Year: 2020 Source: European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01517-4 SIEC No: 20200382

Abstract
We studied Finnish 18-year-old males attending obligatory military call-up assessments in 1999 (n=2340) and 2009
(n=4309) on time-trend changes in psychosocial well-being, psychopathology, substance use, suicidality, bullying, and
sense of coherence. Subjects flled in questionnaires, including the Young Adult Self-Report (YASR) for psychopathology
and the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (SOC-13) for sense of coherence. The prevalence of minor mental health problems
in the last 6 months decreased from 22.3% in 1999 to 18.6% in 2009 (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.7–0.9), whereas severe mental health
problems remained stable. Suicidal thoughts decreased from 5.7 to 3.7% (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5–0.8). The use of illicit drugs
decreased from 6.0 to 4.7% (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.6–0.95), but being drunk at least once a week increased from 10.3 to 13.4%
(OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0–1.5). Attention problems increased in YASR syndrome domains (mean score 2.9 vs 3.2, p<0.001) and
so did somatic complains (mean score 1.7 vs 1.9, p=0.005). The SOC-13 scores remained stable. The percentage of males
who had studied during the past 6 months increased from 91.4 to 93.4% (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6), while being employed
decreased from 64.9 to 49.4% (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.5–0.6). The positive fndings included reductions in the prevalence of
suicidal thoughts and the use of illicit drugs, but being drunk at least once a week increased. Self-reported somatic problems
and attention problems increased. Despite changes in society and family structures, there were only minor overall changes
in psychopathology