Search

Ethnic minority adolescents are still underrepresented in alcohol research in Finland. The aim of the present research was to study religious-ethnic differences in alcohol consumption and abstinence among 15-17-year-old native Finnish (n=424) and ethnic minority (n=121) adolescents living and attending school in Turku, Finland. The data was collected from April to May 2006, in class, from 545 adolescents in the eighth and ninth grades using self-administrated questionnaires. The response rate of the study was 72 %. A substantial share of the native Finns, i.e. 86 %, was affiliated to the Lutheran Church, compared to 5 % who had other religious affiliations. Among the ethnic minorities, 54 % were Muslim, 28 % were Christian and 9 % were affiliated to other religions. A total of 8 % in both groups reported no religious affiliation. In all, 85 % of the native Finns and 64 % of the ethnic minorities were consuming alcohol, compared to 15 % of native Finns and 36 % of ethnic minority adolescents who either abstained or left this question unanswered. Among the ethnic minority adolescents, Islam was a significant factor in abstaining from alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the development of psychology in Italy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in relation to the development of the field in Germany and France. Topics discussed include the beginning of Italian studies of psychology and the influence of German and French psychology, the development of branches including criminal and legal psychology, and the development of clinical psychology.

The article discusses 19th century Italian experimental psychologist Gabriele Buccola, with a focus on his development of a rigorous program of laboratory research in psychology. Topics discussed include Buccola's research methodology and work in individual differences in mental functioning, his development of diagnoses of mental health issues and psychopathology of mental illnesses; and his contributions to the field of experimental psychology in Italy during the late 19th century as a leader in the field.

Approximately 5,000 to 6,000 Somalis arrived in Finland between 1990 and 1995 through Russia. Currently, 8,096 have settled permanently in the country. The data reported here is from a 1998-1999 research survey carried out in the Finish cities of Helsinki and Turku. The survey of 117 married Somalis explored the social-cultural determinants of contraception use. The paper presented here focuses upon one particular aspect of the survey. We selected 21 Somali parents (11 women and 10 men) to look in-depth at the experiences of Somali migrants raising children in Finland. All of the respondents selected have more than 5 children in their family and all were asked to describe their experiences of raising children in Finland and, more generally, in establishing and maintaining family structures. Unlike their experiences in Somali, bringing up large families (by Westerns standards) is not a collective matter in Finland where biological parents are left to manage the family for themselves. A number of challenges also accompany this shift in family norms: first, and most notably, there is the need to re-establish control over one's life in an alien environment; second, intergenerational conflict between adult migrants and their adolescent children is often heightened. The findings indicate that Somalis' experiences of raising children in Finland raise important parenting challenges associated with changing generational, gender and family relations within the migrant household. Importantly, this case study of large Somali families shows how migrants' lives are intricately linked to the household dynamic between home and host country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]