Nóra Kerekes

University West · Department of Nursing, Health and Culture

Purpose Work readiness and the ability to change how work is conducted are key dimensions of employability. This study focuses on alumni from the social psychiatric care (SPC) programme at University West in Trollhättan, Sweden. As their work readiness and work-changing abilities have not been studied to this point, the purpose was to explore the e...

This unique Swedish study shifts the focus to adolescents, examining the associations between four specific adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and psychological distress. Key Findings: Nearly 50% of the 1561 Swedish adolescents (15–19 years) surveyed reported experiencing one or more ACEs. Exposure to any ACE was significantly linked to higher...

Comorbidity between substance use disorders and other mental health conditions is common, yet existing treatments often fail to address its full spectrum. Opportunities for integrated treatment are limited, and the effects of such treatment remain relatively unexplored. This study aims to describe the experiences of individuals with substance use d...

Comorbidity between substance use disorders and other mental health conditions is common, yet existing treatments often fail to address its full spectrum. Opportunities for integrated treatment are limited, and the effects of such treatment remain relatively unexplored. This study aims to describe the experiences of individuals with substance use d...

Background Substance use disorder (SUD) is a growing public health concern in Sweden. Various treatments for SUD exist, with motivational treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy, and relapse treatment being the nationally recommended approaches. Attachment theory and the salutogenic theory with its core concept, sense of coherence (SOC) provides va...

Background: Research indicates that mental health problems should be conceptualized as continuous dimensions organized in a hierarchy. This implies the existence of a broad general dimension of psychopathology, complemented by more specific dimensions capturing various aspects. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP), as the most compr...

The coexistence of mental and physical health illnesses could be accounted for by an underlying general disease factor (termed d-factor), reflecting theoretical underpinnings based on possible genetic and pathophysiological overlapping mechanisms. This study evaluated whether the d-factor underlies mental and physical health illnesses in adolescent...

Background Maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI) during adolescence is crucial for optimal physical and mental well-being. This investigation sought to examine the relationships between extreme BMI values and self-reported experiences of pain, somatic diseases, and psychiatric disorders in adolescents. Methods A cohort of 5132 adolescents (a...

Background Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. While genetic studies have highlighted catecholamine dysfunction, emerging epidemiological evidence suggest neuroinflammation as a significant trigger. However, understanding the relative contributions of...

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown varying effects on adolescents’ mental health, psychosocial functioning, risk behaviours, and victimisation. This study aims to examine the changes reported by a sample of Swedish adolescents (N = 1607) at the end of the first year of the pandemic in relation to these factors. Data were collected with an electronic s...

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown varying effects on adolescents’ mental health, psychosocial functioning, risk behaviours, and victimisation. This study aims to examine the changes reported by a sample of Swedish adolescents (N=1607) at the end of the first year of the pandemic in relation to these factors. Data was collected with an electronic surv...

Our network analysis revealed that thought and mood/arousal disturbances proved to be most interconnected with all other nodes/subfactors in the network suggesting that these subfactors could be central in youth psychopathology. This result reinforces earlier observations, indicating that thought dysfunction encompasses more than just disordered th...

Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often exists alongside psychiatric comorbidities, but the prevalence of somatic diseases in adolescents with ADHD remains understudied. Method This study aimed to examine the prevalence rates of specific somatic diseases in adolescents with ADHD and compare them to those in adolescents wit...

Citation: Eriksson, M.; Johannesson, E.; Kerekes, N.; Emilsson, M.; Pennbrant, S.; Nunstedt, H. Development and Psychometric Test of the Salutogenic Survey on Sustainable Working Life for Nurses: Identifying Resistance Resources against Stress. Int. J. Environ. Res. Abstract: Extensive research shows nurses' work environment to be particularly stre...

Extensive research shows nurses’ work environment to be particularly stressful. This study develops, explores, and psychometrically tests a new profession specific ques-tionnaire identifying generalized and specific resistance resources, that make it possible to measure resources to manage work-related stress. An exploratory study design was em-plo...

Background and objectives: The relationship between pain and psychiatric conditions in children and adolescents has been understudied. This study aimed to investigate the influence of gender on the association between pain and psychiatric diagnoses, as well as the specific relationship between pain and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD...

The prevalence of pain in children and adolescents with psychiatric conditions is rarely investigated. The aims of the current study were to (a) describe the prevalence of headaches and abdominal pain in children and adolescents with psychiatric conditions, (b) compare the prevalence of pain in children and adolescents with psychiatric conditions w...

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by dopaminergic dysfunction. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate that there is a link between dopaminergic deficit and neuroinflammation that underlies ADHD symptoms. We used a validated ADHD mice model involving perinatal 6-OHDA lesions. The animals r...

Background Non-binary gender adolescents are particularly vulnerable and more likely to be exposed to several socio-psychological difficulties and disorders. It is vital to discover and act on the vulnerabilities they encounter. The present study aims to describe the somatic and mental health, affect state, frequency of risk behaviors, victimizatio...

