Browsing by Subject "http://www.yso.fi/onto/yso/p22036"

Previous studies have shown that school fatigue and school related burnout has increased among upper secondary school students, furthermore psychological wellbeing in general has decreased among youths. Top level athletes who seek to combine studies with sports are also at a high risk of burning out in school or in sport. Earlier studies have shown that interventions based on positive psychology can support both studies and sports and thus help prevent burnout. The purpose of this study is to explore how top-level athletes in Finnish upper secondary school experience that an intervention course based on positive psychology can support them in their sport, studies and well-being in general. The research material was composed of seven (7) semi-structured interviews with top-level athletes currently studying at a general upper secondary school in Finland. All participants had completed the course “Studera starkt” during the schoolyear 2020-2021. The interviews were conducted during the spring of 2021 by videocall and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. All participants expressed that the course had supported them in their athletic career in some way. All participants except one also experienced that the course had helped them with their schoolwork. On top of this all participants expressed that the course had improved their well-being in general. The conclusion was that the course “Studera starkt” effectively supported top-level athletes who also studied at a general upper secondary school with their athletic career, schoolwork and well-being.

This master’s thesis examines the relationship between living alone and the social wellbeing of basic unemployment benefit recipients in Finland. Living alone has become common in Finland, but previous research focusing on the relationship between living alone and social wellbeing among disadvantaged groups is scarce. This study contributes to the existing research by analyzing the interaction of living alone and different socioeconomic and demographic indicators among the unemployed. Theoretically, the study uses the concept of new social risks to interpret the nature of living alone in the post-industrial welfare state. The interpretation of the relationships between different forms of wellbeing is based on the theories of wellbeing by, among others, Erik Allardt and Pierre Bourdieu. Social wellbeing is considered from objective and subjective perspectives using the theories of social isolation and social capital. The study uses survey data (N = 948) gathered by the National Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA). Social wellbeing is operationalized as time spent with friends, participation in community activities, trust in people and loneliness. The statistical relationships between the indicators of social wellbeing, living alone and the socio-demographic variables are tested using ordered logit models. The results of the study indicate that living alone is related to loneliness among basic unemployment benefit recipients. The unemployed who live alone also have less trust in people, which can, however, be explained by a higher prevalence of men, economic problems and poor health among unemployed people who live alone. The results also indicate that the unemployed who live alone have higher levels of objective social wellbeing than others and are thus able to compensate for their lack of home- and work-related social contacts. The argument of the study is that living alone can pose a social risk for basic unemployment benefit recipients through loneliness. As a social policy implication, the social problems of the unemployed who live alone should be considered to a greater extent in social policy, in addition to economic and health related problems. Methodologically the results indicate the need for assessing social wellbeing with several indicators in order to reveal the differences between objective and subjective social wellbeing.