Siv Kvernmo

Siv Kvernmo is a Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. She also holds a 20% temporary position as a senior consultant at BUPA, BUK, UNN. Her academic career spans several decades with significant contributions to the field of child and adolescent mental health, particularly focusing on Sami and Indigenous populations.

Dr. Kvernmo's educational background includes:

• 1983: Cand.med (Medical Degree)
• 1999: Specialist in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• 2000: Dr.med. (Medical Doctorate)

Her research primarily focuses on children and adolescents' mental health, with special emphasis on Sami children, Sami public health, and Indigenous peoples' health. She conducts clinical studies and research in child and adolescent psychiatric epidemiology, with particular interest in ADHD. Dr. Kvernmo's work explores the cultural determinants of mental health among Indigenous populations, suicidal behavior, and the impact of ethnic identity on psychological well-being.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on Indigenous Sami language transmission across generations, examining how ethnic context and parental language input patterns influence language preservation. She has also conducted significant research on mental health issues among Indigenous youth, including studies on suicidal behavior in Sami and Greenlandic adolescents, and the impact of cultural determinants on well-being. Her work extends to cross-cultural studies of emotional and behavioral problems in Nepali schoolchildren, demonstrating her international research scope.

Dr. Kvernmo has received numerous research grants from Helse Nord, Sparebankens Gavefond, and Odd Bergs medisinske fond to support her work. She has led several major research projects including 'Ung i Nord' (The North Norwegian Youth Study), 'BUP Nord,' 'Ungdomshelseundersøkelsen i Nord-Norge (UHNN),' and 'UNGT. Fra ung til voksen- helse i et utviklingsperspektiv.'

As an academic supervisor, Dr. Kvernmo has guided numerous PhD students to completion, including Anna Rita Spein (2007), Anne Silviken (2007), Anne Lene Turi (2011), and Margrethe Bals (2012), among others. She also teaches medical students, doctors specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry, and students in other health professions.

Dr. Kvernmo leads the Research Group for Child and Adolescents Health and has been instrumental in establishing longitudinal studies examining the health and development of children in Arctic contexts, including the SamBa Study which follows early childhood development in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.