individual, contextual and temporal factors
- 2018
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundApplying the Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) model of the bioecological theory, this study considers whether proximal processes between the individual and the microsystem (social relationships within family, peer group and school) during adolescence are associated with heavy episodic drinking (HED), from youth to midlife, and whether the macro level context (country) plays a role in these associations.MethodsParticipants of two prospective cohort studies from Finland and Sweden, recruited in 1983/1981 at age 16 (n = 2194/1080), were followed-up until their forties using postal questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine associations between social relationships at age 16 and HED (at least monthly intoxication or having six or more units of alcohol in one occasion) at ages 22/21, 32/30 and 42/43. Additive interactions between microsystem settings, as well as between settings and country, were also considered.ResultsConsistent with the PPCT model, we found individual, contextual and temporal aspects to be associated with drinking habits. Higher levels of poor family relationships were associated with an increased likelihood of HED (ages 22/21 and 32/30) in both Finnish women and men and Swedish men. Higher levels of peer contact were associated with an increased likelihood of HED in both Finnish women (ages 32 and 42) and men (ages 22 and 32), and Swedish men (age 21). In contrast with the other groups, poorer relationships with classmates were associated with an increased likelihood of HED (age 30) for Swedish women only. For women, the combined effect of having both daily peer contact and living in Finland for HED at age 42/43 was statistically distinguishable from a pure additive effect.ConclusionsMicro and to a lesser extent macro level contexts are associated with heavy episodic drinking well into adulthood. The most relevant processes in the adolescent microsystem occur in family and peer settings. However, long-lasting protective or risk-raising effects between different settings and later HED were not found. Promoting good relationships across different contexts during adolescence may reduce the incidence of HED in adulthood.
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| 15. |
- Berg, Noora, et al.
(författare)
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Stress, development and mental health study, the follow-up study of Finnish TAM cohort from adolescence to midlife : cohort profile
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 11:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose This cohort profile describes the Stress, development and mental health study (TAM), which is a cohort study investigating risk and protective factors as well as longitudinal associations regarding mental health and well-being from adolescence to midlife. This interdisciplinary cohort study operates, for example, in the fields of public health, social medicine, psychiatry and the life course perspective.Participants In 1981 (n=2242, 98.0% of the target population), 1982 (n=2191, 95.6%) and 1983 (n=2194, 96.7%) during school classes, surveys were conducted to all Finnish-speaking pupils (mostly born 1967) in the Tampere region in Finland. Participants of the school study at age 16 in 1983 (n=2194) comprised the base population for the longitudinal data and were followed-up using postal questionnaires in the years 1989, 1999, 2009 and 2019 at ages 22 (n=1656, 75.5% of the age 16 participants), 32 (n=1471, 67.0%), 42 (n=1334, 60.8%) and 52 (n=1160, 52.9%).Findings to date The self-reported questionnaires include information on physical and mental health (eg, depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorders), health behaviour and substance misuse (eg, alcohol, tobacco and exercise), socioeconomic conditions, psychosocial resources (eg, self-esteem), social relationships and support, life events, etc. The numerous studies published to date have examined mental health and various factors from several perspectives such as risk and protective factors, individual developmental paths (eg, trajectories) and pathway models (mediation and moderation).Future plans Current and future research areas include, for example, longitudinal associations between mental health (eg, depressive symptoms, self-esteem) and (1) substance use (alcohol and tobacco), (2) family transitions (eg, parenthood, relationship status) and (3) retirement. Next follow-up is planned to be conducted at the latest at age 62 in 2029. Before that it is possible to link the data with cause-of-death register.
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| 18. |
- Grundström, Jenna, et al.
(författare)
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Associations between relationship status and mental well-being in different life phases from young to middle adulthood
- 2021
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Ingår i: SSM - Population Health. - : Elsevier. - 2352-8273. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to assess the associations between relationship status and mental well-being in four different phases during the life course, and to identify whether relationship quality moderated these associations. We used a broader concept of relationship status (instead of marital status) and also included the positive dimension of mental health. Participants in a Finnish cohort study were followed up at ages 22 (N = 1,656), 32 (N = 1,471), 42 (N = 1,334), and 52 (N = 1,159). Measures in all study panels covered relationship status (marriage, cohabitation, dating, single and divorced/widowed), Short Beck Depression Inventory (S-BDI), self-esteem (seven items) and relationship quality (six items). Analyses were carried out using linear regression. Compared to marriage, being single or being divorced/widowed were associated with depressive symptoms at every age in men. For women, in turn, being single - but not being divorced/widowed - was associated with depressive symptoms. Among men, being single or being divorced/widowed were also associated with lower self-esteem at age 32, 42 and 52, but in women, only one association between lower self-esteem and being single was found at age 32. Of the age stages, the age 32 is highlighted in men, at which point all relationship statuses were risk factors compared to marriage. There were only few indications of the moderating role of the relationship quality. Compared to marriage, being single or being divorced/widowed were quite consistently associated with poorer mental well-being during the life course, especially among men. For dating and cohabiting the associations were more fragmented depending on age and gender; particularly among women, these relationship statuses tended not to differ from marriage in terms of mental well-being. These observations on mental well-being across five relationship statuses are important in our contemporary society, where the number of marriages is decreasing, and other forms of relationships are becoming more common.
