I am course manager for these basic level courses: 

• Youth in the late modern society: The smartphone generation from a public health perspective  
• Social sustainability from a public health perspective: Equality in living conditions and health

I also supervise students at the advanced and doctoral levels. 

My research interests concern the living conditions and health of children and youth, with a particular focus on mental health. I am involved in these research projects: 

• How are young people with mental health problems doing later on? - Stockholm University (su.se)
• Depression and anxiety in youth: A Swedish prospective cohort study of prevalence and treatment gaps - Stockholm University (su.se)

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Prospective associations between psychosomatic complaints in adolescence and depression and anxiety symptoms in young adulthood: A Swedish national cohort study

  2023. Karina Grigorian (et al.). SSM - Population Health 24

  Article

  Background: Psychosomatic complaints are reported by high shares of adolescents in Sweden and elsewhere. Yet, little is known about to the extent to which the frequency, number, and persistence of such complaints in adolescence are associated with subsequent mental health problems. The aim of this study was to examine how the frequency, number, and persistence of psychosomatic complaints in middle and late adolescence are asso-ciated with depression and anxiety symptoms in young adulthood. Methods: A Swedish national cohort study of adolescents who were surveyed in 2017 (t1; age 15-16), in 2019 (t2; age 17-18) and in 2022 (t3; age 20-21 years) was used. Psychosomatic complaints were measured by questions on stomach ache, headache and difficulties falling asleep at t1 and t2. Depression and anxiety symptoms were measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) at t3. Multivariable binary logistic regression analyses stratified by gender were based on data from t1, t2 and t3 (n = 2779). Results: The frequency, number, and persistence of psychosomatic complaints during adolescence were associ-ated with symptoms of depression and anxiety in young adulthood. Both earlier (at t1 only) and more recent (at t2 only) complaints were linked to subsequent depression and anxiety symptoms, while persistent (at both t1 and t2) psychosomatic complaints showed stronger associations in girls. Conclusions: Psychosomatic complaints in adolescence were associated with depression and anxiety symptoms in young adulthood. This was true for the frequency, number, and persistence of psychosomatic complaints. Among girls, those who reported persistent psychosomatic complaints from middle to late adolescence had the highest likelihood of reporting subsequent depression and anxiety symptoms. Taken together, the results indicate that psychosomatic complaints during adolescence can translate into later depression and anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, repeated measurements of psychosomatic complaints can be used to identify the most vulnerable group.

  Read more about Prospective associations between psychosomatic complaints in adolescence and depression and anxiety symptoms in young adulthood

• Perceived problematic alcohol use in the family and adolescents’ stress-related complaints: examining the buffering role of the school’s degree of student focus as rated by its teachers

  2023. Sara Brolin Låftman (et al.). BMC Public Health 23

  Article

  Background A non-negligible proportion of children grow up with problematic alcohol use in the family. Problematic familial drinking can be regarded as a stressor, and prior studies have consistently reported poorer mental health among adolescents who are exposed. However, it is also of relevance to identify modifiable protective factors which may buffer against stress-related ill-health in this group of adolescents. One context where such factors may be present is the school. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between perceived problematic familial alcohol use and students’ stress-related complaints, and specifically to explore if the school’s degree of student focus can buffer against any such negative health consequences of problem drinking at home.

  Methods Data were drawn from four separate surveys, the Stockholm School Survey (SSS) and the Stockholm Teacher Survey (STS) conducted in 2014 and 2016 among 7,944 students (~ 15–16 years) and 2,024 teachers in 147 Stockholm senior-level school units. Perceived problematic familial alcohol use was measured by one item in the SSS. Stress-related complaints were captured by co-occurring somatic complaints and psychological distress, and reported by students in the SSS. The school’s student focus was measured by an index based on teachers’ ratings of four items in the STS. A set of covariates at the student and the school level were also included. Two-level binary logistic and linear regression models were performed.

  Results Perceived problematic familial alcohol use was linked with an increased likelihood of reporting co-occurring somatic complaints as well as psychological distress. Cross-level interactions revealed that the association between perceived problematic familial alcohol use and co-occurring somatic complaints was weaker among students attending schools with stronger teacher-rated student focus. Regarding psychological distress, the association was weaker for students attending schools with intermediate or strong teacher-rated student focus, compared with those attending schools with weaker teacher-rated student focus.

  Conclusions The findings provide support for the assumption that favourable conditions in schools can buffer against negative health consequences of problematic conditions in the family, thus serving a compensatory role.

  Read more about Perceived problematic alcohol use in the family and adolescents’ stress-related complaints

• Parents’ drinking, childhood hangover? Parental alcohol use, subjective health complaints and perceived stress among Swedish adolescents aged 10–18 years

  2023. Joakim Wahlström (et al.). BMC Public Health 23

  Article

  Background Alcohol abuse is not only harmful to the consumer but may also negatively impact individuals in the drinker’s social environment. Alcohol’s harm to others is vital to consider when calculating the true societal cost of alcohol use. Children of parents who have alcohol use disorder tend to have an elevated risk of negative outcomes regarding, e.g., health, education, and social relationships. Research on the general youth population has established a link between parental drinking and offspring alcohol use. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding other outcomes, such as health. The current study aimed to investigate the associations between parental drinking and children’s psychological and somatic complaints, and perceived stress.

