title: Well-being of 12-year-old children related to interpersonal relations, health habits and mental distress.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The main purpose was to examine if interpersonal relations, mental distress, somatic symptoms and health behaviours could be protective or risk factors for the subjective well-being of 12-year-old school children.
  
  
  METHODS
  After ethical and parental permission a questionnaire was completed by 807 pupils in the sixth grade of 18 randomised schools in seven rural and urban districts in the north-west area of Stockholm. The questionnaire was a modified version of the WHO Health Behaviour in School-Ages Children Study and the Youth Self-Report Questionnaire. Well-being was measured by the question, 'How are you these days'? Measures of protective or risk factors were relations to parents, teacher/schoolwork and peers, eating and safety habits, somatic symptoms, anxious/depressed and aggressiveness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Logistic regressions were performed with well-being as dependent variable before and after adjustment for gender, which was the only significant background factor. Finally, a multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted with gender and the six significantly related predictors as independent variables. In the multiple model, relations to teacher/school and peers, eating habits, anxious/depressed and somatic symptoms were associated with well-being and yielded significant odds ratios.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Relations to teacher/school, relations to peers and good eating habits could be protective factors for subjective well-being, while somatic and anxious/depressed symptoms may be risk factors for ill-being. This indicates an increased need for interpersonal relations and mental health-oriented, promotive interventions in schools.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Mental Health, Stockholm Center of Public Health, Stockholm, Sweden. lene.lindberg@sll.se
authors.forename: Lene
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lindberg
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Swanberg
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002669:Child Welfare; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006184:Habits; D006240:Happiness; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010379:Peer Group; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden