Latent Class Analysis of upbringing and mental health status among youth and young adults in Greenland

• Main Author: Nielsen, Martine Stecher
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: Norwegian

Background Profound socio-cultural changes in Grenland during the last 70 years have resulted in radical changes in the health and well-being of the population. Suicide rates and mental health problems have been rising, particularly among the young part of the Greenland Inuit. Previous research has found that protective factors for mental health in the Arctic often are linked to traditional activities and Inuit culture. Yet, most previous research has been assessing the youth in general, and more knowledge is needed, on how the youth and young adults in Greenland differ. Design and Methods This thesis was made as a cross-sectional study with data from the Greenland Health Survey 2018 and included 658 respondents between 15-34 years. The thesis sought to investigate how conditions in upbringing characterise Greenlandic youth and young adults with different negative and positive mental health outcomes. This was done by latent class analysis with distal variables. Results Four subgroups of youth and young adults were identified based on conditions in upbringing. Class 1 (n=178, 27%) and Class 2 (n=164, 25%) were both characterised by a relatively low probability of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) during upbringing and a high probability of having grown up with strong ties to Inuit culture. These classes had the lowest probability of negative mental health outcomes. Class 3 (n= 224, 34 %) grew up with the highest probability of having experienced ACEs during upbringing and the highest probability of negative mental health. Class 4 (n= 92, 14 %) had the lowest probability of having grown up with strong ties to Inuit culture and the second-highest probability of an upbringing with ACEs. Conclusion Individuals growing up with the combination of an absence of ACEs and with strong ties to Inuit culture have the best mental health outcomes. This combination fosters good mental health independent of whether the individuals grew up in a settlement or town and independent of Danish language proficiency. Individuals growing up with ACEs have the poorest mental health outcomes. A significant proportion of the youth and young adults in Greenland have ACEs, and the ACEs investigated often co-occur.