Balsevičienė, Birutė

Vaiko psichikos sveikata yra svarbi viešojo saugumo tema. Esant nepalankioms aplinkos sąlygoms, vaikams gali išsivystyti delinkventinis elgesys, agresija, kurie savo ruožtu gali nuvesti iki rimtų nusikalstamų veikų. Tyrimai nustatė, kad įvairios genų ir aplinkos sąveikos didina elgesio sunkumus, tame tarpe delinkventinį elgesį ir nusikalstamumą. Vaiko psichikos sveikatos raidai yra svarbi tiek aplinka, tiek ir pats vaikas bei jų tarpusavio sąveika. Nepaisant to, kad kasmet atliekama labai daug ir įvairių tyrimų analizuojančių vaikų elgesio, kognityvinių ir emocijų sutrikimų priežastis, gydymą, korekciją ir prevenciją, tačiau sutrikimų kasmet vis daugėja. Nepalankių aplinkos veiksnių įtakos vaikų psichikos sveikatai analizavimo svarbą rodo ir tai, kad tyrimų rezultatai rodo, kad maždaug 2,4 – 18,2 proc. vaikų turi nerimo sutrikimų, impulsų kontrolės sutrikimų – 1 – 6,8 proc. ir pan. Tyrimai rodo, kad genetinės variacijos sąveikauja su aplinkos kontekstu tokiu būdu nulemdamos įvairų elgesį tokį kaip pavyzdžiui nusikalstamas veikas. Taigi sistemingai analizuoti veiksnius, kurie susiję su vaiko psichikos sveikata yra itin svarbu. Tad šio straipsnio tikslas aptarti ir išanalizuoti nepalankių aplinkos veiksnių įtakos vaikų psichikos sveikatos raidai teorijas. Metodologiniu požiūriu straipsnyje taikoma teorinės literatūros sintezė. Taigi pagrindiniai šio tyrimo uždaviniai yra atskleisti tris svarbiausius nepalankių aplinkos įtakos vaikų psichinei sveikatai modelius: atskleisti streso – diatezės modelį. Išanalizuoti skirtingo imlumo teorinį modelį. Išanalizuoti biologinio jautrumo kontekstui teorinį modelį. Palyginti šiuos tris modelius, išskiriant esminius panašumus ir skirtumus. Išvados: streso – diatezės modelis teigia, kad kai kurie asmenys dėl padidinto jautrumo, kuris gali būti elgesinio pobūdžio (pvz.: sunkus temperamentas) arba fiziologinio/endofenotipinio pobūdžio (pvz.: padidintas biologinis reaktyvumas į stresą) arba genetinio pobūdžio (pvz.: turėjimas tam tikrų genų alelių) yra neproporcingai labiau pažeidžiami aplinkos stresorių nei kiti. Skirtingo imlumo teorija, visų pirma, kėlė klausimą ne kaip patirtis veikia vystymąsi, bet kodėl apskritai ji turėtų veikti jį. Vaikai skiriasi taip pat ir pagal savo jautrumą aplinkos poveikiams. Tai reikalinga taip pat tam, kad išliktų. Biologinio jautrumo kontekstui teorija teigia, kad vaikai, kuriems būdingas žemas reaktyvumas beveik vienodai reagavo tiek į stipriai neigiamą, tiek į mažai neigiamą aplinką. Abejose pastarosiose teigiama, kad itin jautrus asmuo su aukštu reaktyvumu bus jautrus tiek teigiamiems, tiek neigiamiems aplinkos poveikiams.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the association between levels of residential surrounding greenness, preschool children's park use, sedentary behaviour, and mental and general health. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1489 4-6-year-old children – residents of Kaunas city, Lithuania. Responses to the questionnaires completed by parents were used to ascertain children's general and mental health. We estimated exposure to greenness by the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI), and time spent in a park (i.e. park use). We used multivariate logistic regression models to explore the independent associations between health outcomes and surrounding greenness and time spent in the nearest city park, controlling for potential confounders. Results: Of all the studied children, 14% had poor perceived general health, and 44.7% spent 5 or more hours per week in city parks. A significant increase in sedentary behaviour was observed in children with poor health. Every additional hour of time spent in parks was associated with decreased sedentary behaviour and a lower risk of poor health; meanwhile, lower residential greenness was associated with poorer mental and general health. Compared with NDVI-100 m > median and park use exceeding 5 h per week, lower greenness exposure and shorter park usage were associated with the risk of poor health (adjusted odds ratio 2.32 (95% CI: 1.43, 3.78) and the general risk of mental difficulties (adjusted odds ratio 1.43 (95% CI: 1.03, 2.18) in 4–6-year-old children. Conclusions: Lower residential greenness levels and less time spent in a park were associated with poorer general and mental health among 4-6-year-old children. Physical activity in green spaces is recommended as a measure to prevent poor general and mental health among children.

