@article{ref1,
title="Self-rated health among Greenlandic Inuit and Norwegian Sami adolescents: associated risk and protective correlates",
journal="International journal of circumpolar health",
year="2013",
author="Spein, Anna Rita and Pedersen, Cecilia Petrine and Silviken, Anne Cathrine and Melhus, Marita and Kvernmo, Siv Eli and Bjerregaard, Peter",
volume="72",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: Self-rated health (SRH) and associated risk and protective correlates were investigated among two indigenous adolescent populations, Greenlandic Inuit and Norwegian Sami. DESIGN: Cross-sectional data were collected from &quot;Well-being among Youth in Greenland&quot; (WBYG) and &quot;The Norwegian Arctic Adolescent Health Study&quot; (NAAHS), conducted during 2003-2005 and comprising 10th and 11th graders, 378 Inuit and 350 Sami. METHODS: SRH was assessed by one single item, using a 4-point and 5-point scale for NAAHS and WBYG, respectively. Logistic regressions were performed separately for each indigenous group using a dichotomous measure with &quot;very good&quot; (NAAHS) and &quot;very good/good&quot; (WBYG) as reference categories. We simultaneously controlled for various socio-demographics, risk correlates (drinking, smoking, violence and suicidal behaviour) and protective correlates (physical activity, well-being in school, number of close friends and adolescent-parent relationship). RESULTS: A majority of both Inuit (62%) and Sami (89%) youth reported &quot;good&quot; or &quot;very good&quot; SRH. The proportion of &quot;poor/fair/not so good&quot; SRH was three times higher among Inuit than Sami (38% vs. 11%, p≤0.001). Significantly more Inuit females than males reported &quot;poor/fair&quot; SRH (44% vs. 29%, p≤0.05), while no gender differences occurred among Sami (12% vs. 9%, p≤0.08). In both indigenous groups, suicidal thoughts (risk) and physical activity (protective) were associated with poor and good SRH, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In accordance with other studies of indigenous adolescents, suicidal thoughts were strongly associated with poorer SRH among Sami and Inuit. The Inuit-Sami differences in SRH could partly be due to higher &quot;risk&quot; and lower &quot;protective&quot; correlates among Inuit than Sami. The positive impact of physical activity on SRH needs to be targeted in future intervention programs.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1239-9736",
doi="10.3402/ijch.v72i0.19793",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v72i0.19793"
}