Uvhagen Lena, Gustafsson Johanna, Söderqvist Fredrik
University Health Care Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2025 May 28;20(5):e0323963. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323963. eCollection 2025.
Mental well-being is more than merely the absence of mental illness; it is a multidimensional concept that includes both emotional and functional well-being, which are valuable resources during adolescence. In order to develop relevant interventions and policies to strengthen adolescent mental health, a continuous monitoring of the population well-being becomes important. The aim of the study was to examine the level, distribution, and changes in mental well-being over time in a Swedish adolescent population. Current study is based on four waves (2014-2017-2020-2023) of a cross-sectional student survey (N = 16288, Mage = 16.23). The outcome was measured with the Mental Health Continuum Short Form. Ten explanatory factors were chosen to examine differences in mental well-being in the study population: Grade, Sex, Sexual orientation, Socioeconomic status, Country of birth, Visual, Hearing or Mobility impairment, Specific learning disorder and Neurodevelopmental disorder. Differences in mental well-being between groups as well as temporal trends were examined and evaluated through statistical testing and hierarchical multiple linear regressions modeling. Girls, non-heterosexual adolescents, and adolescents with low socioeconomic status or impairments have lower levels of mental well-being than boys, heterosexual adolescents, and adolescents with higher socioeconomic status or without impairments, respectively. A deterioration in mental well-being is seen over time for several groups; however, results of the multivariable analysis indicates that the deterioration is mainly an effect of sex and the significant decline in mental well-being seen among girls. The most significant factor for explaining the variation in mental well-being in this study is socioeconomic status. This study elucidates temporal changes and differences in levels of mental well-being between social groups in the adolescent population. The overall differences are small, but their potential implications for public health warrant careful consideration since they concern a significant part of the population. The results underscore the imperative of promoting mental well-being in adolescents, particularly among vulnerable groups.
心理健康不仅仅是没有精神疾病；它是一个多维度的概念，包括情绪和功能健康，这些在青少年时期都是宝贵的资源。为了制定相关干预措施和政策来加强青少年心理健康，持续监测人群的幸福感变得很重要。该研究的目的是调查瑞典青少年人群中幸福感的水平、分布及其随时间的变化。当前的研究基于一项横断面学生调查的四个阶段（2014年 - 2017年 - 2020年 - 2023年）（N = 16288，平均年龄 = 16.23岁）。结果采用心理健康连续体简表进行测量。选择了十个解释因素来研究研究人群中幸福感的差异：年级、性别、性取向、社会经济地位、出生国家、视觉、听力或行动障碍、特定学习障碍和神经发育障碍。通过统计检验和分层多元线性回归模型对组间幸福感差异以及时间趋势进行了检验和评估。女孩、非异性恋青少年以及社会经济地位低或有障碍的青少年的心理健康水平分别低于男孩、异性恋青少年以及社会经济地位高或无障碍的青少年。随着时间的推移，几个群体的心理健康状况都出现了恶化；然而，多变量分析结果表明，这种恶化主要是性别的影响以及女孩中观察到的心理健康显著下降。在本研究中，解释幸福感差异的最重要因素是社会经济地位。这项研究阐明了青少年人群中社会群体之间幸福感水平的时间变化和差异。总体差异较小，但它们对公共卫生的潜在影响值得仔细考虑，因为它们涉及相当一部分人口。结果强调了促进青少年心理健康的紧迫性，特别是在弱势群体中。
