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Quality of life among adolescents living in residential youth care: do domain-specific self-esteem and psychopathology contribute?

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Abstract

Purpose

Many adolescents living in residential youth care (RYC) institutions perceive their quality of life (QoL) to be low. Enhancing QoL is thus important, but little is known about the potential contributors to their QoL. Early interpersonal trauma and subsequent removal from home and repeated relocations to new placements are expected to affect mental health and self-esteem. We therefore investigated if domain-specific self-esteem contributed to QoL among adolescents living in RYC institutions over and beyond their levels of psychopathology.

Methods

All youth in Norwegian RYC institutions between the ages 12–23 years were invited to participate. Of a total of 98 RYC institutions, 86 participated, and 400 of 601 eligible youths were examined. The participants’ primary contact completed the Child Behavior Checklist to assess psychopathology. The adolescents completed a revised version of the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents and the questionnaire for measuring health-related quality of life in children and adolescents (KINDL-R).

Results

After adjusting for psychopathology, age, and gender, self-esteem domains uniquely explained 42% of the variance in Qol, where social acceptance (β = 0.57) and physical appearance (β = 0.25) domains significantly predicted concurrent QoL.

Conclusions

The self-esteem domains, social acceptance and physical appearance, add substantially to the explained variance in QoL among adolescents living in RYC institutions, over and beyond the levels of psychopathology. These self-esteem domains may be targets of intervention to improve QoL, in addition to treating their psychopathology.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs and the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Thanks to all adolescents and institutional staff who participated in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Regional Center for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, MTFS, N-7491, Pb. 8905, Trondheim, Norway

    Thomas Jozefiak, Nanna S. Kayed, Ingunn Ranøyen & Hanne K. Greger

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, St. Olavs Hospital, Elgeseter, Postboks 6810, 7433, Trondheim, Norway

    Thomas Jozefiak & Hanne K. Greger

  3. Psychological Sciences and Health Sciences Research Institute, University of California, Merced, 5200, North Lake Rd, Merced, CA, 95343, USA

    Jan L. Wallander

  4. Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Lars Wichstrøm

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  1. Thomas Jozefiak
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  2. Nanna S. Kayed
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  3. Ingunn Ranøyen
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Correspondence to Thomas Jozefiak.

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All adolescents and parents who participated gave their written informed consent. The study was approved by the Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics in Central Norway. The procedures in this study were in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

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Jozefiak, T., Kayed, N.S., Ranøyen, I. et al. Quality of life among adolescents living in residential youth care: do domain-specific self-esteem and psychopathology contribute?. Qual Life Res 26, 2619–2631 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-017-1603-8

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