Mental Health Problems Among Adolescents in Sweden from 1995 to 2011 : The Role of Immigrant Status and the Proportions of Immigrant Adolescents in Their Surrounding Community

• We compared the mental health of native and immigrant adolescents in Sweden from 1995 to 2011 and examined whether the municipality-level proportion of immigrant adolescents moderated the association between individual-level immigrant status and mental health. The sample (14,189 adolescents aged 15–16) was obtained from a repeated cross-sectional study conducted from 1995 to 2011. Adolescent self-report data (gender, immigrant status, economic situation, and mental health) and municipality-level data (proportion of immigrant adolescents) were used in multilevel linear regression analyses. Immigrant adolescents reported more mental health problems than their native Swedish peers. The long-term trend in mental health problems did not differ between the two groups. The association between individual immigrant status and mental health did not differ according to the municipality-level rate of immigrant adolescents. These findings highlight the need for public health attention to and efforts to address immigrant adolescents’ mental health problems in Sweden.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialpsykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Psychology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Adolescents

Immigrant status

Mental health

Proportion of immigrants

Trend

Public Health Science

Folkhälsovetenskap

Socialt arbete

Social Work

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)