Cohort Profile: The Interdisciplinary Study of Inequalities in Smoking (ISIS)

The Interdisciplinary Study of Inequalities in Smoking (ISIS) is a cohort study investigating the joint effects of residents' socio-demographic characteristics and neighbourhood attributes on the social distribution of smoking in a young adult population. Smoking is a behaviour with an increasingly steep social class gradient; smoking prevalence among young adults is no longer declining at the same rate as among the rest of the population, and there is evidence of growing place-based disparities in smoking. ISIS was established to examine these pressing concerns. The ISIS sample comprises non-institutionalized individuals aged 18-25 years, who are proficient in English and/or French and who had been living at their current address in Montréal, Canada, for at least 1 year at time of first contact. Two waves of data have been collected: baseline data were collected November 2011-September 2012 (n = 2093), and a second wave of data was collected January-June 2014 (n = 1457). Data were collected from respondents using a self-administered questionnaire, developed by the research team based on sociological theory, which includes questions concerning social, economic, cultural and biological capital, and activity space as well as smoking behaviour. Data are available upon request from [katherine.frohlich@umontreal.ca].

Capital interplays and the self-rated health of young men: results from a cross-sectional study in Switzerland.

INTRODUCTION We apply capital interplay theory to health inequalities in Switzerland by investigating the interconnected effects of parental cultural, economic and social capitals and personal educational stream on the self-rated health of young Swiss men who live with their parents. METHODS We apply logistic regression modelling to self-rated health in original cross-sectional survey data collected during mandatory conscription of Swiss male citizens in 2010 and 2011 (n = 23,975). RESULTS In comparison with sons whose parents completed mandatory schooling only, sons with parents who completed technical college or university were significantly more likely to report very good or excellent self-rated health. Parental economic capital was an important mediating factor in this regard. Number of books in the home (parental cultural capital), family economic circumstances (parental economic capital) and parental ties to influential people (parental social capital) were also independently associated with the self-rated health of the sons. Although sons in the highest educational stream tended to report better health than those in the lowest, we found little evidence for a health-producing intergenerational transmission of capitals via the education stream of the sons. Finally, the positive association between personal education and self-rated health was stronger among sons with relatively poorly educated parents and stronger among sons with parents who were relatively low in social capital. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides empirical support for the role of capital interplays, social processes in which capitals interpenetrate or co-constitute one another, in the intergenerational production of the health of young men in Switzerland.

[Health literacy : An introduction to the concept and its measurement].

Over the last 20 years, health literacy (German: Gesundheitskompetenz/health competency) has become a popular concept in research and health policy. Initially defined as an individual's ability to understand medical information, the definition has quickly expanded to describe individual-based resources for actions or conduct relevant to health, in different socio-cultural or clinical contexts. Today, researchers and practice experts can draw on a wide variety of definitions and measurements. This article provides an overview of the definitions, briefly introduces the "structure and agency" approach as an example of theorizing health literacy, and shows different types of operationalization. The article presents the strengths and shortcomings of the available concepts and measures and provides starting points for future research in public health and health promotion.

Being Bullied: Associated Factors in Children and Adolescents 8 to 18 Years Old in 11 European Countries

OBJECTIVES. To analyze the prevalence of bullying victims among children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years in 11 European countries and to investigate the associated sociodemographic, physical, and psychosocial factors. METHODS. Being a bullying victim was measured by using the social acceptance (bullying) scale from the Kidscreen-52, a health-related quality-of-life questionnaire administered to 16 210 children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 and their parents in postal or school-based surveys in 11 European countries. Standardized mean differences (effect size) were computed to measure the percentage of children/adolescents scoring 1 SD below the mean on the Kidscreen bullying scale. Logistic regression models were used to determine which sociodemographic, physical, and psychosocial factors were associated with being bullied. RESULTS. The percentage of children being bullied was 20.6% for the entire sample, ranging from 10.5% in Hungary to 29.6% in the United Kingdom. In almost all countries the factors most strongly associated with being bullied were younger age, having probable mental health problems, having a low score on the Kidscreen-52 moods and emotions dimensions, and poor social support. Using the grand mean for all countries as the reference category, there was an above-average likelihood of children or adolescents reporting that they had been victims of bullying in 5 countries (Austria, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), and a below-average likelihood in 3 countries (France, Greece, Hungary). CONCLUSIONS. This study indicated considerable variation between countries in the prevalence of those perceiving themselves to be victims of bullying but also revealed a clear profile of those likely to be bullied. The study also suggests that the Kidscreen bullying scale could be useful in identifying potential bullying victims.

Das neue deutsche Reich und sein Kaiser

Boberach: Kommentar zum Verfassungsentwurf des Siebzehnerausschusses: Preußen muß in Deutschland aufgehen. Nach amerikanischem Vorbild soll die Reichsgewalt vom Erbkaiser mit Vetorecht und verantwortlichen Ministern ausgeübt werden. Die Freien Städte könnten vermehrt werden, aber die Fürsten der zehn kleinsten Einzelstaaten sollen zu Gunsten des Reichs mediatisiert werden. Daß Österreich sich rückhaltlos an Deutschland anschließt, ist nicht zu erwarten. - Wentzke: Der wertvollste, nur etwas überschwengliche Kommentar zum Siebzehner-Entwurf.

Mitbürger! Die Zeit der Wahlen, der Ausübung des wichtigsten Rechtes konstitutioneller Staatsbürger, rückt heran ...

