Search

Objective: Organised cervical cancer screening was started in Estonia in 2006, but participation is still low. Human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling has proved to increase screening uptake. This study addressed the feasibility of HPV self-sampling and the acceptance of this method among long-term screening non-attenders. Methods: A randomised intervention study was conducted in Estonia in 2020. Women born in 1958–1983 without a Pap smear in 2013–2019 were identified in the Estonian Health Insurance Fund database. From them, 12,000 women were randomly allocated to three equal-sized study groups. The opt-out group received a questionnaire and a Qvintip® sampling device by regular mail. Two opt-in groups received a questionnaire and an e-mail invitation to order a self-sampler online; one received Qvintip and the other Evalyn® Brush. Participantś background characteristics were obtained from the Population Register. The effect of covariates on participation rate was estimated with multivariate Poisson regression. Acceptance of self-sampling was analysed according to agreement with statements in the questionnaire. Results: The overall participation rate was 16% with significant differences between opt-out (26%) and opt-in (11%) groups. Compared to the opt-out Qvintip group, adjusted relative risks for the Qvintip and Evalyn Brush opt-in groups were 0.41 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37–0.45) and 0.44 (95% CI 0.40–0.49), respectively. Participation was associated with living place, citizenship, and education. Self-sampling was well accepted: 98% agreed that it was easy to use, 88% preferred it as a screening method in future. Conclusions: The results show the feasibility and good acceptance of HPV self-sampling among long-term screening non-attenders in Estonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the role of adolescents' cognitive ability, personality traits and school success in predicting later criminal behaviour. Cognitive ability, the five-factor model personality traits and the school grades of a large sample of Estonian schoolboys ( N = 1919) were measured between 2001 and 2005. In 2009, judicial databases were searched to identify participants who had been convicted of misdemeanours or criminal offences. Consistent with previous findings, having a judicial record was associated with lower cognitive ability, grade point average, agreeableness, and conscientiousness and higher neuroticism. In multivariate path models, however, the contributions of cognitive ability and conscientiousness were accounted for by school grades and the effect of neuroticism was also accounted for by other variables, leaving grade point average and agreeableness the only independent predictors of judicial record status. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Estonian NEO-FFI was administered to 2650 Estonian adolescents (1420 girls and 1230 boys) aged from 12 to 18 years and attending 6th, 8th, 10th, or 12th grade at secondary schools all over Estonia. Although the mean levels of personality traits of Estonian adolescents were quite similar to the respective scores of Estonian adults, there was a developmental gap in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Three of the five personality dispositions demonstrated a modest cross-sectional change in the mean level of the trait scores: the level of Openness increased and the levels of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness decreased between 12 and 18 years of age. Although the five-factor structure of personality was already recognizable in the sample of 12-year-old children, it demonstrated only an approximate congruence with the adult structure, suggesting that not all children of that age have developed abilities required for observing one's own personality dispositions and for giving reliable self-reports on the basis of these observations. The self-reported personality trait structure matures and becomes sufficiently differentiated around age 14–15 and grows to be practically indistinguishable from adult personality by the age of 16. Personality of adolescents becomes more differentiated with age: along with the growth of mental capacities the correlations among the personality traits and intelligence become smaller. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Standard Progressive Matrices was standardised in Estonia in 2001 on a sample of 2,689 12- to 18-yr.-olds. The mean IQ of the Estonian sample was approximately 5 points higher than British IQ norms of 1979. Adjustment for the estimated secular increase of intelligence in Britain reduces the mean IQ of the Estonian sample to 100.2, in relation to a British mean of 100. A particular interest of the result from Estonia is that the intelligence of a European population is apparently not impaired by decades of low living standards. The Standard Progressive Matrices was standardised in Estonia in 2001 on a sample of 2,689 12- to 18-yr.-olds. The mean IQ of the Estonian sample was approximately 5 points higher than British IQ norms of 1979. Adjustment for the estimated secular increase of intelligence in Britain reduces the mean IQ of the Estonian sample to 100.2, in relation to a British mean of 100. A particular interest of the result from Estonia is that the intelligence of a European population is apparently not impaired by decades of low living standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]