This study describes gender-specific patterns in alcohol and drug use among Swedish high school students throughout 2020 and questions the current cutoffs for identifying addiction in this population. From September 2020 to February 2021, 1590 Swedish upper secondary high school students (mean age 17.15 years, age range 15–19 years, 39.6% male, an...

New research shows that the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is increased in children and adolescents as well as in adults with chronic pain, compared to those without chronic pain. Children and adolescents with ADHD also have an increased incidence of various physical conditions a...

Aims Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by dopaminergic dysfunction. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the link between dopaminergic deficit and neuroinflammation underlying ADHD symptoms. Subjects and Treatment We used a validated ADHD mice model, that involves perinatal 6-OHDA lesi...

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has continued for more than two years, and the impact of this pandemic on mental health has become one of the most important research topics in psychiatry and psychology. The aim of the present study was to assess psychological distress in adolescents across five countries (Sweden, Moroc...

The Life History of Aggression (LHA) is a frequently used scale for assessing trait aggression, but its psychometric properties have not been evaluated among adolescents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the LHA among high school students from Morocco, Serbia, Sweden, Vietnam, and the United States of America (US...

Background Adolescent high school students may be particularly susceptible to suffering from the effect of isolation, physical distancing restrictions, and school closures imposed during the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) pandemic. Given the biological and psychological changes that occur during this period of development, adolescents' experi...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and pathological pain are two complex syndromes of multifactorial origin. Despite their prevalence and broad impacts, these conditions are seldom recognized and managed simultaneously. The co-existence of neuropsychiatric conditions (such as ADHD) and altered pain perception and chronic pain has been...

This work studied self-reports from adolescents on how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed their behaviors, relationships, mood, and victimization. Data collection was conducted between September 2020 and February 2021 in five countries (Sweden, the USA, Serbia, Morocco, and Vietnam). In total, 5114 high school students (aged 15 to 19 years, 61.8% fe...

Background: Adolescence is a period in life characterized by major neurobiological, physiological, and psychological changes. Those changes may give rise to worsened mental health and an increased prevalence of somatic complaints combined with a negative psychosocial environment. Rapid changes in society, which may also affect young people in sever...

Recent studies have established yoga practice as a mainstream complementary clinical tool within correctional environments. It is shown that regular yoga practice is coupled with improved impulse control, sustained attention, attenuated antisocial and self-harm behaviors, reduced stress, and psychological distress. No academic research until now ha...

Research regarding mental illness and drug addiction among inmates in Morocco requires increased knowledge; previous literature reported that prisoners suffer from severe psychological distress. The present study aimed to provide information about Moroccan prisoners’ psychological distress and define the differences in psychological distress levels...

Background Conduct disorder (CD), a serious behavioral and emotional disorder in childhood and adolescence, characterized by disruptive behavior and breaking societal rules. Studies have explored the overlap of CD with neurodevelopmental problems (NDP). The somatic health of children with NDP has been investigated; however, the prevalence of these...

Background Adolescence is a period in a life characterized by major neurobiological, physiological, and psychological changes. Those changes may give rise to worsened mental health and an increased prevalence of somatic complaints combined with a negative psychosocial environment. Rapid changes in society, which may also affect young people in seve...

Abstract Background Studies on mental health are scarce from Arab countries, especially studies focusing on adolescents. In addition to the neurobiological and physiological changes that occur during adolescent development, psychological, societal and cultural influences have strong effects on adolescents’ behavior and on their somatic and mental h...

Aim: To explore the level of sense of coherence among Swedish nursing staff. Design: An explorative quantitative study design was adopted using a short form for measuring sense of coherence. Methods: Data were collected in January 2018 from nurses working in full-time positions at two hospitals in Western Sweden. A total of 93 nurses completed...

Aim To explore the level of sense of coherence among Swedish nursing staff. Design: An explorative quantitative study design was adopted using a short form for measuring sense of coherence. Methods Data were collected in January 2018 from nurses working in full‐time positions at two hospitals in Western Sweden. A total of 93 nurses completed the 1...

Background: A specific personality profile, characterized by low character maturity (low scores on the self-directedness and cooperativeness character dimensions) and high scores on the novelty seeking temperament dimension of the temperament and character inventory (TCI), has been associated with aggressive antisocial behavior in male prison inmat...

Background: Adolescence is a distinct developmental phase characterized by multiple physical and psychological changes and by an increased vulnerability to somatic and mental health problems. These risk and vulnerability factors are part of a complex biopsychosocial matrix, encompassing multiple factors, such as inherited biological determinants a...

The study aimed to evaluate an integrated intensive cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group treatment for people with substance-related syndrome in outpatient care and to identify eventual gender differences. The study population consisted of 35 outpatients (18 male, 17 female) at a clinic in Western Sweden. The patients completed a four-month per...

With increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) attention has been drawn to these children’s physical health. We aimed to identify the prevalence of defined physical problems (epilepsy, migraine, asthma, cancer, diabetes, psoriasis, lactose intolerance, celiac disease, diarrhea, constipation, daytime enu...

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in Fig. 2 part labels, the label “d” was incorrectly labelled as “c” and the subsequent labels should be corrected as d, e, and f. The corrected Fig. 2 is given below.