Welsch (Projektbearbeiter): Aufruf von 99 unterzeichnenden Bewohnern des 50. Berliner Stadtbezirks zur Beteiligung an den Wahlen und zur Wahl von solchen Wahlmännern, welche sich zu monarchisch-konstitutionellen Grundsätzen bekennen

Human impacts and aridity differentially alter soil N availability in drylands worldwide

Aims Climate and human impacts are changing the nitrogen (N) inputs and losses in terrestrial ecosystems. However, it is largely unknown how these two major drivers of global change will simultaneously influence the N cycle in drylands, the largest terrestrial biome on the planet. We conducted a global observational study to evaluate how aridity and human impacts, together with biotic and abiotic factors, affect key soil variables of the N cycle. Location Two hundred and twenty-four dryland sites from all continents except Antarctica widely differing in their environmental conditions and human influence. Methods Using a standardized field survey, we measured aridity, human impacts (i.e. proxies of land uses and air pollution), key biophysical variables (i.e. soil pH and texture and total plant cover) and six important variables related to N cycling in soils: total N, organic N, ammonium, nitrate, dissolved organic:inorganic N and N mineralization rates. We used structural equation modelling to assess the direct and indirect effects of aridity, human impacts and key biophysical variables on the N cycle. Results Human impacts increased the concentration of total N, while aridity reduced it. The effects of aridity and human impacts on the N cycle were spatially disconnected, which may favour scarcity of N in the most arid areas and promote its accumulation in the least arid areas. Main conclusions We found that increasing aridity and anthropogenic pressure are spatially disconnected in drylands. This implies that while places with low aridity and high human impact accumulate N, most arid sites with the lowest human impacts lose N. Our analyses also provide evidence that both increasing aridity and human impacts may enhance the relative dominance of inorganic N in dryland soils, having a negative impact on key functions and services provided by these ecosystems.

[Health Status of Young Men in Switzerland: Monitoring Results from Conscription].

Abstract Due to their representativeness and consistent measurement standards the medical und sports data of the Swiss conscripts provide a valuable basis for a continuous health monitoring of young Swiss men. During three to four years, the prevalence of overweight and obesity seems to stabilise on a high level. After a longer period of decreasing performance at the endurance test between the 1980s and 2002, the level of physical performance in the fitness test does no longer decrease since 2006. However, health and health behaviour show significant regional and socioeconomic inequalities among young Swiss men. Besides economic resources and education, major driving factors behind these inequalities can be identified in health knowledge, values, and attitudes.

Kulturkapital und Gesundheitskompetenz junger Erwachsener

Hintergrund: Empirisch lässt sich zunehmend belegen, dass Gesundheitskompetenz in der Bevölkerung sozial ungleich verteilt ist. Es ist jedoch noch wenig erforscht, wie sozio-ökonomische Faktoren diese Ungleichverteilung der Gesundheitskompetenz beeinflussen. Bourdieu's Kapitaltheorie bietet einen bedeutsamen theoretischen Rahmen, um Gesundheitskompetenz soziologisch zu ergründen. In unserer Studie untersuchen wir den Einfluss verschiedener Kulturkapitalien auf die Gesundheitskompetenz junger Erwachsener unter der Kontrolle ökonomischer Ressourcen. Methoden: Datengrundlage war das 2010 – 2011 durchgeführte Eidgenössische Jugendsurvey – eine alle zwei Jahre durchgeführte Befragung junger Stellungspflichtiger sowie einer zusätzlichen Stichprobe unter jungen Frauen in der Schweiz. Der Datensatz umfasste insgesamt 10014 junge Schweizer und Schweizerinnen aus allen Schweizer Sprachregionen und sozialen Klassen. Aus acht Variablen zur Messung der Gesundheitskompetenz (funktionale, interaktive und kritische Gesundheitskompetenz) bildeten wir einen Summenscore. Wir berücksichtigten folgende Messkonzepte von Kulturkapital: Bildungsklasse (institutionalisiertes Kulturkapital), gesundheitsbezogene individuelle und familiäre Werthaltungen (inkorporiertes Kulturkapital) sowie die Anzahl von Büchern im Haushalt (objektiviertes Kulturkapital). Anhand von multiplen linearen Regressionen testeten wir den Einfluss kulturellen Kapitals auf den Summenscore unter der Kontrolle ökonomischen Kapitals. Ergebnisse: Unter der Kontrolle ökonomischer Faktoren hatten alle Formen des Kulturkapitals einen signifikanten Einfluss auf den Gesundheitskompetenzwert. Die kulturellen Faktoren erklärten mehr Varianz in dem Summenscore als die ökonomischen Faktoren. Junge Erwachsene mit (-) sehr großem/ziemlich großem Interesse an Gesundheit, (-) deren Eltern mehr als 200 Bücher besaβen, (-) die einen gesunden Lebensstil als sehr wichtig erachteten (in der Familie oder für sich selbst) oder (-) einen höheren Bildungszweig besuchten, hatten einen höheren Wert auf dem Summenscore der Gesundheitskompetenz. Diskussion: Alle drei Formen des Kulturkapitals trugen signifikant zur Erklärung der ungleichen Verteilung von Gesundheitskompetenz bei. Um die sozialen Prozesse, die dieser Ungleichverteilung zugrunde liegen noch besser zu verstehen, sollte kulturelles Kapital nicht auf einen Bildungsindikator beschränkt werden. Objektivierte und inkorporierte Aspekte kulturellen Kapitals sollten die entsprechenden Messkonzepte ergänzen.

Zurück vom Markt [Illustration]

Abel Pfeffermann-Pann

Adam und Eva [Illustration]

Abel Pfeffermann-Pann