Psychological well-being and chronic condition in Portuguese adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To examine the differences in the psychological well-being of Portuguese adolescents' (1) living with a chronic condition (CC) and (2) living with a CC and feeling it affects/not affects school participation. Methods: There were 5050 Portuguese adolescents as participants of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children/WHO. Results: Adolescents without CC often feel rarely or never 'sad/ depressed', 'irritated/bad humour', 'nervous', 'fearful' or 'so sad that it seems I can't take it', compared with their healthy peers. Young people living with CC and feeling that it does not affect participation in school, often feel rarely or never 'sad/depressed', 'fearful' or 'so sad that it seems I can't take it', comparing with the ones with CC and feeling it affects school. All of these symptoms were higher in adolescents living with a CC. Conclusions: Adolescents living with a CC and feeling that it affects participation in school can be at a higher risk for a healthy psychological well-being. Future early interventions based on a 'health assets' approach should be implemented.

Caffeine, Sleep Duration and Adolescents’ Perception of Health Related Quality of Life

“…The fact that boys consume greater amounts of soft drinks with caffeine and energy drinks has also been reported in a recent study [24]. Older adolescents have a worse perception of their quality of life, as repetedelly reported in the literature [17][18][19], consume coffee more often and also energetic drinks with alcohol, sleep less and use computer for longer periods of time during the week [25].…”

“…socio economic status or being active during leisure time) that may be the "missed link" to a better perception of quality of life in this period of adolescence [12,13]. The use of energetic drinks with alcohol seems to have no impact on the number of hours of sleep either during weekends or weekdays, but this fact can be due to its relative low use [25].…”

Contextual factors related to chronic condition in portuguese adolescents: highlights from the HBSC/WHO study

“…Responses are not homogeneous and depend on various specific individual and contextual factors, on the type of disease/condition and on emerging limitations (Lee et al 2013). In spite of medical advances, children and adolescents living with a CC still face numerous challenges and can be at higher risk for a healthy psychological development (Verhoof et al 2012), psychological well-being (Santos et al 2015) and more adjustment problems (Oeseburg et al 2010a).…”

“…In addition, difficulties in communication are associated with violent behaviors in school and also with both physical and psychological symptoms; while a better parental communication is associated with feeling happier (Matos and Equipa Aventura Social 2000). Further details on Portuguese data concerning chronic diseases and in adolescents, related to individual factors, risk behaviours and psychological well-being have been already published (Santos et al 2013b;Santos et al 2014;Santos et al 2015). It seems, therefore, relevant to study the impact of: 1) living with a chronic condition; and 2) living with a chronic condition that affects school participation, and its association with satisfaction with family life (Cantril 1965), "Feeling pressure with homework" and "Perception of school competence".…”

Do Clinical And Psychosocial Factors Affect Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents with Chronic Diseases?

“…However, living with chronic disease in adolescence still have a significant high risk for poor Quality of Life (QoL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (Alba et al, 2013;Elsenbruch, Schmid, Lutz, Geers, & Schara, 2013;Mellion et al, 2014), particularly in psychological functioning (Moreira et al, 2013;Santos, Matos, Simões, & Machado, 2015;Williams, Sharpe, & Mullan, 2013) and social dimensions (Carona, Moreira, Silva, Crespo, & Canavarro, 2014;Compas, Jaser, Dunn, & Rodriguez, 2012). HRQoL is generally conceptualized as a multidimensional psychological construct including physical, mental, social and spiritual areas of life and general well-being (Eiser & Morse, 2001;Ravens-Sieberer et al, 2001;2005).…”