  Methods Data were derived from a nationally representative sample, obtained from the 2010 Swedish Level-of-Living survey (LNU). Parents and adolescents (ages 10–18) living in the same households were interviewed independently. The final study sample included 909 adolescents from 629 households. The three outcomes, psychological and somatic complaints and perceived stress, were derived from adolescents’ self-reports. Parents’ selfreports of alcohol use, both frequency and quantity, were used to categorise adolescents as having abstaining, lowconsuming, moderate-drinking, or heavy-drinking parents. Control variables included adolescents’ gender, age, family structure, and household socioeconomic status. Linear and binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

  Results Parental heavy drinking was more common among adolescents living in more socioeconomically advantaged households and among adolescents living with two custodial parents or in reconstituted families. Adolescents with heavy-drinking parents reported higher levels of psychological and somatic complaints and had an increased likelihood of reporting stress, compared with those having moderate-drinking parents. These associations remained statistically significant when adjusting for all control variables.

  Conclusion The current study’s results show that parental alcohol consumption is associated with poorer offspring adolescent health. Public health policies that aim to reduce parental drinking or provide support to these adolescents may be beneficial. Further studies investigating the health-related outcomes among young people living with heavy-drinking parents in the general population are needed to gain more knowledge about these individuals and to implement adequate public health measures.

  Read more about Parents’ drinking, childhood hangover? Parental alcohol use, subjective health complaints and perceived stress among Swedish adolescents aged 10–18 years

• Perceived parental alcohol problems and psychosomatic complaints among adolescents in Sweden

  2023. Numan Raza Syed (et al.). Addictive Behaviors Reports

  Article

  Introduction

  For adolescents, parental problem drinking can be regarded as a chronic stressor, negatively affecting their health. There is limited knowledge and a relative lack of empirical evidence on this topic, especially in Sweden. The aim of the current study was to examine perceived parental alcohol problems and the links with psychosomatic complaints among adolescents in Sweden.

  Methods

  Data were obtained from the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs’ national survey of 2021, collected amongst 9,032 students in grades 9 (∼15–16 years) and 11 (∼17–18 years). Perceived parental alcohol problems were measured by the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST-6) scale, using a cutoff at ≥ 3. Psychosomatic complaints were captured by a binary measure based on the frequency of headache, stomach ache, feeling depressed or down, difficulties to fall asleep, and sleeping poorly at night. Sociodemographic characteristics included gender, grade, parental education, and parental country of birth. Descriptive analyses with chi2 tests and binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

  Results

  Adolescents with perceived parental alcohol problems had higher odds of reporting psychosomatic complaints compared with adolescents without perceived parental drinking problems, even when adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Girls, grade 11 students, adolescent with at least one parent born in Sweden, and those without university-educated parents were more likely to report parental alcohol problems.

  Conclusions

  The findings highlight adolescents with perceived parental alcohol problems need support. The school, being an arena where adolescents spend much of their time, may play a vital role in this regard.

  Read more about Perceived parental alcohol problems and psychosomatic complaints among adolescents in Sweden

• Problematic familial alcohol use and adolescent outcomes: Do associations differ by parental education?

  2023. Joakim Wahlström (et al.). Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs

  Article

  Aim: To investigate the associations between problematic familial alcohol use and adolescent subjective health, binge drinking, relationships with parents, school performance, and future orientation, and to study whether these associations differ in relation to parental education. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the Stockholm School Survey (SSS) collected among students in the 9th and 11th grades in 2018 and in 2020 were used (n = 19,415). Subjective health, parent-youth relationships, and school performance were coded as continuous variables; binge drinking and future orientation were coded as binary variables. Familial drinking included three categories: problematic; don't know/missing; and not problematic. Parental university education distinguished between adolescents with two, one, or no university-educated parent(s). Control variables included gender, grade, family structure, migration background, parental unemployment, and survey year. Linear and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Problematic familial alcohol use was associated with worsened subjective health, a higher likelihood of engaging in binge drinking, worse relationships with parents, and a higher likelihood of having a pessimistic future orientation, even when adjusting for all control variables. Having less than two university-educated parents was associated with a higher likelihood of reporting problematic familial alcohol use. Parental university education moderated the association between problematic familial alcohol use and binge drinking as this relationship was stronger for adolescents with no and one university-educated parent(s). Conclusions: Adolescents with problematic familial alcohol use fared worse with regards to all studied outcomes, except for school performance. Parental university education only moderated the association between problematic familial alcohol use and binge drinking. However, since problematic familial alcohol use was more common among adolescents with less than two university-educated parents, we argue that at the group level, this category may be more negatively affected by alcohol abuse in the family. Policy interventions could benefit from having a socioeconomic perspective on how children are affected by alcohol's harms to others.

  Read more about Problematic familial alcohol use and adolescent outcomes

• Psychosocial School Conditions and Mental Wellbeing Among Mid-adolescents: Findings From the 2017/18 Swedish HBSC Study

  2023. Sara Brolin Låftman (et al.). International Journal of Public Health 67

  Article

  Objectives: To investigate mid-adolescent boys’ and girls’ experiences of school demands, teacher support, and classmate support, and explore the associations of these factors with mental wellbeing.

  Methods: Data were derived from the Swedish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study of 2017/18, with information collected among 1,418 students in grade 9 (∼15–16 years). School demands, teacher support, and classmate support were measured by indices based on three items each. Mental wellbeing was measured by the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). Linear regression analyses were performed.

  Results: Higher demands were associated with lower mental wellbeing. Conversely, mental wellbeing increased with greater teacher support and classmate support. Interactions between demands and the support variables showed that at the lowest levels of teacher and of classmate support, mental wellbeing was low and not associated with school demands. With increasing levels of teacher and classmate support, the overall level of mental wellbeing increased and revealed an inverse association between school demands and mental wellbeing.

  Conclusion: The study contributes with knowledge about how psychosocial conditions in school may hinder or enhance wellbeing among students.

  Read more about Psychosocial School Conditions and Mental Wellbeing Among Mid-adolescents

Show all publications by Sara Brolin Låftman at Stockholm University