Authors

• Ministry of Education and Culture. State Youth Council
• Finnish Youth Research Society

Keywords

accessibility, adolescents, counselling, health, health services, mental health, satisfaction, social services, trust, well-being (health)

Abstract

Main themes of the Finnish Youth Survey 2020 included the availability and accessibility of social and health care services and experiences related to their use.

First, the respondents were asked whether the municipality they currently lived in was a good place to live. Next, they were asked which social and health services (e.g. student health services, mental health services, child protection services, services for people with disabilities) they had used in the last 12 months, how many times they had used the services, whether their access to the services had been sufficient for their needs, and whether they had received the help they needed. Use of other services (e.g. youth services, libraries, guided leisure time activities) in the municipality were also surveyed. User experiences with different social and health services were charted by asking the respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with a series of statements (e.g. the staff treated me with respect, I was able to access the services quickly, my financial situation made it difficult to access care, I experienced discrimination or prejudice, matters related to my care were explained to me clearly, the distance to the place of care was inconvenient).

Views on the operation of social and health services in Finland were investigated with questions on whether the respondents felt that social and health services worked well, whether they trusted the expertise of staff, and whether they felt that social and health services contributed to equality and justice. Opinions on and experiences with online social and health services were surveyed by, for example, asking the respondents whether they had difficulty accessing online services, whether they had used online social and health services, whether the services they needed were available online, and whether they had access to an internet connection or a smart phone. The respondents' views on how much responsibility different sectors and groups (e.g. the state, municipalities, the church and other religious communities, businesses, family and relatives) had for the well-being of Finnish people were charted.

On the topics of well-being and everyday life, the respondents were, for example, asked whether they felt that their daily actions were meaningful, whether they felt that they were in control of their lives, and whether they felt that it was best to trust no one. The respondents were also asked how connected they felt to Finnish society, the EU, Europe, and the global community. The impact of the respondents' financial situation on their every day lives was investigated with questions on whether they had ever been unable to buy necessary items due to a lack of money, whether they had ever been bullied due to a lack of money, and whether they had ever had to quit a hobby due to a lack of money. Finally, the respondents' satisfaction with their leisure time, relationships, state of health, physical fitness, and appearance was surveyed.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age, region of residence, state of health, type of educational institution currently attended, education level, financial situation, economic activity, household composition, whether the R identified as a member of a minority and if yes, which minority, and the highest education level attained the R's mother, father, and spouse/partner.