Om kandidaten
Malik Dimbei Halidu is a Ghanaian-born social epidemiologist whose work bridges frontline public health practice with academic research. He holds an MPhil in Health Promotion from the University of Bergen and is completing his PhD at Nord University, where he studies the long-term consequences of adolescent mental health for psychosocial functioning across the life course.
With more than a decade of experience across community-based public health practice and academic research, Malik has worked with both large-scale health programmes and population-based studies. His doctoral research draws on longitudinal survey and registry data, including the Young-HUNT study and Statistics Norway, to examine how individual and contextual factors shape developmental pathways from adolescence into young adulthood.
From 2012 to 2017, he contributed to USAID-funded initiatives in Ghana, including the SHARPER and LINKAGES projects, supporting HIV/AIDS prevention and health promotion among marginalized and key populations. His methodological work includes observational studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, measurement and survey development, structural equation modelling, health administrative data analysis, program evaluation, and longitudinal analyses across the life course.
Lenker til strømming av prøveforelesning og disputas
- Del 1: Prøveforelesning (kl. 10.00 - 11.00)
- Del 2: Disputas (kl. 12.00 - 16.00)
Avhandlingens tittel
Associations between adolescents with social anxiety symptoms and psychological functioning in adolescence and young adulthood:
Findings from the Young-HUNT3 study and Statistics Norway’s longitudinal data.
Tittel på prøveforelesningen
Understanding Young People’s Pathways to Adult Well-Being: How Family, Peers, and
School shape development. Implications for Mental Health Services
Kort sammendrag av avhandlingen
Adolescence is a sensitive period for the emergence of social anxiety (SA)—characterized by a persistent fear of negative evaluation in social situations. While SA is common during this stage, it remains theoretically and clinically unclear when it reflects transient developmental unease versus a more persistent condition consistent with social anxiety disorder (SAD). This dissertation examines longitudinal associations between adolescent SA and psychosocial functioning into young adulthood to identify markers of persistent vulnerability, investigating the moderating role of family emotional support.
Drawing on Young-HUNT3 data linked with Statistics Norway (SSB) administrative registers, the research follows adolescents for over a decade. Utilizing structural equation modelling and survival analysis, three studies investigate how SA relates to school disengagement, delays in adult transitions (e.g., leaving home, living with a partner), and educational or occupational marginalization.
Findings indicate that elevated adolescent SA is associated with difficulties across multiple domains, including higher absenteeism, school dissatisfaction, and later developmental transitions. Longitudinal results suggest that SA predicts an increased risk of school non-completion and NEET status, particularly when family support is low. A vulnerable subgroup characterized by comorbid symptoms and relational difficulties showed the most pronounced patterns of impairment.
This work suggests that adolescent SA is linked to developmental trajectories extending beyond clinical symptoms, influencing long-term social participation. The findings illustrate how the intersection of individual vulnerabilities and social contexts helps differentiate transient unease from persistent conditions, highlighting the relevance of relational factors in understanding developmental marginalization across the life course.
Program for prøveforelesning og disputas
| Klokken | Hendelse |
| 10.00 – 11.00 | Prøveforelesning - Velkommen v/prodekan Gørill Haugan. - Prøveforelesning v/Malik Dimbei Halidu (ca. 45 min.) |
| 11.00 – 12.00 | Lunsjpause |
| 12.00 – 16.00 | Disputas - Kandidaten presenterer sin avhandling (max 30 min.) - Førsteopponenten (ca. en time) Pause (15 min.) - Andreopponenten (ca. en time) - Opposisjon Ex auditorio, (hvis noen ber om det) - Komiteen trekker seg tilbake - Komiteen annonserer sin beslutning |
Veiledere
Hovedveileder: Førsteamanuensis Tommy Haugan, FSH
Medveileder: Professor Cathrine Fredriksen Moe, FSH, Nord universitet
Medveileder: Førsteamanuensis Samira Behboudi Gandevani, FSH Nord universitet
Bedømmelseskomite
Førsteopponent: Forsker II (PhD) Tonje Fyhn, NORCE Forskningsinstitutt
Andreopponent: Advance Fellow (Post.doc) Fiona Ng, School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham
Komiteens koordinator: Førsteamanuensis Vegar Rangul, FSH, Nord Universitet
Leder for prøveforelesning og disputas
Prodekan Gørill Haugan, FSH, vil lede prøveforelesningen og disputasen