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| 19. |
- Grundström, Jenna, et al.
(författare)
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Reciprocal associations between parenthood and mental well-being - a prospective analysis from age 16 to 52 years
- 2024
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Ingår i: Current Psychology. - : Springer. - 1046-1310 .- 1936-4733. ; 43:3, s. 2238-2252
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The present study examines the bidirectional nature of the associations between parenthood and mental well-being using 36-year longitudinal data.Background: Mental well-being can affect if and when one becomes a parent (selection hypothesis), and the characteristics of parenthood can affect mental well-being (causation hypothesis). However, life course research has infrequently studied these hypotheses in parallel. Previous studies have also typically only focused on one aspect of parenthood (e.g., having children) and on the negative aspects of the mental well-being construct.Method: The participants in the Finnish 'Stress, Development and Mental Health (TAM)' cohort study were followed up at ages 16, 22, 32, 42, and 52 (N = 1160). The measures of parenthood (having children, timing of parenthood, and number of children) and mental well-being at ages 16 and 52 (depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and meaningfulness) were based on self-report.Results: For men, higher self-esteem in adolescence was associated with having children, and having children was associated with higher self-esteem in middle age. For women, depressive symptoms at age 16 were associated with becoming a parent at age 24 or younger. For both genders, having children was associated with a higher sense of meaningfulness in middle age.Conclusion: Studied within the life course perspective, our results indicate that parenthood has a positive effect on mental well-being in mid-adulthood even when accounting for selection effects.
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| 22. |
- Haravuori, Henna, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of media exposure on adolescents traumatized in a school shooting
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Traumatic Stress. - : Wiley. - 0894-9867 .- 1573-6598. ; 24:1, s. 70-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study analyzes the impact of the media on adolescents traumatized in a school shooting. Participants were trauma-exposed students (n = 231) and comparison students (n = 526), aged 13-19 years. A questionnaire that included the Impact of Event Scale and a 36-item General Health Questionnaire was administered 4 months after the shooting. Being interviewed was associated with higher scores on the Impact of Event Scale (p = .005), but posttraumatic symptoms did not differ between those who refused to be interviewed and those not approached by reporters. Following a higher number of media outlets did not affect symptoms.
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
- Haravuori, Henna, et al.
(författare)
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Kauhajoen ampumissurmille altistuneiden opiskelijoiden selviytyminen, tuki ja hoito - Kahden vuoden prospektiivisen seurantatutkimuksen väliraportti.
- 2009
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: This follow-up study analyzes the recovery of students traumatized in a school shooting in Kauhajoki, Finland, September 23rd, 2008, and further studies the support and care they have received. The educational institution in Kauhajoki where the shooting occurred is a combination of a Vocational Education Centre Sedu (a multidisciplinary VET institution, branches: Catering and Home Economics, Health and Social Sciences) and Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (The Business School branch of Hospitality Management). Students from Kerava were recruited to form a control group. The main study objectives are how the exposed students recover, what kind of psychological symptoms and psychiatric disorders they have, and how they function. Associations between psychological outcomes and background factors are analyzed and the findings are compared to the control students. IMPLEMENTATION: The data were collected using a questionnaire in January 2009, four months after the event. The follow-up phase will continue for two years. The study is carried out in the National Institute for Health and Welfare in co-operation with personnel of the educational institutions. Study is coordinated with aftercare in Kauhajoki. Students will be referred to necessary treatment if their answers in the questionnaire raise a concern. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: All the students who had been enrolled in the Kauhajoki educational institutions were invited to participate in the study. The questionnaire included background information and academic performance. Further, students were asked about their exposure to the shooting and about the immediate support and possible trauma-related psychosocial support or care they received. The Impact of Event Scale (IES) was used to assess posttraumatic distress following critical events and 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to assess recent changes in a range of psychological and psychosocial symptoms. Items on perceived social support, need and availability of support and care, effects of ideology, effects of media, substance use, dissociation, posttraumatic growth and distress caused by the questionnaire itself were also included. RESULTS: Half of the students in Kauhajoki had been significantly exposed to the events. About one third had general psychological symptoms and two thirds were asymptomatic after four months. The risk for posttraumatic stress disorder was elevated in almost half of the students, which was a significantly higher proportion than observed in control students. The more severe the exposure, the greater amount of posttraumatic distress and general psychological symptoms were observed. Immediate crisis support was offered to a majority of the students. Two thirds of those who accepted the support reported it had helped them. Crisis work within one week of the incident reached two thirds of the students and over two thirds reported it had been helpful. Support was offered more often to the severely exposed. Journalists approached about one half of the students to ask about the events. Three out of four of the approached refused to be interviewed. One third of the students reported feeling worse after being interviewed. Less than one fifth reported the questionnaire as distressing and two thirds were willing to take part in the follow-up. Control students reported questionnaire more often as distressing and willingness to take part in the follow-up was lower. FOLLOW-UP: The questionnaire will be re-administered 12 and 24 months after the first monitoring. Semistructured diagnostical interviews will be utilized also during the follow-up phase
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| 26. |
- Kiviruusu, Olli, et al.
