Do negative life experiences predict the health-care-seeking of adolescents? A study of 10th-year students in Oslo, Norway.

PURPOSE: To analyze associations among the negative life experiences and health-care-seeking of adolescents during the 12 months before the study.

METHODS

Cross-sectional questionnaire study among 10th-year students at all secondary schools in Oslo.

RESULTS

In 2000 and in 2001, 7329 (88%) of Oslo's 8316 secondary-school students responded to the questionnaire. Some contacts with primary health care during the previous year were reported by 71% of respondents, and 6% had seen a mental health practitioner (psychologist or psychiatrist). Health care utilization was not correlated with the family's financial situation as reported by the student (boys = 1019; girls = 1258), or with a parent's unemployment (boys = 253; girls = 325). The 2112 boys (59% of all) and 2378 girls (64%) who reported feeling strong pressure from others to succeed, had more contacts with all primary health care services. Girls, but not boys, who reported being bullied by others reported more psychologist or psychiatrist visits than did their nonbullied peers. Exposure to physical violence was associated with a significant increase in visits to the School Health Service, family physician, and emergency medical service, and was related to more than doubling the probability of visiting a mental health practitioner. Being sexually violated during the previous year increased the likelihood of boys visiting mental health practitioner more than four times (odds ratio [OR] 4.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7-12.2); and visiting School Health Service by nearly four times, (OR 3.7; 95% CI 1.0-13.5).

CONCLUSION

Variation in adolescent health care seeking can, by and large, be predicted by negative life experiences.