The aims of the present study were to map the level and distribution of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in a sample of Moroccan high school students and to define the level of these behaviors in adolescents who reported parental alcohol use problems and/or experienced abuse. In total, 375 high school students completed the "Mental and Somatic H...

Previous research has found a complex relationship between psychopathic traits, neurodevelopmental problems (NDPs), and conduct disorder (CD) in children. This study explores associations between psychopathic traits, assessed with the Child Problematic Traits Inventory—Short Version (CPTI-SV), and CD in children with and without coexisting NDPs (i....

Background Substance use is linked to biological, environmental, and social factors. This study provides insights on protective and risk factors for drug dependence in two Moroccan, high-risk, male samples. Methods Data from the “Mental and Somatic Health without borders” (MeSHe) survey were utilized in the present study. The MeSHe survey assesses...

Supplemental data

Abstract Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. The “neonatal 6-hydroxydopamine” (6-OHDA) lesion is a commonly used model of ADHD in rat. However, a comprehensive assessment of ADHD‐like symptoms is still missing, and data in mouse r...

Background: Psychiatric ill-health is prevalent among prison inmates and often hampers their rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is crucial for reducing recidivistic offending. A few studies have presented evidence of the positive effect of yoga on the well-being of prison inmates. The conclusion of those previous studies that yoga is an effective metho...

Poster presenting part of our results from the "physical health in children with neurodevelopmental disorders" project at the ESSENCE conference 2018

There is a need for instruments that can be used in correctional settings to measure changes in aggressive behaviors over a limited time period. This study aimed to validate an instrument (the Prison Adjusted Measure of Aggression, PAMA) that assesses specifically the past month's aggressive behaviors and is adapted for use in correctional faciliti...

Background The effect of yoga in the reduction of depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, anger as well as in the increased ability of behavioral control has been shown. These effects of yoga are highly relevant for prison inmates who often have poor mental health and low impulse control. While it has been shown that yoga and meditation can be effect...

Background: Restrictive eating problems are rare in children but overrepresented in those with neurodevelopmental problems. Comorbidities decrease wellbeing in affected individuals but research in the area is relatively scarce. This study describes phenotypes, regarding psychiatric and gastrointestinal comorbidities, in children with restrictive e...

Background: Childhood aggressive antisocial behavior (CD) is one of the strongest predictors of mental health problems and criminal behavior in adulthood. The aims of this study were to describe personality profiles in children with CD, and to determine the strength of association between defined neurodevelopmental symptoms, dimensions of characte...

Purpose: The study aimed to validate the Arabic version of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) by (1) assessing its factor structure, (2) determining structural validity, (3) evaluating item-total and inter-item correlation, and (4) assessing its predictive validity. Method: The study population included 169 prison inmates, 51 pat...

Gender specific personality profiles in association with the level of aggressive antisocial behavior in offenders have not been previously investigated. In the present study we analyzed data collected from 65 male and 50 female offenders using structured protocols regarding criminal history (by criminal register data), trait aggression (by the Life...

Background Antisocial personality and psychopathic traits have constantly been found to accompany criminal and aggressive behaviors, but little attention has been given to aspects of character maturity and its relation to such behaviors. The present study investigated (1) whether level of character maturity (low, medium, and high) is associated wit...

This 3-year follow-up study compares background variables, extent of criminality and criminal recidivism in the form of all court convictions, the use of inpatient care, and number of early deaths in Swedish institutionalized adolescents (N = 100) with comorbid substance use disorders (SUD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (n = 2...

Background: The character higher order scales (Self-directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-transcendence) in the Temperament and Character Inventory are important general measures of health and well-being (Cloninger, 2013). Recent research has found suggestive evidence of common environmental influence on the development of these character traits...

Drug abuse act on brain mechanisms that cause a high-risk individual to engage in aggressive and violent behavior. While a drug-violence relationship exists, the nature of this relationship is often complex, with intoxication, neurotoxic, and withdrawal effects often being confused and/or confounded. Glue sniffing is often a springboard to the abus...

The quantitative genetic contribution to antisocial behavior is well established, but few, if any, genetic variants are established as risk factors. Emerging evidence suggests that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) may modulate interpersonal aggression. We here investigated whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the OXT receptor gene (OXTR...

Background. Over the last few decades, an increasing number of studies have suggested a connection between neurodevelopmental problems (NDPs) and body mass index (BMI). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) both seem to carry an increased risk for developing extreme BMI. However, the results are inconsi...

Background Evidence from twin and molecular genetic studies is accumulating that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) shares substantial etiological factors with other disorders. This is mirrored in clinical practice where ASD without coexisting disorders is rare. The present study aims to examine the range of coexisting disorders in ASD in a genetically...

Background Children with early symptomatic psychiatric disorders such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been found to have high rates of motor and/or perception difficulties. However, there have been few large-scale studies reporting on the association between Conduct Disorder (CD) and motor/...

Neurobiological determinism has characterized later decades’ scientific approaches to the notion of free will. Scientists suggest that legal responsibility should be adjusted accordingly. We measured the genetic and environmental effects behind self-reported Self-directedness and Cooperativeness in a nation-wide population-based adolescent twin stu...