(författare)
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Interpersonal Conflicts and Development of Self-Esteem from Adolescence to Mid-Adulthood. A 26-Year Follow-Up
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigated the association between interpersonal conflicts and the trajectory of self-esteem from adolescence to mid-adulthood. The directionality of effects between self-esteem and interpersonal conflicts was also studied. Participants of a Finnish cohort study in 1983 at age 16 (N = 2194) were followed up at ages 22 (N = 1656), 32 (N = 1471) and 42 (N = 1334) using postal questionnaires. Measures covered self-esteem and interpersonal conflicts including, conflicts with parents, friends, colleagues, superiors, partners, break-ups with girl/boyfriends, and divorces. Participants were grouped using latent profile analysis to those having "consistently low", "decreasing", or "increasing" number of interpersonal conflicts from adolescence to adulthood. Analyses were done using latent growth curve models and autoregressive cross-lagged models. Among both females and males the self-esteem growth trajectory was most favorable in the group with a consistently low number of interpersonal conflicts. Compared to the low group, the group with a decreasing number of interpersonal conflicts had a self-esteem trajectory that started and remained at a lower level throughout the study period. The group with an increasing number of interpersonal conflicts had a significantly slower self-esteem growth rate compared to the other groups, and also the lowest self-esteem level at the end of the study period. Cross-lagged autoregressive models indicated small, but significant lagged effects from low self-esteem to later interpersonal conflicts, although only among males. There were no effects to the opposite direction among either gender. Our results show that those reporting more and an increasing number of interpersonal conflicts have a lower and more slowly developing self-esteem trajectory from adolescence to mid-adulthood. While the result was expected, it does not seem to imply an effect from interpersonal conflicts to low self-esteem. Rather, if anything, our results seem to suggest that those with low self-esteem are more prone to later interpersonal conflicts.
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| 27. |
- Kiviruusu, Olli, et al.
(författare)
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Life course associations between smoking and depressive symptoms. A 30-year Finnish follow-up study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0803-9488 .- 1502-4725. ; 75, s. S8-S8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background While the association between smoking and depressive symptoms has been studied quite extensively, only little is known whether the association changes and how the trajectories of smoking and depressive symptoms are intertwined during the life course. In this population-based study, we examined these associations from young adulthood to middle age. Methods Participants of a Finnish cohort study (N = 1955) were addressed at ages 22, 32, 42 and 52 using postal questionnaires including questions of daily smoking and depressive symptoms (the short 13-item Beck Depression Inventory). Linear and logistic regression analyses and longitudinal latent class and profile analyses were used. Results The percentages of daily smokers decreased, while levels of depressive symptoms increased among both women and men from age 22 to 52 years. Daily smoking was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms between ages 22 and 42, while not at age 52. Associations among men prevailed also in the adjusted models. Four life course trajectories of daily smoking (non-smokers, quitters, persistent smokers, and late starters) and four depressive symptoms (low, increasing/moderate, decreasing/moderate, and high) were identified. In the adjusted models, persistent daily smokers and late starters had significantly higher risk of belonging to the high depressive symptoms profile in men, but not in women. Conclusions Compared to women the associations between daily smoking and depressive symptoms seem more robust among men during adulthood. Especially those men smoking persistently from young adulthood to middle age have an increased risk of high depressive symptoms trajectory during the life course.
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| 28. |
- Mustonen, Ulla, et al.
