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As Northern Ireland transitions to a post‐conflict society the nature of violent victimization and its influence on adolescents following the “Troubles” becomes an even more important area of interest. Adolescents are particularly at risk of victimization and associated social, emotional, and psychological health problems. In this analysis of the fifth year of the Belfast Youth Development Study (BYDS), the prevalence and implications of exposure to violence is examined for a sample of 3,828 young people (aged 15–16 years). Knowledge of violent events was particularly prevalent suggesting that the social and psychological legacy of the “Troubles” may pass onto post‐conflict generations. Over three quarters of young people had experienced violence within their community. Exposure was associated with higher levels of depression, psychotic symptoms, and substance misuse. The findings suggest that adolescents in Northern Ireland are vulnerable to both direct and vicarious victimization, and, subsequently, to significant risks to psychological well‐being. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

While experimentation with risky behaviors is often considered developmentally appropriate in adolescence it is important to understand how young people experience these behaviors, and the potential for multiple risk exposures as a result of participation in substance use and sexual behaviors. These findings highlight the clustering of substance use and sexual behaviors, and indicate variations in vulnerability to participation in multiple risk behaviors by gender.

Most youth met neither recommendation and the behaviours clustered with variations by ethnicity and socioeconomic conditions.

Religion plays a pivotal role in intergroup and interpersonal relationships in Northern Ireland, and individuals traditionally marry within their own religious group. However, 'mixed' marriages between Catholics and Protestants do occur and present an interesting, yet under researched, dynamic within this divided society. Both religion and committed relationships have been associated with physical and psychological health, but little is known about how divergence in religious beliefs within relationships impacts on health. A secondary data analysis of the Northern Ireland cohort of the Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study was conducted to investigate the impact of mixed religion relationships on physical and psychological well-being in Northern Ireland. Less than 10% of relationships were mixed religion relationships, and being in a mixed relationship was associated with poorer mental health but not with physical health. Mixed religion relationships in Northern Ireland are relatively uncommon in Northern Ireland, but are an important form of intergroup contact, as such it is important to fully understand the implications for the individuals involved and develop mechanisms to support those individuals psychological well-being.

Abstracts A6J Epidemiol Community Health 2012;66(Suppl I):A1-A66household socioeconomic position (SEP) and sedentary behaviour are associated in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to assess the associations between SEP (including area-level deprivation) and sedentary behaviour in school-age children and adolescents. Methods The study sample was 4034 participants aged 5-15 yrs participated in the 2008 Health Survey for England which collected information on SEP (household income, Registrar General's social class of the household reference person) and neighbourhood deprivation. Sedentary behaviour assessment (proxy parental measures for 5-12yrs; self-reported for 13-15yrs) included television viewing and other sitting during non-school times. Total sitting time was measured in a sub-sample (N=611) using accelerometers. We examined the multivariable associations between each SEP indicator and each sedentary time indicator using generalised linear models. Whenever appropriate, models were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, accelerometer wear time and mutually adjusted for the other SEP indicators.Results The mean age of the sample was 10 yrs (±3), 2922 participants were aged 5-12 and 1112 were aged 13-15yrs. Household income and social class were inversely associated with daily television times (i.e. the higher the SEP the lower the television viewing times), e.g. compared to participants from households in the bottom income quartile, those in the top quartile had 14 minutes /day less (95% CI: 3 to 25, p=0.009) of television viewing. Non-TV sitting during non-school time was higher in nonmanual than in manual social class households by 14 minutes/day (7 to 20, p<0.001). Total (accelerometry-assessed) sitting time was higher among participants from households in the top income half (≥£23135/year) by 22 minutes/day (7 to 37, p<0.00) compared to those in the bottom half. Area deprivation was not associated with sedentary behaviour. Conclusion Low socioeconomic position is linked with higher television times but with lower total (accelerometry-assessed) sitting, and non-TV sitting during non-school time in children and adolescents. Inferences from studies looking at socioeconomic position and specific indices of sedentary behaviour (e.g., TV time) in children and adolescents may not be generalizable to total sitting time. Background Neighbourhood deprivation is associated with physical activity but it is not known whether the locations where physical activity takes place also varies by deprivation. The Forty Area Study (FAST) combined Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology with accelerometery in UK adults to measure actual locations in which physical activity takes place. We evaluate what proportion of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) is spent in different locations according to neighbourhood deprivation. Methods 1084 adults from Northwest England took part. Each participant's activity levels were recorded for 7 days using an accelerometer. A qua...

Young people's participation in sexual risk behaviours is commonly linked with participation in a range of other risky behaviours, and in particular with substance use behaviours. This cross-sectional analysis of the sixth sweep of the Belfast Youth Development Study aimed to examine associations between substance use and sexual activity and related risks among 17-19-year olds in Northern Ireland. Being sexual activity and participating in sexual risk behaviours was associated with the use of a range of licit and illicit substances particularly alcohol and ecstasy. Additionally, females were more likely to have been tested for a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The findings add to the existing research body suggesting that substance misuse and sexual risk behaviours tend to co-occur in adolescence and highlight a need to develop appropriate interventions and initiatives for school aged young people.

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