Lök lífsskilyrði unglinga, hvort heldur sem þau felast í bágri fjárhagsstöðu heimilisins ellegar í miklum samfélagslegum ójöfnuði, eru heilsufarslegur áhættuþáttur. Í þessari rannsókn voru notuð gögn úr íslenskum hluta alþjóðlegrar rannsóknar á heilsu og lífskjörum skólabarna (Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children – HBSC). Svörum var safnað frá nemendum í 6., 8. og 10. bekk árin 2006, 2010, 2014 og 2018. Þeir voru spurðir um tíðni höfuðverkja, magaverkja, bakverkja, depurðar, pirrings, svefnörðugleika og verkja í hálsi, herðum og útlimum. Félagshagfræðileg staða var metin út frá spurningu um fjárhagslega stöðu fjölskyldunnar miðað við aðra. Um þriðjungur unglinga upplifði tíða verki og vanlíðan. Tíðni þessara sállíkamlegu umkvartana jókst mikið á tímabilinu. Bág fjárhagsstaða fjölskyldu, tvö- til fjórfaldaði líkurnar á því að unglingar fyndu fyrir tíðum einkennum. Þessar niðurstöður gefa til kynna að mikilvægt sé fyrir þá aðila sem meðhöndla verki og vanlíðan ungmenna að kynna sér félagslega stöðu þeirra og hvaða áhrif hún getur haft.
Adolescent well-being has been decreasing in most Western societies for the past decades. This is particularly true of girls. Better socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to increase the likelihood of adolescents being happy, healthy and enjoying school. Studies have also shown that adolescents with lower SES are more likely to engage in risky behavior (e.g., smoking, having a poor diet or being sedentary), have a more negative view of their health and well-being, and have more problems regarding behavior, emotions and relations. Poor living conditions, whether caused by a difficult financial situation at home or social inequality, are a risk factor of adolescent health. The stress and strain of a low SES particularly affects the family life of these adolescents, causing worse communication, more conflict and lower support. All of these are known risk factors regarding adolescent health. Iceland is an interesting case in this respect. It is a highly prosperous society with some of the lowest levels of social inequalities measured in the OECD countries. It is, therefore, particularly interesting to see whether health inequalities exist among adolescents living in a country where material privation is rare and equality is high. The study is based on information gathered as part of the project Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) in which adolescents are asked about various issues related to health, well-being and social situation. Answers were collected from students in the 6th, 8th and 10th grade in consequent waves in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. Prior to data collection the questionnaires, along with a research plan, were sent to the Icelandic Data Protection Authority and the University of Iceland Ethics Committee, neither of which had any reservations regarding the procedure. Then the same information was sent to all headmasters in Iceland in schools with students in the 6th, 8th or 10th grade, asking for their permission to run the study. Subsequently all parents and guardians received a letter of introduction with clear instructions as to how to reject a child’s participation. In the 2017–2019 wave the questionnaires were in digitized form. The tables in the schoolroom were moved apart to ensure that students could not see one another’s answers. Then each student accessed the survey on his/her computer. In the beginning there was a short introduction to the study together with a clear statement that even though the study had been approved by school authorities and parents, the students were under no obligation to participate. The anonymity of answers was also emphasized. They were asked about the frequency of headaches, stomach aches, backaches, sadness, irritability, sleeping difficulties and pains in neck, shoulders and limbs. Socioeconomic status was estimated by asking how their family compared with others financially. About a third of the adolescents experienced frequent aches and ill-being. The prevalence of these psychosomatic complaints rose during the study period. The proportion of adolescents reporting two or more symptoms every week for the past six months rose by 2% from 2006 to 2018. However, the number of adolescents experiencing the highest number of symptoms has doubled during this period. Studies on psychosomatic symptoms amongst adolescents can provide important information about their overall health, as traditional clinical studies on morbidity and mortality can only demonstrate a narrow view for this age-group. Psychosomatic complaints encompass a broad spectrum of symptoms experienced by the individual – from occasional discomfort to functional impairment. Minor complaints about headaches, anxiety, stomach-ache and dizziness are quite common amongst adolescents, but this does not mean they are unimportant. On the contrary. Studies show that even minor psychosomatic symptoms predict increased risk for the individual of developing serious mental issues later in life, as well as reducing well-being in adolescence. The results of the current study show that poor socioeconomic status of the family doubled or quadrupled the likelihood of frequent complaints amongst the adolescents. These results indicate how important it is for those health professionals who treat adolescent aches and illbeing to be aware of their socioeconomic status and the impact this can have. From a health promoting point of view these results highlight the importance of tackling the causes of health inequality in adolescence from a broad societal perspective.