(författare)
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Elämänkulku, mielenterveys ja hyvinvointi. Seurantatutkimus 16-vuotiaista tamperelaisnuorista 22-, 32- ja 42-vuotiaina (TAM-projekti)
- 2013
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The development of children and young people and the conditions in which they are brought up lay the foundation for future well-being. People's educational and lifestyle choices in adolescence and early adulthood influence their health and social status far into their adult years. Adulthood and adult well-being are defined by roles at work, in interpersonal relationship, in family, and in other communities as well as by individual needs for change and development. This research report describes the life cycle and well-being from youth to early middle-age of one age group of pupils in Tampere, totalling some 2200 persons. The report summarises key results from a 25-year-long longitudinal study. The survey examines different kinds of risk factors in family backgrounds, adolescence, early adulthood and adult life and their links with mental health and psychosocial well-being. It also studies factors that protect against problems in mental health and well-being in young people's development and in their life cycle. The target group consisted of all Finnish-speaking pupils in the 9th grade of comprehensive school in the city of Tampere in spring 1983 (n = 2269). The research data was collected with a survey questionnaire, which a total of 2194 pupils (96.7%) filled in during one lesson at school. The first follow-up was carried out as a postal questionnaire when the respondents were 22 years old (n = 1656), and the second when the respondents were 32 years old (n =1471). The most recent followup was carried out in 2009 when the respondents were 42 years old (n = 1334). Key topics in all the follow-up surveys have been physical and mental health, health behaviour, social relationships, life situation, and psychosocial resources. The research findings indicate so far that most of the respondents have fared well at the developmental tasks and challenges they have faced in the different stages of their life. It seems, however, that there are risk factors associated with young people's growth and development and the environment in which they grow up, and that these risk factors may have negative effects on well-being in adolescence and far into adulthood. For example, the results indicate that a family's low socio-economic THL – Raportti 17/2013 9 Elämänkulku, mielenterveys ja hyvinvointi status is linked with unhealthy lifestyles in adolescence and a lower level of educational attainment in adulthood. Childhood experience of parents' divorce foretold a higher risk of problems in mental health, interpersonal relationships, and other relationships, as well as a lower socio-economic status in later life. It was also discovered that multiple social deprivation in adolescence is associated with higher mortality in adulthood. Adult depression was linked with depressive symptoms and low self-esteem especially in adolescence. Also, a link was discovered between long-term diseases and mental health. Young people with a long-term disease reported psychosomatic symptoms more often than their peers. In adulthood, a long-term disease was linked with depression among men, but not among women. Men with a long-term disease made more use of emotional means of coping than healthy men, and they had a lower sense of control over their own lives. The most important factors associated with a high level of alcohol consumption were male gender, childhood experience of divorce, depressive symptoms in adolescence, as well as regular binge drinking already at young age. With regard to binge drinking, different kinds of development paths were identified from adolescence to early middle-age. Two kinds of development paths were identified to be associated with various dimensions of social deprivation in early middle-age. These were regular binge drinking from adolescence to early middle among women and men and increasing regular binge drinking during the life-cycle among men. However, no similar link was observed when binge drinking decreased from early adulthood and adulthood. When studying factors that protect against problems of mental health and wellbeing, it was discovered, for example, that good relationship with parents, high selfesteem, and an intimate relationship protected young people against depression in later life. These factors had also an indirect link with the quality of intimate relationships in adult life. In the group of people with a long-term disease, factors protecting against depression included active problem-solving perspective to coping among men and experienced access to social support among women. Changes in individual resources, such as self-esteem, sense of control, and experiencing life as meaningful, were associated with the development of socio-economic inequalities in health in early adulthood. If these resources remained unchanged, also the socio-economic inequalities in health remained unchanged, while an increase in the resources signified a narrowing of the socio-economic inequalities in health. The analysing and reporting of the longitudinal study continue still, and two related dissertations are under way. A number of articles on the study have been published in distinguished scientific journals both in Finland and abroad. The research material has been used in several thesis studies, and the findings have been reported extensively both nationally and internationally. This report includes a list of these THL – Raportti 17/2013 10 Elämänkulku, mielenterveys ja hyvinvointi publications. Those interested in learning more about the research and its themes can study the original publications. The research material forms an internationally valuable follow-up material, and the research results can be utilised especially in social welfare and health care services that aim to promote the mental health and wellbeing of young people and adults. The result can also be used in education services and youth services. The research project and individual researchers have received funding from various sources. We are grateful for all the financial support to our research project. We would like to thank especially the Academy of Finland, the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation and the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation for their significant support in enabling the data collection in different stages of the research, as well as the Tampere University School of Health Sciences and the National Public Health Institute/National Institute for Health and Welfare for providing the premises for conducting the research. We extend our warmest thanks to those who took part in this longitudinal study for their long-term interest in the study and for the valuable information they gave about their own lives.
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