Vilka faktorer har inverkan på barn och ungas psykiska hälsa? : En kvantitativ studie bland ungdomar i Västmanland baserad på enkätundersökningen Liv och Hälsa Ung 2017.

Background: Health is about more than just a lack of illness. Today when it comes to health it is important to take into account both the physically and the psychologically aspect of health. Mental health is about a person experiencing well-being and that the person can do the things they like, and at the same time be a part of the community. Having mental problems consists of both mental illnesses and mental disorders. Mental disorders are about a person experiences difficulties but that there is no diagnosis. Mental illness among children and young people has increased during the last decade, and today there is a large amount that is experience psychosomatic problems. Therefore, it is important to examine which aspects that can have an affect on mental health. Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate the prevalence of mental illness (psychosomatic problems and mental health) among young people in Västmanland in grades 9 and 2 in upper secondary school. The aim of the study is also to investigate the relation between mental illness (mental health and psychosomatic problems) and socio-economic status, school- related factors as well as country of birth and gender. Method: A quantitative method with a cross-sectional design was carried out in order to answer the aim of the study. The material for the study was based on the total study “Liv och Hälsa Ung Västmanland 2017”, and only year 9 and grade 2 in the upper secondary school were included. The analyses section consisted of creating prevalence tables to be able to see the distribution of the variables. Then, correlation analyzes and linear regressions were performed. Results: The study's results show that there is an occurrence of mental health problems in children and young people. In the study's results, there are links between mental health and several of the factors studied. School-related factors are the factors that have the strongest connection with mental health. Socioeconomic status also has a connection with mental health. Gender has a small impact, while it is not possible to find a connection between mental health and the country of birth. Conclusions: There are several factors that have impact on the mental health of children and young people. This study shows that it is primarily the school-related factors that have an impact on mental health in young people. Therefore, it is important that the work is focused on these. Keywords: Mental health, children, young people, adolescents, socioeconomics, school- related factors (grades, well-being and difficulties), sex, country of birth, quantitative method, correlation, t-test, linear regression.