Betydningen av innvandrerbakgrunn for psykiske vansker blant ungdom

Abstract

Do we find more psychological problems among children and young people of immigrants that are born and raised in Norway than among those with a Norwegian background? Is there a need for specific theories to explain the prevalence of psychological problems among youth with immigrant parents? Analyses were conducted on a sample of appr. 11 500 adolescents between 14 and 17 years of age in Oslo, Norway.Prevalence of psychological problemsThe results show that youth born in Norway with parents from Pakistan reported suffering from depressed mode to a larger extent than youth with a Norwegian background. Further, the results show that children of immigrants participate less in minor crimes, there are no differences in serious crime, whereas boys with immigrant background from some countries participate more in violent crimes.Are children of immigrants with psychological problems different from Norwegian youth with psychological problems? Conflicts with parents were a much stronger risk factor for depressed mode among youth with immigrant background compared to youth with a Norwegian background, whereas there were only small differences in risk factors for antisocial behaviour between the groups. However, we found one important exception. Contrary to expectations, strong ethnic pride and feeling of belonging was a risk factor for conduct problems among boys with immigrant background.What is the association between delinquency and different aspects of the acculturation process among second-generation immigrant youth?Acculturation was positively associated with delinquency among girls, but negatively associated with delinquency among boys. After controlling for bonds to parents, school, religion, and deviant friends, the acculturation variables explained a moderate proportion of the variance in delinquency among boys, but not among girls. After controlling for traditional explanatory variables, delinquency among boys was associated with stronger ethnic affirmation and belonging, lower participation in traditional cultural activities, most of their close friends having an ethnic minority background, and spending more time with ethnic majority youth after school.

Temaet for denne avhandlingen er om, og eventuelt hvordan, ungdom med innvandrerbakgrunn med psykiske vansker (depressivitet og antisosialitet) skiller seg fra ungdom med norsk bakgrunn med tilsvarende problemer. Et sentralt spørsmål er også i hvilken grad vi finner kjønnsforskjeller i sammenhengen mellom integrering og antisosial atferd blant barn av innvandrere. Avhandlingen inneholder ö³g en gjennomgang av nyere teorier og metoder for å studere eventuelle etniske forskjeller i utbredelse og forståelsen av psykiske vansker blant ungdom.