Savižudybė yra viena iš pagrindinių mirties priežasčių jaunų asmenų grupėje1,2. Tai yra dažnesnė mirties priežastis nei žūtis avarijose ar mirtis dėl išorinių sužeidimų3. Savižudybės atneša ne tik emocinius sunkumus likusiems gyviems asmenims, bet ir ekonominius nuostolius4. Galiausiai, savižudybių paplitimo rodikliai atspindi ir bendrą valstybės gyventojų psichikos sveikatos būklę5. Šio tyrimo tikslas - atskleisti reagavimo į savižudybių riziką algoritmo taikomo Raseinių savivaldybėje ypatumus.

An unfavorable psychosocial environment has been associated with an increased prevalence of obesity among children. However, the available evidence on the association of low socioeconomic status and parent-child relationships with childhood obesity is scarce. The aim of our study was to conduct a simultaneous evaluation of the risks associated with pathological mother-child relationships, education level, and overweight/ obesity among 4−6 year-old children. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1489 mother-child pairs living in Kaunas city, Lithuania. The Parenting Stress Index was measured using the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscale. Children's overweight/obesity was defined as the body mass index ≥18 kg/m2. Logistic regression models as well as crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to indicate the strength of the associations between childhood overweight/obesity, maternal education level, and psychosocial stress. Results: The percentage of children with overweight/obesity rose with an increasing Parenting Stress Index score. The percentage of children with overweight/obesity in the group of parents with better education and normal mother-child relations was 6.0%, while in the group of less educated parents and pathological motherchild relations, this percentage reached 13.9%. The stratified multivariable model showed that, with reference to the group of better educated parents and normal mother-child relations, lower education level and pathological mother-child relations were statistically significant risk factors for overweight/obesity in 4–6 year-old children, increasing the OR of overweight/obesity (aOR: 2.43; 95% CI: 1.31–4.51). Pathological mother-child relations and maternal smoking mediated the effect of low maternal education level on children's BMI z-scores.[...]

Objective: The impact of maternal psychosocial stress on young children’s mental difficulties is unclear. This study investigated the joint effects of the socioeconomic status and parent-child relationships on emotional and behavioral difficulties in preschool children. Methods: The case-control study included 1416 mothers and their 4–6 year-old children pairs, living in Kaunas city, Lithuania. The parent-child relationships were measured using the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscale. Children’s mental health difficulties were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We used logistic regression models to indicate the strength of the associations. Results: Lower socioeconomic status women more often than higher ones reported pathological mother-child relations. Low education level was associated with statistically significant increase adjusted odds ratios for emotional symptoms and total behavioral difficulties. With reference to the group of better-educated mothers and normal mother-child relations, low education and pathological mother-child relations statistically significantly increased the risk of total difficulties in 4–6 year-old children; the adjusted odds ratios were 2.45; 95% CI 1.51–3.99. Conclusions: Pathological mother-child relations strengthened the effect of lower education on the increased risk of emotional and behavioral difficulties in preschool-age children. Measures oriented towards health behavior and psychosocial difficulties management may decrease children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Recent research has found that family socioeconomic status, parenting stress and other environmental factors can have impacts on child development. The aim of this study was to assess the association between psychosocial stress in the family and risk for obesity among 4−6 year old children. Methods This nested case-control study included 1,489 Kaunas Cohort Birth Study children followed-up for 4−6 years. We used the Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscale of the Parenting Stress Index (short form) and questionnaires on child development to assess risk factors for children obesity. The body mass index status for age was calculated and the risk factors for being overweight/obese were estimated. Logistic regression models were fitted to examine the associations as odds ratios (OR) between the parent-child relationship and the risk of overweight, adjusted for relevant covariates. The Kaunas Pregnant Women Birth Cohort had 3 ethical approvals conducted by the Lithuanian Bioethics Committee. Results A total of 6.8% of the children were overweight and 5.4% were obese. Children from smoking families with lower education faced almost double the risk of obesity. The stratified multivariate model showed that, with reference to the group of high educated and normal parent-child relations, low educated and pathological parent-child relationships were statistically significant risk factors for overweight children of 4–6 years old (OR 2.43; 95% confidence interval 1.31–4.51). Conclusion Maternal tobacco smoking and pathological parent-child relations may be predictors of overweight and obesity throughout the developmental trajectory of childhood. Measures to quit smoking and psychosocial stress management should be encouraged among pregnant women to decrease their children’s obesity risk.

The main reasons for why stereotypes of police officers about criminals are dangerous and affecting the legal system are: firstly, having stereotypes and misconceptions about typical criminals is damaging witness's ability to correctly identify and/or remember the offender’s features; secondly, stereotypes determine the peculiarities of interrogations; thirdly having stereotypes hinders the identification of individuals who actually commit crimes. 270 university students of Law and Police Activity program participated in the study and gave their opinion on the portrait and likely activities of a potential perpetrator. The Criminal Stereotype Questionnaire-Revised (Sparks & MacLin, 2011) was used to evaluate students’ judgment concerning the potential perpetrator’s socially desirable/undesirable personality traits, early years of family life history and childhood and adolescence activities. The results of this study revealed that future law and public security officers refer to delinquent activities during childhood and adolescence as well to adverse parental family life circumstances when predicting criminal behavior rather than personality traits. Furthermore, they have some preconceptions about gender, race and criminal behavior in advance.

Many epidemiological studies have found that people living in environments with more green space report better physical and mental health than those with less green space. However, the association between visits to green space and mental health has seldom been studied. The current study explored the associations between time spent in green spaces by purposeful visits and perceived mental health and vitality in four different European cities, and to what extent gender, age, level of education, attitude towards nature and childhood nature experience moderate these associations. Data was gathered using a questionnaire administered in four European cities (total n=3748). Multilevel analyses showed significant positive associations between time spent visiting green spaces and mental health and vitality in the pooled data, as well as across the four cities. Significant effect modification was found for level of education and childhood nature experience. The findings confirm the hypothesis that more time spent in green space is associated with higher scores on mental health and vitality scales, independent of cultural and climatic contexts.

Straipsnyje analizuojamos kriminalinio profiliavimo panaudojimo galimybės tiriant nusikaltimus elektroninėje erdvėje, kadangi šių nusikaltimų skaičius kasmet1 didėja. Kriminalinis profiliavimas tai - technika, kuria nustatomos, apibūdinamos pagrindinės nusikaltėlio asmenybės ir elgesio charakteristikos, remiantis nusikaltimo, kurį jis padarė, analize2. Kriminalinis profiliavimas turi remtis įrodymais grįstais metodais, o taip pat mokslinių tyrimų rezultatais. Nusikaltimai elektroninėje erdvėje tiriami naudojant panašias tyrimo technikas kaip ir tiriant kitokio pobūdžio nusikaltimus. Ir viena jų – kriminalinis profiliavimas. Pastaruoju metu dažniausiai naudojamos indukcinės ir dedukcinės kriminalinio profiliavimo technikos bei technikos, kurios įtraukia abu šiuos metodus. Kol kas nėra aiškių siūlymų, kaip naudoti šias dvi technikas kartu ir kaip jas taikyti nusikaltimų elektroninėje erdvėje tyrimui. Šiame straipsnyje teikiamas algoritmas gali būti naudingas tiek ankstyvose, tiek ir vėlesnėse tyrimo stadijose.