Experience of violence and self-rated health: Do youths disclose their experiences when visiting a Youth Centre in Sweden

Background: Being exposed to violence is a global health problem, increasing the risk of suffering from ill health. The main aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual violence victimisation and its association to self-rated health among youths. The second aim was to investigate whether the youths had disclosed to healthcare professionals at a Youth Centre or others about being exposed. Methods: The cross-sectional study includes data from a web survey of youths, aged 15–25 (n=500), collected in Sweden. Descriptive statistics and univariate analyses were used for the analyses. Results: In all, emotional, physical or sexual violence during their lifetime was reported by 43.2% and 22.8% of youths during the last year. In total, 88% of the respondents assessed their self-rated health as good, very good or excellent. Those who had been exposed to emotional, physical or sexual violence during their lifetime reported statistically significant lower self-rated health (fair and poor) than those who were not victimised. When healthcare professionals at the Youth Centre asked youths about exposure during their lifetime, one-fifth disclosed having been exposed. Conclusions: Youths who reported any type of violence during their lifetime showed lower self-rated health compared to those who were not exposed. Youth Centres have an important role in identifying youths who are exposed to violence and/or self-report their health as low. Still, only a minority of youths who have been exposed to violence told health professionals at a Youth Centre about it when asked. It is necessary to further investigate how the issues can be best addressed.