This study examined the association between dietary habits and behavioural problems at school among adolescents in Norway. Participants in this study included 517 adolescents and 336 of their parents. Students attended schools in the south of Norway, where the study was conducted. In 2012, adolescents completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)…

Peer victimization is a widespread phenomenon especially prevalent in early adolescence. This study investigates the prevalence of peer victimization and its association with mental health problems and impact on everyday life, and the possible mediating effect of parental and peer support. Data are based on a cross-sectional health survey (N =…

In view of the theory that the attachment relationship provides a foundation for the development of emotion regulation, here, we evaluated (a) whether change in attachment security from 4 to 6 years predicts change in emotion regulation from 6 to 8 years and (b) whether "5-HTTLPR" moderates this relation in a Norwegian community sample…

Children's eating behavior influences energy intake and thus weight through choices of type and amount of food. One type of eating behavior, food responsiveness, defined as eating in response to external cues such as the sight and smell of food, is particularly related to increased caloric intake and weight. Because little is known about the…

Children from some demographic groups disproportionately receive special education (SE) services. Due to methodological shortcoming in existing work, it remains unclear whether this is due to real differences in academic needs or cultural selection/bias. Hence, in a community sample of 1250 Norwegian children, we examined the role of third grade…

Prior research suggests that parenting affects children's relationships, including those with teachers, although there is variation across individuals in such effects. Given evidence suggesting that oxytocin may be particularly important for the quality of social relationships, we tested the hypotheses (a) that change in parenting from 4 to 6…

It is still under debate whether the reported effects of opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) on child behaviour are a direct effect of prenatal exposure, or whether other factors are involved. This prospective cohort study investigated three models: the teratogenic risk model, the maternal risk model, and a combined risk model in a group of 35…

The main purpose of the present study was to explore how social competence reduces behavioral problems. Based on previous findings, we assume that increased social competence can be regarded as a mediating factor in reducing behavior problems. All participants (children and adolescents, n = 112) received an intervention intended to increase social…

Associations between maternal reports of hours in child care and children's externalizing problems at 18 and 36 months of age were examined in a population-based Norwegian sample ("n" = 75,271). Within a sociopolitical context of homogenously high-quality child care, there was little evidence that high quantity of care causes…

Results from the first study of the three-level School-Wide Positive Behavior Support model in Europe (SWPBS, called N-PALS) are presented. Using a strengthened nonrandomized design, data was collected from more than 1,200 teachers and 7,640 students at four measure points over four school years in 28 Norwegian intervention schools and 20…

This study explored the association between teacher-reported student-teacher relationship quality (closeness and conflict) and demographic factors, school functioning and child mental health in a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted among a national sample of Norwegian school children (N?=?825) in grades 1 to 7. Bivariate analyses and…

This study investigates the relationship between perceived motivational climates and self-reported emotional and behavioural problems (EBP: symptoms of depression, lack of on-task-orientation and disruptive behaviour), among 1171 Norwegian 8th grade secondary school students from 65 school classes. Statistical analyses showed significant…

We investigated ethnic group differences in the association between social support, perceived discrimination and mental health in one adolescent and one preadolescent sample of immigrant children in Norway. The study is based on self-report questionnaire data collected in 2000/2001 from 286 students in 10th grade with backgrounds from Turkey,…